Efficiency of a Real Aeronautical Engineer

Skunk Works of Lockheed Martin is one of the most respected organizations in the world. It's truly the birth place of many legendary aircrafts known to mankind. 

Skunk Works was a company inside company. It had rules similar to many current startups. They were very agile and flexible. It had all the traits of a billion dollar startup. Small competent team. No B.S. with politics or corporate laws. Strict financial control. And most of all they loved what they were creating. 

The corner stone of Skunk works were laid by none other than the great Kelly Johnson. Kelly was a brilliant engineer and skilled leader. 

He was so efficient that higher management was always chasing him with position of president in LM. But his real efficiency is with U-2 project. 

Usually in every government project around the world, companies run out money. Companies all around the world try very hard to stay in line with budget. Projects especially with aviation takes longer and usually break the budget line. It's through variation and added value, contractors gain the money. 

With U-2 top secret project it was different.

U-2's project was handled in such a way that US Air Force got an aircraft that performs beyond their expectations and cost less. With U-2 project, LM returned 1 million dollar back to the government. 

That's how efficient Skunk Works was. That's how efficient a real aeronautical engineer is. 

Strive to be a better engineer. A better leader. 

Cheers.

CK

Day with Professional, Interview : VHF/UHF Radio Engineer

Let me start with an apology for not posting on Friday. It was not intentional and hope it will never happen again. But it was worth the wait.

With that said; I am proudly announcing a new category called Day with Professional. I will interview various professionals across aviation industry and share it with you from time to time.

Today I am going to interview my colleague and dear friend Mr. M.Arabi. He works as a Senior Engineer for VHF/UHF Radios that are used to communicate with aircraft. Believe it or not, these Radios are damn important; without which air traffic management is impossible. Arabi has been designing our Radio system which are installed across 4 radio sites with 36 frequencies. It's really cool!

Mr.M.Arabi - Communicating :)

Without further intro, here is the interview:

Me: Hello Arabi. How are you today?

Arabi: I am Good. Thank You having me here.

Me: It's our pleasure. So Arabi, tell me, what made you to choose Aviation?

Arabi: Well, I wanted to be a pilot when I was young. But after high school, I was looking for more complex challenge. Electronics Engineering fascinated me. I always wanted something special. Something different. Aviation is special and different. 

Me: That's great. What is it that you do?

Arabi: I am currently designing the radio system for King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Radio system consists of three sub systems. VHF/UHF Radios, Main Voice Communication System and Recording & Playback System. It's a very complex system. If not done right can cause disaster.

"Disaster if not done right."

Me: Can you tell me your typical day?

Arabi: It mostly involves solving engineering problems. Be it designing, documenting, installing or operating - it needs total focus. Radios mainly consists of Transmitters, Receivers and Antenna - which are delicate in nature. They can cause interference if not installed properly. No matter how small a problem is, I never let it grow. With my technicians, I guide them to work in teams and assure everything works properly. 

Me: What is that you like most about your job?

Arabi: It's the fact that I work with very critical electronic equipment, that makes flights manageable and safe. The stuffs we do are behind the screens. It's covered from normal eyes. It is not like a normal office job. The fact that I get to be a part of Air Traffic Communication is very satisfying.

Me: That's Nice. What do you think will happen to Middle East Aviation in future?

Arabi: New airports are being build every day here. I think in the coming years we can see Middle East aviation technology trying to catch up. I believe that manufactures must consider the hardware components to be competent for years. They should take the changing scenarios into consideration.

Me: Do you have any message to our audience?

Arabi: Thank You for having me here. Remember that Aviation is a field of passion. You need the passion to dedicate yourself to aviation. We may work behind the scenes, but it is the passion that makes us invisible heroes.

Me: Thank You Arabi for your time.

And I say goodbye to Arabi after a click:

I hope you guys like it. Let me know your thoughts. Comment below & Share.

Until Next time, this is Chan signing off.

Chan