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How many of us here wanted to be Scotty or Geordi over any other role. This was the real life version of those very characters, and the article's subject was a

How many of us here wanted to be Scotty or Geordi over any other role. This was the real life version of those very characters, and the article's subject was a man who was one of only 57 Flight Engineers to ever work on the Concorde. The comradery with the pilot and copilot struck me- they all knew the importance of each other's role. They left their ego's at the door, or at least that's the tale that's being told here, and I like it. I wanted badly to be a pilot as a youngster, but after reading this, and looking at what I do now, I wonder if I should've been wanting to be a Flight Engineer!

rsynnott 2y ago
> I wonder if I should've been wanting to be a Flight Engineer! Probably not; they barely exist anymore, do they? I think Concorde was the last civilian jet to have one, anyway.
- johannes1234321 2y ago
  The article states that. Still it is a dream to aspire, like a dream for becoming Scotty.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  > I think Concorde was the last civilian jet to have one, anyway. That would surprise me - the 747 typically had a crew of three.
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    Only up to the 747-300. Though actually, some of those seem to still be in use; I wonder were they ever retrofitted to dump the flight engineer.
    - rad_gruchalski 2y ago
      Wikipedia says there are only 2 747-300 remaining in operation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_747_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_747_operators.
      - rsynnott 2y ago
        Also about 15 200s, tho, and, amazingly, precisely 1 100 operated by the Iranian airforce. Even more surprisingly, there are a few 707s still in use!
        rad_gruchalski 2y ago
        And any other remaining 707 system will remain in standby and service for ten years after the last 707 is retired. I’m sure someone with an in-depth knowledge of DO-178C could formulate it better than me.
FearNotDaniel 2y ago
> one of only 57 Flight Engineers Minor correction, because the article failed to mention that Air France also had a fleet of Concordes, that's 57 Flight Engineers working _at BA_ on the Concorde. But your point stands, I suspect the global total barely touched three figures.
shiroiushi 2y ago
>I wanted badly to be a pilot as a youngster, but after reading this, and looking at what I do now, I wonder if I should've been wanting to be a Flight Engineer! Considering their entire profession has been completely obsolete for 20 years, I should think not. The modern real-life version of Scotty or Geordi is being a US Navy nuclear reactor technician. But instead of warping around the galaxy on a beautiful starship, occasionally fighting Klingons or Romulans (or worse, Gorn) but most of the time exploring strange new worlds, meeting new sentient alien races and establishing peaceful relations with them, and enjoying tasty food from the replicators and watching Shakespearean plays or violin concertos by your highly-educated crewmates, life in any modern-day navy is nothing like this.

rsynnott 2y ago

> I wonder if I should've been wanting to be a Flight Engineer! Probably not; they barely exist anymore, do they? I think Concorde was the last civilian jet to have one, anyway.

johannes1234321 2y ago
The article states that. Still it is a dream to aspire, like a dream for becoming Scotty.
FireBeyond 2y ago
> I think Concorde was the last civilian jet to have one, anyway. That would surprise me - the 747 typically had a crew of three.
- rsynnott 2y ago
  Only up to the 747-300. Though actually, some of those seem to still be in use; I wonder were they ever retrofitted to dump the flight engineer.
  - rad_gruchalski 2y ago
    Wikipedia says there are only 2 747-300 remaining in operation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_747_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_747_operators.
    - rsynnott 2y ago
      Also about 15 200s, tho, and, amazingly, precisely 1 100 operated by the Iranian airforce. Even more surprisingly, there are a few 707s still in use!
      - rad_gruchalski 2y ago
        And any other remaining 707 system will remain in standby and service for ten years after the last 707 is retired. I’m sure someone with an in-depth knowledge of DO-178C could formulate it better than me.

FearNotDaniel 2y ago

> one of only 57 Flight Engineers Minor correction, because the article failed to mention that Air France also had a fleet of Concordes, that's 57 Flight Engineers working _at BA_ on the Concorde. But your point stands, I suspect the global total barely touched three figures.

shiroiushi 2y ago

>I wanted badly to be a pilot as a youngster, but after reading this, and looking at what I do now, I wonder if I should've been wanting to be a Flight Engineer! Considering their entire profession has been completely obsolete for 20 years, I should think not. The modern real-life version of Scotty or Geordi is being a US Navy nuclear reactor technician. But instead of warping around the galaxy on a beautiful starship, occasionally fighting Klingons or Romulans (or worse, Gorn) but most of the time exploring strange new worlds, meeting new sentient alien races and establishing peaceful relations with them, and enjoying tasty food from the replicators and watching Shakespearean plays or violin concertos by your highly-educated crewmates, life in any modern-day navy is nothing like this.