AMTonline Blogs

I truly enjoy the PAMA Olympics. This year was no exception. There were six great teams competing for the championship and the prestigious traveling trophy. This year’s competitors were AWAM, Bombardier, JetBlue, Midcoast Aviation, Raytheon and Southwest Airlines. As in the past, it was another close final round. Returning champions Midcoast Aviation and Bombardier were competing in front of a packed crowd in the Olympic arena. The competition was neck and neck, with Bombardier finishing seconds before Midcoast. It looked like the reining champs would be dethroned. But after all stages were judged and penalties added up, it was Midcoast that came out on top by 20 seconds.

I would like to congratulate all the competitors in this year’s competition. It takes guts to step foot in the maintenance arena and take part in the competition. All the teams have shown their professionalism by taking part in the PAMA Olympics. But alas, only one team could walk away with the trophy and claim that they are the best of the best. This year, that bragging right once again goes to Midcoast Aviation.

For all those who weren’t in the competition, I challenge you to put together a team for next year’s competition. It’s a chance to prove you are the best of the best and win some great prizes. In addition, attending Aviation Industry Expo gives you the opportunity to see the latest products and services available to aircraft maintenance professionals and network with your peers.

See you in Orlando next year!

Thanks for reading.

Joe Escobar

Let’s face it — it takes money to be in aviation . To be an A&P, we fork out money to go to school. After we get our certificate, we have to invest a large amount of money to buy the tools and equipment necessary for our job. A pilot needs money to get his or her pilot’s certificate. But here’s the irony — if you want to be an aircraft owner (the person responsible for the airworthiness of an aircraft) it just takes money.

What’s wrong with this picture? Why is it that owners not required to have any training whatsoever? There is no experience required or even a review of the regulations. It just takes money.

This can be frustrating for mechanics and pilots alike. It’s hard enough keeping ourselves out of trouble. But many times, we end up spending a lot of time trying to educate the owner. I’m not saying we should not communicate with aircraft owners. On the contrary, we should maintain an open line of communication with them. What becomes a burden is when mechanics (or even pilots) need to teach the regulations to the owners or why their aircraft if not airworthy.

O.K. here’s a thought. Why not create an owner’s certificate? In order to own an aircraft, one must first go through training in the applicable regulations. Maybe even general familiarization on aircraft systems would be called for. Here’s an even more radical concept — how about a recurrency requirement — a few hours each year to learn the latest regulations and show they are still competent to perform the duties of an owner. For those owners that already are educated in the regulations (AKA pilots/owners) and understand what it takes to maintain and fly a safe aircraft, this new regulation would be a breeze. For those owners who now have no concept of the regulations or inkling of what goes on, it would at least establish a minimum standard. And that would make our lives much easier. What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

You may be thinking, “Has Escobar lost it? Why the heck would he talk about some ‘Cock of the Walk’ in his blog?” Trust me, there is a relevant theme here.

Last week during my trip to the Tennessee Mid-South Aviation Conference in Nashville, AMT team member Bob Graf and I decided to take Mark Pearson with Lear Chemical (the company that manufactures ACF-50) out for dinner. Dave with Barry Controls recommended a restaurant called Cock of the Walk. He said it was a fun family-style dining experience. He assured us there was a story behind the name.

So later that afternoon we hopped in a cab and told the driver to take us to Cock of the Walk. When he didn’t bust out laughing, we figured this place was for real. Sure enough, as we drove up to the restaurant, we smelled the fish a frying. The hostess seated us and we ordered a pitcher of Shiner Bock (as a native Texan, this is toward the top of my list of favorite beers). The beer arrived in a metal pitcher and we drank out of tin cups. We ordered supper, and I took a closer look at the menu (which was printed out on the paper placemat) to read the story of Cock of the Walk.

The story

In the early 1800s, much of the nation’s commerce took place as a result of riverboats transporting goods such as cotton and tobacco. Before steamboats came along, all commercial riverboats were either keelboats (pointed on both ends so they could be pulled back upstream) or flatboats (flat on both ends; they were dismantled after a one-way trip).

Folklore has it that the brawny, bawdy bunch of men that manned these boats would fight to see who got to man the rudder (the easiest job). Whoever came out on top was called the “Cock of the Walk”, the ruler of the roost, and the best of the best! The original Cock of the Walk restaurant was opened on the bank of the Mississippi in Natchez, MS. The owners chose the name, “Cock of the Walk” because it signified the “best of the best.”

As our dinner arrived and we started to dig in to our meal of fried catfish, shrimp, hush-puppies, fried pickles, coleslaw and pickled onions, it was apparent the restaurant was the best of the best. That’s why it is such a successful franchise today. They don’t need any fancy tablecloths or crystal, they just keep serving the best catfish around. That’s what they do, and they have always striven to be the best of the best at it.

Isn’t that what it means to be a mechanic? We chose our career because of our passion. In order to excel, we must do everything possible to stay on top of our game and be the best of the best…to be the Cock of the Walk.

Next week the AMT team will be in Vegas for Aviation Industry Expo. Each year one of the things I like most about the show is watching the maintenance teams compete in the Professional Aviation Maintenance Olympics. The question this year — will Midcoast Aviation make it a three-peat, or will another maintenance team take their red feather? We will find out next week.

If you will be at the show in Vegas, be sure to stop by our booth in the lobby and say Hi.

Thanks for reading, and as always your feedback is appreciated.

Joe Escobar

Earlier this week, I attended the Tennessee Mid-South Aviation Conference in Nashville, TN. It’s one of the biggest conferences I have been to since joining the magazine. There was a great group of people in attendance, and I learned a lot from the presentations.

