A Sign of Things to Come?

The AMT team was in Houston this past Sunday through Tuesday attending HAI's HeliExpo trade show. The trade show floor was buzzing with activity (HAI announced that it broke previous exhibitor and attendance records). I spent the first day of the show attending press conferences and seminars. As I was looking over the schedule in the morning to decide which press conferences and sessions I would be able to attend, two sessions stood out. The first was titled Maintenance Director's Forum, and would address regulatory issues affecting maintenance personnel including avionics, field approvals, and current issues. Sarah MacLeod, Executive Director and Marshall Filler, Managing Director and General consul, of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), and Ed DiCampli, HAI's Executive Vice President would lead the discussions. The session was hosted in a room that could easily accommodate two hundred attendees. If you didn't count journalists (myself), consultants (Richard Komarniski from Grey Owl Aviation), and associations (me, Brian Finnegan, Director, Professional Certification, SAE Institute and Clark Gordon, Chairman, PAMA), there were not two hundred. There weren't even one hundred. There were two. And both of them were from the same company. So the eight of us pulled our chairs in a circle and had a nice two-hour discussion on industry issues. It turned out to be a great discussion. The second seminar I had on my list was a session titled Maintenance Techs' Mentoring Program. The program said that in this session, "a panel of top industry experts would share their experiences and expertise with individuals attending or just completing training, maintenance technicians already in the industry looking to pick up valuable information from seasoned professionals, and students considering a career as a maintenance technician." Across the hall at the same time as the Maintenance Techs' Mentoring Program was a similar session for pilots titled Pilots' Mentoring Program. As I passed that room, the room (that could probably accommodate around 80 people) was full and had people standing around the room.  I walked into the maintenance room and met four maintenance students, all from the same school in Pittsburgh. So we pulled our chairs together in the large room and had a great discussion. The students present asked plenty of great questions and soaked up a lot of information from the maintenance veterans in the room . As I sat in the second session, I couldn't help but think if it was a sign of things to come. A room full of student pilots in one room wanting to pick the brains of those that have risen through the ranks, and a room right across the hall with four student mechanics taking advantage of the same opportunity to learn from industry veterans. It was disappointing to say the least. Thanks for reading, Joe Escobar