Strange Request

Mar 25, 2004
29
0
Hey all

I have a strange request. I was wondering if anyone had an outdated copy of one of those maintenance manuals on CD, that I could have. I could even send a blank CD with postage and all that stuff taken care of. I don’t even care what machine it is for.

The reason I ask is that I am having a hard time finding someone to hire me on. If I don’t find work this summer, I don’t want the time to be totally wasted. It will also keep my brain turnin’ ‘n’ burnin’…..not a whole lot of brain work involved in loading bags on planes. :rolleyes:

One more thing; anyone heard anything through the grapevine about companies looking for brand new apprentices? Wish I had the 3-5 years experience everyone is asking for in their job ads.

Anyhow, thanks for any help you guys can give me.

Apprentice :huh:
 
FA, unless I missed something along the line you have never stated what you are an apprentice at.

Should you have completed a recognized apprenticeship program at one of the colleges, I would say go to the nearest HRDC office and complain on an ongoing basis that you cannot find work in your profession due to lack of experience. Possibly they will pay to have an employer hire you???????

Your government at work for you.

Worth a try.

Cheers Don
 
Freakin Apprentice, pm me your address, I'll send you an old jetranger library cd. Make sure you don't let anyboby use it to do actuall maintenance since it is out of date.
That being said, I'm not sure that knowing the maintenance manual by heart is going to help you get a job!
As I said so before, our criteria for hiring is 90% attitude and 10% qualification. You seem to have what it takes in the attitude department and your references check out.
Don't be discouraged as it is sometimes a matter of being at the right place at the right time!!!
Keep up the attitude and the hard work and I guarantee you something will eventually come along.
You might even want to consider taking a job with a fixed wing outfit (gulp :eek:) just to get into the aviation maintenance side of things and also to start building your apprenticeship time.
I worked fixed wing after my first year of college and although I detested working on planes, I was able to use those 4 months towards my license.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!
:up: :up: :up:
 
FA;

PM also with your address and will send you Astar MMs on CD as well. Ditto what jetbox said.

sc :up: :up:
 
Thank you guys!

I never expected such a fast and generous response. When I was at BCIT I loved reading the manuals. I liked how they explained how each system worked and showed the components and where they fit on the aircraft.

I don’t know if I have told this story before. Six months before I graduated BCIT bought an UH-1H from some guy in Michigan. It came on the back of a truck. For the next 6 months myself and a few other students found defects and fixed them. There were defects in every system in that machine. We would find something wrong, and then I would go home and read about how to correct it and do it the next day or for however long it took me/us. The instructor gave us a lot of freedom to do what we like, as he was just happy enough that we were willing and eager enough to put in the extra work. It was so much fun, and I learned an awful lot. I definitely don’t think I am ready to go out in the field with the machine, but I am glad I put in the extra time and learned what I did.
I understand that reading the maintenance manual wouldn’t make me any more qualified as an apprentice, but I enjoy learning about helicopters so much that I don’t want to loose any opportunity to learn. I guess I have piss and vinegar coming out the vents.

I have to admit that I have had the thought of looking for a fixed wing job. Any kind of maintenance work would be better than getting reamed by some prick who thinks he is hot *hit because he loads airplanes for a living. :stupid: Enough bitchin’ and complain’ about my current job.

Blackmac – I would never ask the taxpayers to pay someone to hire me. I would rather pump gas and be self-sufficient. Thank you for the advice anyway.

Thank you again guys. I really appreciate it. :up:

Apprentice :huh:
 
FA; Another area is the military reserves, there is a shortage of techs.

Cheers Don

PS: The taxpayer would be investing in you. What do you think UI is all about?????

The longer you work and are happy, the less the system has to support you. Think long term, not short term.
 
BTW Blackmac, UI is now EI in current" government lingo " don't want to confuse any newbees to the system.

:elvis: :elvis: :shock: :elvis: :elvis:
 
Hey FA, I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum, lookin for work. Endorsed on Bell 47s, all 206 series, SikorskyS58Ts, AS332C Super Pumas, Gazelle, AS350B2,B3,B4s, S lic., P Lic., ex DOM , O/H shop supervisor etc. etc. I'm in it for the fun now, & really don't take it too seriously. Good luck, have fun & enjoy. It's been a great ride so far !!!! :)
 
Hi FA,

If you really can't find anything, you might want to consider volunteering at the Canadian museum of flight (I am guessing that since you went to BCIT you still live in the Greater Vancouver area). It is located at Langley airport and they have a lot of retired AMEs (some of them who worked on the same planes back in WW2 even!) and other aviation enthousiasts working on, well, really old planes on display and some that fly. It would probably be good experience and a chance to network.

Good luck.