"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

In 1983 the company I worked for received a contract to design and build
a vacuum coating system to deposit thin film strain gauges and
thermocouples (temperature monitoring instrumentation) on the fan blades
used on Pratt and Whitney jet engines. When the system was delivered to
Florida (ironically only about 15 miles from where we had a house down
there a many years later) I went down to supervise the start-up and
commissioning of the system.

I got a tour of the P&W's facility. One room was particularly
interesting. About 20 people sat at workstations, holding and gently
feeling the fan blades that are part of the compression stage of a jet
engine. The engineer who was giving me the tour explained that all the
people in the room were blind. They were using their extraordinary sense
of "feel" to inspect the cast and machined blades for any irregularities
because a minor defect could lead to a catastrophic engine failure.

Eisboch


That really makes me want to fly. Not. I used to love it, but I have
issues with companies that always seem to be in chapter 11 or some other
state of malaise, like labor problems. I compare this to what I see my
obsessive-compulsive car mechanic does, and it makes me say no thanks.


Well, just remember, that was in 1983 .... 24 years ago. Now-a-days with
sighted inspectors, I am sure the quality control has gone downhill.

Eisboch