W is for Weight and Balance

To say that Maru was tired would be an understatement…he was slagging exhausted. Every piece of his body ached, and he was pretty sure that he was currently running on coffee alone. Still, he didn't have time to sleep…there was just too much still to do.

Windlifter was finally stabilized after his gearbox had tried to tear itself apart. They had been lucky, so slagging lucky, that his gearbox had failed so close to the ground and Windlifter had been smart enough to get his tires of terra firma before everything went sideways. If he hadn't, Maru would have had to fill out a death certificate instead of making updates to Windy's medical file. It had been touch and go, but tragedy had been obverted…but Maru suspected that the memory of witnessing the Skycrane's crash was going to haunt his nightmares for years to come.

As the mechanic finished putting the last pieces together and replaced the cowling over Windlifter engine, he tried to ignore how his exhaustion was starting to gray out the edges of his vision. He was having trouble focusing and he knew that it was time to ask for help.

"Cabbie." Maru spoke over the radio, his voice rough from disuse.

"Cabbie here." The base's jump plane replied promptly.

"I need you in the mechanic's hangar at your earliest convenience."

"Wilco." Cabbie's voice was calm, but the was a hint of concern on the edge of his tone. Maru had clearly given the old plane a bit of a fright, but the mechanic was too tired to care. The sooner that Maru got his task done, the sooner Maru could finally get a well-deserved nap, and at this moment he needed Cabbie's help to get the last dregs of his works finished.

"Maru?" Cabbie cautiously poked his large nose into Maru's hangar. Concern was clearly written a crossed his face, but the plane allowed the tug to move at his own speed.

"I need you to check my math." Maru did his best to blink away the exhaustion. "I am just too tired to trust my figures right now."

"Ah." The plane settled heavier on his tires, clearly relieved. While Cabbie had never been given a chance to get a college degree, his experience as a navigator had honed his mathematical skills to the point that no one on base could keep up with his computational talents. He cocked his wings slightly to the side and studied the extensive work that Windlifter had just undergone. After a couple of rotor beats he turned his attention back to Maru. "Weight and balance?"

"Yep." Maru replied pulling out a stack of his own equations then laid out a large sheaf of paper for Cabbie to do his own equations on.

"Why don't you get a nap while I work on this?" Cabbie said around the pencil in his mouth. For a moment, Maru allowed his eyes to flicker between Cabbie, the calculations, and Windlifter. The old plane knew exactly how to calm the mechanic's fears. "I will keep an eye on him for you. If Windy shows any sign of recovering consciousness, I will be sure to wake you immediately."

Maru wanted to protest, but his eyes were already drifting shut.

Blade was somewhat confused when he spotted Cabbie parked outside of the Mechanic's hangar. He got concerned when the jump plane was still there an hour later.

"Is everything alright?" The Chief asked as he rolled up on the aircraft.

"Shhh." Cabbie replied as he quietly motioned towards wear Maru and Windlifter were quietly snoring inside of the hangar. "It was a pain getting Maru to sleep, so don't wake him up."

"Ah." Blade let all of the tension he was holding release. Maru wouldn't have allowed Cabbie to take over the watch if Windlifter wasn't finally on the mend. "I will let you get back to your watch. Call me if you need anything."

Cabbie simply gave a noncommittal grunt in reply and shooed the helicopter back onto base with the knowledge that both Maru and Windlifter were both well looked over.

Term – Weight and Balance – Before flight, it is incredibly important for a pilot to calculate an aircraft's weight and balance. The weight refers to the weight of the aircraft, the fuel, and all of the cargo. The balance refers to the distribution of weight across the aircraft's frame. All aircraft have a limited range of weights and balances that it can properly perform. Exceeding an aircraft's capabilities is a common cause of aircraft crashes.