J. Alexander's an Experience to Forget

I arrived early for a five thirty dinner with a party of nine. The hosting staff of J. Alexander's in Overland Park was courteous and helpful though functionally inept. They attempted to seat our party at two tables for four. They refused to push two tables together. The next suggestion was an attempt to seat nine average sized midwestern Americans at a round, half booth table designed for six. We actually tried to make it work. I was reminded of riding a city bus in Hong Kong, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow. A third request for a suitable table arrangement finally netted us a table for eight with an extra chair off one corner. Ultimately pushing together two tables after badgering the floor manager for a third time. Drinks were delivered to us belonging to another table, ours lost in the mix. There was not an ice cube to be seen anywhere in the house. Frustrations were high by the time we ordered. Twenty seven dollars for twelve ounces of prime rib and a one cup serving of mashed potatoes. Soup or salad was a separate entree. The house salad I had was filled with fresh surprises and the highlight of the meal.  Servers quickly brought us dinners that we did not order. When the proper dinners did arrive we had been there a hour, silverware for two of our guests had to be requested. One highlight of the evening was when larger than life steak knives were delivered in addition to the steak knives we already had and one of our guests inquired " Are the steaks that tough we need these huge knives?" 

The prime rib was mediocre at best. It was compaired with that of Longhorn Steakhouse and deemed inferior in taste and quality. The atmosphere reminded me of a dimely lit version of a famous pancake house chain. No reservations, uncomfortable bench seating for awaiting guests, high end pricing and inept staff make it a place of no return for my money.

TGIF

Sweet nectar of the grains sooth my pallet as the long weekend slowly enters my reality. Toils of the daily grind slowly melt away while the sun sets on another Kansas day. A golden haired beauty prepairs gourmet cuisine over fire. The mind needs to wander, escape the earthly bounds of restricting faith. Visual aids stimulate relaxation. I am Groot.

Death of an Airplane

A plane died today. It was given its last rights and deemed unfit for further life as it was designed. This story has a moral, a lesson, and a challenge. Meet Xray, a 1962 Cessna model 172 small aircraft.

Aircraft have been mass produced since the early 20th century. The 1950's brought an explosion of economical, safe, dependable personal aircraft for the masses. These aircraft were designed and built with a 10 to 15 year life span in mind. Today there are tens of thousands of these fifty, sixty and seventy year old airplanes still flying. The reason so many of them are flying is due to the federally mandated annual inspections and stringent repair processes they go through. Every once in a while, one slips through the cracks. This is one of those sad stories with a happy ending.

I know very little of the history of this aircraft, only that over the last two years, according to the maintenance records, the only repair that was done during the annual inspections was to install a new set of spark plug wires (high tension leads).

This aircraft was purchased sight unseen, through an Internet auction house for $18,000. The engine has had a recent top half overhaul (pistons and cylinders). The aircraft has flown weekly for a few months and came into our shop for some repairs to the instrument panel. What transpired over the next three days has resulted in the death of this airplane.

The mechanic working on the panel issue noticed the windshield was cracked and working its way out of its lower cradle. The windshield had moved up far enough that daylight could be seen underneath the bottom. A new window was ordered. Work continued to the next day when a couple more serious discrepancies were found that required repair. At that point the owner decided to have us perform a full annual inspection on the aircraft.

The inspection commenced. The next two days brought scratched heads, bugged out eyes, disappointment, and utter disgust for the disregard for human life, regulations and federal laws that apply to aircraft safety.

The certified mechanics that had been taking care of this aircraft before it got to us had performed a lack of maintenance, in my mind, bordering on criminal. The following is a short summation of a list of over 40 items that require maintenance before this aircraft should be returned to service:

