State of AMTSociety Address
The address this month will center on EAA AirVenture at Whitman Field, Oshkosh, WI. Senior editor Barb Zuehlke accompanied me to numerous events. It was a pleasure to meet the four FAA General Aviation award winners, each of them are very deserving of their respective award. Here is why:
Lucky Louque, an A&P from Chatfield, TX, is the 2009 National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year. Louque is the general manager of Air Salvage of Dallas. As an A&P mechanic with inspection authorization, he assists the FAA and the NTSB in aircraft accident investigations. He is also a pilot and a designated airworthiness representative who conducts safety seminars for pilots and mechanics as a FAASTeam representative. He represented the Dallas FSDO area as well as the FAA’s Southwest Region.
Jerry Stooksbury, a repairman/CFI from Fort Collins, CO, is the 2009 National Avionics Technician of the Year. Stooksbury owns Avionics Specialists at the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport. He specializes in avionics upgrades for piston singles and light/medium piston twins. He is a member of the Aircraft Electronics Association as well as Colorado’s Civil Air Patrol. Stooksbury represented the Denver FSDO area as well as the FAA’s Northwest Mountain Region.
Arlynn Marine McMahon, a master CFI from Versailles, KY, is the 2009 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year. McMahon is the chief flight instructor, a ground instructor, and the training center manager for Aero-Tech, a Part 141 Cessna Pilot Center at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport. She specializes in training flight instructor candidates. She also serves as a designated pilot examiner and an FAA Safety Team representative. She represented the Louisville FSDO area as well as the FAA’s Central Region.
Kent Blair Lewis, a CFI from Keller, TX, is the 2009 National FAASTeam Representative of the Year. Lewis has been active in the FAA safety program for more than six years. In his capacity as a FAASTeam representative, he has coordinated, facilitated, and presented at many highly successful WINGS seminars. A retired U.S. Marine Corps aviator and an active flight instructor, he also assists the NTSB and ALPA with aircraft accident investigations. Lewis represented the Fort Worth FSDO area and the FAA’s Southwest Region.
At a picnic honoring the winners, AMTSociety Executive Director Tom Hendershot presented embroidered jackets to each winner.
We’ll have more on EAA next issue. Stay safe.
— Tom Hendershot
2009-2010 AMTSociety IA Renewal program
Sept. 12, 2009, Crimson Technical College, 8911 Aviation Blvd., Inglewood, CA
Oct. 14, 2009, Holiday Inn and Suites, 3003 N. University Dr., Sunrise/Fort Lauderdale, FL
Oct. 28, 2009, Sheraton Mahwah Hotel, One International Blvd., Mahwah, NJ
NEW: Nov. 4, 2009, Four Points by Sheraton, 4900 Duckhorn Dr., Sacramento, CA
Nov. 11, 2009, Four Points by Sheraton, One Industry Lane, Pittsburgh, PA
Dec. 9, 2009, Holiday Inn/Sea-Tac Intl. Airport, 17338 International Blvd., Seattle, WA
Jan. 13, 2010, ExpressJet Airlines Training Center, 17445 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Houston, TX
Jan. 27, 2010, Holiday Inn, Atlanta Airport S., 4669 Airport Blvd., Atlanta, GA
Feb. 10, 2010, Hilton Garden Inn, Phoenix Airport N., 3838 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix, AZ
Feb. 24, 2010, Holiday Inn KCI & Expo Center, 11730 N. Ambassador Dr., Kansas City, MO
March 16-17, 2010, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV, Aviation Industry Expo
March 24, 2010, The Summit Conference & Event Center, 411 Sable Blvd., Aurora, CO
Corporate sponsors: NCATT
The National Center for Aerospace & Transportation Technologies (NCATT) and AMTSociety/AMT Magazine have been active partners since 2006. NCATT has been very pleased with this productive partnership and looks forward to an exciting future. NCATT’s role with AMTSociety, as well as with all of its partners, is to be of service in the areas of standards and certifications. This service is applicable for the organization as well as the many members and constituents it represents. NCATT is grateful for this opportunity, and understands that without the continued support and participation of exceptional subject matter experts we wouldn’t be where we are today.
