On Saturday, September 21st, the Kelch Aviation Museum’s board vice president, Kent McMakin, was awarded the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of outstanding work as an aviation mechanic. If you know Kent, you know he doesn’t like parties, so we kept it a secret until he walked in the door for the award presentation at the museum!

Kent McMakin got his A&P at Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, WI, in 1974. He has restored over 30 biplanes, three (and a half) of which are currently on display in the Kelch Aviation Museum collection.

With his unparalleled expertise in antique aviation, Kent is our go-to mechanic who keeps the museum aircraft airworthy. His career includes many years in Florida working on Warbirds at the Weeks Air Museum, decades as the premier Ryan Aircraft expert, and 34 years as an independent restoration & antique aircraft mechanic specializing in biplanes of the late 1920s.

When handed his award, he said “I don’t know why you’re making a fuss about me.”

So next time you see Kent lurking around the museum, be sure to make a fuss and congratulate (read: embarrass) him on his achievement and aviation contributions! The museum wouldn’t be here without him.

Oh, and just in case he managed to escape, we printed a life-size cardboard cutout of Kent for the party. Keep your eye out – you never know where Flat Kent might show up next…