• ·      Windshield cracked
• ·      Windshield improperly installed
• ·      Aft rudder and elevator bulkhead mount broken (cast piece)
• ·      Left wing is 5 inches higher than the right when aircraft is level
• ·      Fuel Selector Valve leaks in the Off position
• ·      Elevator up and down stop bolts set to maximum deflection, travel is way out  of limits per maintenance manual
• ·      All control surface cables rusted
• ·      All elevator and rudder hinge bolts rusted
• ·      All elevator and rudder hinge bushings frozen
• ·      Elevator trim eyebolt frozen
• ·      Rudder and Elevator mount bolts severely corroded
• ·      Elevator trim cable installed with two twists between pulleys
• ·      Elevator cable pulley nut held on my one thread
• ·      Flap cable pulleys under floor miss aligned and rubbing outside on rib
• ·      Engine Mount bolts installed backwards
• ·      Oil filter adapter hand tight, safety wire holding it in place
• ·      Number six intake leaking at gasket
• ·      Number six intake has hole chaffed in it from exhaust clamp
• ·      Baffling not installed correctly between #3 and #5 cylinders
• ·      Intake pipe seal clamps on #3 cylinder loose, slid down
• ·      Engine cowl has severe exfoliating corrosion, quarter inch hole in side 
• ·      Eight Axle/Brake Caliper mounting bolts severely corroded
• ·      All eight flap roller bearings worn and grooved
• ·      Both brake master cylinders leaking profusely
• ·      Clock electrical wire chaffing on the battery box
• ·      Unfilled holes in the firewall
• ·      Vacuum filters with no clamps and unsecured
• ·      Oil hose permeating oil through the sides of itself
• ·      Yoke bushings allow six inches of play in the yoke at full aft position
• ·      Second oil temperature instrument inoperative, not labeled as such
• ·      Wing and tail navigation lights, only one good bulb.
• ·      Landing and taxi lights inoperative
• ·      Old birds next inside the elevator and bottom of tail pod
• ·      Battery tested out at 38% capacity
• ·      One main tire has six inch crack in sidewall

  

A few items on this list do not require repair to deem this aircraft airworthy. Due diligence with periodic maintenance would have caught many of these items before they became unserviceable. 

The moral, lesson, and challenge is this; do not buy an aircraft sight unseen. The lesson is, do your own due diligence and if it doesn’t look right, do something about it. The challenge is, and its is a hard one, being an aircraft mechanic in the field we are often asked to look the other way by pilots, owners and those looking out for them. Your certificate is worth more than any job on the planet; do not sell your signature for a few extra dollars so someone can shortcut maintenance.

This is a sever case of short cutting maintenance. Pilots, it is ok to question the maintenance practices. The happy ending?  No human lost their life this time.

Textbook Returns

A long haired, unshaven white guy in a pink shirt, seemingly overwhelmed and trying to go home, paused to hear my plea. I had arrived a full thirty minutes after the last transaction of the day to return my rental books. A student rushed in to find out what time they opened, he was leaving town and desperately wanted to sell his books. "The tills are closed, cash is gone" came from behind the half open window, "we open at nine." "Rental returns I can do" Mr. Pink Shirt said as he motioned me forward, the rental stickers ever blaring from my textbooks. I felt lucky as I watched two more students head for the closed window as I pulled out of the parking lot.

A New Chapter

It was productive for a Friday. My position as an aircraft mechanic is almost a year old and I am quite comfortable at task. A final exam tomorrow will bring the scholastic part of this recent adventure to an end. Five years have been tentatively scheduled to pass before the next great adventure of my life. Events shall meld to a point in time where leaving full time employment behind will be a viable reality. They say a lot can be said in six sentences, we shall see.

And Three Years Later.....

We took a little trip of about 180 miles so I could take a little walk and pick up a piece of paper. Saturday the 9th I walked across the stage at commencement and picked up my Associate of Applied Science in Aviation Maintenance degree from Kansas State University - Salina.

I headed out first thing Friday morning to make a 1pm commencement practice. My mom went with us as it was Mothers Day weekend and her birthday. I am the first of her kids to earn a degree. It was great to be able to bring her along. Reservations were made at the KOA in Salina, Kansas. I booked a deluxe cabin for my mom and a 30amp site for our truck camper. Debbie joined me late Friday night after work.

The campground has been continuously managed for over 50 years. I lived there for two years in our fifth wheel camper while I attended school. The owners are wonderful, easy to get along with and will do anything to make your stay enjoyable. It is at exit 252 on I-70. I would highly recommend it if you are passing through.

