Setting the Standard: Dan Gonzales Has Helped Carry an Aerospace Legacy Forward

09-21-2026

Dan Gonzales grew up on San Antonio's South Side, close enough to Kelly Air Force Base (AFB) that he could watch planes fly overhead—an early introduction to aerospace that would shape the rest of his career. He went on to study mechanical engineering, then later earned a degree in management of technology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, a combination that would prove essential to the path his career took.

Dan began that career as an engineer at Kelly AFB, starting as an engineer and rising to an engineering branch chief. Then, in 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected Kelly for closure, a decision that left more than 20,000 employees, Dan among them, uncertain about their futures. Some transferred to other Air Force bases, picking up Kelly's workloads. Dan chose to stay in San Antonio.

The city pushed through congressional channels for a public-private competition to keep the base's engine work local. StandardAero was an integral part of the winning team, and in 1999, the company hired approximately 450 employees to stand up its new San Antonio operation. Dan was one of the first.

He helped ensure that many of his former Kelly colleagues found a place in the new organization, and in the years since, he's been instrumental in StandardAero's growth in San Antonio, rising through roles in business development, workforce development and community relations to his current position as Vice President of Business Development.

In StandardAero's earliest years at Port San Antonio, the company's work centered on repairing the engine that powers the C-130 aircraft, a workload that would serve as the foundation of the site for roughly 15 years. When the company later took on the T56 engine program, it undertook a two-year effort to re-engineer the entire facility for speed, precision and control. Dan worked on that project directly, helping ensure the redesign incorporated input from the people who would run it—the employees themselves.

Dan's work recently earned recognition beyond StandardAero; in September, he received the Dee Howard Foundation's Aerospace Legacy Award, inducting him into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame for his transformative leadership and lifelong impact on the region's aerospace industry.

Thanks to Dan, those who worked alongside him during the changeover from Kelly to Tech Port, and those who have followed since, StandardAero now operates one of the world's most respected and fastest-growing aircraft engine modernization and sustainment facilities in the U.S. From our community, Dan and his colleagues ensure the safety and operational excellence of aircraft fleets that power military and civilian aircraft, moving millions of people across the nation and around the world.