| The fascinating world of |
| AVIONICS |
| If you have an interest in electronics, or would like to know how I spent my weekdays, check out these cool digs! These were the repair benches I jumped 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 repaired 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 worked for five years as a top level Avionics Technician at Cobham Aerospace Communications Prescott, located at 6400 Wilkenson Drive in Prescott, AZ. I have since left the job to operate Barry's 8 Track Repair full time. For five years I performed work at a licensed FAA Repair Station for customers such as: 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 enjoyed the occasional mindless assignments - board masking, assembly, testing, research, etc. |
UPDATE TO MY SUPER-COOL DAYTIME JOB (it never actually happened) 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 five 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) |