#smallbody

[c1qfxugcgy0]

adventures in QA

(previous post in this series)

My shop in Advanced Midbody - Carbon Wing (AMCW) at Large Aircraft Manufacturer (LAM) is at the very end of the composite fabrication building. Hundreds of people carefully lay up a hundred foot long slab of carbon fiber, cure it, paint it, and then we totally fuck it up with out of spec holes, scrapes, primer damage, etc. The people who write up our many defects are from the Quality Assurance (QA) department.

Every single screw and rivet on a LAM aircraft can be traced back to the mechanic who installed it. Back when even everything was done in pen and pencil, it was joked that the paper used to produce an aircraft outweighed the plane itself. Now that everything is computer-based, of course, the amount of paperwork is free to grow without limit.

(Haunting the factory is endless media coverage of an emergency exit door plug popping out of an Advanced Smallbody - Upengine (ASU) plane during a routine flight a few months ago. Unlike that airframe's notorious problems with MCAS, this was a straightforward paperwork screwup by a line worker: the bolts were supposed to be tightened, and they weren't.

As a result the higher ups have visited hideous tribulations on non-salaried workers. Endless webinars, structured trainings. Here at the Widebody plant we have received a steady flow of refugees from the Narrowbody factory, hair-raising tales of receiving one hundred percent supervision from the moment they clock in to the second they clock out from FAA inspectors who can recommend actual jail time for any lapse in judgement.)

A single hydraulic bracket Installation Plan (IP) is around four brackets. The team leads generally assign two bracket IPs per mechanic, since each bracket set is something like a foot apart, and while working on the plane is bad enough it's much worse to have another mechanic in your lap.

Let me list the order of operations:

One: Find where you're supposed to install these brackets. This is harder than you might think.

Firstly, it's a hundred foot long plank of carbon fiber composite, with longitudinal stringers bonded to it to add stiffness. The stringers are pilot drilled in the trim and drill center, a truly Brobdingnagian CNC mill that trims off the composite flash at the edges and locates and drills part holes for us. But there's a lot of holes, so you must carefully find your set.

A minor difficulty is that the engineering drawings are laid out with the leading edge pointing up, while the wing panels in our cells hang from the trailing edge. Not so bad, you just rotate the paper 180 when orienteering, then rotate it back up to read the printed labels.

A major difficulty is that the drawings are from the perspective from the outside of the panel. But we work on the inside of the wing (obviously, that's where all the parts are installed) so we also flip the drawings and squint through the back of the paper, to make things line up.

Large Aircraft Manufacturer has a market cap of US$110 billion, and we're walking around the wing jig with sheets of paper rotated 180 and flipped turnways trying to find where to put brackets.

Oh well, we're paid by the hour.

Two: Match drill the aluminum brackets to the carbon fiber composite stringer. I can devote an entire post to the subtleties of drilling carbon fiber, but I can already tell that this post is going to be a miserable slog, so I will merrily skip over this step.

Three: Vacuum up all the carbon dust and aluminum swarf created during this process. This step is not optional, as your team lead will remind you, his screaming mouth clouding your safety glasses with spittle at a distance of four inches. LAM is very serious about FOD. Every jet airliner you've ever ridden in is a wet wing design-- each interstitial space is filled with Jet A. There is no fuel bladder or liner-- the fuel washes right over plane structure and wing hardware. Any dirt we leave behind will merrily float into the fuel and be sucked right into the engines, where it can cause millions in damage. No place for metal shavings!

If you are nervous about flying, avoid considering that all the hydraulic lines and engine control cables dip into a lake of a kerosene on their way from the flight deck to the important machines they command. Especially do not consider that we're paid about as much per hour as a McDonalds fry cook to install flight-critical aviation components.

Four: Neatly lay out your brackets on your cart, fight for a position at a Shared Production Workstation (SPW) (of which we have a total of four (4) for a crew of thirty (30) mechanics) and mark your IP for QA inspection as Ready To Apply Seal.

