An Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) is a person licenced to perform maintenance on an aircraft. The Canadian equivalent to an American Aircraft Maintenance Technician, AMEs are licenced by Transport Canada to perform maintenance as per the Canadian Aviation Regulations. An Airbus A380, currently the worlds largest airliner An aircraft is any vehicle or craft capable of atmospheric flight. ... Aircraft Maintenance Technicians are individuals certificated by the FAA and adhere to the guidelines and Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to keep aircraft airworthy. ... Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. ... The Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) are the rules that govern civil aviation in Canada. ...

Introduction

All aircraft, with the exception of certain homebuilt and ultralight planes, must carry a valid Certificate of Airworthiness to be legally allowed to fly. In order for this certificate to remain valid, all maintenance on the aircraft must be certified by a licenced AME. As well, all privately registered aircraft must be inspected a minimum of once every 365 days in order for the Certificate of Airworthiness to remain valid. This annual inspection must be certified by an AME. Finally, if a non-licenced person performs any work on an aircraft, an AME must check their work and again certify that it was correctly performed. AMEs therefore carry considerable legal responsibility for ensuring that work has been performed in accordance with the applicable standards of airworthiness. It has been suggested that Ultralight Trikes be merged into this article or section. ... A Type Certificate (sometimes called Airworthiness Certificate), is awarded by aviation regulating bodies (such as FAA in US and EASA in EU) to aerospace firms after it has been established that the particular design of aircraft, engines or propeller submitted has fulfilled the regulating bodies current prevailing airworthiness requirements for... A Type Certificate (sometimes called Airworthiness Certificate), is awarded by aviation regulating bodies (such as FAA in US and EASA in EU) to aerospace firms after it has been established that the particular design of aircraft, engines or propeller submitted has fulfilled the regulating bodies current prevailing airworthiness requirements for...

Licensing

Most people become an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer by attending a Certified School registered under the aviation regulating authority of that country. In what is typically an 18 to 24 month program, they must learn everything that is required for maintenance of a typical airplane. This is followed by an apprenticeship period which usually takes a minimum of 4 years. (Depending on the school attended, a portion of that time may count towards their apprenticeship.) AMEs must also learn all of the sections of the Canadian Aviation Regulations which pertain to them. Finally, though an AME will learn a great deal about all aspects of aviation maintenance. For more complicated maintenance jobs called "specialized work", only an Approved Maintenance Organizations (AMO) certified to perform specific work can certify that particular job.

The different categories for specialization are:

• Airframe sheet metal structures
• Composite structures
• Deicing systems
• Electrical systems
• Components
• Engine overhauls
• Propellor overhauls
• Welding