D.O.M. Blogs

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.

Unless you live in a cave on a remote island, you have heard plenty of news about COVID-19 (Coronavirus). On March 11, the World Health Organization officially called the spread of the virus a pandemic. That same day, the CDC reported that there was a total of 938 cases of people infected with COVID-19 in the U.S. with 29 fatalities. Cases have been confirmed in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Some previously unheard-of actions are being taken to try to minimize the spread of the virus. Some of the recent news announcements here in the U.S.

Someone once told me, "Attitude, more than aptitude, determines altitude." Sorry I can't remember who that was, otherwise I would give attribution here.

In the 11 years we have been publishing D.O.M. magazine, I have seen evidence of those words of wisdom time and time again. I have also witnessed it first-hand throughout my aircraft maintenance career.

Don't get me wrong — we need to have a certain level of skills and knowledge to have successful careers. However, having a positive attitude is one factor that can give us a significant advantage in career success.

2020 is almost here. Do you want to get your year off to a good start? Then DON’T make a New Year’s resolution!

That’s right — by making a New Year’s resolution, you are likely setting yourself up for failure. Psychology Today reports that 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by February!

Making a New Year’s resolution is like making a goal. The problem is that most New Year’s resolutions fail because we set unrealistic, unachievable goals. They aren’t SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or time-bound) goals.

The article on page 46 of our November issue from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, “All You Need is Love,” is responsible for my current ear worm of the Beatles’ song playing over and over in my head. It also got me thinking about workplace culture. I had never thought about “love” as it relates to the workplace.

The National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) is just around the corner. From October 22-24, the D.O.M. magazine team will be at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas along with around 27,000 business aviation professionals from around the world at the sixth largest trade show in the United States. 

“If you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds; but if you really wish to learn, you must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.”
–  Wilbur Wright, from an address to the Western Society of Engineers in Chicago, 18 September 1901.