Great video as always! Very true. One thing I think that needs to be mentioned is in GA if you work for yourself or share with another A&P or IA you can make up a good chunk of the difference in pay. If you charge $500 bucks to swap out some lights, thats your $500 bucks for a couple hours of work. Most charge $100-$150 hr min depending on the job. GA offers much better scheduling as you don't need to work only nights, you can remotely. Some of the most successful GA A&P's I know travel around the country from job to job and only work 9 months a year.
Im a boeing guy to the death of me .I love my boeing wide bodies the 777 is always mind boggling working on it specially when you get to open the cowlings
Exactly, where you position the legs is very important. I know a guy who did it wrong on a 310, and when the gear swung, the tire hit the jack. Didn't fall off but apparently was a close call
Excellent video!!!!!!! Remember that the liability we take on as a mechanic is actually the same for general aviation and heavys. If we screw something up the faa will be happy to lock us up. The difference is that with general aviation we are usually tied to the entire aircraft vs in the heavy world we are tied to the individual work cards. But the liability is still the same. In my experience the people who make the most money are the ones who own their own mom and pop business. The employees in general aviation don’t make anything but the business owners do.
I was Army aviation and have been contracting for the Army since I got out 6 years ago, so about 12 years total experience in rotary wing. Would you say that $20/hr in GA is actually a realistic starting point? I may need to move soon to a location where I don’t have the option to continue contracting and an trying to weigh my options. I see some smaller places that say they pay up to $35-40/hr, but I’m not sure if my desire to remain around $35/hr is realistic. I know pay will obviously vary greatly by location and relevant experience, but $20/hr *and* no real benefits to speak of seems criminally low.
I can't say for sure. The most I ever made working at an FBO was $22, and that was with my IA but was also pre covid. I know some places are paying higher and have better benefits. I can't speak on rotorcraft because I don't have any heilo experience, but I hear it is better. I would start by looking for GA jobs in your area and see what wage they are offering.
@@brycebuildsit unfortunately, as much as I love rotary wing, it may be necessary to transition to fixed wing based on location and availability. I appreciate the insight! Hopefully some wages have improved in the past few years.
As a marine aviation mechanic I’m telling you top dollar will be with sod contractors but if you get your full va benefits I would stick with ga bc work life balance and after coming out the military you need a cool off period
Hi I'm a student and I'm going to finish school and starting my 6 months stage. I'm focused on avionics stuff and I would ask you some tips for the future. I really love General aviation what's about the pay and benefits? In the future I want to open my own maintenance agency on business jets like Gulfstream Bombardier Falcon etc. Which kinds of tips can you give me? If I'm not wrong you have a repair station or not?
I don't have a repair station, but I will say if you want to make good money in GA, you are going to need to be an IA. You can also make really good money doing avionics installs but you will have to become a dealer and authorized installer by all the big brands
It is still a thing, and I do know people stuck on nights. It just happens to be that right now with a lot of people retiring. There are day shifts open for new hire.
@qigongkylar944 depends. I find if you're doing heavy, it's more of a 9-5 gig. Line maintenance will always be shift work with the majority of maintenance getting done at night. Unless you can convince flight crew, airport staff, and the general public to work/fly all night instead of the daytime.
Great video as always! Very true. One thing I think that needs to be mentioned is in GA if you work for yourself or share with another A&P or IA you can make up a good chunk of the difference in pay. If you charge $500 bucks to swap out some lights, thats your $500 bucks for a couple hours of work. Most charge $100-$150 hr min depending on the job. GA offers much better scheduling as you don't need to work only nights, you can remotely. Some of the most successful GA A&P's I know travel around the country from job to job and only work 9 months a year.
Im a boeing guy to the death of me .I love my boeing wide bodies the 777 is always mind boggling working on it specially when you get to open the cowlings
And find the right jacks as the Bonanza jack does not fit the Barons and the inner gear doors of both will contact a regular set of jacks.
Exactly, where you position the legs is very important. I know a guy who did it wrong on a 310, and when the gear swung, the tire hit the jack. Didn't fall off but apparently was a close call
Excellent video!!!!!!! Remember that the liability we take on as a mechanic is actually the same for general aviation and heavys. If we screw something up the faa will be happy to lock us up. The difference is that with general aviation we are usually tied to the entire aircraft vs in the heavy world we are tied to the individual work cards. But the liability is still the same. In my experience the people who make the most money are the ones who own their own mom and pop business. The employees in general aviation don’t make anything but the business owners do.
Very true at my most I made $22 an hour working for someone. My labor rate now is $80 working for myself.
I was Army aviation and have been contracting for the Army since I got out 6 years ago, so about 12 years total experience in rotary wing. Would you say that $20/hr in GA is actually a realistic starting point? I may need to move soon to a location where I don’t have the option to continue contracting and an trying to weigh my options. I see some smaller places that say they pay up to $35-40/hr, but I’m not sure if my desire to remain around $35/hr is realistic.
I know pay will obviously vary greatly by location and relevant experience, but $20/hr *and* no real benefits to speak of seems criminally low.
I can't say for sure. The most I ever made working at an FBO was $22, and that was with my IA but was also pre covid. I know some places are paying higher and have better benefits. I can't speak on rotorcraft because I don't have any heilo experience, but I hear it is better. I would start by looking for GA jobs in your area and see what wage they are offering.
@@brycebuildsit unfortunately, as much as I love rotary wing, it may be necessary to transition to fixed wing based on location and availability. I appreciate the insight! Hopefully some wages have improved in the past few years.
As a marine aviation mechanic I’m telling you top dollar will be with sod contractors but if you get your full va benefits I would stick with ga bc work life balance and after coming out the military you need a cool off period
Hi I'm a student and I'm going to finish school and starting my 6 months stage. I'm focused on avionics stuff and I would ask you some tips for the future. I really love General aviation what's about the pay and benefits? In the future I want to open my own maintenance agency on business jets like Gulfstream Bombardier Falcon etc. Which kinds of tips can you give me? If I'm not wrong you have a repair station or not?
I don't have a repair station, but I will say if you want to make good money in GA, you are going to need to be an IA. You can also make really good money doing avionics installs but you will have to become a dealer and authorized installer by all the big brands
@brycebuildsit thank you very much, what Is a dealer? I live in Italy so under the rules of EASA, do you know how can I do that in Europe?
What about shift work? I'm with an airline and was stuck on nights for 10 years.
Is that still the case nowadays? That's a long timw
It is still a thing, and I do know people stuck on nights. It just happens to be that right now with a lot of people retiring. There are day shifts open for new hire.
@qigongkylar944 depends. I find if you're doing heavy, it's more of a 9-5 gig. Line maintenance will always be shift work with the majority of maintenance getting done at night. Unless you can convince flight crew, airport staff, and the general public to work/fly all night instead of the daytime.
Major airlines offer flight benefits if you want to travel across the world!
Why not look at camera when you’re talking to us ? 😅
I'm messing around with some new camera angles, I don't like the way it turned out I might just offset it ever so slightly next time.