The recent “Top Shop” award and elite 1SO 9001 certification earned by TechOps–Delta’s aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul group–reminds me that Delta has a long tradition of high-quality mechanical work that goes back to the 1920s.
“No Job Too Hard” was the slogan of the Delta Air Service mechanics, shown below in 1929, standing outside the hangar at Selman Field in Monroe, Louisiana. Planes from all over the southern United States came to Monroe for repair work and overhauling by these wood and wing workers, fabric workers, welders and metal workers, motor mechanics and mechanic’s helpers.
The Monroe Morning Post wrote that Delta’s “fame for turning out high class work has about passed that of any similiar shop in the southern states.” One pilot, who had his plane repaired at Monroe after a crash, remarked: “Those fellows could take the tail of a plane and build the rest easily.” “He was right in every respect excepting one,” said C. E. Woolman, Delta’s vice president and general manager, “They don’t even need the tail to start on.”
In 1929, Delta Air Service’s Monroe shop offered the most complete services in the central southern U.S. for the repair and overhaul of planes. Today, Delta TechOps is the largest airline MRO in North America, serving more than 100 aviation and airline customers from around the world. To learn more about DeltaTechOps, visit www.DeltaTechOps.com.
Marie Force
Archives Manager