St. Louis Aviation Maintenance Association Holds Annual Symposium

By Carmelo Turdo

The St. Louis Aviation Maintenance Association (SLAMA) held their annual Aviation Maintenance Symposium September 16 at the Crowne Plaza St. Louis Airport Hotel. During the day-long event, current and future Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics (A&Ps) and Inspectors participated in education sessions covering current technical, compliance and human factors topics. Attendees learned about best practices for maintaining piston engines, brakes, batteries, electrical systems and aircraft structures from industry specialists. Other important subjects, such as federal regulations and aircraft records, were also scheduled. 

SLAMA President, Bill Hopper, is a well-respected instructor who focuses on human factors. His presentation, based on the theme of the Dirty Dozen of Aircraft Maintenance, features student participation in realistic scenarios based on his experience in the industry and his tenure at St. Louis University's Parks College A&P program.

      

    

Along with the seminar sessions, aviation product and service representatives were on site to demonstrate their latest offerings in the lobby exhibit area. Included with the exhibitors was Wings of Hope, the St. Louis-based humanitarian aviation nonprofit, which relies on volunteer A&Ps to support their operations. Other exhibitors at the symposium are included in the pictorial below and in the featured video.

The Aero Experience thanks the St. Louis Aviation Maintenance Association, the exhibitors, instructors and attendees for making this another successful symposium. 

2025 SOAR Into STEM Fall Session 4: Aircraft Maintenance and Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles

By Carmelo Turdo

High school students from the St. Louis area participated in the fourth fall session of the Wings of Hope SOAR Into STEM Program on Saturday. SOAR Into STEM provides opportunities to apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills in the context of the Wings of Hope humanitarian aviation mission. Topics covered include Airplane Basics, Mechanics and Engineering, Navigation and Communication and Drone/Flight Opportunities.

In Session 4, led by Wings of Hope Education Programs Manager Lee Ann Nolte and a team of volunteer mentors, the students were introduced to aircraft mechanics by guest speaker Amanda Hill, an A&P/IA in high demand for her specialty in avionics installation and repair. Throughout the session, they gained practical experience installing and removing Cleco fasteners, adjusting control cable tension, gapping and testing spark plugs, applying safety wire and inspecting aircraft for defects and corrosion. 

The students also learned to operate the Tello app-based, camera-equipped quadcopters to demonstrate the flight characteristics of most small uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). Once internet communication with the UAVs was established, a buzzing swarm took to the air. After a little practice, most of the students were maneuvering through the hoops of an obstacle course.

SOAR Into STEM will continue on November 15 with Discovery Flight/Career Fair Day. The Aero Experience thanks Wings of Hope and everyone who contributed to another great SOAR Into STEM session.

National Museum of Transportation Speaker Series: Aviation Historian Alan Hoffman and The Story of Ozark Airlines

By Carmelo Turdo

The National Museum of Transportation recently featured aviation historian Alan Hoffman in their monthly Speaker Series held at the museum's Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center. Hoffman's presentation was based on his book, Up There with the Biggest: The Story of Ozark Airlines, an authoritative look at the rise and fall of the St. Louis-based regional carrier that dared to compete with the nationals following de-regulation of the airline industry. From DC-3s to DC-9s, Ozark Airlines played an essential part in the development of post-war commercial air travel along with the growth of St. Louis as a center of aviation and aerospace excellence.

In Up There with the Biggest, Hoffman gives a detailed account of the formation of Ozark Airlines through the historical lens of the times and, most importantly, through first-hand accounts from key employees. The book reads like a diary written by siblings growing up in an airline family, with the good times and the hard times included in the narrative.     

Starting out as a charter operation in 1945 using Beech Staggerwings and Cessna T-50 light twins, Ozark was awarded the routes served by the fledgling Parks Airlines from Cahokia, IL in 1950. The new airline used its growing fleet of DC-3s to serve smaller cities out of Lambert Field, later adding the more modern Fairchild F-27/FH-227 turboprops and the Douglas DC-9 series of jets as their route system expanded. The DC-9 Super 80 was coming online in place of the original Boeing 727 order in the early 1980s just as the effects of de-regulation were taking hold.   

Ozark Airlines had experienced significant growth in the mid 1970s, flying longer routes, building an all-jet fleet and increasing market share in the air charter business. But the perfect storm lay ahead, bringing the forces of fleet acquisition debt, labor strife, the energy crisis, airline de-regulation and head-to-head competition with St. Louis rival TWA to epic proportions. Enter Carl Icahn, who in 1986 gained majority shares in TWA and then went after Ozark. Both airlines would subsequently lose their identity and be absorbed into American Airlines, who then removed St. Louis from major hub status. 

Along with Up There with the Biggest, Alan Hoffman has contributed greatly to the preservation and distribution of St. Louis aviation history in two other literary works. He co-authored Come Fly with Me: The Rise and Fall of Trans World Airlines, with Dr. Daniel Rust and was instrumental in the publishing of Dr. Rust's book, The Aerial Crossroads of America: St. Louis's Lambert Airport. Both are highly recommended!