Traveling Maintenance Technician/Engineer

[toolguy]

Do you travel with your aircraft as part of your normal duties? I am collecting tips and stories form technician/engineers that live with their aircraft and am looking to hear about your story. I am writing a feature article for a magazine and if you would like to share your insight, please repond or PM. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

[WJman]

I flew around with the A300B4 for 2 years. I have a few tips but here is my first. It is more for guy's who will be new to the job as I'm sure the guy's who have done it already know.
Most of the time when your the crew mech you spend the flt in the cockpit for various reasons. Monitoring your aircraft, learning it,there's no space in the back or boredom. On occasion you will have faults in flight and the occasional more serious problems, this is where there is a possiblity of a problem.
In most situations there is a check list the crew performs for any abnormal situation, the checklist is there for safety and is procedure it should not be deviated from. On some occasions with a mech in the seat beside them I have had crews omit this and start asking me what I though and what we might do. The correct reply should be do your checklist and we can talk after. Believe it or not I have been asked these questions while on descent and compressor stalls banging away,which lead to an eventual flameout.
Basically when your an onboard mech you have not done the emergency training,the crm ect... if the crew incorporates you and deviates from procedure they can get distracted and make a mistake or worse.
I have noticed many times that there seems to be a false sense of security with the mech in the cockpit. We may know the systems and be able to help be we won't be doing much at 35,000 and 250 knts.
So I guess everyone has their job at certain stages and is trained for it, so let each person do it to the fullest and with the utmost concentration.

[matkat]

I used to fly on the DC-8 the L1011 and the B747 as the previous poster said this is definately for the younger lads took its toll on Me no sleep for days on end company forgetting You were there hence no hotels lack of support when away from base and generally just getting messed about the one true time I really good about was when I was doing Humanitarian relief work taking food for the Kosova Refugees We were landing in Ancona and unloading the weather was terrible raining and cold it was not hard to feel such tremendous sympathy for the People Who were sleeping in fields and had been disposed of everything and only 50 miles away.I actually crossed the Atlantic 3 times in one day during that trip had no sleep disembarked the Aircraft in Ramstein and had a taxi from there to the airport Sheraton in Frankfurt,not a trip I remember anything about!!

[WOTME?]

I used to fly with a Saudi exec BAC 1-11. 60/60 leave cycle meant 60 days staying in hotels in (usually) decent locations then 60 days paid holiday.It was hell.
Occasionally had to do some work,but not very often.