"The Barrel"

On the line we have a term called "the barrel" or more often we say "it's my turn in the barrel". Being in the barrel is our term for having to work on a grounded plane or a plane that is broken. There are days that the barrel is a very bad place to be. There are days when the barrel is a good place to be. The difference depends largely on you. Just as any body else would an aircraft mechanic has days when he or she just does not feel into doing that extra work and then there are days when you look forward to going the extra mile.

I enjoy working on grounded planes. I get a rush I guess out of figuring out whats wrong and fixing it. I enjoy the challenge. There have been days that I just am not into it. This is a natural thing and one of the things I enjoy about working line maintenance at SWA is if I am not feeling the groove the majority of the guys I work with are go to guys and can pick up the slack.

I think if you try to jump into that barrel every day you will get burned out pretty fast. SWA, or actually, the mechanics I work with allow me that flexibility.