A&P schools that offer a weekend program in Michigan or Ohio?

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Melissa2983298

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Melissa
Hello, does anyone know of an A&P program in the Great Lakes area that are “weekend” classes? Thank you for all of your help!
 
Doing it by weeked classes only would take you 30+ years to accumulate the required classroom time....
 
IIRC A typical FAR 147 school curriculum is 1900 hrs.which would most likely require at least 3 years to complete.

Is OP referring to A & P “Test Prep “ schools ?

For many folks getting the A&P as a long range project an option is the
experience route per FAR 65.77. Helping people with Annuals or projects will result in logging hours. Not easy but can be doable. You have to be diligent to keep up your diary/log.


I believe there was a thread on this a few months ago.
 
A 4 hr class every Saturday = about 100 hrs per year or 19 years to meet minimum.

If Part 147 ; years could be dependent if you meet Sat & Sun for xx hrs/day.

i doubt it would be practical to assemble a group all willing to take the long train ride at the same time.

All schools run on numbers.
 
At 1900 hours average, and doing 12 hours a weekend, with the assumption of having all the required classes run as scheduled, yeah, one might get it done in 5 years. In reality, won’t happen. Instructor and lab scheduling gets wacked and a class gets dropped for a cycle and everything gets extended for another semester or more.

All the schools I know of only teach classes in a specific order and it’s generally on an alternating year cycle.

Even weekend Masters degree classes take a couple of years and don’t require as much seat time in the classroom
 
Craig said:
Even weekend Masters degree classes take a couple of years and don’t require as much seat time in the classroom
Click to expand...

interesting. An aircraft mechanic is more educated than someone that holds a masters degree. Which masters? Art history … MBA?

I think I’ll save this thread as a reference next time some moron complains about shop rates. If we paid our mechanics better there might be more of them and there wouldn’t be so many threads about mx delays.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
interesting. An aircraft mechanic is more educated than someone that holds a masters degree. Which masters? Art history … MBA?

I think I’ll save this thread as a reference next time some moron complains about shop rates. If we paid our mechanics better there might be more of them and there wouldn’t be so many threads about mx delays.
Click to expand...

Might even get better mechanics.
 
Clip4 said:
Wouldn’t it be 12.5 years if they only met 4 hours every Saturday and don’t have classes on legal holiday weekends?
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Possibly. You could consider moon phases and likely impact on class productivity too. Perhaps the best time for A&P school enrollment is when Jupiter is ascendant.

I didn't overthink it, and just took typical A&P school (24 months) at 5 days/week, and converted it to 2 days/week. So 24 / 0.4 = 60 months.

I am happy to see the strained math that results in a 30 year curriculum though. :D Then I can be totally and completely incorrect.
 
To answer the actual question, I personally do not know of any schools that run a strictly weekend only program in the Great Lakes area or elsewhere. At least not a full fledged Part 147 program though I seem to recall some do test prep on weekends for individuals who gained permission to test via practical experience. I’d call the local FSDOs and ask them if they know of one as they have oversight of the schools.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/

Now back to your regularly scheduled debate on math. :D
 
Magman said:
IIRC A typical FAR 147 school curriculum is 1900 hrs.which would most likely require at least 3 years to complete.

Is OP referring to A & P “Test Prep “ schools ?

For many folks getting the A&P as a long range project an option is the
experience route per FAR 65.77. Helping people with Annuals or projects will result in logging hours. Not easy but can be doable. You have to be diligent to keep up your diary/log.


I believe there was a thread on this a few months ago.
Click to expand...

I heard that after about 15 years of feet dragging, the last 3 years of lobbying have paid off and new legislation was just passed eliminating the 1900 hours. An FAA draft is in the works, and quickly, as their funding is dependent on their complying with congressional mandate. It’ll be performance based, rather than hour-based, if the training organization is an accredited institution. Don’t ask me to look it up, I heard it on good authority, but should be available for public reading already (last omnibus bill and NPRM, which I think you could find in the Federal Register).
 
Craig said:
At 1900 hours average, and doing 12 hours a weekend, with the assumption of having all the required classes run as scheduled, yeah, one might get it done in 5 years. In reality, won’t happen. Instructor and lab scheduling gets wacked and a class gets dropped for a cycle and everything gets extended for another semester or more.

All the schools I know of only teach classes in a specific order and it’s generally on an alternating year cycle.

Even weekend Masters degree classes take a couple of years and don’t require as much seat time in the classroom
Click to expand...

