D.O.M. Blogs

This month, we celebrate an historic proclamation for aircraft maintenance professionals. Sadly, we also remember the 25th anniversary of a tragic aviation accident.

As many readers know, I have been a critic of social media for some time. I personally believe it should be called "Unsocial Media." After all, there’s nothing social about staring at your phone or computer and “interacting” with other people. At first, platforms like Facebook seemed like a good opportunity to connect with friends and family. Now, many people use social media platforms to spew their biased opinions and post negative comments that they would never do in traditional social situations. We have a generation of kids who have no social interaction skills.

The helicopter Ingenuity reported in on February 19. The downlink, sent to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, indicated that the helicopter and its base station were operating as expected.

By the way, in case you haven't heard, Ingenuity is a helicopter that landed on Mars February 18 with the Mars Perseverance Rover. If all upcoming tests go according to plan, we could soon have the first helicopter fiight on another planet!

I was curious — when did New Year’s resolutions become a “thing?” According to Wikipedia, the custom has religious origins:

The people made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. 

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. 

In the medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

Lexus has been using the slogan, “December to Remember,” for years in its holiday season marketing campaigns.

This year, “December to Remember,” might take on a whole new meaning.

With lockdowns going into effect all over the country again due to the surge in COVID cases, employers all over the country are trying to figure out what to do to prepare for what could be "The December To Remember."

“When it comes to social situations, don’t talk politics or religion.” My parents taught me that lesson when I was growing up. I still follow that rule today. You see, politics and religion are very personal subjects, and getting into a discussion on either topic with someone of an opposing view than ours won’t likely change that person’s mind. Instead, it will most certainly lead to a heated discussion.

Consider this — I am a part owner of D.O.M. and Helicopter Maintenance magazines. I also am in charge of the editorial content for both magazines. If you look at the masthead in the table of contents or my business card, it says my title is “Owner/Editorial Director.” It could just as easily be “Co-founder/Vice President of Editorial,” “Founding Partner/Executive Editor,” or just “Editor at Large.” Honesty, maybe I should change it to “Editor at Large” because of the extra COVID weight I have put on.

Aircraft mechanics have been known to solve problems. This goes back to Charles Taylor — the father of aircraft maintenance. Taylor designed and built the engine that powered the Wright Flyer into the history books (when engine manufacturers of the time said they couldn't do it). I've seen mechanics make turnbuckle wrenches to make cable rigging easier and faster. Tom Burden, a former Air Force mechanic, invented the Grypmat, a flexible tool tray, to help keep tools nearby without marring the aircraft surface.

A week and a half ago, I got some sad news. I found out that Giacinta (Gia) Bradley Koontz, a long-time friend and contributor to D.O.M. magazine passed away.

The news came from a friend of hers that had helped her with her article research from time to time. He informed me that she passed while on a trip to Alaska. He didn't know any further details, and I couldn't find any information regarding funeral arrangements. I even tried reaching out to mutual friends with no success.