Monday, December 7, 2009
The Meaning Of Christmas (Not A Religeous Post)
We mechanics love Christmas time. Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Ramadan, etc all mean the same thing to us-TOOLS!. It is so easy for our significant others to shop for us: Let's see what would he like? Can't think of anything...guess I'll buy some tools. I'm not complaining because I love tools. If my wife wants to buy me tools for my birthday, our anniversary, Christmas, whatever I'm all for it! In the next couple of weeks I would like to share some gift ideas (basically stuff we see in the tool section of the local hardware store). If you see anything interesting let me know and we can share it with everyone.
Friday, December 4, 2009
TSA Planning To Inspect Shops That Repair Jets
USA TODAY reporter Thomas Frank writes:
Thousands of airplane maintenance shops in the U.S. and abroad would get increased scrutiny to make sure they are not easy prey for terrorists looking to sabotage U.S. jets during routine repairs, a government proposal says. Some experts and lawmakers have warned for years about potential terrorist saboteurs infiltrating airplane repair shops, and have urged security oversight.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says the greatest danger is posed by repair shops that are on or next to airports because a terrorist could take control of an airplane. A TSA regulation proposed Monday would for the first time enable the agency to inspect airplane repair shops. If the TSA found a problematic repair shop, the agency would tell the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend the shop's operating license.
TSA Assistant Administrator Lee Kair said the new requirement "guards against the potential threat of an aircraft being destroyed or used as a weapon." The agency is soliciting public comments on the proposal and could finalize it later this year. Airplanes ranging from small recreational planes to wide-body jets are repaired at more than 4,200 shops across the U.S. as well as at 700 shops abroad, in countries such as France, Germany, Singapore, Egypt and Jordan.
The shops include small operations that fix seat cushions and massive complexes that overhaul engines. Some industry officials say lawmakers have overstated the potential threat posed by repair shops, noting that shops must be inspected and licensed by the FAA to work on U.S.-based planes.
Thousands of airplane maintenance shops in the U.S. and abroad would get increased scrutiny to make sure they are not easy prey for terrorists looking to sabotage U.S. jets during routine repairs, a government proposal says. Some experts and lawmakers have warned for years about potential terrorist saboteurs infiltrating airplane repair shops, and have urged security oversight.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says the greatest danger is posed by repair shops that are on or next to airports because a terrorist could take control of an airplane. A TSA regulation proposed Monday would for the first time enable the agency to inspect airplane repair shops. If the TSA found a problematic repair shop, the agency would tell the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend the shop's operating license.
TSA Assistant Administrator Lee Kair said the new requirement "guards against the potential threat of an aircraft being destroyed or used as a weapon." The agency is soliciting public comments on the proposal and could finalize it later this year. Airplanes ranging from small recreational planes to wide-body jets are repaired at more than 4,200 shops across the U.S. as well as at 700 shops abroad, in countries such as France, Germany, Singapore, Egypt and Jordan.
The shops include small operations that fix seat cushions and massive complexes that overhaul engines. Some industry officials say lawmakers have overstated the potential threat posed by repair shops, noting that shops must be inspected and licensed by the FAA to work on U.S.-based planes.
Stores or Inventory Control
Its something that I never really thought of until I got my first job at an airline. When we work on airplanes we use a lot of parts. Keeping up with how many parts are used, how many parts are needed for the next nights work or even just the daily operation at a Line or Hangar Station is a very important job. Over the years I have known a lot of Stores Clerks and can not underestimate the importance of this job.
When I worked at a repair station overhauling engines I was responsibile for figuring out the parts I needed and ordering them. If I forgot to order something or it was not in stock it was a big deal for my engine so I took care to do a good job and it made me realise the importance of inventory control.
At Delta we had a tremendous stores system with robots and vacuum tubes etc. If you needed a part you went to the stores shack, ordered what you needed and most times in about an hour you had what you needed. When you work at a hangar you have the advantage of having most parts available to you.
Once I got to Ameriflight I was able to witness how stores operates in a Line type of station. Although we worked in a hangar we still ordered parts from our main base in Burbank allowing us to only keep the most used parts in our stores. The guys and gals in stores there were really good at keeping the place stocked with everything we needed and I do not remember many times when we had to wait on parts.
Here at Southwest we have no Hangar. The closest major base, as far as stores is concerned, is Pheonix. The art of keeping our base stocked is trickier here than at any other job I've been at. We use a tremendous amount of parts on a daily basis and our stores clerks have to be on top of their game to keep up with it. From lightbulbs, oil, window wash, slat actuators, ADI, MCPs, etc. It's a daily battle to stay ahead of it. When we do not have a part we order it from Dallas, or Houston, or Pheonix but that means the ac is down. At Southwest when we have a grounded plane we lose money. Southwest does not have a lot of spare aircraft like other airlines and generally uses all of the planes we have which puts even more responsibility on the stores clerks shoulders.
