amu-june-july12.pdf

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June - July 2012Volume 11/Issue 1

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10th Anniversary Issue !

2012Recurrent Training

Exam

AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE 3

Departments

Our 10th Anniversary Issue 10Clarifying More Regs 12By Norm Chalmers The Mighty Martin Mars, Part 3 18By Mike Broderick

2012 Recurrent Training Exam Pull-Out Section Turbine Engine Parts: Cleaning Deep 26By Rob Kornfeld Microwave Landing Systems Explained 30By Gordon Walker

Making the Connection 34By Stuart McAulay

4 Upcoming Events

4 Advertisers Index

6 STCs & New Products

10 Industry Forum

22 AME Association and PAMA News

39 Classified

42 AMU Chronicles By Sam Longo

Features

AMU is viewable online: subscribe and download at www.amumagazine.com

30

Published by Alpha Publishing Group Inc.AirMaintenance UpdatePublication Mail Agreement Number 0041039024and Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to:Alpha Publishing Group Inc.Suite 2–203 4360 Agar DriveRichmond BC V7B 1A3 Canada

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phone: (604) 214-9824 l fax: (604) 214-9825toll free: 1-877-214-9826

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managing editor: Ian Cookart director: Gregory Kero

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production manager: Chrissie Harveycirculation: Anne Gervin

contributors: Mike Broderick,Norm Chalmers, Sam Longo,

Stuart McAulay, Brian McNair, Gordon Walker

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This publication neither endorses nor confirms the informationcontained within. The appropriate authorities should becontacted prior to commencing work on any aircraft oraircraft part or procedure.

ISSN 1703-2318

Yep, we’re survivors, and we are cel-ebrating our 10th birthday. I’ve writ-ten more about this momentous

occasion on page 10. This is also our annual recurrent training exam issue. You’ll find the exam inserted in this magazine. Canadian readers complete it, send it back to our office for marking, and if you pass, (there’s no rea-son not to; it’s an open book exam) you will be credited with time toward your recurrent training requirement.

This is also the beginning of the busy summer season for many in the aviation in-dustry. It can mean long hours of work, crazy shifts, and sleep deficit. This can be a recipe for mistakes so keep your wits about you, slow down for a minute and have a second look, and remember all you have learned about human factors connected with this.

Meanwhile, let’s take this opportunity to pat ourselves on the back once again. Too seldom in this industry are maintenance people given their due and we are often viewed as a necessary evil. As I write the first draft of this while sitting on a park bench overlooking Vancouver Harbour, a deHavil-land Beaver has splashed down in front of me. These things are going all day every day between here and Vancouver Island and many of them are 60 years old and have been operating in a hostile saltwater environment for decades with rarely a hiccup. Try to tell me that maintenance technicians don’t work miracles.

Now there’s a helicopter approaching on its scheduled flight from Victoria. Once again this goes on all day every day and never makes the news. These uneventful crossings are made possible by competent mainte-nance professionals doing their, sometimes difficult, jobs well.

Whenever there is an incident involving an aircraft, any sort of incident at all, it is all over the media. Yet we seldom hear about incidents because they seldom happen. How unlikely is it that we can speed through the sky at all, never mind safely, yet we, as teams of professionals, have pulled this off. Con-gratulations to all concerned! — Ian Cook, Editor

AMU is Ten

4 AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE4 AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE

Upcoming Events

Advertisers Index

CANADA

Alberta International AirshowJuly 21 – 22, 2012

Lethbridge, ABwww.albertaairshow.ca

50th Abbotsford AirshowAugust 10 – 12, 2012

Abbotsford Airport, BCwww.abbotsfordairshow.com

Atlantic Canada International AirshowAugust 25 – 26, 2012

Summerside Airport, PEIwww.airshowatlantic.ca

Canadian International AirshowSeptember 1 – 3, 2012

Exhibition ParkToronto, ON www.cias.org

Ontario AME SymposiumOctober 17 – 19, 2012

Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre

Mississauga, ONwww.ame-ont.com

UNITED STATES

EAA Airventure OshkoshJuly 23 – 29, 2012

Wittman Regional AirportOshkosh, WI

www.airventure.org

56th Annual ACPC – Air Carriers Purchasing ConferenceAugust 18 – 21, 2012

Caesar’s Palace Hotel and CasinoLas Vegas, NVwww.acpc.com

AOPA Aviation SummitOctober 11 – 13, 2012

Palm Springs Convention CenterPalm Springs, CA

www.aopa.org/summit

NBAA 65th Annual Meetingand Conventioin

October 30 – November 1, 2012Orange County Convention Center,

Orlando Executive AirportOrlando, FL

http://www.nbaa.org/events/amc/2012/

INTERNATIONAL

Aviation Expo EuropeJune 22 – 24, 2012

Bitburg AirportGermany

www.expo.aero/europe/

Irish Business Aviation ConventionJune 27 – 28, 2012Shannon, Ireland

http://www.miuevents.com/ibac

Farnborough International AirshowJuly 9 – 15, 2012

FarnboroughUK

http://www.farnborough.com/air-show-2012

Shanghai International General Aviation Show

August 28 – 30, 2012Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and

Conventioin CenterShanghai

Chinawww.sh-aero.com/en/

APS Brakes / Aero Incorporated ............ 9Aeroneuf Instruments Ltd ...................... 27Aerosmith Heli Service .......................... 14Aviall ...................................................... 43 Canadian Aero Accessories Ltd ............ 7Canadian Airframe Solutions Inc ........... 15Canadian Propeller Ltd .......................... 27Casp Aerospace Inc .............................. 36Concorde Battery .................................. 35Condor Aircraft Accessories ................. 16

Eagle Fuel Cells Inc ................................ 8Gregorash Aviation ............................... 17Hartwig Aircraft Fuel Cell Repair ........... 32Hope Aero .............................................. 5MARSS ................................................. 33NAASCO ............................................... 13Okanagan Aero Engine Ltd ................... 13Perimeter Aviation ................................. 32ProAero Engines Inc. ............................ 37Progressive Air ...................................... 31

Rapco Inc .............................................. 2SIL Industries ........................................ 19Schweiss Bi-fold Doors ......................... 15Superior Oil Coolers ............................. 16Thunder Bay Aviation............................ 29U.S. Air Tool Company ......................... 28Universal Aero Engines Ltd .................. 33Vector Aerospace ................................. 44Western Propeller Company Ltd .......... 14

6 AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE

Enstrom 480B Agricultural Spray System certified in China

STCs & new products

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation and Isolair Inc. recently received Chinese certification for the Innovator II 3900-480 spray system. The lightweight system fits all Enstrom 480 and 480B models, and can be quickly installed or removed for ease of use. The launch customer in China for the Isolair spray system was long time Enstrom customer Wuhan Helicopters, who recently purchased a new 480B helicopter specifically for agricultural spraying. For more information visit www.enstromhelicopter.com

Larson announces UpdatedExplosion-Proof Fluorescent Light Cart

Larson Electronics’ Magnalight.com has announced the release of an updated version of their popular wheeled cart- mounted explosion-proof fluorescent paint spray booth light.

The EPLCD-48-2L-100 paint spray booth cart light is designed to provide a full-powered yet mobile light source that can be easily maneuvered about the work area. Larson Electronics has up-dated this fluorescent paint booth light with a new cart design that adds even better mobility and protection as well as increased functionality.

For more information visit www.magnalight.com

To announce your STC or new product, email a JPG photo and a product description [email protected] or [email protected]

DART Helicopter Services has announced FAA approval of its newly improved auxiliary fuel tank for the AS350 series of aircraft and the EC 130 B4. This tank provides additional fuel capacity that can be transferred to the main tank in order to extend the aircraft’s operational range. After initial installation, the tank is easily removed and re-installed. Additional provisions kits may be installed in other aircraft to allow the tank to be quickly transferred. Additionally, access panels have been added for improved ease of maintenance. For more information visit www.darthelicopterservices.com

DART announces Auxiliary Fuel Tank for AS350 and EC 130

FAA Grants Vision 1000 STC for AgustaWestland Helicopters

MSP Aero has announced that the FAA has granted a Supplemental Type Certificate for the Appareo Vision 1000 Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) device on AgustaWestland AW109/119 series rotorcraft. The Vision 1000 is a part of Appareo Systems’ ALERTS family of FDM products. ALERTS - Aircraft Logging and Event Recording for Training and Safety - is a comprehensive FDM system designed for light and legacy aircraft. For more information visit www.mspaero.com

AeroLEDs receives PMA Certification for Landing Light

AeroLEDs Sunspot 36HX landing light has received PMA certification. Powered by new LED technology, the Sunspot will last 50,000 hours, allowing pilots to fly with the light on at all times for enhanced visibility. The light also comes with “wig-wag” or pulsing capability and is so bright that it can be seen at great distances in daylight when the aircraft is not visible. Sunspot landing lights have been used for years in experimental and LSA aircraft and tower personnel have reported that their wig-wagging can be seen much further away than with incandescent bulbs. For more information visit www.AeroLEDs.com

Concorde announces Augusta AW139 as a replacement for Nickel Cadmium batteries

Concorde Battery is pleased to announce AW139 FAA, Transport Canada, and Brazil ANAC approval to replace standard nickel cadmium batteries with Concorde’s sealed lead acid recombinant gas (RG®), absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries. The 27AH nickel cadmium auxiliary battery is replaced with a 27AH sealed lead acid battery, and the option to convert the 44AH nickel cadmium starting battery with Concorde’s RG-380E/44L or the higher capacity RG-380E/60L. The higher capacity RG-380E/60L is constructed with additional plates and is designed to increase cranking power, faster starts, and less engine wear. For more information visit www.concordebattery.com


Industry Forum

ROLLS-ROYCE ACHIEVES NEW TRENT 1000 MILESTONEMONTREAL QC, May 8, 2012 — Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has successfully completed the first run of an upgraded version of the Trent 1000 that will be the launch engine for the latest member of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner family, the 787-9.

The Trent 1000 Package C program will provide 74,000 lbs. of thrust for the 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which is due to enter service with Air New Zealand in 2014. Trent 1000 Package C engines will also begin powering 787-8 aircraft that enter service in 2014. The engine began running on a test bed in Derby in April and completed an extensive test pro-gram over a period of eight weeks.Two Trent 1000 Package C engines are now being built for initial flight testing on the Rolls-Royce 747-200 flying test bed, with a three-month program sched-uled to begin in the summer, which will

optimize a new advanced turbine case cooling system to improve efficiency. Rolls-Royce will deliver production standard Trent 1000 Package C engines to Boeing from 2013 to support its 787-9 flight test program.

Trent 1000 Package C has been op-timized to deliver a fuel burn improve-ment of one percent over the Package B engine standard. The Trent 1000 pow-ered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s entry into service with All Nippon Airways in October 2011 and has now completed more than 7,000 flying hours with a 99.9 percent dispatch reliability – a record for a widebody engine. For more informa-tion visit www.Rolls-Royce.com.

STANDARDAERO SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH SkYTRANSTEMPE, AZ, May 21, 2012 — S Stan-dardAero announced today that it has signed an exclusive long-term service agreement with Skytrans, a profes-

sional Australian airline and air charter business based in Cairns, Queensland. StandardAero was selected to maintain the engines on their fleet of Bombar-dier Q300 DHC-8s. The work will be performed at StandardAero’s Winnipeg, Canada and Tilburg, The Netherlands, turboprop engine facilities.

For more information visit www.standardaero.com.

PEERLESS ANNOUNCES SIx NEW VERTICAL MARkET ECOMMERCE STORESBETHPAGE, NY, March 27, 2012 — Peerless Electronics, Inc., a major fac-tory authorized, stocking distributor of electromechanical and interconnect products for aerospace and avionics, has launched its new online eCommerce Vertical Market. Peerless customers will save time, view at-a-glance status and find it easier to shop online from prod-uct catalogs tailored to their specific


provide the best service and quality spares for the business aviation commu-nity. For more information visit www.crsjetspares.com.

