IA renewal progress report!
AMTSociety’s IA Renewal Roadshow kicked off with standing room only attendance in Houston, TX, on Jan. 16. The renewal program, hosted by ExpressJet, was well received by all involved. Generous volunteers included George Miller and Durand Crutchfield and personnel from the local FAA FSDO, as well as other support at the ExpressJet facility who made sure all attendees needs were met. AMTSociety would like to thank all who made this event possible, as well as its corporate sponsors — Avantext, T-Data, Kelly Aerospace, APPH Houston, FlightSafety, Abaris Training, and ProUltrasonics.
Courses presented in Houston were:
- Boosting Your Knowledge of Turbocharging; Randy Knutesen, director of product support, Kelly Aerospace
- Troubleshooting Aircraft Carburetors; Randy Knutesen, director of product support, Kelly Aerospace
- Troubleshooting Piston Engine Fuel Systems; Randy Knutesen, director of product support, Kelly Aerospace
- The Language and Review of Logic Gates; Steve Riley, director of maintenance training, FlightSafety International
- Digital Solutions for the Aviation Industry; Avantext
- Aircraft Composites; Greg Mellema, technical instructor, Abaris
- Computerized Maintenance Program; Rick Bisson, T-Data
- FAA Update - FAAST Team Presentation
AMTSociety encourages all IAs and A&Ps to attend the informative and educational opportunities that it offers at any of its IA renewal programs.
AMTSociety will present FAA IA renewals on March 11 in Denver. The hotel will be the Fairfield Inn at Denver Intl. Airport, 6851 Tower Rd. The renewal will be at Broomfield Auditorium, 1 Des Combs Dr.
Registration is at 7 a.m. with training beginning at 8 a.m. Breaks and lunch are provided at each location. Cost is $49, which includes a one-year membership to the AMTSociety with all benefits and privileges. For pre-registration information contact Eileen Stone, (800) 547-7377, Ext. 1799. For additional information contact Tom Hendershot, Executive Director, (800) 547-7377, Ext. 1565.
IA renewals will also be held March 18 and 19 in Dallas during Aviation Industry Expo. The sessions will be held Tuesday and Wednesday mornings of the show from 7 a.m. to noon, with breakfast provided. See the Show directory for more information.
The next stop on the IA road show is March 26 in Lexington, NC, at the RCR Air Flight Department, (336) 956-1333.
Locations of upcoming IA renewal programs can be found at www.amtonline.com or www.amtsociety.org.
From the Director
AMTSociety’s Aircraft Maintenance Summit is our first full-featured maintenance summit and will offer networking, educational, and entertainment opportunities. A large portion of the efforts surrounding this year’s event are centered around fundraising efforts for AMTScholarships. Through the generous support of volunteers and corporate sponsors, we anticipate raising a significant amount of dollars for scholarships that will help bring new talent in to the aircraft maintenance field.
And with yet more volunteers, we are able to bring you a program this year that should meet and exceed your expectations for the world’s largest Aviation Maintenance Summit.
Be sure to join us for the theatre presentations on the show floor — these are approved for IA renewal, but by no means are they only for IAs.
Our AMTSkills Competition is unmatched and sure to entertain you if you just want to watch, or be challenged if you wish to participate; both team and individual events are scheduled. To date, more than five teams are registered and this year’s event includes actual piston engine troubleshooting, and more.
And don’t forget the toolbox scholarship fundraising program. This year’s fundraiser features a first prize of a Snap-on toolbox, second and third prizes of round trip airline tickets (Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines) from San Diego to Hawaii, and fourth prize of Timberland PRO workboots. You can purchase these raffle tickets at the Maintenance Skills competition, at the IA Renewal Theatre, or from any of the AMTSociety directors at AMTSociety’s booth 312. Tickets are $5 each or five for $20.
Additional educational and information opportunities are also available that include a Standards presentation from NCATT (National Center for Aircraft Technician Training) and an update from NBAA’s Project Bootstrap. Further, there are a few co-sponsored educational forums available from NATA. Check NATA’s schedule and feel free to attend any of the events that are marked as co-sponsored.
Finally, your attendance at this year’s event includes the membership dues for AMTSociety. We invite you to take advantage of your AMTSociety by attending other AMTSociety IA events, taking the IA virtual training online at www.AMTSociety.org (included with membership) and visiting AMTSociety’s website to keep up with the industry. Your AMTSociety membership also subscribes you automatically to AMT magazine.
On behalf of the board of directors of AMTSociety — we thank you for attending and hope you have a great show.
Tom Hendershot
Executive Director
AMTSociety
Scholarship fundraising activities
AMTSociety, along with Haggan Aviation, will be holding a scholarship fundraising golf tournament at Bear Creek Golf Club in Dallas on Monday, March 17. A continental breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. A shotgun start to the golf tournament will be at 8:30 a.m. A lunch and awards ceremony will follow the tournament (approximately 1:30 p.m.). For more information or to register visit www.amtsociety.org.
Raffle tickets for a Snap-on toolbox, round trip airline tickets from San Diego to Hawaii from Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, and Timberland PRO workboots will be sold during Aviation Industry Expo.
