Aircraft Mechanics And Service Technicians

Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians

Description

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Includes helicopter and aircraft engine specialists.

Tasks

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

Knowledge

Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Design: Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
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.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills

Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Work Activities

Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment: Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Controlling Machines and Processes: Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment: Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Work Context

Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets: How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls: How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable: How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
Exposed to Contaminants: How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results: How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

Interests

Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Work Style

Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Analytical Thinking: Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

Work Values

Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

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National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $26.55 hourly, $55,210 annual.

Employment (2008):: 119,160 employees