Thegrandpoobah

Could an A&P license be a selling point for a someone looking to get into a bizjet career? I already have my license but it is currently inactive, just wondering if I should go to the effort to become current again or if it doesn't really matter all that much.

Champeen07

I would say not really. Almost all places have their own maintenance facilities already staffed or have it done on contract by a maintenance facility on the field. I have flown with some A&Ps and not once has one of them ever done any maintenance.

Your mileage may vary though.

frankgh

There is no A&P currency that I am aware of. There is for an IA.

JohnBurke

I got my first turbojet job in a corporate flight department because they needed a pilot-mechanic.

I've had a number of jobs in which my turning wrenches was valuable to the employer and got me in the door, or in other cases kept me employed between flying.

Most corporate departments do not use pilot-mechanics.

When you say your "license" is "inactive," do you mean you're out of practice? Do you have experience working on turbojet equipment?

The A&P entitles you legally to work on a lot of equipment that you may or may not actually be qualified or experienced enough to work on (radial engines, for example, though you may not have ever seen one). The regulation stipulates that to do something you've got to have done it before, but that seldom gets honored. The question is, if you're given a job maintaining a corporate turbojet aircraft, are you qualified to do that?

Qualified is more than the certification, but the knowledge, experience ability, and in the case of a mechanic, the tools to do the job.

esa17

Yes, I got my first corporate job thanks to my A&P. That said, be careful.

A lot of times you end up doing three times the work of “just a pilot” for the same money.

JohnBurke

Quite so. A job which requires a pilot to use his A&P needs to be paid extra to compensate for the additional duties. Otherwise, the operator is abusing your higher qualification and you're working for nothing.

Depending on how busy you are in either capacity, you'll need to watch out for duty, rest, and fatigue issues. While a corporate pilot does not have a FAA-imposed duty and rest limit, the bottom line is that he or she must still operate safely, and the same is true of a mechanic. Don't let yourself be put in the position of compromising safety margins, and don't allow your skills and certifications to be abused with underpay.

742Dash

FAR 65.83 sets the currency requirements for an A&P.

Source: Non-current A&P who wishes that he were current.

JohnBurke

The FAA has established the regulation for currency. However, there is no logbook and no record keeping required to show currency. Additionally, there is no specificity regarding what constitutes how he or she has "served as a mechanic under his certificate or rating."

Don't forget 14 CFR 65.81 which stipulates that a certificated mechanic may not supervise or approve for return to service work for which he is rated unless he has performed the work at an earlier date.

kevbo

It may be useful in for a very small operator, crop duster, or bush pilot. In a corporate or professional setting, you do not want to be associated with the "help". Maintenance is just one step above janitorial and grounds keepers, it would tarnish your image as a professional. The only way the FAA could prove that you weren't current is if you told them so.

crbnftprnt

What an astonishingly rude thing to say. In my aviation career I have never heard anyone express anything close to these sentiments. I speculate there that there is some very negative experience in your background that has created this vindictiveness.