The A&P certificate

In the United States, the people who fix and sign off aircraft hold a mechanic certificate from the FAA, issued under 14 CFR part 65. It comes with one or both of two ratings: Airframe (the structure, landing gear, flight controls and systems) and Powerplant (engines and propellers). A mechanic with both is called an A&P. These three courses follow the three parts of the tests: General, Airframe and Powerplant.

Who can apply

• Be at least 18 years old and able to read, write, speak and understand English.
• Have the experience: 18 months of practical work for one rating, or 30 months working on both at once. Or graduate from an FAA-approved aviation maintenance technician school (a part 147 school), which takes about two years.
• Pass three kinds of test for each rating: a written knowledge test (General, plus Airframe and/or Powerplant), then an oral and a practical test with an examiner, usually a Designated Mechanic Examiner (DME). All of them within 24 months.

Military experience can count too: the FAA checks your records and signs an authorization so you can sit the tests. The knowledge test comes first, and you need its passing result (70% or better) before the oral and practical.

What the certificate lets you do

With the right rating you can do maintenance, preventive maintenance and alterations, and approve the aircraft for return to service after minor repairs and minor alterations. You can do and sign off 100-hour inspections. You can't approve a major repair or alteration for return to service, do an annual inspection, or repair instruments (those go to an instrument repair station), and you shouldn't do a job for the first time without someone who has done it showing you or watching.

The inspection authorization (IA) adds annual inspections and the return to service after major repairs and alterations. To get one you need to have held both ratings for at least three years, been actively working on aircraft for the last two, and pass another knowledge test. To use the certificate at all you also need recent experience: at least six months of mechanic work in the last 24 months.

This course is a study aid. Check 14 CFR part 65 and the FAA's current Airman Certification Standards for mechanics (FAA-S-ACS-1) before you book a test.