The Real Flight Engineer

This is a Flight Engineer's Panel on a B747-200. The person who mans this panel sits just behind the co Pilot and center pedastal. The Flight engineer is part of the flight crew and his job is to assist the flight crew and monitor the aircraft's systems. Most of the flight engineer duties have been replaced by the aircraft computers. On /B747/B767/B757 its called the EICAS - Engine Indicating And Crew Alerting System.New generation B747-400 has done away with the flight engineer. How ever the flight Engineer these days is loosely termed. In my days with RBA Engineering whenever i accompany the aircraft for flights requiring certification at stations where there are none, I'm known as the flight engineer. In all my time as a Flight Engineer all i ever did was eat and sleep just like the rest of the travelling passenggers. The only time i do work is when the aircraft was on the ground as nothing much can be done when its in the air. The only thing is as the flight engineer you are the first to arrive and the last to leave the aircraft for a day's work.