Wow! This seems to be an interesting subject. I thank each and every one of you for responding, As a non-pilot member of the forum, it is still somewhat confusing to me, but I have learned a lot from this post. Another question. If headings and navigation are centered along magnetic lines, and if th...
Jump to postThanks for the answers. I assume that when you say you would turn the short direction, it means you, the pilot turn the yoke. If you are on autopilot, flying due north and are told to turn to 270, you dial this in, does the flight computers also turn the short direction? Can you direct it to do othe...
Jump to postSo, if you were flying a due north and were instructed to turn to 270 degrees, would you go right three quarters of the way around the circle , or turn left 90 degrees? As you can tell, I'm not a pilot, but it seems to me that in situations where the flight is told to make numerous course changes, i...
Jump to postI'm working my way through a textbook on trigonometry, a subject I've never studied, but find fascinating due to all of it's applications. In the text it shows two ways of expressing bearings. One method is when a single angle is given, it is understood that bearing is measured in a clockwise direct...
Jump to postIt most definitely depends on where the decal is. The registration numbers and flag can go for several years. I suspect that the main reason they let go is that the edge sealer becomes aged and brittle, then the slipstream will peel them up or a de-icing sprayer hits them. The decals on the front of...
Jump to postI have no question to present, instead it's a look into what goes on in the maintenance side of things. Recently, I was tasked with removing a deteriorated American flag on one of our B767-300F's. The flag is located just aft of the registration numbers on the aft fuselage. I found out that there ar...
Jump to postI strongly urge her to get the A & P licenses, both of them. I was also in the Navy as a air-frame maintenance mechanic. I was signed off by the FAA to take the general and air-frame test for the A license. Instead, I went ahead with a A & P school program ( G.I.bill funded) and obtained bot...
Jump to postWhy does the system work better with incandescent lighting than LED? I assume that this refers to the approach/runway lights. We install the system on our B767-300F planes here in IND and I have heard one of our avionics technicians mention this.
Gregory
I see this quite often on our aircraft, including the B757 and MD11's. The 767's are holding up fairly well so far. As for flying with paint missing on a composite surface, the SRM allows a time limit that is more than you would think. If I recall correctly, the 757 and 767 can go for one thousand h...
Jump to postRead the insert by DLMech on the code of federal regulations, most interesting. Goes to show that you can always learn something new about aviation even if you have been in the industry for many years. Especially like the part about manned free balloons requiring a data plate, had never considered t...
Jump to post, Interesting information on the fuselage mounted data plate. I have never heard of this. But why would a commercial airliner have a plate stipulated by an E.A.A. regulation? I have seen what the other post is calling a "trust plate", just not on the airframe itself but on the engines. You...
Jump to postSomething of interest along the lines of this topic. When we (FX) began to receive our 757 conversion aircraft, I recall seeing a small data plate on the right side of the fuselage just aft of the pressure bulkhead. This was years ago and it was on maybe two aircraft and I've never seen them since. ...
Jump to postI often get general visual inspection (GVI) cards that instruct me to inspect the upper fuselage lobe and it will specifically state that it is to be accomplished from ground level. There is rarely any damage to the crown skin area. If one is available, I will take a man-lift and go up to the upper ...
Jump to postI can't give guidance for you on Bombardier. But, if you are a A&P license holder with no experience, you might want to look into the FedEx maintenance training program (MTP). They take candidates who have obtained their A&P license and send them through a training program where they are rot...
Jump to postIn the story that I read, I can't remember if the door failed in testing or not. It seems that it could be very well possible as the builder of the door would most likely do tests to certify it. And, as stated in the book, the builder sent letters to Douglas that they had serious concerns with the d...
Jump to postI read a book about the DC 10 crashes that were brought about by the cargo door failure. It has been a few years back, but I think it was titled " The Flight 981 Disaster". If I remember correctly, the design was by Douglas and built by a subcontractor. In the story, the subcontractor noti...
Jump to postWe changed out yet another MD11 outboard elevator last week for severely deteriorated paint. In this case, it seems the aluminum flame-spray under the paint was either burnt or melted, maybe from a heavy lightening strike. Anyway, the amount of surface that would require rework would have meant that...
