| The fascinating world of |
| AVIONICS |
| If you have an interest in electronics, or would like to know how I spend my weekdays, check out these cool digs! These are the repair benches I jump between at work: Click on images for full size view |
| The two above photos represent about half of the SMALLER section of Repair and Overhaul. This is where we repair most of the aircraft Radio Communication equipment. |
| ADF (Automatic Direction Finder) |
| DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) |
| Here are some individual benches in the larger section: |
| UHF - VHF Comm |
| Navigation - Communication (NavCom) |
| EMH Control Heads and Displays |
| Autopilot and Synthesized Vision |
| As you might know by now, I work as an Avionics Technician by day. Needless to say, my work is under very strict FAA jurisdiction, as well as ISO 9001 and various other standards of highest quality. Here is a very tiny sampling of some of the customers whose gear I repair. NASA - Boeing - Rockwell - Lockheed - Lear Jet - Cessna - Raytheon - Honeywell - Thales - Eurocopter - U.S Army - U.S. Coast Guard - Hawker Beechcraft - UPS - Various Police Agencies Nationwide - and literally hundreds of smaller aircraft users all over the world. I also enjoy the occasional mindless assignments - board masking, assembly, testing, research, etc. |
UPDATE TO MY SUPER-COOL DAYTIME JOB I have been offered and have accepted a technician position on the ELT line. ELT stands for Emergency Locator Transmitter, and automatically sends out distress signals in the event of a crash. Since virtually every powered aircraft requires an ELT per FAA regulations, the number of customers for whom I perform work will expand tremendously. My four years of outstanding work ethic, low warranty returns, insistence on top notch quality workmanship, history of producing double and triple the shop average in work output, along with consistently glowing performance reviews enabled me to "beat out" someone with more credentials. I look forward to new technologies, challenges, and a badly needed and well-deserved change! |
| Fact of Interest: The inventor of the auto-pilot was killed while testing it. |
| UPS was our biggest customer for the EMH control heads. (Replaced w/newer model) |