The National Business Aviation Association held its 2024 NBAA Maintenance Conference in Portland April 30-May 2. The theme of the conference was “Growing Into the Future," and its intent highlighted the many ways business aviation is meeting the needs of an expanding industry.
“Everything at the conference was about offering effective solutions for maintenance teams, and operators in general, to meet the industry challenges ahead,” NBAA Maintenance Committee Chair Nate Dietsch said. Vice Chair Brett Semple added “Projected growth in business aviation means the sector will need thousands of new workers in the next decade alone.”
CGCC's AMT team was awarded best overall time, and took top 3 positions (sometimes 2 of the top 3!) in 5 of the 6 events in which they participated!
Final results:
Safety Wire
- 1st Columbia Gorge Community College Donald Pickard
- 2nd Columbia Gorge Community College Colton Green
- 3rd Lane Community College Avery Roelof
FAA FAR
- 1st Portland Community College Marshall Davis
- 2nd Lane Community College Joseph Wallberg
- 3rd Columbia Gorge Community College Colton Green
Fluid Line Construction
- 1st Columbia Gorge Community College Colton Green
- 2nd Portland Community College Marshall Davis
- 3rd Lane Community College Joseph Wallberg
Cable Rigging
- 1st Columbia Gorge Community College Nathan Pyles
- 2nd Columbia Gorge Community College Donald Pickard
- 3rd Lane Community College Cheyenne Grey
Electrical Troubleshooting
- 1st Portland Community College Robert Quandt
- 2nd Lane Community College Christopher Kitter
- 3rd Lane Community College Cheyenne Grey
VR Ground Handling
- 1st Columbia Gorge Community College Britt Reed
- 2nd Lane Community College Rick Horner
- 3rd Columbia Gorge Community College Nathan Pyles
VR General Visual Inspection
- 1st Portland Community College Marshall Davis
- 2nd Lane Community College Avery Roelof
School with Best Total Time
- Columbia Gorge Community College
Student Best Time
- Portland Community College Marshall Davis
- Lane Community College Avery Roelof
The Maintenance Competition included several Oregon schools and was led by record-setting aviator and groundbreaking educator Capt. Barrington Irving. Students battled each other to win scholarships for initial AMT training and tools from Snap-on Incorporated. Competition events include safety wiring, cable rigging, electrical troubleshooting, virtual aircraft towing/ground handling and general visual inspection.
“For students seeking to become maintenance technicians, the competition is a kind of a playground that shows what a career in business aviation has to offer,” said Irving, founder of The Flying Classroom and the Barrington Irving Technical Training School.
Congratulations to our AMT team!