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 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.

New Horizons

I had an epiphany while waiting waiting for the rest of the passengers to board. We were on our way from Bogota to Santa Marta.

As with most of my good ideas, I had some help from my lovely assistant and wife.  We were briefly discussing how aircraft work, and how interesting it must be to work on them.

There was a beat; a pause in the conversation. We both looked at each other and I think the idea hit us at the same time: why don't I work on aircraft?

I remembered a recruiter from what was then known as Spartan School of Aeronautics coming to talk to us in high school. Their marketing was effective: they gave us a sticker with a black cat branded with the number #13

Their motto is "Knowledge and Skill Overcome Superstition and Luck."

I dig that sentiment.

I gathered some information about Spartan, and Wifey and I had made mental preparations for me to relocate to another state to attend this school.

We discovered only a short time later that a local community college offers A&P courses.

With only two weeks between our arrival back to the US, and classes starting, we jumped in feet-first to a new career for me, and a new way of life for her. It should be interesting to say the least.

In the two weeks between then and now, I scoured the internet for advice, suggestions, and an outlook for people like me who were going to attend an A&P school after having already been in the workforce. I found none.

While waiting for class to start today, I occupied my time by jotting some emotions and thoughts in my notebook. I realized that I could do some good by recording the process from my perspective, and sharing it with the world in blog form.

I present to you, dear reader, my account of A&P school, as I'm living it.
I intend to be a licensed Aviation Maintenance Technician in under 2 years.


Why A&P?

Long-Term Goal

I love aircraft and always have. While other boys were talking about cars, I was talking about aircraft.

People want to talk about freedom and having the wind in their hair... forget your motorcycle, go fly a plane!

And I'm a good mechanic. It only seems natural now that I think about it. Isn't that how things always work, though? They seem obvious and apparent once you've already figured them out.

Long-term goal is to fly, but I can only do/afford to do one thing at a time. This will get me a job that pays more, which is something a PPL wouldn't do. This gets me in and around aircraft, in the aviation community, and if we want to talk about Maslow's hierarchy, it gives me a good shot at self-actualization.

Mine is a dead-end job with little reward, challenge, or financial renumeration. I would take any two of those three, but I think that the A&P Licensure, and the AMT status that comes with it, I'll be able to get all three.

At least I hope.