Yes I recall on many occasions as the Load I had the joy of assisting the Engineer with rectification of defects. Even though we were not technically adept, many of us would jump in and assist and many times did one task whilst the engineer would do something else. When the engineer leader was on the plane not only did we assist but at the end when he was checking what had been done, he expected that I brief him on how I did the task and my understanding of what to look for.
I am sure that in today's Air Force things would be very different and maybe they should be, but never the less in the back of my mind I have a memory, after our tasking had been extended, the engineer and myself pulled the C service which had become due. When we got home I expected to see the techo's pull the service again, but that did not happen, they just turned it around and sent her out again.
The fact that they have reduced the flight engineers role, in no way is it critical of many of the engineers. It is caused by the Air Force deciding that new staff did not need the knowledge and ability.
Now that was a step backwards.
The ability of the Load on the J model has been enhanced and the LM now performs both the pre and after flight checks.
Regards
Col