From the Director's Desk

As you have read in recent Aeronautics Technical Bulletins, we in the Office of Aeronautics, are celebrating 75 years of partnerships with Minnesota's fabulous publicly owned and operated airports. In addition to that celebration, we are also thrilled to be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Minnesota Aviation Maintenance Technicians Conference.

This spring, we had another very exciting and successful Conference. Nearly 400 people attended the event on March 19-20, 2018 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

This conference was for aviation maintenance technicians, IA's, industry employers, aviation vendors, and aviation maintenance college students, and a special program for high school students seeking careers in aviation!

The Conference featured more than 20 breakout sessions that ranged from aircraft brakes to composite repair, to the Connected Aircraft that discussed secure internet services for business aircraft. The FAA provided several speakers on a wide range of topics for the General Sessions.

Throughout the Conference, attendees had the opportunity to meet with industry personnel and maintenance experts from over 50 exhibitors, while checking out some of the latest technologies and tools for aviation maintenance.

There were more than 100 aviation maintenance college students from Lake Superior College, Northland Community and Technical College and Lake Area Technical Institute. There were also over 60 high school students, some from as far away as Duluth Denfeld High School, that attended a special program designed for them. The student program answered their questions, peaked their interests, and let them network with industry personnel!

It was a great 2018 Aviation Maintenance Technician Conference and a great way to celebrate 50 years of training and information for Minnesota's (and the regions') dedicated aviation maintenance technicians. This annual event occurs with the outstanding support and partnership of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, and the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence located at the Dakota County Technical College campus and, of course, MnDOT Aeronautics.