D.O.M. Blogs

My wife works at a local school district. Last week, a group of teachers and administrative staff got together for an after-work social event.

I enjoyed spending the time walking around and talkng to different people. As I was talking to one teacher, the subject of the newly-hired school superintendent came up. Out of curiosity, I asked him, "Does someone have to be a teacher to be a superintendant?"

"I'm not sure, but I would guess so," he replied. "How can you lead a school district if you have never been a teacher yourself?

Litigation extortion. That is how I like to characterize the crazy litigious society we live in here in the United States. Some people are all too eager to sue the pants off of companies, raising the price of just about every product we buy as consumers. Those of us in aviation definitely feel the effects of litigation. Talk to just about any aircraft manufacturer or aviation product supplier. Chances are high they have faced lawsuits. It is one thing to file a legitimate lawsuit because of negligence. It is another thing to take advantage of the system to “stick it to the man.”

A Hawker 800XP operator, who was experiencing a squawk on both #1 and #2 HF systems, recently contacted us for support. He was not able to receive transmissions on either system.

NBAA2012 is fast approaching. The staff of D.O.M. magazine is making final preparations for the premier business aviation trade show of the year.

I always enjoy NBAA. It is an opportunity to see what’s new in business aviation products and services and network with the business aviation community. It’s an opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones. It is a big learning opportunity.

We in the aviation maintenance community have the opportunity to let our voices be heard on a regular basis as part of the FAA’s rulemaking process. Now is one of those times. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) was published in the Federal Register on May 21, 2012 regarding changes to 14 CFR Parts 43, 91 and 145 rules affecting repair stations . The original deadline for comments was August 20, 2012, but because of the efforts of several industry associations, the deadline has been extended 90 days to November 19.

As I chat with directors of maintenance, I always like to ask what they look for in new employees. Just about every one of them says that having a positive attitude is at the top of the list. Technical knowledge can be taught. But if someone has a bad attitude, they make life hard for the whole team.

“You foreigners,” he said. “You come to China and complain about the pollution, but I don’t know why.” He then gestured at the blurred landscape around us. “To me, this place smells like money.”

Paul Midler, author of Poorly Made in China: An Insider's
Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game. 

I am writing this blog on Wednesday, May 23. Tomorrow is Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Day, the day we celebrate aviation maintenance professionals – the unsung heroes that keep aircraft flying safely.

Careercast.com has posted its list of 200 jobs of 2012 ranked best to worst. Software Engineers came in as the best job to have. Lumberjacks came in last.

So where do aircraft mechanics come in? Well, here is the ranking of the aviation-related jobs on the list:
#60 – Aerospace Engineer
#125 – Air Traffic Controller
#144 – Aircraft Mechanic

Pilots and Flight Attendants weren’t on the list.

Automobile Mechanics came in at #145, just below Aircraft Mechanics.