Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005 :: Job Cards for Dummies ::
Today I decided I have to sit down and finish all the small details of my B-Check Card. Basically we've been reviewing the Boeing Mantenance Manual for the 737. Each student in the 402 class is writing a job card for two or three different items included in a "B check" for an aircraft. My two job cards are cleaning the system A & B hydraulics return filters and cleaning the return air grilles. They may both sound simple to perform, but changing a filter in a hydraulics system is not like changing an oil filter on a car. The hydraulics system on the B737 is at 3000psi. So there are several steps required to depressurize the system and then you must also depressurize the reservoir before even going to the wheel well to open the filter bowl. Then there is the hydraulic fluid, MIL-H-5606 which in the manual is called a severe skin irritant. It can also cause chemical burns. So I have quite a long job card due to all the warnings for the high pressure and fluid contact with human or aircraft skin. Then there is also the fact that you have to actuate the ailerons to bleed off pressure so you have to be sure personnel are clear of the wings. Even after all these warnings and me following the steps given in the maintenance manual step by step, I'm still afraid some student will not be paying close attention and may disconnect the wrong system and have fluid at 3000psi spray them in the face. So I may go talk to Prof Mick who is more familiar with the hydraulics and possibly visually tag of the A&B systems to assist in identifiaction of parts they are working with. Off I go...
Music in the background: Journey- Who's Crying Now (this song came out the year I was born, lol)Stress level of the Day: 5/10
Monday, Oct. 10, 2005 :: Monday Night ::
academically, i did nothing today. That's okay though I have a whole other day to do stuff-- if I want. Dinner at Gary's was good we grilled Purdue hamburgers and kosher hotdogs (lol). Esther made potato salad and multi-baked beans. Jeff swore her potato salad is the best, I was polite and didn't say that that is impossible because my grandma's potato salad is the best. I think the difference was there was no mustard or pickle juice in hers. It was decent though. So now I'm chillin on the couch again watching more original Law And Order. 530 was an early dinner, I will probably get hungry before I go to bed tonight. I went searching on the internet to find a different place to buy some shoes. I think I ended up at onlineshoes.com. There are very limited shoes in my size so I ended up buying a guys pair in the exact same style/color that I wanted. Free shipping will be here in 2-7 days. Now, I am waiting again.
Music in the background: noneStress level of the Day: 2/10
Monday, Oct. 10, 2005 :: odds n ends ::
I slept in until 1045 this morning only because I got sucked into the television last night. I'm a sucker for law and order and especially Crimial Intent, which Bravo had a five hour mini-marathon last night. So other than that I emptied the dish washer and am doing my laundry now and tidying up the livingroom since I have been camping out on the couch for the past two days --studying-- mind you =) I've been looking farther ahead towards my A&P oral and practical. All I know is I really need to study. I don't think the written questions are going to cover everything I need to remember. I have a copy of the "planning sheet" the DMEs use, but the only difference is the FAA has changed some of the requirements for the testing. I don't know the specifics, but I think it's going to be a bit tougher now. I'm going over to Gary's for dinner tonight. Maybe I can ask if he has a ladder I can borrow to change the livingroom light bulb =) Though I still need to get a replacement, but I don't want to leave because I'm still waiting for my tennis shoes to come via ups. Maybe I'll go call to see where they are.
... I just checked on my order status by calling their customer service. The verified my information and then said they were unable to locate my style in the size requesting. when the fuck were they going to get around to telling me that? Now I have to go back to the store to get a refund. I don't think I will shopping at Lady Foot Locker anymore. Gr, now off to find a pair of tennis.
Music in the background: Jamie O'Neal - No ArizonaStress level of the Day: 3/10
Sunday, Oct. 09, 2005 :: Need to get motivated ::
I am just about to start studying for my 375 test. I got up at 930 but got side tracked by a movie on showtime. I ended up watching Superman. Which probably to the shock of many, I have never seen before. Scarface is supposed to be on tonight aswell; another movie I have not seen. When I came out to the livingroom this morning to study I went to turn the overhead light on and it burnt out, sigh. I don't have anything to get up there nor at the moment do I have a new light bulb. So I opened the blinds on the patio door so I could have light. Gr, I'm not looking forward to this test, but I know I have to study.
Music in the background: noneStress level of the Day: 5/10
Sunday, Oct. 09, 2005 :: hard work ::
It's 0100 hour and I just finish quiz #12 of the day. Yes that's right I took 12 quizzes in one day and 427 questions later... hm 12 quizzes (x) 50 questions = 600 questions. My mind really isn't tired, but it has that set in timer that says to my body it's 1 AM and time to go to bed. Tomorrow I will start studying for my 375 Test and maybe finish the last few items on my job card. I'll probably need to look over my daily planner and see if there is anything else I need to do for the short week next week. I have to find time to talk to two of my professors this week and we will start working with 372 next friday- oh yea I get to play a boss... even though I kind of already am as I am a lab assistant. Anyhow, gonna go read my book some and then fall asleep.
Music in the background: noneStress level of the Day: 3/10
Saturday, Oct. 08, 2005 :: game day ::
This morning I was startled awake by a lawnmower outside my window at 830. So I got up and showered. I drove out to the mall to exchange a pair of jean for another style. On my way back, I decided I would grab some subway again for lunch. While driving north on State Rd 52 towards subway, I ended up driving along with a car sporting an Iowa Hawkeye flag. I was polite and didn't make any gestures. When we reached south street, which is the corner that subway on and a left turn to head towards Purdue, I turned into the subway parking lot and they continued going straight. Once I had my sandwich I exited the parking lot continuing to head down State Rd 52 because it is impossible to turn left there. So I grabbed the next street that headed towards campus. As I neared the river on the winding Union Street, I was watching for 5th or 4th Street to turn onto. The two cars in front of me both were turning on 6th street, but they had to turn wide around a car who had stopped forward of the stop line. I looked at it as I passed, it was the Iowa Hawkeye car again. Haha, even though I stopped to get a subway sandwich I was still going to make it to campus before them. I would have helped if I could, but there was no way to get to them.
