Check out my new book!

A Wrench in the Wings

Sam Longo AME A&P

A compilation of essays revealing the personal and career adventures of an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.

Most of the flying public is acutely aware of the qualified pilots that sit up front, expertly controlling and guiding their passengers safely from point A to B.

Surprisingly, very few of these same folks have any knowledge of the 17,000 Canadian Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME’s) who are equally responsible for their flying safety. No aircraft can legally leave the ground without their license and signature prior to departure. It is a rather obscure profession that is rarely highlighted yet remains necessary to all commercial flight.

This book brings that career into sharp focus outlining the job with insight, lessons and real-life consequences. A compilation of 75 columns from Air Maintenance Update magazine, the author brings humanity and humor into the mix to make it an interesting and insightful read.

“Of all the aircraft types flown by the company the most intimidating was the Boeing 747. You could work on it for a lifetime and still leave many maintenance tasks unexplored.”
“Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island is a long way from home, especially for a 22-year-old kid who had rarely left the suburbs of Toronto.”
“Perhaps the ultimate beauty of fixing things is that its sublime satisfaction transcends all types of mechanical devises.”
“There is nothing quite like working on a DC9 on a beautiful summer night, hangar doors wide open, being serenaded by Pink Floyd, live!”
“As aircraft maintainers the most valuable tool that we possess is not located in our toolbox. It is a resource that we continue to covet and collect. That intangible commodity is commonly known as experience.”

SAM LONGO has over 40 years’ experience as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and Professor-Coordinator at Centennial Colleges Aerospace Department. He holds a Canadian Aircraft Maintenance Engineers licence (AME M1, M2) as well as an FAA A&P rating. In addition, he has a Certificate in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University and is a qualified trainer in Aviation Human Factors. Sam is the past president of the AME Association of Ontario and was also the national president of the Aircraft Maintenance Engineers of Canada (AMEC/TEAC). His extensive writing has been published in both aviation and motorcycle publications across Canada.

A Wrench in the Wings by Sam Longo

Transportation – Aviation – Technical – Career – Mentoring

Paperback / 235 pages / 9780228850946 /$15 US / Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Book Depository. https://amazon.com/dp/0228850940 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-wrench-in-the-wings-a-p-sam-longo-ame/1138868377

eBook / 9780228855439 / $8 US https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1081065