In my time I have known some really good stock clerks and some not so good ones. The way we operate it also helps when a stock clerk is willing to run parts to us at gate calls, look up effectivity, help us out when we have a road trip etc. Don't take the stock clerks for granted. They have a very important job and when you have a good stock clerk you definetley know it, when you do not have a good one it makes for a really bad shift.
When I worked at a repair station overhauling engines I was responsibile for figuring out the parts I needed and ordering them. If I forgot to order something or it was not in stock it was a big deal for my engine so I took care to do a good job and it made me realise the importance of inventory control.
At Delta we had a tremendous stores system with robots and vacuum tubes etc. If you needed a part you went to the stores shack, ordered what you needed and most times in about an hour you had what you needed. When you work at a hangar you have the advantage of having most parts available to you.
Once I got to Ameriflight I was able to witness how stores operates in a Line type of station. Although we worked in a hangar we still ordered parts from our main base in Burbank allowing us to only keep the most used parts in our stores. The guys and gals in stores there were really good at keeping the place stocked with everything we needed and I do not remember many times when we had to wait on parts.
Here at Southwest we have no Hangar. The closest major base, as far as stores is concerned, is Pheonix. The art of keeping our base stocked is trickier here than at any other job I've been at. We use a tremendous amount of parts on a daily basis and our stores clerks have to be on top of their game to keep up with it. From lightbulbs, oil, window wash, slat actuators, ADI, MCPs, etc. It's a daily battle to stay ahead of it. When we do not have a part we order it from Dallas, or Houston, or Pheonix but that means the ac is down. At Southwest when we have a grounded plane we lose money. Southwest does not have a lot of spare aircraft like other airlines and generally uses all of the planes we have which puts even more responsibility on the stores clerks shoulders.
In my time I have known some really good stock clerks and some not so good ones. The way we operate it also helps when a stock clerk is willing to run parts to us at gate calls, look up effectivity, help us out when we have a road trip etc. Don't take the stock clerks for granted. They have a very important job and when you have a good stock clerk you definetley know it, when you do not have a good one it makes for a really bad shift.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Beauty Of The Job!!
There are people who find no glamour in being an aircraft mechanic. There are people who really dislike being aircraft mechanics. As a matter of fact those people most likely outnumber the ones that do. Every now and then you find a guy who enjoys what he does and can also see beauty in an otherwise drab dingy job. When 666 emailed me this pic I said to myself "here is a guy with talent". This pic is beautiful! I already can tell he enjoys his job just by working with him but he can also find beauty in a not so easy task such as changing an engine. Takes talent!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
I Hate To Criticize...
Occasionally while working the Line we are confronted with cold winter conditions that may lead to the need for Deicing. As one of the mechanics pointed out last week to me-we have worked here in Oakland for 13 years and only recently have we encountered this pressing need to deice the wings on our a/c. I'm not sure what changed globally or if the hole in the Ozone Layer has created this change in the Bay Area weather patterns but we have icing issues now that we did not have only a few short years ago.
So when we have a captain who decides he has too much ice on the wings we have a need for deicing. This was accomplished by the ramp (at SWA) who would come by with their trailer/stand combo cart thing and spray hot water onto the wings to melt the ice. Recently California has decided that we cannot deice at our airport and so the planes have to wait until the ice melts on its own! This takes a very long time and even longer if it is the end of the day. Anyway that is not what I wanted to talk about right now I just feel it is ridiculous that we cannot even spray hot water onto the wings.
The 737-700 ac seems to have the most incidences with frost in Oakland. I have seen planes come in with the landing gear struts completely covered in two or three inches of ice and ice packed around the wing to body fairing (wing root). That said the most typical icing we get is around the fuel bays on the top and bottom of the wings. This type of icing is called Hoar Ice or Hoar Frost and has to do with having the fuel real cold at altitude then descending and the skin cooling or warming or something and so a very thin layer of ice or frost forms often times right over the fuel bays.
The main thing we need to worry about is that there are captains out there who want you as the mechanic to make a decision as to if his wings are iced or frosted. It is very important to remember that the decision is up to the captain. Do not give any opinion as to frost or ice. With the FAA coming down on everything we do these days it is even more important to let the captain do his job and make his own decisions. We can bring a set of stairs over so the captain can check the wing surface himself but that is it! AND PLEASE MAKE SURE THE CAPTAIN DOES NOT TRY TO GET UP ON THE WING. HE CAN PUT HIS HAND ON THE WING TO FEEL THE FROST BUT NEVER ALLOW HIM TO CLIMB ON THE WING. BECAUSE...
