A remote-controlled robot tows the plane forward.
The Spring Festival mode is on, and Tianjin Binhai International Airport is even busier. How does the airplane that plays an important role in the Spring Festival transportation ensure its safe flight? What does an airplane go through before and after takeoff? Recently, this reporter came to the tarmac of Tianjin Binhai International Airport to visit the story behind the safe flight of the plane.
An aircraft maintenance engineer overhauls an aircraft's dual heat exchangers.
Every day, the ups and downs must be "checked", and hundreds of inspections are passed before they are released
The plane landed, and the passengers rushed out. Several uniformed staff members immediately stepped forward to do a "physical examination" of the plane. They are the maintenance engineers who ensure the safe flight of the aircraft. From the exterior to the interior, from the cabin to the cockpit, from the huge wings to the tiny buttons, every movement and inspection of them is directly related to the flight safety of passengers.
In the regular inspection hangar, the aircraft is undergoing a "medical examination".
"The maintenance engineer is like the 'general practitioner' of the aircraft, and he has to conduct a comprehensive 'look, smell, and inquire' about the aircraft and confirm that the aircraft is in 'healthy' condition before it can be released. Chen Liang, manager of HNA Technology (Tianjin) Line Maintenance Center, told reporters, "We are mainly responsible for the aircraft maintenance tasks of some routes of Tianjin Airlines, Beibu Gulf Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Capital Airlines and other airlines." ”
"Before take-off and after landing, each aircraft undergoes a strict 'medical examination', including a pre-flight inspection before the start of a day's flight mission, a short-stop inspection at a stopover, and a post-flight inspection after the end of a full-day flight mission. The maintenance staff must complete the inspection one by one against the items on the work order, even the small scratches and pits on the surface of the aircraft. If there is a sudden failure of the aircraft during operation, it is also necessary for the maintenance personnel to eliminate the fault that affects the flight safety and operation in a timely manner according to the regulations and manuals. Chen Liang said.
The cabin of an aircraft undergoing a deep overhaul.
Post-flight inspection is the largest workload and the most inspection items in the daily "physical examination". After guiding the aircraft into the port, the maintenance personnel should conduct a round-the-flight inspection to check whether the tires and fuselage are damaged to the naked eye, and then enter the cabin to inspect the cockpit, cabin, cargo hold, toilet, galley and other areas step by step after the passengers and crew are evacuated. Everything from a screw, a light bulb, a set of buttons, to the engine, landing gear, wings, etc., are all within the scope of inspection. Key parts should be checked many times, and personnel at all levels should sign to confirm safety. It takes at least two or three hours to inspect and involves hundreds of items.
What do the gestures of the airplane "bye-bye" mean?
Before departure, as the aircraft is rolled out of the stand to taxi into the runway, passengers can often see through the portholes as ground crew in uniforms and reflective vests wave goodbye to the aircraft, affectionately known as the "bye-bye". Behind the very cute waving gesture is the hundreds of inspections and confirmations by the maintenance staff.
In fact, the action of "bye-bye" is to confirm that the engine is starting normally and that there are no obstacles around the aircraft, and then the maintenance staff gestures to the pilot to indicate that the aircraft can slide out.
In the regular inspection hangar, the maintenance engineer is studying the replacement of the wingtip navigation light shade.
Affected by factors such as engine roar on the tarmac, vehicle shuttle, and communication distance, if you communicate through language, it is easy to be disturbed, produce ambiguity, and cause unnecessary losses. Therefore, the flight crew needs to use a variety of gesture language to "talk" with the pilot.
What do these gestures mean?"For example, when the aircraft arrives, the crew holding the aircraft holds their hands flat and the baton is extended upwards to indicate that they are ready to receive the aircraft, and the guide vehicle and the aircraft can slide into the parking space. When the plane reached the stop line, the crew raised their hands and crossed their batons to signal the crew to brake. The plane is in place, the wheels are blocked, they observe the surrounding obstacles, confirm that the plane is stable, and give a thumbs up to the bridge operator, indicating that the bridge can dock the aircraft. Chen Liang said.
On the tarmac, the plane's "bye-bye" signaled the crew to brake.
25 minutes of emergency troubleshooting, race against time to stay safe
During the Spring Festival, most of the airlines are running at full capacity, there are relatively few spare aircraft, and the aircraft stay on the ground is also short, leaving the maintenance time for the maintenance personnel to be very tight. Especially in the event of sudden failures, it is necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft operation and ensure that it leaves the port on time to take off, which has become the biggest test for aircraft maintenance engineers.
"We have independently developed an aircraft health management system, and have developed more than 20 monitoring functions to achieve all-round monitoring of key aircraft status parameters to ensure the safe and orderly operation of flights. Chen Liang said, "In addition to completing daily inspections, we usually put all preparations in advance as much as possible, and assign technical backbones to set up a major fault guarantee team to specialize in technical problems and respond to emergencies." ”
An aircraft maintenance engineer inspects an aircraft door.
Not long ago, a plane of Tianjin Airlines encountered such an emergency platoon on the flight segment from Urumqi to Tianjin.
On the same day, the plane had already flown over Tianjin, and when it was about to land, an error prompt came from the aircraft control system, and the ground background engineers also monitored the situation synchronously. "After a comprehensive judgment that there was a problem with the flight control computer module, we quickly launched an emergency response, and immediately organized personnel to separate the operation manual and technical standard inquiry, aviation material collection, tool and equipment preparation, etc. When the plane landed, the maintenance personnel and the required materials and equipment were already waiting on the tarmac. Chen Liang said.
