Not wishing to bang on about the subject of acceptance criteria but we had two parts. The engineering part, one or two engineers on site during the post build inspections. Critical compartments (electrical distribution being one) had a duplicate inspection performed before final closure by the company engineer and a seal was affixed to the compartment access. Thus minimizing the FOD risk.
During acceptance flight testing the resident engineer worked with the manufacture, if maintenance action was required and if areas opened he again performed the duplicate inspection. After acceptance the normal company procedures applied. The British CAA had there own engineering acceptance inspection procedures at that time and these included random visual inspection of vital areas as well as detailed checking of all required paperwork.
I don’t want to sound like Sir H but just to clarify what we felt was an important part of the job and considering the large investment involved even then, worth the additional cost having an engineering presence.
Thanks all for your indulgence
outhouse
