Originally Posted by
flyingreasemnky
It sounds like you're referring to small piston aircraft which you will probably have no difficulty with. What I'm referring to is turbine powered corporate aircraft with complex systems way beyond that of a 172. You said you want an A&P to work as a corporate pilot and thus you would be working on corporate jets. When I said that you will not know anything as a newly minted A&P, when it comes to anything beyond a small piston powered aircraft, you won't. There is a reason my former company spent thousands of dollars to send me to factory maintenance training and regularly sent my coworkers as well. An A&P is a license to learn. When you pass your writtens and o&p's, it means that you have the basic knowledge to work on an aircraft not that you know everything. I learn something new on a regular basis and experienced a huge learning curve when I transitioned from small GA aircraft to corporate jets.
Bear in mind that I'm not trying to flame you, I'm just trying to give you a heads up about being an A&P. I know of pilots w/ their A&P's that have gotten in over their heads because their employer expects them to be able fix the airplane with no previous experience or training.
Well, I must admit, you've got me there. I know that some of the systems are going to be preaty complex. But I do know that I will be able to adapt better than a person who randomly decides one day to persue this field. When I left Dodge, the only cert I had left to get was automatic transmision. I was Viper/Prowler/Cummings/Sprinter certified. Some of the new vehicles had as many as 38 seperate modules in them, and they all had to speak to one another for everything to work properly. I do know a little about turbine engines, but I also know I would have alot to learn. If working on a 172 is like working on a Volkswagen Beetle(because it is, lets face it), then what would working on a G-IV be like?