Posted: 6/9/2008 10:17:06 PM EDT
| any of you guys FE's? I just was accepted to retrain as an FE, I'm half way through ALS right now. When its over I'm going to get as mush of the med stuff finished. How hard is the retraining process and the FE training? |
I dd some time as a C-141 FE. Went through training in 1986. The first thing is that the schools are not the standard attend/party/graduate type. Through Basic Flight Engineer (Fixed Wing Aircraft Performance) and the C-141 Qual Course, we lost about 1/3 of each class due to washouts. Some people didn't apply themselves. Some people couldn't hack it academically. Some wouldn't get it (we had three private pilots in the class who liked to argue with the instructors. Two of them busted out. Lesson: Learn it their way). The academics have been compared to trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose. With that said, if you pay attention and focus on your studies, you should do OK. With practice you'll become a world class SMOE picker. What airplanes still have FEs? Hercs & E-3s? BTW, you'll also go through survival school. I can't tell you what happens. Just remember the phrase, "If you aren't having fun, you're doing it wrong!" 
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KC-135s? A looooong time ago I worked Waater Burners (A models) and the crew consisted of P, CP, Nav, and Boomer. I don't have any experience with Rs, so I'll refrain from commenting on them. I really enjoyed my time as a FE. You are the system expert in the crew. The pilots (at least the ones with good judgment  ) look to you as a decision-making resource in things that aren't covered in Bold Print in the checklists. Bold Print is steps committed to memory. (You will be amazed at how much you will be able to stuff in your noggin.).Any preference on which airplane you'd like to go to? |
| A buddy of mine with about 20yrs total time in at 37 was an E-7 flight engineer on herks, his unit transitioned to the J model and his job was going away. they said "you wanna be a pilot?" he had finished his degree some years earlier so at 37 they slapped an age waiver on him and sent him to flight school. its good to be an FE when your airframe is nearing its end of like or a SLEP. |
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DvlDog brings up a good point. FE is a career field with increasingly limited long-term prospects. The C-17 entered the active inventory 15 years ago. Crew: P/CP/LM. There were a LOT of bitter C-141 FEs here at CHS as the 17 replaced the Starlifter. Likewise, that's the direction for the Hercs as the Js bump out the older airframes. |
Herks or C-5s, I know the Herk from working on them, but C-5s go to some cool places, but Herks get to do some crazy stuff too |
DVLDog... Your buddy a Marine or USAF Herc FE? If Marine let me know who he is... Semper Fi, brother. |
| Go to hercs, i'm a MC-130H FE and I think you will enjoy the mision better. of course to go to MC's you need to do some slick time first which is still cool. the larger planes like c-5's and Kc-10's still have FE's and they go to alot nicer places than hercs, but they do not airdrop or anything like that. IM me and I can give ya some intel on the schools, we have a few loads that just went through not long ago. |