Ethics: The Backbone of Aviation

    When most people go to an airport and think about security, usually the first thought to cross their mind is making it through the metal detector and the baggage x-ray machine. But, this is not the only form of security that is in place. There are what is called the 20 layers that make up an airports security. It first begins when purchasing your ticket. When buying your ticket you are at the first layer, which is intelligence. They insure that you are not a known terrorist and you are permitted to travel on an airplane. They also protect your personal information.            There is also a canine team that walks around the airport throughout the day. These trained dogs will seek out anyone who made it into the compound with any type of illegal substance. The canine team can even detect a person who is carrying a bomb in a closed bag or suitcase. Sometimes the canine team even put decoys out with explosives to keep the dogs in practice.     One of the most important and in depth l

  Landing Gear Emergencies     A lot of problems can occur when flying an aircraft, and one of the most problematic would be having an issue lowering the landing gear. When most people fly the most tense time is usually upon landing. This is when the aircraft touches down on the ground at a high speed. Now imagine not having any wheels to make contact with the runway. This is where the landing gear comes into play.     Most modern aircraft landing gear will tuck up into the aircraft to help reduce interference drag and form drag. Most aircrafts use hydraulic systems to operate the landing gear. For example, the C-130 has a hydraulically retractable tricycle type (Janes 2020). Each main unit has two wheels in tandem, retracting into fairings built on the sides of the fuselage (Janes 2020). This means that the main landing gear has two tires one forward and one aft on each side. Two tires assist the nose steering and tuck into the fuselage when flying.      https://www.aircraftsystemstec

     Corrosion control is very important in the aviation industry. Something so small can make an important structural member deteriorate and fall apart. Most corrosion happens when there is an electrochemical reaction to the environment. Usually when a metal is in a moist climate, or is in contact with a corrosive gas such as sulfur, it will speed up the oxidizing process. The most common places where there is both sulfur and humidity is near oceans. Depending on flying hours and location, you will be required to perform fresh water rinses to the aircraft. In this Pratt and Whitney article, they discuss how to inspect and keep the salt off the engines. " During 100-hour inspections, we wash the outside of the engine down. This keeps everything clean and easier to inspect. It also washes away any salt that has accumulated on the engine and the surrounding area under the cowls. Each aircraft also gets rinsed down at the end of the day with lots of fresh water, and we do a desalinat

 September 06 2021     Our ethics are what make up who we are. Ethics help us every single day with our decision making and choices in what we do in life. We all come to the crossroads when we are called upon to make the right decision . It can be as simple as putting your grocery cart away, or as in depth as making an ethical call to ensure safety of an airplane and its passengers. Most of the time I have come to realize that the right decision is usually not the easiest one, but it is always the best one. In my profession having good ethics can mean the difference between life or death. In my unit we lost an aircraft because a few C-130 engine mechanics did not use good ethics. These airman called an aircraft airworthy even when it was not within the limits of the technical order. The Air Force Times reported on this event stating t he four maintainers who worked on the plane “showed a distinct lack of motivation to ensure engine one was operationally ready for flight,” Losey, S. (20