Blog Archives
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NBAA Lands in Atlanta
- Thursday October 14, 2010The National Business Aviation Association or NBAA holds its 63rd Annual Meeting and Convention next week October 19, 20, and 21, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the huge event where tens of thousands of attendees gather to view and discuss the latest products and services, industry trends, network with others, and attend more than 100 education sessions relating to business aviation. Business aviation, although only one segment of the aviation industry, makes up a very important one, one that is vital to the entire aviation industry. Aircraft from single engine to turboprops, from jets to helicopters, all play a vital role in accomplishing business throughout the world on a daily basis. The latest... -
Two Airline Related Announcements
- Thursday September 30, 2010Over the past week two very different yet significant news reports relating to the airline industry caught my attention; both posted on AMTOnline.com. First, as you probably know by now, yet another airline merger was announced. Southwest Airlines announced it will be purchasing AirTran Airways. On May 6th I spoke in my blog about the United Airlines and Continental Airlines merger. I didn’t expect to be talking again about another airline merger quite so soon; or maybe it’s not so soon. I called my daughter Monday morning after reading the news. She followed in my footsteps and currently works for AirTran. Little did I know how similar these footsteps really were, including us both being part of different airline... -
Job Growth
- Thursday September 23, 2010By now you’ve probably seen last week’s crew assessment forecast from Boeing regarding the need for technicians and pilots over the next 20 years. AMT posted the news on AMTOnline so I won’t restate all that was said. You can view it at: Boeing Job Projection In short the forecast says the commercial aviation industry will require 466,650 pilots and 596,500 maintenance personnel over the next 20 years. Both new and replacement commercial aircraft were cited as creating the worldwide demand. And, as no surprise, the Asia-Pacific region will see the largest growth in both pilots and maintenance workers. The result of some quick math conclude, that beginning now, there should be hiring of approximately 30,000 maintenance... -
Flight Simulators and the News
- Thursday September 9, 2010Last week the newspaper USA Today ran an article citing recent NTSB reports regarding the use of simulators for pilot training. In short the article says there are flaws in simulator training for pilots, and these flaws have attributed to aircraft or specifically airline accidents. As we all know simulators are a key component in training flight crews and in many cases they also provide essential training to aircraft maintenance technicians. Cockpit equipment familiarization, and tasks such as engine run and aircraft taxi and movement training, are examples where full-flight simulators are used to train technicians. Three days after the above mentioned article was published I found myself visiting CAE at the Dallas/Fort Worth International... -
From the FAA
- Thursday August 26, 2010For all of you IAs out there the following is information sent to AMT by Edward L. Hall from the Federal Aviation Administration’s General Aviation Branch, AFS-350 in Washington, D.C. His note provides awareness to recent changes the FAA made to FAA Form 8610-1 titled, Mechanic’s Application for Inspection Authorization. FAA Form 8610-1 version dated February 1978 has been revised and the current issue is dated July 2010. The revised application for Inspection Authorization is contained within website www.faa.gov - Forms section - under the Tool and Resources Heading. In addition FAA Order 8900.1 containing links to 8610-1 have been so directed to pull the revised 2010 version. Many existing web sites including FSDO local... -
Aviation Safety Action Program — ASAP
- Thursday August 19, 2010A news report earlier this month mentioned how the union representing mechanics at one of the regional airlines in this country decided to suspend their involvement in the Aviation Safety Action Program or ASAP. You can read the news report on AMTOnline at http://www.amtonline.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=11505 The FAA website describes ASAP like this: The goal of the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) is to enhance aviation safety through the prevention of accidents and incidents. Its focus is to encourage voluntary reporting of safety issues and events that come to the attention of employees of certain certificate holders. To encourage an employee to voluntarily report safety issues even though they may involve an... -
2010 AirVenture in Review
- Thursday August 5, 2010As I mentioned in my last blog myself and several of my colleagues from AMT and AMTSociety attended the EAA 2010 AirVenture last week. For those of you who attended or followed the event you’re aware that heavy rain prior to the event affected arrivals both in the air and on the ground. The EAA website reports there was total attendance of 535,000 people and more than 10,000 airplanes including: 1,106 homebuilt aircraft, 635 vintage airplanes, 374 warbirds, 115 ultralights, 120 seaplanes and 30 rotorcraft, and 777 commercial exhibitors. There were 2,167 registered international visitors from 66 nations. There are two aircraft maintenance related highlights I’d like to mention from AirVenture. First was the awards... -
2010 AirVenture Oshkosh July 26-August 1
- Thursday July 22, 2010I attended my first AirVenture in 1972 with my father. Then it was simply known as the Oshkosh Fly In. We flew there in our 1949 Piper Clipper. It just seemed natural to attend given I was a new private pilot rapidly becoming interested in all things aviation. Over the years I’ve been taking vacation and making the trip to Oshkosh as often as possible, although family and the job sometimes took precedent over the annual voyage. For me going to Oshkosh has always been the time to reconnect with old aviation friends, co-workers, guys I went to A&P School with, and other regulars that make the annual voyage. Over the decades we’ve seen the transformation from the old Oshkosh Fly In to today’s EAA AirVenture. Many people... -
Happy Independence Day
- Thursday July 1, 2010The July 4th holiday is upon us. It seems like the snow just melted here in the north country; well OK it has been a few months. And now we are already celebrating what seems to be the middle of summer. The retail stores, the television, the roads and the airports all seem to be a buzz with people purchasing, planning, and traveling for the holiday. Here in the United States, Independence Day is more commonly referred to as the Fourth of July. As we celebrate this weekend let’s not forget the true meaning this holiday represents; the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Let’s also remind ourselves how valuable our freedom really is. Say thanks to all those who have or currently are serving our... -
Work Safely
- Thursday June 17, 2010Tuesday morning the local news here in the Twin Cities reported the accidental death of an aircraft maintenance technician at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Having spent a large part of my aviation career in this area, including MSP, this tragic news caught my immediate attention. Late last month it was reported that an aircraft worker fell to his death while working on an aircraft at a maintenance and repair organization located in North Carolina. Our condolences go out to all of the family members, friends, and co-workers. Two tragic workplace accidents, that I am aware of, taking place in the aircraft maintenance industry in less than 30 days. One workplace accident, large or small, is one too many! The causes and...
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Events
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- 05/21/13 - 05/23/13
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Conference/Expo, Geneva,
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Conference/Expo, Atlanta, GA
