AeroEngineer1001: 36th Oath Taking Ceremony of New Aero Engineers

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).

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.

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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 2^nd 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.

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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.