Four: Twiddle your thumbs. Similarly, we have three QA people for thirty mechanics. This is not enough QA people, as I will make enormously clear in the following steps.

Five: Continue waiting. Remember, you must not do anything until a QA person shows up and checks the box. Skipping a QA step is a “process failure” and a disciplinary offense. From the outside, you can observe the numerous QA whistleblowers and say “golly, why would a mechanic ever cut a corner and ignore QA?” Well...

Six: QA shows up. Theoretically, they could choose to pick up the mahrmax you prepared for them and gauge every single hole you've drilled. But since we're three hours into the shift and they're already twenty jobs behind, they just flick their flashlight across the panel and say “looks good" and then sprint away. Can't imagine why our planes keep falling out of the sky.

Seven: Apply the seal to the bracket. P/S 890 is a thick dark gray goop that adheres well to aluminum, carbon fiber, fabric, hair and skin. Once cured, it is completely immune to any chemical attack short of piranha solution, so if you get any on yourself you had better notice quick, otherwise it'll be with you as long as the layer of epidermis it's bonded to. LAM employees who work with fuel tank sealant very quickly get out of the habit of running their hands through their hair.

Eight: Now you wait again. Ha ha, you dumb asshole, you thought you were done with QA? No no, now you put up the job for QA inspection of how well you put the seal on the bracket. Twiddle your thumbs, but now with some urgency. The minute you took the bottle of seal out of the freezer, you started the clock on its "squeeze-out life." For this type of seal, on this job, it's 120 minutes. If QA doesn't get to you before that time expires, you remove your ticket, wipe off the seal, take another bottle out the freezer, and apply a fresh layer.

Nine: Optimistically, QA shows up in time and signs off on the seal. Well, you're 100 minutes into your 120 minute timer. Quickly, you slap the brackets onto the stringer, air hammer the sleeve bolts into position, thread nuts onto the bolts, then torque them down. Shove through the crowd and mark your IP "ready to inspect squeeze out"

Ten: Let out a long breath and relax. All the time sensitive parts are over. The criteria here is "visible and continuous" squeeze out all along the perimeter of the bracket and the fasteners. It is hard to screw this up, just glop on a wild excess of seal before installing it. If you do fail squeezeout, though, the only remedy is to take everything off, throw away the single-use distorted thread locknuts, clean everything up and try again tomorrow.

Eleven: QA approved squeeze out? Break's over, now we're in a hurry again. By now there's probably only an hour or two left in the shift, and your job now is to clean off all that squeeze out. Here's where you curse your past self for glopping on too much seal. You want to get it off ASAP because if you leave it alone or if it's too late in the shift and your manager does feel like approving overtime it'll cure to a rock hard condition overnight and you'll go through hell chipping it off the next day. You'll go through a hundred or so qtips soaked in MPK cleaning up the bracket and every surface of the panel within three feet.

Twelve: Put it up for final inspection. Put away all your tools. (The large communal toolboxes are lined with kaizen foam precisely cut out to hold each individual tool, which makes it obvious if any tool is missing. When you take a tool out, you stick a tool chit with your name and LAMID printed on it in its place. Lose a tool? Stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye, pal, because the default assumption is that a lost screwdriver is lurking in a hollow "hat" stringer, waiting to float out and damage some critical component years after the airplane is delivered.)

One tool you'll leave on your cart, however, is the pin protrusion gage. There is a minimum amount of thread that must poke outside of the permanent straight shank fastener's (Hi-Lok) nut, to indicate that the nut is fully engaged. That makes sense. But there's also a maximum protrusion. Why?

Well, it's an airplane. Ounces make pounds. An extra quarter inch of stickout across a thousand fasteners across a 30 year service life means tons of additional fuel burnt. So you can't use a fastener that's too long, because it adds weight.

