wind sleet snow hail

Rainy, windy. A miserable day dawns on New Haven's Tweed regional airport. As I prepare to fly out I am greeted with interesting thoughts regarding my day spent at the Sikorsky plant. It was not my first trip but this one was different. I guess I was able to look at the place of legends with a more critical eye this time around.

There was the standard annoying check-in procedure for visitors. It looks like it will keep the place safe but if you look like a contractor, the armed security guards rarely give you a second glance.

Then there was the trek through the plant to our contacts desk area. A grueling 7 minute journey through the bowls of the plant. As I walk this path in my hot jacket and bum toe I can't help but wonder if Sikorsky hates their employees.

We arrive at our 'scheduled' Conference room. Though apparently its been assigned to somebody else. A minor verbal tussle ensues. Our contact is vehement about kicking out the standing meeting that was about to start (of about 10 more people then we had) because she registered the room. The conflict was resolved when the rooms schedule was checked. We were in another room altogether, and not too far from where we were.

The rest of the day was a fun adventure into learning how to do the analysis we needed to do.

Much like law, the world of the aeroindustry I am quickly coming to realize is based almost completely on precedent. We must do it like it has always been done, and be slow to change with the rest of the industry appears to be the mantra. While the advent of modern computing tools may have made the process more efficient, and more accurate, there are people in the industry that are paid to check everything by hand. Sikorsky's procedure for signing off on a new technology takes nearly a year of testing and analysis, and the process for approving/certifying new vendors even longer.

This should disturb me. But it doesn't. Probably because this industry stands atop the shoulders of giants like Igor Sikorsky. There is a reputation associated with that name, as there is to Boeing, Lockheed, and Airbus. There is a legacy to preserve in the Aging Aircraft industry and no force of nature will likely change it in a timely manner.

On previous visits to Sikorsky I got to take a peek at Igor's office, kept perfectly since he died in 1972. It dawned on me as I was traveling today that while it may be annoying as hell to youngins like me, if it aint broke, don't fix it is the mantra for the present.