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nut that has been created. The function and relevance of the hardware are overshadowed by the very elegance of the part itself. This manufacturing process is repeated hundreds, even thousands of times in the creation of a machine. It gives you a deeper appreciation of the adage: “Even the most complex flying machine is just a collection of man-made parts flying in close formation.”
A Dizzying Nightmare
In the aviation field, we have the same dichotomy as ex- plored in the motorcycle adventure as it relates to aircraft maintenance: some of us like to get hands-on, and others hate it. Most who are averse to performing maintenance are lacking in time, desire or knowledge. Our post-COVID worker shortage, coupled with a decades-long decline in the supply of aircraft mechanics, has made the owner-side of maintenance a nightmare. After an engine failure, I waited an entire year for the removal, overhaul, reinstal- lation and annual inspection of my Duke (not to mention a bill for $108k). And the repaint and interior of one of our Citation III’s, while beautiful, took twice as long as in the old days. So, as in the motorcycle adventure, to some, maintenance is a dizzying nightmare. Conversely, there are those who have the time, desire and knowledge who would rather take an airplane apart and put it back together than fly it. For all of us though, getting involved shows us why maintenance can be time-consuming and costly,
This camshaft and lifters demonstrate the sheer elegance of machine parts.
and it helps us to under- stand aircraft systems better. If you are still disinclined to partici- pate, consider this: you are responsible for not only the maintenance of your plane but proper logbook entries as well. To wit, from the FARs: 91.403(a) The owner or
found only by walking or crawling in close proximity. For example, I learned the shape and size of the taxiway, runway lights and the design and spacing of VASI’s. The details of a taxiway stripe—how the paint has a thickness and the edges are rough; nothing at all as they appear when you taxi or fly past, oblivious to their details. As a maintenance apprentice, I made the same observations about machinery. This revelation of “detail” gave me an appreciation for the mechanical redundancy, reliability, complexity and absolute creative artistry of airplanes.
Elegance
It’s this creative artistry where “Zen” enters our story. The details of a simple nut, as in nut and bolt, serve as an example of the contemplation of detail. There is no steel in nature; all nature has is the potential for steel. First, you must create the type of metal you need based on sheer and tensile strength, heat-treating and elasticity; then drill a hole in the selected material and use a lathe to make the threads -- finally recognizing the shape of the
operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition.
This means that it’s our responsibility to fix things that break, to know what inspections are required and when,
The Duke’s engine overhaul took 6 months.
July 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 21