Hey ADIRU (?)...I'd like to correct your initial statement that goes "..the C130J and C17 that do not need an Air Eng (read Flight Engineer).." to something along the lines of "the C130J and C17 that do need a Flight Engineer, but are not configured for one.."
Also...Let me tell all that will listen that it takes substantially more than "a couple of weeks" (as in the case someone said to Xtrain a GE), or anything short of 5 or 6 months to Xtrain a qualified-on-type pilot to be anything resembling a competent Flight Engineer.
In the RAAF, they have an FE course for qualified GEs to the middle seat in their P3Cs that takes 6 months, and that is an extremely intensive course, with a pass rate of around 80%.
They turn out a real quality product that can hold their own anywhere in the world.
It's not good enough to be just able to 'flick a few switches', he/she must have a really sound understanding of how the airplane works, and how to get the best out of it, when it matters.
All this talk is seriously undermining the job of the professional Flight Engineer!
FD