Not quite a casting thread but I've just been offered a new job restoring WWII hurricane fighter planes! After an 8mnth dry spell with work this has just fallen in my lap! The air strip and hangers are 5 minutes from my front door and it's a real company (not some enthuasts group in a shed!) I'll get photos of the work (as and when I'm allowed) and put them up if there is any interest
Very cool! Congrats. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is a very near my office, quite a number their aircraft are flight worthy so I will often see some of the old girls overhead, it never gets old, always brings a smile to my face. I took this picture during an airshow the museum hosted a few years ago, a Lancaster, a Mosquito, two Spitfires and two Hurricanes, a rare site indeed.
Thanks all, It's a world away from my typical work environments (Hit it and hope) Need to pass a trial period but if forsee a fair bit of riveting and soldering to begin with. They have just finished a two seat conversion that is running flights out of Biggin Hill.
Been a hard few years Gippeto so this seems too good to be true. I didn't even know they were there until two weeks ago so I wrote a 'hello' letter to one of the directors and he asked me to drop in. I guess you make your own oppertunities sometime (or maybe it was fate?) around here there is nothing on the job market just now and what is is dead-end being chased by hundreds of people! First job stripping a crash damaged wing spar on a Hurricane, whoop whoop!
This 'dog's ass' wants to stand 6 foot from a Merlin V12 even if I go deaf as a result When discussing wages I nearly said 'just pay my mileage!'
Absolutely!! The Lancaster pictured in my earlier posts uses four of them, when they rev up all four prior to takeoff, it's a magnificent sound.
Glad you didn't just find work, but a cool job this time. Are you an A&P or AME PeeDee? If not, start a log book listing what you did on which parts each day, and have a licensed guy or the boss sign it off each week. If you can show three years work experience (your log) you are a big step towards becoming licensed. Aviation employment is not the most stable environment, but generally there is always a shortage of licensed aircaft mechanics. I remember when I was an apprentice, the F-4 Corsair of the alpine fighter collection came to visit our air force base. When I started up to depart, I had the dubious honor of standing behind the prop, with two hands full of rags, and instructions that if there is a carburettor fire, stuff it out with the rags. No really idea how the would have worked out, but standing next to an R-2800 cranking over was a memorably aerosexual experience Mark
