Bryson Wilson stands in a hangar at Denton Enterprise Airport. Heòòò½ÊÓƵ™s surrounded by small airplanes òòò½ÊÓƵ” and one small helicopter òòò½ÊÓƵ” strategically parked almost to punctuate the tables all dressed up in company logos.
Wilson is a long way from the oil fields of Odessa, and more than one representative from more than a dozen aviation companies are eyeing him and dozens of classmates who have made time to meet the people who want to hire them to repair, maintain and diagnose problems with aircraft.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI have always had a love for aircraft,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wilson said. òòò½ÊÓƵœI was in the oil field, just working out there to stay. I was working 90-plus hours a week for like one month on, two weeks off. It was breaking my back.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Wilson said he was up late one night researching aviation programs. He discovered US Aviation Academy, a company that offers flight training, flight dispatch education and, more recently, aircraft maintenance. Wilson said he liked that US Aviation, which is based at Denton Enterprise Airport, has a program to license future aviation mechanics in Federal Aviation Administration airframe and power plant specialties.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI saw that they had the eight-month program, not a two-year [program] like everybody else,òòò½ÊÓƵ Wilson said. òòò½ÊÓƵœThat was a big thing for me, and so I started saving more for this school so I could get out of the oil field and focus on the actual schoolwork.òòò½ÊÓƵ
For students like Wilson, that eight-month accelerated program means spending less money and time on school. And it means getting the required licenses within a calendar year. US Aviation Academy also offers a 16-month program that offers evening classes.
Students in the accelerated program come to class during the day. Students in the 16-month program often hold down jobs, come to aviation school and manage to fit in their studies.
Hodari Glinsey, campus director for the US Aviation Academy aircraft maintenance program, said students in the program are a hot commodity in the aviation industry. Among commercial airlines, private fleets and airplane groups, and shipping divisions for UPS and FedEx, Glinsey said, US Aviationòòò½ÊÓƵ™s aircraft mechanic students are landing jobs before they get their second license.
Students typically get a license in airframe first, which allows them to work on the structural part of aircraft, and their power plant license second, which allows them to build, dismantle and service the complex engine systems that get airplanes into the air and back on the ground.
Glinsey said the demand for mechanics is a combination of the continued growth of the aviation industry and the average age of working, licensed mechanics òòò½ÊÓƵ” which is near retirement.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI always tell students, òòò½ÊÓƵ˜If youòòò½ÊÓƵ™re not working when you get out of here, itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s your own fault,òòò½ÊÓƵ™òòò½ÊÓƵ Glinsey said. òòò½ÊÓƵœWe actually had companies come in and grab 18 people at a time. Then they came back and grabbed 20 people. And weòòò½ÊÓƵ™re graduating people every month, right? Just about every month. So, the demand is there. Companies are willing to give our students òòò½ÊÓƵ” a lot of them, 60 days out before they even graduate òòò½ÊÓƵ” an offer letter because itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s that much of a demand for them.òòò½ÊÓƵ
During a career event earlier in March, private companies and the U.S. Marines were ready to meet the next generation of mechanics. Glinsey said mechanics enjoy a special kind of work life. They get their hands dirty, but they can also see the world.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI was telling a young guy who said his mom had always wanted to have lunch at a cafe in New York City that he could make that happen. He could tell his mom that they were going to take a trip to New York, have lunch at that cafe and then be back home the same day,òòò½ÊÓƵ he said. òòò½ÊÓƵœWhen youòòò½ÊÓƵ™re a mechanic for the commercial airlines, you get to fly.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Stephanie Byrd, the airframe and power plant director of all four of US Aviation Academyòòò½ÊÓƵ™s programs, said the academy requires students to study and sit for their general exam early. If they fail it twice, they are dropped from the program. Some aviation programs offer the general test throughout their program durations. Byrd said there is enough demand for mechanics that some companies are offering $20 to $22 an hour and arenòòò½ÊÓƵ™t filling their positions.
òòò½ÊÓƵœTheyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re having a hard time finding and keeping people because most of itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s $28 and up,òòò½ÊÓƵ Byrd said. òòò½ÊÓƵœAnd thatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s conservative. A lot of them are [offering] $32 to $38 [an hour] and up.
