Hey BA, let me know when you've...completed the investigation (name, number, etc.) ;)

(Written on 2020年12月04日)(Permalink)

Did he actually hold an A&P cert? Lots of mechanics who work on aircraft don't have (and aren't required to have) certs, as long as their work is signed off and regularly checked/supervised.

(Written on 2020年03月06日)(Permalink)

Hard to say at this stage. Technology is always hard to predict. If anyone in the world ever decide to make another supersonic transport, this has real potential. Probably not in my lifetime, but I'm old.

(Written on 2019年08月09日)(Permalink)

Maybe, but THIS airport's decision was that they wanted vendors that are open 7 days a week. I thought conservatives liked the free market?

(Written on 2019年05月31日)(Permalink)

This one really hits home for me. I've worked on many Atlas 767s over the years. I may have at one point worked on and been on this aircraft. :(

(Written on 2019年03月08日)(Permalink)

Or worse, it might block the propwash pump! ;)

(Written on 2019年03月01日)(Permalink)

I've been there many times. The lack of lines doesn't really speak to the quality of the museum, it's just a perk. There are about a dozen aircraft in that museum that NO other museum in the world has (not even Wright-Pat or the Smithsonian). It is one of the ~30 museums that got an SR-71 when they decommissioned them, and quite a few other little treats. I've visited about 30 Air museums around the world (and work in the industry) and I would put Pima in the top 5 that I've seen.

(Written on 2018年09月21日)(Permalink)

Some of the parts on the aircraft are very difficult to get to and only can be inspected with the airplane out of service for several days. These inspections are scheduled regularly (several hundred hours/flights, typically). Basic fracture mechanics/damage tolerance assumes that there IS a flaw in the aircraft at critical locations, and predicts how fast those flaws will grow during flight cycles. When a crack is found, it is repaired if it is a fracture critical part. For less critical parts, it is sometimes adequate to stop drill the crack and delay the repair until the plane is out of service, so there are situations where it is possible to live with a known crack.

(Written on 2018年06月11日)(Permalink)

This is potentially very good news that could really invigorate this industry in the near future!

(Written on 2018年05月25日)(Permalink)

What's the fundamental difference between the subsidies Airbus gets and the tax break subsidies that Boeing gets (Boeing has paid zero in federal taxes many years running now)? I really am curious if this is a matter of semantics and the court didn't get it, or there really is some difference in how it works that makes one significantly better than the other?

(Written on 2018年05月18日)(Permalink)