How did you get started in Engineering?

[Genghis the Engineer]

Just curious...

[digidave]

Hi Gengis,

Sorry, I had to vote "other" as there's no "all of the above" option.

I've always found Lego and Meccano great to work with but they both have different strengths.

Nowadays I can put things back together again too, much to my employers relief.

dd

[Engineer]

Nowadays I can put things back together again too,
But I always have that 1 washer leftover damn :O

[sprocket]

Mechano helped a bit, but having a brother in aviation and doing a stint in the ATC (Air Cadets)opened a few doors.

[Blacksheep]

My work with the Bako Building kit developed an interest in building and civil engineering but the Meccano moved me towards mechanical engineering. Finally, a visit to the RAF BoB week display at Thornaby Aerodrome included sitting in a Meteor cockpit for a souvenir photograph and I knew I wanted to dismantle the instrument panel and find out what was behind it.

Avionics it is then...

...although I learned my basics by keeping my bicycle on the road, while turning it into a 'Tracker' (long before Mountain Bikes) and fine tuning the gearbox. ;)

[mainwheel]

Fixing a neighbours lawnmower.

He said why not be a mechanic, on something more complicated, and pointed to a DC9 on climb in the distance.

17years old.

[Kaddyuk]

I disassembled some cars at Vauxhall when I did work experience confirmed to me that I wanted to fix things... Mixed in my passion for aviation and voila!


Aviation Engineer

[JAFCon]

Voted Taking everything to Bits, but would have voted all the above if it had been there.

Spent my Childhood playing with Meccano, Lego, Airfix Kits and taking my first Radio to bits then putting it back Together had bits left over but it worked fine (Still the same Nowadays)

[Genghis the Engineer]

I did try to modify the poll to add an "all of the above", after Digidave's first post, but I'm afraid that not being a moderator of this forum, I couldn't.

I'm a lego man myself, but confess to a lot of taking things to bits (and seem to remember strenuous attempts at the age of 5 to build an aeroplane in the garage out of my little brother's redundant cot which G.Sr (an ex-supermarine designer, so he probably encouraged me, although I don't remember it) had disassembled and stored as firewood.

Mechano, nope, never got the hang of it - I always enjoyed the relative immediacy of Lego.

G

[STC]

I assume you mean aeronautical engineer as opposed to maintenance engineer?

[allthatglitters]

Being given a Meccano kit and banging it together to make alsorts of things, my son dosn't seem to have the same interest as I had then. Dad giving me an old car that had failed the mot and tinkering around with that
Living close to Northolt, and the school playground over-looking the end of the of the runway, during the breaks as couldn't be bothered to kick the younger kids around as it stopped being fun, several of us took to plane spotting. With the occasional bicycle ride to Heathrow to stand at the intersection of 27R and 23.
Then came the time to leave school and several of the others went for job interviews with BEA and BOAC which sounded interesting, Yes in the dim and distant past, (stop yawning at the back there). The end result is that I was the only one who got the apprenticeship with BEA or BOAC, now, known to all as BA plc. Many of the others went on to work for the GPO, now known to all as British Telecom.

[fruitloop]

Damm. and I thought leggo's refered to womans breasts.(both made for kids but dad likes to play with them)

[Genghis the Engineer]

I assume you mean aeronautical engineer as opposed to maintenance engineer?
Does it matter?

G

[Dr Illitout]

Never got on with Mecano, I too prefered Lego. My dad was in the industry to, so it was inevitable . My head prevented me becoming a pilot (i.e it was too far from the ground, I could'nt see out of it too well and it was empty!!!). But I always wanted to work around aircraft. Dad did try to put me off, he eaven tried to make me an ELECTRICIAN!!!!. But I found my own leval amongst the grease guns and stuck toilet dump valves!. I have been doing it for twenty five years and I think I'll stick at it, mind you if I won the lottery I'd be gone in a shot!.
Rgds Dr I.

