M_xBriefs April 7, 2005, Issue 6

PAMA Takes Lead to Create Federal Day to Honor Charles E. Taylor

By Brian Finnegan, A&P, PAMA President

The dawn of our second century of powered flight must bring new understanding and respect for the aviation maintenance professional. The vital role of these certificated and experienced airworthiness experts must be constantly communicated and recognized. It is essential that the public and our industry comprehend and recognize the role maintenance professionals play in balancing the aviation safety equation.

Together we must create a Federal Day of appreciation for Charles E. Taylor, Wright Flyer mechanic and first controlled powered flight engine builder. This will bring much deserved honor to the professional women and men that walk in his shoes every day on flight lines and in hangars across the country and around the world. The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) will lead an industry effort to create this long overdue recognition. If this effort is to succeed, we’ll need your help and that of all aviation maintenance technicians, their companies, and their representatives in Congress.

Each year on December 17, the anniversary of the first powered flight in 1903, we recognize the historic efforts of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the first pilots. On that day we remember the many heroes that came after them and flew their machines into transportation history with the advent of transcontinental, transoceanic, and space flights.

Now we must all join together to make May 24, Charles E. Taylor’s birthday, National Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Day.  Charles E. Taylor has long been known as the “unsung hero” of the Wright’s successful First Flight effort. Today’s professional AMT is the unsung hero of modern aviation – one of the most robust industries in the world.

PAMA has been working with many people to help make National AMT Day a reality.  Over 30 states have created their own local AMT Day, largely because of the efforts of Richard “Dilly” Dilbeck, FAA Safety Program Manager at the Sacramento FSDO. We all owe Dilly a great deal of thanks for his efforts. “We have worked very hard and, while we do have a number of co-sponsoring congressmen already, we need many more to achieve our goal,” said John Goglia, PAMA senior vice president of government and technical programs and former NTSB member. “Please take a few minutes to help us bring Charlie and all aviation mechanics their long overdue recognition.”

PAMA requests you send an email to your representatives in Congress specifically requesting their support for House Resolution (HR) 586 (click here to view the bill) making May 24 National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day. To find your congressional representative, please click here, enter your zip code, and click on your representative’s email address.

The country is moving toward much greater recognition of the efforts maintenance professionals perform every day. We must stand up for the recognition that is rightfully Charlie Taylor’s as the Father of Aviation Maintenance. Please write me with your thoughts or questions at bfinnegan@pama.org.

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Thanks for the spur and the easy link to send my representative in the House of Representatives a message supporting the special day for Charlie.  I think it’s a great idea that follows my early participation in helping the starting of the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award concept that has been so successful so far.

Joseph F. Ware III

A&P, IA

Member R1583

4/7/05

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With all due respect I have to once again take issue with the initiative PAMA is willing to expend money and effort on.  The issue of whether there should be a Charles Taylor day is so secondary to the issue of whether our industry will survive in its present form that I am embarrassed it is even on the agenda.  This reminds me of the effort PAMA went through a number of years ago trying to figure out what to call us A&P mechanics.  It seems we get wrapped around the axle about recognition but lose sight of the economic, safety, and education issues we deal with daily.  Having been a line mechanic for a major airline, on the union safety committee,  earning a Masters Degree in Aviation Science and an adjunct professor at a local university teaching aviation maintenance and now a consultant to the FAA involved in the Air Traffic Control Modernization Program, my career is an evolution away from what I like most, fixing aircraft.  The ultimate reality is you can not support a family on what  a line mechanic makes and the workplace environment is unhealthy in many manners of speaking, including sleep depravation, noise toxicity and the psychological implications of the insecurity whether there will be a next paycheck.  There has been very little, I believe, our organization has done to promote a better, safer, more economically enticing career.  We are in a predatory competitive industry with fuel prices going through the roof.  The carriers are trying to compete by cutting the only costs they feel they can control, who and how much they pay for services.  Certificated maintenance professionals, or mechanics as I prefer, are taking it on the chin.  They are infinitely better off going down to the local Chevy dealer getting a regular job paying real money with real benefits with day work in an air conditioned shop with weekends off.  Of course those jobs are getting scarce as well.  Or you can get a little more education and work as a consultant for the government and make real money. 
 
If our organization is to be respected it must learn to deal with real issues in the real world.  Then and only then with we earn recognition.
 
I appreciate the opportunity to rant a little but I truly have to question the value of this effort as I believe it does little to bring equity and security to our membership.
 
Thank you for listening.  I invite any and all responses.
 
Regards.
 
David Schechter
A&P
4/7/05

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I read your latest MX Brief on the efforts to create a National Day of
Recognition for our profession and wanted to just give you my comments.
I was at the Convention this March in Las Vegas ( I was the mechanic who
mistakenly was in your regional director meeting 8:00 AM while assuming
I was in the Annual Membership Meeting if you remember).

Anyway, up until the convention I wasn't certain how PAMA was helping
me as a mechanic.  I listened very carefully in your annual meeting and
left with a greater appreciation for you and PAMA.  I definitely am in
support now of the GOLDEN EAGLE program where as before I thought it a
waste of self-patting ourselves on the back.

You mentioned in the meeting how the FAA at some point in the future
will be forced into specializing mechanics by more than just their A&P
licenses and PAMA is trying to set precedent on how that system should
be organized.  I believe this to be true and will offer my support for
it as best I can.  I agree that we are the creators of our own future on
this matter and we as mechanics need to decide how best the system can
work.  Not the bureaucrats in congress. 

I must admit also that I am by nature a passivist, but after attending
the seminars in Las Vegas I left there with a fresh understanding of how
important our individual voices are to the industry.  You came across in
your meeting  as a person who was trying to represent the mechanics as
best you can, but don't get nearly the input from us that you would
desire.  ( If I am wrong please correct me)

So with all that being said,  I am not in support of the national
recognition day effort.  I tried looking on the internet to see how many
recognition days are on the books and was lost in the process. Seems as
though every day of the year is already a recognition day four or five
times over already.  Judging by my unscientific quick little research I
estimate hundreds or possibly thousands of recognition days on the books
already.  I didn't know there were so many.

With so many recognitions out there, I don't see how they are unique
enough to truly be a "RECOGNITION" anymore.  Seems as though it would
just become another tiny blurb on a very full calender which could only
be found by doing a "word specific search" by unknown people. 

I wouldn't mind if congress just decided on their own that they wanted
to do this for us.  I don't however find for myself enough merit to
waste our time on this issue.  A bronze statue at the Smithsonian
institute of Mr. Taylor with a dedication plaque to "all technicians who
maintain aircraft" would be much more worthy of our time and energies in
my opinion.  (I've never been to the Smithsonian so for all I know this
may already be the case?...)

I hope this opinion is not taken as a complaint, because that is not
the case.  I just wanted to give you one opinion on the topic as I see
it.  If I am to post my opinions to a different link on PAMA please
advise me of that as well.  Like I said, this is my first
correspondence. 

Thank you for your time.  Thanks also for being brave enough to put out
a "voice" for all mechanics. Not an easy task I know.

Shawn Karnes
4/8/05

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I think it is a great idea.  Although not a PAMA member it is about time
mechanics get the recognition they deserve.  Not the individuals who pay the
$1000 dollars and go to some weekend school, but the ones who go to an
aviation technician school for two or more years and actually work on
aircraft for a living.

Rollin Tomlin
4/11/05