Blog Archives
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What's in Your Wallet?
- Wednesday December 20, 2006What's in your wallet? An AMTSociety membership card? AMTSociety is having a membership drive that offers first-time members the opportunity to join for $9.99 for the first year. As AMTSociety director, Greg Napert has formed the foundation for what the group is today. Now, he realizes it is time to grow the society even more. I am now part of AMTSociety's new Advisory Council. Myself and others on the council will take what Greg has established and help it grow. And it is growing! AMTSociety has nearly 1,000 members. It is very close to hiring a new executive director for the society who will be a full-time employee dedicated to addressing member needs and growing the society. The society has new sponsors coming onboard to... -
Captain Langford's Last Flight
- Wednesday December 20, 2006Don Langford, FedEx Captain, will fly his last flight on Christmas Day. After that, he turns 60, and will be deemed unfit to fly as an airline pilot in this country. I have known Don since he was fighting to become an airline pilot. He is the only person I know who has flown for eight different airlines. They kept going bankrupt and/or downsizing out from under him until he got on with FedEx, and he's been there since. He is or has been an A&P, engineer, cropduster, aircraft builder, distributer of LSA, and master of everything from a J-3 to a 747. You can read all the arguments pro and con about the age sixty rule but it seems real only when a friend becomes suddenly and officially "too old." Even the media got excited when the legendary... -
Much Ado About Airline Mergers ...
- Monday December 18, 2006… or, what keeps airport directors awake at night.  Just a few short months ago, U.S. airline industry analysts were confident that mergers were not in the immediate offing. In fact, it seemed the only airline exec talking mergers was United’s Glenn Tilton. Now, there’s a hostile bid by US Airways for Delta; United and Continental appear to be courting; and, AirTran has its eye on Midwest.  Generally lost in these discussions in the media is the potential impact on local communities and their airports. One scenario is that such mergers open up opportunities for low-fare carriers – bringing the ‘Southwest effect’ is an attractive lure for communities. Or, route duplications by merged carriers... -
A Time to Kill
- Wednesday December 13, 2006So, you just finished getting the last of your troublesome "hangar queens" out the door, and you and your fellow mechanics want to celebrate. What do you do? Why, you sacrifice a camel on the airport tarmac of course. Â At least that's what a group ot Turkish aircraft technicians did. They were so happy to be rid of the last of a batch of troublesome aircraft that they sacrificed a camel. You see, Turks have traditionally sacrificed animals as an offering to God when their wishes come true. These mechanics killed the camel right on the tarmac of Instanbul's Ataturk International Airport. Well as you can imagine, the press had a field day with the story. They were all over the story like vultures on road kill. Images of a mechanic... -
Continuity Means Survival
- Wednesday December 6, 2006I spoke on Tuesday, December 5, for the fourth annual continuity conference of State Street Corporation in Quincy, MA. I first met these people when speaking for New England Disaster Recovery Exchange (NEDRIX) in past years. Continuity—in this sense—involves taking steps to be sure the corporation or guvmint body survives any disaster or emergency. It has become a very hot topic since 9/11/2001 and also after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. How do you make sure that you can communicate with your people after a disaster? How do you protect your information technology? These are important questions that must be answered before the disaster strikes. So, why was I there? Aviation has done a terrific job of planning for emergencies... -
Three Airports in Three Days ...
- Wednesday December 6, 2006… and three examples of airports that are experiencing significant growth. At Dulles International Airport in Washington, the Dulles Jet Center held a grand opening last week of the third fixed based operation at IAD, joining Signature Flight Support and Landmark Aviation on the airfield. The opening of the new FBO is reflective of the D.C. business aviation market, which has seen significant growth and which has been altered by the almost nonexistent access at Reagan National. An interesting aspect of the Dulles FBO deal is that next door neighbor Signature will provide its refueling services. This bizav growth comes in the midst of massive construction at IAD that includes an underground rail system connecting the... -
Maintenance Career -- Yes or No?
- Wednesday December 6, 2006In my last blog, I discussed being at the Future of Aviation Maintenance conference in Virginia Beach. Topics being discussed included what changes to Part 147 (if any) are needed and how we can attract new blood into the industry. I asked readers for their ideas. There were numerous comments to my blog. Some suggested changes to Part 147. Some gave ideas for recruiting new mechanics (yes, Anson, I read your spinning hubcaps idea). Some suggested staying away from aircraft maintenance. It got me thinking about a question we used to pose to our readers when we did salary surveys. I figured this would be a good venue to bring the question up again, so here goes...  Would you recommend aircraft maintenance as a career to a friend or... -
Future of Aircraft Maintenance?
- Thursday November 30, 2006I am writing today’s blog from Virginia Beach where I am attending the “Future of Aviation Maintenance†symposium. The conference is being held to discuss the gap between what skills the industry feels an ideal aircraft mechanic should possess and what skills Part 147 schools are instructing. There are individuals from different alphabet associations, the FAA, Part 147 schools and industry. There are many speakers lined up to discuss the gap between the skills mechanics have coming out of school and the skills necessary to step into a job maintaining today’s advanced aircraft. There are other issues on the table such as how to attract today’s youth to a career in aviation when they could take the career path... -
Business Telephony 101
- Thursday November 30, 2006Wife Gail and I are living in the midst of total chaos. We decided to move from Huntsville, AL, to Asheville, NC, to be closer to her parents. We figured this would be a leisurely process of some months. The real estate lady said it typically takes about three months to sell a house in Huntsville; we put ours on the market in early November. It sold in five days flat. The buyer gave us until the end of November to vacate the premises. Our leisurely move became a frenetic and total panic. Our mover is an old customer with whom we have dealt for more than fifteen years. They have done a great job for us. The truck is packed and ready to go. No problem. Well, almost no problem. Yesterday our “Moving Coordinator†called. She... -
Black Monday in Alabama
- Tuesday November 21, 2006Yesterday — Monday — was a bad day in Huntsville, AL, where I live. You probably read about it. A school bus with about 45 teen students aboard plunged off of the interstate and fell 30 feet nose first. To date, there are three fatalities, multiple injuries, and a stunned community. This bus — like most school buses — had no seatbelts. In fact, this accident may be the straw that finally ends that disgraceful practice. In the meantime, you should hear the silly reasons cited as to why school buses don’t have/need seat belts. I thought we settled most of the pros and cons of seatbelts back in the 1950s, but, when it comes to the school buses that carry our children, the arguments are alive and well 50...
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Events
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- 06/17/13 - 06/23/13
- Paris Air Show
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Conference/Expo, Paris,
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- 06/19/13 - 06/20/13
- 2rd China Aerospace Propulsion Technology Summit
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Conference/Expo, Shenyang,
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- 06/24/13 - 06/24/13
- Ultrasonic Testing Level 2 Training Course
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Training, Houston, TX
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- 06/25/13 - 06/27/13
- SMART Terminal Asia 2013
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Conference/Expo, Jakarta,
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- 06/29/13 - 06/29/13
- Rotors 'n Ribs Helicopter Fly-in
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Conference/Expo, Goshen, IN
