Airport tarmac workers discover a safe way to stay cool

[eolesen]

Airport tarmac workers discover a safe way to stay cool

Aug 9, 2007 05:48 AM MST

(NBC NEWS CHANNEL) -- With temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, safety becomes a big concern for people who work outside in this dangerous heat. So American Airlines employees at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport came up with a new way to stay cool and safe.

In the middle of a Texas summer, few places are hotter and few jobs are harder.

The temperature on the tarmac often tops 100. Inside the cargo hold of a plane it's even worse. Workers who climb inside to unload bags face 125-degree heat.

Brian Rachui of American Airlines says "you're looking at heat exhaustion dehydration lots of things that could happen to those guys once they're in there."

So one of the guys who works out here had an idea. Why not hook up a hose to the the air conditioner that cools the cabin of the plane -- and run it into the belly.

The belly cooler was born.

Working with the company that makes the air conditioning hoses, American employees figured out a way to rig up a second smaller hose that funnels some of the cool air from the plane into the cargo hold.

It's a safe way to cool down.

That's why American's working to install the belly coolers at more and more gates.

A cool idea, getting a warm reception.

So far they have the belly coolers at all of the gates that handle Super 80 airplanes. The plane with the most cramped cargo hold and also the most common plane in American's fleet.

American's also talking about bringing the belly cooler to some of its other major hubs around the country.

 

[1 VF-1 2NV]

Summer is almost over. LAS could've has used it a few weeks ago. Hope they install in time for next summer. BTW, if I recall those same units can blow hot air too so maybe the COLD stations can use it too.

 

[Wretched Wrench]

This is very good news for anyone on the ramp, at least those with any hearing left. At many stations, line cargo refuses to connect the external power and conditioned air to the airplane, which means the pilot leaves the APU and ACMs running. The pilot knows the APU and ACMs should be shut off, but he is in a hurry to catch the next tram. The ramp manager, when called, does indeed call a cargo supe, but the ext power and cond air is seldom connected. The constant screech and whine of the ACMs damages everyone's hearing, with or without earmuffs. It also penetrates most of the exterior doors in terminal buildings. Nobody cares. Promises are made, letters written, etc, etc. All dead ends.

Now, if their own comfort is part of the equation, cargo might actually do their job and connect conditioned air and shut off the ACMs. At least if it is hot.

 

[Boomer]

... BTW, if I recall those same units can blow hot air too so maybe the COLD stations can use it too...

The aircraft APU/pack system discharges hot air on the 757, 767 and 777 during cold weather operations.

Figure out how to sink a couple of cam-lock receptacles into the fuselage that have a multi-fleet adapter attached to a 12" flex duct, of any length required, with a box-louvre for directional control and stability at the discharge end.

Portable heat for the bellies or outside MX work in any cold weather enviroment.

 

[777 fixer]

This is very good news for anyone on the ramp, at least those with any hearing left. At many stations, line cargo refuses to connect the external power and conditioned air to the airplane, which means the pilot leaves the APU and ACMs running. The pilot knows the APU and ACMs should be shut off, but he is in a hurry to catch the next tram. The ramp manager, when called, does indeed call a cargo supe, but the ext power and cond air is seldom connected. The constant screech and whine of the ACMs damages everyone's hearing, with or without earmuffs. It also penetrates most of the exterior doors in terminal buildings. Nobody cares. Promises are made, letters written, etc, etc. All dead ends.

Now, if their own comfort is part of the equation, cargo might actually do their job and connect conditioned air and shut off the ACMs. At least if it is hot.

Not so long ago I worked a 757 at the gate. The power was hooked up but not the AC so I hooked up the air. I went up on the aircraft about a 15 minutes latter and it was like an ice box up there.

 

[777 fixer]

deleted

 

[LGA Fleet Service]

I can't tell you how many times we'll plug an arrival in and the crew simply leaves everything running.As far as A/C units go, we're lucky to have enough people on a gate to work a turn, much less hunt down a working unit and connect it.

We have some crew chiefs who will go chase one down, but if the crew hasn't shut the APU down, whats the point? We'll call ramp and ask to have maintenance come out and shut it down, but by the time that happens the outbound is already boarding.

