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Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Related: Aerospace Engineering & Operations Technologists & Technicians  Aircraft Service Attendants  Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, & Systems Assemblers  Avionics Technicians  Engine & Other Machine Assemblers 
Industries: Transportation & Storage  Manufacturing  Government 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches.
    • Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications.
    • Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches.
    • Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts.
    • Reassemble engines following repair or inspection and reinstall engines in aircraft.
    • Inspect airframes for wear or other defects.
    • Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions, such as sticking or burned valves.
    • Accompany aircraft on flights to make in-flight adjustments and corrections.
    • Disassemble engines and inspect parts, such as turbine blades or cylinders, for corrosion, wear, warping, cracks, and leaks, using precision measuring instruments, x-rays, and magnetic inspection equipment.
    • Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment.
    • Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems to diagnose causes.
    • Obtain fuel and oil samples and check them for contamination.
    • Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches.
    • Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments.
    • Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems.
    • Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.
    • Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts.
    • Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts.
    • Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels.
    • Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools.
    • Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment.
    • Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations.
    • Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.
    • Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts.
    • Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks.
    • Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment, such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, or ammeters.
    • Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.
    • Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired to prevent damage to surrounding areas.
    • Examine engines through specially designed openings while working from ladders or scaffolds, or use hoists or lifts to remove the entire engine from an aircraft.
    • Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment.
    • Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches.
    • Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.
    • Maintain, repair, and rebuild aircraft structures, functional components, and parts, such as wings and fuselage, rigging, hydraulic units, oxygen systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, gaskets, or seals.
    • Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft.
    • Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.
    • Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment.
    • Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation.
    • Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment.
    • Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces.
    • Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance.
    • Measure the tension of control cables.
    • Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft.
    • Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules.
    • Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks.
    • Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.
    • Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders.
    • Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools.
    • Examine engines through specially designed openings while working from ladders or scaffolds, or use hoists or lifts to remove the entire engine from an aircraft.
    • Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment.
    • Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding.

    Skills

    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.

    Abilities

    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.

    Knowledge

    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Education

    Education
    Postsecondary certificate
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    85010/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    40.87/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    6,230
    Yearly Projected Openings
    580

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Perseverance

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Air compressors
    • Aircraft pushback or tow tractors
    • Alignment jig
    • Ammeters
    • Ball peen hammer
    • Bastard cut file
    • Borescope inspection equipment
    • Box end wrenches
    • Cable splicing kits
    • Calibrated resistance measuring equipment
    • Calipers
    • Circuit tester
    • Cold chisels
    • Combination wrenches
    • Compasses
    • Desktop computers
    • Diagonal cut pliers
    • Dial indicator or dial gauge
    • Digital testers
    • Drill bit set
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • End cut pliers
    • Feeler gauges
    • Flat nose pliers
    • Forklifts
    • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Go or no go gauge
    • Goggles
    • Ground power units for aircraft
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammers
    • Hand clamps
    • Hand trucks or accessories
    • Heat guns
    • Hex keys
    • Hoists
    • Hold down clamps
    • Inspection mirror
    • Integrated maintenance information systems
    • Jacks
    • Ladders
    • Laser printers
    • Lifts
    • Locking pliers
    • Magnetic particle examination equipment
    • Magnetic tools
    • Mallets
    • Manlift or personnel lift
    • Manual press brake
    • Metal cutters
    • Micrometers
    • Microprocessors
    • Mill saw file
    • Multimeters
    • Needlenose pliers
    • Nibblers
    • Notebook computers
    • Ohmmeters
    • Open end wrenches
    • Oscilloscopes
    • Paint sprayers
    • Personal computers
    • Pneumatic drill
    • Pneumatic impact wrenches
    • Portable data input terminals
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power riveter
    • Pressure indicators
    • Pull spring balances
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Putty knives
    • Pyrometers
    • Ratchets
    • Rectifiers
    • Respirators
    • Rivet tools
    • Rulers
    • Safety glasses
    • Scaffolding
    • Scales
    • Screw extractors
    • Screwdrivers
    • Scribers
    • Shears
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Slip or groove joint pliers
    • Socket sets
    • Sockets
    • Soldering iron
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Speed sensors
    • Squares
    • Stripping tools
    • Tablet computers
    • Tape measures
    • Target or reconnaissance drones
    • Templates
    • Tinners snips
    • Torque wrenches
    • Touch pads
    • Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
    • Ultrasonic examination equipment
    • Utility knives
    • Vibration testers
    • Voltage or current meters
    • Wearable computing devices
    • Welder torch
    • Wire cutters
    • Wire lug crimping tool
    • Wire twister
    • X ray radiography examination equipment

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Compiler and decompiler software
    • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Facilities management software
    • Information retrieval or search software
    • Internet browser software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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