Project Bootstrap Update

In a recent blog about the happenings at AIE, Vegas, I mentioned I was made aware of some of the latest information relative to Project Bootstrap. Some of the comments I received asked what has been happening with this effort. So this blog will try to update you. First, what is Project Bootstrap, (PB) and how might it benefit the aviation maintenance professional? PB is an advancement program designed to develop the career path for aviation maintenance professionals by current professional aviation persons. The latter point is what makes this venture unique. Previously anything to do with advancing the career path of an aviation maintenance technician has been plotted by others not directly involved in the profession. So where is it today? I have been advised by Brad Townsend, one of the leaders of this effort and manager of maintenance for Sprint’s flight ops, that what was originally seen as a 20-year effort for full fruition of PB has been shortened considerably. Please note that PB was officially launched in December of 2006. Brad indicates that with the progress made to date PB is probably 10 years ahead of schedule. Remember PB success requires large cultural and bureaucratic changes. It reasons to establish new standards for aviation maintenance professionals that will be recognized by the FAA through advanced endorsements providing significant extra privileges for technicians reaching these new levels of skill, knowledge, and experience.  Technicians reaching these new standards will be “Aviation Maintenance Technical Engineers†(AMTEs). Brad estimates that with NCATT certifications reaching more than 600, and through extended Aviation Standards Group matrix recognitions, there is the potential to deliver the first AMTE in just a year. In summary, PB has come along way in just over two years. Why should you be interested in its progress? Well, to name a few reasons, PB portends the following: Establishment of career direction, destination, and expansion Educational growth opportunities Added values to business’s bottom line Enhanced safety and performance on the job Increased earnings potential Hopefully we will continue to see dramatic progress, because as we have discussed in previous blogs, this business is changing rapidly with new technologies, regulations, and outside forces affecting you daily.