Blog Archives
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Goodyear Airship Operations
By Ronald Donner - Thursday August 2, 2012
“Once you get into a cool job like this, why would you leave” says Dave Spratley after nine and a half years as an aircraft maintenance technician for Goodyear Airship Operations. Last week during the EAA 2012 AirVenture in Oshkosh Wisconsin, I had the privilege of spending time with some of the AMTs for the Goodyear blimp. The ground crew consisted of 16 people; 6 of which were AMTs, along with 4 pilots, and 1 public relations manager. Ron Heaps, holder of an A&P/IA, has been part of the Goodyear crew for 20 of his 21 years in aviation. According to Heaps when touring with the ship they accomplish prefight checks each day, and 50-hour inspections consisting of the usual oil and filter changes on the blimps two 210-horsepower engines... -
Further Recognition of Charles E. Taylor
By Ronald Donner - Thursday July 12, 2012
Located near the entrance to the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is a display appropriately called the Wall of Honor. The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Wall of Honor contains the names of people who have contributed to aviation and space exploration heritage. In 2006 thanks to efforts of the Aircraft Maintenance Technician Association (AMTA), funds were raised for a bronze bust of Charles E. Taylor which was donated to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. In March of this year while visiting the museum, I was finally able see this bust appropriately placed among a display of yesteryear’s aircraft engines. The AMTA is again working with the Smithsonian National Air & Space... -
General Aviation Awards Program
By Ronald Donner - Thursday July 5, 2012
Last week during the Minnesota Aircraft Maintenance Technician Conference advisory panel meeting, I was reminded that applications and nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 General Aviation Awards Program. At the end of the meeting, Jim Niehoff Minnesota FAASTeam Manager presented Janese Thatcher Manager of Aviation Education, Safety, and Training for the MnDOT Office of Aeronautics, with both the 2012 Minnesota and Great Lakes Region aviation maintenance awards. Congratulations Janese! From the GA Awards website comes the following program description: For nearly 50 years, the General Aviation Awards Program has recognized a small group of aviation professionals in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance... -
Visiting your local airport
By Ronald Donner - Thursday June 21, 2012Many small airports throughout the upper Midwest where I live hold gatherings during the summer months. The Fly-In as it’s called generally revolves around a breakfast or lunch, many times hosted by a flying club, EAA chapter, local civic organization, or the local FBO. Recently Stanton Airfield, my local airport hangout, held its 22 nd annual Father’s Day Fly-In Breakfast. After days of torrential downpour the weather cooperated and 100 aircraft, fixed-wing, antiques, helicopters and ultralights arrived throughout the morning. The local Lion’s club served nearly 1,000 pancake breakfasts. It’s a lot of work to hold an event like this and fortunately we have many enthusiastic volunteers willing and able to park airplanes, meet... -
Another Great One…
By Ronald Donner - Thursday June 7, 2012Each day we hear the passing of people who served our great country during World War II. Some of these great ones were notable figures, others regular folks like me. Recently one of my areas local great ones took his last flight. William "Bill" Auburn became attracted to aviation at an early age. He was inducted into the Army-Air Corp in 1942 and spent a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force. Like other members of the military Bill traveled the world including time in post-war Japan. He trained and certified mid-air refueling personnel on the KC-135. With his knowledge of this aircraft he was later stationed at Boeing in Seattle involved in KC-135 acceptance for the Air Force. Bill then spent many years involved in the... -
Celebrate AMT Day
By Ronald Donner - Thursday May 24, 2012On May 24, the birthday of Charles E. Taylor, the Wright Brothers first mechanic who sometimes is referred to as the “Father of Aircraft Maintenance,” we will once again celebrate Aircraft Maintenance Technician or AMT Day. Do you remember why you decided to become an aircraft mechanic? For me I had always been interested in airplanes and my father was an automobile mechanic in a small one-stall garage. Given my early interest in all things mechanical and in aviation, it seemed only natural I would go to school, obtain my A&P, and work in aviation. Granted I am not a full-time aircraft mechanic today, but am still fully immersed in aviation and aircraft maintenance. Becoming an aircraft mechanic is how my aviation career began some 35... -
Pratt & Whitney's Flying Test Bed
By Ronald Donner - Thursday May 10, 2012
Last week while attending the Pratt & Whitney Media Day event at the company headquarters in Hartford, CT, I along with others had the pleasure of going on-board one of the two Pratt & Whitney Boeing 747SP aircraft used for flight testing of turbine engines. The two 747SP aircraft are based at the Mirabel Airport near Montreal, Canada. A focus of the event was the recently developed Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbo Fan (GTF) engine. It was explained that prior to the GTF new turbine engines used for flight testing had been fitted into one of the normal engine positions of the 747SP. Not the case with this model GTF. A specially designed wing-like pylon was constructed which protruded horizontally from the right side of the SP’s upper... -
FAA 2012 Safety Stand Down
By Ronald Donner - Thursday April 26, 2012
This year’s FAA Safety Stand Down (2012 SSD), with a focus on Loss of Control is currently taking place around the country at a location near you. I participated in my local area’s SSD on a recent Saturday morning which was hosted by the local FAASTeam and held at Exclusive Aviation in St. Paul, MN. Close to 100 people were in attendance. The SSD was a news reporter and interview style format projected on a large screen in the Exclusive Aviation hangar. Dr. Katrina Avers, an FAA employee at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) located in Oklahoma City, interview several people remotely along with having a panel of three safety experts with her. From the FAA… Loss of Control-Inflight was the dominant cause of fatal general... -
No Time for Think Time
It goes without saying that life has become…well just very busy. Family, civic and social activities, work, and hobbies if you have time for them, our daily routine and personal lives seem to be full of activity. Unfortunately and all too often one of the last items on the to-do-list is carving out time for strategy and planning ahead, be it vacation planning, education planning, your next career move, retirement, or next week’s workload. Are we always able to accurately plan and research for the next aircraft maintenance induction, tomorrow’s meeting, the next equipment purchase, next year’s operating budget, future product and service offerings? Managing communications in today’s busy world has become nearly a full-time task... -
Readers In Action Photo Contest
By Ronald Donner - Wednesday March 28, 2012
Each year we sort through countless photos submitted by you our readers until we find that right one that says; AMT Readers In Action. It’s that time of the year again. Last year’s winning photo showed a team of US Airways technicians at work changing a tire on the main landing gear of an A330 as the aircraft was being prepared to be dispatched on an international flight. The image captured to the fullest extent AMT Readers In Action; several technicians; team work; tools and equipment; just a great photo. So get out those cameras and send us your best images showing your technicians, your crew, in the shop, hangar, ramp, flight line or assembly line, for a chance to proudly show your stuff on the cover of the June issue of AMT...
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