SENECA SIGNS AGREEMENT OVER JAzz CADET PROGRAMTORONTO ON, April 18, 2012 — Third-year Seneca Bachelor of Aviation Technology students will be eligible for the Jazz cadet program that includes di-rect entry into the airline’s hiring pool. All qualified third-year students will be offered an interview with Jazz, and successful candidates will become Jazz/Seneca cadets in their fourth year. As they maintain the required academic and flight line achievement throughout their fourth year, upon graduation and successful completion of Jazz Aviation LP’s tests and evaluations, they will be entered into the Jazz hiring pool.

Seneca’s Bachelor of Aviation Tech-nology program is unique in Canada, providing a curriculum and the applica-tion of theory to aviation. Find out more at www.senecacollege.ca. n

CRS JET SPARES CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARYFORT LAUDERDALE FL, April 25, 2012 — CRS Jet Spares, a leading busi-ness aviation aftermarket parts supplier, is celebrating their 30th year in the busi-ness aviation industry. Started in 1982 by founder and C.E.O. Armando Leighton, Jr., the company quickly grew from its beginnings in the Leighton’s garage to a 43,000 square foot facility in Ft. Lauder-dale, FL. Today CRS stands as one of the leading after-market spare parts support facilities in the world and has earned its reputation by giving corporate flight departments, both large and small, a high level of personalized service, reli-able products and by offering over $60 million of fully traceable new and over-hauled components.

As a leader in the industry in the United States and Canada, CRS over the past few years has begun an aggres-sive global expansion initiative that has included increased support of Europe, Asia and South America. As CRS grows in age and scope, their goal remains to

industry from Peerless’ large inventory of electro-mechanical and interconnect components.

Each online product includes specs, technical descriptions, manufacturer hyperlinks, photos (many with zoom-in capabilities) and drawings/PDFs to as-sist customers in selecting the right parts for their application.

Peerless stores offer widely sought and hard to find products such as switches, relays, circuit breakers, con-tactors, connectors, terminal blocks, splices, heat shrink tubing and indica-tor lights and fuses. Their lines include Honeywell Sensing and Control, Sensata Technologies, and Dialight. To see the online store, go to www.peerlesselec-tronics.com

GALMENA AND ExECUJET MIDDLE EAST SIGN SERVICE AGREEMENTGENEVA, May 15, 2012 — GALMENA WLL, a joint venture formed between GAL Aviation Inc., a member of the GAL Group of companies in Canada, and MENA Aerospace Enterprises WLL of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has signed a new service agreement with ExecuJet Middle East, an authorized service facili-ty for four major business aircraft manu-facturers. The two companies will deliv-er an all-inclusive cabin interiors service to major OEMs and their existing client bases. GALMENA and ExecuJet Middle East will market work packages for in-teriors and major components through the refurbishment center in Bahrain and will conduct on-field activity at Execu-Jet’s facilities at Dubai airport.

Specifically, GALMENA will develop and administer an aviation interior fab-rication and refurbishment centre for business and VIP aircraft interiors in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and will op-erate a refurbishment and installation workshop for business and VIP aircraft interiors in Dubai, United Arab Emir-ates. ExecuJet Middle East will provide workshop space in its hangar at Dubai International Airport for a regional sat-ellite centre for the GALMENA‘s prod-ucts & services.

For more information visit www.ga-laviation.ca or www.mena.aero


Feature

AMU is 10 Years Old !

Deciding which issue should be our 10th anniversary was a bit arbitrary, as the very first issue of AirMaintenance Update – Volume 1, Issue 1 – was published in March 2002. Publication was a bit sporadic in the early days as we attracted writers and advertisers, and our general direction had not yet fully been established. The reason we chose the June/July issue, though, will be explained soon.

Now, on the cover of Volume 1, Issue 1 is a collage of avia-tion-related photographs. In a square at the very centre of this collage, though, are the words, Inform, Communicate, Edu-cate. Although we’ve gone through a number of changes, these things still represent the basic mandate of this magazine. Our primary role is still, through our expert contributors, to help

inform and educate those in the aviation maintenance field. And if along the way we do a bit of entertaining, well, that’s a bonus, but not our primary purpose.

An important aspect of the magazine, right from the beginning, was to publish an annual exam based on the articles from the previous year and to have this exam ap-proved for recurrent training. The first of these exams was in the March/April 2003 issue. We were on our way. It wasn’t until a year later, though, that publishing AMU bi-monthly became fully established, and also that the exam became an established part of the June/July issue. This is the reason we’ve called this June/July issue our 10th anniversary one. It also means that the exam is in this issue.

That’s right. We’re celebrating our 10th birthday with this issue.

The Contributors Of course a magazine could not ex-ist without contributors. Someone has to create the material that makes up its pages. I could take up this whole col-umn listing the people who have shared their knowledge and expertise over the years, so I won’t do that. All our con-tributors over the years are very much appreciated. I will mention some of our long-term, regular providers of edito-rial material though. Sam Longo began his AMU Chronicles column in the June/July 2003 issue and has been with us ever since. Sam draws on his many years of experience to create a last page column to entertain us. Mike Broderick first appeared in the February/March is-sue of 2004 and has been in pretty much every copy since then. Mike’s ability to turn potentially dry material into hu-morous easy reading while keeping it educational is much appreciated. Stuart McAulay’s diverse experience has al-lowed him to provide numerous articles on a wide variety of subjects, and Gord Walker’s easy-going approach to his fea-tures on aircraft systems is always a great addition to the magazine. A recent and very popular addition to the magazine is Norm Chalmers. Norm’s many years of experience in the field, followed by a career with Transport Canada, has given him an overview of the operator-regula-tor relationship second to none.

The Advertisers The advertisers make it all possible. Without them the funds would not be available for anything else. As this is a publication by and for aviation mainte-nance professionals, advertisers know the focus of it and can direct the adver-tising to these people. Of course, this also means, for the reader, that ads are an appropriate venue to promote your business, and businesses can connect with each other by seeing what other companies provide in terms of products ands services.

The Readers (last but not least) It would all be pointless if no one read the magazine. Your interest in following

the industry as presented on these pages keeps you up to date on aspects of the aircraft maintenance field, which keeps you coming back to read more, if all goes according to plan.

Where are We Going? Well, as far as providing relevant, up-to-date, educational material, we are staying the course. But we’d like to do more, particularly in the area of provid-ing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For example, in Norm Chalmers’ article in this issue, he speaks of the disconnect between the Transport Canada headquarters in Ottawa and the regions, and also about the nebulous nature of some regulations. They are open to interpretation by individual in-spectors. Now, most Transport Canada inspectors are simply doing a job that must be done. The general public would accept nothing less. However, the vague

nature of some regulations leaves room for bullies to interpret them as they see fit and simply harass operators over things that were perfectly acceptable a short time ago. We’d like to hear about these instances. Let me know about spe-cifics, and we can put it in print. If others are having the same sorts of problems, they may not feel so alone. With any luck we can get a dialogue going that includes Transport Canada or the FAA if Ameri-can readers choose to take part in this.

Once again, we are a journal for and by the aviation maintenance profession-al and if, in our journalistic capacity, we can dig into some of these issues, well, we’d love to. There is now a place where you can air your issues and maybe, just maybe, we can help make some changes.

So, thank you again for your support of this publication, whether by reading it, advertising in it, or contributing to it. Here’s to the next 10 years!— Ian Cook, Editor



The Regs

Clarifying More

available at the TransCDA web site. Search the internet with the words “transcda” and “aviation” and then fol-low the links.

Regarding follow-up training that Harald men-tioned, the requirements for this are found in CAR 573.06(2) and in Standard 573.06(2). CAR 573.06(2) states that the program “shall include initial training, updating and other training necessary,..., to ensure continued qualification that is appropriate to the func-tion to be performed or supervised.” Standard 573.06 provides the detailed standard specified in the CAR as follows:

BY NORM CHALMERSPacific Airworthiness Consulting

Back in December of 2011, HaraldLeukefeld, owner/manager of Orca Airways located at Vancouver Airport (YVR) South and a director of PAMEA, sent us an e-mail regarding the gen-eral apathy in the industry, but encouraged me to continue writing to the “silent majority.” Thanks for that, Harald. In his letter, Harald identifies numer-ous topics of interest. In this issue I’ll address one of his issues which is, as he put it, “Aviation trades apprenticeship programs – particularly the lack of follow-up training such as is common practice in the automotive, diesel, and carpentry trades”.

It seems that things are gradually getting better in this area. In British Columbia, the government has moved forward in this with the guidance of the good people at Transportation Career Development Association (TransCDA). This was done despite the general lack of support from industry. There is now a proper “apprenticeship” program being imple-mented like the ones other industries have. Now it is up to aviation training institutes to adapt and modu-larize their programs to meet industry needs. You, including every employer and apprentice in BC, ought to become familiar with how this program works and how you can save money. The details are


(2)The training program shall include:(b) update training to ensure that personnel remain com-

petent and are made aware of any change to their area of re-sponsibility;

(c) additional training where it is shown to be necessary by a finding made under the quality assurance program or re-quired due to changes in the regulations, applicable standards, or company procedures; and

(5) Until such time as it is revised through an assessment made in respect of the quality assurance program required by section 573.09 of the CARs, the initial cycle for update train-ing shall not exceed three years.”

Other than the three years requirement, this does not provide any measurable benchmark or standard to assist the approved maintenance organization (AMO) to set up a recur-rent training program. I stated in one of my previous columns that I would not quote the regs here, but at times it will be nec-essary to do so, as in this case, to help point out the nebulous nature of the Transport Canada (TC) “Regulation By Objec-tive” approach to writing the CARs.

The intent is that organizations be allowed to devise cre-ative, practicable, appropriate, workable ways of meeting the requirements. I equate this to replacing speed limit signs to the words DRIVE SAFE and leaving it up to police constables to enforce it. The actual result of this approach is that we have “Regulation By Directive” at the local TC Office level. Often, a helpful Civil Aviation Safety Inspector (CASI) specifies what you will write in your Maintenance Policy Manual (MPM).


Although this is contrary to national policy, it means that you do whatever makes TC happy and gets your MPM approved. Airworthiness Notice AN C012 states “TC reviews AMO pol-icy to ensure that each aircraft type or aeronautical product being maintained is supported by a program that addresses both initial and up-date technical training.” Unfortunately, this does not recognize that TC actually approves your MPMs, and herein lies the hook.

The Transport Canada pre-approved Small Operator Maintenance Control Manual (MCM) specifies a minimum of 12 hours update training for each three-year period. That time is evenly divided into three areas: Operator’s Procedures with four hours, CARs with four hours, and Each Aircraft Type with four hours. This MCM is only for commercial operators with three or fewer small piston-engined aircraft, but the 12-hour requirement might be extrapolated to reach reasonable amounts for larger operators. For AMOs, this is not any help.

In the Transport Canada Pacific Region, many MPMs have been approved prescribing that AMEs receive a mini-mum of 24 hours of recurrent training every year. Using the three-year period prescribed in CAR 573.06(5), that would be 72 hours in a three-year period. An accepted method of meet-ing this is through an in-house self-study approach using vari-ous authoritative and applicable aviation publications. Good sources for this include regulatory stuff such as changes to the CARs and the voluminous update and advisory materials pro-duced by various aviation regulatory authorities.

Other sources include manufacturers maintenance pub-lications, such as manual revisions and service bulletins. Still more sources that must be mentioned in this are the general technical publications epitomized by Air Maintenance Update (AMU) which has been accepted by Transport Canada as fill-ing a niche.

That 24 hours per year works out to two hours per month, or about six minutes per day. Many aviation maintenance professionals already exceed this. To rally this potential as a positive contribution to your training program records, first you must select the source documents that are relevant. Take each document morsel and attach a paper signature sheet to it, identifying the subject document and the amount of accredit-ed time that will be recorded as being recurrent/update train-ing. This means that management needs to read the material first to arrive at an appropriate time credit. Each employee then signs this record as having read and comprehended the subject content. To further benefit from this, you can organize it by having everybody read the document at the same time, then discuss it until everybody is clear on the subject material. This can fulfil the regulatory requirement and the need to be aware of current and future changes in our industry.

Harald gave me a list of other topics that I will hold onto and address in the future if I live long enough, given the vol-ume and extent of his list.

The next topic is regarding the various responsibilities that managers in TC approved organizations take. I address my comments primarily to accountable executives but other managers and employees ought to be aware of these weighty responsibilities.


