Aircraft maintenance technician

[4][5] The FAA recognizes two ways of demonstrating the needed knowledge and skills: practical experience or completion of a training program at a school certificated under Part 147 of the FARs.

[6] The United States military provides an opportunity to gain practical experience, and there is a simple process of obtaining eligibility from military experience to earn an Airframe and Powerplant License as long as the members careers meet the required career specialty codes or MOS.

[7] Applicants who attend an aviation maintenance school program certificated under Part 147 study an FAA-approved and supervised curriculum.

Required areas of study in the "general" curriculum include electricity, technical drawings, weight and balance, hydraulics and pneumatics, ground operation of aircraft, cleaning and corrosion control, basic mathematical calculations, forms and record-keeping, basic physics, maintenance manuals and publications, and applicable federal regulations.

[11] Some AMTs, after at least three years of working in their field, choose to acquire an inspection authorization (IA), which is an additional rating added on to the individual's mechanic certificate.

These individuals are allowed to perform annual inspections on aircraft and sign off for return to service on major repairs and alterations on the required block of the FAA form 337.

Certification and limitations, including renewal requirements, of mechanics with inspection authorization is contained in 14 CFR Part 65.