Most trainees who choose a path in the aviation are already quite sure of what they’re doing. Aviation is not a career to pick randomly.

But life is full of choices, and most of them come at a time when we have no clue of what we want.

Aviation industry is full of different paths to follow, and for which we must choose at some point.

During their basic training, those trainees will find themselves facing the very first choice:

¿Fixed wing, or helicopters?

Some of them are not even sure about which path to pick; they knew about their passion for aviation, but they never asked themselves what’s the next step.

I wish I had known by then what I know now about it. However, I am proud of my choices.

I did both. I started with a very brief period on helicopters, then I moved to a big commercial airline, and after few years I decided to return to helicopters, this time to stay.

By having tried both, I can tell future trainees what is it gonna look like. A privileged information I did not have 20 years ago.

Let me start with the fixed wing part:

Working in the big airliners was for me a good example of practicality and ergonomics. It was obvious that everything was designed to save time.

The working spaces were huge and the tasks quite straight forward, mostly a combination of removal/installation/self-test.

As engineer, apart from some very basic handskills required for tasks like replacing wheels and brakes, which implied handling some torque wrenches, cotter pins and in some occasions even lockwire, most tasks where a matter of “keeping the aircraft flying” by judging, rating and deciding.

More complex equipment was dealt with in a plug-and-play manner, sometimes without the need for any tools at all.

For those who like using their hands at work, this kind of job could be rather frustrating, since it could become repetitive and boring very often, and it would lack some “real action” and practical exposure.

However, I personally realized the importance of becoming self-aware of the state of the aircraft and its systems, and with a limited time and access to resources for fixing the problem.

Many times, with the aircraft fully embarked and already overdue with the departure slot, you could only judge the risk of a faulty equipment and decide on-site whether the aircraft is fit to fly or if it’s grounded (with all its consequences).

In practice, it’s just a matter of paperwork. We used to say that our most powerful tool was the pen.

With the help of the Minimum Equipment List (MEL) and the Flight Manual (FLM) we would judge, defer, and release the aircraft when possible. There was neither time nor resources to physically fix the problem.

Pressure was high. I met few colleagues who could not cope with it.

Your signature was paramount to deciding whether it was safe or not to fly. Many had issues, didn’t sleep well at nights. Few fell into some sort of mild depression at some point during their career. That was a bit extreme though, but not so rare at all.

I also met a couple of colleagues who realized this was not for them, and finally decided to quit.

It was indeed a very important lesson of what aviation means for us, and what is our key role and level of responsibility at work.

Since the job itself was not physically demanding (except for the night shifts), I realized it was rather easy to keep a good state of health. Most colleagues were in good shape and enjoyed a healthy life, without big back or joint problems derived from hard physical work, or other long term issues.

But then, shifts could also be simply the worst part, or the best; that was very personal and everyone had a different point of view.

Working night shifts and on weekends was, especially for those with family and kids, sometimes really hard to cope with. It would entirely break apart your personal life.

I was young and single and did not have big issues with that, except for my friends calling me from the night club on a Saturday night.

And to finalize, I would like to add a very special remark to ATA Chapter 38, which I never ever missed at all when moved over to helicopters!

Then, allow me to tell you about when I decided to move to helicopters:

First change I noticed was indeed the shift pattern; there was no morning/afternoon/night shifts anymore. It was more of a Monday to Friday job (which improved my quality of life) or an equal time 2 or 3 weeks on/off (which was also quite convenient while still young and single). So, that was for me probably the biggest improvement.

Second consideration, but no less important than the first one, was the type of work.

As it was mostly workshop work (at least at the beginning), the pressure for releasing an aircraft timely simply did not exist. Almost all my colleagues where rather relaxed and sort of unaware of the importance of their job as I happened to learn it. There was simply no pressure at all.

But, although initially a bit frustrating, I quickly started seeing the good side of the coin.

A helicopter workshop was the perfect training center where to learn all you need. I started learning about corrosion, cracks, composites, and many other things I didn’t even think about while working on big airliners. It was like learning a complete new profession from scratch. And guess what: I found myself for the first time cleaning an aircraft! That was quite new to me.

I also learnt how to deal with cracks and corrosions, and how to use some products I never heard about before.

Maintenance turned towards a restoration and handcrafting job compared to my previous experience; and I loved it.

After a brief period in the workshop (re)learning the basics, I was assigned to the line maintenance operations, where I could then put at work my good judgement already acquired in the fixed wing period, but this time with a stronger basis.

Then I could say that I felt completed, totally ready and capable to face any difficulties.

Not the same was to say about my workshop fellows, some of which I saw really struggling when the time came to face a problem in the line which involved decision-making. It was interesting to see how well they could know the aircraft from the workshop, or even the faulty system in question, but then they would go totally black out when a light in the cockpit would come on.

Having replaced hundreds of start valves in the workshop, they could not even point a finger towards it as a possible cause of an engine that refuses to start, for instance.

I had overcome that fear long ago, with bigger machines. I had no issues with that, but for them it was a totally different story.

The shifts in the line were more of duty days rather than clock-in clock-out shifts; this means we could work just 2 hours in a quiet day, or 12+ if there was plenty of flights or an AOG.

Last, but not least, was the very personal meaning the job would have to you. To me, this was important.

As a commercial airline line engineer, the back bone of the whole business was commercially flying thousands of passengers to their destinations, mostly for holidays.

It was always the same; the well dressed and good looking crews, the safety drills, the passenger service… and a faulty coffee maker. The less you interfere, the better.

As a helicopter base/line engineer, there was a more fulfilling purpose behind the daily job.

Not inadvertently, I found myself involved, direct or indirectly, in a completely different kind of operation.

Passenger transport was no longer the only purpose; there was HEMS, Search & Rescue, Fire Fighting, and even Wildlife Environment Protection and Crime Fighting at some point.

No need to say that my daily job was then sensed as part of something with a greater purpose, and that made me feel especially well.

Indeed, working in helicopters was physically more demanding and caused more strain to joints and back, that was the downside.

So, based on my very personal experience in aviation and just to summarize, I was lucky to have the chance to try both sides, with their good and bad things, which helped me acquire a wider view and skillset. My judgement, awareness and pressure management was strongly built during the fixed wing period, and my best hand skills and mechanical knowledge took a leap during my helicopter period.

A great combination I think, but not the only or the best one. I am sure there’s more stories out there which made great professionals and worth being read.

I had to face my own choices, but many more had to face their owns. Aviation is full of them, as well as full of exciting paths.

Good thing is that, while still young, you have plenty of time to make a U turn in your career. So, whatever you choose, don’t be afraid to try, to change, and to leave your confort zone as many times as required.

When choosing, you can either succeed or learn, but you can’t go wrong!