The Oath Taking Ceremony of the new aero engineers for 2018 took place at the Summit Hall C/D of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on December 22, 2018. The Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker was Dr. Juergen Dollmayer, Vice President for Maintenance of Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP).
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| Souvenir Programme of the 2018 Oath Taking Ceremony |
Hon. Redentor Malia, Member of the PRB of Aeronautical Engineering, welcomed the new aero engineers and guests while Engr. Lorenzo Naval Jr. emceed the whole event. Dr. Jay Jack Manzano delivered the closing remarks. Engr. Robin Rabin, President of SAEP, inducted the new aero engineers as new members of SAEP.
Dr. Dollmayer was introduced by Hon. Ernesto Ferreras Jr., Chairman of the PRB. Below is Dr. Dollmayer's background as introduced.
-ooo-
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| Plaque for Dr. Dollmayer |
Ladies and
gentlemen, good morning.
Our guest
speaker for today is one of us. In fact, he is more than an aeronautical
engineer, for he is an aerospace
engineer. And that makes him knowledgeable on both aeronautical and
astronautical engineering, meaning in the application of engineering sciences
and principles to both the atmosphere and outer space.
Our guest
speaker holds a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering. He is a doktoringenieur, in German. I hope I
pronounce it correctly. It means the German engineering
doctorate degree, comparable to Doctor
in Engineering.
Our guest
speaker has a youthful look and that’s because he is in the prime of his
career. He graduated from high school in 1996. Let me tell you that high school
in Germany takes 10 years to complete, if I’m not mistaken, equivalent to our 2nd
year college here in the Philippines, taking into account the Grade 11 and 12
of the K to 12 curriculum.
Dr. Dollmayer
pursued his engineering degree in the University of Stuttgart where he
graduated in 2002 with the degree in Aerospace Engineering, and obtained a Diplom-Ingenieur, which is the German
equivalent of Master of Science. And
to complete his academic credentials, our guest speaker finished his doctoral
degree in Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg,
Germany in 2007.
Dr. Dollmayer first
joined Lufthansa Technik AG in 2006 as Specification & Design Manager of the
VIP Completion Center in Hamburg, Germany. The VIP Completion Center develops
and certifies unique modifications and upgrades of cabin and other systems of
VIP and executive jets and wide-body and high-end narrow-body commercial
aircraft, depending on the individual wishes and instructions of the customers.
He became the Center’s Head of Process Development in 2010.
He moved on to
DLH Cabin Maintenance in Frankfurt as Head of Key Account Management &
Strategy and stayed there until 2012.
He climbed up the
ladder in Lufthansa Technik and became Head of Maintenance Planning &
Control of DLH Short Range Fleet based in Frankfurt. As Head of Maintenance
Planning & Control, he is responsible for the on-schedule implementation of
Part-M and Part-145 operations. Part M, for your information, concerns
specifically the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and components and Part
145 refers to aircraft maintenance organizations or MROs.
Furthermore,
under him, he managed various teams, like Plant Management, Line Maintenance
Planning, Base Maintenance Planning, Demand Management and Production Staff
Layover.
Dr. Dollmayer
moved on to another position in Lufthansa Technik, and just last month, in November,
he was appointed Vice President for Aircraft Maintenance of Lufthansa Technik
Philippines or LTP. As Vice President, he is responsible for the quality,
safety, on-time performance and costs of Line Maintenance production of LTP in
the Asia Pacific region. His mandate also includes developing and implementing
growth strategy of Lufthansa Technik’s Line Maintenance as a global industry
and market leader in the Asia Pacific region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome our esteemed guest speaker, Dr. Juergen Dollmayer.
-ooo-
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| The PRB Chairman |
The Chairman also delivered his message during the event. It was a challenge to the new aero engineers. Below is his message:
Now that you are
considered professionals, allow me to say a few things, my way of welcoming you
to the aviation world.
Let me start with
an incident, in fact, an aircraft accident which occurred recently, not that I
want to discourage you, but I tell you this because there’s a challenge to be
had. And this is a challenge, for you, young aero engineers.
A passenger
airplane of Lion Air, an Indonesian budget airline, crashed into the waters of
Java Sea on October 29 this year. The aircraft involved was the Boeing 737 MAX,
Boeing’s newest aircraft now on commercial flights.
If you have read
the many news articles written about the details of the crash, you would have
encountered the term MCAS, M-C-A-S, which stands for Maneuvering Characteristics
Augmentation System. This is a new system installed on the Boeing 737 MAX.