1900 wasn’t (isn’t) the average, it’s the minimum requirement, for a few more months at least.
 
Magman said:
A 4 hr class every Saturday = about 100 hrs per year or 19 years to meet minimum.

If Part 147 ; years could be dependent if you meet Sat & Sun for xx hrs/day.

i doubt it would be practical to assemble a group all willing to take the long train ride at the same time.

All schools run on numbers.
Click to expand...
Check your math
 
Oops. I guess I should have refreshed the page before hitting post after having the page loaded for several minutes.
 
Magman said:
IIRC A typical FAR 147 school curriculum is 1900 hrs.which would most likely require at least 3 years to complete.
Click to expand...
The 147 min is 1900 hrs. Where I went to A&P School the curriculum was 1950 hrs.(Seen some as high as 2100hr). It took me 2 yrs but I had a more than normal absences and had to make up the time I missed.
Part 147 allows a max of 8 hrs/day, 6 days/wk, or 40 hrs per week of instruction so 1900 / 40 = 47. 5 weeks, which is 4.5 weeks shy of 1 yr.
The School of Missionary Aviation Technology in Ionia MI has a 1 yr A&P program. If I was looking for a school in MI that would be my choice and I'd just bust my azz for 1 yr. and get 'er done.
 
Kritch. Good catch!

4 x 52 = ?? Sleepy math doesn’t work well! So it might be done in 10 years under
old regs.

Anyone understand what changes new regs will bring about? Good? Bad?


Kritchlow said:
Check your math
Click to expand...
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
1900 wasn’t (isn’t) the average, it’s the minimum requirement, for a few more months at least.
Click to expand...

Reading thru the new 14 CFR 147 training requirements, It looks like 1900 hours isn't going to come close to covering the required subjects. For example, on the powerplant side, the new standards require a student to over haul a recip engine, a turbine engine and a carb, among the 41 specific training modules. To complete all those tasks in the 750 hour minimum would be like sucking on a fire hose for a drink of water. Almost all the modules require some hands on work and many require enough skill to return the item covered in the module to active service.

It also sets maximum training hours within a single day, number of training days within a week and number of training hours within a 7 day period.
 
I did my A&P at a tech school in 2 years. Worked GA for a while because I wanted to work on light aircraft, but soon saw the light after getting feedback from my friends that went to work for McDonnell Douglas or the airlines. There is no comparison to the wages and benefits offered. I jumped ship and never looked back and am comfortably retired 30 years later.. That wouldn’t have happened if I slogged it out in GA, sticking my neck on the line everyday.
I remember an unfortunate A&P that installed an air cleaner incorrectly that cost a family of 5 their lives and the ramifications of making a simple mistake. No way is it worth it.
 
Craig said:
he new standards require a student to over haul a recip engine, a turbine engine and a carb, among the 41 specific training modules.
Click to expand...
FYI: those "standards" are the same as the previous version and each student is not required to OH an engine. You have to look at the teaching level definitions (1, 2, 3) next to each task to see what amount of detail is required with the majority of the subjects being taught in a classroom environment. In very general terms, this new revision will allow the expansion of the Part 147 schools by reducing the bureaucratic red tape.
 
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Looks like it still requires 30 months of experience for the military folks wanting to use the experience credit to take the writtens, oral and practical.


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I attended a part 147 school at night. It took 2 years (400 class days @ 5 hours per day= 2000 hours) just to complete the classroom and lab (hands on ) requirement. You have to pass General before you are eligible to take Airframe or Powerplant courses. Completion of the courses does not give you an A&P license. You still have to pass an oral, practical and written test for each element ( general, airframe and powerplant). The oral/practical elements take about 4-8 hours each depending on your skill level.

Attendance is mandatory...if you are 1 hour late or miss a day in class, you are required to make up the time...no kidding. If you are habitual in being late, you can be dropped from the program.

It was 50 miles round trip each day which also put 20,000 miles on my car, not to mention fuel cost. Out of 25 in our class who completed the 2 year course, only about 5 of us went on to get our license...I was told this is about the norm.

If you have a documented account of working as an apprentice at an aircraft shop, you can apply to take the test if you have 3000 hours experience. You still might need to take a few courses to cover your knowledge of over 40 different subjects that are covered at a 147 school.

These days, you can make good money as an auto mechanic without the liability issues associated with being an A&P.

If you love aviation and working on stuff, the 2 years goes by pretty fast, and you might learn a few things in the process...good luck !
 
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