Ap Aircraft Mechanic - Working in an airline may seem prestigious to many outsiders: a job full of adventure and travel with good perks. But the situation is different, as in most cases. For the past nine years, I have spent my time working as an FAA-certified and licensed airframe and power plant mechanic, or A&P. A&Ps are the lifeblood of civil aviation in the United States.
In short, it is our responsibility to ensure that all flights in the US are conducted safely and efficiently. Not too flashy, but definitely fun! I earned my A&P license, attended an FAA approved course for two years at Washington State Community College, then entered the aviation workforce with an eagerness to conquer the world; Or so I thought!
Ap Aircraft Mechanic
During my ten years in the aviation industry, I worked for four companies; Two are one year or less, and the other two are four years. I have had the opportunity to operate everything from the small (yet powerful!) Piper J-3 Cub to the newest member of the 747 family, namely the 747-8. So enjoy sitting back and reading this while reminiscing about some of my mishaps (or mishaps) over the years!
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As a famous saying in aviation mechanics, God designed A&Ps so that pilots can also have heroes. But I can confirm that it is very true! During my four years working for a major regional airline at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (Seatac for short; KSEA), I spent several days calling in the flight and being pulled into the gate with the pilot. Something needs to be fixed soon.
Most of the time everything changes quickly like a light bulb. Other times, we have to spend many hours to solve the problem. On one occasion, I called a DeHavilland Q400 when the Dees pilot's control circuit breaker was stuck. After spending probably four hours checking everything with the Gods system, consulting manuals and talking to colleagues, we finally got our Ah Ha! Important: We noticed in our wiring diagrams that the wire left behind the breaker and the bleed control valve went to one of the machines.
So I took the ladder, climbed into the engine room, and checked the connections on that valve. Sure enough, we have a small wire inside the valve. Less than 40 minutes later, after replacing the throttle and running the engine to check, we had the plane back in the air and on to our next destination.
I worked at an airline and we were told: If all the mechanics were available playing cards, studying or training, it was a holiday. The price is made on the airline. Sometimes someone walks into the room and it's empty or there's a manual lying around, it's a bad day and we're not making money.
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The reason behind it is that if we are all inside, all our flights will fly at the same time and make the same price for the airline. However, if we were all working on flats or by pouring hands inside things broke down and there were flats sitting on top of the embankment not making money.
One day, a colleague called me on the plane to help pull the engine hood over the Q400 engine so he could replace the actuation on the hood. Well, after thinking about what needed to be done, and researching that it would take almost two hours to fix it, we called a third worker who was not five feet tall and I got wet and kissed by a 100 pounder. We lifted it through the engine intake on the turboprop and moved the actuator that way. Simple task - we had the plane back in the air after 30 minutes!
Another thing that never gets old is the love of traveling and fixing airplanes. Never turn from the road; But we are all good enough to ask what we walk out the other end of.
Sometimes, the management tells us 'don't worry', it's easy, and we arrive at our destination to find that everything has gone to hell in a towel.
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One evening my colleague and I were sent to Bozeman, MT (KBZN) to repair a Q400 that had to return to BZN after takeoff with an in-flight shutdown of the left engine. We roll into Bozeman at 11:00 PM and begin work on replacing the necessary parts in the engine, only to discover that we have the wrong part. After a quick call to our support office in Portland, OR, they brought us the right parts through the paper plane.
So what are two bored mechanics and the mayor supposed to be doing for four hours in the middle of the night? We played the game, though! After the right parts arrived, it only took us 20 minutes to swap them out, and then the fun part of the job: the full engine running! I think the whole town of Bozeman woke up, and we woke up by running both machines at full power for fifteen minutes at 5am!
Other trips were less eventful: I was asked to go to Santa Rosa, CA (KSTS) one afternoon to fix a hydraulic valve on a Q400. After a 90-minute flight from MARE in a tiny jump seat on the Q400 flightdeck (another perk of being a mechanic), the plane took off in California, and the local contract mechanic told me that the leak had already been fixed. .
All I had to do was give the engine a quick five minute earth run to verify that it was fixed. After signing the pay book and calling for maintenance, I was ready to go to the crew hotel when I got a call from the authorities: they wanted me on the plane for a re-positioning flight to Reno. He broke again.
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Thus he met the crowd of flight, loaded, and headed for the little city. Of course, the plane didn't pay again, but I got a free overnight trip to Reno and only lost $5 in the casino!
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Being an airline mechanic is the best and the worst thing to do. Many times I call for a flight with fully loaded pilots and they know it's not an easy fix. Pilots always hated those who deployed.
However, they always leave the plane early, because those passengers ignore you for being late. However, the best times were when my colleagues and I broke out of our bags to fix the plane and were in front of the terminal windows, watching kids and adults fix their plane.
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It always makes us feel good when boarding passengers thank us for their trip. Nothing is better.
The first memorable example of this journey is on Christmas Eve. I was sent to Bozeman to fix a broken pilot's seat and after thirty minutes of work, I had the plane up and ready to go. While I was standing in the air before and filled out the necessary documents, the crew began to board the passengers. It was a full flight, but I think the 76 passengers thanked me for fixing the flight that night and making it to Seattle.
Of course, working for a living, operating airplanes is dangerous. I've seen people walk around with strings on their shoulders, jet blasts, or many other close calls. My next call came when I had to fill a portable oxygen tank for the CRJ-700.
I was working in maintenance close to the aircraft when the regulator suddenly exploded in the master cylinder two feet from my head. All I remember was a flash of bright whiteness, then outside the first sitting on the ground to regain consciousness. I was lucky to escape the blast without injury and with only a minor concussion.
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Other friends and colleagues were not so lucky. I have known men who have run into arms, been run over by robbers, or run over by vehicles. It is a dangerous job, but everyone needs to be aware of the situation. Wherever you want to go in the world, an aviation accident agency will get you there. And when
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