cars

In the last 1 1/2 weeks Steve's car, the airport commuter car, has had issues.  This post is dedicated to airport commuter cars.

The car issues:
#1. brakes
#2. dead battery

Ok, let's talk about his brakes.  Like I said, Steve's car is the car he takes to the airport.  Steve's typical driving pattern is to drive to the airport, park it outside for four day while it is exposed to all the elements of Ohio weather, and then drive home.  On the drive home he is likely to downshift (it is a manual) instead of braking. 

What is the key sentence above? "he is likely to downshift."  This habit needs to change.  Why?  Well, when the car sits for 4 days rust will accumulate on the brakes.  After 4 days, the brakes need to have that rust kicked off by being rather heavy with braking.  But, when Steve doesn't do this the brakes (or rotors, or pads, or whatever the hell they are called) will pit...and that is what happened to his last set of brakes.

So, now we are heavy on the brakes post trip for about a day to get that rust kicked off.


Now, onto topic #2: battery.  I was leaving work yesterday and tried to start the car.  Click click click and the lights on the dash flashed on and off.  Crap!  So, I called Steve, and he came to the rescue.  Yes, my battery is in my trunk...don't laugh.


He then took the car to the auto place to get a new battery.  I am actually thankful that the battery went bad when he was around...otherwise he would have had to deal with this in the airport parking lot.  With winter coming, a new battery is always a good thing. 

So, in the last 1 1/2 weeks, we have spent $1,400 on this car.  I think we need to start thinking about getting a new car for Steve.  Not right now, but in the next 12 months or so.  Steve's car is 7 years old, and is starting to get into a possibly unreliable stage.  But, I am sure nothing will happen until the work contract is signed.  Have I mentioned that before?

So, there you have it...my recent tales of the airport commuter car.  I know a lot of pilots give two shits about their commuter car and drive a beater to work.  But, I don't want that.  I want Steve's car to be reliable, safe, and able to get him to work when he needs...and in Ohio that also means AWD.  Those 5am shows with a foot of snow on the ground is not a good situation, especially when ODOT hasn't gotten to the roads yet.  Not to mention, I drive Steve's car when he is home since the car seats stay in my station wagon.  So, I don't want to drive a beater.  I drove a beater in college, hello power wagon!, and feel like I have had my beater-fill for a lifetime!

Let's just hope there are no more car issues in our immediate future!

Comments

  1. Aw..sorry for car issues! They're the worst! You have such a cute family btw!

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  2. Another good topic to cover about being a pilot's wife. Well done! I have a topic to propose to you: how his work schedule affects your job and/or childcare options and/or plans with friends. For work, do you have to avoid travel or working long hours b/c he's out of town so much or his out-of-town times are unknown far in advance? Certainly it's hard for all dual-career families to balance one spouse's travel with another's, but there are aspects of airline pilots schedules that take that to an extreme. Don't even get me started on reserve schedules!

    I always enjoy your take on these things and look forward to continuing to read them.

    Thanks!

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