[Balloothebear]

Fruitloop......like your thinking!!
All started off playing with lego....... being born in Yeovil and spending my "sprog" years watching the choppers at Yeovilton might have had something to do with it.
Funny thing,thirty years later I worked on the B200 belonging to Lego..............
The wheel sure does turn.:ok:

[TURIN]

Lego, Meccano, Model Railways, all seemed to contribute in a delight to take things to bits and rebuild them again.
I have to thank a (now deceased) art teacher/careers advisor for getting me into this job. Thanks again Bob Westall at SJD.:ok:

[STC]

Does it matter?

Well...in the grand scheme of things, no. However, using the leggo set analogy, the role of the aircraft maintenance engineer is to restore the leggos back the way the aeronautical engineer had them assembled...

[Genghis the Engineer]

That explains a great deal. There's a particular aeroplane that I work on, for which no model was available. So I made one out of Lego, which proudly sits on the windowsill in my office. Except that about weekly it changes shape subtly, as the cleaner knocks it off, breaks it, then rebuilds it slightly differently.

G

[Blacksheep]

You mean you have a retired Technical Services Engineer (Structures) as a cleaner Genghis? Awesome!

Any chance of a cleaning job for an old Avionics bender when I retire? :D

[Velcroworm]

Told my school careers advisor I wanted to become a professional musician. So here I am 29 years later maintaing aeroplanes....figure that out.

[sawotanao]

started off by pulling my sisters bike to pieces then the old mans lawn- mower......after the 'rebuild' i'd always had a few bits left over:\ ................aviation in the blood, airfield within walking distance & a PPL mix it up & 10 yrs l8er I'm repairing shiny Boeing & Airbuses..............not so many bits left over these days!;)

[exeng]

Voted for taking everything to bits, but I also was an avid fan of Meccano.

I'm in my 50's and have been flying for 28 years after a short career as a LAME, and I still spend a lot of time taking things to bits - once it's in your blood I guess. Although I do really enjoy flying I still get a tremendous amount of satisfaction out of hands on practical work - one day I'll get the hang of it!

By the way I used to have real trouble changing the JT9D-3A stator anti-ice valve actuator as my fingers seemed to be just a little too short (my nickname was 'stumpy'). Anybody else find it difficult?


Regards
Exeng

[Tako Yaki]

My old man was an Engineer, so it runs in the family.

He did tell me to be either a pilot or failing that a flight attendant but figured I was far too clever for that!

[nosefirsteverytime]

It started with a small space hopper thing (Which I, at my young age, thought was a helicopter) and a police car. After building the respective items by instructions, I broke the two of them up and made a police helicopter. I was about 5 or 6 at the time.

From that age till I was 11-ish the obsession just grew. Every Christmas, more Lego. A Police station, a Fire station, Space Shuttle (Thank God, my first aircraft bits!) and in later years a pirate ship and a castle, among many many kits I got. I didn't have a playroom, I had a "Lego room". Things got even better when Tomy made train sets that were Lego-compatible!

As always with any lego set you got for Xmas/birthday/whatever, you built the original design from instructions, and then when you got bored, smash it went. Then the good bit starts. You get an idea of what to make, and then put it together with hotch-potch bits from all over the shop. You might make ,say, a trike, by using the 4x2 flat you got from the fire engine set, A one wheel 2x2 axle from a microlight set, a 2 wheel axle from a construction jeep, and two "levers" that came with the police car set and were aerials on the car. There were whole biuildings made in this style, and the possibilities were endless. I remember a Ghostbusters car, a ferry port, a transport company, an airplane with an opening rear ramp, and endless mad scientist inventions with all doohickeys and thingimibobs everywhere.

Oh those were great times, even if I did miss football, and freinds.

So here I am now gagging to get back into college to the metalwork shop, with a massive love for my chosen subject, Mech Eng. Before aircraft, there was Lego. The aircraft obsession came with a computer game, but that's another story. Lego did so much to put me on the path I'm on, and I'm very grateful and fond of the stuff. It's in a box, in the attic, waiting for the day when I give it to a wee little'un who'll matter more to me than all the other little'uns. So Lego, cheers mate. :ok:


But I still can't hold a footy conversation and have few freinds (if any). Damn.

