Air‐line Engineering Management

VI.—OUT‐STATIONS IT has already been pointed out that the engineering maintenance department is a minor factor to the major factor of flying operations and, therefore, for maximum overall efficiency it may be necessary to run the engineering side of the work on a basis of over‐suitability. Admitting this state, it becomes expedient to arrange the work so that as little as possible is done by the more inefficient, i.e. the more over‐suitable, sections. Inefficiencies of the kind which will occur in the organization envisaged are caused principally by the necessity for rendering good service under conditions of peak load, and this entails the availability of labour and equipment in excess of normal requirements. This is particularly so at stations on the routes where aircraft stop for traffic and carry on according to a published schedule. The work done at such stations is principally refuelling, re‐oiling and perhaps some attention to cabin conditions. The personnel, however, must be prepared, and able, to attend to any complaint made by the pilot, or to do a daily inspection overnight with whatever preventative maintenance that may entail. In the case of larger aircraft, assistance may be rendered by the flight mechanic, though this assistance should not be counted upon to too great an extent, as the mechanic's flight duties may be heavy on that day or the next, and his alacrity should not be compromised by work which may demand his mental or physical labours during what should be his rest period.