Aircraft Maintenance Trainee at Sarsan Aviation Academy
Hands-on disassembly and reassembly of APU, turbofan, hydraulic, fuel and landing gear systems on decommissioned aircraft, going on to lead a 5-student team.
A month of hands-on aircraft maintenance at Sarsan Aviation Academy. It was the experience that got me into engineering.
I disassembled and reassembled an APU, a Soloviev D-30 turbofan, 737 and Piper landing gear, disc brakes, hydraulic tanks, fuel tanks, and a piston engine, all on decommissioned airframes. Taking a turbofan apart and putting it back together changed the way I thought about assemblies.
By the end, I was leading a five-student team, working in a regulated environment where the safety and quality standards aren't negotiable.
On structures, I riveted wing panels to repair damaged sections, and did crack detection with dye penetrant inspection.
I also studied the avionics side: autopilot, MCDU/FMC, transponders, altimeters, VHF/HF radios, GPS, weather radar, and safety systems including the black box, ELT, TCAS, and emergency squawk codes.