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Civilian Crew Chief Jobs available?


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Hello everyone,

 

I'm currently in the Army, I hit 10 years in July. I was a former MH-47G (just a modified CH-47) Flight Engineer for my first 6 years until I went to flight school. I flew approximately 1,300 hours as a Flight Engineer. Sadly a year out from flight school, I was permanently grounded from flying. I'm attempting to change jobs within the Army, however I am trying to prepare for the worse in the event they medical retire me.

 

I loved flying as a Flight Engineer and actually miss it. Seeing as I cannot fly as a pilot, I'm looking to possibly to be a Flight Engineer on the civilian side if I'm forced to medically retire. I know a couple guys I used to work with got out and did this, however I do not have their contact information. I found Columbia Helicopters, but as of right now they do not have openings. I will keep an eye on them in the future though. Does anyone happen to know any companies that offer this job description? I appreciate any help that I may be able to get!!

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IIRC some of those companies like Columbia and AAR Airlift in Afghanistan just put a competent mechanic in the back to help out with passengers. Some military aircraft that are operated under restricted category, that required a crew member in the back as a military aircraft still have that requirement as a civil aircraft, but as a crew member you'd likely still need to have an FAA medical certificate. The company I currently work for flies CH-46E, UH-1HII, UH-1N, and S-61T(SH-3H) helos in Baghdad and Kabul, and requires crew chiefs/gunners to fly missions. An FAA class III medical is required though. Helicopter crew chiefs/flight engineers aren't really a thing in civil aviation. Any competent mechanic with some extra training can be thrown in to do what would typically be done by an enlisted air crewman. When it comes to things like external load, many companies have their pilots just fly using vertical reference, and aircraft have bubble windows to allow the pilots to see the load from the cockpit. MAG is another one that uses flight engineers/crew chiefs on MI-17's in Kabul, but again, FAA medical required.

 

If you can't obtain an FAA medical, you'll be hard pressed to obtain a job as a required crew member without one.

 

Billings Flying Service in Montana is looking for CH-47D mechs/crew chiefs, they have a posting on JS Firm. They do external lift utility work and fire contracts during fire season.

Edited by superstallion6113
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