Jump to postI agree with fr8mech, you should send a response to the publication. Your argument is well presented in your post. It is well written, concise, and provides examples and you seem to know something about aircraft and aviation history. They may decide you are a better contributor for them on aviation ...
Jump to postHello everyone, As some of you may have read, Qatar Airlines and Airbus are in a disagreement over the peeling paint on Qatar's new A350's. If you have seen photographs of the paint, it looks like the paint has bubbled or blistered up, cracked and left voids that exposed the underlying anti-static m...
Jump to postWe frequently have to replace the pads on our B767s when they come in for B-checks (actually its called an L-check now). The pads are mounted on two spring arms and are of some type of abrasive composite material. The attaching bolts are counter-bored down into the material but as the wheels abrade ...
Jump to postDoes the APU have to be able to start and run during flight have anything to do with being category 3 flight able?
Jump to postThese strips are not repairable locally if they are damaged, such as segments missing or de-bonded, which does happen. They are sent back to the manufacturer or a certified repair station. On our MD's, if the strips are damaged in some way, the radome is sent to Nordam in Tulsa, OK.
Gregory
Thanks for the replies. I'm somewhat familiar with the warranty conditions mentioned in 747classic's informative post. Our B767-300Fs are all Boeing factory built, but the B757-200s were converted at Mobile, AL by ST. When any issue arrives with any of the parts installed by them in the conversion p...
Jump to postDoes anyone know the differences between the Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) and the BDSF designations? Not sure if the BDSF is a Boeing Designed Special Freighter or if it was a Bedek conversion. I have always assumed that the BCFs were ships that were converted at a Boeing licensed facility but n...
Jump to postStarlionblue mentions that you must sometimes thread your way through thunderstorm cells. The question I have is maybe slightly off topic, but I've always wondered how you can deviate from a set course, thread your way through thunderstorms, and then return to your original course of travel. Is it l...
Jump to postI think the reference is to the circular repair doubler used for small punctures or dents that are beyond limits. You can find them in some of the SRMs under the typical repair schemes. You are limited in where these repairs can be used, especially on pressurized structure. They are some times calle...
Jump to postHonestly, I can't answer your query. I'm not familiar with this aircraft or what its intended mission was. At the time it was built, it was common to see non-flush fasteners on aircraft. For example, you see a lot of protruding head rivets on DC-3s and B-17s and many other ships of this era. My best...
Jump to postI can only answer this from what I have seen on the aircraft we work on (B757-200, B767-300F, MD10-30, MD11, A300, and B777-200F). In terms of the cure temperature of a composite layup, the higher your cure temp. the more durable your layup will be. A three fifty degree cured layup will be superior ...
Jump to postThe amount of rise above the surrounding surface for a correctly installed briles rivet is only in the area of maybe two to four thousandths of an inch. The crown of the rivet is a smooth domed shaped that is probably negligible in drag. Also, if you ever look closely at a MD10 or MD11, the producti...
Jump to postIn the SRM, they are denoted as CFRP and GFRP. As stated in the above posts, they are carbon fiber (CFRP) and fiberglass (GFRP). What can confuse some is the GFRP reference. I've heard it called graphite fiber reinforced plastic which is not correct. One interesting thing about the fiberglass is tha...
Jump to postYou don't shave the briles type rivets after installation. If done correctly, they have a domed appearance that is slightly higher than the surrounding surface. This is normal for these rivets. Another type of rivet not normally shaved is the NAS1097 type. It is a countersunk style rivet that is usu...
Jump to postAs I mentioned in my above post, I've worked the structural side of maintenance my entire career. The B727 had a good SRM and was, from a structures point of view, a good plane to work on. However, it could make you so exasperated that you wanted to hand in your company badge and quit. One of these ...
Jump to postMaybe I can provide some answers. Composites on aircraft, especially on the exterior of the plane, are virtually always painted surfaces. This is because ultraviolet light, such as sunlight, will degrade the composite resins. Most of the resins used in fiberglass, carbon fiber, and hybrid lay-ups, s...
Jump to postIn my career in aircraft maintenance, I've always worked structures and composites. For me, the Lockheed L1011 had one of the best structural repair manuals. It was simple, straight-forward, and gave you clear and concise graphics and information. The aircraft itself was easy to work on as it was a ...