During the last couple of decades of the 20th century, management responsibil-ity came to the front as an issue due to investigations into accidents in various industries. The petro-chemical industry had some major accidents causing huge damage. There were numerous leaks, explosions, and well blowouts that re-sulted in deaths, injuries, and massive environmental and economic problems. Those disasters led to extensive govern-mental investigations into the causes. Often, the chain of contributing factors led to a CEO. The study of organizations and human factors in industrial settings became the topic of choice of numerous expert reductionists around the world.

This dissection and reduction of ev-ery facet of those management systems resulted in numerous theories as to the causes of accidents as well as profitable careers for numerous degreed theoreti-cal reductionists. It has also resulted in the emergence of Safety Management Systems. A significant part of SMS is the concept of the “accountable executive” at the top of a management system to be responsible for the compliant function-ing of the system. As the title suggests, this person can be held accountable for the actions of the organization.

In aviation, ICAO became enam-oured with SMS and implemented rec-ommendations that every nation enact SMS requirements. In 2005, Transport Canada plunged into this with a signifi-cant expenditure of energy that put most other TC programs into limbo-land. In 2005, CAR 1 Subpart 6 (106) was en-acted. Until then the only people to hold responsible were those identified in the approval for portions of the organiza-tion, such as the Operations Manager, Chief Pilot and Person Responsible for Maintenance (PRM). This made it dif-ficult if not impossible to hold an indi-vidual responsible for the lack of admin-istrative and financial support to those subservient identified persons. The “Certificate Holder” is often mentioned in the CARs, but often that turned out to be a corporate entity and not a person.

CAR 106.02, implemented in May 2005, requires the Certificate Holder to “appoint an individual as account-able executive to be responsible for op-erations or activities authorized under

the certificate and accountable on their behalf for meeting the requirements of these regulations.” The regulation goes on to require that “No person shall be appointed . . . unless they have control of the financial and human resources that are necessary for the activities and operations authorized under the certifi-cate.” That means that the accountable executive is responsible for everything, including the responsibilities of the cer-tificate holder.

As one of my clients succinctly put it, the accountable executive is the one who goes to jail. Although this has not been put to the test of a justice system to my knowledge, it does paint a graphic picture of the possibilities.

Under both CAR 573.03 and CAR 706.03, the holder of the certificate (meaning the accountable executive) must perform a series of tasks: appoint a PRM, ensure that this person performs all of the PRM’s required duties, provide the financial and human resources nec-essary to meet requirements, ensure that audit findings are corrected and review the SMS program.


That is a mouthful of requirements, and I advise all account-able executives to have a good read of the applicable CARs and standards, noting use of the word “shall”. Establish your management systems to ensure that all requirements are met and documented. Ensure that the PRM is providing the re-quired information to you.

In addition to accountable executives, the following is ad-dressed to the attention of the rest of the managers in your organizations:

If, during a person’s working career in aviation, one devel-ops an aviation record that, in the view of Transport Canada, identifies one as a miscreant or rogue (my wording) then ban-ishment from being a principal in any aviation organization in Canada or holding any aviation document is a possibility. The Aeronautics Act in sections 6.71 and 7.1, when combined with CAR 103.12 regarding principals, allows the minister to refuse to issue, to suspend or to cancel any certificate if the minister considers it to be in the public interest. This is a seri-ously heavy hammer and could only be used in the most seri-ous of cases of disregard for rules and safety. Even at that, the possibility is no fun to think about.

To digress, in this column, I occasionally slam the Min-ister of Transport for actions or inactions. My comments are aimed at the monolithic TC entity and not at individuals. Most TC employees are hard-working, public-spirited indi-viduals struggling within the system.

With that in mind, TC Headquarters’ manifest lack of awareness of regional activities and problems is apparent in almost every subject area. The results of that are unfortunate for the aviation industry and for the CASI working in the re-gions. The upside of that dilemma is that it provides me with fodder for this column, so I thank the minister for keeping those barriers to communication high and strong.

On that uplifting note, I bid you goodbye until next time. Be good.

NOTE TO READERS:Please be aware that I am not a lawyer or legal expert. What I write in my column is not legal advice nor legal opinion. If you face a legal issue, you must get specific legal advice from a law-yer and preferably one with experience in the aviation matters in your own country.

NORM CHALMERS worked with Transport Canada as anAirworthiness Inspector for 25 years. Before this, from 1967 to 1983, he worked in the aircraft maintenance industry in and around Western Canada and in the Arctic. His industry experi-ence includes the operational maintenance of normal and com-muter category aircraft and smaller transport category aircraft in the corporate sector as well as several years working in major repairs in the helicopter sector. As an Airworthiness Inspector, he has been responsible for most duties related to the position, including the approval of all aspects of maintenance, manufac-turing, training, and responsibilities related to distribution or-ganizations. Norm now operates Pacific Airworthiness Consult-ing; www.pacificairworthiness.ca. n


Feature

BY MIKE BRODERICK, Helicopter Engine Repair Overhaul Services

The XPB2M-1/-1Rthe Martin Mars

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up again. So, whadaya say we continue our discus-sion on the Mighty Martin Mars, OK? OK.

Today we are going to find out what life in the 21st century has been for our two 20th-century air-planes, highlighting some major changes to them, which began in 2007. This is when Forest Industries Flying Tankers Ltd. (later called “Timber West”), decided to leave the firefighting business and put the two ladies on the market. The Coulson Group of Companies was the successful bidder and be-came the new owner. With their bid, they kept the

two remaining Mars from heading to a museum, which is what the other 24 prospective buyers had intended. Coulson knew that these aircraft were not only unique, but that they also had lots of life left as effective aerial assault fire fighters. We will see how Coulson has proven that this twin sister act is not just a pair of energetic senior citizens grasping for media attention. By way of calculated modifica-tions to the aircraft’s avionics instituted by Coulson, Hawaii and Philippine are performing, even flour-ishing at the highest level (no pun intended) in their altered profession as airborne fire fighters. We will

Welcome back. I appreciate you showin’


learn that Coulson didn’t stop with improvements to the air-craft; they studied and applied the science of aerial application of fire retardants. And in taking this course of action, Coulson has proven with empirical data a fact they always knew: that the Martin Mars can handle a forest fire like a mother handles a recalcitrant child – with strong discipline delivered with a temperate yet powerful approach.

So go fill the coffee cup and we will begin Part 3, which concerns the influence that Coulson Flying Tankers has had on the lives of the Sisters’ Mars – Hawaii and Philippine.

And, what better way to begin our discussion than with some cocktail knowledge (CK)? Now, unless you were a part of the British Columbia lumber industry or the Canadian aerial fire-fighting community, it was not well known that the Mars sisters were more than a couple of World War II aircraft struggling to stay in the game. Nothing could be further from the truth. In their 50-year history of fighting fires for the BC forest industry, they had flown over 4,000 missions. In over 2,400 of these missions they extinguished the fire on the first day. In over 800 flights, it took them two days to do the job. Based on historical data, each plane can make a drop every 15 minutes. Working in tandem, this equates to 7,200 US gallons (27,276 liters) every seven minutes, and each drop can cover an area of up to 4 acres (1.6 hectares). The aircraft can also carry up to 600 US gallons (2,270 liters) of foam concentrate. Not bad for a couple of World War II converted cargo air craft struggling to stay relevant.

How They Do It The most frequently asked question regarding the Mars is “How do they pick up their water?” Well, remember we saw last time that the fabricated scoops located on the bottom of the fuselage are mechanically articulated by the captain from their retracted position within the fuselage down into the water. But what takes place in the cockpit to make sure they get the scoops into the water to maximize their proficiency at picking up the water is perhaps the most demanding task in terms of teamwork among the crew. The captain executes a normal landing, keeps the aircraft on the step, and allows the speed to decrease to 70 knots. He then passes engine power to the flight engineer and selects the scoops to the down posi-tion. The ram pressure for injecting the water into the tanks is such that the aircraft is taking on water at a rate in excess of a ton per second. To account for this added weight, the flight engineer must advance the throttles to maintain a skimming speed of 60-70 knots to ensure the aircraft remains on the step. Pick-up time is, on average, 25 seconds. When the tanks are full, the captain will raise the scoops, call for takeoff power from the flight engineer and carry out a normal loaded take-off. Once airborne, the foam concentrate is injected into the water load (normally, 30 US gallons of concentrate into the 7,200 US gallon water load) where it is dispersed and remains inert until the load is dropped. Once dropped, the tumbling action of the escaping foam causes expansion, which converts the water load into a foam load. (Continued on page 37)


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President’s Message Rod FisherPresident 2012

First let me introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me. I started my aviation career in Sioux Lookout in 1971 and followed the norm of moving and dragging my family along to various provinces. However, most of the time was spent in La Ronge, and I am presently employed at Air Tindi a division of Discovery Air in Yellowknife.I will be taking over from Peter Jenkins as president, to whom we all owe a profound thanks and also to his previous executive for their diligent and hard volunteer hours in the past. The new board that was elected to term at the AGM in Edmonton in conjunction with the sym-posium and we had our first meeting on May 10, 2012. The minutes are posted on the WAMEA web site.

A number of topics were discussed and the enthusiasm of the new board of directors showed. There seemed to be a general feeling that we could be more effective by joining forces with the other re-gional associations to form a national association with representatives from all provinces. This would give more power to lobby government and advise on industry regulatory requirements.

Opinions were expressed as to how we can attract more interest in young people to choose aviation as a career, how we can rebuild membership, as well as how we can continue to make our website more user friendly. There was also discussion on how to provide more services to the AME and better ways to keep membership updated on changes in regulations and events going on in our region.

We are already working on Maintenance Symposium 2013 and will strive to make it successful and informative. Any positive suggestions as to what you feel would be beneficial to next years symposium, or what we may have overlooked are always appreciated.

The association is also working on getting the air maintenance technician recognized as a “Red Seal” program recognized by the provinces, as well as possibly recognizing parts persons and flight co-ordinators as part of the aircraft maintenance field of associated pro-fessionals. These two entities, while seeming unrelated to maintenance in general, are closely integrated and have a large impact on how effec-tive we are as maintenance professionals.

Summer float season is fast approaching, which brings many ad-ditional challenges where maintenance is concerned. Under the um-brella of aviation safety being implemented by the safety management systems of our companies, it is sometimes difficult to realize that the same rules imposed in the hanger apply on the docks and in the field.

Regulations are imposed for our, and the flying public’s safety, but perhaps need some tweaking to make them workable. Regulations are not going away and we need to be of the mindset that they can work if properly tuned to individual circumstance.

I look forward to serving the industry over the next term and look forward to helping promote the needs of the air maintenance en-gineer. This is your association and we would like you to use it to its full potential. I would like to encourage all members to surf our web-site, find a director you feel you can contact with your concerns, and to try to persuade fellow engineers to realize that there are benefits to belonging to this fine organization.

Create a safe day.

President’s Notesby Ben McCarty The 34th ARAMC was a huge success with a record number of dis-players and delegates. If you missed this conference you missed an excellent event. Even the weather was cooperating at 27 degrees all during the conference. The organizing committee was co-chaired by Anneke Urquhart and Jim Power who worked with Jason Crowell, Natalie Duschenes, Brenda Huber, Gerald Mallon, Butch McKay and Pat Smith. They are all to be congratulated on preparing and delivering a perfect show from start to finish. The opening of the conference had a new addition of “Product Promotion” where several displayers were given five minutes to promote their products and services. This was very well received and gave the exhibitors and the delegates network-ing opportunities. Also new this year was a “Silent Auction” that con-tinued through the conference until the closing on Friday afternoon.

The Technical Program included the following: Aircraft Battery Main-tenance, Propeller Familiarization, CAR 521 and SDR Reporting, Vi-bration Analysis, Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action, Engine Ignition Systems, The Basis of Oil Analysis.

Awards Banquet Always a big attraction, the awards banquet was very well attended, with 250 people who enjoyed a great meal and good entertainment by Bill Reid. Allen Chaulk acted as master of ceremonies during the awards presentation in his even inimitable way. The winner of the Aviall Canada award for outstanding AME was presented to Pat Greene of Plaza Corp. in Fredericton. Pat has had a very impressive career in aviation maintenance and is well respected by his employees and his peers. The Roger Richard Memorial Award, which is given to a retired AME who has had a distinguished career, was awarded to

Western AME Association

Atlantic AME Association


Bob Caresfield recently retired from NS Lands Forests. Bob had a long and eventful career and is very deserving of this award.