I won't mention maintenance running APU's all night on the gates or the hangar line.Plenty of KVA's and A/C units available at 2am...


Apathy isn't limited to the pilot or maintenance ranks.

 

[Wretched Wrench]

I can't tell you how many times we'll plug an arrival in and the crew simply leaves everything running.As far as A/C units go, we're lucky to have enough people on a gate to work a turn, much less hunt down a working unit and connect it.

We have some crew chiefs who will go chase one down, but if the crew hasn't shut the APU down, whats the point? We'll call ramp and ask to have maintenance come out and shut it down, but by the time that happens the outbound is already boarding.

I won't mention maintenance running APU's all night on the gates or the hangar line.Plenty of KVA's and A/C units available at 2am...

Your post pretty much covers it all. Lots of shortcomings at the lower level in all departments. That's what management is supposed to correct.

They don't.

It is easy to blame the guy who isn't doing his job. But, it goes beyond that. If one guy performs poorly, he is to blame. If a bunch of guys perform poorly, management is to blame. If the ship runs aground, it is the Captain's fault. Or, in Army terms, the first thing that is asked when there is a screwup is, "Who's in charge here?"

if the crew hasn't shut the APU down, whats the point? We'll call ramp and ask to have maintenance come out and shut it down.

If flight operations were called and required to send a crew member out to do what the inbound crew didn't do, I'd bet that things would change in a hurry. Right now, a crew can leave everything running, in violation of AA rules, and nothing is said. AA has good rules in place, but they are being ignored. Aside from the OSHA issues, there is fuel conservation and EPA regs on emissions. Why do you think AA spent millions on electric cargo transportation? There are emissions fines and credits in the formula here, and there could be hell to pay if the wrong people get wind of this. Well, not hell to pay, but more dollars.

Another economic consideration is that ACMs and the associated ducting have a drastically shortened service life if run on the ground due to the much higher operating temperatures. This lazy ignoring of rules and procedures are costing AA a lot of money.

 

[ramper_in_las]

Summer is almost over. LAS could've has used it a few weeks ago. Hope they install in time for next summer. BTW, if I recall those same units can blow hot air too so maybe the COLD stations can use it too.

I would seriously love to see this implemented in LAS but lets be real Clark County DOA will of course say no like they do on everything else that would benefit making our work environment a little bit more safe... :down:

 

[777 fixer]

I can't tell you how many times we'll plug an arrival in and the crew simply leaves everything running.As far as A/C units go, we're lucky to have enough people on a gate to work a turn, much less hunt down a working unit and connect it.

Don't the jet bridges at LGA have ac units already?

 

[LGA Fleet Service]

Don't the jet bridges at LGA have ac units already?

No,that would require a capital investment in the infrastructure of the company and that is unacceptable to the MBA toting consultants who are helping drive this place into the ground.

 

[upsilon]

No,that would require a capital investment in the infrastructure of the company and that is unacceptable to the MBA toting consultants who are helping drive this place into the ground.

I think you will find that it would require the NY Port Authority to make the investment in its terminal, even if AA paid for it Money would be better spent connecting the D and C concourses beyond security.

 

[eolesen]

That was my thought as well, since LGA had some of the oldest jetbridges in the system. Glass walled apron drives.... yuck. It only costs about $50K to move and re-install a jetbridge, and at one point in the past couple years, AA about a dozen jetbridges lying about the system disconnected from terminals...

 

[LGA Fleet Service]

That was my thought as well, since LGA had some of the oldest jetbridges in the system. Glass walled apron drives.... yuck. It only costs about $50K to move and re-install a jetbridge, and at one point in the past couple years, AA about a dozen jetbridges lying about the system disconnected from terminals...

We've only got one of those clunkers, D2, thing is so old it still has the original Midway logo on the pull down door.

Funny you mention a connector between C & D Upsilon, the Port is getting ready to break ground on that very thing.Gate D1 is now walled in by jersey barriers and there are a lot of Port engineering types out there on a daily basis.

All they need to do is move the D1 bridge over to D2, or at least you'd think they would, seeing as D1 is one of the newest bridges in the station.