They've been baking in the brutal desert heat for most of this year, and you have to wonder what condition the hydraulics, electronics, and other control systems are in.

Who would fly on these now?

I hope Southwest still has the warranties in a file cabinet somewhere.

The airport at Mojave, across the Antelope Valley has quite a few aircraft stored, as well as Goodyear, AZ and Pinal Airpark, north of Tucson. Long term storage in a desert climate is preferable because corrosion is kept to a minimum. The people who prepare these aircraft for this situation take the needed precautions. Don't forget that Davis Monthan - the US Military "Boneyard" is in Tucson as well, and they often bring aircraft back into service that have been stored for years.

Some on the rise VP chose to ignore the issues that Engineering raised. He likely got a big promotion and raise for pushing the design out into production, now he has no job and his name will live in infamy.

once they are parked like this? They aren't started up and taxied down the runway, no cursory checkout?

I am by no means an A & P Mechanic, so I'll leave the specifics to those more qualified, but my understanding is that outside of a few steps in preparation, there isn't much to do to them once they are parked.

With relatively little effort, they would all start and operate properly after months of sitting, just like your car would if you parked it for ten months or a year.

The primary thing these planes are waiting for is essentially a software fix that has to be approved by not just the FAA, but all the various similar organizations worldwide. Once that happens, they will get delivered to their customers.

so what about battery maintenance?

If you just put a new battery in it!

While airliners certainly do have batteries, the engines are started using power generated by an "APU" (Auxilliary Power Unit), however most will use a ground cart to assist in starting if they are totally cold.

Again, I'm not an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, so I don't profess to have all the answers, but I don't think there are too many items needed to check off before one of those will be able to take to the skies again.

The ground cart would supply electrical power as needed and pneumatics to spin up the first engine. The next engine could be started from the first and so on such as 747s.

Last edited Wed Dec 18, 2019, 10:52 AM - Edit history (1)

As a former A&P mechanic and Quality Control Inspector I have some experience with this process.

The aircraft are parked and "pickled" meaning that engine inlets and exhausts are plugged. Pitot covers are installed, static ports sealed or covered. Doors are taped shut, windows covered and shaded lowered.

Water is removed from water tanks, toilet tanks are drained, all galleys cleaned and shut down.

Aircraft batteries are disconnected.

All engine cowlings are taped shut to ensure dust and grit and moisture entrapment is kept to a minimum.

If specified desiccant bags are placed in appropriate locations.

Tires and brakes are covered with protective e materials.

Fuel is offloaded and only a "ramp load" is left onboard.

Before the aircraft is picked it is customary to service all engine fluids and hydraulic fluids to specified levels.

Once the aircraft has been pickled it is left alone however even in a stored state routine maintenance takes place.

Typically the maintenance consists of checking tire pressures, walk around etc. Depending on the pickle program, there may be periodic startups of the APU to ensure all the batteries maintain a minimum charge etc..

One of the more mundane but time-consuming tasks is the periodic fuel sampling to ensure the water content in the fuel tanks is within acceptable levels. Too much moisture leads to all kinds of nastiness in terms of bacterial growth.

Some times the onboard Air conditioning system is run and hydraulics may be turned on to cycle flight controls and brakes. It all depends on the storage procedures specified for the aircraft.

Overnight storage vs weekly vs monthly vs long term all have different specifications also.

Long term storage in Alaska is very different to long term storage in Phoenix. Commercial vs. Cargo also has different requirements.

Just because they're not in service doesnt necessarily mean they're not being maintained.

When they're ready to go back into service there's a significant reactivation process that takes place to ensure that time limited components are still airworthy...e.g. fire extinguishers, life vests, oxygen bottles and generators etc.

Personally, I always found working picked aircraft to be a pleasure.

No rush to get aircraft "on the gate" for a revenue flight...

Many components can either deteriorate in storage or be damaged on first use after long-term storage.

Examples:
* Thousands of rubber seals (both rotary and linear) can stick to sliding surfaces, then crack or tear when first used. Evidence of damage may not surface for quite a while and could be problems such as hydraulic leaks, sticking instrument valves, etc.
* Electrolytic capacitors in electronic systems may deteriorate in storage depending on temperature. Some can lose properties if "shocked" back into service where there are high current surges.
* Life expectancy of many mechanical and electronic components may be shortened if stored in very high temperature extremes - either hot or cold. Examples: liquid crystal displays, capacitors and batteries.
* Batteries of any type may deteriorate in storage and some need to be regularly cycled. Again, evidence of loss of properties may not be immediately obvious, such as with a memory backup cell.
* Bacterial growth seems a possibility in food handling and toilet facilities.

If I was an airline taking possession of these aircraft, I would insist on:
* extremely thorough inspections and proof of performance testing of all systems with demonstration of multiple test cycles,
* extended warranty on most everything, and
* assistance with added layers of liability insurance.

KY.........

It was a real pain in the ass getting the fleets back in the air. Most aircraft landed at and were parked at the nearest airport.

Took weeks to get the aircraft back in service.

I don't think anyone trusts Boeing or these planes. Months to fix a glich...well it was more than that as we now see.

They'll get up and running eventually, or the taxpayers will have to bail Boeing out.

An arid flat tumbleweed of a base. Do you think the grounding is going to have a ripple effect on our economy?

As well as Wichita where the 737 fuselages are built.

But will it drag the entire US economy down?


No more than a protracted strike or shutdown at GM would do.

due to the ripple effect to all the supporting industries.

By dollar amount, Boeing is the nation’s largest exporter

If Spicejet wants that plane in the back, it'll take weeks to rearrange everything.

No kidding, eh?


Damn valet dudes!

This is tens of billions of dollars worth of aircraft (and investment) just sitting there not paying for their cost. Amazing.

Wonder if they are on google earth yet.

... when the civil war starts. Their pawns will be left behind, of course.

Ask your Trump supporting neighbor if they've got their "Project Rapture" tickets yet.

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