Steer my repair-camp theme towards aircraft support?

[AddamsonFlint]

I am setting up a machine shop in the Playa this year called the Flint Fix-It fort. While the roster of tools and equipment would provide for general support of a wide range of applications, I have started to learn and understand that repair camps will often focus on different segments. Some do primarily bikes, whereas others focus on auto support for our cars and vehicles.

Naturally,  aircraft maintenance is hugely important  To keep properly maintained, especially on such a dusty place as the playa. But naturally this also takes a shit-ton of equipment, which is also very heavy. I know that pilots flying in will also have support resources hauled in by car or truck. And so maybe there is some help I could provide there as well.

With that said, I have a few questions for the pilots, and or those didn't know the aircraft support roll well:

1- Are there any tools or types of equipment that often seem to be lacking or in short supply to pilots at the BRC Airport?

2- Are there any other resources that pilots need that are sometimes in short supply? (fuel, oil, others?)

3- Are there any pilots that might need logistical support and/or hauling in of  materials, that I could maybe provide?

I will be traveling I80 from Columbus Ohio into Nevada, hauling a 38 foot gooseneck trailer.  I would have room for a couple extra pallets, if someone needed something hauled in. I will also be bringing a number of fuel tanks with me. I could potentially bring aircraft fuel, if that would be worth looking at.

Let me know your guys thoughts on if any of this would be a worthwhile endeavor.

[Sham]

I always suggest to first timers to come to Burning Man for their first trip and not be overly ambitious. You will not have access to the airport, as it's segregated from the general part of the playa area for security reasons as well as ticketing to the event. You can not bring or store fuel in your camp without a permit. There are already provisions made for pilots to get fuel if needed.

It would be great if you came to Burning Man and enjoyeed the amazing art and performances, and then see about what you might contribute the following year. For a short visit, it sound like you might be taking up 100% of your time unloading/repairing and reloading your trailer. Not a great way to spend your time.

[AntiM]

Fuel hauling and storage has very specific hazmat rules and requirements. You need to contact the appropriate official Burning Man department for that.

https://burningman.org/event/art-perfor ... t-storage/

As for the other ideas centering around aircraft, it would be best to contact the airport directly, rather than ask us dirtlings.

http://airport.burningman.org/

Your spirit is admirable, but getting a handle on the reality of how to make it happen actually does take some boots in the dust experience. The pilots have handled their shit for a long time, they'll know how to guide your intent to help.

[XPTom]

Here is a link to the necessary FAA form for repair station approval. How many Airframe, powerplant, instrument, ....etc ..... ratings and certifications can you check off?


https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/med ... 1-2014.pdf

[Captain Goddammit]

I will be traveling I80 from Columbus Ohio into Nevada, hauling a 38 foot gooseneck trailer. 

Let me just take a moment to applaud you for being the only new burner I've seen in quite a while who understands what the fuck Burning Man is!!

Every other new person comes on here looking for a camp to join so they can just fly in and be taken care of. Fuck them, they're whats wrong with the event these days and they don't belong on the playa.
Sure it's hard to bring all your own shit to the middle of nowhere. No one said you had to go. That's part of what makes BRC what it is.
News flash: if you live thousands of miles away and can't figure out how you'll provide for yourself, maybe it's NOT A GOOD IDEA TO GO!
When it gets populated by the fly-in people, the camaraderie is gone, the mutual respect is gone, these people are spectators.

Maybe it seems like you're overdoing your first trip, but god dammit at least you're not one of these douche bags who want to go to Burning Man but don't want to deal with being in the middle of a desert. This isn't Disneyland. But the more it becomes Disneyland the less Burning Man it is.

You're a ray of hope that real new burners exist.

[some seeing eye]

Welcome to ePlaya and your first Nevada regional burn!

Originally the airport was a few very modest private light aircraft saying "hey, can we do this?" Then scenic flights and skydivers happened. Now it has commercial flights on an expanding schedule to relieve the highway congestion/concierge the gliterati or some combination of the two. It is one way medical emergencies are transported out of the event.

The basic setup which you can see from satellite photos zoomed is inside the fence at point 5, a gate, and outside the fence.