I bumped in to my former boss Gary at the conference. Recently retired, he was there to obtain the required 8 hours training to keep his IA current (he owns and maintains his own aircraft). Gary has had a successful career in aircraft maintenance, and I respect the heck out of him. I asked him, “What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aircraft mechanic?” He thought for a second and said, “Never stop learning.” He said the most successful maintenance professionals are those who never become complacent and always strive to learn every chance they get — whether from formal training, OJT, or just learning from co-workers.

Gary also added, “Don’t be afraid to take on additional responsibilities!” The mechanics that excel are the ones who take on new tasks and responsibilities. It may be presenting a technical seminar or getting involved in a new safety initiative for example. Whatever it might be, don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. By taking steps outside your comfort zone, you realize it can be done, and your comfort zone gets bigger little by little.

Gary shared a story to illustrate different career paths. Two guys started working as mechanics at the same time. Quite a few years later, both of them were ready to retire from the company, one as a vice president of quality, the other as a mechanic on the shop floor. The mechanic on the shop floor asked his buddy, “How is it that you were so successful in your career? We both have the same amount of time with the company, and I am just as smart and qualified as you. Why have I been stuck in the hangar while you were on the fast track up the career ladder?” His friend replied “The only difference is that over the years, you have worked for the paycheck. I have worked for the company.”

What are your thoughts on career success? What tip would you offer someone starting out in our field?

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

In a recent training seminar, one of the speakers pointed out the danger of lack of knowledge. He mentioned that Will Rogers once said “It’s not what you don’t know that will get you in trouble, it’s what you think you know that isn’t so.”

It’s what you think you know that isn’t so. How true that statement is. Rodger Holmstrom, a retired FAA Safety Program Manager used to put it another way. He put it this way: “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

I tried to think of an example where this is true. How about memorizing torques or writing them down on cheat sheets in our toolbox instead of referring to the manual each time? We may not think it is that big a deal, but in reality we can be setting ourselves up for failure. Here’s an example from personal experience. A few years back, a crew leader in our hangar was helping us out on a scheduled inspection. He didn’t get much hands-on time since becoming a crew leader, but he was eager to give us a helping hand. He was removing the engine ignitors in order to perform an ignitor check. “Damn,” he shouted out in frustration, “who the hell tightened these ignitors so tight!” I asked him what the torque should be on the ignitors. “Around 30-inch pounds” he replied. Since I did a lot of engine work, I knew better. “Try 70 foot-pounds, loosen it, and torque to 70 foot-pounds again.” In disbelief, he walked over to the maintenance manual to check for himself. He was surprised to see it there in black and white. He meant well, but he could have easily gotten in trouble by what he thought he knew that wasn’t so.

There is a discussion on our forums page titled I’ll never do that again. There are some interesting posts with several examples of mechanics that meant well, but didn’t know that they didn’t know.

I agree that what we think we know that isn’t so can be just as dangerous if not more than just not knowing. At least if we don’t know, we tend to go to the appropriate manual to double-check. What do you think?

Thanks for reading, and as always we welcome your feedback.

Joe Escobar

How the heck could I say no? Daniels Manufacturing Company wanted me to try out its Safe-T-Cable tool. I had seen the tool demonstrated at trade shows and was looking forward to getting some hands-on time with the product.

The demo set arrived in my office. There was a pair of Safe-T-Cable pliers, some braided stainless pre-cut strands, ferrules (for crimping the end), and a test board rigged up ready for action. I carried the stash over to my publisher’s office (another A&P) so we could give it a try. We were anxious to try it out, so we went ahead and tried safetying two bolts without reading the instruction manual. The resulting safety wire job was not pretty – there was a lot of slack in the wire. It was time to pull out the instructions.

The instructions were straight-forward and easy to follow. After a minute of reading, we were ready to make our second attempt. Perfection! It was a nice safety wire job if I must say so myself.

How it works

Basically, the tool uses braided stainless-steel wire instead of traditional safety wire. The wire comes in pre-cut lengths with a ferrule swaged on one end. The other end is sintered to avoid un-raveling. The process is simple. You insert the wire through the fasteners to be fastened, insert a ferrule on the end, insert the wire end through the tool, and put some tension on the wire. You then squeeze the tool’s handle to crimp the end and cut the wire in one step. That’s it. No wire twisting or pigtails to worry about.

Time trials

I decided to do my own unscientific test to see how much time could be saved using this tool. First, I used my trusty safety wire pliers and safety wire to safety four two-bolt sets and two three-bolt sets. (Note to self: safety wire skills are just a bit rusty). It took me 9 minutes and 55 seconds to safety all the bolts. I was curious how much time it would then take to remove the safety wire, so we re-started the stopwatch. Two minutes later, I was done. Total time to install and remove safety wire — 11 minutes, 55 seconds.

Next, I used the DMC Safe-T-Cable tool to safety the same bolts. I was amazed how quick the process went. After four and a half minutes, I was done. The removal was a piece of cake – I just cut each wire in-between the bolts and removed the ends. Total time to remove the wire was only 15 seconds. So total time for installing and removing wire using Safe-T-Cable: 4 minutes, 45 seconds. Total time saved — 7 minutes, 10 seconds!

So what about the price? Well, you can expect to spend at least $350 for the tool. The cable runs around $1.00 per piece installed. But considering the time savings and rework eliminated, it is a tool that should be looked at seriously by maintenance facilities. I must say it was very easy tool to learn how to use and produced consistent results. For more information, you can visit http://www.dmctools.com/.

What do you think of this product? Have you used it or seen it in use? You can submit your feedback below.

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar