I want to hope that aircraft mechanics in Central America are top of the line. But when I found out moments ago, and I don't know about all of the airlines, but at least one has airplanes repaired in Central America. I realize this is a function of training of mechanics along with experience by them. Things are this bad we export our repair jobs to Central America. Who has more details? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113877784
Yikes! As a GA pilot I'm also concerned about the growing number of unmanned aircraft being "piloted" by untrained, unlicensed, unknowledgeable, unidentifiable persons - persons who don't even have basic equipment such as transponders and radios and are highly unlikely to be picked up by radar coverage in the area of smaller airports.. Do they even know what class e airspace IS?? And, how does "see and avoid" solve anything when the target is that small? Even when I have flight following I often never see the manned aircraft pointed out to me by ATC. And, how is a passenger plane going to deal with drones flying in protected airspace around commercial airports - which we're seeing more of??
You think you have to be American to learn how to repair aircraft? Does the human capacity to learn reside in the US alone?
I don't think it is a problem of people from other countries being able to do the job, it is the cost cutting measures being used by American companies that produce an inferior product. They sacrifice training and knowledge in order to save money.
I have a friend who has been flying several times a week for 50 years.. He loves to restore airplanes.. mostly Cessna Golden Eagles.. Several years ago he told me that one had to be very cautious when buying airplane parts like engines because there were a lot of refurbished parts on the market being passed off as new. I guess it was quite a scandal and pilots were up in arms over it. As for training airplane mechanics.. I think the US has been training foreign nationals since the early 1950s.. I know that ARAMCO in KSA was identifying bright, driven young men and sending them for training since 1952. I have to think there are foreign nationals who are skilled.
Based on the article, the economic consequences of unions seem to be taking their toll. Like the car industry, unions crushed profit levels to the brink of bankruptcy. We cant have both ways...either airlines outsource and stay profitable and in business or they dont and go out of business.
No. the Germans and Brits are pretty good at keeping aircraft in the air, the Ruskies not so good. Don't ever fly Mexicana Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways or Kam Air aka Taliban Airways. This outsourcing of aircraft maintenance and repairs has been going on for a couple of decades now, it's part of globalization and globalization means lowering the standards so the globalist elitist become fatter.
No. Believe it or not, as a youth, it was what I wanted. Until I changed my mind. LOL - - - Updated - - - The FAA is deeply involved in aircraft repairs. It is super hard for them to check airplanes out when they are in a shop in Central America.
Well, this is about the repairs made to commercial aircraft in Central America. It is a fact that when we get flight following, we are told of aircraft we can't actually see. I still like flight following in areas of dense air traffic. I don't recall problems with the "model planes" that have flown since I was a child. Drones with cameras can do some nice work in the hands of the right people. But watch for the Feds to start making Drones a real part of regulations. When the Feds notice it moves, they come up with regulations.
Here in Northern CA, Napa Airport does a lot of training of foreign pilots. When flying around, it gets very annoying to not be able to understand the english of those pilots too. http://napavalleyregister.com/news/...cle_b9d52b70-63e4-11e0-87cd-001cc4c002e0.html - - - Updated - - - Back in 1980, I trained with other students who came from Pakistan. The claim was they got trained at the expense of Pakistan and ultimately would fly commercial airliners there. This was at the Hayward, CA airport.
Yes, the maintenance issue is certainly a worthy topic and I realize that was the OP. I just got wound up on safety in general. I fly out of the Seattle area, so I see flight following as essentially a requirement. The north/south orientation caused by the Cascade range and the Olympic mountains as well as by the locations of regional airports and southern destinations, then covered by the SeaTac class B space (and often a layer of weather) tend to concentrate GA air traffic especially below 10k feet, but above as well. So on approach I'm often bouncing in and out of IMC at decreasing altitude and wonder whether any of those clear air areas I hit have drone "pilots" who don't know squat, can't be identified, flying machines that are undetectable by radar. And, I strongly agree that the FAA needs to step in with this drone problem. It's gone on too long already.
Since the public does not understand flight following, we may as well explain it to them. We can task a control area to watch us as we fly plus keep an eye out for other airplanes that may pose a danger to us. We may not see the other aircraft, but flight following sees it and us. They are our eyes in other words. So long as they see both aircraft, it gives us more safety. Still we will scan rather constantly to make sure we are not in a place to get hit or do the hitting. I have not flown to Seattle and of course you know your own area.
Pilot and aircraft mechanic here. The issue of maintenance in foreign countries for American owned aircraft isn't an issue of the mechanic but an issue of quality control. Of course anyone can learn to maintain an aircraft and hopefully the airline follows up on all quality control issues to correct the situation.
Good description. Seattle is an outstanding area for private flight - an amazing number of really great places reachable and viewable by air. Crossing the major mountains is easy by air and time consuming by car. Visiting the San Juan Islands gives gorgeous views of the US and Canadian islands with their small airports and is easy by air and time consuming by car (1/2 hour vs. ~4 hours by car+ferry). The steaming remainder of Mt. St. Helens. The coast. Who could ask for more by air? But, for a number of reasons the air space around Seattle warrants a watchful eye and use of flight following. The addition of yahoos with drones is not good.
