When Dale Harris joined the military, he didn't know what he wanted to do. He thought he'd like to study surveying. So Harris took an aptitude test. It threw him a bit of a curve and said he'd be good at electronics. He's been working in avionics ever since.
"I went through several technical training schools through the navy," Harris says. "I learned radios, receivers, transmitters and radar. That was 20 years ago. Today's technology is light years ahead."
Harris went to school in California to study SH3 helicopters -- the kind that land on aircraft carriers. He toured the Far East for three years on a guided missile cruiser. "We went to Korea and Australia. Our home port was Japan. I loved visiting different places and different cultures. When I came home, it gave me a real appreciation for the way we live."
Now Harris works for a large avionics manufacturer providing prototype installation on all aircraft -- civilian, military, helicopters and small- and medium-sized aircraft. "We do the wiring installations and systems checks to make sure everything's working. Then we set the aircraft out the door and into the sky."
Harris also builds system rigs -- packages for checking avionics in a lab setting. "The customers will want to test the system and train their own people. We'll build cockpit displays and computer simulations. It's invaluable for pilots to see how the system is going to work."
What Harris loves about his job is completing a project. "I have a lot of pride in my work. Off work, my hobbies are anything but airplanes. As a matter of fact, I'm about to go on a working vacation."
Brian Rowe isn't a plane enthusiast. "I don't like to fly, really! I started by taking computer systems courses. Then I took some time off but came back to school to study avionics."
Rowe checks avionics systems for problems and defects. He likes the challenge of solving a tough defect and the camaraderie of the job. Rowe remembers one co-worker who was working behind the cockpit in the belly of a 767 aircraft.
"The pilot forgot he was in there. The plane started to taxi off so this guy just kept banging on the cabin. A flight attendant finally heard him and they stopped to let him out!"
Master Cpl. Diane Moore, an avionics technician with an air maintenance squadron, has had to adapt to the potential of relocation. "I've been lucky. Some people have been moved every three or four years."
Moore specializes in the photographic systems on planes that patrol the East Coast. "I do a lot of cross-training, too. I enjoy the variety -- the chance to try different things. I mostly work on the Aurora aircraft. It's an anti-submarine war aircraft. We use them to patrol fishing and pollution violations."
"I believe this job is what you make of it. I have a lot of fun. There are good postings and bad, ups and downs, but I must say there have been more ups."