Think back to the last time you traveled somewhere on a plane. Do you remember what you thought about? Most likely, you hoped the flight would take off on time. You probably thought about the weather at your final destination. Also, you may have wondered what sort of refreshments would be offered in-flight. What you probably weren’t thinking about was the safety of the plane. That’s because we trust experienced aircraft technicians to do that sort of thinking for us.

These highly skilled technicians work in a variety of aircraft industry sectors that include: airlines, manufacturers, aircraft maintenance companies, and other Canadian aviation operations. These areas come with a wide range of responsibilities, including: checking for corrosion, distortion and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail by using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment; cleaning, refueling and changing oil in line service aircraft; using hoists or forklift trucks to remove or install aircraft engines; inspecting completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft is ready for operation; maintaining repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance; and much more.

In order to become an aircraft technician, post-secondary training is required. At Centennial College, students can study for two years in the Aviation Technician – Aircraft Maintenance program. This trusted undertaking is both Transport Canada approved and Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council certified as a recognized aircraft maintenance-training program. It results in an Ontario College Diploma.

The focus of this Aircraft Technician Training revolves around: aircraft maintenance, power plants, structures, inspections, troubleshooting, mechanical, electrical and electronic skills as well as other sciences that are related to the aircraft maintenance industry.

This focus is achieved through courses such as: Theory of Flight, Aircraft Applied Mathematics, Electrical Fundamentals, Turbine Engines, Hangar – Maintenance and Procedures, Rotary Wing Controls and many others. However, it should be noted that these courses are not just lecture based. Many see students working in labs fixing aircraft engines, performing flight-line activities as well as conducting aircraft and component inspections.

Before students can graduate from the Aircraft Technician Training, they must complete over 200 maintenance tasks. Also required for Aircraft Maintenance Technician graduation is a minimum C grade in all courses. However, Transport Canada accreditation requires both a minimum B grade in every course and an absentee rate of less than five per cent of the total program hours.

Centennial College expects students applying for admission to this Aircraft Technician Training to present, at minimum, an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or General Education Development or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Applicants must also possess compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent and Math 11M or U or 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent.