The regulation that governs operation and curriculum of aviation maintenance technician schools has not seen any substantial change since 1962.
On Oct. 2, the Federal Register published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) soliciting public feedback on an amendment to 14 CFR Part 147, the regulation that governs operation and curriculum of aviation maintenance technician schools. Part 147 has not had any substantial change for over 50 years, yet both aircraft technology as well as teaching and learning processes have change drastically.
The deadline to submit comments is December 30, 2015, however the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) plans to file an extension request to ensure time for a thorough analysis of the proposed rule as well as proper coordination with industry allies.
Most of us would agree a change to Part 147 is very much overdue. According to the FAA, amendments are needed because the existing curriculums are outdated, do not meet current industry needs, and can be changed only through notice and comment rulemaking. In the NPRM the FAA states the proposed amendments would modernize and reorganize the required curriculum subjects in the appendices of the current regulations. They would also remove the course content items currently located in the appendices and require that they be placed in each school’s operations specifications so they could more easily be amended when necessary.
Everyone is encouraged to review the proposal and provide meaningful comments. Visit https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/10/02/2015-24841/aviation-maintenance-technician-schools and click on the green button that says “Submit A Formal Comment.”
AMTSociety Changes
As you are aware, over the past year AMTSociety has transitioned away from a traditional membership organization to one that only offers Inspection Authorization refresher training. AMTSociety has become the training arm of Aircraft Maintenance Technology Magazine. There no longer is an annual membership dues structure for AMTSociety.
People wanting to take one of our Live IA Refresher Training events simply can go to the AMTSociety website and register. The same thing holds true for those wanting to take online training. The new online training course is nearly complete and will be accessible before the end of 2015 on the AMTSociety website: www.amtsociety.org.
A schedule for the 2015/2016 period live training events has been set. There will be three locations offered. Registration will be open soon.
2016 LIVE IA Refresher Training Events
Atlanta, Georgia: Friday, January 8, 2016
Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Airport Millennium Center
2301 Sullivan Rd., College Park, GA 30337
Denver, Colorado: Friday, January 22, 2016
The Summit Conference and Event Center
411 Sable Blvd., Aurora, CO 80011
Kansas City, MO: Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Holiday Inn KCI Expo Center
11730 N.W. Ambassador Dr., Kansas City, MO 64153
Master Mechanic Awards
Bob Cupery, founder, CEO/president, and head of quality assurance for Aircraft Window Repairs recently received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for his 50 years in the industry.Bob has a long background in aviation including the United States Air Force; Northrop University; and BSBA University of Redlands; an aircraft mechanic with Northwest Airlines, flight engineer/director of maintenance, international quality manager at Northrop, Northrop Rice Aviation Board of Advisers, and lectures throughout all of the United States and Europe.
At Northrop Corporation Bob worked in the Marketing Department as senior customer relations representative where he coordinated all visitors coming to the facility, organized material to be presented to customers, represented the company at special events, and interfaced with corporate officers. Bob also worked as service engineer, investigated aircraft and ground support problems submitted from customer countries and assigned responsibility to correct the problem. He’s contributed numerous aviation industry articles to professional journals.
Bob says of the importance of aircraft windows, “As a mechanic, you need to look at the windows, not through them.”
Richard Pifer, co-owner of Piper’s Airmotive in Waterford, MI, has received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for his 50 years in the industry. Pifer’s Airmotive has been on the Oakland/Pontiac International Airport for 40 years. Patrick Ryan of the Detroit FSDO presented the award after an air show at the airport in August.
Pifer is a licensed A&P with Inspector Authorization. For 30 years he was a licensed Designated Mechanic Examiner and holds a Repairman Certificate for solid-state electronics. He is a commercial pilot with instrument, multi-engine, and seaplane ratings; he has experience as a flight engineer on DC 6’s and DC 7’s with approximately 8,500 hours/TT. As a former FAA Accident Prevention Counselor he has spoken on safety at various industry events.
His background in electricity goes back to the 1960s when he was in the automotive electric and automatic transmission business.
