Originally Posted by
JetDoc
I have no idea where some of you are getting the idea an ETOPS service check takes an hour or you need 90 minute turns. It literally consists of walk around, logbook review, verifying O2, hydraulic and APU oil levels and an engine oil service with each engine being serviced by a separate ETOPS qualified mechanic. If the fluid and O2 levels are good it would take 10 minutes tops. If everything needed to be topped off, a half hour max. Now ETOPS engine checks are a different animal which are completed with much less frequency but are way more in-depth and usually takes 3 people about 4 hours to complete. These checks are done one engine at a time at different intervals (never both at the same time) and are usually completed during an overnight at a station with ETOPS mechanics. The notion of needing an hour or more before an ETOPS departure is simply false.
It also normally involves checks of any standby generators. I don’t know what the ETOPS 737’s have but on a A330 or 767 it’s a HMU type unit. It requires the a hydraulic system to be pressurized and generally takes 10 minutes to complete. Servicing APU oil also takes time getting a stand ect.. Unless you were to put a team of mechanics on the aircraft it all takes time.