òòò½ÊÓƵœThatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s just regular time. I mean, with overtime, theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re making, what?òòò½ÊÓƵ Byrd said, looking at Glinsey.
òòò½ÊÓƵœTheyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re making serious figures,òòò½ÊÓƵ he said.
Justin Sykes, chief financial officer of the academyòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Denton location, said the people who end up applying for the program tend to love airplanes and working with their hands. They also worry about their future and arenòòò½ÊÓƵ™t sold on a bacheloròòò½ÊÓƵ™s degree. Though, Byrd said, US Aviation Academy students can get their licenses at the local school, then in maintenance at the schoolòòò½ÊÓƵ™s partner, North Central Texas College.
òòò½ÊÓƵœTravel is a consistent theme for a lot of our students,òòò½ÊÓƵ Sykes said, òòò½ÊÓƵœbecause the airlines offer great travel benefits. You know, a lot of students are like, òòò½ÊÓƵ˜I know that I want to make the big bucks. Like, Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m a serious individual who wants to make good money, but Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m not sure that I want to be a doctor or lawyer.òòò½ÊÓƵ™ So they look at these programs because the pay and benefits are good.òòò½ÊÓƵ
The program costs $36,000, which isnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t peanuts but is less than what theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™d pay to earn a bacheloròòò½ÊÓƵ™s degree at a public college in Texas, which now usually costs over $100,000 for four years. Continuing into medical or law school could cost another $100,000 at least, a debt load that graduates say is a long-term commitment that diminishes their buying power once they start working.
David Leal, a 34-year-old military veteran, worked in aviation in the Navy. He was part of an air patrol squadron that flew over the ocean to detect submarine activities. His squadron flew patrol near Japan and Bahrain, dropping buoys that allowed them to listen for submarines that might be getting closer to maritime borders than they were supposed to.
When his father died, Leal returned home to help his family. He still loved aviation, though, and discovered US Aviation Academyòòò½ÊÓƵ™s program.
He said itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a serous business to keep airplanes safe and operational. You might not think about the hundreds of lives in your hands as an aviation mechanic until you start studying the work.
òòò½ÊÓƵœItòòò½ÊÓƵ™s stressful just knowing that youòòò½ÊÓƵ™re basically responsible for a plane landing again,òòò½ÊÓƵ Leal said. òòò½ÊÓƵœBut knowing that youòòò½ÊÓƵ™re going to have to touch it hundreds of times throughout that year, it kind of shaves it off a little bit. In a way, it is a similar to health care, except with health care, people are different. ... In the aircraft world, I saw the same aircraft type.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Leal said aircraft show their wear and tear according to their design, and usually, maintenance and repair are a sure thing. Students learn to review and consult systems manuals and schematics religiously, to comply with the FAA.
Leal has his airframe license, and heòòò½ÊÓƵ™s looking forward to getting his power plant license soon.
Students like Leal find themselves sought after by younger students who havenòòò½ÊÓƵ™t served in the military. He likes being able to mentor younger students, he said.
òòò½ÊÓƵœIòòò½ÊÓƵ™m the oldest in my class, and they come to me and ask me questions,òòò½ÊÓƵ he said.
He said working on large military aircraft means getting a lot of help from computers that could diagnose breaks, failures and deficiencies in the systems. The smaller planes the US Aviation Academy students see arenòòò½ÊÓƵ™t, as Leal described it, a plug-in engine check.
òòò½ÊÓƵœAll these older, small little aircraft where they they use a personal pilot, and stuff like that? The plane doesnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t talk to you. You have to figure it out, and I feel like itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s more for the people that just love turning wrenches and stuff like that,òòò½ÊÓƵ he said. òòò½ÊÓƵœIòòò½ÊÓƵ™m more of a computer-oriented person myself. Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m more leaning toward the newer stuff. The four main guys òòò½ÊÓƵ” Southwest, Delta, American Airlines and United òòò½ÊÓƵ” thatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s what Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m going for, especially having my four years in heavy maintenance experience. Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m hoping to get picked up by one of them. But at the same time, it doesnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t hurt to find something nearby.òòò½ÊÓƵ
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