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View Full Version : The 'Real World' H.F. exam


The Weasel
3rd Feb 2001, 07:22
Whilst trying to find out how best to deal with my Hangar Manager's serious maintenance violation I visited www.airmech.uk.co (http://www.airmech.uk.co) and tried the BCAR module 13 questions. I was hoping to find some helpful info but,sadly, found nothing relating to common H.F. situations. So...Here's my 'Real World' H.F.exam.Please try it as I need some support & advice.It wont cost you,and you can't fail it! Hey,that sounds like the way JAR 147 in-house licence exams will go...If the PER book falsification scam is anything to go by!

Q1 Why are Incident reporting schemes confidential?
a) Full & free,uninhibited,2 way,direct consultation between reporter and Manager responsible would enable speedy, accurate identification of cause resulting in effective and agreeable prevention of re- occurrence...(and who would want that!!!)
b) Anyone who prioritises Airworthiness above allowing his low integrity Managers to achieve their bonus parameters can expect severe repercussions if he is identified.
c) When you read the reports it's great fun guessing who submitted them.

Q2 In an industry where 'errors' & violations could cause a catastrophe,and where adherence to procedure is so heavily dependant on an individual's integrity,why do licence and approval/authorisation application forms only require experience periods to be listed with no mention of integrity?
a) Procedures are written to cover the backs of the author and are rarely achievable in full within the alloted downtime & budget. Engineer integrity would be a distinct disadvantage to the company objectives under these conditions.It is not a sought after quality.
b)I have been told that you cannot gauge integrity. Huh,You will know who the cowboys are in your hangar within a couple of weeks of working there.
c) High integrity is assumed.After all,anyone entering this profession must be doing it for the love of the job,and not because of the attractive rates of pay.
Q3 Why is there advance notice of a surveyor's hangar inspection?
a) It gives you time to provision his favourite biscuits to go with his cuppa.Note:Unopened packet preferred.The use-by date is the release number!!
b) It gives you time to simulate continuation of approved working practices in an approved environment.
c) An unannounced surprise inspection would cause an awful lot of paperwork,possibly leading to justifiable closure of your maintenance facility.
Q4 Why are violations so rarely reported to the regulatory authorities despite being a licence holder's responsibility?
a) If you report your CRS authorised Manager for a maintenance violation,it may possibly lead to his licence being revoked...but it's a dead cert that you'll be denied overtime and/or promotion and even end up out of a job....Not a fair trade!
b) They happen so frequently, it becomes normal practice.
c) A violation which does not cause an incident is considered by some Managers to be a good result...As with all forms of gambling,It's only a problem when you are losing.

Ali Crom
3rd Feb 2001, 13:18
Nice one Weasel , unfortunately I've failed miserably as in true CAA question style there's more than one possible answer to each of your questions.
Here's how I answered...
Q1. B & C

Q2. A & B

Q3. A & C

Q4. A,B & C

P.S. Is there any penalty marking?

The Weasel
4th Feb 2001, 04:58
Well done Ali-Crom, 100%. You haven't by any chance been to one of those JAR147 training schools where they teach you the exam questions rather than the sylabus have you?

The Weasel
5th Feb 2001, 06:04
Ali Crom, I'm glad you mentioned penalty marking....It's down to the Bean counters as usual.The cost of marking written papers and backing them up with an oral exam must far outweigh the cheap & nasty 'multi-guess' exam proceudure,designed for high speed marking.The down side is, of course, that you have to have penalty marking to dissuade candidates (usually the ones with the falsified experience records) from taking wild guesses.
In the 'Real world'there is very little evidence of a penalty marking policy...Just look at the rectification called for against some defects...total guesswork,no hint of the MM ever having been consulted. Additionally,I'm sure you will have seen cases of people being 'promoted out of harm's way' to get them off the shop floor.Or the ladder climbers who get noticed for their 'apparent' performance, when all they have really been doing is cutting corners or forcing others to cut corners.On the News we even hear cases where top level Managers of certain Firms have been asked to leave following poor performance...with a big payout of course! So....Here we go again:
Penalty marking is:
a) A 100% failsafe way of making sure people know their job.

b) Applied equally to all grades of staff in all situations.

c) An excellent idea.

d) C/W the rest of the Multi-Guess system..A crock of****

Golden Rivet
9th Feb 2001, 00:31
Weasel

You should see someone about all that pent up aggression of yours. Maybe you could channel it into something constructive like baking, instead of banging away at that brick wall. Once a cowboy manager, always a cowboy manager!
At the end of the day its down to you to decide what sort of engineer you want to be and I'm glad to see there is still a few of us out there willing to fight the cause

DoctorA300
9th Feb 2001, 02:25
Weasel,
If you enjoy the CAA´s wonderfully relevant
line of questioning, heres one I was asked on an oral exam a few years ago trying to convert from a Danish LAME licence to a British equivilent.

- At what speed does an aeroplane land -

I replied that it was dependant on weight, wind, flaps etc. But no, it was ´the designed landing speed´, I am still trying to find an aircraft with such a speed.