Mech articles

Recent articles from Mech

Reader feedback.
March 22, 2009... We recently received a letter from the commanding officer of VP-8 who wanted to clarify some facts concerning our article "It's Not Running Right" in the Fall 2008, Volume 47, Edition No. 4 of Mech magazine. In the article, the photo caption and the analyst's comments suggest that VP-8...

New aircraft, new problems.
March 22, 2009... As with any new technology, new aircraft come with new problems. VFA-136 aircrew and maintenance personnel had to deal with numerous such issues during our initial months of operating new Lot 30 Super Hornets. On five occasions, aircrew heard a high-pitched whistling noise in the cockpit...

A timely "hands off!".
March 22, 2009... It was a normal day in VFA-37 Power Plants until aircraft 304 returned early from its flight. After debriefing with the pilot on the flight line about his oil-pressure-low caution, I walked to the back of the jet and found oil sprayed everywhere from door 64 left, all the way to the left...

World famous fly-off.
March 22, 2009... Troubleshooters work in a fast-paced, highly demanding, and unforgiving environment. They have to ensure every aircraft on the flightdeck is ready to launch at a moment's notice. Even the final flyoff at the end of a deployment is stressful. No one wants a jet to break, forcing personnel to...

"Probably" isn't good enough for float-coats.
March 22, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's a normal day on the flight deck. You're standing on the LSO platform when a blast of jet exhaust hits you. As you're tumbling over the side toward the water, the last thing you want to worry about is whether you did a good job on your float-coat pre-op. I...