Fred Robel
27 Years Experience
Au Gres, MI
Male, 49
I'm a licensed Aircraft Mechanic & Inspector with twenty five-plus years in the field. I've had a varied career so far, with time spent in the sheetmetal, mechanic, and inspection specialties. Most of my time is on heavy Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft, of the passenger, cargo, and experimental type. This career isn't for everyone, but I enjoy it.
Please do NOT ask me to troubleshoot problems with your airplane, that is not what this Q&A is for.
An aircraft technician, is an aircraft mechanic, and vise versa. Also, in some parts of the world, we are called aircraft engineers.
The term technician, has been taking the place of mechanic more and more, due to a push in the industry for us to be considered more than just mechanics. And once you get deep into your training for the profession, if that's what you want, you will see why.
You will learn how to take care of all the mechanical systems of an aircraft, you will learn how to repair sheetmetal and composites, you will learn how to paint it, you will learn how to troubleshoot the electronics suite, etc. The aircraft of today are not the simple things that they used to be, not that they were ever simple (just check out hydromechanical fuel controls!).
The pros and cons of the job really are dependant on where you end up working.
Working outside in lousy weather is kind of a con; as is dealing with lavatory waste systems; crawling around in the dirty belly of an airplane (especially a narrow body!). Sometimes you will find yourself working too many hours. Sometimes not enough maybe. You will feel underpaid. You will often feel humble about your job, and just call yourself a mechanic. But then you'll sometimes find yourself annoyed when someone from outside the profession calls you the same thing.
Sometimes you'll have to go on the road, with little advance notice, and not know exactly when you'll get back.
Long unpredictable hours, and high stress, lead to a high rate of divorce in our profession.
The pros, are many, and sometimes intangible. If you really love airplanes, and if you don't you should turn back now, this job is really great. With lots of different facets to the job, you will work on many different things. You will gain confidence in your abilities. You will acquire a tool collection! People who ask you what you do for a living, will often be super impressed.
Many of our jobs have us travelling the world, on the company's dime. I've visited all the continents except Antarctica in my travels for work.
The intangible pro, is mostly the feeling you get. When you walk among the aicraft in special moments, or when you see them arrive or fly away, or as you sit in the cockpit running all four engines to takeoff power for ground tests.
That feeling you get, is the real pro. No matter where you end up. If you love aviation, that's all you need.
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There are several types of 'reports' that I have to make in the course of my work.
The simplest one is the Non-Routine. When I find something wrong, or that needs doing on the aircraft: I fill out this form, which gets recorded in the records, and then is addressed by the appropriate department at our Repair Station (maintenance, sheetmetal, avionics, paint shop.....etc)
Another kind of report we have to fill out sometimes is called an Service Difficulty Report (SDR). These are filled out whenever certain "critical" systems or structures have a problem. Such as emergency equipment. If we have an emergency light that doesn't test properly; we have to fill out the report. This gets submitted to the FAA, and goes into a huge database which is all sorted out as to types of aircraft and issues; and is used to help them decide when to issue Advisory Directives (AD's).
As to Oral Communication: There is oral communication all the time. Even if it is something that is written down, we usually go over it verbally (and use our hands for that matter). As an Inspector, I communicate with the mechanics on the floor, their supervisors, and often the Hangar or Shop Foreman. At our Repair Station, everything is 100% inspection buyback; so we are constantly in demand to witness certain steps of jobs, or to do final buyback on tasks.
We use all types of communication here. We use written communication, via our non-routine and routine task cards, written turn overs on jobs and shift work, as well as little grease pencil notations on the aircraft itself, to help guide mechanics to the discrepancy areas.
We use oral communication, to discuss the steps of a job that is about to be performed, as well in all other steps of maintenance. Reading body language and speech inflection is also important when talking about the work at hand.
Poor communication results in about what you'd expect. From the nearly harmless simple repetition of a task that was already completed; to the disastrous of having an aircraft fall off of jacks during a jacking procedure, due to confusion in the communication between the guys manning the jacks and the person monitoring the level indicator.
Essentially, with poor communication; people can get hurt or die, and aircraft can be damaged or destroyed.
Clear, concise, and timely communication is essential to any operation; especially aviation activities.
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Naba, as an FAA licensed aircraft mechanic & inspector, who has worked primarily in the Mid-Western USA; I can really only answer you based on that experience.
If you plan on coming to the USA to get your Airframe & Powerplant licenses; I would recommend against large "Mechanic Factories" such as Emery Riddle. Choose a smaller school program. My Alma mater is the Lansing Community College aviation technology program, and I liked it very much, and it did not cost too much for a two year degree + my A&P. I can also recommend the aviation maintenance program up at Northern Michigan University; where you can get your A&P, and stick around for a four year degree as well. Those would be my personal recommendations.
If you meant going to some other country, then I'm afraid I cannot help you much.
If you meant becoming an aircraft mechanical engineer, in the respect of being the guy who designs the aircraft; then I'm really really not the guy to give you advice. I'm a mechanic. :D
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Strictly speaking; I don't know. If you look in the maintenance manual for any given aircraft, you will find limits for dents. Depth, width, etc. These would be dents that do not have any structural damage of any other kind associated with them.
So, if you took a hammer and dented the airplane 'slightly' it may or may not be airworthy.
Would it fly? Probably; because it would take a terrific amount of surface deformation to ruin the aerodynamics completely.
But technically airworthy, is another matter.
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I really can't say. I've never been to a real crash site before. From the pictures I've seen, you usually have one of two scenarios: Either there is nothing but little chunks of metal and debris everywhere, or there are several largish chunks of airplane (sometimes just one bent up airplane if it was really low speed). I do know what isn't very realistic. Having engines running after the crash, is pretty far fetched, such as was seen in the opening scenes of Lost and Cast Away. Maybe I've just avoided most plane crash movies.
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The system I've seen installed is a satellite based system. A satellite antennae is installed on top of the aircraft, and then a wireless router is located somewhere in the cabin. So no, it doesn't use the same land based signals that your phone uses.
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No, I certainly cannot travel for free anywhere. I, along with most other mechanics must pay our own way, just like the rest of the public.
Often, if you work for one of the major commercial air carriers, you can get discounts, or fly free on 'standby'. But, most mechanics do not work for those companies.
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