AMTSkills Competition
AMTSociety will host the AMTSkills Competition during its first Aircraft Maintenance Show at the Aviation Industry Expo from March 18-20 in Dallas, TX.
The AMTSkills Competition features divisions for both individuals and teams of four. Any licensed A&P mechanic involved in, and/or supporting aircraft maintenance functions at any organization, company or corporation may enter. Any currently enrolled student in an authorized Part 147 school may enter as well. The AMTSkills Competition is also open to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces involved in the aircraft maintenance field. Membership in AMTSociety is not necessary to apply.
The competition gives AMTs, both licensed A&P Mechanics, student A&P mechanics, and U.S. military personnel involved in the aircraft maintenance field the opportunity to test their combined and individual abilities against their peers. Competitors have the chance to showcase their knowledge, skill, and integrity to help raise awareness of the training and skill needed for today’s AMT to carry the great responsibility of providing safe, airworthy aircraft.
The AMTSociety AMTSkills Competition will consist of 10 events for the team competition and three events for the individual competition. Planned events and their sponsors/judges include: windshield (Perkins Aircraft); hardware identification (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University); safety wiring (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University); avionics/electrical (Spirit Avionics); piston engine (Superior Air Parts); Gulfstream IV Main wheel/brake (Alberth Aviation); APU combuster assembly (Dallas Airmotive); Charles E. Taylor written test (AMTSociety); electrical troubleshooting (Duncan Aviation); and avionics troubleshooting (CAE).
Full AMTSkills Competition events and rules can be found on the AMTSkills Competition criteria form on the AMTSociety web site, www.AMTSociety.org. All applications must be received no later than Feb. 20, 2008. All proceeds will go toward AMTScholarships through the Northrop-Rice Foundation.
All competitors must attend an introductory session on Monday, March 17, at 3:30 p.m. in the Dallas Convention Center. This meeting is the competitors’ chance to meet with the judges and AMTSociety directors to review rules, review skills event requirements, and ask questions. Any questions about the AMTSkills Competition may be directed to the AMTSkills Competition co-chairman and AMTSociety Director Ken MacTiernan at [email protected] or (619) 395-6681.
Teams already signed up to compete include representatives from American Airlines, American Eagle, Continental Airlines, Redstone University, and AMTs from Tulsa, OK, and Kansas City, MO.
Corporate sponsors: Cutter Aviation
Steve Sims, service manager at Cutter’s Phoenix location, accepts a plaque from Tom Hendershot (right) as a corporate sponsor of AMTSociety. For more about Cutter Aviation see page 63 of the November/December 2007 issue of Aircraft Maintenance Technology.
Aviation Institute of Maintenance
Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) is preparing to meet the growing demand for FAA-certified aviation maintenance technicians through its mechanics and avionic technician programs. AIM has nine campuses nationwide including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Manassas, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach, Dallas, Houston, and Orlando, as well as a broad national and international recruiting program.
Its long-standing relationships with industry leaders helps AIM to design innovative programs to suit the needs of the people who hire the graduates. By keeping abreast of current industry trends, AIM is able to invest in relevant equipment, training aids, faculty, and student services to help support student career goals while providing client companies with the specific qualifications they desire in a new AMT.
Today, as in the past, AIM is dedicated to providing students with a quality education in aviation maintenance technology. “We stand behind our commitment while students are attending school, when they have graduated and through their aviation career,” states LaVern Phillips, national director for Aviation Institute of Maintenance.
LaVern Phillips (bottom photo)accepts an award from Executive Director Tom Hendershot for becoming an AMTSociety corporate sponsor.
Aviation Technician Education Council
Another new corporate sponsor is Aviation Technician Education Council, ATEC. It is an organization of FAA-approved aviation maintenance technician schools and supporting industries. It was founded in 1961 and serves as a communication tool and a liaison between schools, industry, and the FAA. ATEC conducted a series of FAR Part 147 workshops on behalf of the FAA to standardize the understanding and interpretation of Part 147 schools and FAA inspectors. This lead to the regulations being rewritten in 1992.
Missing: General Aviation Award winners
The GA Awards Committee is missing the names of several past national-level recipients.
Each year for more than four decades, the General Aviation Awards program has recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to aviation, education, and flight safety. The program, a cooperative effort between the FAA and more than a dozen industry sponsors, aims to identify individuals on the local, regional, and national levels as Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) of the Year, Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year, Avionics Technician of the Year, and FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year (previously known as the Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year).
As there is no single place where all the names are displayed, and where all national recipients are publicly recognized, the Experimental Aircraft Association is considering erecting such a display in its EAA AirVenture museum. However, in spite of extensive research, the GA Awards Committee is missing the names of several past national-level recipients. The committee is attempting to identify the National CFIs of the Year for 1968-1971 and 1973-1975, as well as the National AMTs of the Year for 1974 through 1976.
If you have any information that may assist in identifying the missing national CFIs and AMTs, contact GA Awards Committee chairperson JoAnn Hill in Colorado at (303) 485-8136 or [email protected].
