Check this guy out! Landing on the snow and ice with a big old heavy metal jet! Back in the day when A&P mechanics were MECHANICS, no TECHNICIANS. When a guy could use a belt loader to check a dent on a horizontal stab with out the fear of incurring a fine from OSHA.When kids feared their parents and a band aid would fix all injuries. In other words: THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
Funny, I don't see any safety vests on these guys. I'm sure these guys could sign off their work with out having "mechanic b" verify that it was done correctly!
I'm pretty sure that I could trust these guys to do their job completely. It looks like a gear swing on the old DC-3. No safety tape, cones, warning lights, etc. If you were too stupid to realize that a gear swing was dangerous and you wandered into the path of the gear, you got hurt and it was your fault.
Look at these guys...they are paying attention to what the instructor is telling them. Look at the instructor...he looks like he would belt any of these guys across the face if they smart mouth him or check their text messages during the class. When did we turn into a bunch of wimps who let the few feeble minded idiots ruin our proud profession?
I love working on planes, I do not love working with what has increasingly been a bunch of spoiled, unknowledgable (is that a word?) meat heads who only want to do the least and think they are owed the most. I advise my kids not to become mechanics not because of the hard work or hours or working conditions, it is simply because I see the direction our profession is headed and it scares me for the next generation of mechanics or as they want to be called-Technicians
Now THAT'S a post I can get behind!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that was me in the pilot seat of that DC-8. I was late for skiing at Kirkwood.
I agree with Mr. Goat. Most mechanics (let's say most people in general) always want to do the least possible in work and life. The ones who do their job and excel in it are usually considered to be up the manager's
ReplyDeletehoo-hoo! Is that fair? Nope.
There will always be a share of the work force who would rather go the easy route and enjoy that feeling of "cheating the company of work versus pay" than getting the thrill of doing the job the right way the first time and not pawning it off to the next shift.
At Southwest we used to be a "Can-Do" TEAM. But with the expansion of the company, changes in Leadership and our current hiring practises, we have MORE than our fair share of mechanics who fit the paraphrased axiom of "You can lead a mechanic to an airplane, but you can't make him work."
The mechanic has to want to work, and that takes us right back to the beginning of this post.