Soloy Aviation Solutions

First off, thought this was kind of cool
http://www.winatriptospace.co.uk/
Pretty simply, just use 250 words and say what you think is the worlds greatest patent and you can literally win a trip to space!

Ok so here is the post about my job down here and what it is I'm doing. The links take you to more information, mostly from Wikipedia to explain better.

I work for Soloy Aviation Solutions www.soloy.com Here is a picture of my work, and also the great view of Mount Rainier I can see from my window (sorry dirty lens)! They are an aerospace firm here in Olympia, Washington. We do a lot of aerospace related side projects of which one of the big ones is our engine conversions. So one of the ones I'm working on right now is taking the Cessna 206H model airplane and taking out the piston engine and replacing it with a turboprop. In this case it is the Rolls-Royce 250 B17F. So why would we do this? Basically a turboprop is more powerful allowing shorter take offs and more weight, more reliable, uses Jet Fuel instead of AvGas which is being phased out due to the lead and is quieter to meet noise restrictions over cities and national parks.

One of our other big conversions is on the AS350 aka AStar Helicopter. We replace the engine with a nice new Honeywell LTS101-700D-2 engine.

We also have a lot of other projects going on from making new parts, to airplane upgrades like our whole law enforcement accessories with a bigger observation window, and infrared camera, a swivel seat and more headroom. As well we've done some work with with Honeywell like the engine mount on the side of a Boeing 720 so they could do in air engine tests.

So what exactly am I doing? Well I've got a bunch of different projects on the go. Some of which I can't talk about due to confidentiality (sounds cool to say that). I'm working on the fuel system report for the Cessna 206 Turboprop conversion. Basically analyzing the new fuel system to make sure that it's going to always deliver fuel to the engine no matter what kind of flying you are doing. We are also trying to remake some old helicopter parts that nobody is making any more, so i've been in charge of making the drawings for these parts and now writing a report to get a PMA which is Parts Manufactured Approval from the FAA. Basically just a certification that these parts are indeed safe and will work. As well i've been doing some sheet metal drawings for some other helicopter parts and various other reports and such.

Soon we will begin flight testing the Cessna 206H which should be lots of fun and lots of work. A ton of data to sort through but hopefully i'll be getting up in the air sometimes!

Other then that life is good. Keeping busy at work and learning lots...which is why i'm here right.

So there ya go! That's what I'm up to.

Here I am

First off, I got my new computer finally and it rocks! So nice and we've got the wireless going in the house. So it's pretty cool to just walk around the house with my laptop in my hand while surfing the web, listening to music. I like this, this is cool. Plus I uploaded what pictures I have from my camera....it's good to look at pictures.

So i'm in a funny mood tonight. Being down here has been a little harder than I expected. I mean work is going great, and i'm going to post all the details next about what i'm doing and such. It's the time after work. It was so easy in Denmark, living in the dorms there with so many people and things going on all the time. I just like being with people and doing things (evidenced by the infinite hours I spent in the dorm kitchen hanging out). I'm not used to....doing nothing. I've watched more tv in the last month then I think I have in the last two years combined. So here it is Friday night and I almost find myself dreading the weekend. What am I going to do? I figured it'd be so easy to come down here, find a soccer team, find some volleyball, some rock climbing/hiking/snowboarding or....well anything. I'm not really picky about what I do. But it hasn't been so easy.

But i'm curiously optimistic! It's getting lighter out all the time. The weather can only get warmer.... i think. And I feel on the verge....

An optimist is the human personification of spring.

Susan J. Bissonette

Alive and well in the U S of A

So it's been over a month since I posted, so first I want to say, yes I plan to keep using this site. I probably won't post as often as before, simply because life probably won't be quite as exciting as it was living in Europe...thus less to post about.

But nonetheless a lot has happened in the last month. But that will have to wait. Why the long wait?

Well i still don't have a computer. I finally got one ordered and got confirmation that it was shipped on Friday. So i hope by next weekend I will be online again.

I've had quite a few problems down here so far. The first started when I went to buy the laptop. I decided if they were offering 6 months no interest....why not. Well when i went to apply...I got turned down. Turns out, that I don't have any credit history down in the USA. So when I gave them my Social Security Number it basically said..."I've never had a job, never had a bank account"

So I had to do some working of the bank accounts to get the cash in hand to buy it. So I went to buy it and....turns out they only accept USA credit cards!!! What is that? Credit Cards are supposed to be international. So I had to call my Mastercard and get them to change the permanent address on file to my US address. So i went and bought the computer, but the order was 'pending.' Well they had to verify the order, so they called me on the phone. Problem is they have no way to verify it because it originated as a Canadian card. Sigh..... so we had to do a three way conference call, me, HP and Mastercard. So after an hour on hold...(while i was at work) we got things settled.

Next I went to open a bank account and deposit my first paycheck from work. Once again...turns out i'm a gliche in the system. I have dual citizenship to the USA and Canada but my both of my ID's are Canadian, my Canadian passport and my Alberta drivers license. Well i guess thats a no-no. If i have USA as one of my citizenships then atleast one of my ID's has to be US. So then I had to go to the Department of Licensing and get a Washington State ID card....even then they had to do some hand waving magic, because the bank laws say they can't give a account until the Washington state ID card is 90days old!! Luckily since i'm a 'special' case they made an exception.

So that is it. Hopefully by friday I will have my laptop and I can post some pictures of my workplace, and my new home, my new roommates and all that good stuff.

Peace to all!

Logan