Desert Jet Intern - Week Three
Desert Jet Intern - Thermal, CA
Week Three
6/4 - 6/8
VOR, Me, Ariana, Christina
Training in the FBO
I continued week three training with the FBO. I learned to input fuel tickets into our software and how to complete an invoice for Desert Jet records as well as customers.
I welcomed guests as they deplaned offering chilled water to help with the 104 degree weather, which everyone here says is nothing yet.
We, the interns, made a trip to the TRM VOR. This involved the golf cart, a dirt road, and some dead reckoning. If you are unfamiliar, a VOR is a radio navigation device used by pilots. They are slowly getting phased out due to newer navigation systems, thus a cool thing to visit while they are still active.
Line Service
I had the opportunity to work with the line service technicians this week. They showed me their fueling procedures, what they are looking for when they get ready to fuel (pressure readings, prist quantities, etc), and I witnessed a fuel truck monthly inspection. The guys tested the truck systems as well as fuel. Everyone was very helpful in explaining what different dials are for and why they do procedures in a specific way.
I was also taught how to use the airplane tug!
Quite an upgrade from having to manually push airplanes into hangars with a tow bar. It was slightly intimidating because I was moving multi million dollar aircraft, but also really awesome to be allowed this chance to learn in a hands on way. When it came to parking the aircraft in the hangar, I returned the controls to my 'tug instructor'.
APG Training
Ariana, Christina, and I were trained on using the APG software. This information is helpful when flight planning and trip scheduling. It is a tool to determine weight and balance, center of gravity information, fuel loading, passenger loading, performance numbers, and V speeds. Coming from a flight training environment it's a luxury to have a tool that does all the computations for you.
We then took a trip to the hangar and were taught the 'tricks' to opening the door to the Challenger 300 (it's deceivingly heavy). We sat in the flight-deck and were given a demonstration of the stick shaker and pusher.
Overview
I also worked with marketing this week creating potential customer lists and learning some basics of marketing for the business world.
I enjoyed being hands on this week. I was able to get to know more of my coworkers by getting involved with line service duties and marketing. The cordiality in this company continues to make me feel at home.
I will be absent for the next three weeks from Desert Jet to fly for Purdue University in the Air Race Classic. If you would like to follow my journey across the country, I will be updating this post with a link to my Air Race Blog!
Here is the link to the first post!
Ahh!! You are so brave to tow the aircraft with the tug. That still makes me nervous. Great pictures and fun sharing of your experiences helping multiple departments! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteTiffany:
ReplyDeleteWow what a great opportunity you have here at Desert Jet. Our CEO as you know has a fantastic track record as a pilot and business person.
When I was in college there where no internships in aviation available. The closest I got was to be introduced by my college professor to an aviation pioneer by the name of Grover Leonig. He grew up with the Wright Brothers and was instrumental in designing some things for naval aviation. My father and I during a summer break visited Grover at his home on Key Biscayne, FL right next to President Nixon’s winter White House.
Learn all you can while your here and enjoy the desert.
Tim