Day 17

Test Tomorrow. I'm not all that concerned about it.  Basic aerodynamics and some simple physics. Should be pretty simple.

I learned something neat yesterday.

I had always wondered what the purpose of winglets are.

Winglets are the small vertical protrusions on the wingtips of some aircraft.

Those are winglets.

I had always imagined that they had some sort of function for aerodynamics or control, but I never knew what they really did.

Well, now I know.

As an airfoil (in this case a wing) goes through the air the pressure differential created is what produces lift. Since air wants to reach equilibrium and functions like a fluid, the low pressure air at the tips of the wings are prone to basically slip off of the ends of the wing to the high pressure side. When they do this, any potential lift is destroyed.

Winglets come very close to eliminating this phenomenon by creating a buffer between the low and high pressure sides which is more difficult for the air to overcome by moving along the lateral axis of the plane (the way it does without winglets).

While winglets are an obvious source of drag, the lift they help produce (or maintain, as it were) compensates for any added weight or induced drag.

Winglets also (also) eliminate the vortices which are a common source of drag, and add to the problem of lateral lift loss.

Pretty neat, huh?

Today we talked about aircraft and basic electrical drawings. Nothing earth-shattering, but interesting nonetheless.  There's an electrical diagram symbol for "Space Station." It's a boxy thing with a circle in it. Definitely not Buck Rogers approved.

I've been looking over the study guide for the test, and I'm really not too worried about anything at all.
One thing that surprises me of the things that we've apparently learned that I've since forgotten is that wet air (air with a absolute humidity) weighs less than dry air. That doesn't really make a lot of sense to me at first, but when I start to think about it, the water is vaporized and floats about in the air, instead of condensing and falling out. That means that the water is ligher than or as light as the air.

So, there ya go-- winglets and wet air.

Day 9

Today was Day 1 of Aviation Science.



We first discussed number systems, their history and development. We talked about nautical miles vs. statute miles, and discussed the shortcomings of each.

Nautical miles have a fixed value, but change depending on your location on the globe, since they measure degrees. A Nautical mile at the equator is different from a nautical mile 3 miles South of the North Pole.

But, since nautical miles have a given value at equator (1 60th a degree / 1.15 statue miles)  they can be figured for speed rather than distance, measured in knots.

Then we did 275 math problems. Almost all of them were simple, and repetitive, but served as a useful refresher. We reviewed ratios and percentages, which will apparently be really important in our chosen field. Fractions and their decimal equivalents were discussed at length, as was scientific notation.

We were informed at the end of class today that we have the opportunity to clep out of the math portion. So tonight, while I'm at work, I'm going to attempt something I've never done before: become a mathematical autodidact.

Lets hope it turns out better than this:

Day 8

Today I taxied a Piper Cherokee 140B without incident across a pasture full of prairie dog holes.

I can mark that up on my list of life-time accomplishments.

Pictures soon.


Also, we took our final exam for Ground Operations.
To future students, hopefully you're using the Jeppesen textbooks and study guides.




They seem to be pretty well-written study guides, but they do have their problems. Jeppesen needs to hire an A&P mechanic with an English degree to proofread everything for them, remove any redundancies, and help them with some wording here and there...

Also, hopefully, your instructor was using questions from the study guide for the exams.

I made a 92 on the final exam. While some people would be elated with this, I know I should've, and could've made a 100.

Remember, kids-- the hazard area behind an idling turbine engine is 100 feet (not 200), and hold line markers are painted white and red (not yellow and red).

I'm pretty confident that I got an A in Ground Operations. I had better, anyway. I don't intend to get any B grades.The only portion which concerns me even the slightest is the math portion, but I have a feeling I will be able to handle it much better than any other math courses I've had in the past for one reason: Motivation.

Day 7

Today we practiced taxiing aircraft, and all that entails.

The craft we used was a Piper Cherokee PA-28-140.

It looked something like this:


While I didn't get to drive today, I'll be able to tomorrow. I took my turn at the other stations, pulling chocks, manning the fire extinguisher and working as ground guide/ signalman.

In addition to taxiing aircraft, we learned the importance of battery maintenance. The hard way. We would've been able to get several more people in the aircraft, but unfortunately for us, the batteries for all of the craft in the hanger were dead.

Cest la vis.

But, a good time was had by all.  My classmates and I all seem to get along pretty well, and there are enough of us that if there is someone we can't stand, there is always someone else to talk to.

Tomorrow is the last day of ground operations. When I think about it, I really do feel like I've learned a lot.  I wouldn't say that I'm any kind of expert, but I certainly know more now than I did this time two weeks ago.

Wisdom is understanding how much one doesn't yet know or understand. While there are a lot of things I don't know, there are even more things I don't know that I don't know.

It's one thing to understand that you don't know, say, the meaning of a word.
It's another thing completely to not know what written language is.

I feel like there are dozens of words I can't define right now, but there is a whole other realm of knowledge I don't even realize that I don't know.

It's exciting. And daunting. But I feel prepared, and know I can do this.

Day 6

We learned about pre-flight procedures, the quality controls aircraft fueling stations have to go through on a daily basis in order to maintain water and gunga-free fuel, as well as and airport visual communicators today.

Like anything else, proper communication seems to be the best way to keep bad things from happening. So we learned about runway incursions and how to prevent them.

A runway incursion is what happens when an aircraft crosses or otherwise interferes with the space of an active runway.

Things like this happen when people aren't paying attention:

Incursions involving larger craft are, of course, much worse. Everything at an airport moves, and lots of it occupies the same space at one time or another, so keeping everything organized and under control is literally a matter of life and death.


We learned all of this in preparation for taxiing exercises, which we are supposed to start tomorrow.

I now know what all of the lines, colors, and signs you always see at an airport mean, as well as the kind of conversations that Air Traffic Controllers have with pilots.

You're on Runway 27. Taxyway Bravo is thataway.

Tomorrow we take a test over fuels, flight line safety, and a handful of other stuff I'm sure I won't have any problem remembering.

I finally have a reason to know this, and I get to say "niner" on the radio. Pretty neat.

Also, I'm tired.

Day 4

We learned about Foreign Object Debris (and/or Damage), and Foreign Object Elimination today. FOD can apparently really ruin your day.

In addition to FOD and FOE, we discussed some basic ground operations, and types of fires and fire extinguishers,  jacking and hoisting aircraft and tiedown procedures for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

We spoke very briefly about taxiing procedures, and hand signals, which I'll be memorizing this weekend in preparation for a taxiing exercise we will be doing later in the month.

I believe this means "Time for Tacos"

I can't believe I'm going to get to start and taxi an aircraft. I get giddy thinking about it. It's like telling a dog it's time for a walk.



On a significantly more sobering note, today I saw pictures of a corpse.

This body used to be a man, but hist head got into the rotor plane of a helicopter.

The photographs were extremely graphic. So graphic I wondered if they could possibly be real. I was assured that they were.

That really drove home some of the dangers associated with this profession.

We also learned about birdstrikes, which, though dangerous, I find amusing.
When a dog gets run over, that sucks. I feel sorry for the dog.  The dog could only really go one of 4 directions.

But the bird has the advantage of being able to go up or down. I don't feel sorry for the bird. You've got all of everything to be flying around in, and you can't avoid the aircraft coming your way? Please.

Seriously.

Apparently this happens quite often, and is one of the main reasons AMTs and A&P students will be repairing airframes.