It used to be that our aircraft were seen by a mechanic every single leg. It had an overnight check just a few hours ago and was signed off. Between the sharp eyes of a maintenance man and the bleary eyes of a trained pilot, we could find just about anything that was wrong before it became an in-flight problem.I do know that this particular aircraft has been looked at by a mechanic. We usually crossed paths somewhere under the belly of the aircraft. Not so long ago, I wouldn’t have been by myself doing this walk-around I would see a licensed aviation mechanic doing his or her own walk-around. Aviation Mechanics - An Endangered Species? If the Challenger crew had done a walk-around and noticed all of that ice clinging to their fuel tank, would they have accepted the take-off clearance? I know it would be meaningless in terms of the actual operation, but I’d like to see at least one of the pilots do a cursory walk-around before the next shuttle launch. For example, checking the tires for tread wear, the landing gear itself with brake-wear indicators and hydraulic leaks … these are things that Wilbur and Orville never thought about.On the other end of aviation history, I’m pretty sure that astronauts never do walk-arounds of their spacecraft before they blast off.Pity. I doubt that Wilbur or Orville had to dodge high-speed baggage tugs driven with reckless abandon by non-English speakers, but they had hazards of their own to deal with.I can’t imagine that walking around the Wright flyer entailed all that much. Perhaps it is so any deer in the area won’t realize that we are there, but hunters will be alerted not to shoot us.Once out the door of Ops, I step over the tow bar and begin a ritual that goes back to the very first pilots. With the combination of the dark, the zooming vehicles and the frantic pace I thought it would be wise to wear an orange, reflective vest. I’m not a safety freak, although I do wear my seatbelt religiously in my car, don a helmet when I ride my horse and hold onto the handrails at theme parks when they tell me to. Today’s ride wasn’t bad if you kept your eyes closed. Some of the sportiest times I’ve had on airline trips were during the van ride to and from the hotel. Thanks to a 10-minute-early appearance of the crew van combined with the lead foot of our driver, we are way early this morning. Second, my co-pilot is sneezy-sick this morning and if I want to get him home alive I thought I’d let him nap in the cockpit while I went out in the rain for him.There is plenty of time for me to do the pre-flight this morning and I am enjoying my $3 cup of coffee as I amble out to do the walk-around. Ramp people are wandering around, the cargo doors are open, potable water is being hosed into the tanks, catering trucks are up against the catering door and the fueling guy is, well, fueling.Why do I find myself doing the schlep work of the very junior? Why is a senior captain about to do the almost unthinkable - a walk-around? Two reasons: First, I am well-known around the system as a nice, caring guy. It is just a sort of heavy mist.The mist sets off the lights that surround the 767-300 we are going to fly to the east coast and give it a NASA pre-launch appearance. Not enough to get my uniform wet and certainly not enough to justify a rain poncho as I head out the door onto the ramp. A light rain is falling on LAX this morning. Damn, it’s early! I know it is really three hours later, body-wise, because I live on the east coast, but it still feels like 5 a.m.
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