The aircraft-mechanic shortage

[magman]

There are a lot of people that want to work on airplanes.

Just don’t want to bother to get the A & P.

 

[Aeromot]

Our mechanic, who runs his own one-man shop, keeps talking about retiring, but so far he hasn't. Santa Paula has several shops to choose from, but he seems to be the cheapest and the best to work with. I call him and he normally can tell me when to bring the planeto him within the next two days or, if he has another plane waiting for parts or something, he'll come over to our hangar, and work on it. I keep telling him he should charge more, but he never has raised his prices very much.

 

[jwcfbd]

One of my nephews didn't re-up after 8 yrs in the Army. We talked about what he was going to do and he said he always like working on cars, but he didn't really want to do that for a living. I brought up aircraft mechanic and he said that sounded really good and he would look into it. He later said he was enrolling in an A&P school (which the GI Bill would pay for). But he said he would be aiming to work for an airline because they told him there is little financial incentive to work on GA airplanes.

I'm starting to think that the mechanic shortage will end GA before 100LL does. That feeling always hits home when someone complains about the fees their A&P charged. My on-field A&P/SI retired about two years ago. It's a real pain to get any work done now.

I have no idea what GA is paying now but Delta and the other majors will get you 100k+. When I retired from Delta in 2023 I was making around $115000 and now I think they're over $60/hr plus profit sharing.

 

[KPMX]

I have no idea what GA is paying now but Delta and the other majors will get you 100k+. When I retired from Delta in 2023 I was making around $115000 and now I think they're over $60/hr plus profit sharing.

My US Army MOS qualified me for the hours required for A&P. Last year, I took my DD 214 to my local FSDO, was interviewed and blessed to test with two signed 8610-2 forms. I then enrolled in the Baker School of Aeronautics in Lebanon TN. Since I haven’t turned wrenches on aircraft since the 90’s (other than authorized owner mx on my own Cessna), an accelerated course at Bakers was the magic sauce I needed to pass my airframe, general and power-plant exams in December and ultimately my DME exam.

So now, I’m an A&P working part time on GA aircraft. It’s enjoyable, rewarding, and great experience. Starting pay is $30.00 an hour. A kid I work with fresh out of school was just hired at Breeze at BDL. With night differential, he was hired at $32.50 an hour with some modest pay boosts promised on the near horizon. A girl who worked as an apprentice at my shop while she finished her tech schooling toward her A&P was just recruited by Pratt and Whitney; she’ll start at $45.00 an hour. There’s definitely a demand across the breadth of aviation, at least in my area (New England).

 

[Tom J]

We'll never make as much as a GA mech as the airlines, but after 30 years of the Navy and living by a flight schedule I don't want it anymore. I'll stick with GA, even though we often get the complaints about our shop rate, even though it's the lowest in our area.

I got my A&P to help justify owning my plane, and am now a co-owner in the shop. And my son is working as an apprentice, working towards his A&P, though he prefers the avionics work over the general aircraft work.

 

[Pat76cj]

One of the differences between GA and the majors/corporate is the customers.

The majors, something's broken, you just go fix it. Generally no pissing about costs. Just the push to get it done quickly (and safely).

GA, cost is the issue. Owners trying to do maintenance on their own, or getting an A&P to supervise (at a reduced cost). I generally do not work on anyone elses plane, just mine. We do have a maintenance facility here on the field.

I've worked in both areas, pros and cons both ways. But I do understand the frustration of GA businesses. Want to be able to make a living, but provide a service to customers. You want to help, but it's hard to get work done when you have a customer who wants to pick your brain. Tell them no, you may lose a customer. Offer brain nodes, you get blamed if it doesn't fix their issue.

Just trying to find that happy middle spot.

Did I say I'm really enjoying retirement?