Walkarounds

[splitpin]

I've been reading the pilots comments and finally have to pipe in.

 

vintagemilano hit the nail on the head.

 

every pilot should do the DI with the mech. (eng.), I for one worked with my pilot and made sure we both understood what each of us was looking for.

 

my position was inspect every compartment you could open by hand and stick your face along with your MAG light in those areas and look for anything and everything. a drop of fluid on the fitting/decking whatever, anything that doesn't look right. anything not looking right even if you've inspected it a hundred times before, show me.

 

it's our lifes on the line, coming home everyday unscaved is the ultimate goal.

 

 

Hi 67 November

There is no such thing as "Mechanic" in our industry. They are known as Aircraft Maintenance Engineers ( And proud of thier licence) Be very carefull how you address them. They can be quite sensitive, and rightly so. No A.M.E. worth his salt would ever consider a Pilot as a "Driver"

 

Fly SAFE Guys (Gals)

[67november]

Hi 67 November

There is no such thing as "Mechanic" in our industry. They are known as Aircraft Maintenance Engineers ( And proud of thier licence) Be very carefull how you address them. They can be quite sensitive, and rightly so. No A.M.E. worth his salt would ever consider a Pilot as a "Driver"

 

Fly SAFE Guys (Gals)

 

Hi SP, North of the border they're AME's south of it we're A & P Mech's. what ever we prefer to call our selves is our preference and we don't take offense to the terms.

 

and yes I too am **** proud of my license :up:

[splitpin]

Hi 67 November

There is no such thing as "Mechanic" in our industry. They are known as Aircraft Maintenance Engineers ( And proud of thier licence) Be very carefull how you address them. They can be quite sensitive, and rightly so. No A.M.E. worth his salt would ever consider a Pilot as a "Driver"

 

Fly SAFE Guys (Gals)

 

Hi SP, North of the border they're AME's south of it we're A & P Mech's. what ever we prefer to call our selves is our preference and we don't take offense to the terms.

 

and yes I too am **** proud of my license :up:

 

Hi 67 November:

You are absolutely right. Sorry about that. I forgot about our Brothers south of us. Won't happen again. :oops:

[67november]

no sweat SP, everyone entitled to a brain fart every once in a while

[Burner Can]

Just to add to the topic, I do realize that checking fluids and all the inner workings of our a/c is very important. I also include prior to leaving on a job all of the additional equipment required for the task, for example, refueling gear, first aid kit and most importantly my a/c documents. These are some of the items that I find missing after an inspection and it could be rather embarassing showing up for a job and not having the proper equipment!!! And as far as doing a DI, there is no doubt in my mind as to how important it is to do one prior to first flight and continually look over my a/c throughout the day. Although I instill the highest faith in my engineers it's my butt in there and I want to make it home safe at the end of the day. And I have never had issues with an engineer when it comes to checking their work.

 

Cheers folks and keep it safe!

[Auto Relight]

"every pilot should do the DI with the mech. (eng.), I for one worked with my pilot and made sure we both understood what each of us was looking for."

 

That's a great idea, and it may actualy work in Feb. After 10 hours in the seat in July however, I'm going for dinner and bed, the Engineer can do his work then. Fatigue is a big enough issue in our industry, asking a pilot to follow an Engineer through a hour long DI is a bit much.

 

I have a good look in the morning, especially after work has been done, and check fluids throughout the day. Alway take a lap before a start to look for the little things like gas caps and doors etc.

 

AR

[transientorque2]

Lets say you do a DI, then head back inside to grab your coat, coffee, whatever before the flight. Do you now do a pre-flight inspection as you've left the machine unattended for a few minutes or more, or are you still satisfied with your earlier DI?

 

Same question for a pre-flight inspection alone. If you do a pre-flight inspection and leave the aircraft unattended for a short length of time, do you redo the pre-flight or trust nothing has changed since your last observations and carry on?

 

Oh come on Ryan! Your starting to sound like the people at airport security. Did you pack your bags yourself? Are you aware of the contents? Did you leave your bag unattended at any time? Etc, etc.

[PerfectTrack]

Auto Relight, I don't blame you for packing it in after a long day. I sure don't like pulling off the morning covers after a long night either.

 

 

I don't mind a pilot walking around with me trying to learn a few things, but I sure don't expect it. I get paid to do the maintenance, you guys get paid to fly. Part of a pilots job is doing pre-flights to save his ***, which covers things I've done, things squirrels have done and things bull elk have done over the night.

[arctic_front]

hi all.

 

Everybody has made very good points in this thread. I want to know, honestly, how may pilots have been properly trained on how to do a good DI/pre-flight? It sounds condesending, I know, but I've worked with lots of pilots that either don't know or are too prouid to ask or too lazy to do it. Case in point: pilot comes out to the machine, kicks the skids, does a lame walk around and never bothers to climb up on the machine. Flight takes off...and soon after, a forgotten tool flys off the upper cowl into the tail rotor. This was a real even this last summer. Luckily, no inguries and landed safely. Engineer had been worked to total exhaustion and was doing his best, but the error was made....but could have been caught by a proper pilot walk around. In this case, substantial damage was done to the machine and everybody got a wake-up call. But it was the cavalier attitude of the pilot that was the broken link in the safety chain. Everybody has to do their part to be a link in the chain. I have worked with both individuals and both are better than competent, but it just takes once.

 

Pilots need to not just take an interest, but also be competent in what they are inspecting. As the poster who quoted the CAR's reg: its not enough to just look, but be competent and confident that you know the parts, proceedures and what was done, but also the 'sense and feel and proper travel' of the systems involved.

The pilots all know the long hours they fly, but most are asleep while his engineer works long into the night to prepare the machine for morning. That engineer is also up at first light for a run-up and launch to make sure there is no leaks and problems before take off...and he might not be very wide awake. Give him the help and support by being there to help keep the safety chain intact. look at the whole machine....and know what you are looking at.

 

The engineer will never forgive himself for an accident if he messed-up...and we all get to know and like our pilots. Nobody wants to be the one left behind to face the wolves after the fact. And for you pilots, its not the engineer that is in the machine when things go awry, YOU are.

[67november]

A_F nail on head :punk: :punk: