job$ somebody's gotta do...

job$ somebody's gotta do... 

                                                           

  Except for minor inconveniences and petty complaints about flying in general, I rarely think about the effort of all the people it takes to lift off the ground the behemoth I am boarding.  

  HUH?  What's up with that? 

  I know the airplane has been fueled, pilots are on board, baggage handlers will load my luggage in the proper compartment, service agents are waiting for me to board, the ground crew will guide us to the runway, and traffic controllers will get us safely in the wild blue.  

  But, I don't ever recall wondering when the plane was last inspected or serviced for any potential mechanical deficiency.  

  Enter Federal Aviation Inspector Eric Sherman.  He also has one of the most unusual hobbies we will talk about in a moment.  First we want to find out about your job, Eric.  You have an occupation I've heard of, but, know very little.  

  I do maintenance checks and inspections on aircraft and I make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, he told me.  

  How does someone get started in that career?  You had to have gone through a lot of training.

  I spent my first six years in the Air Force, he said.  I started as a mechanic and crossed over to a flight engineer.  

  Did you fly in the kind of planes you inspect today?

  In a way, yes, he stated.  My first plane I was on we moved cargo.  It was a C-5.  My second plane we off loaded fuel, loaded fuel, carried passengers, and, we carried cargo.

  So the Air Force led you straight to the F-A-A?

  Yes, he acknowledged.  I left the service in 2011 after 21 years and went to the F-A-A.  I have what is called an Airframe Power Plant License.  It's what allows me to legally do what I do every day.

  So, you are doing what I call an Encore Performance.  You retired from your job in the Air Force and went back to work full time. Explain more about what you do. 

  One of the things I do is inspect cargo aircraft, he advised me.  I do what is called Trust and Verify.  I trust UPS Airlines does what is supposed to be done, then, I verify that it has been done right.

  Give me an example.

  Here's the best way to illustrate it, Eric explained.  The F-A-A makes all the rules.  If UPS wants to fly, they have to make manuals that say, Here's what we are going to do to maintain this aircraft according to FAA rules.  

  I assume guidelines are very specific.  

  That's correct, he concurred.  All of what they say in their manual has to comply with the agency's rules.  I then follow through to make sure exactly what they say they are going to do is indeed what is done.  

  Are cargo and passenger planes inspected the same way? 

  Basically, yes, but, there are some differences just by the nature of the aircraft, he said.  If it's a UPS plane, I go inside the main cargo area.  I make sure the locks are correct, the floor is the way it's supposed to be and I even make sure the floor is clean.  I check that the gilliners are all attached and the way they are supposed to be inside the cargo area.  There's a regular checklist. (gilliners, pronounced gill-liners, are a rigid, fire and wear resistant fiberglass-reinforced polyester laminate)

  How does that work? 

  Well, that's part of the paperwork, he educated me.  Let's say UPS says that these are all the things UPS is going to do to make sure the plane is airworthy.  I then come in and watch that checklist to make sure it's actually done and it's being done right.  

  How particular is that checklist?

  Right down to the most minute detail, he smiled.  As an example, what is supposed to be turned off, what is supposed to be left on, is this supposed to be lubricated, what about that gauge, is it reading correctly, just everything.  

  Let's shift gears for a moment.  What about your personal life?

  I am married and have two girls, 21 and 20 and a son who is 18.   My wife is a structures engineer for the 7-4-7s with UPS, he answered.  

  What is a structures engineer?

  Well, the wings, flaps, elevators, fuselage, all the aluminum, the composites, that's all structural, he informed me.  Say a baggage loader car rams the aircraft.  My wife is who makes a structural order and that is what tells the mechanics what to do to make the airplane airworthy.  She determines what has to be done to fix the problem. 

 I want to talk about your unusual hobby.  You restore old John Deere tractors and their motors and make things with other kinds of motors you find.  How long have you been doing that?   

  I was a farm kid growing up in Michigan.  It was just part of what I did.  I worked with my hands and I fixed things.  I've always been curious about how things work and getting my hands dirty was part of my DNA, he laughed. 

  Where do you find the tractors and engines to pursue your avocation?

  There are a lot of people into this hobby and everything can be found at auctions, Facebook Marketplace, word of mouth, he said.  Like the one and a half horsepower hit and miss engine I used to make the ice cream maker I sent you a picture of.  

  So, that was found by word of mouth?

  Yes, it was, he confirmed.  I put the word out that I was looking for that type engine and a guy called me and told me where to find one. 

  You've restored old tractors like a 1929 John Deere.  Do you showcase these beauties so others can enjoy them too? 

  I participate in parades, farm events, things like that, he responded.  Lanesville, Indiana has an annual Heritage Days celebration and I'm in that.  I'll go there and set up on Wednesday and be in Lanesville through Saturday, pack up and come home on Sunday. There are also tractor shows I'm in.  

  Eric, thanks for teaching me about a whole new world.  Best of luck.

  Coming up:  another oddities, observations & ?'s; more POS, and; a post on memories.  

  The post that was to feature an early morning chat with a group of older guys sitting around a table drinking coffee at McDonald's didn't get off the ground.

  I found two such factions at different McDonald's locations and neither group would consent to their conversations being recorded, written, or otherwise reproduced.  Both groups declined to allow their names to be used. 

  Perhaps if I had worked my way in to their good graces instead of barging in I might have met with more success.    

  And, finally.  Louisville is a main hub of UPS.  My Encore Performance job is close to the airport and I see airplanes taking off in a north to south direction in normal weather conditions every day.  Too many to count. 

  One day two or three weeks ago, like many parts of the midwest, winds were 50 to 60 miles per hour.  I watched the jets lift off from east to west, instead of north to south, which should have been seen by me as a concession to Mother Nature.  I started watching this process at 9 in the morning.  

  I figured out the reason for the change of direction about 3 in the afternoon when a loosely secured banner advertising a massage parlor across the street became airborne and when last seen was flying over all buildings in its path and heading west.  

  HUH?  What's up with that?