PSU - Part2

Conflict rises today. Again, it is Mechanical vs Avionics again. Sweat =.=" Yesterday, as I mentioned before, I was servicing all the PSUs for current MAS's B737-400, then today, I am supposed to install all of them up. The installation process isn't that hard, except there are a few safety precautions that need to be taken into account. The most important to bear in mind, the safety release pin for the Chemical Oxygen Generator need to be removed carefully to prevent inadvertence operation of the Oxygen Generator Unit. If you ter-pull the Release Pin, well, I can say you are in deep shit! Why? The whole PSU will be considered AOG (Aircraft On Ground), meaning, the whole unit will be suspended from to be installed on aircraft, resulting another day delay to release the aircraft into service. Beside that, due to sudden release of compressed oxygen, there will be drastic increase of temperature, which may cause injury to maintenance crews in case of skin contact with the Oxygen Generator Unit. It damn hot, ya ... Back to business. When I was installing them inside the cabin, suddenly I was told to stop doing it. Why? Thanks to the A&C (Airframe & Engine) maintenance crews. They were pushed and rushed by the foreman@boss to finish their incomplete tasks. They will have to install the fore and aft cabin floor boards by hook or by crook before 430pm! Fine! Just because they need to do sealing on the floor boards after installation, we were not allowed to mingle around inside the cabin. wtf ... Sealing the floor boards with Silicone Sealant especially at the galley and lavotary compartment is quite vital to prevent water congestion and then leaks to the aircraft structure which leads to corrosion later. Okey, I understand. No choice, we, the Avionics, will have to give way to those "grease monkeys"! That's parts and puzzles in aviation where Avionics and Mechanicals have to give and take among each other, compromise and co-operate among ourselves. Our main objective by the end of day is none either to ensure the airworthiness of the aircraft before it is released to service. ** Yeah, clap hand clap hand :)**

In the end, I ended up the whole afternoon ... doing nothing. I thought, they could have done it earlier before 430pm so I can do my part, but then ... Not what I wish for. Low productivity for me today. Not a healthy indication. I am under-load. Good news, in the end, the installation of floor boards with sealing were completed by 430pm. Yeah... (",) Anyway, I hope tomorrow, I could finish the installation of PSUs as soon as possible. According to briefing this morning also, this B737-400 is expected to be serviceable for test-flight on Friday. Only 3 more days for all of us to complete whatever tasks that need to be done. Hurry up ...

Hope for more productive input tomorrow,
ChEeRs,
KeithK :)

Servicing of PSU

Oxygen. What is Oxygen means to you? Hmmm ... The air we breathe in everyday? Or two Oxygen atoms combine to form an Oxygen molecule? Whatever it is, we all know what Oxygen is ever since we had learned them in school bench. Today is Monday. Not an ordinary Monday, but it is Monday's blues. Everyone is moving slow, things have just got warmed up. I was attached to Hangar Production Line 6 this week, doing maintenance on our own aircraft, the reliable B737-400. Just to update you all, in my last post, I mentioned about the MAS's A330 in Line 5. Well, this morning, the local press was here to cover the news, taking photos and writing reports. Guess what, I managed to sneak in and saw a group of stewardess posing in the business class cabin while cameras were flashing everywhere. **Blink blink (o.o) ** Some of my friends were otherwise, they were chased out by the security guards. Haha :) It wasn't that I curi-curi entered the cabin, but I have to help Mr Low, an Avionics LAE inside the cockpit with the FCMC Test. Lolz. Then, during lunch break, this A330 went out for Engine Ground Run. By right, this aircraft should be released into service by today, but, due to unforeseen circumstances, it will need to hold back. Most probably, tomorrow, cause I heard some other aircraft is queuing to enter Line 5 for maintenance as well. Ok, back to Line 6. Wondering why I start this post with Oxygen? My first task in Line 6 today is all concerning about Oxygen. I was given the task to carry out general inspection and cleaning of the Overhead Passenger Service Unit (PSU). In brief, PSU is located above your passenger seat in the cabin. On the a single PSU, it consists of different components such as, Reading Lamps, Cabin Attendant Call button, Air Con Mufflers, and Oxygen Masks. This task is quite bored, no doubt, after all is a repetitive task, imagine doing the same thing for all the PSUs. Sweat!=.=" Not too bad it is just B737, I couldn't take it if it was a B747's PSUs. **Keith thanks GOD!** At first, I thought through this cleaning and inspection jobs, I will not be able to learn much, but experience proves me wrong. I actually learn to appreciate the theories that I have learned in class and then figure it out how this PSU operates. Of cause, without, the guidance and explanation from the seniors, it is impossible for me to understand the operation in depth. Thanks, especially to Abg Rajan.