The control tower, gate processing, the bar and a small camp are inside the fence, The private planes, I think about 120, are tied down outside the fence in rows.. The commercial flights make a very busy schedule of landings, taxi, park, leading a dozen or more passengers with a small amount of luggage to and from the gate. Same in and out pedestrians on the tarmac with sightseeing and skydivers. There are also some golf carts and taxiing plane wrangling. It all has to be shut in a dust storm.

The result is that who is doing what outside the gate is a top safety concern.

When I volunteered, the Airport had their own tool container. They have to put up all the common structures and get all the computer and paperwork systems working before the event and then take it down.

Just as others have said you can read up on airport operations at that link and branches. Then reach out to the airport operations manager.

The other idea is there is an informal network of fix-it camps and they are placed all over the playa. Those camps have a lot of experience, ideas, specialties and may be open to collaboration. Cotravelers are the maker movement which may have camps on playa. You can search past year camps which want to be known in https://burningman.org/culture/history/ ... eme-camps/ and then network from there.

There are also a few underground fixers, like a great friend who had the knowledge and tools to rebuild an engine on the playa but devoted that energy to gift mutant vehicles to disabled individuals and keep them maintained.

I would not necessarily say no first year burner can make significant volunteer or department contributions. But i would say mission critical and safety critical departments and established camps require trust before trust.

An early start on trust can be regional events https://regionals.burningman.org/.

But hey, maybe the airport manager would say, "that's exactly what we need" and these are the fix-its that come up!

[AddamsonFlint]

I will be traveling I80 from Columbus Ohio into Nevada, hauling a 38 foot gooseneck trailer. 

Let me just take a moment to applaud you for being the only new burner I've seen in quite a while who understands what the fuck Burning Man is!!

Every other new person comes on here looking for a camp to join so they can just fly in and be taken care of. Fuck them, they're whats wrong with the event these days and they don't belong on the playa.
Sure it's hard to bring all your own shit to the middle of nowhere. No one said you had to go. That's part of what makes BRC what it is.
News flash: if you live thousands of miles away and can't figure out how you'll provide for yourself, maybe it's NOT A GOOD IDEA TO GO!
When it gets populated by the fly-in people, the camaraderie is gone, the mutual respect is gone, these people are spectators.

Maybe it seems like you're overdoing your first trip, but god dammit at least you're not one of these douche bags who want to go to Burning Man but don't want to deal with being in the middle of a desert. This isn't Disneyland. But the more it becomes Disneyland the less Burning Man it is.

You're a ray of hope that real new burners exist.

I would be the first to say I often bite off a lot to chew. But I realized a long time ago that my mouth wasn't going to stop writing checks- instead, I had to build myself to a point where my ass could cash them. My first year ambitions are large, but I will fulfill them. If you know any good people that would like to help be a part of this, let me know.

Flint

[Token]

What might be loads of fun is to set up the machine shop without an agenda and use it for art, fun, teaching, etc.

Heck, spend a couple few hours at sunset :30 at the DMV license inspection area first two days, bring a chair and cooler, mingle with the MV owners, get the word out ...

By Wednesday you’ll have steady business from the fine folks that turned in sweat equity and vast funding into artistic visions driven by gears.

Good folks, salt of the earth, and great conversation about solving weird technical problems in all the wrong ways.

This is the kind of shit that had me coming back for a decade at the turn of the century.

What the Cap’n said is why I no longer go.

If I ever get tempted to make the trek again, it would be for a “drunken engineering” kind of ride to make weird shit that solves real problems with funky craft.

Alas, I no longer drink and my arthritis has slowed me way down.

[tatonka]

Alas, I no longer drink and my arthritis has slowed me way down.

I had full blown arthritis in both shoulders , couldnt lift my arms over my head , used exercise and tumeric and collegen and now I have no shoulder problems

[burner von braun]

Heck, spend a couple few hours at sunset :30 at the DMV license inspection area first two days, bring a chair and cooler, mingle with the MV owners, get the word out ...

By Wednesday you’ll have steady business from the fine folks that turned in sweat equity and vast funding into artistic visions driven by gears.

Good folks, salt of the earth, and great conversation about solving weird technical problems in all the wrong ways.

This makes a whole lot of sense to me.



