Originally Posted by
Krystal n chips
"@krystal: what are you saying, that you are so good you don't need a realty check every now and then or are you an experienced mechanic who believes he should have a licence for free but isn't prepared to work for it?"
I've included the quote above because , as steve f correctly states, gaining the initial LWTR was far from simply taking the written exam, turning up to answer a few questions, then going home and waiting for the postman to deliver a package. I am at a loss therefore as to how, and why, you have the impression I didn't have to work for it.
If it helps. not unexpectedly with the surveyor concerned who had a long standing reputation and open dislike of ex RAF / charter airline engineers, I failed at my first attempt based on two, small, very small, paragraphs in the electrical section of CAIP's. Frankly, they weren't what you would call prominent or pertinent to A & C engineers. Six months later, different surveyor ....started off very well, then he came to his pet subject.....aerodynamics . Deeper and deeper he went but I do have a vague idea about such so was able to answer satisfactorily .......I passed. Turned out he came top of his year at Loughborough in ?..aerodynamics. Nice bloke actually. Knew how to ask questions without intimidation .
The OP for this thread raised the issue of why engineers have never, and as has been explained, never will be united as an entity. Hence the controversy that arose in the minds of some between the holders of a T/R Licence and those of us who gained the LTWR and company CRS thereafter.
I took my first CAA LWTR exam (A&C Turbine Helicopters) at Southall College of Technology in 1989 completing 150 vote-for-joe questions (with negative marking for incorrect answers) and four written questions. The pass mark was 75% (90% with negative marks)
Having passed that, I was called for my CAA interview at the old Heathrow office. The surveyor marched me down into a room in the cellar where I sat at a desk with a pencil and paper on it facing the surveyor, a blank wall and a tall, grey steel locker. The "interview" lasted 4 hours, with no rests, during which the guy literally went through a copy of the Section L for helicopters (which included supersonic intakes and exhausts) and I had to draw and calculate electrical circuits and draw control system diagrams to show my understanding of each subject as they were asked. On leaving the room I sheepishly asked how I'd done - "You'll do" he said. A heavy envelope landed in my hallway some 6 weeks later.
After that, I did another three CAA LWTRs and subsequent interviews - the last interview (Large Aircraft) being about 20 minutes (with a coffee) I am now a B1.1, B1.2 and B1.3 licensed QAM for parts 21J, 21G, M and 145. It is my job to make sure that the guys and galls we employ are "competent"...and I do.