This picture isn't the PSU that I did in Line 5.
I found it when go yahoo-ing ...

ChEeRs ...
KeithK :)

Avionics ...

Dear Journals ...

I have not been chatting with you lately. My apology to you. Over the past week, I have been working till almost 7oopm daily from as early as 745am ever since I am still attached to M A S Complex A Hangar to do my On-Job-Training (OJT) Currently, I am assigned to Hangar Production Line 5, maintaining our own M A S aircraft, Airbus 330. This aircraft is doing C Extended Check and is scheduled to release into service by next Monday. I recalled the first day I was here, I looked like a dummy, looking so blur in my face =.=" One of the funny moment was I was asked to sit down and played SuduKo. OMG! I was shocked to hear that. Great! However, as time goes by, I realised my responsible as a Trainee here. My objective here is to learn at least one new knowledge every day from the LAEs to fill up my Work Schedule. So far, I am enjoying the time I am in Line 5 as I got the chances to follow the Engineers to do their tasks, particularly regarding Avionics thread as I am trained to be an Avionic Engineer as well. Hmmm, so much to see and learn as this is my first time working on life aircraft on Avionics thread; thus far, I am only assigned to Workshops which only carry out maintenance on aircraft's parts and components. Working in Line is much more complicated and challenging as most of the time we are doing tests and trouble-shooting for every single aircraft's systems. Today, I got a chance to hand-on in the trouble-shooting of the aircraft's system, the Fuel Control Management Computer (FCMC). In brief, this computer will control and manage the fuel during aircraft operation; eg: calculating the fuel quantity, controlling the amount of fuel to engines for combustion and so on. Then, I have changed the CRT screen for Engine Warning Display at the Center Indicators Pedestral. Credits to all the LAEs who have taught me a little here and there, especially, Mr Low, Mr Poh, Mr Fajar, Mr Farid, and Abg Asyraf. Thanks so much!

For your information, this MAS's A330 is undergoing Cabin Refurbishment Modification, mainly the installation of LCD Monitor for the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) Furthermore, all the passenger seats cushions will be changed as well. No more the typical blue color 'batik' pattern but it will be 'warna-warni' Malaysian colours of red, blue, green, yellow and orange. Woooo ... Tomorrow, local press will make a visit to this A330 to cover its full-detailed story through a briefing from our MD, Mr Id r i s Ja la. Make sure you pay attention to the newspapers to catch up with the new image of MAS A330.

To sum up, let's view some cute pictures I got from a forwarded e-mail. Quite interesting, so I thought it will be a waste if I keep it for myself. Here you go ...

Cute little chair!
This is my favourite picture of all of them ...

Let's the music heals your soul ...
Definitely, this baby has a peace of mind ...

My best pal ...
Sleep tight, sweet dreams.
How's about GoodNight?

The baby must be saying,"Oh My GOd!!"
Cute ... Cute!

Oouch ...!
Haha :)
Remember the olden days in primary school
where you used to queue up
to have BCG Injection?
See his friends who laugh behind?
Were you like that too last time?

Sweet Memories is priceless.
They can't be traded neither with cash nor by gold.
A picture worth a thousand words!
With love,
KeithK

ManUtd The Champions!

