My Top 10 Favorite Stories From 2023

In what has become a fun annual tradition for me as I wrap up editorial coverage for the year at Aviation Week, I wanted to share my top 10 favorite stories I wrote and produced this year (as well as some photos from work travel and events).

1.???? Did you know the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration flies planes into hurricanes to collect storm data? After finding out about NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters team I was dying to learn more about what goes into these daredevil operations—and it resulted in one of my favorite stories I’ve ever reported: https://aviationweek.com/mro/aircraft-propulsion/hurricane-hunters-maintenance-requires-whirlwind-schedule

2.???? Speaking of climate conditions, aircraft are also operated in parts of the world with some very extreme weather and phenomena like wildfires and earthquakes. I spoke with aircraft operators and maintenance providers as far flung as Antarctica to find out how they protect aircraft, workers and facilities from these elements: https://aviationweek.com/mro/workforce-training/how-mro-providers-cope-extreme-climate-conditions

3.???? As a journalist I am naturally wary of artificial intelligence (and those who think this job can be done by AI!) but the technology has become popular within aviation maintenance. For my cover story on how it’s being used in MRO I had really thought-provoking discussions with more than a dozen experts throughout the aviation and technology industries: https://aviationweek.com/mro/emerging-technologies/ai-fever-sweeps-mro-will-excitement-last

4.???? A couple months after Argentina’s December 2022 World Cup win, I got to visit the Buenos Aires facilities of Aerolineas Argentinas and see the custom-painted aircraft used to transport the country’s soccer team. During the visit I also got to go inside my first flight simulators, which was a neat experience: https://aviationweek.com/mro/gallery-inside-aerolineas-argentinas-eze-facilities

5.???? While covering my first Dubai Airshow in November, I had the chance to tour inside the Boeing 777-300ERSF cargo conversion by AerCap and Israel Aerospace Industries. I’ve written and edited plenty of stories about passenger-to-cargo conversions, but this was the first time I’ve ever actually been inside one: https://aviationweek.com/shownews/dubai-airshow/video-inside-big-twin-cargo-conversion

6.???? In October I visited the Moses Lake facilities of AeroTEC where a lot of cool aircraft testing, modifications and maintenance work is happening. AeroTEC’s CEO jokingly calls it the “island of misfit aircraft,” but I enjoyed learning about how the company is helping to support some very unique planes, including hydrogen-electric platforms, special missions aircraft and firefighting aircraft: https://aviationweek.com/mro/aircraft-propulsion/aerotec-grows-hydrogen-electric-mro-capabilities

7.???? Speaking of next-generation aircraft platforms, next year is when some eVTOL developers are planning to introduce service. I spoke with some of these developers, as well as educators at schools specialized in aircraft maintenance and engineering, to see if the industry is anywhere near close enough to preparing technicians to work on these advanced air mobility platforms: https://aviationweek.com/mro/workforce-training/closing-advanced-air-mobilitys-technician-training-gap

8.???? Some of the sources I spoke to for the previous article were people I met at the Aviation Technician Education Council’s annual conference, which happened to take place here in Chicago. A conversation at that event with a really wonderful maintenance instructor from Texas led to an interesting story about how the barrier to entry for careers in the aviation industry can be difficult to overcome for young people from less privileged backgrounds: https://aviationweek.com/mro/workforce-training/mros-generational-workforce-clash

9.???? On a related workforce note, this year I also learned about how difficult it is for military veterans with aviation maintenance experience to transition to civilian careers—even though the MRO industry is desperate to recruit that talent because of the workforce shortage: https://aviationweek.com/mro/workforce-training/mro-industry-competes-transitioning-military-veteran-talent

10.? Last, but certainly not least, I got to attend the very first graduation ceremony for Chicago’s new aviation maintenance school on the south side after following the story since its opening in 2021. It was really heartwarming to see how proud and excited the graduates’ instructors and families were, and it’s very cool to see these young people getting career opportunities with airlines right here in Chicago: https://aviationweek.com/mro/workforce-training/chicagos-mro-workforce-pipeline-celebrates-first-milestone