May 24 is a day set aside to honor Charles Taylor and those that have come after, making the world's aircraft safe to fly. Thank you for your dedication to the profession. Here are some of the celebrations that took place this year.
California
The AMTA sponsored a table for the second year in a row at the San Diego International Airport on May 24th. Ken MacTiernan talked to passengers about Charles E. Taylor and the importance of AMT Day and the resolutions that have been introduced and passed. There was a bust of Charlie on loan from the San Diego Air & Space Museum which the AMTA donated back in 2005 as well as magazines and stickers to hand out. The reception was 100 percent positive from passengers and the word is getting out. We also had Howard Du Four's book, Charles E. Taylor: The Wright Brothers Mechanician, on display along with a copy of The Mechanic's Creed, California State AMT Day Resolution, and a picture of the engine Charlie made.
AMT Day was a huge success at San Joaquin Valley College Aviation Campus in Fresno, CA. To honor AMT Day, SJVC Aviation Campus celebrated with a cake and had an academic decathlon between the General, Airframe, and Powerplant classes for some friendly competition between the students. Some of the organized competitions included safety wiring, rigid line forming, composite testing, weight & balance, and a timed ground handling exercise which gave us the most laughs. The Powerplant class won and received a pizza lunch hosted by the Dean of the college. For more information on the school: www.sjvc.edu/campuses/central-california/fresno-aviation/Colorado
The weather cooperated in every way for the Haggan Aviation celebration – 76 degrees, crystal blue sky, and snow on the “Fourteener’s” tops. Sixty-one employees and guests were in attendance as Geno Haggan served as a chef for the day, and the food was great with all the fixings and trimmings included. It was fun filled and everyone had the opportunity to talk and network with others. There were several corporate entities there also: The Anschutz Corporation, Denver Jet Center, Energy Corporation of America, and Jet Repair Anywhere. There were numerous door prizes including a one-year membership for AMTSociety, and tools from Snap-on. As Geno says, “Wait until next year, it will be bigger and better.”
Florida
Representing Segers Aero Corp (test cell) and Emerald Coast Aviation (FBO) in Crestview, FL, four of us gathered for lunch in honor of Charles E. Taylor Day. In attendance were Robbie Moseley, Bob Kilbourne, Gary Hamilton from ECA, and Daniel Crawley from SAC. We had a great lunch and visit talking aviation and about activities at our local airport (KCEW).
Georgia
Several of FlightSafety International's Maintenance Training locations celebrated AMT Day around the country. It had a luncheon at its Savannah Maintenance Learning Center – which included inducting seven more technicians into the ranks of more than 2,000 FlightSafety Master Technicians!
During the barbecue lunch it held a Charles Taylor/AMT Trivia quiz and handed out FlightSafety and Gulfstream prizes to participants who correctly answered the questions.
Ohio
AMT Day 2012 was celebrated at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, OH, by having a cookout to honor aviation maintenance technicians. The cookout was open to all airport personnel and the food and refreshments were free. Several valuable door prizes were also donated by sponsors and were raffled off. More than 200 people attended the event. Ohio Aircraft Technician’s Society Volunteers included: Jim Ries, Garry Meyer, Don Streitenberger, Rich Brannock, Jason Deitsch, and Sam Hennessey. Sponsors included: Ohio Aircraft Technician’s Society, AMTSociety, PAMA, West Star Aviation – Dave Godo, Apex Aircraft Cleaning – John Cotton, Standard Aero – Randy Engleking, Spirit Avionics – Rick Ochs, Gulfstream – Grant Kennedy, and Turbine Engine Specialist – Tom Memering.
South Carolina
This year’s South Carolina AMT Day was held May 24th at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics facility at Myrtle Beach, SC. A luncheon was held with more than 100 people in attendance. During the luncheon the Charles Taylor Award was presented to Carl Knuth, director of maintenance for Huffman Helicopters, and the technicians played an aircraft maintenance related Jeopardy game and prizes were given away.
Tennessee
Sunny skies and warm weather welcomed Baker’s 8th Annual AMT Day Picnic this year. It was held on Friday, May 25, and was free to all AMTs and aviation associates. Our Master Grillers were Eddie Baker and Orville Hale. They grilled up plenty of hamburgers, hot dogs, and barbecued bologna for the crowd of about 130 people. There were also pork barbecue, turkey barbecue, potato salad, slaw, baked beans, chips, and cookies. Approximately 140 door prizes were available, so no one went home empty handed.
Country and blue grass music was provided by a live band, “The Chambrey.” All guests received a small foiled lined lunch bag with Charles E. Taylor’s picture on it, donated by Baker’s School of Aeronautics. There was a dunking booth and two of our local DMEs volunteered to be the “dunkees,” to help raise money for an aviation maintenance scholarship program. The big winner this year was Daniel Hatmaker from Tennessee Technology Center. He accumulated the highest points in our corn hole competition and went home with a 2,000-psi pressure washer.
This picnic is made possible by several sponsors, including Baker’s School of Aeronautics, The Tennessee Mid-South Aviation Maintenance Conference, Stevens Aviation, Trade-A-Plane, and Wing Aero. Rapco and AWAM donated several door prizes for the event as well.
