USA just lost a F-22 and a F-35 fighter jet in one week

[ACUDANUT]

 That is like a billion dollars right there. WTF.

[John_Kunkel]

A million here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to some real money.

[timmycharger]

That quote above got me thinking, (sorry for going off topic)..   I always think about people who build/repair aircraft and have such respect for them.  With our old cars or any car in general, if you as a technician mess up, sometimes the worst that can happen is that your car is broken down on the side of the road.   With aircraft, not so much. Screwing something up could result in the plan falling from the sky.. terrifying!

[Lennard]

That quote above got me thinking, (sorry for going off topic)..   I always think about people who build/repair aircraft and have such respect for them.  With our old cars or any car in general, if you as a technician mess up, sometimes the worst that can happen is that your car is broken down on the side of the road.   With aircraft, not so much. Screwing something up could result in the plan falling from the sky.. terrifying!

That's why they make the big bucks.

[birdsandbees]

Been saying it for years. I have customers that complain that I'm too expensive when I tell them I charge $65/hr to rebuild their airplane and bolt their engine and propeller back on. Yet they have no issues paying $110/hr to have the wheels rotated on their cars! One of them just coasts off to the side of the road when the rotating assembly leaves...

[c00nhunterjoe]

That quote above got me thinking, (sorry for going off topic)..   I always think about people who build/repair aircraft and have such respect for them.  With our old cars or any car in general, if you as a technician mess up, sometimes the worst that can happen is that your car is broken down on the side of the road.   With aircraft, not so much. Screwing something up could result in the plan falling from the sky.. terrifying!

That's why they make the big bucks.

Navy aircraft mechanics make mid 40k a year....

[John_Kunkel]

If I was still on my old aircraft mechanic job, I'd be making about $34 an hour ($70K per year). Aircraft mechanic pay scales are all over the place, depends on the employer.

[c00nhunterjoe]

If I was still on my old aircraft mechanic job, I'd be making about $34 an hour ($70K per year). Aircraft mechanic pay scales are all over the place, depends on the employer.

I was going with military,  not civilian.

[John_Kunkel]

To the military pay you can add about $25K+ to compare it to civilian. GI's don't have to pay for subsistence.