UEFA Champions League on display
before the final in Moscow
This year, the trophy is heading to
Manchester United's cabinet
after 9 years of absence since the
memorable 1999 United's Treble

Christiano Ronaldo scored with accurate header
right into Chelsea's net
to put United in front after 26 minutes
into the first half.
However, Chelsea were back into contention when
Frank Lampard equalised in the 45 minutes
to level the scoreline at 1-1 deadlock.

Champion again!
ManUtd lifted the UEFA Champions League Trophy
last night in Luzhniki Stadium after
edging arch-rival, Chelsea by penalty 6 to 5,
after both teams had drew 1-1
in the 120 minutes fight inclusive of the extra time.

Glory ManUtd ... Glory!

Avionics vs Mechanical

Remember the previous A330 Air Berlin that I have been working on? It had left last Friday, and now, come another one. This A330 Air Berlin came into hangar on last Sunday for C Checks. Since I am attached to Seat Bays Workshop, we all need to do carry out maintenance and repair for all the business and economy class passenger seats. First, we start off with taking out all the seats covers, one by one, guess how much is the amount? The total ... is 295!! Gosh. Luckily, it wasn't a B747, otherwise the amount would be double of this. Haha :) All these we did them in 30 minutes. Yup, all of them. < Keith smiles cunningly ;) > Wait, don't get me wrong. I mean we took 30 minutes to remove seat belts only. Haha ... Plenty of tasks to do, such as, remove seats covers, seat belts, ash trays and etc. It seems to be repetitive tasks, soon I got bored. Hmmm ... Lunch time, I went down to floor to observe the process of overhauling an A330 Pratt and Writtney (PW 4618) Engine 1 down from the pylon. Can you believe that the A330 engine is attached to the pylon by using 8 bolts only? 4 on the front, 2 left and 2 right, the same arrangement goes to the aft side. This is the wonder of Engineering! This is quite a complicated process, especially if you have phobia for height, after all you need to climb onto the scaffold, about few feet tall to gain access to the engine. You need to align the engine properly with the engine before you can pull down the engine too. Altogether, it need around 10 maintenance crews to do it. Estimated time of completion is half day or more. Wow, definitely, a challenging one for a Mechanical LAEs. I saw the tension on their faces as they gave instruction to their team members. Scary! Serious! Careful!

A330's PW Engine

Apparently, the forward cargo and aft cargo door were opened. I had a chance to sneak into the cargo compartment to have a look. It was huge! Really huge! I took a closer look at the aircraft's waste tanks too. There were two of them, located back at the aft cargo compartment. Inside here, at your right side, you can see the Black Box or Flight Data Recorder. Have you ever thought what is the color of Black Box? Most people will say it is black in colour. So, what do you think? Hehe :)

In aviation, there is always a debate between avionics and mechanical, even in my college. Most of time, people are concerned on which thread is more vital / important? They would say without Mechanical ( control surface, engines, hydraulic, just to name a few), it is impossible for an aircraft to fly? Okey, I, as an Avionics will reply, so without all the switches in the cockpit, how are you going to start the operation of each systems? Then, without, all the instruments and Navigation Display, how are you sure you are heading the correct destination? Don't tell me you are flying to Antarctica instead of heading towards Paris. What an unreliable flight! ~ Phew ... ~ Conclusion, there is still no clear cut answer on this topic. It is still arguable that both threads equally has their own points. No doubt about that.

Dear Readers,
Any opinion from you?

ChEeRs
(",)
KeithK

100th Post - Champion again!

This is supposed to be my 100th post, I should be writing a lot about The Journals, but today, I am just in the mood of writing. Last night, I didn't sleep quite well, staying up late in the midnight, thanks to a cup of teh tarik! Sigh =.=" . My eyes were as bright as an owl, I didn't recall what time I feel asleep. Gosh ... Good news last night, Manchester United won the EPL title back to back in two season, with total of 87 points after defeating Wigan Athletic at JJB Stadium by a scoreline 2-0. Wow ... This is Sir Alex's 10th EPL Trophy under his two over decades' regimes. Amazing records I would say. Christiano Ronaldo won the Golden Boot for being the top scorer this season with 41 goals; he also won the Player of Year Award as well as Goal of The Season Award. He really ends this season on high note. What a way to go ...