The Nfld Govt Air Services Memorial Award is given to an indi-vidual or corporation who has shown outstanding support to the avia-tion industry and the AME Association. Everyone was very pleased to see Anneke Urquhart be presented with this prestigious award. Her career has been devoted to aviation with PAL and Sobeys Ltd., not to mention the wonderful contributions she has made to the AME Asso-ciation over the years. Her leadership and attention to detail has been recognized by all of her peers and the members and director of the AME Association (Atlantic). Our sincere congratulations go to each of the 2012 award recipients, and also a sincere thank you to Bob Pardy who was the Award & Chairperson this year.

Each year the AME association presents a $1,000 bursary to a student in the maintenance program at a regional college who has demonstrated excellence during his or her last year. This year the bursary was awarded to Eric Arnold of the College of the North Atlantic. Congratulations, Eric, and good luck.

HPIAM On the Wednesday prior to the conference, the AME association pre-sented a one-day HPIAM refresher course prepared by Norbert Bel-liveau and delivered by Lorne Amos in Gander; 23 students attended the course. Lorne and Norbert plan on presenting ithe course again in Moncton in 2013 just prior to the 2013 ARAMC.

2012 Membership There was a modest increase in membership this year from 93 to over 100. We expect a few more renewals still to come.

TC/AME Association Meeting On March 22nd the AME Association Board of Directors met with Keith Whalen, Associate Director Operations Atlantic Region, and Dave Alston and Charlie Warren, Technical Team Leaders from Trans-port Canada. The meeting was arranged to discuss the apparent lack of communications between TC and the aviation industry in recent months. An agreement was reached to try to improve communication and to hold information sessions and/or meetings to establish a bet-ter working relationship between the two parties. This would include collectively informing industry of TC’s expectations, the PVI System of auditing and the CAP process and follow-up. The RASC (Regional Aviation Safety Council) meetings could be used as a forum for main-tenance meetings between industry and TC.

TC indicated that they will use a risk-based surveillance program to determine frequency of PVIs. They also indicated that typical find-ings in the regions were related mainly to QA activities, maintenance schedules not being current, and indefinite processes and records. TC does not see any further SMS activity until at least 2015.

AGM Minutes of the AGM have been sent to the members by email. There was some disappointment in the number of attendees at the AGM, so in the future, we may arrange a meeting time that will better accom-

modate members and increase attendance.A new set of officers was elected by acclimation for 2012-2013;

Vice President: Eli Huber, Treasurer: Jason Crowell, Director: Bob Parody, Director: Dave Hall. The Second team 2013 are: President: Ben McCarty, Secretary: Dan Lacombe, Director: Mel Crewe, Direc-tor: Jacques Richard

The 2012 ARAMC Committee would like to thank the following sup-porters of the 2012 Aircraft Maintenance Conference: 3-Points Avia-tion GasTOPS, Action Aero Inc., Hope Aero, Aerotee Engines Ltd., I.M.P. Aerospace, Air Dynamics Co. Ltd. Interfast Inc., Atlantic Avi-onics Inc., Jazz Aviation LP, Atlantic Hardchrome, Kadex Aero Sup-ply, Aviall Canada Ltd., Leggat Aviation, Aviation Solutions Inc., Ly-coming Engines, Aviation Unlimited Inc., Mint Turbines LLC, AvTec Aero, NDT Products Ltd, Maintenance Peck Aero, Barry Controls/ Permanon Aircraft, Hutchinson Aerospace Supershine, Boomer Tech-nical PPG, Aerospace Resources Ltd., Precision Aero Components, Canadian Institute for Precision Design, NDE (CINDE) Engineering Solutions, CanJet Quality NDE Ltd., CASP Aerospace Inc., Rideout Tool & Champion Aerospace Machine Inc, Concorde Battery, Corp Satair USA Inc., DSS Aviation Ltd., Sobeys Aviation, Emergency Parts, Trikon Technologies, Logistics Tronair Inc., Execaire Division, Tulmar Safety Systems of IMP Group, Universal Helicopters, Exploits Valley Air Vector Aerospace, Services Ltd., Western Avionics—Avmax, Fine Line Silkscreening Group Inc. Ltd., Wright Instruments.

RASC Regional Aviation Safety Council meetings are held twice a year in St. John’s and Halifax in the spring and fall. We have asked TC to include a number of aircraft maintenance subjects on the agenda; this will open an avenue for a better dialogue on maintenance concerns between industry and TC. I encourage you to attend these meetings and to participate, and to contact us with proposed agenda items.

2013 ARAMC The 2013 ARAMC will be held at the Beausejour Hotel in Moncton, N.B., on Thursday and Friday, April 18th and 19th. Jacques Richard will chair or co-chair the conference. He is very interested in hearing from anyone who would like to volunteer to work on his 2013 Orga-nizing Committee. Good luck, Jacques, and we look forward to seeing everyone in Moncton in 2013.

TC Paperless Distribution Register on line at www.tc.gc.ca/e-news to get the following by e-mail:News releases, Aviation Safety Publications, Feedback, Canadian ADs, AIM TP14371, Aviation Safety Letter TP185, Advisory Circulars

2012 Golf Tournament The 18th Annual AME Association (Atlantic) Golf Tournament will be held at the Magnetic Hill Golf Club on August 20th at 1 p.m. The registration forum is in the online newsletter. All green fees and cart rentals are to be paid when registering. Note: This is a two-person team best ball tournament.


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License Combining The AME Association of Ontario would like to thank the member-ship for their feedback regarding the combining of the M1/M2 AME license. The premise for replacing the M1 and M2 categories with a single M license is to give the AME a broader scope of qualifications and to permit greater transportability during his/her career. Keep in mind that the AME would still have to demonstrate the training and knowledge requirements before exercising the appropriate privileges of the license. There would be no loss in privileges for current AME li-cense holders. This topic is still only in the discussion stage as there has been no formalized agreement to proceed further at this point. If this is a topic that you would like to comment upon then please forward your thoughts or concerns with the association.

Golf Tournament The Northwestern Ontario Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Commit-tee will be hosting its 12th annual golf tournament at the Dragon Hills golf club in Thunder Bay on July 13, 2012, and everyone is welcome to attend. The trade show in Thunder Bay will be held November 15 and 16, 2012. For more information, please contact your Northern Direc-tor, Marty Gibson at [email protected] or 1-807-474-4559.

Bravatech The AME Association of Ontario has engagerd the services of Bravat-ech Ltd. for the maintenance of our website (ame-ont.com). Our goal is to provide timely and current information as well as member blogs, communication with the association’s Board of Directors, etc. Please let us know what you would like to see on our website, and check us out once in a while for our progress.

Dear Members:Here’s just an example of what’s in store for us in 2012:

Industry Canada issued new corporate governance rules for not for profit organizations. That means we’ll have to do a “gap” analysis of our current bylaws so that we can be in compliance for the 2014 deadline. Luckily we’ve been doing our homework and this will not be such a daunting task.

The Canadian Federation of AME Associations is moving for-ward with the concept of one national AME association across Cana-da. Their annual general meeting will be held in Toronto in October. Now that’s an opportunity to get involved.

There’s talk of combining the current M1 and M2 licences into one category. The jungle drums tell us a lot of debate is taking place on this topic. If you have an opinion, do let us know.

And even with all the change that’s going on, we had accomplish-ments from 2011 to be proud of:1. the 37th annual Ontario AME Symposium and Workshop in Octo-ber. This year’s is looking to be even better2. The Northwestern Ontario AME Workshop held in Thunder Bay3. 3 human factors courses. Most notably with Air Georgian4. Ryan Gomes won the bronze metal in aircraft maintenance at the World Skills Competition held in London, England. Ryan is a frequent volunteer for the association5. John Longo won the Gordon Rayner award. Wilson Boynton was honoured with the Robert McCombie award. And Jeff Runciman went home with the Clare Leavens award

We invite you to become actively involved. And be part of positive change. — Sincerely Board of Directors

March 2012 Meeting Wrap

Thank you Brian Omahen

Few were spared from sharing the spotlight with dinner host and technical presenter Mr. Brian Omahen, EVP of HRD Aero Systems at the March 13th SoCal Chapter meeting at the 94th Aero Squad-ron Restaurant in Van Nuys. Brian kept the audience thoroughly on their toes and entertained with product demo participation and cool prizes for pop quizzes on the “Use, Management, and Maintenance of Safety Survival Equipment”. Brian reviewed, in part: fire extinguisher data tag information and proper installation and shipping (remem-ber to shunt the caps); oxygen bottles including how to don and ship

assorted types of masks, cap leak periods and squibs, new ATA ship-ping requirements and overhaul procedures; safety briefing cards (make sure they are specific to the aircraft); life vest types, color cod-ing and donning including a live inflation demo. Brian ran through some great tips for life‐saving carry-on items and travel attire, situ-ational awareness of cabin surroundings, and sobering facts on im-proving survivability in the event of ditching. Brian’s presentation was warmly received, and he invited all to visit HRD’S website and to contact HRD directly with questions or to set up demonstrations and training at their Valencia facility. Many thanks to Brian and all at HRD for the time and expense put forth for a great dinner, presentation and scholarship raffle prize donations. Visit www.hrd‐aerosystems.com

AME Association of Ontario2283 Anson Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5S 1G6tel: 1-905-673-5681 fax: 1-905-673-6328email: [email protected] website: www.ame-ont.com

PAMA SoCal Chapter


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Chapter President Greg Potter presided over the general meeting, covering news, events, guest introductions, the 2012 scholarship applications posting, and the 2012 Chapter Board of Directors elec-tions. Many thanks to Board Assistant Luisa Benin for coordinating all ticket sales for the evening’s scholarship raffle drawing.

$265 for the March 2012 SoCal PAMA Scholarship Fund Raffle Drawing Thank you chapter supporters: Aero‐Nasch/Jet Brella, Aviall Van Nuys, Business Aerotech, Consolidated Aircraft, Corporate Air, Gulf-stream, HRD Aero, Kansas Aviation, SoCal Jets, Rotorcraft Support, Triumph Instruments. All proceeds from raffle ticket sales benefit the SoCal PAMA Scholarship Awards Program.

Looking For That Special Talent? Send postings to [email protected]. Include company name, logo, position title, location of position, and contact information The SoCal chapter offers employment and educational opportunity post-ings free of charge to the aviation maintenance community worldwide.

Website Advertise your company and support SoCal PAMA: $50 for 12 months. Contact Gail Erwin or Nikki King via email: [email protected] nikki@extraord‐n‐air.com

Industry Events 2012 l ALEA Convention: July 11‐14, Reno, NV; ALEA.org

l ALEA W. Regional Conference: Sept. 4‐6, San Diego, CA; ALEA.netl AEA W. Regional Conference: Sept. 11‐13, Reno, NV AEA.netl Reno Air Races: Sept. 12‐16, Reno, NV; Airrace.orgl AOPA Aviation Summit: Oct. 11‐13, Palm Springs, CA; AOPA.orgl IA Training – Rotorcraft Support: TBA, Burbank, CA; 818‐997‐7667l NBAA Annual Convention: Oct. 30‐Nov. 1, Orlando, FL; NBAA.orgl Western Museum of Flight: Monthly, Torrance, CA; WMOF.com

SoCal PAMA Board of Directors l Greg Potter, President; [email protected] Bill Johnston, Vice President; [email protected] Dan Ramos, Treasurer/Website/Broadcasts; [email protected] Gail Erwin, Secretary/Newsletter/Website; [email protected] Glenn Beckley, Sgt. At Arms; [email protected] Chris Cancelosi, Meeting Coordinator; [email protected] Warren Horton, Meeting Coordinator; [email protected]

Welcome Board Assistants:Sgt. At Arms Tina Campos, Clay Lacy Aviation; Raffle Ticket Sales Luisa Benin, Clay Lacy Aviation; Website Admin/SoCal PAMA News: Nikki King, Extraord‐N‐Air; Phil Samuelian, Samco

PAMA Mission Statement:To promote continuous improvement in professionalism and recog-nition of the Aviation Maintenance Technician through communica-tion, education, representation and support.