At 14:32 on the same day, the plane taxied into the stand, and after the passengers got off the plane, the maintenance staff completed the replacement and testing of the computer module in only 25 minutes. Due to the thorough preparation in advance, and they are all technical backbones, and they cooperate with each other tacitly, when the troubleshooting is completed, the cleaning team of the aircraft has not even finished cleaning.
"Usually the plane stops for about one hour, and passengers board the plane 40 minutes before departure. This time, if you wait until the plane lands to prepare materials and troubleshoot, it will take at least more than an hour, and the next flight will definitely be delayed. Chen Liang said, "When the troubleshooting was successfully completed, we watched the passengers take off on time without delaying the trip, which was our happiest time." The meaning and value of the existence of this profession are also reflected at this moment, which gives us a full sense of achievement. ”
Scheduled overhaul and dismantling of the aircraft
Bidding farewell to the line maintenance center, the reporter came to the regular inspection and maintenance hangar, which is known as the "aircraft maintenance center". In the hangar, two aircraft are undergoing "maintenance", one of the aircraft's engines and fairing have been removed, revealing the complex internal mechanical mechanism, and the maintenance engineers are scattered all over the cabin to do a comprehensive "physical examination" for the aircraft.
Airplanes, like cars, need to be routinely "maintained" after a certain amount of time after flying. The maintenance interval of fuel vehicles is generally 5000 kilometers, how often is the aircraft maintained?
"Scheduled maintenance schedules for aircraft are complex, often divided into different classes based on flight hours, number of takeoffs and landings, and calendar days. For example, the Embraer 190 aircraft we are undertaking is undergoing a major overhaul every 7,500 flight hours. Hu Jichao is the manager of the production management office of the regular inspection and maintenance center of HNA Technology (Tianjin), and is also an aircraft maintenance expert with more than ten years of experience in aircraft maintenance.
What is the process of overhauling? Do you have to disassemble the plane? "Not only do you have to dismantle it, but sometimes you have to dismantle it completely. Hu Jichao said that during some in-depth overhauls, it is even necessary to empty all the hundreds of thousands of parts inside the aircraft until the structural skeleton is exposed, and then conduct in-depth inspection. For example, ultrasonic testing, eddy current testing, fluorescence penetration, magnetic particle testing and other means are used to carry out fine non-destructive testing.
Airplanes are known as the safest means of transportation. This statement is not an exaggeration. Hu Jichao gave an example, "For example, if there is a minor damage such as scratches on the vehicle, many people will not repair it immediately, but save up to repair it together." In the case of aircraft maintenance, it must be dealt with in a timely manner. ”
Due to the structural depression caused by foreign objects or bird strikes to the aircraft, sometimes it is relatively subtle, and the maintenance personnel need to use a suitable light source to observe from a specific angle to find the depression as small as a few tenths of a millimeter.
The maintenance engineer conducts the landing gear inspection.
Compared with automobiles, aircraft "maintenance" is not only much more complicated, but also has special features when to choose maintenance. "The scheduled inspection time of the aircraft needs to be scientifically arranged, not only to ensure that the aircraft is in good condition, but also to maximize the benefits. Airlines tend to focus their scheduled inspections before peak travel periods, and as soon as we entered December last year, we were busy. Before the arrival of peak seasons such as spring and summer transportation, the hangar is often full of aircraft. The maintenance staff will also work in shifts as needed to release the capacity as soon as possible, so that the aircraft can fly in the sky as much as possible to produce benefits. Hu Jichao explained.
Remote-controlled robots can tow airplanes
In order to make the maintenance more refined and efficient, nowadays, "aircraft doctors" are increasingly using "black technology" to help.
"Guess how the planes get in and out of the hangar?"
"Didn't you come in with the engine running?"
"We now have a tow robot. Hu Jichao pointed to a rectangular device in the corner of the hangar.
Aircraft taxiing on the ground wastes engine life and introduces noise and carbon emissions. At the same time, the hangar is built with a lightweight structure, which cannot withstand the huge air waves brought by the engine. Traditionally, large trailers with strong horsepower have been used to tow aircraft in and out of the hangar. Today, with increasing pressure on environmental protection, many companies around the world are studying "low-carbon taxiing", and towing robots came into being.
The robot in front of the reporter is not large, about 3.2 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 0.5 meters high. How does it tow an aircraft weighing tens or even hundreds of tons?
"It actually adopts the method of 'holding wheel trailer', driving the hydraulic pump through the motor, and 'hugging' the front wheel of the aircraft after erecting it, so that it can temporarily replace the 'foot force' of the aircraft. Hu Jichao said that the robot is remotely operated by the maintenance personnel, and the aircraft does not need to turn on the engine during the entire towing process, which is especially suitable for towing and placing operations in hangars and maintenance plants, and the economic and environmental benefits brought by this way are considerable.
In order to solve some "heavy, urgent and difficult" aircraft maintenance problems, the "cloud diagnosis" of aircraft maintenance experts can also be carried out. After the on-site maintenance personnel wear AR (augmented reality) glasses, the parts and pipelines of the aircraft can be clearly displayed in front of the remote technical support experts in real time, so that they can grasp the work of the maintenance site in the first time and quickly give guidance, which greatly improves the efficiency of fault disposal. As the first enterprise in China to apply this technology to aviation maintenance, HNA Technology has applied this technology to 9 major bases including Tianjin, 32 small and medium-sized bases and international sites.
"With the recovery of the civil aviation market, people's enthusiasm for travel is high, and behind this long-lost steaming is the perseverance, professional security and hard work of countless civil aviation people. Watching the full loads of planes take off and land, watching groups of passengers traveling or returning home, all the efforts are worth it for their safe arrival. Hu Jichao said.
Source: Tianjin Daily