Any A&P's that would like and extra hand in Houston?

[Xjetdisp90]

I'm a 350+hour Commercial SEL/MEL pilot living in NW Houston. I would like to get in touch with an A&P in the Houston area, preferably at EYQ, DWH, or IWS, to start on my 30 months so I can get my A&P on the side. Don't really care about pay. The education and the networking opportunities are enough. I'm a Dispatcher for ExpressJet so I could only work 1 or 2 days a week.

[Stonefly]

Xjetdisp90,

I commend you on your desire to earn your A&P, however I think that by reading your post that you're misguided on the means to achieve your goal. Yes, FAR 65.77 says that it takes 30 months of experience to earn the Mechanic Certificate with both Airframe & Powerplant ratings. That being said, you're not going to get 30 months worth of experience working one or two days a week! Either be a dispatcher, or be an apprentice mechanic.

Stonefly

[Xjetdisp90]

With a little studying and a little hard work, I've seen it done.

[Stonefly]

How long will it take to get thirty months experience working one or two days a week?

Let's say that the average work week is 40 hours. With a two week vacation you end up working 50 weeks. Utilizing my public school math, that comes to 2000 hours. Then divide 2000 by 12 (the months in a year) & that comes out to about 166.7 hours for an average month. Now multiply 166.7 times 30 (the amount of months of experience required) and you get 5001 hours to satisfy the experience requirement.

Now you want to just work one or two days a week. Let's say that you stay motivated and do work two instead of just one. That's 16 hours a week, again times 50, which comes out to 800 hours a year. To get the 5001 hours at that pace, it will take you over SIX YEARS to get the required experience!

Do you see where I'm going with this? I'm not discouraging you from attaining your A&P, but earning your ticket is not, nor should it be, as easy as you want to make it out to be. Forget about not even being able to learn anything thoroughly working one or two days a week, if you can find a mechanic with so little respect for his or her profession to sign you off with that little experience, that is not the quality of individual that you want to learn from in the first place.

The fastest legal, by the book path to an A&P is through an approved Part 147 aviation maintenance school. Some programs are as short as 15 months, and I've heard of some that did evening classes.

Ask yourself, why do you want to be a mechanic? Is it just to have it as resume filler? Or due you want to be a true professional? If you choose to be a true professional, than do what is required to become one, and don't try to short-cut the system.

I, by the way, am a mechanic as well as a pilot.

Stonefly

[Polarbear]

I agree with Stonefly, go the 147 route. I am an airframe rated mechanic and should have my powerplant in July. You cannot learn what you need to doing it the route your talking about.

[Xjetdisp90]

Stonefly,
I was curious. Did you get your private ticket in the 35 or 40 hours as required by the FARs or did you stick with it for as long as it took? I just like being around airplanes. If it takes 30 months or 10 years, so be it. I just want to learn. I hope to build my own RV some day so licensed or not, I just want the experience.

[Stonefly]

Xjetdisp90,

For my private I went longer, for several reasons, primarily due to the fact that I took some flight training in high school, some a few years later, more a few years later than that. When I got serious, I started Part 61 but didn't finish Part 61 because of 9/11 (I was supposed to due my long solo cross country that day, and take my checkride the following week). When we were able to start flying again, I was at a major Part 141 flight academy in Florida.

If it takes 30 months or 10 years, so be it.

Good. But you also said that you've "seen it done". What did you see done? The required experience in 65.77 working one or two days a week in a thirty month period? Say it ain't so!

Good luck to you, and to building an RV. I firmly believe that "in a perfect world" every pilot should be involved in the maintenance of the aircraft that they fly. But then again, we don't live in a perfect world, & I know of a number of pilot who have no business putting a wrench in their hand!

Stonefly

[Polarbear]

Stonefly, if you just want to know about airplanes that wouldn't be to bad. You are just not understanding the depth of the amount of knowledge A&P's need. It would be very difficult to learn it all from one mechanic.

I would suggest two things to you:

1. Read FAR Part 43
2. Pick up study guides for the A&P

Do those and it will help you see the scopes of what you need to know. 95%(I may be to generous on that percentage, I would think it is closer to 99%) of mechanics certified by the FAA get their experience from a FAR 147 mechanic school or through the military.

On that that note, if you are young enough, try to join the Reserves as a mechanic. 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year.

[RynoB]

I've thought about getting my A&P as well. I'm in the same boat. My schedule is really unpredictable, so I can't take any of the 147 courses in the area. Hopefully, once I finish my B.S. degree I can start working towards an A&P. I don't want it for a resume builder, but to have in depth knowledge of the aircraft that I hopefully will own someday.

[Stonefly]

Originally Posted by Polarbear

Stonefly, if you just want to know about airplanes that wouldn't be to bad. You are just not understanding the depth of the amount of knowledge A&P's need. It would be very difficult to learn it all from one mechanic.

I would suggest two things to you:

1. Read FAR Part 43
2. Pick up study guides for the A&P

Do those and it will help you see the scopes of what you need to know. 95%(I may be to generous on that percentage, I would think it is closer to 99%) of mechanics certified by the FAA get their experience from a FAR 147 mechanic school or through the military.

On that that note, if you are young enough, try to join the Reserves as a mechanic. 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year.

Polarbear,

I think that you meant for that message to be addressed to Xjetdisp90! I am an A&P.

Stonefly

[Stonefly]

Originally Posted by Xjetdisp90

Stonefly,
I was curious. Did you get your private ticket in the 35 or 40 hours as required by the FARs or did you stick with it for as long as it took?

Xjetdisp90,

I've already spelled out my path to my private ticket, which illustrates the frustration and setbacks when you are not pursuing something full-time. But after further thought, your analogy doesn't work. The FAA doesn't say that you need two months experience to get your private ticket, they specify a minimum number of hours. If they did say that you needed two months experience to get your Private ticket, do you think that they would accept one or two days a week over a sixty day period?

By the way, I did go through a Part 147 school, but some of the best mechanics that I know went the experience route. Plus, you're getting paid to learn.

Stonefly

[Polarbear]

Sorry Stonefly, my brain is fried this week from finals at school and alot of stress at work.

[Stonefly]

Originally Posted by Polarbear

Sorry Stonefly, my brain is fried this week from finals at school and alot of stress at work.

Not a problem! Good luck on your finals.

Stonefly