jsfBoat

I have a year to go to finish my A&P and am taking my cfi ride next week. When the hiring starts again, will any of the cargo companies need flight engineers? Besides finishing the A&P and taking the F/E written, what else is invloved in getting the F/E ticket? I'm interested I'm getting on with a cargo company as a flight engineer.

IC ALL

Find someplace still flying 727's. Good luck. I don't see many around anymore.

Twin Wasp

After you do the written, there's an oral and a checkride. I'm not sure I'd waste the time. You'd just be unemployeed 5-8 years down the road. UPS has parked all their Classics/Eights/Seven Two's. FedEx will be done with their 727s in a couple years. There's Capital, Kalitta Charters II and Amerijet with 727s and Kalitta Air, Evergreen, Southern Air and Atlas with Classic 747s and World still has some Tens. National and ATI have some Eights. The heavy operators can get F/Es out of the Air Force with thousands of hours on the panel if they need anyone.

Funny, King Schools still says you'll need the F/E written to get hired by a major airline. They must be sitting on a room of F/E DVDs.

Whistlin' Dan

I wouldn't waste my money. The last civilian airplane that required an F/E was a 747-200 that came off the line in 1982. The desert is full of 3-crewmember airplanes, most will "fly" again only as empty beercans being thrown from speeding pick-up trucks. Every one of those direlects represents the jobs of 10-15 F/E-qualified former crewmembers, some of whom will be driving those trucks.

If becoming a pilot is your goal, stay focused on that. If becoming a PFE is your goal, try to get on as a mechanic with one of the (very few) companies that still employ them, and keep your writtens current while building maintenance experience on type.

If you just have 7 or 8 grand that you want to piddle away on training that won't lead to employment, get your "Flight Navigator" rating, or become a Microsoft Certified Network Engineer on Windows '95.

Good luck on your A&P.

GIANT PILOT

We've shrunk our Classic fleet down to just 6 aircraft, and furloughed more than half of our FE's, the company would like to have all Classics retired within another year or two, they will accelerate these retirements when the 747-8's start rolling off the assembly line.

MaydayMark

Several thoughts ...

- The "major" airlines all require thousands of pilot flight hours (multi-engine jet) and a college degree to get hired as an f/e (yes I realize almost none of the majors even have f/e's any more)

- I kind of liked being a Flight Engineer (747, 727, DC-10) but many guys hate it. I suppose we would have a different viewpoint if we were A&P's to begin with.

- This idea in general reminds me of getting qualified to drive a Model - T. Why not save your money and invest in a career of the future (Some sort of green occupation that President O talks so much about).

Good luck to you ...

taco

FDX doesn't hire PFE's, even though that is the entry level position. Not sure about any other companies.

727gm

The last Western civilian airplane that required an engineer was a 727-200 that came off the line in 1984.

AerisArmis

Are you sure it's not the A300B4?

727gm

Last 727 was Sept 1984. Had no idea that 3-man A300's were being produced that late - found this however:

Production of the A300B4 ceased in May 1984, with manufacture switching to the much improved, two-man cockpit, A300B4-600, marketed as the A300-600.



In any case, a dwindling number of operators.