Flight Engineer - A Dying Breed
I had the opportunity to ride the jumpseat on one of our 727s recently. Watching the Flight Engineer go about his job, I was reminded of just how busy that job could be.Flight Engineers are a rare breed these days and won't be around much longer. Flying as a passenger, you probably haven't seen one in 10 years or so. The passenger airlines retired their three-person aircraft years ago and even the freight carriers are phasing out their 727s, DC-8s and 747 "Classics". When we retire the last of our 727s that will be it for our Engineers.
Many in the airline business started out their careers as Flight Engineers, also called Second Officers (a holdover from back when airliners had larger crews).
I am no exception, my first introduction to airline life was as an Engineer on the 727
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