We sat down with our Executive VP/COO, Steve Davey, to learn more about the world of aircraft maintenance.

What would you say to someone interested in becoming an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME)?

To those considering becoming an AME, I would say that today is probably the best time ever, in my career, that I have seen opportunities for AMEs. There are opportunities throughout North America, and throughout the world, for good quality AMEs, looking for excitement and adventure.

What do you like about aircraft maintenance?

Aviation itself is exciting, being around airplanes is exciting, the technology is cool [smile]. You have cleaner equipment to work on than with a truck, a vehicle or a boat. Planes are cool [laughs].

How often does an aircraft need maintenance?

Aircraft do require repetitive maintenance. The intervals vary from aircraft to aircraft but, generally speaking, airplanes get inspected every 100-300 hours, usually with a heavier [more significant] inspection every year. When you get into larger aircraft, they are often down for more extensive maintenance blocks, which could be every 600-1000 hours.

How long does maintenance take?

When an airplane is down for scheduled maintenance, it could be a task as short as a day or two. Typically, if it’s down for an annual inspection, depending on the airplane, it could be a week and if you have a larger airplane that is down for a heavier block check, it could be down for weeks or months before it is returned to service.

What is one fact people would be surprised to learn about aviation?

One surprise that the general public may not realize is the age of some of the airplanes that are still flying commercially nowadays. Not so much with the big airliners, but if you are someone who enjoys fly-in fishing and hunting in remote areas, some of those airplanes are 50-70 years old. I think that would surprise a lot of people if they knew that.