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TRAVELLER
181
I HAVEALWAYS BEEN
interested
inhowthingswork.Asachild, Iwould
take thingsapart just to tryandput them
back together. Before leavingschool, I
was lucky tobeoffereda jobat agarage
andwhenI left school, they tookmeon
asanapprentice. Theysentme tocollege
tostudyandfromthatmoment on, itwas
alwaysengineeringforme.
Thanks to their training, Ibecamea
qualifiedcarmechanic, butmypassion
hasalwaysbeenaircraft. So, after leaving
school, I joinedtheRoyalAirForce
(RAF) andspent thenext 26years in
uniform.My last tourofdutywasasan
airborne technicianflying intheE-3
Sentry.Duringmy time intheRAF, I saw
activeservice intheBalkans,Kosovoand
Afghanistan, but sevenyearsagoI left the
Airforcebecause Idecided itwas time to
get aproper job. I’vebeenworkingwith
easyJet ever since.
Myworkingdaystartsat 8.45pm. I
worknight shifts, so that I cancarryout
preventativemaintenanceontheplanes
while they’reontheground. The first job
is to lookat theworkwehave tocomplete
andwhat time theaircraft aredue to fly
sowewon’tholdthemup.Mymaintasks
are inspectionof theplaneand itsengine,
but I alsobriefpilotsandcarryout fault
diagnosisandrectification.
Workingfor easyJethasallowedme to
expandmyoverall aircraft knowledge–
whenI startedwiththecompanyIwas
only trainedasanavionics (aviation
electronics) engineer andnow, after lots
ofhardworkandtrainingcourses, I am
licensedtocarryout airframeandengine
tasksaswell.
Aircraft engineer
Michael Keyte is the
manwe all wishwe knew:
he
likes
fixing things!
BEHINDTHESCENES
NEWS
WORDS ALEX MURPHY. PHOTO TIM E WHITE
11
PAGES OF
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UPDATES
FROM
Theengineeringandmaintenance
doesn’t evenstopwhenIgethome, as I
enjoycarryingout a lot ofDIY. Besides
fixingeverything insight, thebiggest
achievement inmypersonal lifehasbeen
raisingtwo lovelydaughters–neitherof
whomwork inengineering!
WhenI’masked, I alwayssay thatmy
job iseasybut,whenyou lookbackatmy
36years inaviation, therehasbeena lot
to learn. Tobea licensedengineer, Ihave
studied forhoursandtakennumerous
exams, just for themostbasic licence.
Ontopof thegeneral exams, thereare
aircraft-type ratingcourses toattend
andtheir exams topass. Throughoutmy
career, therehasbeena lot ofhardwork.
It’sbeenworth it though, as Inowreapthe
benefits–witheasyJet, I’mbeingpaidto
dowhat isessentiallymyhobby!
RAF-turned-easyJet engineer
Michael Keyte
on the responsibility of planemaintenance