Cancelled for Maintenance

The workplace is, for better or for worse, a chess game. Workplace politics is unavoidable and inescapable. The chess game/politics, however, is not inherently evil. Today, we talk about what we can learn from chess, the influence of office politics, and how developing your savviness in it can benefit you and your career.  Follow us on Facebook- @cancelledformaintenance, Instagram- @canxformainten...

Resiliency is often described as the ability to bounce back from setbacks and adversity. It has been shown to influence work satisfaction, connections, and well being. Today we are joined with Madison, the Remote AMT, to discuss why resiliency is so important, steps you can take to maintain your resiliency, and what can you do to seek help. You can find Madison on Facebook and Youtube at: @RemoteA...

How far are you willing to fly a Cessna? How far do you think a Cessna can fly? Today we explore how one ferry pilot flew a Cessna 2,5321 miles from California to Hawaii! We have so many questions about a feat like this, and were rather surprised that long ferry flights like these are fairly common. What sort of conditions would you accept to make a flight like this? What would you do to prep?  Wa...

Everyone gets jittery for an interview. You’ve reviewed and tailored your resume, you’ve rehearsed your interview answers, prepared your best attire, and greeted the day with enthusiasm. But how do you ensure that the job you are interviewing for is the best fit? How do you detect problematic leadership practices? Just as much as you are being interviewed, you are also interviewing the hiring orga...

Being denied a promotion can be very demoralizing. You've worked hard, produced positive results, but you've somehow come up short. Today we explore the possible causes for your denial and how sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise. Want to read the articles we used in the episode? Visit: https://hbr.org/2009/06/why-you-didnt-get-that-promotion  and  https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr...

Trash talking is very common in the aviation industry. Provocation, otherwise known as “trash talk” or “shit talking”, is a form of verbal contests consisting of boastful remarks about oneself or insulting remarks about one’s opponent. When used properly, it can be a tool that promotes healthy competition between friends or rivals. Today, we explore how trash talking can be good to a point in avia...

Cold weather is upon us. Today we explore fire and ice, particularly the current fire season for those fire prone regions, and the transition from hot weather to colder weather and how that affects your maintenance actions. Are you prepared for the temperature swing? What sort of actions do you take to prepare? If you’re an aerial firefighting specialist, what’s your day to day like? Follow us on...

What stops you from showing up and being great? This is by far the largest number of guests we have ever had on a single episode! We are joined today with the Elevate Aviation team who participated in the 2022 Aircraft Maintenance Competition in Dallas, and we discuss what the event was like for them, some issues that women have dealt with in a male dominated industry, and what it was like to come...

There’s an old saying, “you can’t teach a dog new tricks”. In today’s ever evolving world, especially in certain industries, continuous learning is a must, and that “old dog” stigma needs to be erased. Today, we explore why there is such a stigma of being an older individual stepping back into a learning environment, call out some our own experiences, and offer up some of our reasons why being a s...

We’ve all at one point in time felt that we are undeserving of some of our achievements, often shrugging them off and calling it sheer dumb luck or just dovetailing off someone else’s hard work. Sometimes these notions are inherent with the competitive and perfectionist nature of our industries. Today, we explore why we feel this way, how do we recognize them in ourselves and others, and what we c...

Where can you go when aviation is no longer a career choice? What sort of transferrable skills do you possess? On this episode, we are joined by Brian from the Finding Demo Surf Fishing podcast, where we discuss what it feels like to get that gut-wrenching reality check, where can you apply the skill sets you’ve gained from aviation, and a quick wisdom share about exploring avenues that fits your...

You’ve put in the hard work; you’ve made things happen and created a product with little to no guidance nor expectations. You feel get undercut for all your efforts and feel very underappreciated. How do you then tell your micromanaging boss professionally to back off and/or figure out what he/she expects? We dive into some techniques you can ask yourself, putting ourselves on blast, and what can...

