So You Want To Be An Aircraft Mechanic.
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Location: Brisbane, Australia.
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So You Want To Be An Aircraft Mechanic.
So You Want to be an Aircraft Mechanic?
There are a host of reasons why year after year thousands of intelligent individuals attempt to break into the aviation maintenance career field. They will do anything and everything they can just to get their "Foot in the Door".
Where else are you required to accomplish many tasks with sheer brute force and brawn, exceeding the bodies normal capability? You also must weave your body into unimaginable locations filled with wire and sharp objects, and function with the precision of a surgeon. Our bodies are required to withstand the sun, wind, rain, cold, and the darkness of night. We often use our senses of smell, sound, sight, touch, and even taste to determine whether an item is capable of withstanding the required loads or meeting its objective. Our hands are burned, punctured, smashed, cut, and placed in areas and chemicals that have been deemed too dangerous and harmful for even laboratory animals.
Aviation mechanics must know the systems intimately, and be able to reason, calculate, and rationalize any defect imaginable. These functions must be performed with great speed and accuracy, as humiliation and/or unemployment await the incapable. The mechanic must know, interpret, and attempt to locate vital information in a vast array of books, publications, and bulletins. Then, upon successful accumulation of the data, we must use skills and techniques to produce a job that will sustain lives. Upon completion we must document our every move, and be prepared to enter federal prosecution, which could result in fines, loss of license, and/or sentencing.
Weekends, normal hours, and holidays are often talked about, but seldom enjoyed. Pagers have become as common as the Phillips head screwdriver. In addition, we are expected to be neat, clean, and have a delightful disposition. However, with any job of this caliber, a few frustrations and a little stress is to be expected.
What really keeps us in this career field is the "Are you done yet's", "Oh, you're just a mechanic", "Don't call me honey if you're not coming home. You've known for a week we've had these plans", "No you can't have a raise", "If you don't like it, hit the road. There's 10 people standing in line for your job". This is coupled with the fact that quality tools are cheap! We always have the parts and tools we need to get the job done. Our salaries are huge and last but not least, it's the degree of respect we receive from the pilots.
Sometimes it's so good I can hardly stand it myself. It's no wonder why so many individuals want to be just like me.
There are a host of reasons why year after year thousands of intelligent individuals attempt to break into the aviation maintenance career field. They will do anything and everything they can just to get their "Foot in the Door".
Where else are you required to accomplish many tasks with sheer brute force and brawn, exceeding the bodies normal capability? You also must weave your body into unimaginable locations filled with wire and sharp objects, and function with the precision of a surgeon. Our bodies are required to withstand the sun, wind, rain, cold, and the darkness of night. We often use our senses of smell, sound, sight, touch, and even taste to determine whether an item is capable of withstanding the required loads or meeting its objective. Our hands are burned, punctured, smashed, cut, and placed in areas and chemicals that have been deemed too dangerous and harmful for even laboratory animals.
Aviation mechanics must know the systems intimately, and be able to reason, calculate, and rationalize any defect imaginable. These functions must be performed with great speed and accuracy, as humiliation and/or unemployment await the incapable. The mechanic must know, interpret, and attempt to locate vital information in a vast array of books, publications, and bulletins. Then, upon successful accumulation of the data, we must use skills and techniques to produce a job that will sustain lives. Upon completion we must document our every move, and be prepared to enter federal prosecution, which could result in fines, loss of license, and/or sentencing.
Weekends, normal hours, and holidays are often talked about, but seldom enjoyed. Pagers have become as common as the Phillips head screwdriver. In addition, we are expected to be neat, clean, and have a delightful disposition. However, with any job of this caliber, a few frustrations and a little stress is to be expected.
What really keeps us in this career field is the "Are you done yet's", "Oh, you're just a mechanic", "Don't call me honey if you're not coming home. You've known for a week we've had these plans", "No you can't have a raise", "If you don't like it, hit the road. There's 10 people standing in line for your job". This is coupled with the fact that quality tools are cheap! We always have the parts and tools we need to get the job done. Our salaries are huge and last but not least, it's the degree of respect we receive from the pilots.
Sometimes it's so good I can hardly stand it myself. It's no wonder why so many individuals want to be just like me.
Moderate, Modest & Mild.
Nice post, lame!
The "missus", kids, and I are hoping that you and your lady will be attending the "P!ssup" in Brissy, details below:
Date:- Sunday, May 2nd
Time:- Approx. 1400 on
Place:- NORMAN HOTEL, Wooloongabba
102 Ipswich Rd Woolloongabba.
Tel:- (07) 3391 5022 (the pub's #.... not mine)
There might EVEN be some pc's - just for YOU!!
The "missus", kids, and I are hoping that you and your lady will be attending the "P!ssup" in Brissy, details below:
Date:- Sunday, May 2nd
Time:- Approx. 1400 on
Place:- NORMAN HOTEL, Wooloongabba
102 Ipswich Rd Woolloongabba.
Tel:- (07) 3391 5022 (the pub's #.... not mine)
There might EVEN be some pc's - just for YOU!!
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Jingo's lame,
what airfield do you work on? Up north here the mehanics are indeed very busy and no doubt most of them are well qualified and skilled people but....us lowly pilots are lucky to get a grunt out of half of them when we approach them with yet another pesky problem. Some of them are quite rude making comments that suggest pilots are all "a bit thick" and as for their work "sustaining life" , it is unusual for an unserviceability not to be written up twice before it is resolved and sometimes it can be as much as 20 times (no kidding).
I want to fly out of your airfield lame, up here the pen is mightier than the spanner and it shows.
justathought
what airfield do you work on? Up north here the mehanics are indeed very busy and no doubt most of them are well qualified and skilled people but....us lowly pilots are lucky to get a grunt out of half of them when we approach them with yet another pesky problem. Some of them are quite rude making comments that suggest pilots are all "a bit thick" and as for their work "sustaining life" , it is unusual for an unserviceability not to be written up twice before it is resolved and sometimes it can be as much as 20 times (no kidding).
I want to fly out of your airfield lame, up here the pen is mightier than the spanner and it shows.
justathought
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You will probably (hopefully) find that it is more of a problem with your Employer, and how the Employer, and also you, treat the Engineers. 
I have seen this in various places I have worked, usually brought about by the attitude of the Company, and/or individual Pilots.
It was very much the case at Ansett years ago, but NEVER saw it at Compass, where everyone respected each other.
I have also seen it when working contracts Overseas, just takes one odd Pilot with an attitude problem, but we soon sorted them out.
Alas, you cannot work on my airfield, as after more than 40 years in the Industry, I am now retired.
IF you don't already, try TALKING to the Engineers, I mean talking not just reporting defects, or maybe go and have a beer with them after work.
Have one for me............
I have seen this in various places I have worked, usually brought about by the attitude of the Company, and/or individual Pilots.
It was very much the case at Ansett years ago, but NEVER saw it at Compass, where everyone respected each other.
I have also seen it when working contracts Overseas, just takes one odd Pilot with an attitude problem, but we soon sorted them out.
Alas, you cannot work on my airfield, as after more than 40 years in the Industry, I am now retired.
IF you don't already, try TALKING to the Engineers, I mean talking not just reporting defects, or maybe go and have a beer with them after work.
Have one for me............
