Chapter 418

Vicky left to go help with the new people who were being processed at the gym. I had a couple more things to do, and then I was going to the office to help as soon as there was a lull in activity.

I was waiting on the Sikorsky crew to show up. They were to be here by nine and I had told Johnson Black that I would meet them in the terminal.

I was looking out the big window with Lorrie at our two extended C130s preparing to leave on the freight run. They were in the run up area doing engine checks. One was to Charlotte and the other to Harrisburg. Moments later they were both gone.

I had just turned to walk with Lorrie to her office when the suits approached, “Ambassador Jones, Johnson Black president of Sikorsky and this is Alexander Pope, Sikorsky service North East. I would have approached you earlier but you have been extremely busy.”

“The technicians left BWI 40 minutes ago; they should be here any time. Have you got a few minutes to talk?”

“This is Executive Vice President Lorrie Smithfield Jones; she is over all JBG aviation. We can go to her office,” I replied.

Behind the closed door, Mr. Pope spoke first, “There were some misunderstandings in my office that led to the delay in your call getting to me that I need to apologize for. I can assure you that any future calls to my office will be handled in a much different fashion.”

“I appreciate that and I think your other large customers will too. I want to thank Mr. Black for his help and assistance in the matter,” I replied.

“It’s my understanding you bought these Blackhawks from our allies a short time ago?” Mr. Black asked.

“Yes, they were part of an aid package and we bought the chopper part of that package from them. I needed them to go with our embassy security contract. We have a lot of Blackhawks and a few Bell 407s scattered around Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America,” I replied.

“I see you also have other Lockheed aircraft in your flight line,” Mr. Black replied.

“We have a little of everything in the flight line; Beechcraft, Cessna trainers and Cessna business jets, Gulfstream G5s, 450, 550, Bombardier 200s, C130s, C5, Thrush crop dusters and Bell 407 choppers,” Lorrie replied. I could tell Lorrie had some pride in the aviation division.

A group of men came into the terminal wearing the Sikorsky logo on their uniform jackets and caps.

“Looks like the technicians are here. Lets take them to your shop and look things over, and then I would like a private meeting with you and Lorrie,” Mr. Black replied.

The meeting with Robbie went well; it was a really good group discussion. The factory techs wanted to know the process our helicopter techs used.

Robbie began the explanation, “First we have to reassemble the rotor blades on the chopper; they have to remove them to ship them. At least they identified the position they were removed from to help with balancing. Then we refill all the fluids; the EPA requires them to be drained prior to long term storage.”

“Then we verify that none of the rotating parts have been tampered with and are still secured and safety wired. They were shipped with the batteries removed. All the batteries are given a 48 hour slow charge and a 24 hour static rest period, then we test them to see if they meet the specifications to put in the chopper. If they are not, we install a new battery.”

“Before they are moved outside, a complete set of recording test gauges is installed on both engines via laptop; a printout of that goes into the permanent file. Then they are run for 30 minutes through the complete engine test and flight control test cycles.”

“If the chopper passes the preliminary test it is moved back into the shop and the fluids are drained, with a sample sent to a lab for analysis. At that point a complete structural, mechanical and electrical inspection is done. The radio shop pulls all the electronics for a quality test and/or upgrades.”

“After a review of all the defects, the appropriate mechanics are assigned to do the repairs. Any rotating parts that meet the advanced inspection requirement or look suspect, are given either magnetic, dye penetrate or x-ray inspection.”