Another Great Achievement

[Wyandot Jim]

Hey Guys,
I know a lot of you know that my Son is a Captain in the Navy and an Aviator. He is and has always been involved in general aviation. In fact he worked at a small airport while in high school along with growing up in an Airpark.
Well about 6 years ago he received his FAA Airframe and Power plant license. This allows him to work on certified aircraft but he doesn't have the authority to sign off the annual inspections which are required. To sign off the annual you must have the Inspection Authorization/IA to go with the A&P.

Two weeks ago he went to an IA week long school in Nashville to be able to take the IA test. He stated that it was the hardest test he has ever taken and he has taken a few. :wink: Happy to say he passed the test with a 88% and today he was granted his IA by the FAA.

Even though I have been working on aircraft for 55 years I don't have an A&P. I have taught Son quite a bit about wrenching on planes in the last 25 years. So now I will never need one. Guess the teaching paid off. Now I will not have to find someone to sign off my work. I'm still the hangar boss

 

[gramps]

Well Jim, I can't see you popping any buttons, cause they are all gone already! Unless the Missus sewed them back on. . Congratulations all the way around! You both have done good.
gramps

 

[Colonialgirl]

HMMM; Sounds like a little NEPOTISM to me. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :wink: :wink: :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Congratulations to him.

 

[contender]

Your posts about your family just get better & better! Congrats to ya'll!

 

[bobski]

bravo zulu.
i got my faa rigger license back in 1980. we were only allowed 1 mistake. i aced the practical, missed one trick question.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

A lot of time, money, experience, and effort to get this little piece of paper.
Very few A&P go to the effort/pain in the arsh to do it. :wink:

 

[WendyZXZ]

That is great news...congratulations to him!

 

[737tdi]

That is great Jim. My tongue in cheek question is how did he get the sign offs to originally take the A&P test??? If you don't go to school you usually have to have a ton of experience working as an apprentice and then the FAA still has to approve the all around experience of the person. I guess it really is who you know. :shock: .

I didn't go to A&P school, my experience was 10 years in the USMC and the FAA examiner accepted my training records for the permission to take the exams.

As far as not many A&Ps having an IA it is not even a qualification for airline mechanics. Airlines run their own inspection (Quality Control) department and Quality Assurance which oversees it all. If you don't work on private/small aircraft there just is not a need to hold the license. Maintaining all of the required documents (ADs, special inspections,) on the small aircraft you could possibly encounter gets a tad bit expensive.

We work in a completely different world then the guy in the small airport hangar where our rules are completely different. An example, a 100 hr. inspection or annual would require an IA. In my job, any job that is considered critical to flight requires a RII (Required Inspection Item) inspector. In other words I do the work then an RII inspector comes behind me and inspects my work. Basically any thing that, on it's own could cause an "accident, as defined by the FAA" requires a RII inspector. I.E. Flight Control replacement, rigging. Engine replacement, rigging, adjustment. Landing gear replacement or parts replacement or rigging of the gear. Major repairs/alterations as defined by the manufacturer/FAA. There is quite a lot to it. An edit to say, the RII inspector can not have hands on the work at all, I do the work he inspects it.

I know several guys here at work who also work small aircraft (mainly because they fly them) that have their IAs. A lot of the younger guys use this as a way to get certified in the aircraft they are working on (logbook fluff). I.E. I do your annual and I fly your aircraft for experience (especially if the owner is a CFI).

Well I guess I have rambled too long. There are lots of folks who don't understand what goes on behind the scenes of successful and safe aviation. Your son has a duty to insure the safe operation of every aircraft he inspects/maintains and I know he knows that. I have the same responsibility, just ours fly 143+ passengers at a time. Remind him every once in a while about the old saying, the work you do is cradle to grave, the work we do is relevant until it is done again or the aircraft is scrapped.

Awesome that he got it. Keep em flyin.

Semper Fi:

Karl

 

[pawncop]

Another congratulations from my little spot up north. Well done.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Well Karl,
In his case it isn't who you know. He was working at a small airport when he was 16 on weekends and after school. He would open up the planes so the owner IA could inspect them. He also would help the owner take apart and put engines together after overhaul.
He has also spent a lot of time working on our planes and putting engines together in general aviation. He had letters of recommendation from the IAs that he worked under state that fact to the FAA.
I have been around some of the A&Ps that went to the schools. I'll just say I have not been impressed by some of their work. Most only know how to change a part. Very few know how to make or fix a broken part. None are taught old school wrenching. Over the years I have replaced a lot of crap work they have done on my planes. I have spent a few years teaching Son how to make and fix stuff. We like to call it making chicken sh!t into chicken salad

For what it's worth I also qualified and was signed off by the FAA to take my A&P test when I completed building my plane. I also had Military time to go with it. This signoff came from the two FAA Guys that signed off the work on my plane as I was building it. Just never did it. I didn't see much need since I already had IAs that signed off my work.
Don't forget he is also in Naval Aviation. He has been the Maintenance Officer a couple of times. As you well know the Navy operates a little bit different than General Aviation, kind of like the airlines. Being a MO and the CO of a Squadron has some responsibility along with it. You sure don't want to have someone killed because some 18 year old mechanic screwed the pooch. One of them found that out when he put a landing gear bolt in backwards on a gear door and the gear wouldn't come down Nobody hurt but bent the plane a little.
General Aviation tends to be a little bit different than the airlines and military. We have to know how to fix stuff rather than throw $$$$$ at it until it's fixed :wink:
Thanks Karl,
Jim
A&P in training

 

[737tdi]

Jim: He is very fortunate, just like me. Getting signed off that way is very rare now. When did he get his A&P? I am guessing early 90's. It was still possible then.

Don't get me wrong, I understand what he has done and is doing. Before SWA I worked at some very rough/money strapped places. You could not just "throw parts at a problem". Not to toot my own horn but working common general aviation aircraft is very simple to me, when you start working large commercial aircraft it is a totally different beast. I will tell you when it comes to bashing rivets I am horrible. More of an engine, flight control, landing gear, electrical/avionics kind of mech.. I think it is a left brain/right brain type of thing, I work with guys who can accomplish a sheetmetal repair in a couple of hours where it takes me a day but then I can troubleshoot an electrical/avionics problem in minutes where they would never find the fault.

I do agree with you about the A&P schools. Although you have to remember that schools only prepare you for what you are about to learn. There is no way that a school can teach you everything there is to know. You are either mechanically inclined or you aren't. I have worked with guys who are licensed mechs. but I would not let them work on my lawn mower, just no common mechanical knowledge.

As far as you getting your A&P, I think you should do it. Your signoff should still be good.

Have you ever heard of the Charles Taylor award? You might be eligible. It is given to all aircraft mechs. who have 50 years of maintenance experience but you do have to be licensed. It is a neat little program by the FAA to promote aviation maintenance. You probably know but Charles Taylor was the first licensed aviation mechanic, worked for the Wright brothers.

On another subject, we need to get everyone together again. Bring your son and we will talk aviation and guns/shooting and politics!!!!! HaHa. Even if we don't have a place to shoot, maybe San Antonio or Austin, Lockhart for BBQ??

See ya,

Karl