On aluminum parts, it's hard to mess up. But any given composite part is laid up from many layers of carbon fiber tape. The engineers seemed to have assumed that dimensional variation would be normally distributed. But, unfortunately, we buy miles of carbon fiber at a time, and the size only very gradually changes between lots. When entire batches are several microns oversize, and you're laying up parts from fifty plies and an inch thick, you can have considerable variation of thickness on any given structural component. So you had better hope you had test fit all of your fasteners ahead of time, or else you'll be real sorry!

And, if you're really lucky, QA will show up five minutes before end of shift, pronounce everything within tolerance, then fuck off.

And that's how it takes eight hours to install eight brackets.

[faerunsbest]

What is your romances earliest memory of your tav?

Here's mine for Rolan!

He's late.

He needs to be across the way but the path is blockaded with inconsiderate bodies haggling with merchants. He shouldn't go that way… but the way is clear.

The path is dark and narrow between looming buildings. A skittish alley that yields to wash way, where the unsavory gather together to do unkindness en mass.

Where people pretend they are deaf to the outcomes for help…

But the way is clear.

And he's late.

Someone shoves him out of the way, out from his thoughts. He lands hard on his chest, arms guiding his face. Immediately he dives into the dark not wanting to be stepped on. He pressed his back to wall grabbing the end of his tail and panting while he looks out to the increasing crowd.

Not much in the way of choices left, so he blinks into the dark adjusting and he stands on near quivering knees. One step, then another.

He can feel shards of broken bottles crunch underfoot, trying to watch where he's going. He moves slowly. But then he realizes it's too slow…he might as well have stayed out in the crowd.

At least out there he wouldn't deal with this smell.

Piss and vomit,alcohol and something rotten burning. He slips passed a few passed out urchins, bodies slumped against the shadow stained walls, a small narrow door hangs nearly off its hinge. Someone skinny and pissed with a long haggard face sits on a wonbling stool and beers at him and he skirts by.

The alley ends. It should be bright this way. The dark go goes on, it deepens and he feels his heart racing in his chest.

There at the edge of the wash is a giant stack of bucking crates, it lines the path as if to prevent people from tumbling down. He doubts its for anything so noble.

Glancing back and forth he tries to remember a mental map of the buildings out front.

He dashes out and to the left, pausing when he feels the path narrowing. The crates that blocked off the wash seemed to be pushing him closer to the back of the buildings. One portion of the crate made wall sits hidden under a giant sheet of discolored tarp. He stares at it,watching its hem sway forward and back. Watching it breathe.

He presses himself back against the crumbling wall and tries to stay as far from the thing as possible.

To no avail, it's only an arms length away from him.

The arm in question is massive,bulky and riddled with bulbous veins. Scars decorate It like confetti, he can't see the hand that grips him just under his shoulder and small bicep.

He would scream, but it wouldn't help…it would probably bring in the rest of them. Pressure against his bones gradually Increased as he pulled closer to the tarp.

He digs his heels down but glides forward to what he realizes is a caged wagon tucked under that tarp. The closer he's pulled the stronger the smell of something putrid becomes.

Something in there is dead and he's being pulled to it. Finally he's close enough to the orcs face and iits battered, welts, bruises, Infected pustules open and leaking. He reeks of it.

All of a sudden he's yanked backward, rolan grunts as his smallbody is slammed against the bars. He desperately tries to hold onto the cage and resist being pulled in.

Looking up he sees something wrapped around the orcs neck, something thick and strong, it's seems to pulse as the orcs eyes begin to roll.

Out from just underneath it a shadow slips away, it slinks toward Rolan who struggles to keep that scream locked up tight. Once close he sees a girl, not much bigger than he is. She reached out to the hand that grips him painfully tight and all he can do is stare at her .

Stare at those massive eye with colors that fluctuate hypnotically. Its all he can do while she rips back the orcs fingers off his body one by one.

With a gasp rolan feels himself drop, but doesn't land. She holding the front of his shirt through the bars. She lets go when his feet touchdown, now he Can hear her deep rattling breathes,her clawed hand releases him though still

He doesn't budge right away.

