Aircraft Mechanic

Aircraft Mechanic

Fred Robel

27 Years Experience

Au Gres, MI

Male, 49

I'm a licensed Aircraft Mechanic & Inspector with twenty five-plus years in the field. I've had a varied career so far, with time spent in the sheetmetal, mechanic, and inspection specialties. Most of my time is on heavy Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft, of the passenger, cargo, and experimental type. This career isn't for everyone, but I enjoy it.

Please do NOT ask me to troubleshoot problems with your airplane, that is not what this Q&A is for.

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155 Questions

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Last Answer on July 09, 2022

Best Rated

Do you get buddy passes what are they?

Asked by Jacobi almost 5 years ago

I do not, and never have, gotten buddy passes; or had employee flight benefits of any kind. If you want those kinds of things, you would have to work for a passenger airline.

Buddy passes are basically stand-by/space available tickets that an airline employee can give to family or friends. Certain taxes and fees would still need to be paid.

Using those passes, puts you at the lowest priority of stand-by. So there is zero guarantees of you actually getting on a given flight.

Why do so many people have a fear of flying. I mean it’s the safest mode of transportation even more so then a school bus. As well as you can die from anything.

Asked by Summer almost 5 years ago

It’s psychological, of course. There are whole studies based on that question.

Fear of heights + fear of what we don’t fully understand + not having any control + media highlighting every passenger plane crash or incident.

Not really the focus of this Q&A though.

Another question is what is the most difficult aircraft to work on?

Asked by Daniel almost 5 years ago

When you ask me " what is the most difficult aircraft to work on?" I"m taking that as: "What is the most difficult aircraft that I have ever worked on". Because that is a very subjective question.

I guess the aircraft that consistently gave a pretty high difficulty level to us, has been the DC-10's.  They are overbuilt tanks in the sky; with a lot of unusual structure to them we need to work around and with.

I had a friend who said that F-4's were pretty hard to work with.  He did fuel cell work on them in the Air Force.

It's all based pretty much on personal experience.  Ask ten different mechanics that same question, and you may very well get ten different answers.

Please help How do I get broken off screw heads on the fuel panel of my Cessna 172?

Asked by Kirk A&P almost 5 years ago

I recommend that you find some local help with your issue. I do not offer technical help in this forum.

What precautions are being taken on airplanes for the COVID-19?

Asked by Merl Haggard Fan almost 5 years ago

Same sort of things that are being done for restaurants and other public spaces.

Lots of cleaning. Health checks for everyone coming in. And extra space for people (when possible)

Have you almost ever made a critical error or even been responsible for a air emergency?

Asked by Jamie almost 5 years ago

Honestly? Most of the things we do are “almost making a critical error”. In that if we judge things wrong, it can be critical.

No. I have never been responsible for an air emergency.

How often do people try to sneak a smoke on a plane? Do flight crew ever try and do this? What about Air Marshals like that movie where he duct tapes the alarm and smokes in the bathrooms.

Asked by Mike almost 5 years ago

I don’t really know about what they do on passenger flights. I know on the cargo flights, we used to step back into the cargo bay for a smoke. But that was a long time ago.

Got any actual career related questions for me? Anyone?