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Richard, 36, travels the world spending his days, and some of
his nights, repairing, upgrading, and testing aviation electronic
systems. Western Avionics, Rich's employer since January 1996,
contracts its services out to airlines and aircraft manufacturers
all over the world. When Rich is not on the ground repairing planes,
he's in one, travelling to customer sites where he makes modifications
to planes manufactured by the Canadair division of Bombardier
Aerospace and other companies.
"Currently,
the most interesting part of my job is the chance to represent
the aircraft manufacturer in assisting their customers in establishing
maintenance procedures and operating newly acquired aircraft,"
says Rich. Spending a lot of time in foreign lands - West Africa,
Trinidad, Argentina, and Brazil - is a real job bonus. But wherever
he goes, the workshop is familiar. Depending on the work required,
Rich spends his time in airplane hangars and installation shops.
Working directly with aircraft, he often spends long periods of
time curled up inside the body of the plane.
Avionics focuses
on three specific categories of aircraft electronic systems: navigation
and communication, electrical and instrumentation, and auto-flight.
"My current job requires me to be versatile in all aspects of
aircraft avionics' systems," Rich says. His favourite areas include
Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS), Engine Indicating
and Crew Alerting Systems (EICAS), and auto-flight systems. "These
systems in modern aircraft deal with computer control and utilize
the latest technology for control, feedback, and display." These
systems use a range of advanced computer technologies to provide
pilots with the information, control, and feedback they need to
reach their destinations safely.
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