november-december 2021 - 45

A R S A INS IG H T
Fixing New Tech the Old
Fashioned Way
It's been a tumultuous two years for aviation maintenance professionals. With
airlines shut down last spring, our sector saw business activity drop by half as
the industry shed a quarter of its workforce by the end of the summer. A year
later, commercial air travel is returning to normal, other sectors - general aviation,
cargo - are thriving, and aviation is suffering from workforce whiplash
as the pre-pandemic technician shortage grows more acute.
" Emerging " technologies like electric aircraft are
By Christian Klein
Christian A. Klein is
the managing member
of Obadal, Filler,
MacLeod & Klein,
P.L.C. overseeing the
firm's policy advocacy
practice. He represents
trade associations
as a registered
federal lobbyist and
provides strategic
communications
and legal counsel
services to clients.
He is executive vice
president of the
Aeronautical Repair
Station Association.
another factor creating uncertainty for maintainers.
The global electric aircraft market is expected to be
$7.9 billion in 2021, to grow 14.8 percent annually
and reach $27.7 billion by 2035. These " new " electric
technologies, many which have been around a
while and are just now being applied to aviation, are
attractive to both the commercial and general aviation
communities, flight schools and other private
aircraft operations. Hundreds of electric trainer
aircraft are in production and will be in service in
the next three years. Cape Air, a regional airline in
New England, may be operating electric aircraft on
scheduled routes by 2023.
The greatest risk to our collective
success isn't new technology,
it's the old workforce.
While ARSA is looking forward to seeing our
members flourish in the ever-evolving maintenance
marketplace, we worry lawmakers, the FAA or even
companies could push for new electric aircraft regulations.
That would be a mistake. Aviation safety
rules already cover design, production, operations
and maintenance of civil aircraft. Those rules aren't
perfect, but serve as the basis of the industry's outstanding
safety record. Rather than adding new
requirements and restrictions, let's focus on how
to apply existing rules to technologies that are now
being used in aviation and avoid inconsistencies,
redundancy and complexity.
Put another way, while aircraft, propulsion systems
and components will continue to evolve, how
we do our work in aviation maintenance will stay
the same. That's because performance-based maintenance
rules that have been around since the 1930s
prescribe a consistent and effective way of maintaining
airworthiness: use good instructions, use good
tools, use good people and do the job right.
The greatest risk to our collective success isn't new
technology, it's the old workforce. According to the
Aviation Technician Education Council, the average
A&P mechanic is now 30-50 years old and more
than 20 percent are over 64. With 35 percent of the
workforce eligible for retirement in next half decade,
the industry must intensify efforts to recruit, train,
mentor and retain the next generation. We're hopeful
the potential environmental benefits of electric
and opportunities to use aircraft in new ways, e.g.,
urban air mobility, will excite young people and help
our collective work.
ARSA and its allies are also pushing the FAA to
revamp 14 CFR Part 147, the regulation governing
technician schools. The new rule will allow schools
to adjust their curricula to teach about new technologies
while keeping pace with innovative ways to
deliver instruction. That will help ensure students
with basic skills are able to acquire focused knowledge
about electric powerplants and related changes
to the airframe and components.
Electric aviation is exciting, as is the re-emergence
of supersonic transport, but don't be blinded by the
" shiny, new thing. " Our industry's methodical, deliberate
approach to safety may be the old way, but it's still
the right way. Whether you're working on something
30 years old or the hottest new product, when lives
are on the line there's no greater purpose than doing
something right the first time.
www.AviationPros.com 45
http://www.AviationPros.com
november-december 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of november-december 2021
