Getting into Aviation Maintenance.

Hey Folks,

I have a friend with a longtime interest in an aviation related career. She has wanted to attend a school to pursue an A&P but hasn?t managed to get started. It?ll likely be a few years before she can. I was wondering if anyone knows of a correspondence course or any type of home study that would help her get started. If nothing else, some interesting reading material related to being an airplane mechanic might be good.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

I do not believe there is a home study course to be an AP. However she can go and work for an outfit under the supervision of an AP and get experience that will be credited towards the license.

I have signed people off for experience they gain by working for me to take their AP test.


John

John: not to be too personal is it expected that this is free labor towards an apprenticeship or did you actually pay these people. I have thought seriously of getting my A&P but real life will allow only a part time effort and I am unsure on how to approach my local shop. I have thought about offering some Saturday hours for the experience and valuable signoff at a no pay scale. What do you think is this a viable offer. Thanks John

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A&P REQUIREMENTS,

BSEC,
This is the Exact Section of the FARs that pertains to Experience for the Airframe and Powerplant Certificate. Most shops will work with someone that is willing to do the work, but it really helps if the person has a pretty good mechanical aptitude before asking to work for someone... As a supervisor I had A&P Mechanics that graduated from approved schools that were VERY Limited on what work they could perform, so I had to be selective on the job assignments... FAR 65 is a good source of information...

FAR 65.77 Experience Requirements

Each applicant for a mechanic certificate or rating must present either an appropriate graduation certificate or certificate of completion from a certificated aviation maintenance technician school or documentary evidence, satisfactory to the Administrator, of?

(a) At least 18 months of practical experience with the procedures, practices, materials, tools, machine tools, and equipment generally used in constructing, maintaining, or altering airframes, or powerplants appropriate to the rating sought; or

(b) At least 30 months of practical experience concurrently performing the duties appropriate to both the airframe and powerplant ratings.

[Doc. No. 1179, 27 FR, 7973, Aug. 10, 1962, as amended by Amdt. 65?14, 35 FR, 5533, Apr. 3, 1970]

usually an apprenticeship is like in any other profession, low pay and a lot of cleaning up after the other mechanics.

My lawyer won't let me have a rookie work for free, the liability is too high and no workmans comp if they get hurt. It also doesn't allow for the proper amount of humility that low wages do.

Find a mechanic that wants to teach, not just one that needs slave labor. the amount of wheels and brakes you will keep you wondering when you can move on but remember, if you make a mistake it has to be fixed by the boss, usually taking longer to instruct you than the time it would take him to do the job. It's his living and reputation leaving the shop, not yours.

Knitting or underwater basket weaving will probably pay more.

There are a lot more jobs in aviation besides a Pilot or Mechanic, might want to have her look into that. The accident investigator job is one that comes to mind that seems interesting. Regardless, getting the mechanical knowledge of airplanes will help you land other jobs in aviation. You might have to work with the FAA but it cannot be that bad. Just a thought.

Tim


p.s. I have worked in a shop for about 5 years as part time help when I have time..... working on airplanes is just like everything else....if you want to learn, you can, but you must try.

Folks,

Thanks for the info so far. I doubt she can be talked into changing her mind T.J.. She's been talking about it as long as I've known her and that's been since she was a kid. I'm confident she has the aptitude or else I wouldn't encourage her. However... She has made other commitments and will have to postpone her dreams. As a result mentoring will not be an option for some time.

The FAA documents are a great idea though! If she still wants to do this after reading all that mumbo jumbo I'll know she's either committed or should be committed.

There is a website that has some aviation related courses online. It is http://www.aerolearn.com

In Arizona, one of the local community colleges offer evening classes for the A&P certification. You can sign up for the full program, or you can take one class at a time, for one or two evenings a week. Maybe one of the colleges in the area where your friend lives has something similar.

Harald