Mechanic?

BravoHotel

Well-Known Member
Hi, I am in the ATP ACP program, and with the way things are right now, with the lack of pilot jobs out there I was looking into other ways to supplement my income and marketability.

I am still sitting on 1/2 of my GI Bill and was wondering about aviation maintenance, I've only known a couple of pilot mechanics, is there a demand for that sort of thing out there?

It seems everyone here is looking to get into the airlines, I see my self flying skydivers and trying to get into corporate aviation some how, so that is the route I want to go.

Any thoughts at all? Thanks.
 
Two options if you want your A&P:
1) Go to a A&P school. There are some schools dedicated to produce A&Ps and there are also some programs in community colleges that can get you your A&P. The community college approach is usually much cheaper if there is one with a program near you.

2) Work as an 'apprentice' to an existing A&P. I did this, but I still don't have enough hours to take the A&P test but I probably learned a lot more practical stuff about working on aircraft than most people learn going through an A&P school. You need 30 months experience as an apprentice to qualify to take the A&P test. You can do this on the side while flight instructing, which is what I recommend if youre not in a hurry.
 
I'm basically in the same boat. Do apprenticeships pay?/How much, approx, if they do? And how easy/difficult are they to come by?
 
Yes, they pay. Depends on your experience level, really. If you already are very mechanically inclined and don't ask 'what?' when asked to do things then expect to get paid more than if you have to be taught.

Usually networking. If you're working as a CFI (or even as a student) does your flight school have a mechanic on staff? Thats a good in. Talk to him, see if it is OK with him and then ask the boss to assist him on the weekends for $x/hr. Most flight school mechanics are fairly busy so it works good.

Had one student at our flight school work with the mechanic, and the boss compensated him in flight time. He got his commercial certificates without spending that much money.
 
Wow cool. Sounds like a good deal to me. There is a mechanic at the school I go to and if they won't take me theres another across the airport. I'll have to look into that. Thanks.
 
There were some rumors about at least one major US airline taking "assistant mechanics" (ie unlicensed techs) to work under the supervision of licensed A&Ps as part of a cost cutting agreement with the mechanic's union. However, I would assume they would want some prior mechanical experience. Furthermore, I haven't heard anything else about this in over a year, so I'm forced to conclude it was just a rumor. But keep an eye out, the airlines want to cut costs, they may wish to hire assistants in the coming years, which could get those qualified the time they need to qualify for the A&P.

I'd like to get my A&P at some point myself. I'm figuring I'll finish college and see if I can apprentice with my dad or one of his colleagues.

As an aside, if you're young and want to pursue a career in maintenance, there are a few colleges that offer four year degree aircraft maintenance programs including Purdue (which can be combined with a professional pilot major or taken alone), Lewis University (with a concentration in Non Destructive Testing-NDT, a very valuable qualification to have), and I believe Embry Riddle.
 
I'm actually planning on attending Lewis starting August of 2009 for a major in Aviation Maintenance. I just like having a head start. Anything to give me an advantage.
 
Just be careful of the work your doing. Its really easy to break a FAR as a mechanic if your not aware of what your doing.

Ive been in school for about 6 months now to get my A&P. I love it.
Plus, I'm lucky enough to do all my training on Van Nuys Airport, so I get to see all the amazing aircraft flying daily while Im doing projects or working on our own aircraft.
 
I'm actually planning on attending Lewis starting August of 2009 for a major in Aviation Maintenance. I just like having a head start. Anything to give me an advantage.
You doing the two or four year program at Lewis? If I had known about the program when I was first starting out with college, I probably would have done the four year at Lewis because of the NDT bachelor's. My parents didn't want me doing aircraft maintenance for my degree (so I didn't), but having a degree in NDT would probably have swayed their feelings on the matter..
 
Hi, I am in the ATP ACP program, and with the way things are right now, with the lack of pilot jobs out there I was looking into other ways to supplement my income and marketability.

I am still sitting on 1/2 of my GI Bill and was wondering about aviation maintenance, I've only known a couple of pilot mechanics, is there a demand for that sort of thing out there?

It seems everyone here is looking to get into the airlines, I see my self flying skydivers and trying to get into corporate aviation some how, so that is the route I want to go.

Any thoughts at all? Thanks.

I'll chime in as I am a Pilot/Mechanic.

The A&P can be both a blessing and a curse, and this was told to me when I was in A&P school and have had first hand experience as well. The A&P will open doors that may not have been otherwise open, but very often you will end up doing much more turning wrenches than flying. Believe me, I love to maintain what I fly, but one of the hardest things for a pilot/mechanic is to get an airplane ready, push it out of the hangar, and watch two other pilots get in and fly it away.