Ohio Aviation Association Featured at May Meeting Our May meeting was held at Lane Aviation and featured a presenta-tion by Alan Harding about the Ohio Aviation Association. Founded in 1965 as the Ohio Airport Manager’s Association, the OAA is a non-profit corporation committed to airport development and safety in Ohio. They support Ohio’s aviation community through education, communication, advocacy and partnerships.

We also had a special guest, Author Richard Barrett, who has just published the book Aviation in Columbus. Richard signed copies of his book that were available for purchase at the meeting.

The social gathering started at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. and Alan’s presentation began immediately after. We want to thank Alan (who is from Central Ohio and has long been an advocate for our aviation community) for his presentation and the organization’s efforts promoting aviation in Ohio.

This was the last meeting before our summer break. Our next event will be the Central Ohio Aviation Golf Outing, September 7th,

and our next regular meeting will be October 9th. We’re looking for sponsors and/or presenters for our October and November meetings. If you’re interested, send us an email to [email protected]. Check back for the start of registration for COAGO 2012! Hope to see you there.

PAMA Climbs Higher After 40 Years PAMA unveiled its new 40 Years and Climbing logo which celebrates the organization’s four decades of representing aviation maintenance technicians. COPAMA joins in the celebration as we complete our first decade of operation this fall. Stay strong, AMTs, and keep climbing.

April Meeting Featured Tim Sokol – FAASTeam Our April meeting featured Tim Sokol, our FAASTeam Program Manager, as the chef of some fine barbequed brisket. The dinner was topped off with a special cake to commemorate Cliff Kelling receiving the Charles Taylor Award at last month’s symposium.

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The evening’s events started with the social gathering at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Gene Sprang started the meeting after dinner and re-viewed the symposium and upcoming events, which include the 70th Anniversary Gathering of the Doolittle Raiders and Alan Harding who will be next month’s speaker on the Ohio Aviation Association.

Tim started his program by giving Cliff the more than 30 letters of recommendation and a “Blue Ribbon” copy of all this FAA historical records. After Cliff received a round of applause from the meeting at-tendees, Tim continued with his presentation, Aviation Maintenance: Past, Present and Future. He gave examples of the challenges that tech-

nology presents in aviation maintenance, from the early experiments of the Wright Brothers to the composite structures and electronic con-trols of today. We want to thank Tim for his huge personal contribu-tion to the evening’s events, both by his presentation and the food. Those who signed up will receive a certificate good for one hour for Wings Program or IA renewal credit. Our prize raffle brought the meeting to a close.

Please check our website as more information is received for posting. Photos are available to view at the Photo Gallery page.

Important Miscellaneous Cincinnati State’s Ed Weichold brought out his class. Way to go, Ed. Thanks for bringing them and letting us get to know and meet them. Your class couldn’t have been introduced to a finer group of people.

Ideas are needed for the October IA Seminar, or maybe you have wishes on information you would like to get. We’ve had a riveting hands-on experience in 2010 with rivets, and a fascinating experience handling fasteners in 2011. What type of experience would you like to see this year? Where do you feel you are lacking knowledge or a re-minder/refresher? Don’t forget the heated talk about hot air balloons.

Web OATS is once again back up and running on the web. The address is https://oatsline.com. Thanks to Don Streitenberger and James Daw-son. Way to go, gentlemen. Thanks for your hard work.

Hey, check out the Maintenance Skills Competition pictures. This competition took place in Las Vegas (no, it was a maintenance compe-tition). If you don’t believe me just look at the pictures.

Prize Winners February’s prize? Well, for the door prize of a Kroger gift certificate, Garry Meyer can now purchase his groceries for the week. Jim Riece was our Mysterious Prize winner. Not only was the sweet tradition continued with marshmallow eggs (I think they had chocolate all over them) but he also got a screwdriver and a measuring tape to measure

his satisfaction. (you didn’t expect me to let that go did you?) Con-gratulations gentlemen.

Membership Dues Membership dues for 2012 are $10 for Regular Membership, $5 for Student Membership and are payable at this month’s meeting. Don will be more than happy to take your money and mark your name off the list. Also remember the $3 for supper, and a couple bucks for the mystery prize and for 50/50.

Company Members We appreciate the support from our company members:Aero Battery, Inc; J.R. Ries & Associates; Aviall; The Kroger Company; Cintas Omnicare Inc.; Chemed/Jet Resources; Proctor & Gamble Co; Executive Jet Management Tool Testing Lab, Inc; Great American Insurance.

Contact Information If you need to contact the OATS officers, email Gary Goodpaster at [email protected], Don Streitenberger at [email protected].

Do you have something you would like to include in the Monthly newsletter? E-mail me at [email protected] or Karin Hartman at [email protected].

Remember: Don’t be afraid, volunteering can become exciting.

PAMA Cincinnati


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CT Aero Tech Students Attend Pratt & WhitneyCustomer Training

On April 25th, 11 Powerplant students from Connecticut Aero Tech accompanied by their instructor Charles Hilton completed an eight-day training course on the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 94 high-bypass turbofan engine. Many thanks go out to the courteous staff at the Pratt & Whitney East Hartford Customer Training Center. As one of the individuals privileged to attend this training, I join my peers in ex-tending a special thank you to both Julio Leroux and Jerry Howell for providing such valuable hands-on training in a clean, knowledge rich and professional environment.

June Chapter Meeting

June 12, 2012 at 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Embraer Executive Jet Service, Perimeter Rd, Windsor Locks, CT 06096

Chapter Meeting by the Pool

September 11, 2012 at noon, Dave’s House, 1765 New London Turn-pike, Glastonbury, CT 06033. Date and time subject to change.

Mechanic’s Creed

UPON MY HONOR, I swear that I shall hold in sacred trust the rights and privileges conferred upon me as a certified mechanic. Knowing full well that the safety and lives of others are dependent upon my skill and judgment, I shall never knowingly subject others to risks which I would not be willing to assume for myself, or for those dear to me.

IN DISCHARGING this trust, I pledge myself never to undertake work or approve work which I feel to be beyond the limits of my knowledge nor shall I allow any non-certified superior to persuade me to approve aircraft or equipment as airworthy against my better judgment, nor shall I permit my judgment to be influenced by money or other personal gain, nor shall I pass as airworthy aircraft or equip-ment about which I am in doubt either as a result of direct inspection or uncertainty regarding the ability of others who have worked on it to accomplish their work satisfactorily.

I REALIZE the grave responsibility which is mine as a certified air-man, to exercise my judgment on the airworthiness of aircraft and equipment. I, therefore, pledge unyielding adherence to these precepts for the advancement of aviation and for the dignity vocation

PAMA Hartford-Springfield

AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE is Transport Canada- approved for recurrent training. This is our 10th exam,

published annually in our June-July anniversary issue, in accordance with our agreement with Transport Canada. The exam consists of questions based on articles appearing in all six issues from the past year: June-July 2011, Aug.- Sept. 2011, Oct.-Nov. 2011, Dec.-Jan. 2012, Feb.-March 2012, and April-May 2012. You will require all six issues in order to write the exam. If you are missing any issues, call us at (604) 214-9824 or email us at [email protected], and we will mail them to you at a cost of $6.95 per magazine postpaid.

A 75% pass rate is required in order to qualify for your 16 hours toward RT. The questions in the exam are arranged in order of their appearance in AirMaintenance Update according to issue and individual article. The exam can also be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file via our web-site: www.amumagazine.com. Answers should be printed in the spaces provided and must be drawn directly from the text of the articles in order to be considered correct. All questions requiring a longer answer than the space allowed must be typewritten on a separate sheet of paper. Completed exams should be submitted to: AirMaintenance Update, Suite 2 – 203, 4360 Agar Drive, Richmond, BC, V7B 1A3.

The exam must be postmarked no later than October 31, 2012. We will mark your test and return it along with docu-mentation supporting your submission. We will keep a copy of your written test and results on file for future reference, and a copy will be forwarded to Transport Canada. Once again, good luck to all participants!

Your Contact Information

For a prompt and accurate response to your 2012 Exam answers, please fill in the following information (print clearly)

Name ................................................................................................

Address ............................................................................................

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Phone ...............................................................................................

Email ................................................................................................

June – July 2011 (Volume 10/Issue 1) The Dog Days of Summer1) Name five signs of heat-associated problems a person

might see/feel.

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AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE i

The APU Explained2) What are auxiliary power units?

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5) Is a constant speed drive required on an APU to maintain

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6) Name two disadvantages to using a main engine to pro-

vide electrical power during ground operations.

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7) Why, in some cases, can an APU be used to power an

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Aug. – Sept. 2011 (Volume 10/Issue 2) Got a Good Line?1) Name two types of aircraft lines.

1. .............................................................................................

................................................................................ .............

2. ................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

2) Name three things that determine the type of line that

will be used in a particular aircraft system.

1. .............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

................................................................................ .............

2. ................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

3. .............................................................................................

................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

3) Name two materials that hard lines may be made of.

1. .............................................................................................

................................................................................ .............

2. ................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

4) Are flexible lines life limited?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

5) Why do flexible lines require a more detailed inspection

than rigid lines?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

6) Who determines line life limits?

........................................................................................

7) Name five maintenance procedures that are critical to

ensuring reliability and durability of hose assemblies.

1. .............................................................................................

2. ................................................................................ .............

3. .............................................................................................

4. .............................................................................................

5. .............................................................................................

8) Name two sources of maintenance data for hoses if the

manufacturer’s data cannot be found.

1. .............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

2. ................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

9) Name 11 inspection points for a flexible hose.

1. .............................................................................................

2. ................................................................................ .............

3. .............................................................................................

4. .............................................................................................

5. .............................................................................................

5. .............................................................................................

AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE iii

7. ................................................................................ .............

8. .............................................................................................

9. .............................................................................................

10. .............................................................................................

11. .............................................................................................

10) If the manufacturer’s recommendations are not available,

how often must flammable fluid carrying hoses in and

engine compartment be replaced?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

11) How often must the above hoses be replaced if they are

installed in an airframe?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

Cockpit Flight Instruments Explained12) What is used to measure the air pressures outside of an

aircraft?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

13) What term is used for the pressure of the still, ambient

pressure outside an aircraft?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

14) What term is used for the dynamic, ram air pressure?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

15) What two basic instruments use only static pressure?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

16) Which basic instrument uses both pitot and static

pressure?

........................................................................................

17) Which mechanical instrument is used as a stable source

of heading indication?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

18) The addition of what device turns a compass system into

a slaved compass system?

....................................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

19) What type of gyro is used in an attitude indicator?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

20) What type of gyro does a turn and bank instrument use?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

21) If the ILS needles are deviated UP and to the LEFT, where

is the aircraft?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................ The Dope on Fabric22) State the advantages of Ceconite fabric over earlier cotton

and linen fabrics.

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

23) What is the typical life of cotton aircraft covering?

........................................................................................

24) What is used to shrink Ceconite fabric?

........................................................................................

25) When covering an older aircraft with a newer synthetic

fabric, what legal document is required?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

iv AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE

26) How can the system which is presently installed on an

aircraft be determined?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

27) What tool should be used to shrink Ceconite fabric?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

28) What device is used to determine the strength of a fabric

covering?

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

Oct. – Nov. 2011 (Volume 10/Issue 3) Turbine Engine Hygiene1) State two reasons why compressor/engine washes are

necessary.

1. .............................................................................................

2. ................................................................................ .............

2) State the difference between an engine wash and a rinse.

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

3) What is the effect of the accumulation of airborne con-

taminants on turbine engine components?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

4) What can be the effect of this contamination in high salt

operating environments?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

5) Who determines which chemicals can be used to wash a

compressor?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

6) Does the approved list of these chemicals vary from

manufacturer to manufacturer?

..............................................................................................

7) Should tap water be used for compressor washes?

..............................................................................................

8) What are the three steps of a typical compressor wash?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

9) When should a compressor wash be performed?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

10) Name the two types of cleaning maneuvers.

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

Tool and Equipment Management11) State two things a tool left in an aircraft can interfere with.