Jump to postAn update to this topic. I was recently called over to our flight line in IND to do a visual evaluation of a lightning strike on a MD10-30. When we arrived we were shown a deep dent on the forward right side of the nose of the ship. At first, I thought that this couldn't be lightning strike damage, ...
Jump to postFor us at FedEx, apparently there is a profitable case. All of our ships have HUD's. Although I'm not totally sure about our Airbus A300's. Our MD10's, MD11's, B757's, and B767's all have HUD's installed. What may be different with our system is that it is coupled with a Forward Looking Infrared opt...
Jump to postGreat stories and responses! Thanks guys! It's amazing when you see lightning in storms hitting the ground and what power it has, that a aircraft can take that kind of hit and keep going. The strange laws of physics!
Gregory
I have not been on a flight that has taken a lightning strike, at least not one I was aware of. I was wondering if any of the flight crew followers of this forum could share info on this. Do you know for sure when you take a strike or suspect that the ship has taken a strike? I work in the structure...
Jump to postOur 767-300F aircraft have Aerofex on the wing surfaces between the forward and aft spars, upper surface and lower. The fixed leading edges, aft trailing edges and flap track fairings all use BAC 707 light gray which is a polyurethane coating. As mentioned above, the Aeroflex is a dark gray metal-fl...
Jump to postAt our hangar here in IND, there is an over-head power drop-down station, some hangars have floor recessed power stations. The station has ground power for the aircraft, two air hoses for maintenance purposes, and 120V power, again, used for maintenance purposes. Each aircraft bay has this. The airc...
Jump to postOur operation seems to have some kind of maintenance personnel at all of the out stations, whether it be company or vendor. Our hubs for maintenance are Memphis, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles. Most of the ships will make it to one of these bases daily. The out stations are usually supplied with the ...
Jump to postAll of our freighters have doors here at FedEx. This is probably because all of our ships have entry way jump seats, except for the 767's which have the jump seats on the flight deck itself. Several years back we installed locking ballistic doors on the MD10's and 11's. It was an interesting project...
Jump to postI still get to experience the jet fuel smell as a maintenance tech at the FedEx IND hangar. You can definitely tell when fuel panels are opened and the fuel leak crew is working, it's over-powering at times. Also, when we taxi a ship from the hangar to the flight line, you can stand at the hangar do...
Jump to postFedEx is still receiving B767-300F's and will be for a while. While UPS flies the 767, I'm not sure if they are still on the order books or if their fleet is now complete. Have read some press articles about aviation that stated that Boeing was thinking of a updated 767 freighter. It supposedly woul...
Jump to postWith further reading of the various Boeing SRM's, I found that to install aluminum fasteners into dissimilar material, the preferred method is to coat the fastener or the fastener hole with BMS 5-95 sealant (PR1422). The secondary preferred method is to coat with BMS 10-11 primer (epoxy primer). The...
Jump to postIn my experiences with solid shank aluminum rivets, they are not coated. The rivets we install on the 757 fan cowl edges are a bare 2117 AD alloy. You can buy 1100 A series rivets that are pure unalloyed aluminum. These are not used in a structural load bearing setting as they are a very soft low st...
Jump to postI agree with you in that it's a rabbit hole of sorts and I've worked heavy aircraft structures for over 35 years now. As stated in the B757 and B767 Structures Repair Manuals, the use of fasteners in a CFRP-to-CFRP application would be a titanium or CRES (corrosion resistant steel) fastener. The CRE...
Jump to postHere at FDX, we have a LOTO system that is laid out in our General Maintenance Manuel. When we bring a ship into the hangar for maintenance we have a crew that does what is called a pre-dock. This is when a lot of the systems are inactivated and circuit breakers are pulled and tagged. If during the ...
Jump to postYears ago, at EAL, our planes coming out of a heavy check were test flown. This was usually done out over the everglades west of Miami. I was a maintenance tech at the time and got to go on two check flights. The captain who flew a lot of these check flights would sometimes walk through our hangar a...
Jump to postI work structures/composites for FDX. We use Heatcon products. In the past, they had some misgivings but the new ones we recently obtained seem to be dependable and easy to operate machines. They are dual zone capable and can run some large heat blankets. They are not as prone to giving you alarms f...
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