Originally Posted by
sbart95
Fault diagnosis? Spares? Manpower? And a Land Rover?!
Thanks for picking up the gauntlet sbart.
My scenario was around an aircraft arriving for Scheduled Maintenance, which generally requires a purely diagnostic gound-run to establish pre-inspection parameters and latent defects, rather than to recify a specific snag and return the aircraft to service, but I think the principle applies to many situations. In general, the most quickest and most efficient way of moving an aeoplane is under it's own power, and if the "driver" is also a technician, then the possibility of fault diagnosis becomes viable.
You mention manpower; taxying requires an operator and 5 minutes of a despatch crew's time. Towing; a minimum of driver, brakeman and supervisor. Add to which, it is a fact of aviation law that an aircraft under tow has priority over an aircraft moving under it's own power, so that's an advantage? Wrong; we all know that Ground Movements Control will move heaven and earth to get taxying aircraft on and off the taxiways before they permit a slow towing operation to begin it's journey.
Land Rover? Showing my heritage, admitedly late 90's. What's the standard sqn grouncrew runaround now; some kind of hybrid SUV I guess ......