Mechs: you rock

killbilly

killbilly

Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
I’ve been doing my first annual on my experimental (didn’t build it so I don’t have the repairman cert for it) under the supervision of an A&P. (He has IA but it’s not required for this.)

I’m reasonably handy and mechanically-minded, but I’ve learned a ridonkulous amount of stuff under the tutelage of the mech. Wish I’d built my airplane but this has arguably been the next best thing. I’m grateful that my local shop is a huge believer in owner involvement with maintenance. My skills have leveled up at least one level here.

It takes a hell of a lot of time and knowledge to earn an A&P and I’m kind of shocked that they don’t make more money than they do at the GA level.

I couldn’t do it every day; I’d go nuts. But as an owner/enthusiast I’ve got mad respect for the things these guys know.


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jetcareers.com

well...i did it...

RV-6A. 2002 model so one of the last of them before they switched to the RV-7/7A. VFR only bird right now but we're gonna work on that. It's a darned hoot to fly for sure. Gotta love 167knots on 8.5-9.0gph.
jetcareers.com jetcareers.com
 
Some airplanes are just naturally good and never seem to break, others are like petulant children that can't seem to do anything without complaining. Over the years I've found that a lot of that has to do with the operator. But I guess it all depends on the airplane.
 
It also helps that old man Dick designed a nice airplane that is maintenance friendly.

Show us your safety wire skills. That's the true test of a good technician.
 
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Heh.

I’ve gotten decent at wiring my oil filter properly, but I still take a couple tries to get it right when I’m wiring one drilled bolt to another. I get the direction wrong at least once every time.

Wiring my prop bolts (CS prop) the first time was an adventure.


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CFI A&P said:
It also helps that old man Dick designed a nice airplane that is maintenance friendly.

Show us your safety wire skills. That's the true test of a good technician.
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I’ve got scars all over my forearms from safety wire installed by lazy mechanics.
 
knot4u said:
I’ve got scars all over my forearms from safety wire installed by lazy mechanics.
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There was a mechanic in my area that had some form of blood oriented medical condition, not sure it is was anemia or what, but he used to critique other people’s safety wire and tell you how much a pint of his blood costs so don’t leave any loose uncurled tails.
 
CFI A&P said:
There was a mechanic in my area that had some form of blood oriented medical condition, not sure it is was anemia or what, but he used to critique other people’s safety wire and tell you how much a pint of his blood costs so don’t leave any loose uncurled tails.
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I had a crew chief that would call them meathooks and cut them regardless of who'd safetied it and it would have to be resafetied. My wire twisting skills are pretty solid as a result.
 
killbilly said:
Heh.

I’ve gotten decent at wiring my oil filter properly, but I still take a couple tries to get it right when I’m wiring one drilled bolt to another. I get the direction wrong at least once every time.

Wiring my prop bolts (CS prop) the first time was an adventure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Prop bolt safeties are window dressing. With the forces involved there, if the safety is the only thing holding the bolt tight, you’re going to have cascading overstress failures in short order. But, we keep safetying them so…
 
knot4u said:
Some airplanes are just naturally good and never seem to break, others are like petulant children that can't seem to do anything without complaining. Over the years I've found that a lot of that has to do with the operator. But I guess it all depends on the airplane.
Click to expand...
I've anecdotally noticed this as well - two 150's, same year, similar time on both - but one of them was a hog with maintenance and the other carefree. Had no clue why as they were both treated the same as far as use, maintenance, TLC - but they were different. Is it just a lemon? Have you noticed anything in your years that could be identified in a logbook that woud steer you away simply by looking (not talking obvious damage, and I know it is airplane make/model specific).
 