1. .............................................................................................

2. ................................................................................ .............

12) Name a good starting point for managing your tools..

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE v

Dec. – Jan. 2012 (Volume 10/Issue 4) Clarifying Some Regs1) What is Transport Canada’s normal approach to foreign

ADs?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

2) What ADs must be complied with on aircraft and other

products that are from Canada?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

3) How does the above situation change if the Canadian air-

craft has an STC or PMA part that is subject to an AD

issued by the FAA?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

4) If a French airframe is coupled with an US engine, which

country’s ADs must be complied with?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

Superheterodyne Receivers Explained5) What does the term modulate mean?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

6) Name three common types of modulation used when

dealing with radio transmissions.

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

7) Which type of modulation is used by the superhetero-

dyne receiver?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

8) What is the first stage of any radio receiver?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

9) Is a bigger antenna necessarily better?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

10) What is the length of a receiver’s antenna closely tied to?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

11) What is the the ideal length for an antenna?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

vi AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE

12) What does automatic gain control (ACG) allow?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

Many Hands, One Signature13) Does a maintenance release release an entire aircraft in

terms or the pledge of airworthiness?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

14) What are the two main elements of a maintenance

release?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

15) What is a conditional maintenance release?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

16) In the above situation, what phrase must be entered as an

extension or the maintenance release statement?

..............................................................................................

17) When is an independent or dual inspection required?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

Feb. – March 2012 (Volume 10/Issue 5) Air/Ground Sensing Explained1) If a snag reported by flight crew cannot be duplicated on

the ground, what should be checked if the snag could

involve wiring or duct work?

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

2) How is most air-ground sensing done?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

3) State two names of air/ground sensing switches.

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

4) What is the effect of pulling the landing gear lights circuit

breaker on an old Boeing?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

5) Could the amount of heat applied to anti-ice systems

cause damage if applied on the ground?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE vii

6) Aircraft damage can occur when the aircraft is tricked

into flight mode but what can this also pose risk to?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

7) If an aircraft with fly-by-wire technology is tricked into

flight mode while the engines are running, what might

happen?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

April – May 2012 (Volume 10/Issue 6) The Importance of Accurate Record-keeping1) Will Transport Canada ever consider a job to be done if it

is not recorded in an aircraft logbook?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..................................................................................................

........................................................................................

Gyroscopic Applications Explained2) What, bascially, is a gyro?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

3) What type of gyro is an artificial horizon?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

4) The rotor of a gyro is mounted on pivoting rings. What

are these rings called?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

5) What moves, in relation to the horizon, when an artificial

horizon indicates a change of pitch?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

6) What cockpit instrument uses a gyro with a horizontal

spin axis?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

7) How must a DG be periodically reset or corrected if an

aircraft has a free compass system?

..............................................................................................

8) How is a DG reset if it is a slaved compass system?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

9) Name two ways a gyro may be driven.

1. .............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

2. ................................................................................ .............

................................................................................ .............

10) On what type of platform are the accelerometers of an

inertial navigation system (INS) mounted?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

11) What new technology is beginning to replace traditional

gyro technology?

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

..............................................................................................

viii AIRMAINTENANCE UPDATE

AMU


Feature

Cleaning Deepinto cracks for superior brazing preparation of jet engine turbine parts

business, brazing cracks in investment cast parts made of expensive alloys is routinely required, as hot section jet engine components are damaged due to oxidation, sulphidation, hot corrosion, fatigue, or foreign object damage. However, proper brazing requires that all oxi-dation first be thoroughly removed from airfoil component surfaces, cooling passages and cracks, which can be very narrow and deep.

Oxide Scale in Airfoil Cracks While a jet engine is in service, oxide scale forms on the mating faces of cracks that occur in the airfoils. These cracks become packed full of scale, all the way to the tips. It is the goal of the service shop to re-pair the airfoils by filling the cracks with a braze alloy, but braze alloy cannot flow into cracks that are full of oxide scale. To complicate mat-ters, the alloys used to make turbine airfoils are nickel (Ni) and cobalt

(Co) based superalloys that usually contain aluminum (Al) and titanium (Ti) to improve strength. The presence of these elements causes the resulting scale to contain complex spinels that are extremely difficult to remove.

At the narrow tip of a crack, scale forms during service. The scale oc-cupies a larger volume than the metal from which it formed. This results in the narrow spaces at the tips of cracks being totally packed with scale and you cannot fill the crack with braze alloy if it is already filled with oxide scale.

Traditionally, fluoride ion clean-ing has been performed at atmo-spheric pressure to remove oxidants from components, but metallurgical studies have shown it only works well

when cleaning wide cracks. Plus, it can add extra steps to the oxide cleaning process that result from chro-mium fluoride or chromium carbide build-up during the process. More recently, however, an innovative dynamic fluoride ion cleaning (DFIC) process has offered turbine refurbishment professionals the abil-ity to clean deep, narrow cracks of oxides by cycling between negative, atmospheric and positive pressure for more ideal surface preparation prior to brazing.

Beyond DFIC The DFIC process, also known as hydrogen fluoride (HF) ion cleaning, involves the reaction of fluorine with various oxides. HF gas can be toxic if it escapes into the atmosphere; however, improvements in gas monitoring sensors and digital electronics, resulting

By ROB KORNFELDPresidentHi-Tech Furnace Systems, Inc

In the turbine airfoil refurbishment

ppp


from its widespread use in the semiconductor industry, have made it safe and reliable for parts cleaning.

At temperatures greater than 1,750° F (950° C), the fluo-ride ion reacts with oxides that have formed on the crack faces in turbine airfoils, converting them to gaseous metal fluo-rides. This allows them to be easily removed and they depart through the off-gas stream of the reactor.

There are significant drawbacks to the early fluoride ion cleaning processes developed in the 1970s, which utilize fluo-ride compounds in powdered form and perform the work at normal atmospheric pressure. Besides having difficulty pen-etrating into deep, narrow cracks, the early processes were less flexible and not continuous. They relied on a single charge of powder to produce their HF gas. This often resulted in parts having to be processed through more than one cleaning cycle.

Dynamic FIC Fortunately, the dynamic FIC process has been proven to be more effective, flexible, and repeatable. What separates the dynamic FIC process from first generation fluoride ion clean-ing equipment is that the reaction temperature, fluorine con-centration, pressure level, and duration are all independently controlled variables. The sophisticated digital control systems that come with today’s equipment can be programmed with hundreds of “recipes” for cleaning specific alloy types, widths of cracks, and levels of scale and oxidation. During the clean-ing process, HF and H2 gas are introduced into the system

600, 3 Avenue, Laval, Quebec, H7R 4J4Tel: (514) 631-2173 Fax: (450) 627-2199www.aeroneuf.com [email protected]

e600, 3 Avenue, Laval, Quebec, H7R 4J4Tel: (514) 631-2173 Fax: (450) 627-2199www.aeroneuf.com [email protected]

ee

Now in

Votre solution enMaintenance d’Avioniques

Your solution forAvionics Maintenance

Ground EquipmentEquipment au sol


through precision metering, so time and gas concentrations can be precisely con-trolled. For example, a typical cleaning cycle may begin as 94 to 96% hydrogen. But within that cycle, it may be changed to a 92:8 or 86:14 H2 to HF ratio, de-pending on the substrate material.

Some dynamic FIC systems are de-signed to perform the cleaning process at sub-atmospheric pressures from 100 to 650 Torr (133 to 867 Millibar) while at processing temperature. By varying the pressure between positive, negative and atmospheric levels, the dynamic FIC

system “pulses” HF in and out of cooling channels, deep cracks and small holes to more effectively clean oxidized, hard-to-reach areas. The dynamic FIC works equally well on a variety of alloys, and al-lows the operator to cycle between posi-tive and negative pressure to get compo-nent surfaces as well as deep cracks and crevices extremely clean. By performing the process under vacuum, in addition to the removal of surface oxidation, aluminum and titanium are depleted from the substrate, creating a denuded zone approximately 0.0005 inches deep.

This results in a buffer. During furnace brazing, residual oxygen in the vacuum chamber can re-oxidize a clean part. The denuded zone gives time to get the braze filler to flow and wick into the cracks before re-oxidation occurs. As an added benefit, the use of HF at sub-atmospher-ic pressure often eliminates extra steps in the brazing preparation process.

Cobalt-based alloys, used to make jet engine turbine airfoils, contain a significant amount of chromium. This can react with fluorine during the pro-cess to create a chromium fluoride film on the surface of the parts. Chromium fluoride is the most refractory (tempera-ture resistant) compound of all the metal fluorides. As a result, it does not volatize at the usual temperatures used in FIC. Without the vacuum capability in the cleaning process, the part must then be moved to a vacuum furnace where it is subjected to the higher temperature and lower pressure required until the chrome fluoride volatilizes.

However, the resulting fluorides can contaminate the brazing furnace or the vacuum pump, which should be kept very clean and are designed to handle acidic gases.

At pressures of about 150 Torr ab-solute, chrome fluoride will remain gas-eous, so areas can be cleaned without depositing a residue on the joint. If any chrome fluoride is created during the process, the control system can be set to subject the part to the higher tempera-ture and appropriate pressure to remove it. Another benefit of the dual vacuum process is that it uses significantly less HF, because oxides are volatilized at a lower temp and concentration of HF when performed sub-atmospherically. Using less HF also reduces the risk of inter granular attack (IGA), which could otherwise chemically alter the micro-structure of the metal being cleaned.

ROB KORNFELD is President of Hi-Tech Furnace Systems, Inc. of Shelby Township, MI, a provider of Dynamic Fluoride Ion Cleaning equipment. Cus-tomers include Pratt & Whitney, Snecma Services, and Lufthansa Technik. For more information, visit www.hi-techfur-nace.com or call 586-566-0600; e-mail [email protected]. n


BY GORDON WALKER, AME ‘E’,Professor of AvionicsCentennial College

Landing Systemsexplained

One of the most impressive featsperformed by the magic of avionics is, in my opinion, the landing of a massive passenger jet in conditions of zero visibility: Zero forward visibility, zero ver-tical visibility, and yet that monstrous metal tube with four hundred souls on board, can be safely returned to earth from a height of tens of thousands of feet. It should be noted that this type of category III landing can ONLY be conducted by the avioinics/autoland systems; human pilots are not allowed to attempt such an undertaking (appropriate choice of words, should they try).

Clearly then, the electronic approach aids used to enable these zero visibility landings are worthy of some examination. While most of us are familiar with the standard instrument landing systems (ILS) localiz-er and glideslope, there are some alternative technolo-gies available. Let’s have a look at “Microwave Landing Systems: Explained”.

By way of a quick review, recall that the localizer is the approach aid that transmits a radio signal along

the centreline of the runway. This provides the pilot, and the autopilot with the lateral (left/right) steering information required to line up the approaching air-craft with the centre of the runway.

The glideslope transmits a radio signal that pro-vides the vertical (up/down) steering information required to set up a nice approach angel (about 3 degrees) and have the aircraft touch down about one-third of the way down the runway.

The localizer and glideslope signals are each modulated by 90 Hz and 150 Hz audio tones which will be balanced when the aircraft is on the correct ap-proach course. This system has been highly effective for decades and indeed allows for zero-zero visibility landings. However, there are shortcomings associated with ILS, and new technologies have been developed in an attempt to improve upon these shortcomings. One such technology is the Microwave Landing Sys-tem (MLS).

Those of you who are now growing a little long in the tooth may think Microwave Landing Systems

Feature

((( Microwave )))


sound vaguely familiar, with good rea-son. Microwave landing technology ap-peared on the scene in North America in the early 1980s, heralded as a likely replacement for the aging ILS installa-tions. There was enthusiastic participa-tion in the development of MLS technol-ogy, with buy-in from the FAA, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Indeed, it was intended that MLS be the preferred approach aid for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Toronto’s Island Airport (now Billy Bishop Airport) was equipped with two MLS installations due to the proximity of the runways to the lakeshore, and the suitability of MLS for both high density commuter traffic, and short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft.

