.jpg) |
| Concorde flight deck. Image courtesy James E. Petts, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
Once
upon a time, aircraft had flight engineers or "flight mechanics" as
well as pilots. Their job was to look after the aircraft's complex
flight systems such as engines, electrics and hydraulics, avionics and
fuel delivery systems. The function of the flight engineer has mostly
been replaced by complex computer automation systems.
Concorde
was a supersonic airliner, but its technology dated from the late 60s
and was never updated like that in more modern aircraft such as the 737
(flown by Ryanair and many airlines worldwide). There have been four
generations and several variants within each generation of the 737 since
the original 737-100 made its maiden flight in 1967.
In this article from CNN, Concorde flight engineer Warren Hazelby talks with journalist Francesca Street about his career.