The high temperature in summer is a challenge for everyone engaged in outdoor work. On the apron of Jinan Airport, the maintenance personnel are working hard despite of a high temperature of 50℃. Chen Limin, Project Manager of the Line Maintenance Department of Shandong Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Company Limited, said that one should love what he is doing, and high temperature doesn’t matter, as long as they can ensure the safety of the aircraft, which is their biggest wish.
Coming to the post 15 minutes ahead of time, they are soaked in sweat in a short while
The sweltering weather, the burning sun, the boiling heat, and a hot pot above the raging fire, among others, are the words that one can think of when it comes to hot weather. Yet all these words, even if added together, are still not enough to describe the feeling of maintenance personnel working at the apron in hot summer.
Chen Limin has already worked for over 20 years. Although he has already got used to the high temperature in summer, it can be seen from his soaked overalls and sweat on his face that the weather in recent days has been truly unbearable.
On the afternoon of the 25th, the highest temperature in Jinan city reached 38℃, and the temperature on the apron at Jinan Airport was even higher than 50℃. People standing on the apron can feel the burning sun above and the heated ground below.
Chen Limin told the author that high temperature is very common in summer time. The engineers of the Line Maintenance Department should be at their posts 15 minutes before the arrival of the flight, and carry out check around the aircraft stand, which includes checking foreign object debris, tow bars and the number of blocks. And then they will proceed with all the checking preparations. It is known that at present, Chen Limin and other engineers have to check over 70 incoming flights. After each aircraft arrives, they must check the aircraft according to the contents of the working list. Chen said that the checking lists are usually four or five pages, and every item must be carefully checked.
Checking from the nose, the right fuselage, the engine, the wheel well, the wing, the tail and to the left side, the maintenance engineers will be soaked in sweat, and this is the normal case when the aircraft is in good condition. If the aircraft needs to be repaired, the engineers will be fighting a battle on the scorching apron.
According to Chen Limin, while checking the engines, they have to endure the highest temperature as the engines can reach hundreds of degrees. It is hard to imagine what a torture it must be to check the engine in such hot weather.
Chen Limin said that usually two engineers are required for one aircraft and three for special aircraft stands. The direct distance between stands are quite far, and sometimes they need to walk from stand 1 to stand 23 for a one-way distance of more than 2 kilometers. “If it is too far, we will ride a specially modified bicycle to work, but sometimes we still need to walk.” Chen said. When a day is over, the maintenance engineers all ranked top in their Wechat WeRun, a fitness app that records the number of steps the user walks every day.
Grilling is better than steaming, and the whole body is fully protected
Since it is already so hot, why do these maintenance engineers need to wear overalls with long sleeves?
To answer this question, Chen Limin said that the first reason to wear long-sleeved overalls is for their own safety. Chen said, “The working environment of aircraft maintenance is quite intractable. Sometimes we need to get into the interior of the aircraft full of metal parts and it is easy to be scratched by metal if we are not careful enough. And wearing long-sleeved overalls can effectively protect everyone and it can also resist oil stains.” The other reason is to prevent sunburn. The ultraviolet radiation from the sun is very strong in summer time, and working as maintenance engineers means that they cannot escape sunrays, so without proper protection, they are likely to get sunburnt.
The author noticed that besides the long-sleeved overalls, all the maintenance engineers are wearing unified “big head shoes”. The protective role of shoes should never be underestimated. Chen Limin told the author that the front end of the shoes are equipped with steel plates to avoid being injured by the falling heavy objects. Although it is very hot to wear them, everyone is used to it for their own safety. “High temperature in summer does not bring good feelings, but since we choose this profession, we have to get used to the heat. One should love what he is doing, and every maintenance engineer is dedicated to their work from the bottom of their heart, otherwise, this kind of suffering can't be endured.” said Chen Limin, who has been in this business for more than 20 years.
It’s so hot, but can it be a lot easier if there is a heavy rain?
Chen Limin smiled after hearing the question. He said that the maintenance engineer did not like rain. Chen said that drizzle cannot cool down the temperature, instead, when drizzles stop, the apron is like a huge sauna, making them feel even worse than dry heat. Heavy rains not only affect flight operation, they also make aircraft maintenance more difficult, and wearing raincoats and rain boots while working will not make them feel better.
Working at night is stuffier
So, when the temperature drops at night, will it be more comfortable for maintenance engineers to work?
Faced with the third question, Chen Limin admitted that sometimes it is harder working at night than during the day. The reason for this is that the main job for aircraft engine is to do post-flight check for the overnight aircraft. Chen said that the post-flight check is much more detailed than the daytime check, with more than 10 pages of checklist and it usually takes 2 hours to complete. It is unforgettable for them that there is no air conditioning in the cockpit and cabin when they carry out post-flight check at night.
For aircraft maintenance, it is a blessing to check the aircraft during the day. During day-time check of the incoming flights, the aircraft are air-conditioned. However, during the night hours, as there is no electricity supply to the parked non-operating aircraft, entering the cockpit and the cabin is like getting into a confined space, and it only takes several seconds to make people sweat all over.
It is known that currently the last flight needed to be checked by the aircraft engineer of the Line Maintenance Department of Shandong Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Company Limited is a return flight from New Delhi, India, which arrives at a quarter past 3 am and is available for check at around 3:40am. After two hours of post-flight check, they are soon on their way to conduct pre-flight check of the departing flights in the morning.
Regardless of the daytime or the night hours, working as an aircraft maintenance engineer is equally challenging in summer time. And in winter, the cold wind and raging storms present yet a different kind of challenge.