MLS works on the principle of transmitting radio “beams” in the giga-hertz range, which scan first in one di-rection, then back in the other direction. Imagine these beams being transmitted from the right side of the runway toward the left, and referred to as “TO” scans. Then the scan reverses direction, going from left to right, and is referred to as the “FROM” scan. The airborne MLS re-ceiver times the interval between when it receives the “TO” scan and when it receives the “FROM” scan, in order to determine the position of the aircraft, relative to the runway. (See illustrations at right.)

The vertical component on the MLS works in exactly the same way, with an “UP” scan and a “DOWN” scan.

((( Microwave )))


Timing the interval between when it receives the two scans enables the MLS receiver to determine the aircraft’s vertical position relative to the runway.

Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) information is added to complete the positional fix.

Unlike the ILS, which necessitates all aircraft following the same “straight in” approach path, MLS allows aircraft to approach the runway from any angle (up to a typical max-imum of +/- 40 degrees to the left and right of the runway centreline) and at various vertical approach angles. This is particularly well suited for municipal airports with a high vol-ume of mixed commuter traffic. It means that the Cessna 172 does not have to follow the same approach path as the Air-bus 380, and aircraft approaching from different angles can be “merged” onto the runway, allowing more efficient handling of high volume traffic.

The fact that Microwave Landing Systems operate in the gigahertz range means that the problem of interference from commercial FM broadcasts is not a problem as it is with cur-rent Localizer frequencies.

This also facilitates a greater number of channels being available, reducing problems of overlap in areas which have a high density of instrument approach runways. The higher frequency also means smaller antennas, both on the ground transmitter side, and the airborne installation.

With all of these advantages, one would expect MLS to have superseded ILS by now. However, for those of us in North America, it is nowhere to be found. The question is “What happened?” The answer is “GPS happened.”

At the same time as MLS was being developed, the U.S. Department of Defense was also beginning to utilize the newly developed Global Positioning System (GPS) for naviga-tion and guidance purposes. Initially developed as a purely military tool, GPS was unavailable for civilian use. When it eventually did become available for non-military use, its accu-racy was intentionally degraded for fear of its being misused by unfriendly forces.

This made GPS unsuitable for precision approaches, and thus MLS still seemed like a good bet to replace ILS. Eventu-ally however, this accuracy offset was removed, and enhance-ments such as wide area/local area augmentation systems (WAAS and LAAS) were developed, which enabled precision approaches by civilian aircraft.

With the availability of accurate, relatively inexpensive GPS receivers, and the fact that airports did not need to install and maintain any ground based equipment, GPS suddenly became far more attractive than MLS. North American users and airports embraced the GPS technology, and MLS instal-lations were mothballed in favour of the satellite based GPS. MLS has now all but disappeared from the North American landscape.

But our story doesn’t end there. Not all nations are en-tirely comfortable with having their navigation and approach aids controlled by the United States military. Although access to GPS satellite signals is currently free, there is no guarantee that those signals won’t one day become encrypted and a fee charged for their use.


Political alliances shift with the times, and not all nations are certain to main-tain “friendly” relations with the U.S. military to the point that they feel com-fortable with having to rely on its co-operation in providing accurate GPS navigation. These are just some of the reasons why MLS continues to thrive in other parts of the world.

British Airways, which operates most of its flights in and out of foggy old London town, have installed MLS on a large percentage of their fleet. This has resulted in a marked increase in the low visibility landing rate at Heathrow Air-port.

The small “footprint” and portabili-ty of the ground based MLS transmitters make it a very attractive system for mili-tary applications. MLS transmitters can be easily transported to remote military sites, such as deserts, frozen lakes etc., assembled and made operational within a matter of hours by as few as three ser-vice personnel. MLS is also well suited to aircraft carrier operations.

While GPS rules the skies of North America, Microwave Landing Systems

continue to thrive in many other parts of the world.

Will we ever see a return of MLS here in Canada? Let’s wait and see what the cost of de-coding pay-per-use GPS signals might be.

Q: What are two advantages realized by MLS over ILS due to the higher frequen-cy of operation?

GORDON WALKER entered the avion-ics industry after graduation from Cen-

tennial College in 1980. His career with Nordair, Air Canada, CP Air, PWA, and ultimately Canadian Airlines took him to many remote corners of Canada. Since leaving the flight line to pursue a career as a college professor, Walker has continued to involve himself in the aviation/avionics industry, by serving on several CARAC Committees concerning the training and licensing of AMEs, being nominated to the CAMC Board of Directors, and being elected President of the National Training Association. (NTA). n


BY STUART McAULAY

Feature

making theConnection

National studies have determined that about 500,000 Canadians are absent from work every day due to some form of mental illness, making this the lead-

ing cause of workplace disability in Canada. This sobering fact should raise the concern that many of our workers who do not already fit into this category may be quietly heading there. This applies to the aviation industry as much as any other. Absenteeism in the workplace due to known disabilities re-quires study to determine how companies can invest in the wellbeing of their people and reverse this discouraging trend.

The ability of managers to really understand the reasons for absenteeism is essential to knowing how to deal with these complex issues. Reversing the trend of absenteeism due to mental illness will undoubtedly require a small venture into uncomfortable territory, but the return on that investment should prove to be more favorable than continuing to settle for the unspoken norm. The connection between acknowl-edging these facts and then ultimately working with them rests primarily with the connection between the employer and the employee.

Companies that are willing to accept the realities of men-tal illness within their ranks will come to realize the relation-ship between the positive tenets of trust and encouragement and a positive employer-employee relationship. The tempta-tion for each of us to focus only on self-preserving actions to get us through the day is often counter-productive to the potential of individuals working together with other people. Minding your own interests is not the best use of the skills, pa-tience or personality that are essential to those who need en-couragement as well as for those who are capable of providing it. Working together has always had its share of conflict and looming dysfunction for most of us, starting in the school-yard and continuing into the workplace. I believe that there is room for us to invest in the wellbeing of each person within our spheres of influence. This investment in human relation-

ships must be done on the same sort of level as any technical or soft skill if we are to be as productive as we can be in the aviation industry. This will be an uneasy transition until we have established a comfortable starting point in understand-ing those who struggle with some form of mental illness.

The starting point for any initiative is the awareness that an issue exists and then gets an informed response if positive change is to happen. We are acutely aware that absenteeism is a problem for those who work in the hangars, on the ramps, and within the operational sector of our dynamic industry. We deal with covering shifts for each other just like anywhere else; however our approach to productivity must involve our essential human factor elements as well as an attentive ear toward our people. Each person exercises a unique response to his or her working conditions regardless of corporate poli-cies and procedures and therefore harbors certain barriers to performing as expected. Our most common response for struggling workers is to grant them the necessary time off to sort themselves out or allow for medication to work its magic. This is only a short-term, quasi solution to a long-term social concern. Our concern should be to understand why human productivity is getting worse and not better amidst an indus-try built upon training and safety management principles.

Another less obvious contributor to the mental discon-nect from work is the ongoing act of showing up for work but not being productive. It is common among those who are suffering with some degree of mental illness yet choose not to disclose their struggle out of fear or embarrassment. I de-scribe the condition as your body being present and account-ed for in the workplace yet your mind is somewhere else and seemingly out of your control, resulting in safety risks. You are faced with the everyday stresses as part of the job while not feeling like your normal self and not able to function as you normally would with routine tasks. The added stress of troubleshooting or sorting through complex technical issues


that you have been trained to do become secondary to those daily survival in-stincts. Temporary solutions are possible through work accommodation strate-gies, yet many of us will not even initiate that discussion with a superior for fear of appearing to be cheating the system, or we may smooth-talk ourselves into an easier set of tasks. This is where manage-ment needs to take the lead in recogniz-ing some of the signs of mental illness and develop meaningful training with all staff in an effort to remove the unnec-essary barrier of social stigma related to mental illness.

The term “accommodation”, in this case, refers to a change in procedures to make it possible for a person with spe-cial needs to do a job. It is an accepted workplace action used to ensure the eq-uitable treatment of people with physi-cal or mental disabilities. The Canadian Human Rights Act explicitly prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of any disability. With that said, we have always had difficulty defining mental health issues because the very nature of them is complex and is not as obvious as physical disabilities. It can be difficult to determine how much an em-ployee should be accommodated based upon their own expression of how they feel. Mental illness symptoms may also be cyclical for many as they go through depressive episodes that may or may not be brought under control within a spe-cific time frame. Also, the side effects of certain medications can impair focus or cause prolonged fatigue. These factors must be considered when assigning tasks to an employee. Other effects of depres-sion in the workplace can include poor memory, reduced psychomotor speed, lack of motivation, poor decision-mak-ing, and possible conflict with others. These unwanted traits are frustrating for the employer as well as the employee. The only responsible answer is to expand our thinking and become part of the so-lution as traditional attitudes are forced to change with a changing workforce.

Our industry demands a high level of productivity, and anything less will often not make the grade. It is also clear that many decision-makers have not been equipped to even interpret such a personal disclosure. “Thanks but no

thanks” becomes the expected response. My ongoing interest in general aviation and desire to increase my knowledge of maintenance led me to do more in the administration area rather than in direct technical roles. This approach is probably the only reason I remained in general aviation as the accommodation strategies toward mental illness are just beginning to gain momentum. I eventu-ally got to a point in my battle with men-tal illness where I decided that learn-ing more about it would actually help to manage the disability and ultimately lead toward further recovery. I have ex-perienced mental illness in the form of prolonged depression, anxiety, and a de-gree of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The process of identifying its causes and effects, however, were not as easy as as-sembling these thoughts after weather-ing the storm. It has taken a lot of per-sonal reflection, cognitive therapy and perseverance to get to the point where I could examine the issue with greater clarity and objectivity. Some of my per-sonal barriers have included regular loss of focus, procrastinating with tasks or

projects, being easily overwhelmed or discouraged, and even a fear of initiat-ing or returning business related phone calls. While others may relate to some of these feelings, each person will experi-ence their own unique combination of issues based upon their own past history and influencing environments. Personal thought patterns may range from feel-ings of inadequacy to frequent sadness for no apparent reason, to even contem-plating suicide. I still wrestle with some of my personal barriers from time to time, but the outlook is much better with the gradual selection of specific lifestyle changes, the willingness to talk more openly about those changes, and ulti-mately, using my influence as a writer to encourage others experiencing mental illness to take steps toward recovery.

It has also been insightful to take a step back from the need to support each other and determine why many of us have become depressed in the first place. Being depressed is nothing new, but the public response has long been to label people with a mental illness as being in-ferior and therefore incapable of being


productive, either in the workplace or within the community. Medical scien-tists, in studying the human brain and its response to our environment, have come up with some promising theories, although even some of these are in con-flict with each other. However, there are some common physiological threads that point us toward some of the nega-tive stressors that can make us attempt more than we can effectively handle. This is where corporate responsibility must extend beyond the comfort and routine of doing things the way they have always been done.

In the increasingly competitive marketplace of aviation, we have been pushing the limits of capabilities in or-der to gain that slight advantage over our competitors. We are open longer hours, we utilize less staff to do more work, and they in turn are rewarded with overtime premiums and professional advance-ment as the gateway to earning a good living. It is these very pressures that have backed us into the corner of fa-tigue management and the only way out seems to be through more programs and

regulations. This cycle of overextending our human efforts seems to have blindly evolved into our present-day predica-ment of an increasingly apathetic work force. Unfortunately, we have become so focused on staying the course that we have failed to recognize the missed op-portunities to nurture the wellbeing of our work force before things got out of control. Our society often relies upon reactive solutions simply because the focus on productivity over people has been grossly overdone. Our increased retreat into mental isolation erodes the very community that we depend on to be the foundation for quality and pro-ductivity. There are proven management principles and work accommodation re-sources available to us now, such as con-trol theory management, where willing organizations purposefully consider the potential of their employees to enhance both individual and corporate success. Several companies are already leading in this area and are making a difference for their people.

Any study in mental wellbeing must also include a look at the effect of

stress as both a positive and a negative byproduct in our daily routines. Stress is an accepted part of what keeps us mov-ing and dealing with the circumstances of the day. Positive stress is a good mo-tivator of character and sustenance in the routine of performing inspections, troubleshooting and making good deci-sions. It causes us to perform our best in service to the company and ultimately the customer whose satisfaction results in our means of income. The problem occurs when too much stress either at work, or combined with other areas of our lives, turns negative and quickly de-grades into the type of stress that is the enemy of our happiness.

