On ground too, it takes a lot to keep a plane fit and ready to fly
NEW DELHI: Aircraft are designed to fly. Which is why, when they are grounded for weeks together, different parts of the flying machines start whining.
The workload goes up, especially for the undercarriage that rests on wheels. When life was normal, an A320 aircraft for instance would be at work 14-15 hours a day, flying passengers to domestic destinations. But after the coronavirus rendered it temporarily jobless, its tyres were suddenly left to bear—24/7—the over-75,000kg that the behemoth weighs.
If parked in one position for days together, tyres tend to develop a flat spot. “To avoid that, the aircraft should be moved every three days. Towing tractors move them forward and backward in order to rotate the tyres so that a different point is left in contact with the ground,’’ said a senior Air India aircraft maintenance engineer requesting anonymity.