Do be aware that the dust is somewhat corrosive and gets everywhere. If it were me, I wouldn't bring my very finest tools/equipment out there, but instead, aim for some of your older tools that have already seen their day, but still have some life left in them. As you may already realize, there are a number of brilliant mechanically minded folks here who can give you firsthand advice in that regard.

Good on ya A-Flint for 'hauling the freight' out to Black Rock City. Outstanding sir!

[Token]

Alas, I no longer drink and my arthritis has slowed me way down.

I had full blown arthritis in both shoulders , couldnt lift my arms over my head , used exercise and tumeric and collegen and now I have no shoulder problems

I’ll try anything at this point. If someone saiz drive a playa weathered nail in your left nostril and have a blue jay pluck it out ...

Exercise I get plenty of that on a working farm/ranch.

Turmeric is easy, have tons, like the taste.

Tell me more about collagen. Where, how? Injested?

I’ve only ever used it topically for wounds.

[tatonka]

Alas, I no longer drink and my arthritis has slowed me way down.

I had full blown arthritis in both shoulders , couldnt lift my arms over my head , used exercise and tumeric and collegen and now I have no shoulder problems

I’ll try anything at this point. If someone saiz drive a playa weathered nail in your left nostril and have a blue jay pluck it out ...

Exercise I get plenty of that on a working farm/ranch.

Turmeric is easy, have tons, like the taste.

Tell me more about collagen. Where, how? Injested?

I’ve only ever used it topically for wounds.

I put a couple of teaspoons in my morning shake . Before with exercise and tumeric , I got the pain away , but still had alot of popping and crunching type sounds . Now with taking the collegen about 2 mths now , all that noise is gone .

[Captain Goddammit]

Hanging out at the DMV, maybe with a sign, meeting MV owners and telling them where to find you is a fantastic idea. Have some cards... you an write your camp address on them when you give them out.
You gotta do that as early in the week as possible, most MV owners are there getting their sticker ASAP.
It’s a very slow moving line and you have plenty of time to talk to the people, plus check out their rigs.
The biggest problem with problems on the playa is finding the right people to help, or being the help and finding the people who need you.
The aircraft people aren’t really that needy of this sort of thing, the mutant vehicles definitely are. I spend at least one day or night each year fixing mine. And I bring every tool and spare I can. Air tools and all.

Mutant vehicles on the playa are always needing mechanical attention.

I’ll second the word about the corrosive dust. It’ll make your truck and trailer rust, it’ll play havoc with electric anything, it’s abiut like a salty road in winter.

I bought and set up a really nice truck to haul my gear - and now I won’t take it out there and destroy it!! I’ve rusted up several nice trucks over the years bringing them to BRC.

[coastalflyer]

1- Are there any tools or types of equipment that often seem to be lacking or in short supply to pilots at the BRC Airport?

2- Are there any other resources that pilots need that are sometimes in short supply? (fuel, oil, others?)

3- Are there any pilots that might need logistical support and/or hauling in of materials, that I could maybe provide?

This is a wonderful offer that I think the airport community would appreciate. True, the FAA requires an AP certificate for major work on an airplane but there are a lot of tasks that aircraft owners are allowed to do themselves, and many owners would welcome advice and assistance from a good mechanic even it they're not APs. Fixing a tire is a good example (thanks to random rebar in the parking area). Or helping with tie downs or taping up or wrapping a plane to keep the dust out. I know for a fact that more pilots would gift more rides if there were a resource to help with keeping dust out of the plane.
As for useful tools and resources, I would stay away from fuel, for the reasons cited, but safety wire, an air compressor, painter's tape, shrink wrap, window cleaner, portable vacuums, oil funnels, spark plug wrenches and things like that would be very valuable. Sheets of plywood 1 ft sq. are very useful for getting a plane's tires out of a rut. Many pilots cram an old bike or two in their plane so bike repair is as important at the airport village as it is in the city.
The only issue I see is locating your repair camp. Would be much more useful to have it located at the airport. Signing up as a volunteer would probably get you access to the airport ramp--many pilots camp with their planes outside the trash fence so that's another option.
Anyway, thanks for thinking of us and do come visit us either way.

[Zubeneschamali]

Mighty fine people out there at the airport, always looking for volunteers to help out. Make the right connections and I'm sure your dream can be a reality some day.

I can forward the Airport Volunteer Coordinator's contact info, PM me.