 

 Across the road from the KOA is the Central Kansas Flywheels Museum. It is worth a visit. This is a video I made during an open house event they had while I was staying there. If you like antiques and old tractors and such it has some neat rare WORKING steam equipment.

I spent two years in taking classes, then finished my requirements online over the last two semesters. We had fun seeing old friends and catching up with my professors. The fifth wheel got sold when I moved back to Olathe. We just had no where to store it and no plans for any immediate traveling. We just picked up this truck camper last month. We really missed have our get away home. We have lots more adventures planned. Friend us and check back in to see what we are up to. Here's a hint... we leave for Florida in about 6 weeks for a two week trip.

Aviation Student Resources

Classes start in less than 2 weeks for me at K-State Salina. The summer has flown by but the excitement of this new venture has been on my mind since spring. I enrolled I have been reading, studying, watching YouTube videos and collecting tools for use at school. I want to share with you some resources I have collected over the summer that any aviation student may find useful.

My student advisor started me off by directing me to faa.gov to pick up three manuals in PDF form that are used to develop the oral, written and practical exams for the aircraft and powerplant certification exams:

FAA Aircraft Handbooks and Manuals – is library of interest to both mechanic and pilot students. The mechanic students should download FAA-H-8038-30, –31, and –32.

I acquired the free Adobe Reader ready or my iPad for the app store, opened these manuals in that specific reader and the reader saved them to my iPad. You can do the same with a laptop or desktop machine.

An industry resource I found was in the iPad Newsstand, a magazine called Aviation Maintenance. This is a free bi-monthly magazine that reports on the heartbeat of aviation maintenance around the world. They report on what's hot, new ideas and how to improve business and productivity. The issues can be downloaded for free to your iPad/laptop. The editors put together an annual collection called Repair Center Directory which to me, is an extensive list of potential employers. The list includes US and international repair stations and aviation service providers. Its not all inclusive, but it it extensive.

Another free, iPad available magazine, is Avionics Magazine who’s website is Aviation Today.com reports specifically on the avionics industry with emphasis on military, UAV and avionics development programs. Today the jobs board included over 1200 postings in the aerospace industry for non-pilot positions.

Taleo jobs database includes many aviation maintenance related military and government positions that are available. The link is into a secure server so click the “All Jobs” tab, then the “Basic Search” tab to view listings.

YouTube is a wealth of interesting, time killing nonsense. There are also some magnificent independent video producers creating informative and useful training videos. I want to share some of my favorites that I follow. These will be of interest to both maintainers and pilots:

kstatesalina – Who wouldn’t like a peak at what’s going on at the best aviation school in the country! The AVM aircraft assembly video superb.

mjlorton – specializes in teaching basic electricity, electronics, multimeter use, circuit design, ohm’s law with mathematic tutoring

mzeroaflighttraining – A certified flight instructor creates short videos of flight training with fantastic multi camera photography and his website includes an online ground school.

riveteer – University of the Fraser Valley aviation maintenance school  individual has created a few videos relating to sheet metal work and their school.

textsa – This user has one video that is of interest, it is an hour and a half long video of the oral private pilots exam. It highlights many areas to concentrate preparation.

undaerocast – The University of North Dakota’s aviation department has created a collection of videos primarily directed to student pilots. These are safety, instructional and recruiting videos.

There are many tool resources, you mechanics are going to need them. I picked up a nice chest toolbox from Harbor Freight for a few hundred dollars. I spent some time in an actual shop and realized the tall cabinets sometimes hold more but have two distinct disadvantages, 1) you can’t see in the top drawers unless your 6 1/2 feet tall; 2) when I roll my chest style tool box up to an aircraft in a large hangar bay it provides me with a work bench with which to place parts, screws, tool etc that I am using on the project to I don’t have to leave them laying on, in or under an airplane between operations. Do yourself a favor and get a large chest style box to start with, you’ll thank me later.

