Avionics News March 2012 - 31

Throughout the years, Nolan Avionics grew from a small backyard building to several airport hangars and three full benches.

his youth, the former through several rides and the latter through need. “I grew up in Trinidad, Texas,” Larry said, now 67. “My parents were poor, so I had to work for everything a teenager wants. The only way to make money at the time was hauling hay. I hauled it for half a day one summer and figured that there had to be a better way to make money.” A neighbor owned a radio and TV shop, and he talked him into teaching him the business. Throughout the years, Nolan Avionics grew from a small backyard building to several airport hangars and three full benches. In 1992, the father sold the shop to the son, Steve, now 42, who worked full time to support his wife and family. He had just graduated with an electronics degree from SOSU, and “like today, there were no jobs to be found,” Larry said. The family worked out mutually beneficial terms, and Larry worked summers for his son. Laura was there, as well. “When I was a little kid, my dad spent so much time at the airport,” she said. “I learned very quickly that (it was the place to be) if I wanted to hang out with him.” Unlike her brother and father, she wasn’t interested in flying. “I soloed and passed my written, but I let it lapse.” Learning how things work and fixing them was something else. Through hands-on experience, she earned her repairman certificate at 18 and her A&P at 22, recommended by her father, with whom she had worked for “years and years and years.” That work culminated on her 21st birthday, when he gave her a Piper Tomahawk. Under his supervision, she rebuilt the engine, upgraded the avionics and made it airworthy. “My first job in avionics was through my brother,” Laura said. In 1994, the 12-year-old started a micro-

phone repair business, advertising it in Trade-A-Plane. The following year, Steve finished his master’s degree, took a job with Texas Instruments, and sold the shop back to his father, who decided to scale it back. Larry sold two benches worth of equipment and manuals to an Arizona operator who set them up to maintain his fleet of rental aircraft. Larry and Laura continued with a single bench. “I graduated from high school at 15, so my dad made
Continued on following page

Laura Nolan and her husband, Major Michael Koval.

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Avionics News March 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News March 2012

Point of Communication
AEA Now
The View from Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
WAAS GPS
Member Profile
All in the Family
Survey Reveals Hiring Trends For the Aviation Industry
A Conversation With...
Meet the AEA Awards Nominees
Aviation Aces
Member Profile
The ABCs of Jeppesen
Business Basics
Air France Flight 447
Theory & Practice
Legal Ease
What's New
Marketplace Classifieds
Avionics News March 2012 - Cover1
Avionics News March 2012 - Cover2
Avionics News March 2012 - 1
Avionics News March 2012 - 2
Avionics News March 2012 - 3
Avionics News March 2012 - Point of Communication
Avionics News March 2012 - 5
Avionics News March 2012 - AEA Now
Avionics News March 2012 - 7
Avionics News March 2012 - 8
Avionics News March 2012 - 9
Avionics News March 2012 - 10
Avionics News March 2012 - 11
Avionics News March 2012 - 12
Avionics News March 2012 - 13
Avionics News March 2012 - 14
Avionics News March 2012 - 15
Avionics News March 2012 - The View from Washington
Avionics News March 2012 - 17
Avionics News March 2012 - International News and Regulatory Updates
Avionics News March 2012 - 19
Avionics News March 2012 - 20
Avionics News March 2012 - 21
Avionics News March 2012 - WAAS GPS
Avionics News March 2012 - 23
Avionics News March 2012 - 24
Avionics News March 2012 - 25
Avionics News March 2012 - Member Profile
Avionics News March 2012 - 27
Avionics News March 2012 - 28
Avionics News March 2012 - 29
Avionics News March 2012 - All in the Family
Avionics News March 2012 - 31
Avionics News March 2012 - 32
Avionics News March 2012 - 33
Avionics News March 2012 - Survey Reveals Hiring Trends For the Aviation Industry
Avionics News March 2012 - 35
Avionics News March 2012 - A Conversation With...
Avionics News March 2012 - 37
Avionics News March 2012 - Meet the AEA Awards Nominees
Avionics News March 2012 - 39
Avionics News March 2012 - 40
Avionics News March 2012 - 41
Avionics News March 2012 - 42
Avionics News March 2012 - 43
Avionics News March 2012 - Aviation Aces
Avionics News March 2012 - 45
Avionics News March 2012 - 46
Avionics News March 2012 - 47
Avionics News March 2012 - Member Profile
Avionics News March 2012 - 49
Avionics News March 2012 - 50
Avionics News March 2012 - 51
Avionics News March 2012 - The ABCs of Jeppesen
Avionics News March 2012 - 53
Avionics News March 2012 - 54
Avionics News March 2012 - 55
Avionics News March 2012 - 56
Avionics News March 2012 - 57
Avionics News March 2012 - Business Basics
Avionics News March 2012 - 59
Avionics News March 2012 - 60
Avionics News March 2012 - 61
Avionics News March 2012 - Air France Flight 447
Avionics News March 2012 - 63
Avionics News March 2012 - 64
Avionics News March 2012 - 65
Avionics News March 2012 - Theory & Practice
Avionics News March 2012 - 67
Avionics News March 2012 - 68
Avionics News March 2012 - 69
Avionics News March 2012 - Legal Ease
Avionics News March 2012 - 71
Avionics News March 2012 - 72
Avionics News March 2012 - 73
Avionics News March 2012 - What's New
Avionics News March 2012 - 75
Avionics News March 2012 - 76
Avionics News March 2012 - 77
Avionics News March 2012 - Marketplace Classifieds
Avionics News March 2012 - 79
Avionics News March 2012 - 80
Avionics News March 2012 - Cover3
Avionics News March 2012 - Cover4
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