A & P a must for FE jobs?

[PosClimb]

I'm thinking about doing the FE Written exam, but is it worth it?

I'm low hour and think I could learn a lot from being an SO and going overseas, but it seems all the FE type jobs require a full FE Rating and an A & P, and that's very $$$ and time consuming to get.

Anyone take FAA guys with just the FE written anymore?

[fergineer]

I can understand your thinking, however being an FE is not just a short cut to becomming a pilot, I and many like me worked long and hard to become FE's. I operated to the UK CAA syastem and did not have my A & P however had been goundcrew for a number of years before becoming an FE. The FE's that do have A & P have many problems because what can you do at the end of a max crew duty day, you can't work on the aircraft to fix any problems as you are out of hours and unless they extend the time on the ground your A & P is worthless to the company. However there are people who do just that to the detriment of flight safety. I was an FE for 30 years did as much as I could within the limits to rectify faults but at the end of the day had to say no to flying without adequate rest. I wish you well however there are many FE's out of work with loads of experience that will get the job before you. Me my licence runs out July this year and that will be that.

[PosClimb]

That's an interesting point regarding the duty times. What's the point in having an A & P if due to duty time restrictions he often can't fix the plane. I imagine a lot of operators just turn a blind eye to duty time in those instances and have him fix the plane regardless as the need arises.

Still, given that most real PFEs are older and nearing retirement age, you'd think there would be some demand for them given that a lot of operators are still running the old Jurassic jets in the 3rd world...

[DownIn3Green]

Doing the written is worth it...you'd be surprised what you could learn about systems in general that will help you later regardless of which direction your career takes....

[Dutch74]

There are outfits (747/727 ACMI) that take low time pilots and put them in the FE seat for a while then consider them for upgrade. But most would rather have a PFE that way they don't have to pay to re-train for the window seat.

If you ask me, I would only do it if you are considering a job or looking at employers who require it.

[fesmokie]

Being a PFE with an A&P in the old days IE: on the DC-6 and DC-8 we had to carry tools. Very rarely did I ever use the tools however, my A&P gave me the option to use the PENCIL as nessasary to complete the mission and get the AC back to a MX base. On the 74 we carry ride on MX who take care of most issues. The PFE is a dying breed and the few companies with 3 man AC are putting lower paid SO's in the seat just to save cost. If I were to do it over again I would get my ratings and forget the back seat however, I have no regrets sitting sideways for 25 years, it's been a fantastic adventure.:ok: