Me and Aviation: Experience, Veiws and Opinions:

Starting young - I've always been a gear head. Taking thing apart as a young child, getting under my fathers feet in the garage. If something broke in the house and was being thrown out I took a shot at fixing it with relatively high success. Car shows and Air shows were better then Disney Land for me as a child.

Why Aviation? - There is something about the aviation community that isn't as global as automotive. The automotive community is usually polarized to a specific make and sometimes model. The aviation industry has an overall passion for all things aloft. This may sound like a romanticized notion but ask an aviation worker that has been laid off over and over, forced to move all over the country and he'll still say he loves aircraft.

Gottsta goes to Skewl and git me suhm book learnin' - I went to college for Aviation Maintenance at Frederick Community College (in Maryland). They have an excellent program. Rebuilding live piston and jet engines and actually running them when finished is wonderfully educational.

The program gave me the cognitive tools needed to be an aircraft technician. Once completed I was ready for the FAA's airframe and powerplant exams. I did great on the paper as well as the oral and practical exam. Solely from the superb program the college provided. They did not teach the test like some second rate companies some how allowed to be called a school. It was the best educational experience I've had. I'm currently attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and am very close to a Bachelors of science in Professional Aeronautics with a minor in Safety. Yet another great educational experience.

Get a job you lazy bum - I worked as a mechanic for ________ for a little over 2 years. I mostly worked on Boeing aircraft such as 757, 737-200s, 300s and 400's. Occasionally on MD-80s and DC-9s. I wrenched on Airbus A-319s, 320s and 321s often. From toilets to engine changes I fixed pretty much everything. Aside from the constant bitter rantings about how the company doesn't know what they are doing it was a great work environment. The people are what made it. Everyone pooled there knowledge and helped each other out. You slowly gathered aircraft specific knowledge and were interested in the problems. "N287 has had some weird #2 autopilot problems. This is what I tried last time... let me know if you need help and how it works out." was a common exchange. The soul reason ________ is afloat is because of the talent and passion of there lowest level employees. After my layoff from the aftermath of September 11th (to note most aviation workers were layed off to late to get the benefits of government aid) I did allot of thinking about me and aviation. The startling fact is aviation is still the safest form of transportation. Now that new threats are known they can be dealt with. And I still love aviation.

Modern Commercial Aviation - Air travel has become more of an simple high speed, high altitude bus ride recently. Stripping away allot of the perks of air travel of the past keeps some airlines making money. The people who remember putting on there Sunday best to take a flight to see some distant relatives are growing old. They have given way to flip flop, biker shorts and muscle shirt wearing people. But the customers want what they want. They want to consider 2 full sized duffle bags for each member of there 4 person family be considered carry on luggage. Most aircraft operating today have in-cabin storage designed for brief cases, purses and overnight bags frustrating passengers to no end. In and effort to squeeze a little more money out of a flight they have crammed in more seats. Newer more efficient aircraft are on the market that remedy these problems. Responding to the market is rather slow in these respects. Buying new aircraft or aircraft systems frequently is just not economically feasible.

The Accountants Made Me Do It - Unfortunately aviation is a business and is currently in an awkward state. Companies have grown quite large and most aren't build for surviving such catastrophic as those on September 11th 1999. The same crooks and charlatans that have peppered corporate America have also infected aviation. Innovation and long term sound business plans have given way to spit polish and resale or airlines. I still hold out hope.

Future of Aviation - "The future is so bright I'm forced to squint."(Laura Kightlinger) Holding on to the romance of aviation in the 50's I believe is unrealistic. Innovation in the business and equipment used in aviation will come. Commuter airlines are operating more and more small efficient jets. Making short trips even quicker by air. Aircraft being built and equipped with what the consumer wants are slowly being bought and operated by all the major airlines. Time heals all wounds.

Eric G Vreeland 2003

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