What do you want to be when you grow up? Choosing a career path is not only exciting but it can be tricky. Marion Eifling, Air Frame Power Plant Instructor, believes that students in Aviation Maintenance are unique. Usually, from a young age, they have had a desire to be around airplanes, leading them to a professional career in the aerospace industry.
Today’s aircraft are highly complex machines that require reliable parts and service to fly safely. To keep an aircraft in peak operating condition, aircraft and avionics technicians perform scheduled maintenance, make repairs, and complete inspections. They must follow detailed federal regulations set by the FAA that dictate maintenance schedules for a variety of different operations.
Many technicians are generalists and work on many different types of aircraft, such as jets, piston-driven airplanes, and helicopters. Others specialize in one section of a particular type of aircraft, such as the engine, airframe components, hydraulics, or electrical system of a particular aircraft. In independent repair shops, technicians usually inspect and repair many different types of aircraft.
Most technicians who work on civilian aircraft have either one or both of the FAA’s Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificates. Technicians who have these certificates are authorized to work on most components of aircraft, excluding flight instruments and major work on propellers and turbine engines. Maintaining a plane’s electronic flight instruments is typically the job of specialized avionics technicians.
So What Does An Aircraft Mechanic Do?
- Inspection, repair and replace defective aircraft parts
- Diagnose electrical or mechanical problems
- Identify repair procedures as per maintenance manuals
- Repair aircraft components including wings, brakes, and electrical systems
- Use hand or power tools to replace defective parts
- Use gauges and other diagnostic equipment to test aircraft parts
- Inspect completed work to ensure that it meets performance standards
- Keep records of maintenance and repair work
Will I be able to find a job?
Air traffic is expected to gradually increase over the coming decade. Competition for aircraft and avionics technician jobs varies with the best job opportunities available for technicians who hold an A&P certificate and have knowledge about the most cutting edge technologies and composite materials. Familiarity with computers and digital systems will help provide the best opportunities.
The Aviation Maintenance Technology Program at Hinds Community College has an excellent reputation with the aerospace industry seeking skilled technicians. Placement of students who complete the program is a top priority. Typical job placement in this field can be found with Dean Aviation, L-3 Vertex, Eaton Industries, MARC, Inc., regional airlines and National Guard aviation units. Employment possibilities are world-wide.
Do You Possess These Qualities?
- Agility.
- Detail oriented.
- Dexterity.
- Observational skills.
- Troubleshooting skills.
If So This Might Be The Career For You!
Degree Options:
Aviation Maintenance Technology is an instructional program designed to provide specialized training in all areas of aircraft maintenance to prepare individuals to inspect, repair, service, and overhaul aircraft engine and airframe components and systems. Aircraft and avionics technicians inspect, repair and perform scheduled maintenance on aircraft. This program is designed to prepare students for the Federal Aviation Administration examinations for certification as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician.
Degree options in the Aviation Maintenance Technology program include a Career Certificate option, Technical Certificate option and AAS Degree option. All program options are written to nationally recognized, industry-based certifications. The goal is for the student to earn a “credential of value” during their time at the community college. That “credential of value” is the Associate of Applied Science degree, a Technical Certificate, a Career Certificate, and FAA A&P certification recognized by business and industry. The credential should be a step along a career pathway offering students ongoing opportunities to increase their earning potential in the job market.
“The airplane is just a bunch of sticks and wires and cloth, a tool for learning about the sky and about what kind of person I am, when I fly. An airplane stands for freedom, for joy, for the power to understand, and to demonstrate that understanding. Those things aren't destructible. “- Ricard Bach