Manchester United lifts th EPL trophy,
after gunning down Wigan with a 2-0 scoreline
while Chelsea had just only managed
to draw with Bolton at 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Christiano Ronaldo is receiving the
Player of The Year Award
from his coach, Sir Alex Ferguson

No more English Premiership Football until August, as the season draws to a close to give way for Euro 2008 Austria & Switzerland. This morning, I was working in Seat Bay at Hangar 4. Sigh. I <sux> in using ratchet ... OMG! It took me minutes to untighten screws, although most of them could just untighten them in split seconds. Wen Jie screwed me up. F***! However, I must have thanked him after that, eventually he taught me the proper way to use ratchet... Definitely, I need to brush up my technical skill from now on. I wander do Avionics will require a lot of usage of ratchet ... OooooHhhh!!

Work, work Keith ...
ChEeRs!
:)

My Inspirational Mum

Myspace Mothers Day Comments

Dear Readers,

Remember to wish your Mum,
"Happy Wonderful Mother's Day!"

With Love,
KeithK

Engine Ground Run

Do you know LAEs can be pilots too? That's what happen when LAEs are required to perform Engine Ground Run (EGR). It is compulsory for all aircrafts to do EGR after the aircraft has completed Engines Overhaul, particularly after Heavy Maintenance Review (HMV). Today, I am stationed to Seat Bay Workshop at Line 5, carrying out HMV on Air BeRLiN A330. In the morning, the task I did was quite boring, repairing back seat cushions for economy class. What we did were identifying the torn cushions and then sticked them together with plastics adhesives. Guess what, the smell of the adhesive is strong enough to get you high in the sky, exactly like the smell of the yellow color glue the mechanic uses when he fixes you car's tyre, remember? There were hundreds of seats needed to be repaired, once they were all done, we sent them back into the aircraft for installation. Time flashed, lunch break put a halt to our task in cabin. Oh yeah, time to eat! Let's go ... As I was walking to canteen, I saw the notice board wrote, " Daily Task - EGR 8/05/2008 (1230hrs)" Deep in my heart, I whispered, "Ooh, is now right?" Wow, really hope I can join the EGR too with the LAEs. With collected courage in my fists, I approached the LAEs and asked for permission to follow them for EGR. They agreed. Woooo ... What an opportunity! I rather skipped my lunch for it , yes I did. Haha :) Entered the cockpit, from the towing of aircraft out from the hangar to EGR process, I was involved there. The purpose of EGR is to run the engine up to operating rpm and to pressurize the fuel and oil lines so that leakages can be detected. Any abnormalities with the engines operation can also be detected furing EGR. 4 LAEs participated in EGR, 2 Mechanical and 2 Avionics LAEs. In shortest words, this is how EGR is performed:

Start APU power
Tow aircraft out of hangar
Test the Engine Fire/Overheat System
Apply Parking Brake and insert Wheels Chokes
Inspect for Foreign Object Damage around aircraft
Switch ON Hydraulic Power
Contact Control Tower to request permission for EGR
Start Engine 1
Start Engine 2
Observe Fuel Flow, Engine Gas Temperature (EGT), N1 and N2 rpm
Increase throttle to about 80% maximun

A330

A330 Cockpit

Basically, that's what we did for EGR. After throttles had been pushed to 80% max, they were then pulled back to idle power, subsequently to OFF mode; save fuel and prevent pollution! By 80% max. power, you can feel the whole aircraft is shaking and rocking hard. Pretty exciting as if sitting on O sim massage chair. Hehe ;) Usually, some subtasks are done also during EGR, for instance the testing of Weather Radar System. This task is quite dangerous, as radioactive Gama Rays is shot from aircraft radome Weather Radar. Ok, my advice to men, " If you don't to celebrate Father's Day again, try standing in front of the aircraft radome!" Don't you dare? At the same time, we also tested the VOR system, Water & Waste system, ATC system and TCAS system. For avionics side, life has been made simple since A330 is a fly-by-wire aircraft. What an avionic LAE need to do is just select the test on a particular system on Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) and automatically the test is run to detect any defects. The results can be printed out by CMC for further trouble-shooting. It is just so much fun to learn new knowledge and gain valuable experience from all these LAEs. Simply irresistible!

