Engineering

It is important for someone with a fear of flying to understand that aviation engineering is undoubtedly the best engineering in any industry, anywhere in the world. From the technical and training points of view, aviation engineering leads the world. Many industries copy and adapt aviation procedures in training and in practice. The nuclear industry uses our safety practices and the health industry uses our human factors knowledge and techniques in the operating theatre. Aviation engineering and the professional engineers employed are the best in the world.

Remember:

• Engineers do not work alone, but have all work supervised
• Aircraft are checked before, and after every flight
• Aircraft are better maintained and serviced than any other from of transport

Routine maitenance is performed between flights.

In the old days aircraft engineers were very similar to motor car engineers, they would have spent a lot of time with spanners and oil cans mending and maintaining the various parts of an aircraft and its engines. Now of course aircraft are much more sophisticated and reliable so engineers are more appropriately trained although their basic skills of mechanics, oil cans and spanners are still a part of their skill and their training.
But today you’re more likely to see an engineer carrying a laptop than a set of spanners. Almost every modern aircraft is built with an electronic testing system for routine checking and maintenance. In addition to the engineers’ PC’s there is built in test equipment (BITE) on board all aircraft. It’s a system which monitors and diagnoses the state of all the systems during a flight and relays the information to the ground engineers and their monitor screens. And this information is now relayed to the ground for analysis. Therefore it is normal for ground engineers to monitor aircraft systems even while the aircraft is in flight.

Yes, the engineer is checking fluid levels between flights.

There are of course still a number of jobs that an engineer has to do which requires spanners and screwdrivers. However, engineers do not work on their own; one engineer will do the work while another independently checks that it has been done correctly before it can be signed off in the aircraft’s technical log. Many people who have a fear of flying the often wonder about the quality of aircraft maintenance. They only have to see an engineer working on their aircraft before they get on board to imagine the worst. If your fear or flying arises from worry about the standard of engineering then you should remember that everything that is on an aircraft is checked, checked and checked again by enthusiastic and very competent engineers.

Before every flight an engineer checks the aircraft for serviceability and signs the aircraft’s technical log to this effect.

After a specified period it's back to the hangar for a complete overhaul.

After every flight the pilot fills in the technical log for the engineers to check and then rectify any faults. In addition to the maintenance, the technical log provides evidence of the amount of fuel loaded and before flight and the amount consumed during the flight thus providing the engineers with another check on the engine conditions. You have every reason to have confidence in aviation engineering.

At the airport don ‘t be alarmed if an engineer is looking at your plane while you’re waiting at the departure gate.

The reason that you may see an engineer looking at your aircraft before you fly is that it is undergoing part of its maintenance schedule during the turnaround time. When it reaches its destination, more maintenance will be done on another part of the aircraft. Do not be alarmed by the things that make your flight safer than riding a donkey!

At the end of a career pilots have a special message for engineers.

It is customary for retiring  pilots to write a note of thanks to the engineers in the aircraft technical log.  Mine said that I’d enjoyed a safe career because of the dedication and skill of engineers  some of whom I’d met and many that I hadn’t and that  my thanks went to every single one of them.  What a privelege to be able to say such a thing.

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