State of AMTSociety Address
If you were not in attendance at the Aviation Industry Expo held March 10-12, 2009, you missed history in the making. The following stories include the details of all the great events we completed. Starting with the golf tournament on Monday, the Maintenance Skills Competition (MSC) entrants, and judging on Tuesday and Wednesday, we set an all-time record with the MSC team entries. The IA Renewal Roadshow set a new attendance record as well. The vendors in attendance had many new or improved products on display and they did an outstanding job in their presentations. There were numerous drawings and raffles held during the show. The AMTSociety raffle prize was a Honeywell Bendix King AV-80 GPS, which can be used in the car or in the air. It was won by Gary Davis, Boise, ID. I sincerely hope you mark your calendars now for next year’s program which will be held March 16-18, 2010, in Las Vegas.
— Tom Hendershot
2009 AMTScholarship winners
Trevor Halvorson, a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, won the 2009 AMTScholarship Charles E. Taylor award for $1,500. Halvorson is from San Antonio.
Jeremy S. Roberts, a student at Redstone College, Broomfield, CO, won the 2009 AMTScholarship William “Bill” O’Brien award for $1,000. Roberts is from Carbon Hill, AL. Roberts won last year’s Charles E. Taylor AMTScholarship.
AMTSociety Maintenance Skills Competition
There were 15 teams competing in this year’s AMTSociety Maintenance Skills Competition (MSC). With so many teams involved, the event was divided into four categories: military, school, general aviation, and commercial.
Teams and winners:
Military: USAF McGuire AFB (1st Place), USAF McChord AFB (2nd Place), U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (3rd Place), and USAF Dyess AFB
Schools: Aviation Institute of Maintenance Atlanta Campus (1st Place), Aviation Institute of Maintenance “Team USA” (2nd Place — this team was comprised of students from other AIM campuses), and Crimson Technical College (3rd Place)
General aviation: Colorado Aeronautics Division “Team Colorado” (1st Place)
Commercial airlines: Continental Airlines CLE (1st Place), Continental Airlines IAH/Hobby (2nd Place), American Airlines “Team American” (3rd Place — team featured AMTs from LGA, JFK, and BOS). Other teams included: American Airlines “Team Tech” representing AA’s Technical Services Department in Tulsa, OK); American Airlines/Transport Worker’s Union Local 565 from the TWU which represents AA AMTs from DFW/DEN, and IAH; American Airlines/Transport Worker’s Union Local 514 from the TWU which represents AA AMTs in Tulsa, OK; and American Eagle.
The first AMTSociety’s MSC’s “William F. O’Brien Award for Excellence in Aircraft Maintenance” was presented this year at the MSC to the one team with the overall fastest time. This award went to Continental Airlines CLE team. Marie O’Brien was present to help present this award as was Carol Giles from the FAA (manager, Aircraft Maintenance Division).
Sponsors
Each of the 12 events had a company sponsor, they are:
- Charles E. Taylor written test — the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Association (AMTA)
- G IV main wheel removal/installation — Alberth Aviation
- Hardware identification — Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- Regulatory research — ATP
- Composite damage inspection — Tarrant County College
- Safety wiring — Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- Electrical troubleshooting — Nida Corp.
- Electrical troubleshooting — Spirit Aviation
- Avionics troubleshooting — CAE
- APU combustor chamber inspection — Dallas Airmotive
- Aileron rigging — Continental Airlines
- Turbine engine troubleshooting — American Airlines
AMTSociety golf tournament
First: Jason Cordon, Cordon Aviation; Sam Taorama, Cordon Aviation; Clegg Roberts, Cordon Aviation; and Rob Carol, Cordon Aviation.
Second: Geno Haggan, Haggan Aviation; Jeff Graser, Haggan Aviation; Cheryl Janke, Jet Repair Anywhere; and Norm Hill, Western Jet.
Third: Marty Becker, Inet Airport Systems; John Kalmakoff, Inet Airport Systems; Ken Talley, Inet Airport Systems; and John Salter, Inet Airport Systems.
First place in the putting contest was Ken Talley, Inet Airport Systems; second: Brien Dunn, Mahaffey Fabric Structures; third: Ed Solley, Golden State Magnetic & Penetrates.
Our thanks to the sponsors: Aero Nasch Aviation, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, American Airlines, AMTSociety, Dallas Airmotive, Dassault Falcon, FlightSafety, Golden State Magnetic & Penetrates, Gulfstream, Haggan Aviation, Harrah’s Entertainment, Jet Brella, Rolls-Royce, S.W.A.T. Aviation, Satcom Direct, Socal Services, Standard Aero, Velcon Filters, West Star, and Western Jet.
O’Brien’s Master Mechanic award
Carol Giles, FAA manager, Aircraft Maintenance Division, presented Marie O’Brien with an honorary Master Mechanic award for Bill at Aviation Industry Expo. Giles said Bill would be upset for having the rules changed for him as he hadn’t quite reached 50 years in maintenance at the time of his death. The inscription read: “For Years of Dedicated Service to Aviation Safety, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Honorary Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” Award posthumously to William F. O’Brien, March 12, 2009, In honor of his many contributions to aviation safety throughout his career and his tireless efforts in the development, promotion and management of the Charles Taylor Award program during his 24 years of service to the FAA.”
