Professional Pilot, October 2017

Chief of Mx Thomas Gahn with OCs Learjet 45XR Gahn joined OC in 1996 and today he oversees a team of 4 mechanics and 1 aircraft servicer 66 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2017 Officer mgr and scheduler Robin Reynolds joined OC in 1977 She has received significant amounts of training from attending multiple NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conferences Cindy Youngblood holds an ATP license and is type rated in the BE400 CE500 and CE560XL She serves as president of Women in Corporate Aviation and has extensive experience in both Part 91 and Part 135 ops chanics and 1 aircraft servicer Gahn grew up about 60 miles from TOL and has remained at the same airport for his entire career Before OC he worked at a small FBO and a Citation Service Center This is the best company Ive ever worked for management provides what you need to do the job and lets you do it he says OC does most maintenance inhouse including major inspections Depending on downtime they will outsource to various operators when it works better to meet the needs of the department Mx dept members work at 2 100x90 ft hangars and are in charge of fueling and preparing the aircraft de icing when required and performing the post flight inspection on return Everyone in the shop has a smartphone to take pictures and receive fuel loads from pilots The smartphone has transformed the maintenance operation and improved our efficiency says Gahn We recently had a bird strike the pilots took pictures and within 15 minutes we were able to determine a course of action The OC mx team trains annually at FlightSafety Intl and Bombardier They also conduct in house training on specific safety topics OC requires mechanics to have an A P license and great communication skills The company is working to elevate the degree of professionalism within the industry as todays mechanic is more likely to have a computer in one hand and a smartphone in the other over a wrench and dirty shirt Commitment to safety and security Owens Corning is very proactive in promoting safety and is committed to creating the safest work environment possible And its working Since 2001 the number of recordable injuries has been reduced by 94 In 2016 nearly 2 3rds of OC facilities globally including the Toledo hangar were injury free This culture of safety is always top of mind within the companys flight department and earned them the NBAA Flying Safety Award for 71 consecutive years of operating aircraft without incident or accident Senior Captain Safety Officer Patrick Wolff was appointed to his current position when OC began pursuing IS BAO certification in 2004 He established an SMS and modified the IS BAO requirements to meet the needs of the operation Wolff was first exposed to Owens Corning while a senior in high school when he approached the company to help him complete a senior project For 2 weeks he shadowed the pilots and mx crew and even got to fly on a couple of trips The experience made a big impression on him and solidified his decision to pursue aviation as a career OC was a welcoming and happy place and seemed a great atmosphere to work Wolff says A decade later he joined OC flying contract on a Falcon 10 In1999 he became part of the team that made such an impression on him years earlier and today he leads quarterly safety meetings with the entire department OC has earned IS BAO Stage 3 safety certification Paperless cockpits The OC flight dept went paperless in 2005 with a Fujitsu EFB and upgraded to iPads in 2010 Each aircraft carries 4 iPads 2 of them have the required manuals and checklists and are exclusive to the airplane and the other 2 are used by the pilots for flight planning weather and schedule tracking Crews use ARINC Direct and ForeFlight for planning and weather back up All aircraft have Satcom Direct systems worldwide WiFi for crew and passengers Today WiFi is an essential tool that makes data gathering planning and communication much easier says Terry Smith If pilots have a problem they snap a picture and send to maintenance or the OEM to troubleshoot We have at our fingertips everything we need to mitigate issues Future growth In spite of facing a series of lawsuits over asbestos products as well as the massive downturn in residential home construction which lasted until 2012 Owens Corning was able to make a few adjustments and maintain the flight department with minimal loss a testament to how essential the department is to the companys success Smith used the NBAA travel sense tool to prove the value of the flight department Now every 2 to 3 years Smith meets with the executive committee to review the fleet and forecast the corporations needs