I spent the day at National Flight, in their servicing department at Toledo Express Airport. I have my original sponsor for the intensive to thank for the opportunity to learn there. I had a lot of fun and learned quite a bit from all the amazing people I met there. I started my day in the FBO, and was there for half an hour before realizing I was in the wrong part of National Flight. I felt a little idiotic at the time because I went to the wrong side of the airport, where they keep the hangars for the planes, not their servicing area. When I realized I was in the wrong area, the lady behind the desk very kindly directed me to the servicing area for National Flight, where I signed in for the day at 8:30, a half an hour late. I was then handed over to the turbine shop. I spent three hours with the mechanics down there and learn various things. They said that it was a quiet day for them, as only two mechanic were in the shop this morning. The other eight were out of town, assisting clients with their engine needs. I got a tour of their shop, where engine were on hoisted onto turning pedestals for easier access to the top and bottom of the machines. One of the mechanics point out the crates saying that those were engines that had yet to be worked on and that they came from all over the world, Japan, Denmark, Vietnam just to name a few places. I didn't notice how many crates were there until they pointed them out, but there were at least a good 25 crates sitting and waiting to be worked on. One mechanic was working on overhauling an engine for a Conquest, a twin prop, small aircraft often used for charting geography. He said the it needed 1000 horsepower to pass the overhaul and he's only been able to get 960hp, and that this was his third time stripping the engine and reassembling it, trying to find an issue. That has to be frustrating. The other mechanic was taking apart an engine from a Californian aircraft used to fight fires, they had quite a few of those engines. He was inspecting each part and looking for ones that needed to be replaced. He was an NDT specialist. NDT stands for Non-Destructive Testing, it's a method of testing used to look for cracks and damages that the eye cannot see. National Flight uses florescent testing for NDT, which the mechanic went through the process using some parts to demonstrate NDT for me. I had a lot of fun at the turbine department, despite not putting my hands on things. I had a lot of fun talking aviation with them as they labored away on adjusting the bearings in the engine, or torquing bolts to the right degree of sturdiness. After the turbine shop, I was handed over to a pilot, he works behind a desk as a coordinator and such, but he was a fellow pilot and we were sharing all sorts of trips and adventures. He had his own Cessna 172 that he bought and tore apart from propeller to tail, and he was rebuilding it, apparently he was also a mechanic at on time as well. He described to me the process of getting an engineer to approve design changes and such. He walked through an example that was in the hangar, where a latch on the door had a small crack around one side, and the customer wanted a section removed and a new part retrofitted to cover where a small three inch long section of the door was going to be removed. It was a lot of paperwork and communication with their engineer to approve one small change on the aircraft to fix a small crack, I couldn't believe it!
All in all, I learned a lot there in just one day. Im sure I'm missing stories in here, there's just so much to talk about! This was a very valuable session and I walked away firmly understanding a mechanics role in aviation and the different people it takes to service an aircraft.
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After spending several hours the previous day searching through moving boxes for photos that my grandpa had from World War II, I found more than just photos. I was able to find his military files, his combat medals, multiple photographs, his flight logs, and even his aviator glasses he'd wear when he'd fly. I started reading through his files and discovered that he not only served in World War II, but also served in the Korean War as a trainer for Radar Operators. I plan on doing a segment with my grandfather's history in aviation for my presentation, as I find his story inspiring as I pursue a career in aviation. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was young, so I don't have very many memories with him, and my dad (his son) said that he didn't talk much about his time in combat, so I have his records to go by. While sharing my blog with family and friends, I also found out that on my Mom's side, my third cousin flies an F18 as a Naval Aviator for the US Navy. He attended the Untied States Naval Academy and has a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering. I was able to get his contact through my aunt, and hope to contact him soon. This morning I spent time looking through a book called Deny Them the Night Sky by Eric Shulenberger. Deny Them the Night Sky is a book solely about the 548th Night Fighter Squadron, which was the World War II squadron my grandfather was a part of. The book details some of there duties during the war. I knew that they flew over Nagasaki and took pictures after the bomb was dropped, but I didn't know that his squadron was the front line in capturing airfields on the Japanese islands. Often times behind the squadron were various bomber aircraft, and the 548th would land at the airfield to make sure that it was captured before the bombers would land. I also was able to log some time on my simulator doing traffic patterns and ground maneuvers that my instructor and I went over on September 5th. Such as the S-turns along a straight reference point. I also practiced landing by trying to keep the aircraft on line with the airstrip so I would land on the runway. It was harder than I thought. At first, I had issues with keeping the aircraft in the middle of the runway but after two to three attempts, i was able to successfully land the aircraft. In the afternoon, I went into school to get some work laid out for my presentation. I have an overall idea on what I want to talk about in my presentation, and started to plan viable methods of presenting my information. I decided I will have my lessons on loop so people can see what I've been doing first hand, and I also want a panel of my tri-board dedicated to my known family that serves/served in the aviation forces. I would also like to include pictures of different systems I learned about like engine types and the pitot tube. As well as have my log book, plane information checklist, and maybe a model plane for people to interact with.
I was able to receive more flight time, despite the Piper Cherokee 140 being in the shop for its annual maintenance. The club owns another plane that is more complex, a Piper Arrow II, which they don't let new members fly right off the bat. Fortunately, my instructor thought that I'd be able to learn some basic procedures and ground maneuvers in the Piper (the videos attached below): My mother and I ventured out Friday morning and headed towards Dayton, Ohio: home of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. A way to obtain proper flight training is through the Air Force, however my parents and I are more inclined on the path of me earning a degree from a college. The Air Force base is majorly aircraft from service, but a newer section deals with experimental and presidential aircraft. So, even though I aim to be a commercial or corporate pilot, there was still bound to be useful information I could learn. I went when I was four years old, about fourteen years ago, and the museum was significantly smaller than its size today. It's comprised of eight large hangars full of aircraft, and we spent a total of nine hours viewing and reading about different aircraft and their engines. It's so big that after all that time, we left still feeling like there was more to explore! I have to say the aircraft I was looking forward the most to seeing was the P-61. My grandfather served in World War II. He was a radar operator on the infamous P-61 (pictured below). What makes the P-61 special? Well, it was the first US produced night flier, and one of the first aircraft to feature a radar onboard the aircraft, which was used on night missions to scout incoming, foreign aircraft. But my grandfather had an interesting role, his squadron's mission was to fly over Nagasaki everyday, after the bomb was dropped, and take photos. So why was seeing one of these aircraft so meaningful? Most P-61s were salvaged or destroyed after the war. Then, after my first visit on Friday, I went back to the hotel room and started reading about aircraft engines and instruments and how they work for two hours; I became fascinated. At first I struggled with understanding the concept of a jet engine, but after looking at them divided the next day at the Air Force Museum, I had a better understanding of them. However, my favorite engines were the cyclone engines that had the pistons arranged in a circular pattern where each piston was in a different stage of compression. |
AuthorMy name is Rory Hopkins, and I have been fascinated by the world of aviation since I was a child. Now I plan to pursue a career in the aviation world. ArchivesCategories |