Originally Posted by JohnBurke

I've worked for a lot of maintenance departments. I've yet to meet a manager who wasn't a mechanic. Ever.

Most are experienced mechanics and inspectors.

I've been a working A&P for a lot of years now, and have yet to see any standard in the FAR dealing with a requirement to repair lawnmowers or cars.

There's no federal certification for lawnmower mechanics nor for automotive mechanics, but there certainly is for those working on aircraft.

There's not a damn thing in AC43.13 about repairing motorcycles.

Originally Posted by kevbo

Aviation is governed at the federal level, everything else is under state or professional organizations. This by itself doesn't make an FAA certificate any better. I believe the standards for aircraft workers are far lower than any of the other common skilled trades. I would include much of unskilled labor for that matter.