Bill Wheat and Stanley Feller May Be Longest-Serving Employees in the Industry

When Stanley Feller decided to pursue a job with the local airplane manufacturing company at Louis Schreiner Field in 1958, "he was still just a kid." At least, that's the way Bill Wheat remembers it. A self-proclaimed "old hand" at 23 back then, Wheat was the company's full time test pilot. He had actually been involved with company founder Al Mooney and his brother, Art, since they had moved their company to Kerrville in 1954. Both Wheat and Feller admit that they experienced some uncertainty in those early days and hoped their new jobs would last.

On Tuesday, August 12th, the current employees of Mooney will take time away from their usual routines to assure both men that their jobs have not only lasted, they've set records for longevity. Wheat, who became a full-time Mooney employee in 1957 and Feller, who began his tenure at the airplane manufacturing firm in 1958, may have been employed longer than any other employees in the aircraft industry. Mooney is known for having a number of long-term employees. Of the 300+ employees at the firm today, more than 40 have accrued 25 years of service or more. A dozen of those workers have more than 40 years with the company. Bill and Stanley are the only ones to have surpassed the half-century mark, however.

The two Mooney veterans got to know each other pretty quickly in 1958, when Stan Feller (pictured right) joined a work force that numbered less than 100 employees at the time. Dubbed "Cowboy" by one of his co-workers who had trouble remembering names but knew he had been involved in rodeos, Feller spent most of his time after graduating from Fredericksburg High School working odd jobs on his family's and other ranches until he went to work at Mooney on July 29, 1958. By that time, Bill Wheat had helped the Mooney brothers secure a lease for the facility, and even lived on site in what is now the Customer Delivery Center. Back then it was a just a house. Wheat took up residence and served as the night and weekend watchman. A former station manager for Trans Texas Airlines (which became Continental), he had moved from Uvalde to Kerrville when he heard that Mooney was moving his airplane business from Wichita, Kansas to the Texas Hill Country. A licensed pilot, he had flown Mooney-designed airplanes and wanted to be a part of the company.

When Stan Feller joined the company Al Mooney had already sold it to Hal Rachal and Norm Hoffman of Midland, Texas, but he was still actively involved in the design and production of his latest design, the M20, a four-place single engine airplane with a distinctive "backwards" tail. Both Feller and Wheat knew him personally.

While Feller learned how to form parts and operate the "drop hammer" in the tight confines of the original plant, Wheat was flying literally every airplane Mooney produced. "I flew all but the first 18 of the M20's when they came off the line until I eventually got a helper who took some of the load after a few years. I know for a fact that I've flown more than a million miles in Mooney airplanes without ever leaving the confines of the airport's air space," he says.

Feller spent virtually his entire career in Mooney's fabrication shop. His resume includes stints as a sheet metal lead, a foreman in the fabrication shop and 45 years as its supervisor. Since 2002 he has filled his latest role as "Mooney's famous tour guide." He conducts visitors through the plant and regales them with stories from the company's past as well as explaining its current operations. "It's only appropriate that Stanley serves as Mooney's number one guide for plant tours," says Wheat, whose current title is Senior Customer Support Technician. "Who else knows more about the facility than he does-he was working here when they built most of it," he added.

Wheat (right) moved from his initial duties as a test pilot to the position of engineering coordinator for aircraft systems. "In the early days, there weren't a lot of people here. Those that were did a lot of different jobs. When I started I think there were 35 employees. Three of us, Herb Anderson, Kenny Lupe and myself used to design improvements and come up with model changes for the airplanes on nights and weekends. Once we had something we thought would work, we'd bring in the draftsmen and have them draw it up and then we'd build it and certify it."

That, Wheat explains, is how he learned enough engineering to eventually become a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for the Federal Aviation Administration in 1968-at their request. Though they had five degreed engineers in the area applying for the position, FAA officials sent him the application and, when he filled it out and returned it, tapped him for the role. He has maintained the authorization and still does some consulting on the side, in fact. During his tenure at Mooney he has overseen certification and airworthiness and avionics and electrical systems design and installations, too. In fact, he's done a little bit of everything during his 50+ years with the company.

Both men remember working through good and challenging times. "I was one of only 17 employees from 1970-1973 when we only had one person per department, basically handling spare parts," Feller recalled. "And, I remember a day in the mid-60's when we reached the other extreme. We hired our 1000th employee, Fern Corey, who worked with us in the Fab shop, in 1967. The press covered the event because it was such a big deal for a company in Kerr County to have 1,000 employees. Back then, we were turning out 3 airplanes a day," he added. "Our high point was probably 1966 and '67 before Hal Rachal got the idea that he wanted to make Mooney the biggest company in general aviation. He went out and bought two bankrupt companies, Ted Smith's Aerostar and Alon, and another one that hadn't started up yet, Mitsubishi, and proceeded to bankrupt Mooney instead," Wheat remembered.

Having reached the half-century mark at Mooney, Stanley, who will turn 71 on his next birthday, says he may just stick around for his 60th anniversary. "I wouldn't change anything about my career," he says. "I've never regretted staying at Mooney the whole time. It's pretty much a family, here and I hear people on my tours comment all the time on how people here have such a great attitude. We take a lot of pride in our work because there is so much handwork on our airplanes. That requires personal attention and it's wonderful to work with so many individuals who can look at the airplanes we turn out and be proud that our products have such a great reputation. Mooneys have the strongest metal cabin structure and wing in the industry and that's a direct result of the attention that we've paid to our work. When I consider the people and all I've experienced, I don't see any reason to retire!"

Bill Wheat, who is now 78, feels the same way. "I'm doing something I really enjoy, so why should I quit doing it? I have no desire to retire. I certainly can't sit around and watch television all day," he notes. Instead, he arrives at the Mooney plant each day at around 2 AM…and stays for about 12 hours. "I get there early enough so that Mooney operators in Australia, Asia, South Africa and Europe have someone they can reach when they call with a technical problem. It's what I want to be doing. It keeps me going."

Mooney's current management team, most of who weren't born when Wheat and Feller began their careers at the company, marvel at the pair. "We have a great deal of affection for Bill and Stanley…and even more respect for them and what they have meant to this company," said Dennis Ferguson, Mooney's chief executive officer. "They are daily reminders of the great heritage that Mooney possesses and their dedication serves as an example for all of us. When a customer calls in with a technical issue and Bill Wheat answers the phone, that customer is not only getting the answer from someone who helped design the system in question, he or she is getting an opportunity to see what real commitment to customer satisfaction is all about. And, when a Mooney owner takes a tour with Stan Feller, he or she comes away knowing just about all there is to know about how his or her airplane was built and the pride that goes into it. These two guys are revered members of the Mooney family and we're proud to honor their service," he concluded.

FMI: www.mooney.com