[IFHP]

The usual way

Lego, Meccanno, Airfix,R/C aircraft, ATC,RAF,Double glazing,Lame

just don't ask about my anorak collection:\

[Wil Neverbee]

Watching a lot of Thunderbirds in the '60s and early '70s.

Maybe if they screened something like that today we'd get some more young engineers instead of people qualified in media studies. Although I wonder how many media studies it would take to make a new Thunderbirds today?

[Smeagol]

Wanted to be a pilot and rather fancied being a test pilot. Thought that an engineering degree would be useful for that.

However.....................failed the 3rd medical I had with the RAF, (passed the first 2 and also received a Special Flying Award and got a PPL) due to an 'odd' heart (bicuspid aortic valve if you must know!) not detected by first two medicals. After being declared unfit for general duties got offered a university cadetship for engineering branch of RAF but declined on the grounds of; "If you won't let me fly your aeroplanes I sure as hell don't want to fix them just for other people!"

Took the most lucrative post after graduating and ended up in the oil & gas business. It has been pretty good to me over the years allowing me to travel, live in many countries, put my kids through private school and have a reasonable standard of living at no expense to myself.

Not too many regrets......................but would love to have flown fast jets!

[Kiwiconehead]

Hmm - our management won't let us use Lego to fix the aircraft anymore.

Same route really, large pile of Lego as a youngster. Toyed with the idea of an industrial technology degree (robots and the like) until I lost interest in school and they lost interest in me and suggested I leave.

Ended up fixing photocopiers for a year 'til I got made redundant so joined the Air Force, recruiter asked me what I'd been doing, when he heard fixing photocopiers, he pointed me in the dirtection of avionics.

[Mike Echo]

Inevitable really, Meccano to start with followed by many years of taking things apart and not always getting them back together. Betta Builder, Lego, Model Aircraft etc
My father was in the RAF as an electrician during the war, Grandfather was a aircraftsman in the Royal Naval Air Service (Still got his original wooden tool box with all sorts of things inside). Relative in the RAAF as a fitter.
Didn't really stand a chance at any other employment, but no regrets at all, had some great times.

Mike Echo

[Snakecharmer]

Was never remotely interested in engineering (have trouble replenishing engine oil and windscreen fluid on the car!)... just wanted to fly.

Grandfather was a gun fitter on ships, whilst my father was an RAF engine technician for the first 5 years of his service and a pilot for the final 38... reckon my family's done its time as engineers.

Main aim was to join the RAF. Eyesight wasn't good enough for pilot, navigator, air traffic or fighter control. Engineer was the next on the list to get to work near aeroplanes. As a result, went to University, got engineering degree and joined RAF. Don't regret being a fast jet sqn engineer in my 20s - very rewarding job. Good job I accumulated civilian flying experience in the background though...

Finally had a breakthrough on the eyesight front 6 months ago... told the RAF I'm leaving next April after 18-and-a-half years... commercial aviation here I come! :D

Even in pilotland, I still find the technical subjects the hardest!

[Perrin]

Don't forget snakecharmer if flying was hard engineers would do it!
Joke honest all the best outside in the cut and thrust(is that another joke) of the big airlines.

[Snakecharmer]

I've been telling the aircrew that for years, Perrin! Thanks!

[Tempsford]

My father was an Aircraft Engineer, so was his father. It is therefore 'in the blood' and so I followed their footsteps. Now, I am pleased to say that two of my sons are also Aircraft Engineers and the other one is working towards his CPL, but currently working in an Ops Department at LGW. I have forgiven the one who wishes to fly and given him my blessing. I have told him that we can't all be clever enough to be Engineers. He has thanked me and asked for forgiveness at bringing shame on the family. (TIC)

Temps

[looks good to me]

:D Grandfarther (mothers side) A+C, my father E+I. now me, B1 B2 over 60 years+ !
Be nice for the lad to follow on, but have to wait 12 more years for that.
A lot of aircraft have been and gone in 60 years I wonder what type will fly in 60 more?

