DAY 66 - 22 OCTOBER 1990
DAY 66 - 22 OCTOBER 1990
Halloween is in 9 days, some of the crew are starting to talk about doing something fun, but we're kind of limited on options!
We're doing the same upper flight controls inspection that we just did a few days ago, this time on the other helo. This time when we went to put it all back together, we ran into one pin that just would not go back into the hole. Its like the holes shifted or something. Take it apart, look, try again. After a while we just stopped on that and worked on the rest of the inspection and figured we'd come back to it later. Other wise you'd waste the entire shift and have nothing to show for it right?
We managed to change all 6 tires in less than an hour, which is a bit slower than what NASCAR pits can do, but we have a bit different rules! For one, we can only jack one axel at a time, so you change two tires, put the helo back down, then move over to the next axel. For another, we have the aircraft tied down with 10 chains, so as you jack it, you have to keep an eye on the chains and losten or tighten them as you go. Its got the makings of a 3 Stooges episode right there!
Tie down chains are one of those things you just get used to, but they're always a giant pain in the ass. I use some air tools, paint gun, air drills, air sanders, etc. When I'm painting, I have 2 air hoses, one for my paint gun, and a breathing hose for my resperator. I'm constantly stopping what I'm doing to go back and untangle my hoses or cords from the tie down chains, plus all the other stuff we have there. There is only a few feet beside the helos anyway, and we have gear and spare parts and tool boxes stacked in every possible spare foot of space. Plus the chains are just purpose made to be easy to trip on I think! Sure, we know where they are, we always park and tie down at the same place each night, but I think probably ever crewmember has tripped at least once. And the floor is coated with this really nice non skid surface which just hurts! Its not good for pants either...
The word for today is "Ass-Jack". I remember back in Boot Camp, we'd have an official Navy word of the day, and its definition. We would all have to copy it into our notebooks and know what it was and what it meant. It was something we could be drilled on, and was another good excuse for doing push ups. Anyway, someone today just started saying Ass Jack for no reason, and we just all started laughing. For the sake of a definition, it would have to be a Jack Ass that was more backwards than normal, right?
One of our pilots is transfering, will be leaving us tomorrow, so someone got the idea to tie him up to the flight deck and then grease him up. Now keeping in mind that pilots are officers, I'm pretty sure this is probably a bad idea, but it seemed funny at the time! I kind of think there must have been other officers in on this, right? Anyway, by the time it was done, he had been stripped of his flight suit, covered in aircraft grease, and then soaked in ice water. Too funny!
Tomorrow is another Airhead, but with a twist. We're still working on the phase on 10, so only 07 is flying today. The other thing is there is not going to be a beach det sent, so it must be a small one.
Halloween is in 9 days, some of the crew are starting to talk about doing something fun, but we're kind of limited on options!
We're doing the same upper flight controls inspection that we just did a few days ago, this time on the other helo. This time when we went to put it all back together, we ran into one pin that just would not go back into the hole. Its like the holes shifted or something. Take it apart, look, try again. After a while we just stopped on that and worked on the rest of the inspection and figured we'd come back to it later. Other wise you'd waste the entire shift and have nothing to show for it right?
We managed to change all 6 tires in less than an hour, which is a bit slower than what NASCAR pits can do, but we have a bit different rules! For one, we can only jack one axel at a time, so you change two tires, put the helo back down, then move over to the next axel. For another, we have the aircraft tied down with 10 chains, so as you jack it, you have to keep an eye on the chains and losten or tighten them as you go. Its got the makings of a 3 Stooges episode right there!
Tie down chains are one of those things you just get used to, but they're always a giant pain in the ass. I use some air tools, paint gun, air drills, air sanders, etc. When I'm painting, I have 2 air hoses, one for my paint gun, and a breathing hose for my resperator. I'm constantly stopping what I'm doing to go back and untangle my hoses or cords from the tie down chains, plus all the other stuff we have there. There is only a few feet beside the helos anyway, and we have gear and spare parts and tool boxes stacked in every possible spare foot of space. Plus the chains are just purpose made to be easy to trip on I think! Sure, we know where they are, we always park and tie down at the same place each night, but I think probably ever crewmember has tripped at least once. And the floor is coated with this really nice non skid surface which just hurts! Its not good for pants either...
The word for today is "Ass-Jack". I remember back in Boot Camp, we'd have an official Navy word of the day, and its definition. We would all have to copy it into our notebooks and know what it was and what it meant. It was something we could be drilled on, and was another good excuse for doing push ups. Anyway, someone today just started saying Ass Jack for no reason, and we just all started laughing. For the sake of a definition, it would have to be a Jack Ass that was more backwards than normal, right?
One of our pilots is transfering, will be leaving us tomorrow, so someone got the idea to tie him up to the flight deck and then grease him up. Now keeping in mind that pilots are officers, I'm pretty sure this is probably a bad idea, but it seemed funny at the time! I kind of think there must have been other officers in on this, right? Anyway, by the time it was done, he had been stripped of his flight suit, covered in aircraft grease, and then soaked in ice water. Too funny!
Tomorrow is another Airhead, but with a twist. We're still working on the phase on 10, so only 07 is flying today. The other thing is there is not going to be a beach det sent, so it must be a small one.
posted by Carlin at
1:52 PM
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