Careers

Career Description

A plane that can't fly is as useful as a fish that can't swim. So when a plane is grounded due to physical damage, it's the job of Aircraft Structural Maintenance specialists to get it repaired and back in the air. This could mean installing a replacement part or building a replacement from scratch using welding, metalworking tools and everything from steel to synthetic polymers. Your skills will have to be top-notch and your work perfect because not only does a repaired plane have to fly, it also has to be safe for a pilot to fly it.

Career Tasks

• Inspect damage and repair or replace plastic, fiberglass, bonded structures and bonded honeycomb assemblies and cut, bend and install hardware on all types of tubing
• Balance aircraft control surfaces and ensure that repairs are pressure-, fluid- and weather-tight
• Seal fabricated tubing assemblies, select components and fabricate and pull test aircraft cable assemblies
• Operate and maintain powered and nonpowered tools and equipment to include precision measurement equipment
• Use various methods of identifying metals, such as mechanical and chemical testing, in order to ensure that the proper corrosion treatment procedures are followed
• Remove corrosion by using various chemical and mechanical methods and then treat the metal to preserve it
• Use spray equipment to apply protective coatings to aircraft structural materials
• Construct and apply aircraft markings and insignia

Relevant Interests & Skills

• Mechanics
• Working with Aircraft and Weaponry
• Maintenance and Repair
• Working with Your Hands
• Problem-solving
• Mathematics
• Chemistry and Physics
• Metalworking

Training

After eight-and-a-half weeks of Basic Military Training, every Airman goes to technical training to learn their career. Here's the basic information about Aircraft Structural Maintenance technical training:

School location: Pensacola NAS [FL]

Length of course: 76 days

College degree earned: Aviation Maintenance Technology

College credits earned: 29