For hand tools, if you are starting out I found Lowe’s has most of what I need, they are guaranteed forever, cost a fraction of what Snap-on and Matco tools and will do the same job. If your Snap-on tool breaks, you have to wait a week for the local supplier to come around and replace it, if you got it at Lowe’s you can replace it the same day. The expensive tools are good tools, and yes will want them eventually, I have bought a few specialty tools (because I was working in the real world on real airplanes) and they make life easier.  Getting started I recommend saving your money until you are working in the real world and can justify the expense.

If you have any other favorite websites, YouTube producers or info to share feel free to comment.

Technorati Tags: Aviation,K-State

Extreme Tree Trimming

 

Last month we decided to trim some trees in the yard, it got a little out of hand. We obtained bids from several companies and decided to go with Arbormasters of KC. We were very impressed with their work.

This is the front of the house before trimming….

 

The back of the house before trimming….

The job….

And after a little trimming…

 

Three guys spent five hours removing five trees, one bush and grinding eight stumps for us. Total cost $945.00. It gave us quite the upgrade to our curb appeal.

Jim Fix - Propeller Repair Extraordinaire

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a presentation on constant speed propeller refurbishing and repair. Our local Experimental Aircraft Association hosted Mr. Fix at their June meeting in Olathe, Kansas. Fix-It Prop Shop, Inc was established in 1973 at Lincoln Air Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. Today they are a certified repair station specializing repair of 2024 grade Aluminum props.
      
Mr. Fix's  slide presentation took us thought the processes he uses to measure and correct the pitch, track and bow in a propeller. He explained that it is rare to find a perfectly matched prop from side to side, even brand new ones with factory certifications are typically less than perfect from inconsistencies in the manufacturing process. Each prop tells a story, if the back of a prop is splattered with chips, the nose gear strut is most likely lo, or was low at one time, allowing the debris thrown up from the front wheel to reach the prop tip. We were presented us with a collection if prop tips that had been gathered, showing us what types of damage looked like, we saw gravel pits, cracks from strikes, what a water strike can do, even one that was damaged with buckshot.
Many things can effect the performance and lifespan of a propeller. Some of the most common issues are damage from gravel, wear of the leading edge and bowing. Chips in the blade, even bugs plastered to it can cause it to be out if balance and cause vibrations. Propellers need to be matched to the particular engine they are to be run on. A unit too large or small can have significant consequences.
Bending and straightening a prop is as much of an art as it is a science.  The tools he uses are homemade. The primary bench is a large piece of one inch steel, about 12 feet x 2 feet, precision etched with stations at one inch intervals similar it those used to measure weight and balance in an aircraft. With the prop placed on a steel shaft in the middle of the table he can measure the pitch, bow and track at each station interval along the prop for accuracy and consistency from side to side. Pitch can only be measured with scribes placed on the flat surface from station to station.
Adjustments are done cold, the prop is not heated prior to being adjusted. Adjustments are made by hand using home made tools and long steel bars. Bending and twisting of a blade is done by feel because the temper on blades differ. The equipment will allow a pitch to be adjusted at any point along a blade that is not exact. The procedure is to repair and tweak the worst blade first to perfect, then change the opposite blade to match. He can re-pitch a prop, a three tenths of a degree change in pitch equates to 50 rpm. Each engine manufacturer has a table of recommended prop configurations to go with it.
Mr. Fix talked about periodic maintenance. All props have a lifespan established by the manufacturer plus inspection and usage limits. That doesn't mean one can put on a prop and forget about it. Over time a unit will develop a dead spot in the middle of the blade that effects the harmonics of the vibrations created as it travels through the air. Harmonics normally will travel on the surface to the ends of the blades, over time the dead spot will force the vibrations deep into the prop and potentially cause fractures inside the aluminum piece. For this reason, the dead spots need to be ground out periodically. It should not be universally concluded that any prop will just last it's lifespan. Periodic inspections of a prop by a knowledgeable A&P can help reveal when a refurbishment should be considered. A simple metal straight edge run up and down a blade can reveal bowing and twisting that can be seen with the naked eye.
Leading edge maintenance is a very important part of maintaining the integrity if the aluminum blades.  A blade is in effect a twisted wing that creates lift, the force of the lift creates the airflow that is pushed rearward over the aircraft and its wing allowing powered flight. This "wing's" shape is just as critical as the shape of the wings attached to the fuselage. If the pitch or cord line of the prop gets out of shape, lift is lost and efficiency deteriorates. An aircraft mechanic can make surface only corrections to a damaged prop edge but they must stay within limits set by the directives. If large chips or chunks are missing from a blade, the blade must be replace or repaired by a certified propeller repair station technician.
Each propeller is balanced horizontally and vertically before it is ready for surface prep. Once a propeller is repaired and refurbished, sanding of the surface is completed, the entire prop is dipped in alodine, then anodized. The units gets dipped again to neutralize the anodizing process before it goes into the plating tank. This last process will expand the raw metal revealing cracks.
The final surface preparation of a finished prop consists of alodining  and etching the edge, the application of epoxy to protect the surface and finally a lacquer finish that may contain color.  Mr. Fix warns against ever using a powered buffing wheel on a propeller, it creates heat, weakening the unit. A propeller should never be oiled he insists, instead the recommended coating is a good quality automotive paste wax.
When asked about service costs, he explained it varies on the work needed. An average refurbishment with blade alignments takes 20 man hours plus one day for the finishes to dry and runs around $600. He does not repair wood or steel props. He encourages owners to visit his shop and deliver their props in person so he can explain in depth the process. He can be contacted at 402-470-2346.