Music in the background: Big N Rich- Coming to Your CityStress level of the Day: 2/10
Friday, Oct. 07, 2005 :: Lazy Friday ::
All my classes today were cancelled. Luckily me huh? So I got to sleep in until 8 am and then I got up to get ready for work. First I drove out to the airport to pick up my job card from Prof Thompson after his review. I found out he became too busy last night and when he finally got to my card he was too exhausted to work on it. So he had Tim Ropp, one of our newer teachers in the dept look over it and he was down in the 737 currently. So then I headed down to the ramp to find Tim. He said my card looked very well laid out and he was just trying to reorient himself to the 737 since he's been gone from United for so long. He wanted to do a little further research on the hydraulics and he said he would have it ready to go this afternoon. Work was the normal brush and mulch detail. I ended up leaving a little early because we finished the mulch and Cody had some more parking stops to pick up (they're replacing the concrete stops with rubber stops). The offices campus wide all shut down from 12-1 so everyone can take a lunch, how dumb is that? Sometimes lunch is the only time a student may have free to get things done. Anyway, I was lucky enough to find one of the teachers raiding the candy stash in the office and he let me in to get my job card. It was still pretty much the same. Tim had printed out a few other diagrams to put in the package, so I will probably work it in sometime this week. I had mentioned maybe using some type of color system to identify the A & B hydraulic lines, filters, and connections so that a student doesn't accidently open the wrong side.
Other than that, I've been trying to gather some info regarding graduate school. All I have really found is that it is too late to apply for spring semester. There are some nice sized funding grants though. I saw one for $68K. Anyhow, I'm going to do some studying for my A&P.
Stress level of the Day: 3/10
Thursday, Oct. 06, 2005 :: OMG!!! ::
I just got back from the airport. In my last class my professor said he wasnted to talk to me after class in his office. It turns out the department heads both want me to consider graduate school. Also, three professors want to nominate me for the Rardon Aviation Maintenance Technician Student of the Year Award through the Aviation Technology Educators Council. He said I have a high quality of work and that I don't bitch about situations, rather I try to come up with solutions. So I'm quite giddy at the moment. All I ask for is a little recognition to know that someone out there notices what I do, and look at me, I'm being nominated for a national award. *sigh* I still cannot believe it!
Now, to prepare (calm myself down) for my MET test.
Stress level of the Day: 3/10
Thursday, Oct. 06, 2005 :: one more day ::
It's finally cooled off. The high is only going to be 65 today. I started the day off with the 267 lab. The groups did okay today. They are getting more comfortable with asking questions if they're not sure about how to go about the assignment. At welding last night I attempted to tig weld a t joint several times with no luck. I mainly tried the lap welds more. While in the 267 lab today, Prof Wild walked through with some students from his 476 lab and he asked how soon Lorraine and I could weld together the engine part stands for him. He also said he gave a dimension drawing to Sterk. So I said as long as we have the materials we can probably weld it together next Wednesday night. I mentioned to Prof Thom that Lorraine and I are welding with Sterk and he said he also has a project he needs done if we are still looking for projects to build. His project is just a base frame for a cabinet so we can put it on wheels.
Sterk had one of his students stop by while I was welding last night because he wants to learn to tig weld so he can build a bicycle frame. So I had him run a puddle across the aluminum sheet to get a feel for the pedal and whatnot. Then I had him try with the filler rod and his first try he stuck the electrode into the puddle. He tried a few other times the run a bead and about the third time he ran a decent sized puddle. To which he replied "I can do tig welding." I tried to tell him that tig welding is a little bit more than just running a bead down a sheet of metal. I've finally just started getting lap welds to work after 2 nights of trying and my t-welds are tough. So now I'm printing stuff off for my next class and chatting with Gary. I still have a little more studying to do for my MET test tonight.
Stress level of the Day: 4/10
Tuesday, Oct. 04, 2005 :: Sticky day ::
For the beginning of October, it is very warm. Highs in the low 90's today. Thank goodness my turbines lab is in the morning and not the afternoon. So as for lab today, we spent the lab taping fittings and covering holes preparing the engine for painting. We took our time and goofed off- talked to the Lab Assistant about the 308 machining class. Which I found out is going a lot of the same stuff we are in my MET class Stress Elasticity and modulous stuff. Prof Wild came along and told us that the engines had to be painted today. So we hustled to get everything sanded and cleaned off for painting. We were actually the first group done with painting. We just rolled our engine outside on its stand and spray painted it outside the powerplants hangar. Now there is a "lady" who is the head of the Purdue Airport. I don't think any of the students have ever seen her, but all the professors are scared of her. Prof Wild said "if that bitch sees us painting out here, she will have my ass." We finished painting all the parts without incidence. I also talked to Prof Wild about a project he asked Prof Sterk to make for him. Just a basic inner and outer tube with a hole in the outer tube and a nut welding over it to make a friction lock. He is going to use it to mount a flange on to hold the combustion area of one of the engine so he can turn the part around and lock it in position. Easy enough.
Music in the background: Johnny Lang- Second GuessingStress level of the Day: 3/10
