...And Here, Darn it, Are The Heartbreakers

Final Compilations by ANN Editor-In-Chief/Corporate Insomniac, Jim Campbell

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult task, facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aerospace community has managed to accomplish.

Alas, 2008 saw more than its fair share of downers, aviation-wise. Sure, "stuff" happens... but a few folks, issues, or entities seemed to go out of their way to create problems for the world of aviation.

So... it is ANN's annual obligation to recognize Ten of our Aero-Heartbreakers for 2008... in something of an informal order, starting from the 1st to the 10th.

Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included, or omitted, from such a list. In the meantime, we hope those who had something to do with this year's selections think a little more positively about the welfare of this industry, so that future lists become harder and harder to catalog.

Be it ignorance, arrogance or just plain incompetence, these were the folks or topics that made our lot a whole lot more difficult and immeasurably injured the aviation world in the past year.

Shame on those issues, folks, or groups that made our lot so much tougher in 2008...

Thielert's Meltdown

You have to be somewhat amazed at how quickly the tide has turned for Aero-Engine maker, Thielert Aircraft Engines. These folks took the world by storm with an alternative-fueled powerplant that was light, efficient and… most amazingly, based on technology that actually post-dated the last World War -- then they blew it… badly. More than badly… they screwed the pooch in ways that pretty much leave them not only swirling the drain, but destined to take a few others with it.

Don't you hate it when that happens?

There is little question that the problems at Thielert were long in the making, and that a company that was starting to take the world by storm with an alternative to older power plant technology failed miserably at a time when it should have been invincible. The problems at Thielert were largely managerial and financial, but when the doors were shut, the industry was wounded in ways that we will be feeling for years.

Worse, though, was the fact that that as Thielert fell under government control (the foreign equivalent of bankruptcy) due to its inability to manage its business affairs any further; those in charge had grandiose ideas about what the company was worth and what people were willing to put up with in order to get its products. Those in charge of the Thielert resurrection process wielded aggressive power unwisely… with overpriced replacement parts, the institution of laborious and unncessary procedures, alienated the OEMs and customer base quite thoroughly, and pretty much made the potential recovery of Thielert nigh onto impossible.

We don't know what's going to happen at Thielert Aircraft Engines, but as bad as the mismanagement was when Thielert was still in "business," it (in some ways) pales in comparison to what was done thereafter, especially in regards to the way that officials dealt with some of Thielert's most substantial customers. 

For what it's worth, we believe that the damage done Thielert both before, and after, its failure appears to be insurmountable -- with Diamond's Austro program heading for certification, as well as both Continental and Lycoming's promise of future diesel products in the pipeline, the resurrection of Thielert may simply be impossible. 

We shall see…

FMI: www.thielert.com