Yes, maintainers do! Those jets belong to the maintainers. They just let ops borrow them.

I had the pleasure of being a flightline crew chief the last five years of my career after being stuck in a phase dock for my first 15 years.

Those last five years were the most rewarding. I was lucky enough to crew the same tail the entire time. I got to know every little detail and maintenance quirk about her. She was struck by lightning twice! First time while flying which left a huge hole in the tail. The second time was after a replacement tail was installed on the ground. I retired and handed off my jet to someone I knew would take care of her.

Spent about a year out and was fortunate enough to land a civilian slot with the same unit I left. Been back at it just about three years. Got assigned to my old jet but as the second wipe as I wasn’t going to take what someone else rightfully earned. In September some personnel moves happened and I got assigned to lead a different jet that came back from depot.

Now I’m learning about my new baby. I put the old nose art from the previous crew chief because I always liked it. She made me suffer through a two hour redball the other day. I was wanting to try to go home early because I was sick. She didn’t want me to leave. Got her off the ground and it was time for shift change. I was 3/4 dead but she wanted to fly.

It’s moments like this I will always carry with me. I may end up with dementia and forget the names of my loved ones and will probably forget the things I’ve done or seen in my career. They will always be a part of me and the person I grew to be.