She presses her face to the bars to look at him. In the dim, colors are muted but he can see the spill of something dark and glossy around her mouth and down her chest. Behind her the orc isn't moving. It's limp body drops , the thing around its neck unfurl revealing itself as her tail. She stares at him with pity in those fairy lights that spill from her face.

“RUN”

The whisper is loud in his mind as thunder overhead, it jolts Rolan awake. He sits upright in a bedroll laid in the dirt. He blinks the sleep away, wiping at his tear ducts with the pad of his middle finger. Sleeping heavily behind him between his back and the grove wall where Cal and Lia. Just out of sight light has begun pooling in, falling through the canopy like a thick sieve.

Rolan stands up quietly, stretching out as many of the kinks in his back as he can. While he rolls his shoulder, trying to will away the sore from the night he hears something at the entryway.

A horn blares, Cal and Lia jump at the noise. As they stand they're not surprised when Rolan stands in front of them, arms open pushing them back against the wall.

For a while the raucous sounds of a raging battle fill the place, he pushes his siblings backward trying to find somewhere to hide them. The noise reaches a peak, the silence reigns supreme. It lay's over them like a fallen wall, gently pressing the air from their lungs as settles.

Before the panic can begin to bubble up, Rolan hears the sound of the gates heavy gears rattling open. As it does he whips around to his siblings.

“ We’re leaving right now.”

While Call and Lia immediately butt heads with him he watched from the corner if his eye and one of the adventurers from earlier come running in. His attention fades from the current argument to the unfolding ahead.

Zevlor puffing up against that curly haired adventurer, they yell and just as he raises a fist to swing. A group comes in behind him, the smallest one in scrappy armor, her long black hair a mess with dirt twigs and blood caked in. She reaches up grabs his fis, yanks it down and stomps on the side of his leg before throwing him to the side.

Zevlor gasps In shock, the man on the ground shrieks out.

“ YOU BROKE MY FUCKEN LEG!”

The small woman in the small cluster of fighters looks down with disinterest.

“it'd be your spine if you had one”

For a moment Rolan feels deafened, can't hear a damn thing while he watches them approaching. If it wasn't for Cal reaching out and pushing his shoulder he wouldn't have known they were still arguing with him.

He tries to find his footing in this verbal attack and just as he does the group strolls by, he turns to see that woman sneering at him

“ The wizard is a coward, stunning.”

For an instant he gets to look at her face, the mark of a single swipe clipping her face stays, one deep divit over her eyebrow, over her nose and deep against one side of her jaw. More than that under that mess of hair, that deep set knot in her brow, her eyes with flickering colors…

[puppyrickets]

ive been in love with the same blue smallbody yamaha guitar for a year and a half. and even though i should b thinking abt finding a new place to live and supporting my brother who just checked himself into the psych ward. all i can think about is taking this yamaha guitar home before the sale at the guitar store ends

[trevors-world]

#smallbody with a #greatmindset (at Riverside Mall) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSNWUbaDm3x/?utm_medium=tumblr

[aljusandres]

#doneright👌 #Ae92 #smallbody #nomoreworries #annoying #squeaky #sounds while #crusingtogether #replaced #bushing #underneath #greesmoothie and i #fixed it #allbymyself 👍 #laborfree 💰 #happywifey❤👍 💸 @aljus_andres https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_mGUzpHkX/?utm_medium=tumblr

[runchelle]

#bighead #smallbody still not where I want to be but this is #progress I went from buying a 2x to a L! #outerwear #coldoutside

[atthemusicspotqld]

Cort SFX1 Small Body Acoustic with Cutaway in Satin finish . . . . #cort #sfx1 #smallbody #satin #acoustic #guitar #guitarporn #music #livemusic #guitars #acousticguitars #shopping #brisbane #logan #musicshop #musician #livingloud (at The Music Spot) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4TySr7g_7G/?igshid=1xrhnfqh5jfz6

