A reader of my blogs once called me to ask my opinion of the practice of drop shipping; this because she wanted to draft some procedures for her Quality Manual and staff.   We need to initially distinguish the difference between ‘drop ship’ vs. ‘direct ship’, which many seem to confuse or use interchangeably. ‘Drop ship’ is a commercial term we use to describe that a part is being shipped from your supplier straight to your customer; it is not gong to be physically received at your facility. ‘Di...

A characteristic of human expression which seems to be on the wane is that of passion. You’ll know when a person is passionate about a topic of discussion when: the blood vessels in the neck are seen to bulge, the hand motionsbecome more expressive, and the tone of their voice changes to that level characterized as “don’t dare to interrupt me during my discourse or I’ll wag my finger at you.” That such impassioned expression is on the wane is a casual observation on my behalf, but if true, why? ...

The famous General Douglas MacArthur is quoted as saying “Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind”. At first I was surprised that this quote was attributed to a ranking member of the military known for strict adherence to rules and regulations, but on closer examination he was referring to the prosecution of battle plans, and I doubt he would tolerate the wear of an unkempt uniform out of regulations. In aviation we generally observe that the rules and re...

Is it possible to have too much of something? It seems kids never have enough toys; IT managers never have enough software, hardware or gadgets; Mechanics – tools; or pets - food. The list of seemingly insatiable objects is historical, and most, if not controlled, will get you in some kind of trouble. And so it is with inventories of aircraft parts.   Consider this: Worldwide the Jetliner fleet is comprised of about 17,200 aircraft. It is estimated that the global parts and components inventory ...

Welcome to the initial blog entry for CAVU Café: Royboy’s Prose & Cons. For those not familiar with the acronym, CAVU means Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited. It’s a term endeared in the hearts of aviators, and otherwise means great weather for flying. We hope you’ll enjoy the prose…unless you’re a con.   STOLEN AIRCRAFT PARTS By Roy Resto   “Pssst: hey bud, make ya a deal on a hot toilet seat… Don’t sit on this offer too long…we’re flush with inventory…”   You don’t have to search very har...