[ColdFiltered]

Joined the army and sat the exams. Bloke-in-charge said I scored enough to be an air tech. He said I ought to have a go because there was more money in it! Been at it for nearly forty years and I'm still waiting for the money.

[Brymon Dasher]

Wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but got conned by the Army into going into engineering. Once in - no escape! Left the Army after 9 years, but 32 years later still an engineer, and like it or hate it, I wouldn't change my job. Glutton for punishment!?

[DoctorA300]

Got drunk in a bar, woke up 20 years later, as a B1/B2 engineer. I have a strange feeling of deja-vu when people say things like A/C, aprentenship, type courses etc.:} :zzz:
Doc

[Blacksheep]

What types indeed looks good to me? When I worked for Big Airways a long time ago (24 years), one of my colleagues was sent on a Concorde course two years before he was due to retire. He had over 45 years in the business at the time and we asked him what was the first aircraft he had worked on. "Ah that'd be the Graf Zeppelin" he said "We were in the Boy scouts and we were rounded up to man the mooring ropes at Croydon when the Zeppelin paid a visit." Quite a span eh? His first fixed wing licence was on the De Havilland Rapide, but he's gone fishing now, bless him.

[ICT_SLB]

Have to vote "Other" as I was brought up under the Chivenor approach watching Hunters plus the usual Battle of Britain Days (first flight in a Cambrian Airways' Rapide!) plus Airfix kits etc etc.

First real aircraft I worked on as an apprentice was the 1-11 on the Hurn line - still one of the most underated types as it brought jet travel to the majority of Europe AND the States. Funny thing is I'm still working on a 1-11 direct descendant all these years later (the CRJ series). Often wonder how an updated (say CF34-powered, current structural standards i.e. lighter) 1-11 would do in today's market.

[rodgoulty]

At fifteen years old my Dad looked at me & wondered how he could get me off his hands. It was either the "Pit" (Mining) or the RAF. I had a very poor education & was a bit of a plank. I wanted to be an Archaeologist (still do !). Saw an Ad in "Eagle" comic & had an exam,IQ test & interview with Squadron Ldr. Candy at RAF Halton. Joined the RAF at 15 1/2 years old. You could in them
days ! Have had a long & interesting career as a Licenced Tech.
in Avionics (Full B2), all A/C types. Retiring in 2 years time. Thanks to Dad,Sqdn.Ldr.Candy,RAF & Civvy Street:O :O :O

[Propstop]

I was lucky enough to grow up on a regional airport in Australia. My father was an Air Traffic Controller and pilot, so was always around aircraft.
Did my apprenticeship in an airline, saw the light, and got into GA and travelled the world, getting well paid for the privelige, and have no regrets after 40 years.
Son is an engineer with airline, daughter a wagon dragon with same airline, and son-in-law captain with opposition airline.
I have been through an era, had a lot of experience, and worked with a bunch of top professionals, both in Oz and world wide. A most rewarding profession.

[sumps]

My father was an aircraft engineer at Fliton, he designed Concorde' s intakes by day and built a canal boat in the evenings and at weekends! :)

I followed in his foot steps...and tripped up a bit on the way, such as putting mud and water in the engine of his Morgan (I was 3 at the time) then watering it! :eek: (he had the head off at the time :{ ) - and using the top of the canal boat like an aircraft carrier, until I caught him in the side of the head with a rubber band powered aircraft...and many moor fables.

I have now learnt to put stuff back together (much to the relief of the engineering community) however I have a distinct dislike of gardening and didn't want to join the navy (much to the relief of horticultural and maritime community) :ok:

P.S. I’m looking for a new job soon any offers?

[CFM56-5C]

For me, Mechano did the trick to get started. Why is it that I always remember those days while looking at the CFM56-5C engines these days....;)

However, now that my daugther starts do get interested in LEGO, I find that they are not that bad either!