Well, today was to have been the day that a crew test flew the airplane we've had in heavy maintenance since the end of January. Well, it wasn't to be--during the pre-flight engine runs, a problem developed, a problem we had seen during the inspection and had solved. Or so we thought. At any rate, we'll have a few days to sort things out, get everything right, and make the test flight.
Aviation goes that way, sometimes. Two steps forward, three back, sometimes you can't progress. Problems that seemed easy to solve start rearing their ugly heads. Problems that were noted on the flight inbound weren't verified, as in we could not duplicate them on the incoming runs and tests. And, as sure as day fades into night, they pop back up when you least expect them to. So, you ask, what do you do? You deal with them. You go back into troubleshooting mode and you work the problem. You find the culprit, make the repairs, and re-test the systems until you are satisfied that you have fixed it.
An interesting comment was made, though. Lest anyone think that we're six feet tall, bulletproof, all-knowing and all-seeing, I hate to shatter that illusion. We're humans. We don't know everything. But the subject came up about using a factory tech rep to assist. "At one point in my career", a colleague said, "I didn't like using tech reps. It was a pride thing. The longer I worked in aviation, though, the more I saw them as another tool in my arsenal." I replied to him that I use any and all resources available to me, including tech reps, and I always have since I became aware of their presence. I'm not proud. I don't know everything. If asking a few questions helps me get the airplane fixed an on it's way faster, well, so be it. Tech reps have an advantage--they hear about these problems multiple times. They know the systems better than the back of their hand. Factory reps have the added advantage of being able to consult a database. They know what we know--an airplane on the ground is costing the owner money.
Back in the day when airplanes weren't as sophisticated, repairs were easy--they took a deal of mechanical know-how, to be sure, but if you knew how an internal combustion engine worked, you were pretty well set. When radios got added to the mix, there was a degree of specialized knowledge required. These days, airplanes are more of a flying computer than a mechanical beast. Electronics interface with nearly every system onboard, and when something burps, the whole lot senses it and pukes a fault. Talk about specialized knowledge...there are schools on top of schools for the latest generation of avionics. We used to have a saying when I was in college: "Avionics--Making Pilots Obsolete". Twenty years or so ago, it was sort of a tongue-in-cheek deal, these days it is largely true. You think that airliner you're flying in is stable because the pilot has an exceptionally steady hand on the wheel? Nope--an autopilot can fly the airplane from taxi to taxi, including takeoff and landing. A standing joke with some airplanes is, "Where's the slot for the quarters?" and "Does this thing have Pac-Man?" You kids out there will have to ask your folks about Pac-Man...
We'll be back at it tomorrow morning. We'll have the old girl back in the air before you know it...
Thanks for reading. Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.
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