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‘PLUMBERS IN THE SKY’
THE DEMISE OF THE FLIGHT ENGINEER
As airliners developed into larger,
multi-engine aircraft, it became necessary to add a cockpit crewmember to
manage the complex systems in use.
This was especially true with early piston and jet engines, as they required much more input and monitoring.
With advances in modern technology, this position — the flight engineer — has been all but eliminated in the modern day airliner design.
Flight engineers were responsible for operating and monitoring the
hydraulic, pressurization, fuel, electrical and air conditioning systems. They
accomplished this from a seat in the cockpit, which sat sideways behind the
pilots. This seat was situated in front of a panel with the controls and gauges
for the systems they monitored.
The flight engineer had many tasks to accomplish. In addition to
managing aircraft systems, they were responsible for conducting the interior
and exterior preflight inspections, making calculations for various aspects of
aircraft performance and ensuring the proper paperwork was on board.
On many aircraft the flight engineer managed the movement of fuel into
different tanks as the flight progressed, leading to the flight engineer
becoming referred to as a “plumber.”
There were generally two types of flight engineers industry wide: the
professional flight engineer and the second officer.
The professional flight engineer often came from the ranks of airframe
and powerplant mechanics. They were not rated pilots and not eligible to
upgrade to a pilot position.
Second Officers were pilots who were assigned to the flight engineer
role while waiting to gain seniority to move into a flying position.
Requirements for applying to a second officer position included a commercial
pilot’s license, a minimum number of flying hours, and to have passed the
flight engineer written examination.
When newly hired to the airline, the flight engineer student would
attend a thorough sequence of training courses. First he attends a ground
school which is approximately four weeks long and covers the aircraft systems
in such depth that it is often joked they teach how to build the plane in your
garage. Ground school culminates in an hour-long oral examination given by a
flight engineer. Next was three weeks of simulator training, at the end of
which the student receives a check ride from a flight engineer check airman.
The final phase was the initial operating experience (IOE). During the IOE the
student would perform duties on a revenue flight with a flight engineer check
airman. The last leg of trip would be the line check. After successfully
passing, the flight engineer would be cleared to begin performing regular
duties.
Once training was completed the assignment of duties depended on one’s
seniority. Cockpit position, crew bases, and schedules were bid by seniority.
Usually the better the assignment meant the more seniority it would take to
obtain that position. Employees would bid based on their personal work
lifestyle preference. For some, being based in their home areas was a motivating
factor, while for others upgrading to a flying position was a goal. It was for
this reason that bidding a flight engineer position on a high-paying piece of
equipment could take make seniority than a flying position on a lower paying
aircraft with an unfavorable schedule.
Not every second officer assigned as a flight engineer immediately
jumped at the chance to upgrade to first officer. Some remained in the flight
engineer seat as it was a great place to learn about airline operations. They
got to work with two experienced pilots and had a front row seat to learn
call-outs, company procedures and arrivals and departures from several
airports. It was a good place to learn while on probation without having to
jump right into the decision making world of the right seat as many pilots do
today.
Seniority became more of a factor as the end of the of the three-person
cockpit crew drew near. The 1978 Airline Deregulation Act — which relinquished
government control over fares and routes — drove competition among airlines.
Rising fuel costs and shorter routes requiring smaller aircraft
contributed to older aircraft being retired in favor of more modern and
efficient ones. By the time of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, all
but the last of the three-position flight deck aircraft had been retired.
Airlines parked all but the most efficient aircraft within months of the
attacks, which found many filling the flight engineer seats looking for work.
As the airlines were parking their fleets of older aircraft, flight
engineers were looking for opportunities to upgrade to flying positions. Those
who had the seniority to bid a first officer seat did so. The remaining
professional flight engineers were forced to retire along with second officers
who were over age 60. The remaining junior second officers were furloughed.
While some were recalled after three years, most were laid off again. The
average wait for recall to the airlines was about ten years.
Modern day airliners of all sizes are just as complex, if not more so,
than their multi engine predecessors.
While providing an excellent training ground for entry-level pilots, the
flight engineer’s position is no longer needed with today’s technology. The
functions the flight engineer once performed are now automated into solid-state
processors housed in racks in the electronics bay beneath the cockpit. Any
manual controls required are now within the reach of the two pilots.
There are no longer any US-based passenger carriers operating fleets
that require flight engineers. There remain a handful of cargo, charter, and
private operators with aircraft in their fleet requiring a flight engineer, but
those are not as frequent as they once were.
While flight engineers may be gone as a profession, they are certainly
not forgotten.
Michael Lothrop is a lifelong aviation enthusiast and writer from Maine.
Mike grew up around the airport and has a professional background in public
safety and business. Follow him on Twitter.
http://www.nycaviation.com/2015/04/plumbers-sky-demise-flight-engineer/38613
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