Editor’s Notebook
BY IAN PARKER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Maintain your way to the
recovery
Few people today would admit zero investment rather than a producer of it.
interest in environmental issues. But it’s There are always opportunities coming out
very difficult to form an opinion because of a recession, and the industry’s business
there is so much conflicting data and the leaders are no doubt watching for those.
subject has become politicized. Years ago Of course the industry must be
Bringing you the scientists were believed without question. environmentally aware and there’s
latest information
Now people look for their business or lots of evidence that it is. Aggressive
political affiliation. chemicals are being eliminated or tightly
on maintenance One thing is certain – aviation has been controlled, facilities such as engine test
technology, business
unfairly, maybe even totally erroneously, cells are being established with top notch
targeted. Aircraft and airports are highly ‘green’ credentials and fleet upgrades/
and management visible things and it’s much easier to point the refurbishments are being made which reduce
for both military and
finger at them, rather than the invisible effects noise and fuel burn and increase efficiency.
of the billions of poorly insulated homes. Aviation has its opponents, but in many
commercial aircraft Could it be that the recent Copenhagen cases they are failing to consider real-
around the globe.
meeting will spark a much more fact-based world evidence and they are certainly not
approach? Certainly, historically held views considering the effects of alternatives. To
are being challenged. Just before the put it simply, why would you want to drag
meeting one senior British climate scientist anything across the land or through the sea
said that over the last four years or so when you can send it, largely silently and
we’ve experienced global cooling, not out-of-sight, through the sky?
warming, and that atmospheric CO2 is not To do that safely, efficiently and reliably,
connected with that process and anyway it’s you need a healthy and responsive
good for plant life and agriculture. maintenance business. As the leading
So how certain are the opponents publication in the field, we intend to do our
of aviation that it’s damaging to bit to ensure that continues to be the case.
the environment? Combined with a Aviation Maintenance wishes all readers
re-assessment of the effects of aviation, the observing a midwinter celebration ‘happy
‘green shoots’ of economic recovery will holidays’ and looks forward to a vibrant and
mean that people and goods will need a successful new year as we enter our first full
vibrant air transport system once again. year under new ownership. With a history
If so, we’d better get maintaining stretching back almost 30 years, we look
the aircraft. There’s no doubt that in a forward to continuing our reputation as one of
recession, operators defer maintenance the oldest and most authoritative publications
where allowed to keep costs down. When in the sphere.
AM
an upturn comes, that maintenance has to
be done fast. Far-sighted operators will Ian
already have that underway. Now that the
upswing is here, the last thing you want is
an unprepared fleet of aircraft.
The maintenance industry needs to
throttle up. Workers may have been laid
off and facilities scaled down, but it’s
time to reverse that process if we are
not to be caught out. Recovery is led by
4 Aviation Maintenance |
avmain-mag.com | December 2009/January 2010
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