Part 147 school or work experience? Two routes to the A&P tests

Before you can test for a mechanic certificate, you have to show the FAA you're eligible. The regulation gives two ways: an authenticated document from a certificated aviation maintenance technician school, or documentary evidence of enough practical experience (14 CFR 65.77). Either way you take the same written, oral and practical tests (14 CFR 65.75) (14 CFR 65.79), and to be issued the certificate you must be at least 18 and able to read, write, speak and understand English, with a narrow exception for some applicants employed outside the United States by a U.S. air carrier (14 CFR 65.71(a)). Here's how the two routes compare.

Route 1: an aviation maintenance technician school

No one may run an aviation maintenance technician school without a certificate issued under 14 CFR Part 147 (14 CFR 147.3), and the FAA notes that these schools are also known as "147 Schools" (FAA: Experience Requirements). A school can hold an Airframe rating, a Powerplant rating, or both (14 CFR 147.11).

The rules set a few floors that every certificated school has to meet:

• Its curriculum must be designed to keep aligned with the Aviation Mechanic ACS, and it must make sure students are prepared to test for the mechanic certificate (14 CFR 147.17(a)).
• Instructors must hold a mechanic certificate with appropriate ratings or be otherwise specifically qualified, and no shop class may exceed 25 students per instructor (14 CFR 147.19).
• At least 70 percent of its graduates who take an FAA mechanic test within 60 days after graduating must pass, measured over the most recent 3 years (14 CFR 147.25).
• Each graduate gets an authenticated document showing the graduation date and the curriculum completed (14 CFR 147.21). That document is what satisfies the experience requirement (14 CFR 65.77(a)).

The FAA says most 147 schools ask for a high school diploma or a GED to enroll, and estimates 18 to 24 months to finish, depending on the ratings you want; it suggests contacting a school directly about its own requirements (FAA: Experience Requirements). That's a school entry requirement, not an FAA one: the FAA doesn't set general education requirements for the mechanic certificate itself (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic). To find certificated schools, use the FAA's Find a Facility dashboard and choose Mechanics School.

The school route has two timing advantages written into the rules:

• General test early. After you complete the general part of the curriculum, the school may give you an authenticated document that lets you take the General written test before graduating (14 CFR 65.75(c)) (14 CFR 147.31). Schools don't have to issue it, so ask (FAA Companion Guide to the Mechanic ACS, p. 9).
• Oral and practical before the end. If the school shows the FAA you've made satisfactory progress and are ready, you may take the oral and practical tests during your final subjects (14 CFR 65.80).

Route 2: documented practical experience

The second route is experience. You need documentary evidence, satisfactory to the FAA, of at least 18 months of practical experience with the procedures, practices, materials, tools and equipment used in building, maintaining or altering airframes or powerplants, appropriate to the rating you want; or at least 30 months of experience doing the duties of both ratings at the same time (14 CFR 65.77(b)).

Those months are measured on a typical full-time, 40-hour work week, and long weeks don't shorten them. The FAA's own example is someone who worked 10-hour days, 6 days a week, for a year: the hours add up, but the answer is still no, because Part 65 doesn't allow less than 18 months for one rating or 30 months for both (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic).

A few more points from the FAA's guidance on this route (FAA: Experience Requirements):

• The FAA calls on-the-job training "usually the most inexpensive method" of gaining the experience.
• For civilian on-the-job training, you work under the supervision of a mechanic with an Airframe or Powerplant rating.
• Only actually doing maintenance counts. Time spent in training can't be accepted toward the time or the experience.
• Military experience may earn credit depending on your specialty, but serving in the military doesn't by itself authorize you to test, and time spent training for a specialty doesn't count.

Experience at a repair station counts too, as long as the work was on an airframe, a powerplant or both (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic). While you're building those months without a certificate, you may do maintenance under the supervision of a certificated mechanic who personally observes the work as needed and is readily available in person (14 CFR 43.3(d)), but you can't approve anything for return to service (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic).

Keep records from day one

On this route your paperwork is your proof. The FAA recommends keeping a log that shows each maintenance task, the time spent on it, and validation by a certificated Airframe or Powerplant mechanic (FAA: Experience Requirements). Examples of acceptable documentation include pay receipts for tasks, and records or logs signed by a certificated supervisor showing the hours, the exact tasks or type of work, and the registration number of each aircraft (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic). Other evidence can include training records, an employer's statement and letters of recommendation, and the FAA says the more evidence you bring, the better (FAA: Experience Requirements).

Getting authorized to test

School graduates take their graduation certificate to the testing center as authorization; they don't need to present Form 8610-2 to an FAA inspector first (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic). The document must show the school's name and certificate number, your graduation date, the curriculum and your name, and graduating from an Airframe or Powerplant curriculum also authorizes the General test (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6).

Experience applicants make an appointment at a Flight Standards District Office and bring two completed FAA Forms 8610-2 and all their evidence. If the inspector finds it adequate, the inspector signs the form and you're authorized to take the knowledge tests (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic). Testing centers accept the original signed Form 8610-2 as authorization (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6).

Which route fits you?

A school suits people who want a structured program with set classes. Experience suits people already working around aircraft, or who can find a supervised job in a maintenance shop, and who will keep careful records. For the full path from eligibility to certificate, read how to become an aircraft mechanic.

Same tests at the end

Whichever route you take, the written tests cover the same ACS subjects (14 CFR 65.75(a)), and the FAA advises experience applicants to set aside time to study for the written, oral and practical tests (FAA: Experience Requirements). A&P Complete, our online course for the three written tests ($49 one-time), has 40 lessons, one per ACS subject, and 15 timed mock exams for each test in the official format. It's text-only, and you can read the free Mathematics (General), Metallic Structures (Airframe) or Reciprocating Engines (Powerplant) lesson first. Then see how hard the A&P mechanic test is.

Questions people ask

How much experience do I need for the A&P without a school?

At least 18 months of practical experience appropriate to one rating, or at least 30 months of experience doing the duties of both the airframe and powerplant ratings at the same time, documented to the FAA's satisfaction.

Can extra hours shorten the 18 or 30 months?

No. The FAA says Part 65 doesn't allow less than 18 months for one rating or 30 months for both, and the experience is based on a typical full-time, 40-hour work week.

Do I need a high school diploma to become an A&P mechanic?

The FAA doesn't set general education requirements for the mechanic certificate. The FAA notes that most Part 147 schools ask for a high school diploma or GED to enroll, and some employers may require one.

How do I get authorized to take the A&P tests on experience?

Make an appointment at a Flight Standards District Office with two completed FAA Forms 8610-2 and your documentary evidence. If an inspector finds it adequate, they sign the form, which authorizes you to take the knowledge tests.