Expert: Marc Ebelini - 3/8/2008

Question
Hello Mr.Marc

hope everythings good at your end. Mr.Marc i am an engineer with major in Electronics and Communication engineering from India. I graduated in the year 2007. I am interested in getting recognized as a Certified or Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer with specialization in avionics. I don't want to be on bench, rather would like to play with the aircraft. Please guide me if this is possible after my present graduation. If yes, how am i supposed to go about with it and what all are the procedures?? I heard that the person must get this certified license from the government of that country. In India its DGCA. is this true??Is there any work experience period i should complete before getting this certification?? please reply to all details. If you are short of knowledge on any topic please give me suitable reference sites to clear my doubts.
Thank You

PS: whats the pay scale for an aircraft maintenance engineer and what are the promotions involved in this job profile with experience??

Answer
To work on aircraft you need a mechanics license. These will vary from country to country. In the USA the license is in two parts, aircraft and powerplant. So in your case you would need the aircraft or "A" as it is called. The full one is called as you would suspect, an A&P. To obtain an "A" you need to have either eighteen months experience as an apprentice or attend a certified school to be eligible to take the test. It is broken down into subjects like welding, woodworking, sheet metal and includes weight and balance too because upon completion of the work a new W&B needs to made out to cover any weight or center of gravity changes. Now in Canada you must pass test on the various aircraft models to to be sure you will have the knowledge to work on that model. In the USA only the requirement of having the aircraft manual available is necessary. Working in small shop you must be at least be capable of making harnesses and doing some bench work. Larger shops would have bench technicians doing the testing and repairs. Must mention that the test in USA requires a practical test as well on each subject. Demonstrating your ability to weld and make sheet metal repairs etc.
To get a better understanding if you are interested in working in the USA contact Embry Riddle. There are one of the best schools here located in Florida. www.erau.edu is their web site. Bench work is limited now with the new technology to testing and calibration as most repairs are circuit board changes. In my day an A&P was a jack of all trades. Today I can make use of this knowledge repairing just about everything in my home. Yes, I am retired but always loved the work as an A&P. If you like being around aircraft that license can be upgraded to a certificate to do the annual inspections required. Or even get licensed to teach. Good luck