Trade Show Travel Reaches Full-Speed Ahead Mode

This time of the year the staff here at Aircraft Maintenance Technology – AMT find ourselves crisscrossing the country and the globe engaging in any number of aviation industry trade shows, conferences, and association events.

I recently attended the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Communications Roundtable which was held at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, OH. Dozens of GAMA members were there and it was great to spend time with people I usually only speak with on the telephone, communicate with on email, or say a quick hello to at the large busy trade shows. This small setting was not only a great way to learn more about the hard work that GAMA does for our industry, but also what’s going on at many GAMA member companies. This is just one example of how we at AMT stay connected with manufacturers, aircraft maintenance organizations, and the aviation industry.  

An interesting added benefit of the GAMA event was to go on a tour of the GE Aviation Additive Manufacturing facility where our group was provided an overview of what GE is doing with additive manufacturing or 3D printing as it is sometimes referred to as, and we were able to see and handle printed parts and watch a number of machines in operation.    

Next on AMT’s schedule were the HAI Heli-Expo, AERO Friedrichshafen, and the Minnesota Aviation Maintenance Technician Conference. I found myself writing this column on my return flight from Seattle, WA, the location of this year’s Aviation Technician Education Council annual conference. ATEC is one of the industry organizations I’ve become very involved with and serve on the board of directors.  

Very likely by the time you read this column, AMT will be at MRO Americas 2017 which is also the location for the Aerospace Maintenance Competition. AMT will have a booth near the AMC so stop by and say hello to everyone. Directly after MRO Americas is the NBAA Maintenance Conference, and in the months ahead this year’s European Business Aviation Convention, the International Paris Airshow, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and…well you see how it goes.  

At times the travel becomes exhausting and some people will say, “Is that all you do run around going to trade shows”? However, my response to this is that being engaged and active is really the best way for a media company to stay in touch with what is happening in our industry, with our readers and advertising clients, and the many people, companies, and organizations that keep our industry flying.

See you at the next event, Ron