How I Got Started
With this already in mind, I happened to receive a flyer in the mail from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, advertising part time night courses on everything from embalming to university level physics. I leafed through it, and found a course on Gas Turbine engine fundamentals offered at the Aerospace technology campus at Vancouver International Airport (a satellite campus). Prior to this I knew what gas turbines were and what they were used for, but had no idea about how they worked. After starting from the ground up in theory (the Bernoulli principle) then taking a tour of the school's shop floor, I knew that this was the environment for me. I was so impressed at the beauty and complexity of the engines.

Education
After scratching the surface of engine theory and operation (this was a 3 hour, two night a week, six week course), we went for an industry tour: the Canadian Airlines hangar (I sat in the cockpit of a 747-probably not that impressive for a professional airline pilot but a once in a lifetime experience for me)! And their engine overhaul shop, MTU. After viewing a professional engine overhaul shop, I was truly envious of the overhaul mechanics seeing firsthand at what they were doing right then (vertical teardown on a G.E. CF6-80; an high bypass turbofan that produces 56,000 lbs of thrust standing 20 feet tall, or long, depending on your perspective) and from that moment on I knew in my heart I wanted to make a career out it. I was going to be one of them someday. I also walked away with a deep respect for airline pilots for what they do day in day out.

I then registered for the full time Gas Turbine Engine Overhaul Technician program which B.C.I.T. offered ( only four other schools offer this course in Canada), and in April of 1998, I began my ten months of training. Having taken the night course before I entered the program, I found the full time course a bit easier, but still very much a challenge. In January 1999, the month I graduated, I interviewed with several overhaul shops, including MTU, and was lucky enough to receive two job offers: one from TransCanada Turbines out of Calgary, Alberta- an outfit which overhauls and does service callouts only on industrial turbines ,like for natural gas pumping and power generation, etc.-and MTU. For me the choice was obvious.

My First Job
At MTU I started out as a LEARNER (I emphasize learner because the 1200 hour course is intended for us to get our foot into the industry and in no way enables a new hire to work independently these engines are just too important to allow an inexperienced technician to perform a modification or a repair unsupervised). Surprisingly enough there is no license required in Canada at this time to overhaul turbine engines (I think this is the case in America as well, but don't quote me on that-you may need an A&P license), so theoretically Joe Shmoe off the street could walk in and apply for a job and work on the overhaul floor. But that aint gonna happen! Engines and all their parts are too expensive for someone with no previous experience to be handling, and besides, it would cost too much money for a company to train someone from the ground up. So you really need the course to get a job. Even with the full time course, graduates really know nothing but the utmost basics about engine overhaul. Sure, we at B.C.I.T. went through the major modules of an Allison 250 C20 turboshaft (compressor, turbine, gearbox) and overhauled them, but keep in mind this was in a six month timeframe (the first four months of the program were devoted to standard practices and theory, no hands on engine stuff). To really know a small engine like the 250 takes a minimum of 2 years, and to know intimately an airline sized engine like a CF6 or a JT8D takes at LEAST 6 years.

Requirements
So, in Canada there really are no college requirements to become an overhaul mechanic, but don't get me wrong- being a competent, knowledgeable turbine mechanic requires a strong understanding of subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, physics, mathematics, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (basically advanced blueprint reading used for the dimensional inspection of engine parts) Dimensional Metrology (not meteorology, but Metrology, the science of precision measurement; knowing how to make accurate, reliable measurements, down to the ten thousandth of an inch. And of course, the turbine engine theory.

I would say the basic skills you need on the overhaul floor are to know how to handle a wrench (and not drop the bloody nut you're unfastening down the compressor), excellent housekeeping skills, ( right now, to me, the most impressive thing in an engine shop is 200 individual parts laid out neatly so the next shift can come in and see exactly what every part is and where it belongs), knowing how to look after your tooling and precision measuring instruments, and above all else- maturity. Maturity meaning being able to come to your foreman and saying look, I think I may have damaged a $60,000 part, instead of looking around to see if anyone saw you drop it and installing the part back in the engine. Apart from that, having a sense of pride in, and enjoying what you do makes your job as an overhaul mechanic rewarding.

An Average Day
Since I work for a huge multinational company, MTU (the website addresses are www.mtu.de [headquarters for the whole company), or www.mtucanada.com (where I work) I am moved around from department to department every three months). Right now, I am into JT8D teardown and inspection. A typical day, at this point of my career would be to arrive at 6:25 am 20 minutes before work starts, and have a cup of tea and some breakfast before I begin for the day. Once that bell rings, I will pick up where the previous shift has left off wherever that may happen to be.

Today for example, we (I say we because work at MTU is very much a team effort) began removal of the L.P.C. (low pressure compressor) out of a JT8D off of a Canadian Airlines 737. The engine was taken from service because it wasn't making power. Borescope (a borescope basically is a probe about 3/16 in diameter, and 18" in length with a video camera on the end used to view components otherwise inaccessible when the engine is assembled) and test cell analysis (every engine is borescoped and tested coming into and going out of the shop) revealed F. O. D. in the compressor from a bird strike (birds sucked into the engine). Once the compressor was out, we began disassembling and inspecting. Inspection consists of determining if a component (today they had me inspecting the second and third stage L.P.C. blades) is either serviceable/airworthy, unserviceable/repairable, or unserviceable/scrap.

Now keep in mind, once I sign my name saying a particular part is airworthy, my signature becomes legal. When I say a part is airworthy, I'm saying that this part can be trusted to carry 200 plus people 35 000 feet in the sky. Another thing to note: the JT8D L.P.C. spins at 8600 rpm @ 100% power (that's 143 revolutions per second) So if that one single blade that I deemed to be airworthy during my inspection comes loose during takeoff or during cruise-catastrophic failure is inevitable. We are the ones who disassemble, inspect and build up the engines you pilots depend on. Without us you would not be flying.

In the world of turbine engine overhaul we do everything by the latest amendment of the manufacturers overhaul manual. The contents of the manuals written by professional engineers who designed the engine. The point I'm trying to make here is that if you go by the book and strictly follow its instructions and inspection criteria, everything will be fine (theoretically) but mistakes are inevitable.

In Closing
Aircraft maintenance as well as engine overhaul are pursuits which require much patience and a commitment to the highest standards. As such, they aren't jobs for every young punk "grease monkey" (when a line mechanic goes out and kicks the tires of a 747, the lives of 450 people are on his shoulders). As you airline pilots know, you can't exactly pull over to the side of the road 30,000 feet over the Atlantic after an engine failure-the only thing you can do is look at each other. Having said this, you can see that it takes a special kind of person to work in aviation. I highly recommend any potential aircraft or engine mechanics still in high school to stay focused on your studies (this means not going out and partying every night) and get good grades so you will be accepted into that aviation college and hopefully, find a job. I can assure you that once you're in the industry and you stick with it, it will be good to you.

You may have to work for a low wage when you first get in (I myself started out at $15/hour, which is quite good for entry level) but with experience, that wage will grow to $50/hour (remember, they don't pay you the big bucks for nothing-responsibility responsibility responsibility!!!). I've been working at MTU for two years now and I make $22/hour.

The turbine overhaul industry is booming. We at MTU have 400 technicians and it is our goal by this time two years from now to have 1000. The problem is, the company can't find enough qualified people to fill those positions. The HR people are recruiting from all over the world-Russia, South Africa, North America, China, etc., and have a deal set up with the government saying anyone qualified to do the job can have landed immigrant status immediately. I can assure you that once you have five years experience in this industry, you will ALWAYS be able to find a job wherever you go. So, I hope I have provided a good article about what I do, and I have tried not to ramble on too much.