WacoFan said:
I've anecdotally noticed this as well - two 150's, same year, similar time on both - but one of them was a hog with maintenance and the other carefree. Had no clue why as they were both treated the same as far as use, maintenance, TLC - but they were different. Is it just a lemon? Have you noticed anything in your years that could be identified in a logbook that woud steer you away simply by looking (not talking obvious damage, and I know it is airplane make/model specific).
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No. Some airplanes are just built under the right phase of the moon and Mars and never skip a beat in spite of their operator, others just seem to leave the factory angry and despite the best efforts of their caretakers they're just recalcitrant. Some airplanes start out solid and drift into shadiness and if they don't stray too far into the dark side they can be rehabilitated, others are just a write off. It all sounds like an easy facsimile of people but it's not, airplanes have a pretty clear definition of airworthy, people don't.
 
knot4u said:
No. Some airplanes are just built under the right phase of the moon and Mars and never skip a beat in spite of their operator, others just seem to leave the factory angry and despite the best efforts of their caretakers they're just recalcitrant. Some airplanes start out solid and drift into shadiness and if they don't stray too far into the dark side they can be rehabilitated, others are just a write off. It all sounds like an easy facsimile of people but it's not, airplanes have a pretty clear definition of airworthy, people don't.
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Like a lot of American cars in the 70's. Weird.
 
WacoFan said:
Like a lot of American cars in the 70's. Weird.
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The '70s were the absolute low point for American automobile manufacturing, they were literally just building junk. I often wonder if the execs were just drinking whiskey, doing blow and all agreed that planned obsolescence was the new world order. The cars and trucks they built certainly reflected that attitude, if the imports like Honda and Toyota hadn't shown up and given the American manufacturers a square kick directly in the balls we might all be driving imports today because there wouldn't be a domestic option.
 
knot4u said:
The '70s were the absolute low point for American automobile manufacturing, they were literally just building junk. I often wonder if the execs were just drinking whiskey, doing blow and all agreed that planned obsolescence was the new world order. The cars and trucks they built certainly reflected that attitude, if the imports like Honda and Toyota hadn't shown up and given the American manufacturers a square kick directly in the balls we might all be driving imports today because there wouldn't be a domestic option.
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My dad had a 1978 Chrysler LeBaron. He traded it in on a new Mercedes in 1983. He got a deal from a dealer in Temple, TX so we set out from north Houston to drive to Temple. About half-way there I really needed to pee. Dad stopped and I peed. We got back to the car and he looks at me and said "If this piece of s**t doesn't start I'm going to take off my belt and beat you with it". I held my breath until the east coughed to life. It had sensuous Corinthian leather though, so it had that going for it and that's nice.
 
WacoFan said:
My dad had a 1978 Chrysler LeBaron. He traded it in on a new Mercedes in 1983. He got a deal from a dealer in Temple, TX so we set out from north Houston to drive to Temple. About half-way there I really needed to pee. Dad stopped and I peed. We got back to the car and he looks at me and said "If this piece of s**t doesn't start I'm going to take off my belt and beat you with it". I held my breath until the east coughed to life. It had sensuous Corinthian leather though, so it had that going for it and that's nice.
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My family had a succession of Ford station wagons starting with a Pinto (with "wood" siding and that became a recurring theme), a Fairmount (it had a V8 but it was strangled by the emission nonsense) and eventually the Lincoln of station wagons, a Granada. That thing had power everything and rode like my granddads Cadillac. I'll never understand why people thought vinyl stickers on a station wagon made it look like a '50s woody, it wasn't fooling anyone. Eventually he got out of the station wagon and got a Bronco, I should also mention that other than the Pinto these were all provided by his employer and were "fleet cars" but he always had a manual Mustang on the side. I will say that my brief interlude with a '79 Fiesta was not without its high points but I needed a truck, and I stepped hard away from a family full of Ford tradition and bought a used Toyota truck. But that was over 30 years ago and my current daily driver is an F-150.
 
Our family did multiple cross-country trips in a Pontiac Grand Safari station wagon, usually hauling the grand-parent’s Airstream, with four kids and a dog.


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knot4u said:
The '70s were the absolute low point for American automobile manufacturing, they were literally just building junk. I often wonder if the execs were just drinking whiskey, doing blow and all agreed that planned obsolescence was the new world order. The cars and trucks they built certainly reflected that attitude, if the imports like Honda and Toyota hadn't shown up and given the American manufacturers a square kick directly in the balls we might all be driving imports today because there wouldn't be a domestic option.
Click to expand...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHvz5kBkD0U
 
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