[arundineart]

#statua #sculpture #italy #italia #naples #napoli #castello #castle #maschioangioino #art #arts #blackandwhite #smile #boy #smallbody #body #bones #girl #poor #instagirl #instago #instagram #instagood #insta #likeforlike #autumn #fruit #piazzadelplebiscito #vino #bus

[dietcokeandcigerettes]

Day 4 water fasting

SW:199.7 CW: 192.0 So then… -7.7 whoop whoop! I can’t wait to get in the 180s! p>Alright! Today is day 4! I think my body was switching over to ketosis more intensely around when I was going to sleep because I had some hardcore nausea, I am stilling having some bits today as well. Also, my knees are hurting a lot today. I have heard that will happen because there a lot of toxin deposits within the joints. I have a little more energy today compared to yesterday. I have also gotten hunger pangs AGAIN today. Can’t wait for them to just go away. Soon though. I am hoping tomorrow. There isn’t too much else to report today. I will weight myself soon and add it to this post as well.

Have a beautiful day! Stay tuned ❤🌹

[pestcontrolsydneyblog]

Bedbugs are not attracted to dirt and grime. They are attracted to warmth, blood and the carbon dioxide we breathe out. It is no surprise that we find them in our cosy beds. Bedbug control can only be maintained through strategic techniques. It is a good idea to consult a qualified and professional pest management company to avoid endless time-consuming efforts to reduce them, let lone get rid of them. P: 1800 819 189 W: https://qoo.ly/3drk2c

[puppyrickets]

im going to buy the lovely blue smallbody yamaha guitar that i am so dearly in love with and then i am going to workshop a panda costume that i can wear to work tomorrow

im going to buy that guitar today

[aljusandres]

#cleaningmoments #withcare #1stdslr its a #sonya58 #streetartphotography score 85% #cametadecision.com a #20mpsensor #yearmodel april 2013 #imagestabilization large aps-c 23.2x15.4 #sensor specially #smallbody a large body will receive too much attention from the #people on street and it will make it harder to #capture a #naturalscene Yup an old model but still for me #bestcamera @contrapeloaandres #epidemiclife21 #documentaries https://www.instagram.com/p/CR38gTiq7BU/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gusgusinthecity]

i hate how this angle makes me look like a bobble head 😒 #bighead #smallbody #musclearms #youjealous? . . . . . . #gusgusinthecity #frenchie #puffervest #fallplaid #instafrenchie #thatsgoodhousekeeping #draperjames #slpets #ellenratemydog #frenchiepsl #fallpups1 #todayfanphoto #frenchiephotos #rspets #petoftheday #dogsofbark #pupflix #fortheloveofpets #pawz (at My Big Head) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZC7LzlcwI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=74dkjirvjbb3

[heymountaingirl]

Nico ronca... como camionero. Anoche estaba durmiendo y siento ese ronquido fuertazo y dije "que fregado Nate que no me deja dormir" y cuando lo pateo me doy cuenta que no estaba en la cama, de pronto abro los ojos y me doy cuenta que el pequeño cuerpo de Nicolette estaba a mi lado y era ella quien roncaba 🤣🤣🤣 me he quedado sorprendida. Feliz sábado a ustedes y a sus "camioneros" en casa 💋💋💋 . . . #HeyMountainGirl #shesnores #likeatruckdriver #amazing #smallbody #loudnoise #soloud #iloveyouanyways #iblamemyhusband #roncando #roncafuerte #increible #pequeñocuerpo #tremendabulla #teamoigual #muyfuerte

[marclawrenceph]

Red Riding Hood. #toyotacorolla #smallbody #wagonface #sedan

[arundineart]

#statua #sculpture #italy #italia #naples #napoli #castello #castle #maschioangioino #art #arts #blackandwhite #smile #boy #smallbody #body #bones #girl #poor #instagirl #instago #instagram #instagood #insta #likeforlike #autumn #fruit #piazzadelplebiscito #vino #uva