Come On Weekend!

Boy am I exhausted. I’m just finishing up 11 straight days of work…and I was knee deep in maintenance those 11 days. Some of you may not know, but this is the worst time of year to be an aircraft mechanic. Something about the transition from warm to cold weather compels aircraft to expel large quantities of their vital fluids (such as fuel, oil and hydraulic fluid) out of their tanks, lines and reservoirs; onto the flightline or parking ramp. Some attribute this phenomenon to rubber seals and metal aircraft structures contracting under the colder temperatures (or it could be related to the fact that the youngest aircraft in our fleet is a mere 44 years old). I personally believe it is the aircraft themselves consciously creating the leaks as some sort of punishment to get even with their human care takers. The aircraft say to us, “if I’m forced to sit and suffer out in the cold temperatures and driving wind, you will be out here with me.” I know…you may be saying to yourself, “aircraft are inanimate objects and don’t experience feelings or thoughts”. I would have to disagree. Aircraft are much like humans, in that each one has its own personality. I’ve seen some that were so dependable, that you could always rely on them. They have very few mechanical problems and when problems did arise, they were usually minimal and the aircraft seemed to love to fly. They thrive on knowing that the aircrews and maintainers are proud of them. However, these aircraft always had issues when you were forced to keep them down for extended periods of time for scheduled inspections and maintenance. It is almost like you could see the demeanor of the aircraft change. But once you finished up the inspections and nursed it back to health, you would just rub her nose and she was ready to fly again. I also have seen the other side of the spectrum. You know…the problem child. The one that will fight you every step of the way and wants all of the attention it can get, even if it means getting its innards removed to fix it. These planes hate to fly and will do anything in their power to sabotage the mission and make the maintainer’s job as frustrating as possible. Another characteristic of these creatures is once you are working on them and things are going badly; the only way to make progress is to cuss, kick and scream until the aircraft submits and starts cooperating. NOTE: Sometimes cussing, kicking, and screaming do not actually aid in fixing the particular circumstance that has caused the mechanic frustration, but it does make the said mechanic feel better.
Okay…so I admit…I have rubbed a couple noses this week and cussed up a storm on a few occasions. I have run the gamut of talking sweetly and yelling a tirade at some of the 4-engined, flying, children that I care for. No…I’m not psycho (despite what the voices in my head tell me) I just need a day off:) Hope you have a great weekend, I know I will.