What does MCAS have
to do with the aircraft? Well, to put it simply, “if MCAS detects that the
plane is flying too slowly or steeply, and there’s a danger of stalling, it can
automatically lower the airplane’s nose.” The system stabilizes the aircraft at
high angles of attack, meaning it prevents stall.
MCAS is a new system
for the B737 MAX. Its design is excellent in terms of providing protection for
the aircraft to prevent stall. “It was added to make it easier for pilots to
control the aircraft in extreme scenarios and prevent it from pitching up and
stalling.”
In addition, the
crash has something to do with one of the two angle of attack sensors. During
that time one sensor was erroneously detecting a stall, when in fact, the
plane was not stalling. So MCAS kicked
in by trimming the nose down using the horizontal stabilizers. However, the
pilots failed to correct the down trim command of the MCAS, even though they
pushed the jet’s nose down for 26 times. In the end, MCAS pushed the plane down
and it crashed into the sea.
But
if you read the articles about the MCAS in the Internet, it says that somehow
Boeing did not want pilots to know about the MCAS system. They do not want to
overburden the pilots of the new system. The
Wall Street Journal said “Boeing didn't disclose MCAS details to pilots because
it was worried about overwhelming the pilots with more technical details than what
is needed. Boeing also said pilots were unlikely to encounter MCAS
intervention during their normal flying.”
Of course Boeing
has its own good reasons for doing so and did an excellent design in the MCAS. The accident is still under
investigation. What I want to emphasize here is that:
I pose this to you as a
challenge, aero engineers. Do you think, if you encounter or face too much
technical details of a new technology or system, you might be overburdened? Can
you be able to absorb and understand the operation of a new system? Can you do it? I want you
to say it, “YES I CAN!”
I ask you this
because, in our profession, the aero engineering profession, the turnover of
new technology is so rapid that you barely have enough time to master the
present system and yet another new system comes along for you to work on. And
with new technology come new policies and procedures.
The best example
is the A350, Airbus new commercial wide-body aircraft. Philippine Airlines
has acquired several and two more are coming next year to complete the order. And
with this new aircraft Philippine Airlines has implemented a standing policy stating
that equipment or stands to be used around the A350 should be least 1 foot away
from the structure. That’s because the fuselage or body of the Airbus 350 is
mostly made of composite material. Not only the skin is made with carbon fiber
composite but also covered with a metallic mesh used for protection against the
adverse effects of static electricity. The skin is full of bonding braids which
are used to prevent the accumulation of static charges.
What I’m saying
is that we thrive on technology. But don’t be intimidated by it. You must be
able to conquer and master it. Do you think you can handle it if you’re
assigned to work on a new system?
There are now
2025 of us registered aero engineers, including your batch. And we started
the Board examinations in 1983, that was 36 years ago, giving an average of only
56 new aero engineers added to the list each year. It’s just a small number. That
makes us a special group of engineering professionals, an elite group if you
will.
An example of a young
aero engineer who is making a big start is Engr. Justin Francis Austria, the
topnotcher in the 2015 Board exams. Presently, he is with Philippine Airlines’
Aircraft Engineering Department, handling systems and structures for A320/A321
NEO. You see, within just three years, this young engineer has proven himself
capable.
So I challenge
you. Do the same or
even more. I know you could do it. By passing the Board exams, you’ve shown
that you possess an attitude, a competency to give you a head start. You have
been prepared by your schools in the years you were studying. Like PATTS College
of Aeronautics, Philippine State College of Aeronautics, Holy Angel University,
Cebu Aeronautical & Technical School, FEATI University, MATS College of
Technology, University of Perpetual Help – System Dalta and WCC Aeronautical
& Technological College. You should be grateful to your alma mater for what
you have become today.
Prove yourself
worthy of the license you possess. Your license is a privilege to practice your
profession, and, may I add, it is also a responsibility. Use it in accordance
with good ethics and professionalism.
There are
already aero engineers who have established themselves on top. I’m sure they
will help you in the pursuit of your career. After all, we’re all brothers and
sisters in the aero engineering profession.
Once again, I
congratulate all of you. Go out into the world and establish yourself. Make us all
proud.
Thank you.
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| The PRB and SAEP and SAEP Student Chapter of PATTS |
More Messages
Here are more messages from the PRC, PRB and SAEP as published in the Souvenir Program...
From PRC Commissioner Hon. Yolanda Reyes:
From PRC Commissioner Hon. Jose Cueto:
From PRB Chairman Hon. Ernesto Ferreras Jr.:
From PRB Member Hon. Redentor Malia:
From the SAEP President Engr. Robin Rabin:
The present set of Officers and Directors (2018) of SAEP:
