Library Reference Number: 052
Flight Engineer Poem
Of all of us, the engineer
Knew most about the aircraft gear.
Dials and switches, props and flaps,
The drill if undercarts collapse.
What to do when fuses blow
Or overstressed components go;
Coping when hydraulics fail
Or bits fall off a damaged tail.
Oxygen, electrics, fuel,
Engines running hot or cool
Something odd about the trim,
All these queries came to him.
His duty, too, it was to share
His skipper's vigil in the air
Providing one more pair of eyes
To scan the dark and dangerous skies.
A man of many parts who knew
His worth to pilot, plane and crew.
When flying at night either fast or slow
With your revs too high and your boost too low
Then you'll run out of fuel with a long way to go
And you won't get home in the morning