At MRO Americas 2026, aircraft maintenance professionals, students, military teams, and aerospace organizations came together for the Aerospace Maintenance Council Competition, one of the industry’s largest hands-on maintenance skills events.
Held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the 2026 AMC Competition brought together approximately 90 teams and more than 500 competitors from across the aviation maintenance industry. Perfect Point EDM supported the competition with the E-Drill Fastener Removal event, where competitors removed five titanium Hi-Lok fasteners from aircraft structure using the E-Drill process.
The E-Drill Fastener Removal Event
The E-Drill Fastener Removal event challenged competitors to complete a realistic fastener removal task in a timed competition environment. For this year’s event, competitors removed five Hi-Loks from a thrust reverser section using the E-Drill process. The workpieces were not generic test panels; they were made from real thrust reverser structures taken from a retired Gulfstream aircraft and reworked for the AMC Competition. That real aircraft structure helped make the event more than a timed competition; it reflected the kind of fastener removal challenges technicians face in the field.
On the surface, the process looked simple: locate and align on the fastener using E-Drill vacuum tooling, cut with the E-Drill hand tool, and then punch and remove the fastener from the structure.
But for anyone familiar with aircraft structures work, the challenge was immediately recognizable. Hi-Loks and other hard-metal aerospace fasteners can be difficult to remove by hand, and traditional drilling can create metal shavings, consume drill bits, increase cleanup time, and introduce the risk of damaging the surrounding structure.
That challenge was exactly what made the event such a strong fit for E-Drill. Competitors experienced a different approach to fastener removal in a live, hands-on environment, and many immediately compared it to the methods they use in the field.
One competitor from Southwest Airlines described the difference in cleanup and workflow:
“It keeps your workspace clean. You don’t have drill shavings everywhere. You’re not trying to hammer out Hi-Loks. It’s clean, you’re one and done, you’re moving to the next one, and you have hardly any cleanup.”
— Blake Fulton, Southwest Airlines – Team Herb
A More Controlled Process
Across the post-event interviews, several themes came up again and again. Competitors described E-Drill as easy to use, fast, clean, and more controlled than traditional drilling.
For structures mechanics, one of the most important points was the reduced risk of damage to the surrounding structure. David Swisher of Southwest Airlines – Team Herb connected that benefit directly to the traditional process of removing Hi-Loks.
“With the E-Drill, you really don’t have to have a whole lot of skill. It does all the work for you, and the best part, you don’t damage the structure. It even cleans up after itself.”
— David Swisher, Southwest Airlines – Team Herb
That type of feedback is exactly why Perfect Point EDM continues to support the AMC Competition. The event gives technicians and students a chance to try E-Drill in a realistic task, while also giving Perfect Point direct feedback from the people who understand the job.
Speed That Competitors Noticed
The competition format also made speed easy to see. Competitors were timed as they removed five titanium Hi-Loks, and several noted how quickly the process moved compared to traditional drilling.
Bruno Consolante of Air Canada summed it up simply:
“It’ll cut our time in half removing Hi-Loks, and that’s something that will make the job easy.”
— Bruno Consolante, Air Canada
For student competitors, the speed of the event stood out as well. Wyatt Altman, a student competing with the Embry-Riddle / Pratt & Whitney team, described completing the task in under two minutes.
“I got five Hi-Loks done in sub-two minutes, and that’s kind of hard to do with a drill.”
— Wyatt Altman, Embry-Riddle / Pratt & Whitney Team
The result was a clear demonstration of what E-Drill was designed to do: simplify fastener removal, reduce cleanup, and give technicians a more controlled process around sensitive aircraft structure.
A Hands-On Event for the Maintenance Community
While the E-Drill event was focused on fastener removal, the AMC Competition itself is much bigger than any single task. The competition brings together technicians, students, schools, airlines, MRO organizations, military teams, and industry sponsors in one place to celebrate the people who keep aircraft flying.
For many competitors, the value of AMC is the chance to be surrounded by others who understand the work.
“This is the one event where it’s just us. There’s no pilots, no flight attendants. It’s all mechanics, and we’re all here for the same thing.”
— David Swisher, Southwest Airlines – Team Herb
For student competitors, the event carries a different kind of energy. Altman described the months of preparation leading into the competition:
“We’ve been training for probably the last eight months for this, and it’s been hyped up as like, ‘Oh, it’s our Super Bowl.’”
— Wyatt Altman, Embry-Riddle / Pratt & Whitney Team
That combination of professional skill, student development, and hands-on exposure to new technology is what makes the AMC Competition such a valuable event for the aerospace maintenance community.
2026 E-Drill Fastener Removal Event Winners
Perfect Point EDM congratulates the winners of the 2026 E-Drill Fastener Removal event: You can also read the full 2026 E-Drill Fastener Removal winners announcement for the official results and press release recap.
Top Professional Category
Team #67 — United States Army, 128th Aviation Brigade, Team Chinook
Time: 1:28
Top School Category
Team #9 — Tulsa Tech, Adult Students
Time: 1:31
The winners completed the event with impressive speed and precision, but the competition also gave dozens of competitors the chance to experience a cleaner, more controlled approach to fastener removal.
Supporting the People Who Keep Aviation Moving
Perfect Point EDM’s involvement in the AMC Competition reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to supporting aircraft maintenance technicians, students, and the broader MRO community.
For Perfect Point, the E-Drill Fastener Removal event is more than a competition station. It is an opportunity to put E-Drill directly in the hands of the people who remove aircraft fasteners in the real world, hear their feedback, and support an event that celebrates the skill and professionalism of maintenance technicians.
Thank you to every competitor who participated, every team that came to Orlando, and the Aerospace Maintenance Council for continuing to support one of the most unique hands-on events in aviation maintenance.