Thanks guy's for the respect you give the drivers. To be honest I expected this to become a pilot bashing thread. How wrong was I??
Unfortunately I have to agree with EGT Redline on his point regarding mutaul respect. For that has been a point of severe headache for me. It seems that we still have drivers up front who think their !!!!! doesn't stink. It might be a relief to you guy's but they are exactly the same towards their fellow drivers. They think they are gods gift to aviation and want everybody to know it.
As a pilot who has a B1 license for every commercial aircraft I have flown I think I am allowed to reply.
Personally I have a great interest in aircraft engineering and as such hold a part time position to keep my knowledge up to scratch next to my full time flying job.
Holding my B1 license doesn't make me a better pilot. However the advantage of having a little in depth knowledge is that its much easier to explain a defect to an engineer. And another advantage is that in generally know what to look for (with regards to indications) when an defect comes up.
One thing to keep in mind is to never tell the engineer how to fix the aircraft. Thats a definite no no.
Several times in the last years I have helped out our engineers while trouble shooting downroute. Even helped one of our guys with a brake change. It makes it easier for the engineer and does help the bonding between drivers and engineers.
Thanks guy's for looking after our great flying machines, your work is definitely appreciated.
FT