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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Maintenance Workers in Demand But Enrollment Declines

John Anderson walks through a hangar at The Air Group Inc., stooping to get beneath the wings of the Gulfstream II jet that the company manages and maintains. The white cover to one of the engines has been slid away revealing the complicated inner workings of one of the jet’s two engines, “There are a lot of things going on with an airplane when they are flying,” said Anderson, a senior vice president and director of maintenance for The Air Group. “That is where the training and work experience comes in.” Operations and maintenance of general aviation aircraft contributed $88 billion to the U.S. economy in 2005, according to a recent report from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Maintenance and repair companies in turn create jobs for the technicians who do required inspections, the avionics experts installing and repairing navigation systems, and the skilled laborers who create the personalized space for a private aircraft owner. With Van Nuys Airport being the world’s largest general aviation airport, the aircraft maintenance business makes a huge contribution to the local economy Syncro Aircraft Interiors, Inc., one of the many companies serving corporate aviation based at Van Nuys Airport, serves as repair shop for heavily used charter planes and where private owners can have their aircraft personalized as an office in the sky or a place to entertain. The charter operator needs to keep the fleet looking top notch because if they didn’t they would fall behind and their customers will go to their competition, said Syncro owner Barbara Cesar. “Having a beautiful aircraft is a large consideration when someone charters an airplane,” Cesar said. “They want to make sure they are getting the best bang for their buck.” Syncro’s work can take as short as a month for a refurbishment of soft goods such as seats and carpeting to the three to six months it takes to completely rebuild a plane’s interior to match specifications from the owner. Entertainment systems are not uncommon in a private jet, and other modifications include infrared vision or trading in for all digital equipment from analog equipment to create what is known in the industry as the “glass cockpit.” “Some guys will say, ‘I want to be extra safe and get to where I am going,'” said Tony Russo, avionics manager at Duncan Aviation’s satellite location in Van Nuys. Mechanics shortage When it comes to the nuts and bolts of aircraft maintenance, the mechanical systems that get a plane aloft, keep it in the air and return it to the ground safely, the industry is facing a shortage of qualified mechanics. Maintenance training facilities are shrinking in number as enrollments decline. With major air carriers in financial trouble, there is no longer the guarantee for students that aircraft maintenance will be a stable career. Also, other industries, such as automotive or theme parks, find graduates of those schools to be prime candidates for openings because of the training they receive in 45 different subjects, including pneumatics, hydraulics and welding, “There is a broad spectrum of training and that is what they are looking for,” said Larry Evans, an aviation maintenance technology instructor at the North Valley Occupational Center. Glendale Community College graduated the last class from its Airframe and Power Plant program in February. The program was dropped due to low enrollment that couldn’t justify the four full-time instructors, a general decline in the student population and a need for additional classroom space. “We were a victim of dollars and cents,” said Scott Rubke, chairman of the Technology and Aviation Division at the college. “It wasn’t anything personal. It was a business decision.” The shuttering of the GCC program is not uncommon. Evans said there are about 160 schools remaining with aviation maintenance programs. Rubke put the number closer to 140 schools. The lack of well-trained aviation technicians is the biggest issue facing the profession, said Mick Broderick, president of the Southern California chapter of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association. Responsibilities With fewer schools churning out mechanics, there are far fewer replacements for those who are at or near retirement age. Plus, the pay scale and the responsibility of working on airplanes don’t make such a career all that attractive. North Valley’s program consists of 2,400 hours that can be completed in two years for a full-time student or four years for one going part time. Certification requires passing three tests and a 10-hour oral and practical exam. In corporate aviation, mechanics receive additional training in the specific type of aircraft they will work on. Other industries want aircraft mechanics because they recognize how intensely they have been trained and the scrutiny they go under to be certified, said Broderick, who works in the Van Nuys office of AcroHelipro Global Services and a graduate of the GCC program. “A good (mechanic) will always find a job,” Broderick said, “but they are not going to land one like the kid coming out of the automotive school who goes to work for Ford or Chevy or Porsche or one of those places.”

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