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The
Discovery
January 1964, as a young
sargeant mechanics, just graduated from the
French Air Army apprentice program, I report
to the BA107 Villacoublay airbase, in the
neighbourhood of Versailles. For some
reason I can't remember, I am not expected
and there is no bedroom assigned to me. No
matter, they give me one of the (individual)arrest
cells for the night, but thanks God, do not
apply the punishment protocol.
During the next days, I learn to know my
new unit, GRERALA 0037 which will later
become GERMAS 17/107, but before all, I
discover those aircrafts I will have to
work on : the T-28
"FENNEC".
These planes just come back from Algeria
(1962) where, in 1960, they replaced the
aging T-6 Harvard, providing observation
and ground forces support missions. Now, they
are based on a few mixed (civilian/military)
airfields in Lille, Rennes, Lyon,
Bordeaux, and of course Villacoublay,
and are used for training and
maintenance flights for reservist pilots.
As mechanics, we have two missions :
1- Provide the daily
maintenance and flight
preparation for the reservist
pilots
2- But we also provide 50 and
100 hours maintenance for the
whole french T-28 fleet.
Here is an overview of that
second mission.
It starts with an extensive
cleaning in order to give us
the best possibility to
detect any defect in the
frame and all other
components (cracks and
rust being the major ones).
Then follows a ground test
to check the 1425Hp engine
performance and also to
enhance possible leaks on
the engine and on the
various liquid circuits (engine
oil, fuel, hydraulic oil)
As a next step,we
bring the T-28 in the workshop where, for the two next weeks we will execute
all the cheks and settings required by the maintenance book : oil change, engine
valve rockers settings, firing magnetos settings,
cylinders pressure test, replacemant of bad cylinders, flight control cables
settings, hydraulic circuits tests and so on...
And it's only when this is over
that the fun part of the job
begins !
It is evident that the
machine will not be flown
back to its squadron without
an ultimate check. That's why
the procedure requires a
test flight during which the
mechanics reads the check
list to the pilot and
records the results.
# 110
ready for takeoff
Some of us do not like to
fly (all shipmen do not like
to swim), we are only four
to volunteer for those
flights which gives me the
opportunity to make 20 of
them in aone year period.
My prefered ones occur when one
or more engine cylinders, or the
propeller have been replaced.
After a cylinder replacement, we
have to fly for one hour
at 700ft AGL keeping he runway in
sight, just in case the new (remanufactured)
cylinder would seize. Pilots
do not like those flights and
generally let the mechanics handle the stick while they
read a book and smoke a
cigarette or a pipe. (see note
at the bottom of page)
After a propeller replacement,
we have to test the operation of
the propeller rpm regulator
which involves some aerobatics.
What a pleasure ! During one of
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