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The aircraft-mechanic shortage

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.
 
JohnH said:
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.
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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.
 
jwcfbd said:
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.
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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).
 
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.
 
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?
 
www.aopa.org

Why aviation needs a Top Gun for mechanics

Aircraft mechanics are essential yet unseen. Two aviation professionals reflect on craft, responsibility, and the quiet authority behind safe flight.
www.aopa.org

Maybe someone should sponsor something like the troubleshooting contest that Plymouth used to conduct around the country. The contestants would have to find and properly repair a problem..

www.allpar.com

Plymouth Troubleshooting Contests in the 1960's and...

In the 1960's and 1970's Plymouth use to sponsor a nationwide troubleshooting contest to try to get people interested in mechanics. There were local contests all over the country at Plymouth dealers and the winners of those contests got to go to the finals at Indy. This was a very popular...
www.allpar.com www.allpar.com


www.cypresscollege.edu

First Auto Skills Challenge and Career Fair Connects High School Students to Future Possibilities - Cypress College

On March 1, the Career and Technical Education Division hosted its first Automotive Skills Challenge and Career Fair event, for local high school students to learn about future work within […]
www.cypresscollege.edu www.cypresscollege.edu
 
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We have an awesome shop near here. My plane is in for annual right now. After 10 years of annuals running from $3k to $5k, my old A&P/IA retired. My next annual was $10,500. This one is going to run $17,300. The shop rate is 50% higher and he is finding a lot more stuff.

Next year I think I'll try to find a mechanic that is blind in one eye.
 
Wow! Why is it so expensive?

This will be my 18th annual. The first 15 or so varied from $1800 to $2200. The last 2 or 3 have been between $3500 and $4000 and I've been a bit pissed about that.

We'll see what this one turns up in May.
 
Brian said:
This will be my 18th annual. The first 15 or so varied from $1800 to $2200. The last 2 or 3 have been between $3500 and $4000 and I've been a bit pissed about that.
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As planes age, the work necessary to keep them airworthy increases in scope, parts wear out, etc. I remember when an annual inspection cost $400, and that wasn't skimping. Of course, back then, avgas was 35 cents a gallon and I was making $1.65/hour, and you could buy a really nice 3BR home in the NY Metro area for $40K, a family sedan cost $4000 new, and a new Cessna 310 was $60K.
 
If you think a Flight School is pricey then check out what’s required for a

Part 147 Aviation Maintenance Technician School. Lots of equipment and

not easy finding qualified Staff.
 
JohnH said:
We have an awesome shop near here. My plane is in for annual right now. After 10 years of annuals running from $3k to $5k, my old A&P/IA retired. My next annual was $10,500. This one is going to run $17,300. The shop rate is 50% higher and he is finding a lot more stuff.

Next year I think I'll try to find a mechanic that is blind in one eye.
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I can see some price changes with a new mechanic looking at stuff. As Ron pointed out, things do age. The other thing is a different mechanic may look at things differently.
 
I completely trust my mechanic. If he says something needs to be fixed, I say, "Let's fix it." I don't wait until an annual to fix things that need to be fixed.

If I had a new mechanic, I'd start with a general sense of trust. That could be strained if the new mechanic kept coming back with things that my previous mechanic had "missed". A few things, sure. Different ways of looking at things, sure. But multiple annuals that, collectively, are eight to ten times my average annuals before??

I'd probably be looking for another mechanic -- unless I could be convinced that my previous mechanic was seriously missing things.

Trust but verify.
 
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