D.O.M. Blogs

I recently attended NBAA’s 2026 Leadership Conference. This was my second Leadership Conference since first attending it nine years ago. A lot has changed in those nine years!

This year’s theme was “From Potential to Performance: Unlocking the Best in Yourself and Your Team.” The conference was led by Mark Scheele, CAM and chief pilot/UAS program manager for Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and Lisa Archambeau, CAM and president, facilitator and strategist for ServiceElements.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” Albert Einstein

My daughter made me a t-shirt for Christmas with the above quote on it attributed to Albert Einstein. Instead of the actual written quote, it uses numbers and letters as in the headline. It was a thoughtful gift!

One key factor in professional development is the ability to change. If we are not willing to adapt and change, we will remain stagnant in our careers. 

The FAA will be holding a Safety Stand Down December 3-4. On these dates, the FAA will host a series of online safety seminars targeted at aircraft maintenance technicians and other repair station personnel. Up to four hours of AMT & IA credit is available each day on maintenance subjects. The following subjects will be covered:

12/3/2025- Schedule (subject to change. All times are Eastern)

1200-1250- Single Engine Cessna Flight Control Rigging, Adam Halop, A&P Aviation Services

As I'm writing this, it's the end of day two at NBAA-BACE 2025 in Las Vegas. The D.O.M. magazine team has had a busy two days with lots of conversations at our booth, plenty of press conferences and seminars, and walking the show floor looking for new products and services for aircraft maintenance professionals. 

A popular topic this year has been artificial intelligence (AI) in aviation — including AI in aircraft maintenance. 

On July 29, the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation issued a press release announcing that Committee Chairman Senator Ted Cruz has introduced the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act to improve aviation safety. The bill comes six months to the day after the tragic January 29th midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

In an upcoming article in our June/July issue of Helicopter Maintenance magazine, Mike Broderick discusses communication in the workplace. It reminded me of a past article on Lack of Communication that D.O.M. magazine contributor Gordon Dupont wrote. Here are some communication tips he shares (you can read his full article at dommagazine.com/article/lack-communication):

Some Don’ts

The D.O.M. magazine team will be at the NBAA Maintenance Conference in Columbus, OH April 29 – May 1. If you will be at the conference, please stop by our booth and say Hi. We welcome the opportunity to talk with you!

If you have never attended an NBAA Maintenance Conference before, I would encourage you to do so. The conference has plenty of educational sessions for aircraft maintenance professionals — from DOMs to mechanics. If you work in the business aviation field, this conference is for you!

This is the busiest time of year for our sales team. They are working with our advertisers and potential advertisers lining up their advertising schedules for the year. Being in sales is tough, and I admire those who are successful doing it. Just like in business publishing, aviation maintenance operations couldn't be successful if it weren't for successful sales professionals.

I met with the Honorable John Goglia, former NTSB Board member, at NBAA last week. He shared some good news with Greg Napert and me — he recently was informed he will be inducted in the 2025 class of the National Aviation Hall of Fame next September