The New DMV Experience

The Johnson County Kansas Department of Motor Vehicles has become a new local meeting place for early risers. Months ago the DMV purchased a new computer system that has brought the county motor vehicle department to its knees. The time it takes to access the personal information for transactions runs at a fraction of the speed of the old system. Any typical business day there are 100 people in line at the door when it opens at 7:30am. They do have a service, for a nice $9.50 fee you can call an automated service and get a spot in line and avoid the early morning event.

As I sit in line for the second time in as many weeks, I realize how calm and cordial everyone is. The weather is nice, that surely helps. It's interesting to listen in on those type A personalities who deftly start up conversations to pour our their opinions and ideas on the issue to anyone within ear shot.

Most people stand or sit on the sidewalk and stare off into space, it's their first time here since the new system came on line. The experienced victims are easy to spot, books, large coffee mugs, folding chairs, mostly positioned very close to the front of the line. They know to ensure getting in and out before noon, they need to be in line an hour before the opening.

Standing in line, trapped like folks needing food, they wait, patiently, on their best behavior, saving the rage, unfortunately, for the anonimity of road.

K-State Day at the Kansas City Royals

The sun took a breather to provide excited Kansas State University Wildcat fans a chance to enjoy a special day at the ballpark. Sunday June 3rd, 2012 was K-State Fan day at Kauffman stadium as the Kansas City Royals took on the Oakland Athletics. The excitement started at 11:30am when the gates opened with free purple and white KC Royals hats to the first 750 fans with KSU discounted tickets.

Our family met in Lee’s Summit at 11am, seven of us made our way to the stadium in short order. We walked up to the gates just as they opened. Purple blood runs deep with us so the excitement was thick in the air as we jumped in line for the ever-coveted hats. The lines went fast with the K-State Cheerleaders handing out wildcat tattoos to those waiting in line.

Game time was 1:10pm so with a few minutes to use we headed to the Royals Hall of Fame and took a wonderful 20-minute tour with a 10-minute video presentation. It was one of the highlights of the day. The original Kansas City team was formed in 1888 and was called the Kansas City Blues.

Afterward we stopped for a quick family photo with Kyle Jacobs (K-State Alum and Debbie’s #1 son), Debbie (K-State Alum) and myself (current K-State Student).
 
The Athletics put up a good fight but ultimately the Royals prevailed with a 2-0 victory. Scoring highlights of the game included Johnny Giavotella bringing around Jarrod Dyson with a single to right field and a homer in the 5th by Eric Hosmer to round it out. Defensively Alex Gordon picked a fly ball off the foul line wall and connected with catcher Brayan Pena with one out and A’s on second and third to get them out of the fifth inning.
 
