A&P and IA questions...

[AggieMike88]

Just noodling and dreaming for the moment....

A&P and IA are two separate designations and "jobs", correct? To have one does not require the other?

A&P's are permitted to work on our aircraft and IA's are the ones that perform the required inspections, correct?

If someone wanted to pursue the A&P designation, what are the requirements in terms of time & money to accomplish this. For the moment, let's consider this for SEL. And personal & buddy-buddy use versus making a business out of it (I know, not very practical, but these questions are more for info gathering than anything else)

Same questions for the IA.

 

[EppyGA]

Aircraft maintenance technician, as used in the United States, refers to an individual who holds a mechanic certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration; the rules for certification, and for certificate-holders, are detailed in Subpart D of Part 65 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's), which are part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations.[1] Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMT's) inspect and perform or supervise maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alteration of aircraft and aircraft systems. In the US, aircraft maintenance technicians usually refer to themselves as A&Ps, for airframe and powerplant mechanics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_maintenance_technician

 

[flyingmoose]

Just noodling and dreaming for the moment....

Noodling and dreaming ha ok

A&P and IA are two separate designations and "jobs", correct? To have one does not require the other?

You have to be an A&P with experience to be an IA.

A&P's are permitted to work on our aircraft and IA's are the ones that perform the required inspections, correct?

IA's can do both, work and inspect and for that matter A&Ps can do inspections like 100hr etc but not annuals. Part 91 that is.

If someone wanted to pursue the A&P designation, what are the requirements in terms of time & money to accomplish this.

Unless you have previous experience about 2 years and 10-20k for school.

For the moment, let's consider this for SEL. And personal & buddy-buddy use versus making a business out of it (I know, not very practical, but these questions are more for info gathering than anything else)

YOu could, yes if you wanted to put the time and money in it.

 

[Silvaire]

As said, the IA is an add on authorization for a licensed A&P (min 3 yrs with both licenses)

As a casual thing for the purpose of saving some money on annuals or helping some buddies same some money, pursuing your A&P licenses is not practical. Considering the time and expense to accomplish this, you will never recoup those costs through such casual use of the tickets.

If you are an aircraft owner it is far more effective to garner a relationship with a good independent A&P/IA who will work with you on an owner assist basis. Over the course of a few years you can get to a point where you are trusted by your mechanic to do just about anything needed on your aircraft - providing you have the skill and aptitude.

 

[Ted]

I'd considered getting my A&P, and probably should have during the time period I was doing contracting/consulting, but didn't for the reasons of needing to commit too much to an endeavor that I ultimately had no desire to pursue as a job.

It's proven much easier to have a shop that is open to me doing owner-assisted work. Plus, my schedule being what it is at this point, I realistically prefer having someone else doing the major work anyway. I then tackle the bits that are easy for me and time consuming for the shop.

 

[Tom-D]

If you feel it is worth it to help your buds, and do your own annuals go for it.

Remember we must re-qualify each two years to keep our certificates.

you must complete 4 annuals, or 8 major repairs/modifications (337) each year and be able to document it.

 

[AggieMike88]

All above is good information I didn't have before about A&Ps/IAs. Keep it coming.

 

[kmead]

I got my IA in 1983, the big difference between the A&P and IA is the extra liability you take on as an IA. I don't want to think about the amount of bait I've left for lawsuits. In all of these years I've only had one threat, it can really take the wind out of your sails.

The good deed saying comes to mind. How well will the courts treat you? Get the A&P for yourself.

 

[rowerwet]

you can also keep the IA by a test given by the FAA, other approved tests (AMT magazine has a free one that they publish every year), or by attending a FAA seminar.
From talking to my FAA rep recently I found out they will be cracking down on IA's who do the seminar to keep the IA, but work outside of aviation otherwise. The FAA rep is an IA himself and had to surrender his IA while he is an FAA employee, upon leaving the FAA he can get it back. The reason given is because he is not actively working on aircraft, or performing inspections.
As an A&P I found most shops the IA had a few things they really wanted to check on the aircraft while I was doing the inspection, mostly the IA's I have know were much more into the paperwork end (AD's, SB's, W&B, etc.)
I do know a few owner/pilots who got their IA in order to inspect their own aircraft, but am not so sure they really have the background to safely know when they are beyond their level of experience as a mechanic.

 

[Silvaire]

...mostly the IA's I have know were much more into the paperwork end (AD's, SB's, W&B, etc.)...

If you take the IA test you'll find that's "mostly" what is on it.

Back about 30 years ago it was really a PITA to be an IA because all the AD research had to be done either on paper or micro-fiche, there weren't any personal computers. You had to subscribe to a service to keep your library updated and needed either a fiche reader or a bunch of available shelf space.

On the other hand, back about 30 years ago the typical AD was usually about two paragraphs, maybe a couple of pages at most. These days, thanks to those wonderful computers and word processors, you'll be lucky to find a new AD that is less than 20 pages long!

 

[wabower]

A situation last week caused a local shop owner to ask his MX inspector at FSDO for an interpretation of the 30-month experience requirement for the A&P test. MOI said current FAA policy requires that it's gotta be 30 consecutive months, 8-hour days, regular work, etc. FWIW.

I don't know squat about this stuff, just happened to be in the room during the discussion of hiring a guy who wants to take the test and has some background working in a shop.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

A few years back I decided to get an A&P so I researched it and found the Wichita technology school run by the city/county partnership. It required 5 trimester classes which took about 19 months maybe less. It worked out to about $4400 per each of five classes or about $25k and it goes up in price about %5 each semester so maybe $28k by the end.

For me it was enough to just take the first class "general" which covers the legal, definitions and how to understand exactly what FAA wants. It was terrific. I'd recommend that anyone who can devote full time to 2-3 months at least take the class general information class (it was 6 hrs a day 5 days a week) do it.

Not only did it give me terrific knowledge which will save me money every year I own an airplane as well as make owning a plane safer but it was like joining a mens bowling team. The guys were great. It was sort of like joining a blue color country club. We had BBQ, went out for beers, pool and the lot. It was great. I enjoyed the comradeship as much as the knowledge. I don't think anyone would regret it if you can do with without having to borrow money to pay for it.

I never did go back to Power plant one or two so that I could build my engine (my goal at the time), nor did I ever take airframe one and two.

Although I will not be an A&P the class was very much worth while to me as a pilot/owner. Anyone buying a first airplane should take the first class if they can to help them greatly in buying a good but not over priced airplane. You will make easy work of reading and understanding every line in airplane logs. It will make easy ordering parts at wholesale costs. It will make easy sourcing parts such as owners supplied parts to help keep your plane going at a fraction of what it might otherwise be. It will give you confidence and understanding to be one on one with any mechanic giving you a great deal of negotiating power.