Correction to Report From Washington: The newly-named Wilbur Wright Federal Building (10B) is located on Independence Avenue immediately adjacent to the main Orville Wright Federal Building (10A), not two blocks away down the street as was indicated on page 12 of the September issue.That building is DOT Headquarters, although parts of FAA were located there in past years. -- Peter Rohrbach, Contributing Editor

Hourly Shop Rate For Real?

I really enjoyed your article on the comparatively low shop rates offered by MROs. I worked for Spar Aviation Services in Edmonton just at the time when they were "breaking into" the "lucrative" B737 thirdparty maintenance scene.

We chuckled and shook our heads about the shop rate the company gave to our first customer--Bahamasair. It was $60 Canadian (about 40 bucks American).

By the way, the most I ever made in Canada as an aviation technician/aircraft mechanic was 19 bucks an hour Canadian (in the 90s) with Spar. Perhaps that's only because I've never been that good at negotiation.

In any case, I'd love to meet some of these guys you're talking about that make $44 an hour, just to ask them what it was they did to wangle that kind of hourly pay. They must be the cream of the crop. Even with the strength of the Aerospace and Machinists union behind aircraft mechanics in Canada and now the Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council, the 44 bucks an hour seems outstandingly generous to me.

Again I really enjoyed your article. In reading it, I realized that my justification for leaving MRO-type aircraft maintenance was valid.

Thanks for voicing my very similar thoughts on the subject in such a lucid manner.

Rob Lemke
(via e-mail)

AAR Bringing Water to the Horse

I just finished reading your article "AAR, Spreading Diverse Wings,"(September 2004 page 23). I find it ironic that Rick Townsend of AAR said, "we are struggling to find enough A&P mechanics and also good sheetmetal workers." The article I read recently in the Indianapolis Star newspaper said there were over 2,000 people applying for jobs when AAR held a job fair in Indianapolis after announcing their intent to rent space at the vacant Indianapolis Maintenance Center. (See Intelligence page 8).

While not all of these people were A&P mechanics, I am sure a large percentage of them were. Being a laid off mechanic, I would not be willing to move to Oklahoma for a job in the unstable aircraft industry, others I have talked to feel the same way.

There is a huge pool of A&P mechanics here in Indianapolis waiting for an opportunity to use their skills. If the horse won't come to the water, it may be necessary to bring the water to the horse. The longer the wait, the fewer A&P mechanics that will be available in the future.

I have decided to use my skills in another field as have others. I love working on aircraft, but, I am not willing to subject myself to that type of work environment anymore. It is unfortunate that a career in aviation maintenance has become such an undesirable job.

Todd Robida
(via e-mail)