A warm but cloud filled sky allowed 21,111 fans enjoy a fantastic day at the park. Sunburns were nowhere to be found. The only point of contention during the day was the final winner of the mini-hotdog race. It was a photo finish between mustard and relish, but in our hearts we know the mustard won. The family had a great get together and purple pride prevailed again.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

It is with wonder and amusement I step into this world of higher education so late in life. My mind spins with excitement as I dream of all the new things I will learn as I read through the 4 semester curriculum required for the Aircraft Airframes and Powerplants certification I am pursuing. My first assignment has nothing to do with aircraft but does have to do with expanding the mind, which is the whole point of higher education. Our assignment to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a perfect place to start. This is, what could be called, a book report. It’s a collection of notes of my thoughts on the book. It will be very interesting to hear the discussions from the viewpoint of my 49 years of life to that of an 18-year-old mind.

A book report; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By Steve Gish

In 1951, there was a discovery, not by chance, but by the tireless deicated efforts of one Dr. George Gey to reproduce human cells in the lab. The reason there is a story here is because one sample, of the thousands of cells he tested, did not die. They began their immortal life as Henrietta Lacks. Scientists around the world have cloned and used these cells ever since to discover cures for diseases such as polio and create medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other ailments.

Henrietta Lacks was born into poverty in 1920; she lived a life of hardships from childhood thru motherhood. A black woman dedicated to life and family, it was not until after her death that her life took on extraordinary meaning.

The author has taken this one scientific anomaly (discovery) and spun a riveting tale of how it revealed to medical science unknown possibilities. She provides a tactful and in depth look at the life and family of the Henrietta and has given us much to ponder as our growth into a more interactive multicultural world continues.

It is often directed discoveries that provide progress for mankind. It took a whole string of discoveries to get the Wright brothers off the ground, from the discovery of fire to make the steel, to the discovery of the theory of lift by Bernoulli, to the concept of the combustion engine that lead to powered flight.

In 1950 it was common practice to conduct medical tests without fully informed patient or family consent, today we would not dream of it. This practice and its consequences are discussed through the eyes and words of the donor’s family as the author paints a picture of the personal side to this story. The controversy surrounding the collection of Henrietta's cells were part of the precursive events that lead to the adoption of the patient’s rights practices we know today.

Cultural maturity allows us to recognize past events that may not agree with the way we think today. It also provides us with a pool of knowledge and ideas to analyze and evaluate as we move forward with towards future discoveries.

As culture changes and time marches on, our view of events changes. Three hundred years ago a seventeen-year-old unmarried woman was an old maid, today in America the consenting age is eighteen. This book examines some of the growing pains of civilization, as we know it.

As I read this book I could not help but wonder how cell science applied on known "uniquely" qualified individuals such as Stephen Hawkins mental abilities, Ozzie Osborne's drug resistances, or athletes abilities to develop and generate tissue could further medical science to places we haven't even considered yet.

There are many questions that are raised in this book from racism, to ethics, to legalities within medical science and cultural differences even stimulating thoughts on religious views. It touches on a variety of topics perfect for inviting an active mind to engage. Congratulations are in order for the university staff for picking this piece to prime the incoming minds.

Of the many things a person could take away from this read, I was most impressed with the tireless efforts of the author that went into researching and preparing this piece. Many years in the making, Rebecca Skloot hit a home run with a complex subject matter. Her dedication to factual accuracy contributes greatly to the historical and entertainment values she develops. The last fifty or so pages of documentation at the end really revealed what this author put into this and how it enveloped her attention for ten plus years in the process. This book is more than just a page-turner from the storybook point but a riveting peek at an area of science that muddles along day by day making miraculous discoveries in relative obscurity. This is an outstanding piece of work!

Enrollment Days

In April I attended the Open House event at K-State Salina and enrolled for fall classes. I have never been excited about education in my entire life, but now I am. A bit apprehensive of the unknown sure, but I am comforted by the thought that my maturity will help me navigate this new endeavor. Increasing the average age of the aviation curriculum student by several years tickles me greatly. This time next year I may be the only fulltime student at K-State Salina with an AARP card.

 My student advisor Associate Professor Andrew Smith and I had much to talk about. We got acquainted on Saturday, discovering we had served in the US Navy, at the same base in Hawaii during the same time frame in the 1980’s. We were both there but did not know each other at that time. The other highlight of the four-day trip was when I received my student ID.