Are you ready for the long haul? This is probably our longest episode to date, and it's full of very insightful and inspiring things! Today we are joined with the every knowledgeable, yet ever humble, Stig Aviation. Together we walk through some aspects of the commercial airlines world, talk about some things you need to hear, and some things you need to hear but may not like at first. Have a seat...

It’s time to grab your crystal balls and six-sided dice! Today we’re talking about an initiative that’s slowly gaining more speed and popularity, predictive maintenance. What is it and how does it work? Is it different from “preventative” maintenance? Will this new initiative be the cost-effective savior we’ve been hoping for, or is it just overhyped troubleshooting?  Want to read the article we u...

We’re taking another dive into the quality assurance world. On this episode we explore the difference between two terms, that is Audits and Inspections. These terms can sometimes be used interchangeably by mistake. So, what is the difference between these two, what is their purpose, and what do they not address? **What's your take on risk management, audits, and inspections? Do you have inputs for...

The weather can be very unpredictable and catch you off guard. In this episode, we take a look at how the weather took a turn for the worse and caught Norfolk, VA very off guard, damaging nine military helicopters in the process. At the time of this recording, the incident investigation is still ongoing, but what can be done about the weather and is it more costly to lean on the side of caution? W...

It's been a while since we've done a bonus episode, and it's been almost 2 years since we've been podcasting. We owe all of it to you, our supporters and listeners, for helping us continue to make content for you! Today we talk about the 2nd Annual Veteran Podcast Awards and some new projects that will be hitting soon on our Patreon and other platforms! Follow us on Facebook- @cancelledformaintena...

Today, we're diving a little bit into the Quality Assurance realm. We go into the continuous improvement process, what goes into preventative action and the biases of ignoring objective evidence because they may not exactly align with your current beliefs or agenda. This theory of knowledge was coined and best made famous by W. Edwards Deming, an engineer and statistician, who is responsible for m...

In our last episode, we talked about the age-old question of whether aircraft mechanics/aircraft maintenance technicians were skilled or unskilled. After citing an article published by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, it’s been highlighted, at least to us, that AMTs/AMEs are in fact considered skilled labor, but it also showed some of the convoluted ways our professional occupation is...

You’ve heard us mentioning on many episodes that aircraft mechanics here in the US are labeled as “unskilled labor”. We have had so many questions about that, so we’ve decided to do an episode about exploring why that is. This article we are citing comes from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association and from various other organizations which are diligently trying to dispel the misconceptions o...

In a recent article, a company called Zipline, became the first company to become certified by the FAA to operate drones as a small air carrier. Drones are becoming increasingly common in today’s world, from hobbies to commercial use. Today, we discuss the abilities of air carrier drones and what could the future of unmanned aerial vehicles be. **What do you think is the future of unmanned aerial...

It is no secret that there are some terrible bosses and employers out there.  This has become more noticeable during the pandemic.  Today we look at 20 instances of bosses/employers being the absolute worst to their employees. **Do you have a terrible boss story? Send us your reaction or story to our social media outlets or our email, we would love to hear from you! ** Check out these examples you...

We have been advocates for a fair and equal work force, where people be rated fairly based on their skills and abilities. Sadly, in the aviation industry, there is a huge disparity for women, with some fields in aviation encompassing less 5% of women. Today, we are joined with Kathryn Vinclaire, the founder of Flight Path Productions, who her and her production team are on a mission to help fix th...

On this episode, we're doing a follow up on the Red Bull plane swap stunt, which in some people's eyes, has gone terribly wrong.  What were some of the issues and what are the expected ramifications because of the stunt? We also mention some listener reactions to "weird" souvenirs they have kept or come across as part of their job. Do you like this episode? Follow us on Facebook- @cancelledformain...

Some of us believe we are too average to do remarkable things. These moments of self-doubt, coupled with a not-so endearing environment are a recipe to further hinder our potential. Today we are joined with Cassandra Hepp, a Canadian aircraft maintenance engineer (AME), and Elevate Aviation ambassador, where we talk about her experiences from having next to no mechanical knowledge to being the rec...