As expected, attendance this year appeared off. No doubt the economy is largely to blame. The interesting thing is that all the exhibitors I spoke to indicated that while booth traffic was slow those that did stop by were quality visitors and business was obtained. It was good to hear positive statements in these difficult times.
A big bonus at the show was the AMTSociety Maintenance Skills Competition. Fifteen six-person teams participated in the three-day event, competing at levels that would have made each of you proud of your profession. The first William “Bill†F. O’Brien Maintenance Skills Competition Award was presented to the team with the best overall time. Marie O’Brien presented the award. We will have followup coverage of the event on AMTonline.com and in the April issue.
The opening golf event had 77 participants. Harrah’s and Haggan Aviation sponsored the AMTSociety event at Rio Secco golf course. The layout was great and while the weather was slightly windy (constant 35 kts, gusting 45) I can guarantee all had a good time. My compliments to Peter Zeeb and staff for a very well-run event. The best part is that all proceeds went to the Northrop-Rice Foundation AMTSociety scholarship fund. These monies will be used to assist A&P schools in the purchase of parts and other training aids, and to provide scholarships and other extended training opportunities for maintenance instructors.
I attended a presentation by the National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technologies (NCATT). This group is being financed by the National Science Foundation to raise the maintenance standards levels in aerospace and possibly other transport industries. Currently it has established the certification requirements for the Avionics Electronics Technician, and has to date certificated some 500 AETs. As you know the auto industry has certificated auto mechanics for years as having established certain knowledge and skill levels over and above initial training. The NCATT certification is similar to this. Additionally, at the request of a prominent aerospace OEM, a Foreign Object Elimination certification has been added to the growing list of standards for official recognition that is being established by NCATT. I would think that with the expanding sophistication of aircraft especially with electronics, many A&Ps will be interested in adding this endorsement to their list of credentials.
There were also FAA Safety (FAAST) Team meetings all week, and presentations related to NBAA “Project Bootstrap†and “BASE.†I will report on these at a later time.
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