There was a funny but memorable event that occurred during the EGR. When the aircraft has completed all the tests outside the hangar, supposedly the aircraft must be towed back into the hangar again. Surprisingly, the tow-tug cannot be started. Ooh, we ended up lepak-ing inside the cockpit for about an hour. The tow-tug can finally put alive by 'jumping start' with the Ground Power Unit. This time, the tow-tug was unable to move the aircraft even for an inch. Reason; the tow-tug has insufficient power to tow aircraft into hangar. No choice, we had to wait for another tow-tug from Hangar 4 which has been used to tow a MAS B747 out for refueling. The great thing was, I got to climb down through the Avionics Bay Compartment (Picture3) to leave the aircraft from under the front of the nose landing gear. Really ha, a series of up and down! Finally, it was a 'more powerful' tow-tug towing a 'less powerful' tow-tug with A330 on behind. Wooww ...

Come to think about it, I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to join the EGR. Not everyone has the chance like this. Thank you, God! The LAEs are very friendly and willing to teach me, credits go to Mr Chin, Mr Yaw, Mr Sulaiman, Mr Zaini and Mr Abd Kadir. It is so much worth to skip my lunch, in return I have learned about EGR. Yeah ...

p/s: *Latest update, Air Berlin A330 had undergone test flights on that particularly. By 9/05/2008 (Friday), Air Berlin will be flying back to Germany. Bon Voyage, Air Berlin. See you again ...!

More to come, Keith!
ChEeRs :)
God bless ...

Big Great Deal ...

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has shown its intention to maintain the highest priority in domestic markets by launching the "Everyday Lowest Fares" campaign on Monday. The MD, MR Idris Jala, was there to officiate the scheme which aimed to provide higher quality and standards of air-flight service extensively with improvise improvement in the 5 Stars Airliners. Lowest fares, as low as 100% discounts for all domestic destinations with 30% of seats in each flight are offered for booking from now on at Malaysia Airlines website; estimating to be around 1,000 000 seats are up to grab. What are you waiting for? Start flying with MAS, 5 Stars Services with 5 Stars Airline at lowest price. Wow, this is going to be the biggest deal you will ever had! Go online and make your bookings here.

ChEeRs
Bravo MAS!
Aim High and Soar High ...

Safety above all ... !

