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TECHNICIAN CRAIG HELMORE
practically inheritedhis profes-
sion: His father worked in the
U.S. as a business-jet mechanic
for British Aerospace, and Hel-
more spent countless hours in
maintenance hangars with his
dad while growing up.
“Going toworkwithhimand
seeing what he did—it went
from there,” Helmore recalls.
“I’ve been around airplanesmy
whole life. Being an aviation
mechanic seemed anatural fit.”
So natural, in fact, he never
really considered doing any-
thing else. Helmore went from
high school to Houston’s Rice
Aviation, where he earned his
airframe andpowerplant (A&P)
license, thenmoved directly on
to Continental Airlines. That
was 25 years ago; today, he
works for the newUnited.
Though customers wi l l
probably never meet Helmore
face-to-face—the mechan-
ics they’re more l ikely to
encounter are the line techni-
cians who handle day-to-day
maintenance and repair—his
expertise surrounds them
every time they step onto
one of United’s 757 aircraft.
Helmore specializes in interior
work on the aircra at United’s
heavy-check base at Houston’s
George Bush Intercontinental
Airport. Heavy checks, also
known as “C” checks, are
among a series of inspections
and overhaul stages that an
aircraft goes through during
its life at United.
“We have several different
levels of checks, from fairly
light, wherewedon’t takemuch
apart, to heavy checks, where
the airplane gets stripped
and everything gets checked,”
Helmore explains. “We replace
what needs to be replaced, but
we also check for other discrep-
ancies and fix what is needed.”
Helmore says United is one
of the few airlines that still do
in-house component testing,
which is scheduled according
to the number of cycles or
flight hours that an aircraft
has flown. To conduct a “C”
check, Helmore and the other
interior mechanics work with
A&P, sheet metal and avionics
teams to take the 757s com-
pletelyapart. They submit each
component to airworthiness
tests using a variety of instru-
ments, including borescopes,
X-ray machines, ultrasonic
equipment and high- and low-
frequency eddy currents. A full
“C” checkusually lasts about 30
days, Helmore says, depending
upon what needs to be done.
The FAA mandates the
inspections and maintenance
that airlines must perform
in order to operate safely. But
Helmore notes that airlines
can hold themselves to even
stricter standards—andUnited
does exactly that by requiring
more stringent checks and
procedures. And the obsession
with safety doesn’t stop there.
“Throughout my career,
we held to the standard that
it needs to be the best that it
can be,” Helmore says. “I’ve
never heard of anyone want-
ing to take a shortcut or do less
than the best. My co-workers
are well skilled at what they
do. Collectively, we have a lot
of experience, and we have
developed a mentality and an
approach over the years that it
has to be right. Nobody se les
for the bare minimum.”
Helmore says the thorough-
ness of the checks United
performs, alongwiththequality
heandhis co-workersadhere to,
is aimedat gaining andkeeping
passenger confidence.
“If I were to bring someone
in there on a very heavy check,
they would be impressed at
how detailed it gets,” he says. “I
will not put a plane back into
service that I wouldn’t want
mymom,my familyor anybody
else flying on. It’s all about hav-
ing a great product, one thatwe
are proud to have our families
and our customers riding on.”
Helmore’s family includes
wife Tina, daughter Alicia
and son Bradley (plus English
bulldogs Chelsea and Bentley).
And as for whether 13-year-old
Bradleywill follow inDad’s and
Granddad’s footsteps, Helmore
says it’s too early to tell.
A Legacy
of Expertise
Safe, clean and reliable just might be in
Craig Helmore’s DNA
BY A. AVERYL RE
14
MAY 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
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