(Apologies to the non-UK folks for whom this will be of only marginal
interest at best.)
PFA HQ have issued the following statement:
"Our Deputy chief Engineer John Tempest has reluctantly decided to move on
after 10 years of dedicated work for PFA. John has been head hunted by De
Havilland Support (DHS) for some time and has now made a final decision to
take the opportunity to develop his career with DHS. We wish him well in
that move.
To maintain our capability John will remain as a consultant to PFA.
As members know we are currently interviewing candidates for a Head of
Engineering and a new design Engineer. With John's imminent departure we
have now expanded this programme to include a replacement for John.
Clearly this situation will reduce in the short term our capability and
service levels will potentially suffer. Be assured all efforts will be made
to mitigate this problem. During this difficult period members are asked to
assist by reducing their demands as much as possible."
I'd just a like to add a few personal notes, as I know this will give rise
to great concern in a group such as the Europa community that has a lot of
flying aircraft, many more approaching first flight, and a high rate of
modifications.
First of all, this is an excellent opportunity for John, who has given the
PFA 10 years of service, and it is quite understandable that he wants to
progress his career. He leaves us with my best wishes.
Secondly, obviously this is not a good time to lose an Engineer. We were
already recruiting a fourth Engineering head, and replacing the Head of
Engineering. We're down to 1 man (Francis) compared to 3 a year ago, and
compared to a budgeted headcount of 4. It doesn't take Burt Rutan to work
out that this situation brings 'challenges'.
Obviously I'll be doing my best, along with the rest of the Engineering
committee at the PFA, and the EC, to resolve this as quickly as possible.
We'll also be using this as an opportunity to re-think the way Engineering
works (clouds and silver linings and all that). Liza and I are 'heads down'
house-hunting at present, and that process will hopefully be followed by a
house move, so can I just say that I'd really appreciate it if folks didn't
'vent' their frustrations at me at this time.
Thanks and regards,
Jeremy
Jeremy Davey
Europa Monowheel 537M G-EZZA
Europa Club Vice-Chairman, Webmaster, PFA NC Representative
PFA EC Member
"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then it is
possible you haven't grasped the severity of the situation."
Tail done
Standard XS wings with mods underway
CM installed in fuse (with airbrakes fittings)
1430 build hours to date, build currently stalled due to house moves and
lack of workshop
Intended fit:
Rotax 914 turbo, Airmaster CS fully-feathering prop
Lots of lights, buttons, switches, gizmos, and alarms
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