AMTonline Blogs

I got an e-mail yesterday from a reader by the name of Fernando Fojo. Here is what Mr. Fojo writes:

Hello Mr. Escobar,

I’ve been involved in aviation maintenance for over 15 years, and I feel that I have some input to add. Before I do so, let me say that I am a certificated A+P with a FCC GROL certificate and radar endorsement. I also possess an A.S. Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology, and I am finishing my B.S. in Professional Aeronautics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

The comments I have are for those who work on heavy jets, not GA. They are different worlds in many aspects. You and Mr. Napert touched upon some points that we cannot get away from with respect to outsourcing. I disagree to some extent about the trend coming and going with the airlines. Security may be an issue, but we are seeing the beginnings of the “assetless”  airlines. Fewer airlines own their aircraft or other equipment outrightly these days. The more successful carriers lease everything and keep only the personnel and equipment they need to exercise their core business – flying passengers. Everything else is expendable. The only really notable exception is American Airlines which does third-party maintenance work at its Tulsa, OK facility. Delta and United also have some limited third-party work, but American is the big exception.

My opinion is simple. To be a successful A+P mechanic in this particular environment, future (and present) maintenance personnel are going to have to be more educated and more dynamic. They are going to have to learn second languages and possibly ply their trade overseas. It’s not necessarily a grim picture, but it will be realistic for many of us. Globalization has changed our careers forever.

Another issue that has not been mentioned is the Railway Labor Act. For those of us in the airlines, this piece of legislation is an abomination. This one act causes more bitterness than anything else. If the government and the airlines want to stay under this act, then the benefits and pay accorded to the railroads should also be extended to airline employees. Under the Railway Labor Act, an employee does not pay into Social Security. Instead, the employee pays into a railroad pension fund which is far superior. An employee who changes jobs from one railroad to another gets to keep his/her pay scale. In other words, you don’t have to start at the bottom again. You keep your pay, medical/dental, pension, vacation, etc.

These are the serious issues today that are keeping talented youngsters away from this field. For heavy jet mechanics, economic and political policies play a big role in their careers. Until these things change, basic supply and demand equations will not be enough to change the downward spiral that aviation maintenance is facing in terms of new talent. Many oldtimers are telling their children and grandchildren to stay out of aviation maintenance as a career.

There you have it. Now you have some issues that you can sink your teeth into for future editions of AMT. I thank you for your time.

Fernando Fojo, A+P

Mr. Fojo makes some good points on the airline industry, the Railway Labor Act, and the future of aircraft maintenance.

To heck with waiting until the next issue of AMT to sink our teeth into this. Let’s get this discussion rolling now.

Thanks for reading, and keep that feedback coming!

Joe Escobar

My brother-in-law Brian shared an odd story with me while we were on vacation. He told me that on Monday, August 6, a bird smashed into his windshield. The bird was large, and the resulting impact shattered the windshield, startling the heck out of him.

The incident happened in the Dallas area.

The odd thing — Brian is not a pilot. He was not flying an airplane, but driving his truck to work when the bird hit his windshield.

He never saw it coming. In fact, at first he didn’t even know what had happened.

The driver of the vehicle behind him witnessed the impact, and stopped behind Brian when he pulled over to the side of the road. The witness asked, “Wow, did you see that?”

“No,” replied Brian. “What happened?”

“A big bird just fell out of the sky! It tumbled straight down out of the sky and hit your truck!”

As Brian and I talked about the incident, two theories came to mind. First theory – the bird died mid-flight of natural causes and tumbled back to mother earth. Second theory — the bird hit an aircraft, and its tumbling carcass caused a second bird strike.

I had never thought about what happens to a bird after it hits an aircraft in flight. I guess in some cases it can cause even more damage on the ground.

Anyone know of a large bird striking an aircraft in the Dallas area on Monday, August 6?

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar

In the August 13 edition of U.S. News & World Report, there was a story titled “All Work and No Play Makes a Company…Unproductive.” It mentioned that taking a break from work is good for mental health. The article mentions that American Express did a study that shows “more than a third of small-business people say their best ideas — the ones that lead to business growth — come not at work but during their downtime.” The health benefits of time away from work are also stressed. It says that foreigners who don’t put in the same hours as Americans live longer, weigh less, and have lower divorce rates. Happy people? No surprise here — they tend to be more productive than unhappy people.

The message is clear. In order to be more productive at work and lead a healthier life, you need to set some time aside for yourself. Take a vacation for your professional and personal health.

So, in the interest of the continued success of AMT, and the personal desire to live longer, weigh less, and not get a divorce, I am taking a vacation right now. I wrote this blog before I left the office last week, and asked my website manager to post it live today.

Talk to you next week as I return to the daily routine here at AMT.

Joe Escobar

I think my publisher has lost his mind! I am wondering if I should call the local asylum and get some guys in white scrubs to come over with a straightjacket.

Don’t get me wrong, I respect Greg — but I am worried about him. You see, he came up with this wacky idea. He wants to give each and every aircraft mechanic a dollar!

Greg came up with this insane brilliant idea to send a $50.00 Brown Tool gift card to each person that signs up for AMTSociety membership. This wouldn’t be so crazy if the price to join AMTSociety was a couple hundred dollars or so. But it’s not. It costs $49.00 to join AMTSociety. So Greg is basically telling folks, “send us $49.00 — we’ll send you $50.

Not only is Greg offering this special promotion to new members, he is extending the offer to current members who renew their membership at the $49.00 price.

I can already picture our poor membership fulfillment clerk buried in AMTSociety membership applications as word of this promotion spreads around. After all, it’s a no-brainer — you send AMTSociety $49.00, they send you a $50.00 Brown Tool gift card. You can use your gift card to purchase items at www.browntool.com. In addition to the gift card, you receive all the other member benefits of AMTSociety including:

• Access to Virtual IA seminar series on AMTonline.com (get all the recurrency credit you need to renew your IA or use for FAA AMT Awards Program).
• Free admission to Aviation Industry Expo trade show.
• Free admission to Aviall Maintenance Symposium.
• Guaranteed subscription to AMT magazine.
• Automatic entry for monthly prize drawings.
• Discounts on books on AMT bookstore.
• And more!

So, what are you waiting for? Take advantage of my boss’s temporary insanity generous offer and sign up for AMTSociety (or renew your existing membership). This offer is for a limited time, so sign up now. You can sign up at www.AMTSociety.org.

Thanks for reading!

Joe Escobar