Once we can no longer physically or mentally manage this overwhelming strain in our lives, we succumb to its detrimental effects, including a lack of sleep or relaxation, improper nourish-ment, and missing the good company of friends and family. In other words, we get too busy to look after ourselves. Our brain then takes over and responds to this perpetual state of overload in the form of depression simply because we are not able to satisfactorily meet our unrealistic expectations day after day. Remember that recognizing some of these effects in our own world should trigger a response that makes things better.

I hope to have at least initiated some discussion within the industry with this introduction to the need for awareness and workplace accommodation of men-tal illness. We have learned through hu-man factors training that, although we cannot change the human condition, we can change the conditions in which hu-mans work. This is applicable to all facets of maintenance activity, including those conditions which permit those suffering with mental illness to feel like they still belong. Our working life is an experi-ence that remains adaptable and there-fore demands that we change with the times. Our business strategies, our use of technology, our improved safety record, and our working relationships must all mature based on our past experience.

The final part of this series will cover continued strategies for employers and employees as they navigate through the accommodation process. n


The Mighty Martin Mars, Part 3(Continued from page 19) And here is some more CK: Flying Tank-ers completed a test and evaluation of Class A foam in 1986 and began using it with the Mars as a matter of routine in 1987. It has been estimated that the foam capability of the aircraft increases the ef-ficiency of the Mars by at least 30 per-cent. The ability of the aircraft to drop massive amounts of foam lends itself particularly well to the suppression of urban/rural interface fires and the Mars have excelled in this regard.

Now, this just-described cockpit/crew procedure is repeated for each drop. In other words, this vital team-work is carried out, on average, every 15 minutes per aircraft. For a gel drop, the concentrate is injected during the scooping process to allow even mixing. Now, that is some impressive flying by the crew. I would bet that for 25 seconds, that has got to be one busy but extremely efficient cockpit crew. The Mars carries a crew of four: Captain, First Officer and two Flight Engineers, all of whom work together as a team to get the job done efficiently and safely. Ever since the loss of the Marianas, the first Mars water bomber in 1961, the Mars operation has been accident-free, both for those flying the machines and also for those working on the ground. The adherence to a set of exacting flight procedures ensures that this enviable record continues. The Mars

are maintained to the highest standards and undergo intensive repair and over-haul each year. It should suffice to say that the people who maintain them also fly in them – an added incentive to do their work well.

Attention, more CK to follow: So how can you tell the difference between these two aircraft when they breeze by you? Well, the Philippine Mars, S/N 76820, has a white tail, a side drop sys-tem, and Canadian registration C-FLYK while the Hawaii Mars, S/N 76823, has a red tail, a bottom drop system and Cana-dian registration C-FLYL. There you go, some more CK to help gain you notori-ety in any adult establishment.

Working for the New Guys As Coulson soon discovered, taking these ladies out on a fire is not a cheap date. Each aircraft requires a 53-foot NASCAR type trailer with a workshop, welders, and parts. To feed the thirsty Wright R3350-24 engines requires an 8,000-gallon tanker on site. They use a 45 foot bus which serves as both the operational command center and as day quarters for the crew. Rounding out this rolling caravan are two utility trucks, a boat, and another tanker of ThermoGel. Coulson bought the Mars with the pur-pose of expanding existing contracts, but knew that to keep this business finan-cially solvent they were going to have to pursue new opportunities in the market-

place of aerial fire fighters. It was shortly after the purchase and several meetings with the British Columbia Forest Service that they came to the aforementioned conclusion. Coulson Flying Tankers were awarded a one-year renewable 90-day contract for the 2007 fire season. This contract really only recovered a pittance of the cost of operation. It soon became obvious that at least one other customer with either a busier or longer fire season was going to be needed. So they took their story south of the bor-der – way south, all the way to San Di-ego. They picked San Diego because it was a large city with several thousand fire-vulnerable acres and very little air tanker support. Once again, the Coulson team had to sell the benefits that only the Mars team could provide. Five weeks af-ter the sales call on the San Diego Fire Department, a large firestorm broke out in San Diego County. The entire opera-tion lasted 18 days, with the Mars flying 10 missions, (30 hours) and dropping 60 loads. This was a learning experience for Coulson and the Mars girls. They con-ceded that there was a need to prove why the Mars were serious contenders. Espe-cially where homes and the uninhabited areas interfaced, which is commonplace in California.

Selling the Sizzle with the Steak Coulson needed to get a better under-standing of the technical aspects of the


Mars’ performance and be able to sell it in a technical and measurable manner. In the restaurant business, this is “sell-ing the sizzle along with the steak”. So, in April of 2008 they asked the United States Forest Service and FPInnovations (FERIC), a Canadian scientific research firm located in Vancouver, BC, to come to Port Alberni airport. Together, Coul-son, the USFS and FERIC constructed eight small structures in a grid, and put sensors on the roofs and walls to mea-sure the force as well as the coverage of the water dropped from Hawaii Mars. This test was to make sure that the Mars would be able to safely cover the homes with gel and protect them from a wild fire and to scientifically show the exact coverage of a Mars delivery.

Over the course of a four-day peri-od, the Mars made 13 drops and the re-sults were exceptional. They proved that the Hawaii Mars delivered a 2,600-gal-lon flow rate from the tank and a 3.5-acre coverage level. This test allowed, for the first time, a comparison of water drop patterns of their coworkers’ fixed wing aircraft as well as helicopters. Be-cause of the flow rate and the 7,200-gal-lon load capacity, the coverage level was superior. Along with this information was the proof that the Mars can make water drops on homes and other struc-tures without damaging them.

The key factor is that when the Mars dropped her load at 300 feet above ground level (AGL) and the forward or terminal velocity ended, the flow was very gentle, creating a heavy rain on the structures on the grid. This type of structure protection is exclusive to the Mars and gives Coulson one more item in their list of reasons why the Mars are a vital piece of fire-fighting equipment.

As we discussed earlier, Coulson had just proved that the Martin Mars can handle a forest fire like a mother handles a recalcitrant child – with strong discipline delivered with a temperate, powerful approach. After the grid test-ing, Coulson received interim approval to work on the USFS lands for the re-mainder of 2008.

For extra credit and a whole bunch of cool CK, I would suggest you read the report prepared by Wally McCulloch and Colleen Mooney from FERIC. Some

really good stuff is in this 27-page report.In June of 2008, Coulson began

their second season with the BC Forest Service. The month of June was quiet in BC while the Lake Shasta area in Northern California was getting hit with severe lightning storms. Now all the re-search work was about to pay off. USFS asked if the Mars would like to take a trip south, and the BC Forest Service agreed to release Hawaii for a limited time to help out their southern neigh-bors. Well, when they arrived on scene, the wild fire was surrounding the lake. Over the next nine weeks Hawaii moved effortlessly and efficiently, extinguish-ing one fire after another. Even though the USFS was favorably impressed with operational availability, effectiveness, and the costs per gallons delivered, there was still an attitude that the Mars were too old to fight fires. After all, how long could these 60 + year-old aircraft safely keep up with their younger fixed and rotor-winged workmates?

Once again, Coulson needed em-pirical, scientific data. This time they contacted NASA, which was already working with the USFS on a guide for a continuing airworthiness program for

aging aircraft in the fire-fighting busi-ness. The results? Well, my faithful stu-dents, we will discuss the results next time. That is when I will get a first-hand look at our two ladies up close and per-sonal. Hopefully there is a ride in my immediate future, so be sure to return next time for our final look at the sisters Mars.

Class is now dismissed; thanks for listening and now go forth and use the new CK to your best advantage. MIKE BRODERICK is Vice President of Business Development at Helicopter En-gine Repair Overhaul Services (HEROS). Over the past 35 years, he has served as a shop technician, engine shop supervi-sor, Engine Program Director, Director of Maintenance, Director of Operations, and owner of a Rolls-Royce engine over-haul and MD Helicopter component overhaul shop. He is a certified A&P, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Avi-ation Administration. As well, Mike has been appointed as an FAA representative for the FAA Safety Team (FAAST) and is a member of the HAI Tech Committee. Mike is a regular contributor to Air Main-tenance Update. n

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AMU ChroniclesBY SAM LONGO

The Periodic Plebeian PilotWhen queried about my career as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer in casual conversations, people regularly ask if I am also a pilot. My negative response usually surprises and disap-points them as the sparkle of flight fades from their eyes . . .

In the public eye, airplanes are fascinating machines, so by association, the people that get to fly them seem exciting and glamorous. The poor sods that merely repair them are rel-

egated to a sort of necessary evil purgatory on the fringes of all that adventurous airborne excitement.

As a young lad, my passion for aviation was intense. I read everything I could get my hands on about aircraft and flying. I doodled dogfights on my notebook covers as my eyes glazed over in French class and often rode long distances on my bicycle, just to hang out at airports. Unfortunately, my dream of becoming a pilot was dashed by my lazy right eye. Undaunt-ed, I decided to follow in the footsteps of my Uncle John and do the next best thing: become the guy that fixes them. That career choice was a good one for me and I have no regrets. It also provided a few fortuitous opportunities to take the con-trols of various aircraft as a rather ungifted periodic pilot.

My first offer to take the controls of an aircraft in flight was as a young apprentice mechanic at Nordair. An older AME/pilot took myself and a few other mechanics up in a rented Cessna Cardinal RG. He graciously let me take the controls as we followed the gentle bends of the Ottawa River, with me struggling to coordinate smooth rudder and aileron control while keeping altitude and airspeed in check. Fifteen tense minutes later, I was more than happy to resume my sightseeing-passenger status.

My next chance to play pilot was in a Piper Cub on floats in the northern Quebec mining town of Chibougamau. As detailed in a previous column (Chibougamau, I Do) my good friend’s father-in-law took me for a flight and insisted I take the controls to appreciate how beautifully his refurbished Cub handled aloft. Being polite, I obliged and the plane flew along splendidly, especially when I left it to its own well-trimmed devices. The beauty of high wing aircraft is their inherent stability. They really fly quite nicely if you just leave the control stick and rudder pedals alone.

A few years later, while working at Air Canada, another fellow mechanic had his own Cessna 172, and consequently I once again had a few more chances to try my hand at pilot-ing. Nothing as exciting or dangerous as take-offs or landings, but more time to flail around the sky attempting to hone my

minimal skills at coordinating turns and flying a specific course and heading. Despite my periodic wannabe pilot sta-tus, I was beginning to enjoy the time spent aloft and consid-ered myself fortunate to have the opportunity to be a freeload-ing fringe flyer.

My most recent chance to be a reluctant copilot was in a superbly built Seawind amphibian aircraft. Its owner and pilot (another ex-Air Canada technician) had expertly fabri-cated its composite construction. The performance and climb rate out of Buttonville Airport was truly impressive. The demo flight took us down to the Toronto Island Airport as I took the controls for a short stretch while casually following the clogged traffic stream on the Don Valley Parkway below. With permission from the Island traffic controller, and now under the masterful command of the real pilot, we did a tight cir-cuit around the CN Tower. I could almost read the menu in the tower’s revolving restaurant. We then got permission for a touch and go water landing in the inner harbour. All things considered, it was a truly pleasant experience with a little more yoke time for me before we touched down back at Buttonville.

So, as you can see, the title of this column accurately pro-claims my personal reality in terms of piloting aircraft. I am below low in the social status of true pilots, and my skill in that arena is best described as unrefined – the absolute defini-tion of plebeian. Despite my on-again off-again thoughts of pursuing my private pilot’s license, now that I have the time to do so, I’m just not convinced it would be worthwhile. Despite the disappointment generated in the public view of me as only a lowly, knuckle-dragging mechanic, in the grand scheme of things, being a periodic plebeian pilot is just right for me. The cost to do it for real is prohibitive and it would certainly cur-tail cash flow for all my other ongoing hobbies.

I say, let the true pilots have all the glory. God knows they deserve it. I have always been proud to be the quiet guy toiling away on the hangar floor fixing all the stuff they break. I sup-pose I will always be more comfortable with a wrench in my hand rather than a control yoke. Still, life is a funny thing and you just never know what the future holds

For more published writing by Sam Longo, please visit www.samlongo.com n

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