During Monday early enrollment orientation we were given our first “assignment” as incoming freshman to the fall semester. We are to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and be prepared to discuss the topics involved the first days of classes.

Events

The events in life are never late, or early, they seem to show up exactly when they intend to. My apprenticeship over the last 6 months has been an event, that for reasons unknown, did not follow the path I had intended. The promised training in the aircraft maintenance realm towards certification did not take place. I agreed to work for this company in exchange for the training, they got my work, I did not get their training, in the end they decided they would not honor our agreement and sent me on my way.
I still have a strong desire to work on and around airplanes, I love the challenge of the puzzle, the troubleshooting, the sense of accomplishment when the job is done. Not one to back down from a challenge I have taken another route. At 49 years old, I have enrolled as a freshman at Kansas State University Salina to attend their Aviation Maintenance Certification curriculum.

Two Men and a Toolbox

aA little update on the project. The wing is ready to come out, the wings have been emptied of 4000lbs of fuel, the entire guts of the wheel wells have been stripped out, a two truck loads of panels are off and the engines are coming apart. Hydraulic pumps are out, control systems cabling and pulleys for the wings are out, deice stuff unhooked, fuel lines disconnected, electrical unhooked, a large pile of hydraulic lines, over a dozen large panels, speed break lines, some fire extinguishing piping removed, turbine fan shrouds are off, fuel controls are out. We’ve been busy.

Where we started on Saturday.                  Where we are today.
We got a lift in today so we can start taking the horizontal stabilizer off so the fuselage can be moved down the road on the trailer. The plan is to pull the two engines completely off, then the tail, then lift the whole thing up with a series of jacks, drop the one piece wing and slide it out the side. Then we’ll truck the whole project 10 miles down the road to the bone yard.
 
We just started on the engines today. Everything coming off gets bagged and tagged, parts to be sold later.
Yes up until this afternoon, its just been me and one other guy working on it. We got a 3rd guy for half a day today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Something a bit different

Saturday I got offered a job, sort of. I’ve been looking for a way to get into the airplane mechanic industry but I have no experience. I did find a local company that does world wide business who agreed to give me a try. I interviewed on Friday lunch, later in the afternoon I got a call and they wanted me to start on Saturday at 8am, they would “take a look at me”.
My project, disassemble as much of this as plane as we need to in preparation to pull the one piece wing off of it.

The landing gear is already off of it, the owner is parting it out. So two of us got it to this point after day one (both sides done). Almost all the wiring is disconnected, the deicing mechanics, the sheet metal of course and the fuel tanks are emptied.  Monday I expect we’ll depressurize the hydraulic systems, there’s a crane nowhere in sight so that must be coming from the yard. We’ll have to raise the fuselage high enough to clear the wing, then the wing will have to slide out one side or the other. Should be an interesting week, lots to learn.

Windy Flying

A bit late getting this in, Friday went flying in the Cessna 150. It was a very challenging flight, 35kt wind at 3000ft, tons of turbulence under 1600ft which made any pattern work out of the question. We did stalls, which went just fine and dutch rolls, which I didn’t quite get the hang of. I want to practice the dutch rolls more another day. One the way to the practice area the GPS said our ground speed was 32knots, indicated airspeed was 80, on the way back we were doing 111knots with an indicated 80. We only got in .7, we were going to do some landings but I had to quit early due to the turbulence, it was just too much.

