Charlie Rafford
Winchester
Summary
Seasoned professional in general and operations management with comprehensive experience leading teams, optimizing processes, and implementing cost-effective strategies. Skilled in strategic planning, staff development, and operational efficiency, consistently improving workflow and reducing costs. Proven track record of enhancing overall business performance through effective leadership and innovative problem-solving.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Composite Shop manager
GTL Labs
Tullahoma
08.2023 - Current
- Established GTL Tennessee Composite division
- Currently Lead GTL Tennessee Composite division
- Level 3 tech with management responsibilities
- Trim of all composite materials
- Created and led Paint, release processes
- Composite Mold creation
- Wet lay up of composite molds including bagging
- Purchasing and stocking of all supplies chemicals and carbon fiber, fiberglass materials
- Ply cutter operator
- Create, digitize, and map ply’s, change blades, create ply stack up, cut, store material
- Table top change out
- Shop upgrades
- Authority, and oversight to upgrade facility needs as approved, such as safety, and efficiency, as well as cleanliness
Composite Tech 3
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Toney
09.2021 - 08.2023
- Filament winding
- Wound SM-3 missile cases
- Rubber sanding
- Case work
- Autoclave operation
- Oven operator
- Insulation rubber layup
- Mandrel prep, and assembly
- Vacuum bagging
- Impregnation of carbon fiber for winding process
- THAAD Skirts
Sr Tech/Special Projects
Griffon Aerospace
Madison
04.2020 - 09.2021
- Group 2 project
- Built Group 2 air frame including lay up, trim, assembly, wiring, and integration of the air frame along with paint and flight testing
- Prepreg lay up, bagging and trim
- Vector pods
- Special projects, (Declassified) Greywolf Special Project, (Declassified) Project red wing
- Wet lay up
- Uav skins for wings, fuselage, shrouds, air scoops
- Custom lay up, and one offs
- Fit and Trim of all composite parts
- Lead trainer for wet lay up, composite repair, body work, mold repair
Aircraft Component Repairman
SES
Huntsville
04.2016 - 07.2020
- Composite repair on Ah-64d, and Ah-64e Apache helicopter parts, such as strut mounts, seats mounts, doors repairs
- Work completed per Boeing IETM instruction manual
- Priming and Painting on aircraft parts with water based primer, and paint
- Seal installation with rubber seals on required parts
- Inspection, includes visual and hands on inspection of all parts and filling out of all paperwork and proper tagging of defective and complete parts
- Finishing with complete FOD inspection
- Hardware installation on aircraft parts using Boeing IETM instruction manual processes, including thermal bonding, crimping, and riveting
- Wet layup with various types of fiberglass including dry e-glass, carbon fiber and kevlar
Lead Fabrication/Bodywork/Assembly
Flight Composites
San Antonio
06.2013 - 07.2015
- Priming with epoxy primer
- Body work, this includes sanding all parts down with sandpaper filling voids with 17 or 15 filler, and finishing with glazing putty
- Wet lay up with epoxy on damaged or broken windows
- Trim, assembly and fabrication of aircraft windows such as Global, Challenger, Airbus, BBJ, Gulfstream, Embraer, Embraer lineage, Boeing 777, 747, 749, 745, overlay panels, flat panels, Boeing 777 cassettes and burn samples
Lay up Tech
ATI
San Antonio
02.2013 - 04.2013
- Lay up, vacuum bagged prepreg aircraft toilet seats and hog legs
- Oven operator performed the Nelcote Process, Prepreg lay up and bagging using different materials such as Phenolic and Carbon fiber
Fabrication Tech
Turbomach
San Antonio
01.2013 - 02.2013
- Trimming and drilling floor panels for assorted airliners
Composite Tech 2
Griffon Aerospace
Madison
10.2009 - 01.2013
- Team lead for training all incoming wet layup techs
- Team lead for all incoming body work techs
- Performed wet layup of fiberglass molds
- This included 8oz, 18, fiberglass with peel ply, polyester blend resin or epoxy resin
- Trim, and assembly of fiberglass/carbon fiber parts using different bonding agents
- Tooling master finish work to include sanding, priming, and buffing of master molds to prepare for fiberglass tool production
- Assisted in layup of master molds, and various tooling using gel coat, tooling resin, fiberglass cloth, bleeder cloth, release, and bagging materials
- Assisted in VARTM production of master molds, and tooling using gel coat, tooling resin, dry fiberglass cloth, spiral and standard tubing and pressure vessel for resin trapping
- Prepreg layup using different types of material to include release, and bagging materials in preparation of vacuum and eventual heat curing
- Performed painting of parts using enamel paints
- UAV integration including installation of wiring harnesses, engine installation, and programming of electronic servos using a laptop
Education
High School Equivalency -
Calhoun community college
Huntsville, ALSkills
- Forklift operation
- VARTM
- Nelcote
- Computer hardware
- Microsoft Suite
- Computer repair
- Composite assembly
- Fabrication
- Prime and paint
- Composite bodywork
- Aluminum bodywork
- Prepreg lay up
- Wet lay up
- Bagging
- Special project experience
- Autoclave operator
- Oven operator
- Overhead crane operator
- Ability to read aircraft production drawings
- Aircraft repair drawings
- Military tech orders
- Shop repair manual (SRM)
- Management experience
- Purchasing
- Stocking
- Ply cutter operator
- Composite mold creation
- Repair
References
Available upon request
Timeline
Composite Shop manager
GTL Labs
08.2023 - Current
Composite Tech 3
Aerojet Rocketdyne
09.2021 - 08.2023
Sr Tech/Special Projects
Griffon Aerospace
04.2020 - 09.2021
Aircraft Component Repairman
SES
04.2016 - 07.2020
Lead Fabrication/Bodywork/Assembly
Flight Composites
06.2013 - 07.2015
Lay up Tech
ATI
02.2013 - 04.2013
Fabrication Tech
Turbomach
01.2013 - 02.2013
Composite Tech 2
Griffon Aerospace
10.2009 - 01.2013
High School Equivalency -
Calhoun community college