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From the Flight Deck
by Kevin R. Dingman
Zen and the Art of
Aircraft Maintenance
Aircraft owners are allowed to perform some maintenance on their own airplanes
First published in 1974 and now dutifully placed in the philosophy section of bookstores and librar- ies, Robert M. Pirsig’s novel Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance became a modern classic. Lik- ened by The New York Times to Thoreau and Melville, Pirsig’s odyssey is a philosophical adventure about love and fear, growth, discovery and life’s most critical ques- tions.... like motorcycle maintenance.
The story revolves around a summer motorcycle trip across the U.S. by a father and son. Among its many contemplative and philosophical discussions, the story explores how the main character deeply understands and enjoys performing maintenance on his motorcycle, including manufacturing components from everyday ma- terials such as a soda can if required. This is in contrast to a traveling companion who hates not only the physical act of maintenance and repair of his own motorcycle but
20 • TWIN & TURBINE / July 2023
also the painful and confusing men- tal gymnastics required in order to understand the workings of machin- ery. The dichotomy provides fodder for many argumentative debates about life’s choices.
Overly Simplistic?
A pop quiz in another aviation magazine once included the following questions: If the battery dies, will the motor quit; what color is 100LL; what does a fuel quick-drain do; how many magnetos does the average aircraft en- gine have; and how many spark plugs does a four-cylinder engine have? The questions seemed overly simplistic. Then I contemplated the reason for the basic level of knowledge sought by the questions. We are all different in our abilities, interests, level of me- chanical aptitude and experience, like the two characters in the book. That all pilots enjoy, or at least understand, machinery is not a valid assumption. There are pilots that ignore the subject
unless it’s needed to pass a test, comply with a regulation or save their bacon.
Creative Artistry
When young, I was a GA worker bee—mowing grass around the FBO, plowing snow from ramps, washing airplanes, pumping gas (including red 80 octane) and ac- cumulating maintenance apprentice experience toward an A&P certificate. I learned amazing things while out on the airfield and in the hangar. The detail of things
Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.
- Albert Einstein