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Here in Europe, there are lots of good aircraft mechanics but very few are FAA certified.
Question: what does it take to become an FAA certified A&P?

Thanks

Antoine

Antoine wrote:Here in Europe, there are lots of good aircraft mechanics but very few are FAA certified.
Question: what does it take to become an FAA certified A&P?
Thanks
Antoine

I have done my own electronic and mechanical work since I was a teenager, including repairing COMM units and transponders, and helping rebuild carbs and mags for my father's pilot friends. With that experience, I looked into what would be required for someone with my experience to get an A&P, thinking perhaps that I could get on a fast track. I asked my friend who runs the lab (shop) portion of the Aircraft Maintenance Program at Idaho State University https://www.isu.edu/aircraft/

No such luck. It turns out that years of experience and technical knowledge don't count for anything unless they were supervised, logged in specific areas, and signed off by a qualified instructor. The FAA says, "You must get 18 months of practical experience with either power plants or airframes, or 30 months of practical experience working on both at the same time." Then you sit for written, oral, and practical examinations. The 30 month requirement is waived if you graduate from and FAA-Approved Aviation Maintenance Technician School. Many of those programs get you through in 24 months or less but it is more-or-less full time. You have to have one or the other to sit for the three part exam.

And when those mechanics graduate they know practically nothing. The system is broken.

I do have a EASA AML66 license (same as FAA A&P) rated from SEP to B747 , MD80/MD 11 and AI types to A340 with 35 yrs experience. There is no easy way I get the FAA A&P.
Other with the Pilot license, easy conversion is possible vice versa. And you can get a commercial pilot license in 1.5 years and then sit in a right seat of a B737/A320 as a 100% second officer.
But as aircraft engineer you need years of (on the job) training till you can sign off an airliner release to service after maintenance.
Lance, of course the green pilot has not the know-how and judgement as an senior pilot, but license wise, there is no difference. At least that`s the case in our EASA Environment.

Hi all, thanks for reviving the thread. I have meanwhile done my homework and found out the same.
The reason I was asking is my a recent decision that all work done on my Extra 400 would be assisted by me. Since I was going to be involved anyway and the mechanic is not FAA certified, I thought that maybe I could spare myself the cost of the A&P/IA that must sign off our work by becoming one myself.
Forget it...
Thomas are you back in CH? I still owe you a visit in Buochs!

Antoine,

I came to a similar conclusion. For my small aircraft and friendly group of pilots and A&Ps (all of whom are pilots), it was not so much the cost as the convenience. After looking into the options for becoming an A&P, I don't think I can see a way that could be justified in terms of my time.

An interesting side note is that many of the young people in these maintenance programs are going into diesel mechanics, etc. where it appears that they can earn more money working for John Deere, Cummins, etc. than they can working in the critical path of the life and death of aircraft pilots and passengers. We lost an A&P up here to a job as a snowmobile mechanic. Twice the pay!

Rob