Turns, Turns and more Turns

Turns around a square, turns around a point, half turns here and half turn there, today I went flying and did turns.
It almost didn’t happen, it was about 45 degrees this morning when I went to preflight, first thing that happened was when I turned on the master, the flaps wouldn’t go down. Dad said don’t worry about it we’re not going to use them today anyway, all lights worked fine and so did everything else… almost. Preflight done, CLEAR, nothing. The starter would not even engage, almost brand new starter too. Back in the hanger it goes and we go back to the FBO and do some ground school work.
A couple hours later, the sun is up and its warming up, dad decided to go try the starter again, it cranked right over, still tied down in the hanger :|
So out it came and off we went. About 4 times around a pattern square, about 4 times around a point and about 4 S-Turns on a road later we head back. Dad’s satisfied I have a grasp of the concepts and can hold altitude within 50 feet on the maneuvers so we head back. I found my way back to the airport without help, shot 3 landings, not real pretty, but we can still use the airplane so they were ok.
Good things, maneuvers went well, my flares are about right, Need to Improve approaches, speed/accuracy on checklists (I’m a bit slow and forgot to dip the tanks). As a boost he said he was confident I could find my way home and get it on the ground in one piece if he passed out and I had to do it myself.  Winds were calm to 5 knots, a little bumpy in spots but not bad. The Cessna 150 logged 1.0 hours and 3 landings.
Next time, more slow flight and stalls, oh and something called Dutch Rolls, gonna have to google that one.

It begins again

Today began way too early, 5am I was up, couldn’t sleep because at 8am I needed to be at the airport for my first flight lesson with my dad. That is just too early for me to function well. I pulled into the airport at 8am on the dot after making the hour drive in 45 minutes because I forgot some things and had to back track a few blocks.
About 30 minutes of basic review in the operations building then we headed out to the plane. Cessna 150 N63514 was ready and waiting to go.

After a thorough pre-flight I got us to the end of the runway and away we went. The first take off was pretty squirrely, it has been a while for me, but it was trimmed well and flew itself off just as it should. The second one I did at the end of the lesson went very well I thought, rock solid on the centerline all the way down the runway, room for improvement on the rotation speed, could have lifted off 4-5mph sooner, next time.

The lesson today consisted of how to get a weather briefing, preflight, startup, taxi, climbs, descents, slow flight, turns in slow flight, maintaining altitude/speed/heading without using instruments, some in-flight emergency scenarios, local area specific issues (Class B starts at 2400ft at the airport, we are right next to Kansas City International Airport), and some other things. I did all my own radio work, just a blip or two, but mostly right on. When I discontinued my lessons 20 years ago I had soloed, even finished a dual cross country, so its coming back to me. The first landing was a bit high but pretty close on speed, the second one was on speed and decent but I flared a bit late and 3 pointed the landing, all and all I was happy with my first two landings in 20 years. Its going to take some practice.
Next lesson will be as soon as the weather man says its going to be a nice day, looks now like it will be the end of the week. The wind this morning was calm to 4 knots, unrestricted visibility, and smooth as glass. We hit a couple bumps at 2800ft but very minor, a few more trips out and it will get even easier.
All said and done I got 1.1 hours and 2 landings in the logbook and bought 6 gallons of gas for the plane.

Never Quit

Of course the wind canceled our scheduled flying lesson on Tuesday as expected, so we rescheduled for next Monday. Guess what, Micki had to go out of town again, family issues she had to attend to. To date, 5 out of 6 scheduled flight lessons have been canceled due to something. These things are no ones fault, not predicted or foreseen, I know what Micki is dealing with and she has my thoughts with her.
Always have a back-up plan.. well one fell in my lap today. Long story short, I found a Cessna 150 to rent from a pair of owners at Noah’s Ark airport, at a fraction of the going rate and a huge bunch cheaper than the Piper Warrior I flew that first day. My dad taught both the owners how to fly in the past years and he’s agreed to attempt to get me to the solo point. Now I don’t know how this will work out, it may not, but he is  a CFII with 19,000+ hours, and if we can stand each other for about 10-12 hours, we might get through this. Once my proficiency has returned and is back up to where it needs to be, I can get signed off for a few airports around and go practice whenever I want.
I did get a check flight from the Cessna 150 owner today, he showed me the whole plane and how they maintained it. It is fully IFR rated and has a color moving map GPS which is awesome. The flight went well, I had a touch of the anxiety come in today, but I was with a pilot I didn’t know, in a plane I didn’t know and the winds were 8-15knots (9-17mph) directly across the only runway (above my personal comfort zone). We flew for about 30 minutes out west of KC, he made a real nice crosswind, no flap landing, all in all a good flight.
The weather looks good for maybe a Tuesday flight, after that it’s going to rain the rest of the week.