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Hi Darick,
There are two practical way to get an A&P certificate:
The first is to go to an approved school and their programs vary some in
duration but I think some can get you through in about 18 month of full
time school and this is the way most young people go as it is a good
technical school program for people who would rather work with their hands
than go to college. Many of the schools are run by local governments as
trade schools and most do a very good job of preparing students to get
their Certificate and they are ready to go to work for a local FBO or an
airline as an entry level A&P.
Many of us with a few more years do not have the time to attend a full
time
school and the FAA has provided what might be viewed as an apprentice
program. You must put in 18 months for either the A or P or 30 months for
both (I may be just a little off hear as I am doing this from memory but
the concept is what is important) so if you went to work for an A&P and
kept accurate records of the time worked, when you got to the first
threshold you could get a letter from your sponsoring A&P saying that he
has supervised your work for the required months of experience and that
you
are qualified to take the test for the A or P which ever you have the most
experience at and you take that letter to the local FAA FSDO and make
application to take the Knowledge test (use to be written test but name
changed when they put it on a computer) and the local FAA guy will
interview you and look at your demonstration of qualification and if he
agrees he will issue you a form that permits you to take the knowledge
test. You will have to take two one covering General A&P material and one
on specifics for the A or P which ever you are taking. Assuming you pass
the two tests you then find a Designated FAA Mechanic Examiner and make an
appointment to take the Oral and Practical exams. If you can get past
these
you will be issued the appropriate certificate. You can then get the other
A or P when your experience total permits you to apply for it.
I know it sounds like a long road and it is I guess, but many of us have
been accumulating time and experience for many years by doing the bulk of
the work on our aircraft under proper A&P supervision and one day the A&P
just offers to provide the required letter because he feels you are ready.
In my case it was well over twenty years before I met the requirements and
could do the tests to get my A&P. I still have to have an IA to work with
for annuals and Form 337's but I can do all of the work on my Coupe and
this will permit me to fly for gas and parts for years to come, I also now
meet the requirements to apply for an IA and may do so when I retire and
have the time to do so.
You did grasp the most important point and that is to actually know enough
to do what needs to be done correctly and safely. If you are working only
on one or two kinds of light aircraft you can learn this in a year or so
if
you have a good A&P to work with and you use tools like this list to learn
what there is to know about your type of aircraft. The current fuel system
thread is a very good example of how a simple system can be a little hard
to understand if you have not had a very good look at the books or someone
who does understand it go through it in good detail with you until you do
fully understand the full function of the system. It is a very fine fuel
system but as there are several versions and several modification any
given
aircraft must be checked and understood to be able to trouble shoot the
system.
The Ercoupe has several systems like that and it does take a good bit of
learning to understand exactly how each system works and then you can feel
comfortable in working on them.
You can start be making a good friend of a very experienced A&P and have
him teach you as you deal with problems or the need for service on your
aircraft you will learn quickly and after the first tire change you will
learn to change a tire and all that is involved to make sure it is all
back
together and working correctly, helping with your annual is a great chance
to learn about your aircraft and it can save you a lot of money as you do
the opening, closing and the dirty work. It may take you longer to do the
job but you are not paying the A&P $ 60 an hour to do things you can learn
to do.
In any case have fun and I hope you do get involved in the maintenance of
your Coupe even if you never get to your A&P.
Best regards,
Vern
Darick Gundy
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Subject
[COUPERS-FLYIN] A & P mechanic
Please respond to
Darick Gundy
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advice in this forum.]----
Open question for all,
In one of the threads recently, someone mentioned becoming A/P
certified since time was available whereas money wasn't (to pay an A/P).
As most disciplines go, I was thinking this also would take a fair amount
formal schooling, but his comment presuaded me otherwise.
Thinking at least another 30 hours flying time into the future for a
check ride and convincing my wife an Ercoupe is a prescription for my
mental well being, is this a realistic goal one could achieve in, say six
months? That is, to be able to work on your own coupe, confident in your
abilities that your expertise and knowledge is beyond reasonable question
and of course passing the required FAA tests. Or, is this a skill only to
be learned over many years with forays into structural engineering,
aerodynamics and a generous amount of mechanical aptitude?
Looking forward to solo time and owning a coupe,
Darick Gundy
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