PAMA Aviation Maintenance Olympics

Just how seriously do these teams and their coaches take this competition? Well, if their looks of concentration and determination were any indication, this was no Vegas vacation for the teams. They all wanted to go home winners, and they all deserved to.

But somebody had to go home with the PAMA Olympics "gold," and congratulations along with the 2004 PAMA Aviation Maintenance Olympics team championship trophy went to Midcoast Aviation's "Arch Rivals." Members of the championship team included Barry Griffin (2004's TechnAthlete and Troubleshooter of the Year), John Paterson, and Vinnie Venditto. Coaching this year's winning team was Bill Shelton.

The Silver Medals went to the "Torque It" team from Delta TechOps. Team members included Zachary Hachem, Alan Hill, and Lyle Lelm. Scott Dunkin was their coach.

The Bronze Medals went to the "General Dynamics" team representing General Dynamics Aviation Services. Team members included Glenn Burks, Duane Furr, and Paul Feitor. Their coach was John Richter.

2004 "TechnAthlete of the Year" was Thomas McGinnis of Federal Mogul Corporation.

2004 "Troubleshooter of the Year" was Vinnie Venditto of Midcoast Aviation.

2004 Team Appearance Award was Delta TechOps's "Torque It" Team.

In 2002 it was bronze and in 2003 it was silver, so there was nothing left for the "Arch Rivals" from Midcoast Aviation to do in 2004 but bring home the gold. And that's what they did. "This was our third year of competition. We felt that we knew what to expect and we had no reason to be nervous," explained Midcoast team member Vinnie Venditto. "Turns out I was more nervous this year than the past two years put together. Controlling your emotions before, during, and after the competition is tough."

Third Time's the Charm for Midcoast Aviation

Even the team's preparation didn't lessen the competitive jitters. "We are fortunate to have complete support throughout our entire company from the top executives down," said team captain, Bill Shelton. "We did as much preparation as we could, but practicing as a team was hard--we are all too busy at work." Ready or not, the team packed up their practice safety wiring board and tube-bending jig and headed for Vegas. And while other competitors were living it up, the Arch Rivals got down to business. "We ended up practicing the events in our hotel rooms the day before the competition," he added.

And it all paid-off better than a royal flush as the Arch Rivals completed the PAMA Olympics `cycle' with their firstplace finish. But, while winning the "big one" was great, Captain Shelton stressed that there is something that he believes every competitor should remember: "Have fun," he said. "This is a friendly competition. In the past three years we have made some life long friends both with other competitors and members of the PAMA staff. It's an experience that I, and my team members, will never forget."

Champion's Tip:

Bill Shelton, Midcoast Aviation's Manager of quality assurance and coach of the 2004 Championship Team shared this thought: "Stay flexible. We've learned something in each year we've competed. Even though you practice, the events and projects change and the PAMA people throw in issues you can't prepare for. You have to be ready for anything."

2004 PAMA Aviation Maintenance Olympics TechnAthlete of the Year: Tom McGinnis, maintenance manager, Federal Mogul Corporation

As the first member of a corporate flight department to win the "TechnAthlete of the Year," Tom McGinnis, maintenance manager for Federal Mogul Corporation, came into the PAMA Olympics TechnAthlon events purely to test his skills against the very best. "Working in the corporate setting I don't have the resources to put together a team, but I still wanted to compete," he said. "It's hard to get any recognition as an AMT, so I looked at this as an opportunity to go out and see how I could do against my peers in a competitive setting."

He admitted that the thought of competiting was a bit intimidating at first. "When I arrived at the convention and saw the competitions going on I said to myself I've got to give it a shot if I really want to benchmark my skills at a national level," McGinnis said.

He was prepared for the technical tests, but the live competitive setting was something totally new to him. "You have all these people watching your every move," he explained. "The only time you feel this kind of pressure in the field is when you have an anxious owner wanting to leave in his airplane. Yes it was stressful, but fun!"

Even after nearly a year since the PAMA Olympics, winning the coveted "TechnAthlete of the Year" award still brings McGinnis recognition. "They put the trophy up in our passenger lounge," McGinnis said. "A lot of people ask about it and I get a lot of pats on the back from everyone--it still feels real good."

Champion's Tip:

TechnAthlete of the Year, Tom McGinnis shared this tip: "You need to know and be comfortable with understanding the FARs, ADs, Data Sheets--what I call a good `IA' knowledge of where to look for a specific type of information. It's easy to get lost in the data library when you're working against the clock."

PAMA Olympics Events

Electrical Connectors

The Electrical Connector event tests competitors' expertise with both BNC- and circular-type connectors. Competing technicians will demonstrate their ability to test and verify that cables comply with written criteria for application and operational standards.

FAR & Data Research

This event is timed, and the competitors are required to accurately answer questions pertaining to FAA issued data. This event challenges the aviation professional's ability to research and return answers quickly and accurately.

Hardware Identification

In this event, competitors will be required to accurately identify commonly used aircraft maintenance hardware. The goal is to verify that the appropriate strength, metallic alloy, and size hardware is being used in the correct location.

Hydraulic Line Fabrication

Hydraulic Line Fabrication tests the ability of the technician to replicate and replace an existing hydraulic or fluid-carrying rigid line installed on an aircraft.

Rigging

The Rigging competition will challenge competitors' skills to complete the project in the shortest time. This year's Rigging event includes adjustable linkages, rig pins, an actuation arm, a wing mock up, and a Linear Voltage Differential Transducer (LVDT).

Safety Wiring

The Safety Wiring event will assess each competitor's skill and speed in performing a set of complex safety wire patterns. Speed and quality both count. Each piece will be judged on overall quality, the tautness of the safety, closeness of the pigtail to the securing hardware, and negative safety. Bonus points for safety wiring the turnbuckle.

Troubleshooting

FlightSafety International's troubleshooting training program will be used to measure skills to quickly and accurately troubleshoot a problem in the shortest possible time.