Careless Linemen

On Sun, 28 May 2006 12:31:31 -0700, Bob Fry wrote:

Because, Martin, in Europe even the lowest paid employee gets health
coverage, vacation, probably a decent wage, etc.

well, don't put whole Europe in one pot. Many countries here have squat,
too (like you call it). Even in the old countries there are more and more
people working on 2 jobs, govt paying less but taxing more, you get the
picture.

Here they get squat. That is American slang for little to nothing.

On overnight cross-country trips I tip the person who drives the car
to pick me up at the airport and takes me to the motel. Why? Because
maybe that way they'll be happy to get a call from some lone pilot
needing a ride into town, instead of ignoring the call.

I see no problem here. It is a way to say "hey, thanks for coming out,
appreciate!"

General aviation has few friends in this country. A few bucks spread
around doesn't cost me anything in relation to flying costs, and may
generate a few more friends of small planes.

#m
--
Did you ever realize how much text fits in eighty columns? If you now consider
that a signature usually consists of up to four lines, this gives you enough
space to spread a tremendous amount of information with your messages. So seize
this opportunity and don't waste your signature with bull**** nobody will read.

On Fri, 26 May 2006 21:26:15 -0700, Bob Fry
wrote:

And for the lineguys that fill the tanks properly...how 'bout a nice
tip? This topic came up a while ago, but I always try to remember to
tip them. As others have pointed out, their wage is lousy and a buck
or two doesn't hurt us pilots and is much appreciated by them.

I agree with you Bob. I tip the line guys all the time. As a
corporate pilot, I have found that tipping the line guys gets me
excellent service well beyond the standard toping off the tanks. At
the airports I frequent regularly, the guys will have ice, water and
whatever else already at my plane waiting even if I didn't ask for it.
They allow my boss's car to stay inside the gated area of the airport
when we leave and when we get back, not only is it washed on the
outside, which I see a lot of FBO's provide this service, but they
have also detailed the inside of it as well. When we land, they
usually have his car and a cart sitting beside the plane before I
hardly get a chance to shut it down and I don't even call on UNICOM to
let them know I am coming. The boss likes this and it makes me look
good to, because he knows that I am taking care of him which I feel
provides me with a little more job security.

Scott D.

take out the obvious to email me

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...
How do the rest of you deal with careless linemen? The kind who scratch
your airplane or chip the paint

At a local FBO a couple of weeks ago, a lineperson towed a Katana into a
DA40, damaging the latter and just about destroying the former (it tilted
onto its nose, which was then crushed). Kinda makes you feel grateful to
have just a couple of scratches.

--Gary

Kyle Boatright wrote:
How do the rest of you deal with careless linemen? The kind who scratch
your airplane or chip the paint because they are either careless or have not
been properly trained on how to avoid damaging aircraft when refueling 'em.

By the time I grabbed those things, the lineman had already filled the left
tank, and there was a brand spankin' new paint chip near the fuel filler on
the tank.

I feel your pain. Also on some aircraft there are baffles just inside
the tank that can be damaged if a fuel nozzle is put in too far inside
the tank. I know from experiece that there can be a tendency to put the
nozzle in farther (below the top of the liquid) to prevent fuel drops
from splashing back out of the tank. The solution is to hold the nozzle
at a 45 degree angle and never put it in farther than you can see.
Because avgas damages skin and is full of poisons that get absorbed
like tetraethyl lead and benzene, I try avoid letting it touch me at all
costs.

I realize that line service isn't a high paid job but proper fueling is
a simple thing to learn and the FBO should be teaching its employees,
new and old about it. If they don't know how to fill a tank without
scratching the paint, do they know that turbocharged aircraft need the
blue juice and not Jet A? It would be worth mentioning to the
management or even filling out a comment card.

I use a club aircraft and we have our own pump so I'm used to doing it
myself. But if I am elsewhere and someone else is going to be doing it,
I always want to be there to supervise the operation and make sure
quality control is just as good

If you have bladder tank, it can have a hole punched in the
bladder when the nozzle is inserted too far. The proper
method is to have the hose over your back and the weight is
supported by the shoulder. The nozzle should not be more
than 2 inches inside the filler, but the nozzle should make
electrical contact with the tank and a ground wire should be
connected from the truck to the airplane and to the ground.
Also, a protective mat should be place around the filler to
prevent accidental damage.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
...
| How do the rest of you deal with careless linemen? The
kind who scratch
| your airplane or chip the paint because they are either
careless or have not
| been properly trained on how to avoid damaging aircraft
when refueling 'em.
|
| Case in point - this afternoon I stopped by the airport to
prep for a trip
| to the beach tomorrow. I grabbed a couple of maps and the
handheld gps from
| the airplane while the lineman was getting ready to fuel
the airplane. By
| the time I grabbed those things, the lineman had already
filled the left
| tank, and there was a brand spankin' new paint chip near
the fuel filler on
| the tank. How do I know it was brand new? Because I'd
just wiped off a nice
| collection of bugs from the airplane, and it wasn't
chipped then... Anyway,
| I eased over to see how he was coming with the other tank,
and he had the
| entire 10" long nozzle in the right tank and was using a
notch in the fuel
| nozzle's handle to catch the edge of the fuel filler neck
to provide a
| mechanical stop.
|
| I say "hey, let me show you something" and show him that
the sharp corner of
| the casting is resting on the fuel filler. He pulls the
nozzle out of the
| tank, and there is a noticable mark on the paint where he
was resting the
| nozzle. He said he didn't realize he was doing that. I
didn't point out
| the new chip on the other wing, which I speculate was
caused by either the
| same technique, or the other technique I've seen many
times, where the
| lineman puts the nozzle into the tank at a 45 degree
angle, and the weight
| of the nozzle rests on the painted edge of the fuel
filler.
|
| This is my home airport, and the guy was nice enough, so I
didn't make an
| issue out of it, but it is really frustrating to have
avoidable dings and
| chips on your airplane when it costs $5k or $10k to have
the thing
| repainted...
|
| BTW, self serve is not an option at my home field, which
is why I usually go
| elsewhere for fuel. That and the high prices that are
caused by having to
| pay the "fuel truck guy" to hang around the airport all
day long when there
| really isn't much fuel being sold...
|
| Also, now that I'm giving this more thought, I need to see
if the guy dented
| the bottom of my fuel tanks by sticking the nozzle so far
in there...
| Sheesh...
|
|
|
|
|