Source inspector, GKN Aerospace

Abdullah
Cali

inspects, then builds.

I check aerospace hardware against drawing and specification. When the same failure keeps coming back, I build the tool that removes it.

See the work Get in touch

Characteristic accountability.

Five claims are ballooned on this gear. Each one is checked like a characteristic on a Form 3, and each one passes.

Drag the gear to turn it. Click a part to inspect it.

Tap a part to inspect it.

  • 3years in aerospace quality, source inspection, civil and defence
  • 4OEM programs: Airbus, Boeing, Dassault, Gulfstream
  • 2GKN divisions: Fokker Aerostructures, now Fokker Landing Gear
  • AS9102FAIR and concessions: reviews, witnessing, sign-off
  • 5tools in development, each from a shop-floor problem

Engineer at the edge of the atmosphere

By trade I work in aerospace quality: verifying that parts conform to drawing and specification, witnessing critical tests, reviewing concessions and making sure hardware meets the standard before it moves on.

What holds my attention is not the paperwork. It is the system behind it.

A gloved hand measuring a chrome landing gear piston with a digital caliper

When a process breaks, I want to know why. When a bottleneck appears, I map it. When something repeats often enough, I ask whether a person should be doing it at all. Building was the fastest way to fix the problems in front of me.

PythonLLMs and GenAIMachine learningAS9102GD&TSQLData pipelinesLocal-first apps
ASource inspector, GKN Fokker AerostructuresAirbus, Boeing, Dassault and Gulfstream programs. Supplier surveillance, conformance verification, FAIR review.Released
BSource inspector, GKN Aerospace Fokker Landing GearCivil and defence landing gear. Concession review, witnessing, sign-off.Current
CBuilder of quality toolsFAIR checker, concession platform, offline quality ERP and a verified data-exchange protocol.In progress

Find the bottleneck. Build the solution.

All five are in development. Each started the same way: a repetitive task, a recurring failure or information trapped in the wrong place. Each one runs on its own stand. Click one to open its sheet.

1Quality engineering

FAIR Checker

Reads the drawing and the FAIR, and flags every missing characteristic before sign-off.

In development

Automated validation of AS9102 First Article Inspection Reports. It reads the drawing and the report, then catches missing characteristics, ballooning mismatches, incomplete fields and documentation errors before sign-off. What took hours of manual review now verifies in minutes.

  • Hours to minutesTarget review time
  • AS9102Standard enforced
  • Before sign-offWhere errors get caught
AS9102PythonValidation rulesRuns offline
PartFAIR Checker
ProgramQuality engineering
In development
2Supply-chain quality

Concession Tracking Platform

Every supplier deviation tracked from submission to closure, with a permanent record of each decision.

In development

A single source of truth for supplier deviation requests. Each concession is tracked from submission through review, approval and closure, so quality and supply-chain teams get clear visibility, ownership and a permanent record of every decision.

  • One systemSource of truth
  • Every approvalTraceable
  • Full lifecycleVisible to all teams
WorkflowDatabaseApprovalsTraceability
PartConcession platform
ProgramSupply-chain quality
In development
3Regulated environments

Offline Quality ERP

NCRs, FAIRs and concessions on the shop’s own hardware. Nothing goes to the cloud.

In development

A local-first quality platform for shops that cannot put their data in the cloud. NCRs, FAIRs, concessions and supplier records in one offline backbone, on the shop's own hardware, with zero cloud dependencies.

Local-firstOn-premiseNCRFAIRConcessions
PartOffline Quality ERP
ProgramRegulated environments
In development
4Verified data exchange

Aerospace Quality Protocol

Quality records move between companies as sealed, signed packages, checked on arrival.

In development

A structured exchange format so isolated quality systems can still talk to each other. NCRs, FAIRs and concessions move between organisations as sealed packages, encrypted end to end, with integrity checks on every one. Nothing is exposed in transit.

Encrypted containersSigned packagesIntegrity checksOffline transfer
PartAQP
ProgramVerified data exchange
In development
5Beyond aerospace

The Luggage Buddy

Links travellers straight to their bags. Same method, different bottleneck.

In development

A recovery system that links travellers directly to their bags, cutting the time, uncertainty and frustration of reuniting lost luggage with its owner. Same method as the aerospace work, different bottleneck.

TravelTrackingConsumer app
PartThe Luggage Buddy
ProgramBeyond aerospace
In development

From mental model to working system

Every tool in this hangar went through the same four steps. Here is one of them, a FAIR check, taking shape.

1Step one

Mental model

Understand the real process before touching anything. How work actually flows, where information lives, where it breaks, and what correct looks like.

Who signs, what do they check, and what do they wish they could see?

2Step two

Logic

Break the process into simple steps. Encode the rules and decision points. Pin down inputs, outputs and every failure mode.

If a characteristic is missing, is that a flag or a stop?

3Step three

Prompt

Specify the task in concrete language. Show correct and incorrect examples. Constrain it with guardrails and validation so the model cannot drift.

Never guess a value that is not on the drawing.

4Step four

System

Integrate with real data and real workflows. Verify against edge cases and ground truth. Ship something people trust and reuse.

Does the inspector open it on Monday morning without being asked?

How I help teams move faster

Quality engineering

FAIR and AS9102 checking

Automated validation of First Article Inspection Reports, gaps found before sign-off.

AI pipelines

Document and data extraction

Drawings, reports and certificates turned into structured, searchable data.

Software

Workflow and tracking systems

Concessions, NCRs and approvals in one place, with traceability intact.

Analytics

Quality analytics

Recurring failure modes and bottlenecks surfaced from quality data.

On site

Source inspection and oversight

Supplier surveillance, conformance verification and FAIR review.

Design

Process and solution design

Complex workflows mapped, constraints found, practical solutions designed.

A ballooned engineering drawing of a landing gear under a desk lamp

Let's build something that flies.

If you are working on a hard problem in aerospace, quality, AI, automation or operations, there is a good chance we have something to talk about. Open to roles, collaborations and difficult projects.

Name
Abdullah Cali
Current role
Source inspector, GKN Aerospace Fokker Landing Gear
Standard
AS9102, GD&T
Email
hashtagcalii34@gmail.com
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/abdullah-cali
Rev

Checked in the field.Built after hours.

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