Pilots need to have confidence that engines will fly their plane and not break down: in the early days this was a major cause of accidents.
Engineers need in depth knowledge to service the very complicated machinery in today's aircraft and keep them flying. Arthur Reed in his book on BA quotes a Concorde captain: 'If you did not have faith in the engineers, you would be sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time. But we know that the aircraft are always presented to us for service in a first class condition, and that underlying faith in the whole maintenance procedure is shared by all our flight crews.'
Working in an airline's engineering department involves long and meticulous training. In most cases, airlines offer four year maintenance engineering apprenticeships. Apply to the appropriate airline, but make sure you live near their maintenance base some international airlines may work out of an international airport but will carry out maintenance at a smaller airport where costs are lower.
The CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and its equivalents abroad, set out very exact schedules of maintenance for every type of aircraft: so many maintenance checks and replacements after so many hours' flying. Each aircraft has a logbook with detailed information about every check carried out, and the engineer in charge signs off each job. Every time an aircraft goes out of the engineering base, the technicians who have lovingly serviced this machine know that if anything happens because of a fault overlooked, it will be traced back to them. They have to be good.
The only time the engineering department gets to service an aircraft is in the 'down' time when it's not flying. Short checks can take place in between flights longer checks have to be carried out overnight. Sometimes an aircraft has to be taken out of service, which is not popular with the financial department or operations.
Engineering departments use incredibly sophisticated diagnostic equipment. There will be X ray machines (encased in concrete and lead lined doors), scanners and heat detection machines with all the special handling that these entail, to scan deep inside an engine and search for faults before they become visible to the naked eye. Some of this equipment is portable in case there is a problem away from base.
Many major airlines carry out maintenance under contract for other airlines sometimes even rivals. Airline lore tells the story of engineers who had finished a job on a rival's plane, and were found polishing it up by hand 'just to impress the others'.
Development engineers
Engineering staff play a much more important role in airlines than is generally recognized. As well as the 'normal' role of servicing and looking after engines, there are specialists who look after everything from electrics to seats. Development engineers are an elite corps within an engineering department, but they have an important role to play.
Case Study
The development engineer
Airline seats are a precision engineering job, and whenever an airline decides to change its seats, development engineers will be given the task of coming up with something better than anything a rival can offer. No small task, when you know that rival airlines have teams doing exactly the same thing. The airline sets up a small team from marketing, purchasing and operations. Working as part of the development team with the engineers, they spend months going through every possibility the seat must be fireproof to a certain rating, light, and easy to install anywhere where the airline has a depot. Working with ergonomists they will try to make the seat as comfortable as possible for every type of passenger.
They also work with the IFE (in flight entertainment) people to ensure that the latest gizmos can be incorporated into seats (there is enough hardware underneath each seat to run a powerful PC) and that wiring is easy to replace when something goes wrong. Recently, a plane returning from Asia with an English football team on board had its seats trashed and the airline couldn't sell those seats until the plane returned to its base and the engineering department could fit replacements. The result was a huge loss of revenue for the airline, and back to the drawing board to try and make seats non trash able by football teams and others.
Salary
With seats costing anything from £ 1,000 in economy to upwards of £5,000 in premium class, cost analysis is an important job. A recent BA ad for any engineering cost analyst to produce monthly schedules and cost summaries, and liaise with customers, offered a salary of £12,500 pa.
Airport maintenance
Airports also need engineers. Maintenance managers work in a challenging environment, developing airport maintenance, taking responsibility for the team overseeing day to day maintenance, and devising and implementing new ways to improve systems. Prospective must have an HNC in an appropriate engineering discipline or have equivalent experience. Experience of introducing computerized maintenance procedures would be helpful.
Salary
Recent jobs advertised by the BAA included maintenance managers and technicians for Stansted Airport. Salaries ranged from £20,000 to £30,000 plus performance related bonuses (Jan 2001). The ads stated that due to internal promotions the authority was looking for skilled technicians, dealing with everything from ground lighting to X ray equipment. HNC or ONC qualified with a high level of mechanical and electrical expertise on plant and equipment and their associated control systems. Shift work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Flight engineers
These work on the flight deck of aircraft, but, as Margaret Pecnik of BALPA says, 'this is a sunset career'. Aircraft are theoretically easier to fly today, and companies would prefer to employ two rather than three crew on a flight deck, so the flight engineer's job is being phased out. F/E still work on RAF planes and for some freight airlines and Concorde.
Helicopter engineers
The British Helicopter Advisory Board's Web site (www. bhab.demon.co.uk) has a training section with information: 'I want to be a helicopter engineer'.
Qualifications and training
To be selected for an apprentice scheme, school leavers need a good education with GCSEs or A Levels (or equivalents) in Mathematics, English and Science. Once on the scheme, you select if you want to specialize in engines, airframes or aviation electronics. Most airlines now operate an attainment based scheme so you progress upwards every time you master a process, rather than waiting until you have served a certain time. Usually you work three four years as an apprentice. Once this is finished, you then go on to specialized training. After approximately five years you obtain your license and can sign for work you have carried out. When you sign, you are legally responsible for that work.
As an alternative to university, for those aged 18 24 with A Levels, BA runs a LAEs (Licensed Aircraft Engineers) program. Over four years you combine working on the latest commercial aircraft with studies for an HND in Aeronautical Engineering Maintenance License, with the opportunity to go on to a BE (Hons) in Air Transport Engineering.
Undergraduates interested in an industrial placement year with an engineering focus are based within the supply chain business (involved with companies that provide the products and spares that go into aircraft). Graduate engineers are recruited directly into engineering departments, maintenance and power plant.
Case Study
Tom, an engineer, works at Heathrow.
Tom was always fascinated with engines; he financed a gap year trip round the world by restoring and then selling a classic car. So when the offer of an apprenticeship for BA at Heathrow came up, he leapt at this.
'In your first year you study for your HND in Aeronautical Engineering and start studying for your JAR (Joint Airworthiness Requirement) 66 License. You also get hands on experience. The next year you complete your HND and practice troubleshooting in BA's ground based simulators. You also decide if you want to study for the BE (Hons) in Transport Engineering (this will take extra time, reverting back to the program for the final two years).'
During the third year 'You are assigned to a fleet and aircraft type to gain experience. Finally your last year is structured training in an operational environment and you sit your exams.' After four years he gets JAR 66 B1 and B2 Licenses and an HND. After six years it is a degree. Now he is qualified, Tom works at Heathrow, but often flies abroad when an aircraft goes u/s away from base.
How to apply
Engineers are expected to be computer literate; so many airlines initially ask you to fill in a form online. If your form fits, you will be invited for an assessment of classroom based tests and group exercises with working engineers. You could then be invited back for a further interview.
Eligibility
You must have the right to live where the airlines engineering base is. You must be aged 18 24 for most British airlines and have or be expected to gain A Level Mathematics and Physics or a related Science subject, plus GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C in English and Mathematics.