Another drawback is the more time you spend in the hangar, the less time you fly. Maybe your A&P ticket was "the ticket" to getting hired with lower time, but now you're not doing much flying so you're not getting the hours needed to satisfy the insurance companies. Pretty soon you're not current. An opening comes up, and they need someone who is current and qualified, and you're neither. They sincerely appreciate all the hard work that you're doing in the shop, but "there's just nothing that they can do." So they hire a pilot from the outside. Has this happened to me? You betcha.

Now, it isn't all bad. To be honest, where you want to go with flying skydivers it will be a huge plus. Most dz's have pretty low insurance requirements (if they have insurance) and shoestring budgets. Someone who can fly and fix the jump plane(s) is a bonus for them. My word of caution is this, go in with both eyes wide open. Some of the sketchiest mx I've seen is on jump-planes. I am not bashing an entire industry, but there are some shady operators out there. Using automotive hardware because it's cheaper may not be "unsafe", but it will lead to your certificate suspension if you signed off on the 100 hour/annual. No, this is not from experience, but I have walked away from potential jobs because I would not want my name in the logbooks.

The secret to the cushy 91 jet job where you perform only line maintenance as you fly Mr. Big the globe-trotter around the world? I'll let you know as soon as I find it out for myself. Right now I'm not even turning wrenches at all. Honestly, I miss it. Nothing gives you a greater understanding of an aircraft than getting your hands dirty on it. There is also a tremendous satisfaction in maintaining aircraft.

One more word of advice: Do all of us pilot/mechanics a favor and be sure to NOT give an employer "two for the price of one." Be sure to be paid extra for the extra work that you do. Now at my current job, I am not doing any maintenance, so I am only getting paid as a pilot. And I won't perform any maintenance, either (can't anyway as I am not on a drug/alcohol program).

Anyway, good luck to you and the others who are interested in pursuing their A&P. Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Stonefly
 
There are jobs out there where you do little maintenance and more flying but they are far and few between. It's a tough swing even for the company. The company my dad flies for had to hire a full-time mechanic because the work was just too much for the pilot/mechanic to do on his own.

I know a few pilot/mechanics that won't exercise the priviledges of their A and P certs just because of this. It saves just too darn much money for a company to utilize both in one employee and maintenance is a big job.
 
Piston AnPs don't make squat for the cost of their training and responsibility. Entry level, you will be lucky to make 12-15 an hour. Once you get a few years experience, you will be lucky to get $20/hr.
 
You doing the two or four year program at Lewis? If I had known about the program when I was first starting out with college, I probably would have done the four year at Lewis because of the NDT bachelor's. My parents didn't want me doing aircraft maintenance for my degree (so I didn't), but having a degree in NDT would probably have swayed their feelings on the matter..

I'm going for the four year program.
 
Piston AnPs don't make squat for the cost of their training and responsibility. Entry level, you will be lucky to make 12-15 an hour. Once you get a few years experience, you will be lucky to get $20/hr.

Come on dude, you can't possibly make that mutually exclusive statement! Believe me the wages you quote, 12-15 an hour, are the "entry level" wages for an A&P with experience working on corporate aircraft for a nationally recoginized leader in biz jet completions and maintenance, recips will earn you half of that. You also say "after a few years- $20/hr". Pues, no, after 15 years of unblemished service you may be making this much doing an annual on Opraha's Global GXS or Tim Allen's Gulfstream as an IA. However you should never chose a career based on the material rewards, you must always consider the personal satisfaction gained by doing what pleases you, and as they say the money will follow, but not always, this depends a great deal on your ambition and the choices that you make.

The best piece of advice any aspiring A&P can take away from this post in it's entirety is to go to a state funded Community College to get their A&P, it will cost 1/3 of the private schools. It is very important to get an Associate in Science degree while you are at it, don't bother with the Associate in Applied Science. If you take the extra classes to qualify for the AS you will then be eligible to go straight into a Bachelors degree program whereas the associate of applied science will limit you greatly.
Aviation maintenance can be a great career choice if the chooser has realistic expectations.
My experience is that most A&Ps are people whose first love and dreams are to be a pilot and for whatever reason they slipped into the maintenance side of the house, whether it be because of illness or lack of drive or even lack of financing. Believe me all are valid and dream dismantling reasons. Because of this I suggest that you consider which career choice you really want to pursue. Pilot or mechanic. If you really prefer to be a pilot there are many organizations that can make this happen especially if finances are your concern. The obvious ones being http://www.obap.org/ or http://www.bpapilots.org/. Please never give up on your dreams. If you want something bad enough you can achieve it if you try hard enough.
 
i know wages are a little higher here but i believe that my company starts A&Ps at 22 per hour working on piston equipment. my best friend didnt want to come work for us cause he found a job that started him at 25. just trying to show that there is more money to be made than the previous poster seems to think.
 
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