Aviation maintenance is a strong and stable industry. Why? According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, more than 809 million people flew in 2008 — and that was during a down year.
Every airplane that flies is required to have a maintenance check at both its departure and arrival airports, which means work for technicians.
“We don’t crush airplanes like we do cars,” said Reggie Baker, executive director of the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Duluth. “We retool them, re-wing them, rewire them and keep them flying.
“Airplanes will fly lots of hours before they’re taken out of service, and companies like Lockheed, Boeing and Gulfstream continue to make new ones. Additionally, older technicians are nearing retirement and new talent is needed.”
The Aviation Institute of Maintenance has educated technicians since 1998. Last year, the school moved to a bigger location and doubled the size of its enrollment to 550 students. New students are enrolled every five weeks.
The institute offers three technical certificates: a five-month avionics program (which is mostly for people already working in the field), an 18-month aviation technician program and a 23-month aviation maintenance technical engineer program, which encompasses the first two programs.
Graduates are able to sit for the Federal Aviation Administration’s written, verbal and practical skills tests for the Airframe and Powerplant exam to earn their A&P license.
“Once they earn their license, they have the skills to work on any registered U.S. airplane anywhere in the world,” said Deb Wade, operations director.
The skills are transferable to other fields. A&P technicians can work for power companies, railroads, MARTA, elevator manufacturers and companies that use hydraulics.
“Our students are nontraditional and they come from all over. Many are career changers,” Wade said. “People with an electronics background have an advantage because almost everything on an airplane is electronic.”
Applicants must be at least 18 and have earned a high school diploma or GED. Students who have mechanical and mathematical aptitude and an interest in electronics tend to be more successful.
Students in the program take courses in math, physics, electronics and aerodynamics. Tuition is about $20,000 a year.
“Many of our students — and I was one of them — have loved planes since childhood and are fascinated with flying,” Baker said. “They’re fascinated by these monster machines and what they are capable of doing.”
The majority of students are men, but Baker said women do well in the field. “They have a greater attention to detail than most male technicians,” he said.
Aviation technicians need to be thorough and have good work ethics, because lives are at stake with every airplane that takes off.
“Our job is to teach them how to [perform] maintenance on every system that you can see or touch on an airplane,” Baker said.
Most graduates can expect to start at $14 to $18 an hour, depending on their skills, work experience and employer. “In less than a year, most are making $20 an hour,” Wade said.
For information, call 678-377-5600 or go to www.aviationmaintenance.edu.
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