The Aviation Consulting Group
“TACG is proud to be a new corporate sponsor of the AMTSociety. We are very excited to work with Tom Hendershot and all of the valuable members that comprise the Society,” Dr. Robert Baron, president says.
The Aviation Consulting Group is a small aviation safety consulting firm with offices in Myrtle Beach, SC, and the Fort Lauderdale/Miami, FL, area. TACG was founded in 2000 by Dr. Baron who serves as the president and chief consultant. Assisting Dr. Baron is a highly experienced group of associates with specializations in areas such as airport and air carrier operations, research, and educational effectiveness. TACG’s clients include some of the largest airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and defense contractors in the United States and around the world.
TACG offers human factors training. Core competencies include: human factors training and program development; safety management systems training and program development; crew resource management training and program development; line operations safety audits/threat and error management training and program development; and aviation safety research (various areas).
TACG is offering a 10 percent discount to AMTSociety members on any of its human factors training courses. For more information on who TACG is and what it does, please visit the website at www.tacgworldwide.com.
West Star Aviation
West Star Aviation employs nearly 530 people spread across four locations: East Alton, IL (ALN); Grand Junction, CO (CJT); Hiawatha, IA (HIA); and Dallas, TX (DAL). West Star acquired Jet Aviation’s Dallas Love Field MRO facility on Nov. 1, 2006.
West Star ALN and GJT are full-service FBOs. Between the facilities they are factory-authorized Cessna Citation service centers, Embraer Phenom service centers, Piaggio service centers, and are FAA-certified on all Dassault Falcon aircraft. They are also factory-authorized service centers for most avionics and engine OEMs. The services include maintenance, repair, and refurbishment of Cessna Citation, Dassault Falcon, Gulfstream, Learjet, Challenger, Hawker, Beechjet aircraft, avionics installations and repair, exterior paint, and interior modification and refurbishment.
West Star DAL is a certified repair station concentrating on Citations, including the Sovereign, Mustang, Hawker, Beechjet, King Air, and Learjet. The facility specializes in heavy maintenance, light repair, and avionics installations and support. DAL also supports partial on-site paint and interior capabilities.
West Star HIA is a major supplier of overhauled units for exchange, rental, or outright sale specializing in corporate and regional turbine-powered aircraft avionics and instruments. Each year the HIA location expands upon its surplus and inventoried capabilities to better serve the industry.
In the beginning, ownership of Premier Air Center in East Alton, IL, was acquired in 2002. On Dec. 31, 2004, the principals of Premier Air Center acquired West Star Aviation in Grand Junction, CO. From then until September 2007, the company operated under the dual name of Premier Air Center/West Star Aviation until the unveiling of its new name — West Star Aviation Inc. — at the 2007 NBAA convention.
Hawkins participates in ACE military programs review
Since 1945, the American Council on Education (ACE) has provided a collaborative link between the U.S. Department of Defense and higher education institutions through the review of military training and experiences for the award of equivalent college credits for members of the Armed Forces. The evaluation process includes a rigorous review by academic faculty through the military programs section of ACE, and is valuable to our service men and women who are able to earn college credit for the knowledge and skills gained during their military service.
During summer break from his teaching position in the Aerospace Department at Middle Tennessee State University, associate professor and AMTSociety director Joe Hawkins, has volunteered on numerous ACE military program reviews. This year ACE review visits included the Coast Guard Air Station Mobile, Naval Center for Aviation Technical Training at Pensacola, FL, and the Army Aviation Warfare Center in Fort Rucker, AL. As a former Army aviator himself, Hawkins is delighted to serve on these visiting teams and considers it an opportunity to “pay it forward” to our service personnel. “Our service members are holding up their part of the bargain serving around the globe, and I feel it’s part of our commitment to them to do whatever we can to help ensure academic credit for their military training and experiences,” Hawkins says.
More than 2,300 colleges and universities recognize ACE-endorsed transcripts. The results of these evaluations are published online in The Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services (www.militaryguides.acenet.edu).
