Chapter 15

BILL and MINA, DD and CARL: Wound too Tight. Chapter 15

"Hey Mike, you got your 'Ace' mechanic's license on File?"

"Yeah?" Mike was curious too, "wanna see it?"

Right off the bat, Bill said, "this isn't Government issued. They don't use perforated roller printer paper. Look at the edges ... see them little tears? Tear off strips. This was run through a copier but they used printer paper.

"Call and see who this number was issued to."

"FAA?"

"Who does licensing for A&P Mechanics?"

"You do?"

"License issued 1986, number xxxxxx-xxx."

"Deceased?"

"I've got a man working with that number license but not that name."

"Charles Doyle."

"Yes Sir. Not a word."

"Let's go look at a plane."

They hiked around to the folding door side of the hangar.

"Jesus, Mike ... this is a Big building."

"During the war it was a mechanics garage. They could have four B17 Bombers in here at a time and room to work on them. While pilots were learning to fly the planes, ground crews were learning how to fix them. It takes longer to learn how to wrench on an aircraft than it does to learn to fly it.

"This is a Cessna 150. More americans have learned to fly in this plane than any other plane in the USA. It's light, simple, easy to fly and hard to make a mistake in ... once you're in the air ... getting up and getting down is the hard part. Make your landings equal the number of your take offs."

He stamped the ground, "this is the part that kills you. You have to be aware all the time in the air but we do our best to keep the idiots on the ground. Stupid people don't get to learn how to fly.

"Climb in ... step here ... here and slide into the seat.

"Mina? Come around to the other side and step here, here ... and sit in the other seat. Get comfortable."

Mike walked around the little plane and pulled a few pin flags. Holding the flags in his hand, Mike leaned the door.

"Push the yoke in and out and turn it from side to side. Put your feet on the pedals and slide it around too

"There's a procedure, a checklist a good pilot goes through every time he gets ready to fly. It's in this pocket right here. Mina, read it to Bill. She read.

"BEFORE STARTING ENGINE

"1. Exterior Preflight"

Mike said, "Walk around, Pull any pin flags. Count them. The Check list says how many you should have. Don't have enough? Find out why.

"Wiggle and move the parts that move, feel for any stickiness and listen for any grating noises. Squeaks or squeals are bad. Metal is wearing on metal. Fix it before you fly, it's damn hard to fix it upstairs.

"If you filled the tanks you should know there's fuel ... if you left "low fuel" sign in the cockpit window you should check. The little drain under the tank is to drain off any condensation ... Fuel is hydroscopic ... it draws moisture to it. Water in the carburetor can ruin your day.

"Check the engine oil. Check the engine hour counter ... compare it to the total hours in the log and check that the last number written in the log is the same number on the counter. Kick the tires ... nothing like a flat tire to ruin your day." He nodded to Mina.

"2. Passenger."

Mike explained, "First time fliers are usually nervous, if you're professional, they will relax. It actually helps them if you have them read the checklist to you. That gives them something to do. Mention they can't smoke, make sure they fasten their door and pull the window up, show them where the fire suppression unit or switch is. Tell them ... keep your feet off the pedals and your hands off the yoke. Mina?"

"3. Arm ELT."

"Shit happens," Mike said. "Just like people have car crashes ... sometimes aircraft go down. This little device, this Electronic Location Transmitter, will send a signal to rescue teams so they can locate the plane ... and maybe most of you." He gestured to Mina.

"4. GPS/Headset install."

"Most people use a portable GPS unit ... it's better than getting lost. But you need to know how to navigate ... that's what we teach in Ground School ... How to get there from here if the electronics break." Mike handed Mina and Bill headsets. "These plug in here and here. The pilot needs to be able to communicate with the outside world and the passenger has something to do if they can listen. Mina?"

"5. Start Time – RECORD."