I was called to provide a stair for a captain to inspect his wing for ice. I bring over a window wash stand and place it where he wanted it and stepped back. The captain looks at me as if he is waiting for me to go up. I said to him "you want me to check?" he says yes and I told him that I cannot make that decision for him. So away he goes up the stand. Instead of stopping at the top he steps out onto the wing. Now forgetting that there are places on top of the wing that should not be tread upon remember the reason he called me over? That's right ICE!! So the captain takes one step off the stand and starts slipping. Backward, forward, to the side then he is on his hands and knees! Remember which way the wing is sloped? That's right he is sliding toward the trailing edge. All the stuff falls out of his pocket and he is moving toward the edge and the great abyss after that which end with him hitting the concrete. About half way to the trailing edge he manages to stop himself. By this time I got to the top of the stand and said to him "how about you get down from there?".
Imagine the paperwork involved if this nut had fallen off the wing. I would be filling out incident reports, answering emails, irregularity reports, phone calls from Dallas etc. To top it all off who do you think would get into trouble over this? Not the captain, not the Port of Oakland or California.
My wife is a pilot at Alaska Airlines (furloughed). When she was in school they said that she should get out onto the wing to check and see if ice is present. She told them that there was no way she was going to try and walk on an icy wing and she is right. The crew members have pilot shoes, pilots pants, and no gloves typically and are going to try to walk on a wet wing! Crazy!
Just make sure the captains do not get onto the wings and do not let them pressure you into making a decision for them when it comes to icing.
So when we have a captain who decides he has too much ice on the wings we have a need for deicing. This was accomplished by the ramp (at SWA) who would come by with their trailer/stand combo cart thing and spray hot water onto the wings to melt the ice. Recently California has decided that we cannot deice at our airport and so the planes have to wait until the ice melts on its own! This takes a very long time and even longer if it is the end of the day. Anyway that is not what I wanted to talk about right now I just feel it is ridiculous that we cannot even spray hot water onto the wings.
The 737-700 ac seems to have the most incidences with frost in Oakland. I have seen planes come in with the landing gear struts completely covered in two or three inches of ice and ice packed around the wing to body fairing (wing root). That said the most typical icing we get is around the fuel bays on the top and bottom of the wings. This type of icing is called Hoar Ice or Hoar Frost and has to do with having the fuel real cold at altitude then descending and the skin cooling or warming or something and so a very thin layer of ice or frost forms often times right over the fuel bays.
The main thing we need to worry about is that there are captains out there who want you as the mechanic to make a decision as to if his wings are iced or frosted. It is very important to remember that the decision is up to the captain. Do not give any opinion as to frost or ice. With the FAA coming down on everything we do these days it is even more important to let the captain do his job and make his own decisions. We can bring a set of stairs over so the captain can check the wing surface himself but that is it! AND PLEASE MAKE SURE THE CAPTAIN DOES NOT TRY TO GET UP ON THE WING. HE CAN PUT HIS HAND ON THE WING TO FEEL THE FROST BUT NEVER ALLOW HIM TO CLIMB ON THE WING. BECAUSE...
I was called to provide a stair for a captain to inspect his wing for ice. I bring over a window wash stand and place it where he wanted it and stepped back. The captain looks at me as if he is waiting for me to go up. I said to him "you want me to check?" he says yes and I told him that I cannot make that decision for him. So away he goes up the stand. Instead of stopping at the top he steps out onto the wing. Now forgetting that there are places on top of the wing that should not be tread upon remember the reason he called me over? That's right ICE!! So the captain takes one step off the stand and starts slipping. Backward, forward, to the side then he is on his hands and knees! Remember which way the wing is sloped? That's right he is sliding toward the trailing edge. All the stuff falls out of his pocket and he is moving toward the edge and the great abyss after that which end with him hitting the concrete. About half way to the trailing edge he manages to stop himself. By this time I got to the top of the stand and said to him "how about you get down from there?".
Imagine the paperwork involved if this nut had fallen off the wing. I would be filling out incident reports, answering emails, irregularity reports, phone calls from Dallas etc. To top it all off who do you think would get into trouble over this? Not the captain, not the Port of Oakland or California.
My wife is a pilot at Alaska Airlines (furloughed). When she was in school they said that she should get out onto the wing to check and see if ice is present. She told them that there was no way she was going to try and walk on an icy wing and she is right. The crew members have pilot shoes, pilots pants, and no gloves typically and are going to try to walk on a wet wing! Crazy!
Just make sure the captains do not get onto the wings and do not let them pressure you into making a decision for them when it comes to icing.
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