This will be my second week in Galley/Lavotary Workshop. Parts and components have been fixed on the Galley and Lavatory Modules one by one, pieces by pieces. The deadline of completion for MAS B747-400 was supposed to be today, but things were far from completion. This morning, I had a difficult time to fabricate a new "Kick Part"; I don't know why it is named in such a way, my seniors used to call that. Anyway, "Kick Part" is a high quality plastic-made side panel that is fixed at the bottom side of a galley module. It's function is mainly for protection against water moisture around galley, apart form furnishing as it is used behind aircraft interior carpet. Well, it took me the whole day to complete ONE "Kick Part" only, I did thrice but none of its satisfy the requirements ( either it was out of dimension, or inaccurate patching) Sweat =.=" Luckily, the 'abang' was patient enough to teach me, no doubt I had bugged him whole day. "Sorry abang!" Haha :) Ask you a question, how you define "SAFETY"? Well, in aviation, SAFETY means absence of hazards. Humans sometimes take SAFETY for granted, one of the good example is ME! My friend was cutting this plastic material by using a Pneumatic Cutting Wheel, I was beside him. Suddenly, this plastic swarfs flew and hit my left eye. Ouch ... Tears were dripping down my eye, I rushed to nearby washroom and washed it throughly with free flowing water. Gosh, only GOD knows the pain! Lesson: I should have worn a safety goggle whenever doing the cutting. Obviously, we have learned about Industry Safety and passed the exams, but sometimes putting the theories into practice isn't as easy as you wanna be. Human nature, I guess ... I was totally freak out, that afternoon, after lunch, I went back to college and borrowed a Safety Goggle before I proceeded to work. What a lesson! By 430pm, I only managed to complete a set of "Kick Part", credits must be given to Wen Jie for lending me a helpful hand. Another interesting fact about lavotary again. In B747 Lavotary, there are 2 Cabin Attendance Buttons Call, one with a male symbol on it, another with a female symbol on it. Do you know why? In case of you needing any assistance when you were doing your business inside the loo, you can actually opt for a steward or stewardess to attend to you. Haha :) Okey, my apology, this is not TRUE! It was only my opinion solely, nothing to do with aircraft systems. Honestly, I also don't understand why they need 2 buttons, a 'male' and 'female' button even though their function is the same. I asked the a technician there, he said,"It is accordingly to the requirements in aviation legislation as per the Component Overhaul Manual" I was liked, "HA?" ("0) Weird isn't it ...?

Worth 3 Points!!

Friday; Beside being the fifth day of the week, it is a day where everything goes slow, school will have a weekend break for both students and teachers to replenish their energy after a busy schedule, and it applies to me as well in my working environment. This morning, there was not much tasks to do, due to many components were unready for installation. Very bored, I had just done few tasks for the whole day, from 8am - 430pm. Damn! We will have 2 hours lunch break since the Muslims will be going for Friday prayers in the mosque. More time for lunch, no rush ... Haha :) Better for digestion ho? My colleagues and I went out for lunch in Taman Cempaka. A brief history about Taman Cempaka; Well, according to Wen Jie, Taman Cempaka is the oldest place in PJ, it has been established since the Malayan days. To my horror, Taman Cempaka used to be 'sarang tikus' during the curfew period in 1950-an. All the buildings here are quite old and dull; definitely reflects back the times where bullets were flying in the air, blood was dripping down the river, corpses lying motionlessly on the ground. Hehe :) Just for laugh! Next, we headed to SS2 for drinks in Yippee Cup. This shop is well known for its bubble pearl flavor tea. One word, TASTY! After lunch, back to business, we went back to work. Sigh, with all the food full in your stomach, how nice if you could lay back and have a nap in air-con room, right? Human nature?! After 430pm, it is time for ... BASKETBALL! Ewweehh ... Damniel, wEn jIe and I played in Complex A Basketball Court. Weather was hot, but it didn't soar our skin at all. Oouch! My achievement today; I got a 3pointer shot which eventually made wEn jIe to support ManUtd after this. Never I thought I could get a 3pointer, I must admit this is my first 3pointer in my entire life. Shame! Ok, I know I suck in basketball, I have only picked up basketball seriously when I met my friends here. Both of them can easily do this ... OMG!

Comparing myself to them, what am I? I am only a piece of cake for them ... Okey, never mind ...
Wen Jie bet with me, that if I could get a 3pointer shot, he will be wearing ManUtd's fan jersey from now on. Well, he has no choice, Damniel and I are die-hard ManUtd fans. "Dont you try to deny it , wEn jIe!"

Wednesday's morning, ManUtd booked a slot in the UeFa Champions Leagues Final after edging Barcelona with one and only goal from the Paul Scholes, thus setting an all English final with Chelsea FC on the 21st May in Moscow. Oh yes, it has been 9 years since ManUtd last lifted the UeFa Champions Leagues trophy, and now they are going all out to record another history.

Paul Scholes scored a sensational shocking thunderbolt beating
Victor Valdest to put United through to the Final in Moscow

"Moscow, here we come!"

Glory ManUtd, Glory!
:)