From an early age, Andre Vosgrau, Licensed Engineer at Direct Maintenance Hamburg station, knew he would want to work close to the aircraft – thus, every day at work for him is a reminder of the dream that came true.
Get to know Andre better as he answered a few questions for our Meet The Team feature!
Andre, how did you get into aviation in the first place?
Andre Vosgrau: Almost as long as I remember, I wanted to work on the aircraft – originally, though, I wanted to become a pilot. A while back, there were very convenient pilot training programs in Germany, and I had my eyes set on one of those programs, but unfortunately, the program has been cancelled. Looking into other options, I have decided to then pursue an aviation engineer career. And that’s how I ended up studying and working at one of the MROs, and then gradually moved from working at the hangar to joining Direct Maintenance team for line maintenance services.
What would you name as the main challenges in your line of work?
AV: There are a lot of unknowns each day in our line of work – thus, you always have to be ready to react fast and be quick on your feet. This is challenging – but also probably one of the most exciting parts of my work. I enjoy that there is no monotony – and you keep on learning and improving every day.
Working as a ground engineer require a lot of training too – in the first place, if you want to take your career to the next level, you at least have to finish Type Training and On-The-Job training. It may be challenging while you’re on the job already, but I am glad here at Direct Maintenance, professional development is the priority, so I had a chance to travel to Tallinn to take training with Magnetic Training, and as a result, from the end of last year, I became Licensed Technician.
And then besides work, what are your hobbies?
AV: In my free time, I usually go out with friends, drive Go-Kart, and I am a huge fan of Formula 1, so I try to watch all races whenever possible. On top of that, I started a part-time job at a company which is doing aircraft inspections at the Airbus factory in Hamburg on behalf of their applicable customers. As dealing with aircraft is my hobby anyway, it is a nice thing to do in my free time as I get different challenges to deal with over there.
And what would be your dream destination – or favourite destination – to travel to?
AV: I have had the chance to visit many places on earth before, but Australia is a place which I have never visited yet, but I would really like to visit.