FROM THE PUBLISHER
“Don’t just stand there – grab some sandpaper”
Publisher’s Note: I had written this column for D.O.M. magazine – but when it came time to write my column for Helicopter Maintenance magazine, I realized the challenges of promoting our industry to talented young people applies doubly to helicopter maintenance. Helicopter maintenance facilities are typically even more remote and secure and often their presence is relatively unknown! For many years now, the only exposure to helicopters is from military personnel — something that might not be available in the future. As a young boy, I lived near a small local airport and
would occasionally take a bike ride out to the airport and back home. One day as I was turning around in the parking lot of the airport, I noticed a man working on an aircraft. Being a curious type, I wandered over to the small hangar to take a closer look. The man was hand sanding what I learned was a Luscomb Silvaire aircraft (tail dragger). I remember him looking up at me and saying, “Don’t just stand there — grab some sandpaper.” Days of sanding and painting followed and so did my fi rst aircraft ride in the Silvaire by Ron Hamel, the gentleman who invited me to help him paint his aircraft. The rest is history. This story is often familiar among people of my generation. It’s sad that today, the days of wandering onto an airport have pretty much ended. Fences, security, walls and doors keep young and old alike outside the airport perimeter. So what will it take to get young people interested
in aviation? Since they can’t wander on to the airport anymore, perhaps we must wander out to them? Certainly programs like Young Eagles (an EAA program that gives kids ages eight to 17 their fi rst free ride in an airplane) are a large part of the answer. However, many of these programs are geared toward piloting an aircraft, not working on it. There is nothing like the hands-on experience that I took part in as a kid. That experience gave me direction and purpose almost instantly and I’ve been working on or around the aircraft maintenance industry since that fateful day. I would appreciate your thoughts on how this industry
can introduce young people to aircraft maintenance. Please drop me an e-mail at
gnapert@dommagazine.com.
On a diff erent note ... I would like to provide an inlet
barrier fi lter Update! In the last issue of Helicopter Maintenance, I wrote about a new policy being drafted by the FAA that would signifi cantly increase manufacturing requirements and require a bypass system in the event the inlet fi lter gets clogged, increasing the complexity and negating the advantages of a fi ltration system. The FAA has now scheduled a meeting July 7 in
Fort Worth, TX, to discuss. The notice of the meeting has been announced in the Federal Register and can be found at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/ articles/2016/05/26/2016-12526/proposed-inlet-barrier- fi lter-for-rotorcraft-policy-statement At my last writing, I had not included comment from Donaldson (one of the two primary manufacturers of inlet barrier fi lters) on the topic as I had not had time to interview them and they didn’t have material prepared. The kind folks at Donaldson have now developed a position paper on the topic. Some excerpts from this paper include the following: If the FAA proceeds as planned, it likely would be the beginning of the end for the development of engine-protecting IBFs for many helicopters operating today. Without IBF systems, helicopters fl ying in the harshest environments – including those operating in the dense plumes of smoke and ash created by fi res – would lose a critical margin of engine protection and operating effi ciency. They also would be fl ying without the best available safety
system. It is ironic that the FAA cites safety as a key rationale for the proposed policy because IBFs are one of the most important safety innovations developed for helicopters, especially for those operating in harsh environments. Yet, this technology would be lost to many owners and operators as a direct result of PS-ASW-37/29-07. It is particularly ironic that the FAA is promoting this policy at a time when the U.S. military is seeing IBF systems as essential technology upgrades in some of its most critical aircraft. For example, it recently was reported that Air Force Special Operations Command will install IBF systems in CV-22 Ospreys as part of a major technology upgrade for the fl eet. It’s clear that discussion on this issue is not nearly fi nished. We will update you as we hear more.
Publisher, Helicopter Maintenance magazine 30
HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com June | July 2016
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