Another New A&P

Hey A&P Dudes,

Here is the latest sucessful applicant from Seabreeze A&P. His name is John Dent, and he owns his own Cessna 150, and also a Quicksilver ultralight. John came to me with extensive experience with both military and general aviation aircraft. He had no problems with his practical projects or his oral questions. The FAA inspectors from Birmingham were here observing John's exam, but he was unflappable. He was even grilled by one of them to make sure I wasn't hand-picking the easy questions. He still didn't have any problems. Both John and the FAA went away happy. The FAA inspectors were here to observe me, and offered suggestions how I can improve the testing process. We all have nothing to fear from the FAA if we are doing our jobs right, and I do my best. Stay tuned.

Today's new A&P

Congrats go out to Patrick Shaw currently of Jacksonville FL. Patrick is a U.S. Navy veteran, and is an experienced turbine engine mechanic. He is also currently working on a Bachelor's degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. As of today, he is also a newly-minted A&P mechanic. Give me a call or an email if I can help you get your certification.

Why choose me?

Hi everyone, I am back from vacation, and ready to accept new A&P applicants.

I have been doing some on-line research to see what other A&P prep schools and DME's are charging these days. Pretty interesting stuff. One outfit charges $1750.00 for the whole thing. That is tuition, written and DME testing. Other places charge $1350.00 for everything but the DME. One school advertises $750.00 but that includes no testing. Do some web searches yourself; you'll see the same thing. Most DME's charge $250.00 for each exam, or $750.00 (gen, af, & pp)

So why choose me? I can be much cheaper because I have no overhead. I do everything at my home. I charge $850.00 for the prep course. (12 hours) which includes the DME services. (about 12 hrs.) If you do the math, I make about $35.00 per hour for my trouble. I figure that's good enough for a part-time job.

So you're thinking that perhaps you will get a better education at some of these other prep schools. I doubt it. I have been an A&P instructor and DME for something like 20 years. I know what I'm talking about in other words. You will leave me knowing lots of things about airplanes that you didn't know, plus you'll have a new, shiny, A&P ticket. I take pride in that.

Last but not least. I live on Navarre Beach, Florida. Who wants to go to some dusty airport in Texas, or some other boring place like that? Ask your wife where she would rather spend a week. Show her Navarre Beach on you tube and let her decide. (if the price alone is not enough information)

Newest A&P

Hey A&P fans,

Congratulations to the newest A&P mechanic from Seabreeze. His name is Ronald Neuschwanger and he is a recently retire USAF Smsgt. He also recently moved to this area from California, because his wife "just loves it here". Well, she has good taste. Ronald took my prep class, and breezed through his exam with no problems. Atta Boy, Ron.

Who Needs a Prep Course?

Many A&P applicants are unsure if they should spend the extra money for an oral and practical exam preparation class of some kind. Here's my take on it: If you are a recent graduate of a FAR 147 A&P school, you probably don't need a prep class. If you scored in the high 90's on your written exams you might be OK to take the O&P cold as well. However, if your aircraft maintenance background is mostly military, you probably need some kind of prep class such as the one I (and others) offer. I was in the USAF, for four years, and went through the usual tech schools and CDC's, JOTS, and all that stuff to become a 5 level mechanic. But I knew nothing about reciprocating engines, sheet metal work, weldng, painting, dope and fabric and all the stuff that an A&P is supposed to know. You are simply not exposed to all the core subject areas in the military that you are in a FAR 147 school. Let's be honest; anyone can pass the written exams simply by rote memorization. This is not true with the oral and practical exams. Practically all the FAR 65 applicants know this, and choose the prep class option. At least all the ones that pass do. Ask anyone who has an A&P ticket, and you will probably get the same advice.

Another new A&P

Hey Aviation Dudes,

Here's the latest A&P from Seabreeze. His name is James Alan Lebovitz, and he hails from Navarre FL, just like me. Currently he works on Hurlburt Field working on Osprey aircraft. I'm sure he is working on his new resume right now to include his new certification. I hope it lands him his dream job. (if there is such a thing) Anyway, congratulations to him and all the new A&P's

GI Bill and USAF tuition assistance.

I hope this Thursday morning finds you all gainfully employed and fixing airplanes. I have been asked if the VA will pay for A&P exams. The answer is: "I think so". My understanding is that under the GI bill, they will reimburse for $100.00 for each written exam, and $500.00 for the O&P exam for A&P. The applicant will have to apply for this, I don't get involved. As for tuition assistance, I don't think so. They will only pay for tuition at accredited schools and universities, which I am not. That is my understanding anyway. Maybe you could email me if you know something about this.

By the way... My wife Linda is in the beach wedding business. Check out her website. http://www.abeachsidewedding.com

Brand New Airframe Mechanic

Hey fans, congratulations go out to the newest sucessful applicant at Seabreeze A&P. His name is Shawn Nordan and he got his mechanic's certificate with Airframe rating on January 24th. He is a USAF Msgt. and a helicoptor instructor. More to come.

Writing a book (sort of)

I do a preparation class to prepare applicants for the A&P exam. For years, this has been mostly a powerpoint presentation. (yawn) Anyway, it occurs to me that this takes forever, and doesn't even cover enough material to properly prepare for the oral portion of the exam. I would like to spend more time on the "hands on" part of the prep class. In other words, I need more time to show people how to bang rivets, play with magnetos, do a 100-hour inspection and things that are really more useful.
I thought about simply buying books that I could pass out to new students, and there are several O&P guides out there, but all the ones I read are way off-base. The written test guides are very accurate, but the oral and practical guides that are out there are practically useless. So the only thing is to write my own. I have finished the General section booklet, and have started the Airframe section. As you can imagine, it's a big job. Like the rednecks say, I have to just "git 'er done". This is really pretty good advice for everyone and almost every situation.

Getting Busy

I have two new appointments for oral and practical exams. The first one is for the 23rd and 24th of January, and the second one is for the 30/31st. I will post something on the new A&P's when they finish. In the meantime here's a video you might find interesting especially if you haven't taken your exams yet. You need to know this stuff for the oral questions in the communication and navigation section of the Airframe test. Besides, I'm just fooling around with the computer right now to see how much hassle it is to post a video. I made this one when I was still employed at the Eglin Aero Club. Stay tuned for more stuff like this. I should credit Val vor starring in this epic film.

Newest A&P

Congratulations to the latest and greatest new A&P from Seabreeze. His name is Matthew and he sailed right through the exam without a problem. Nobody gets all the oral questions right though. (even Matt) Will Rogers said it best. "We're all ignorant; just about different things".

Brand New Blog

I am a DME or an FAA Designated Mechanic Examiner. For those of you that don't know what we do, we conduct oral and practical examinations for applicants that wish to become certificated aircraft mechanics. The FAA certificate is Mechanic. The two ratings that fall under the certificate are Airframe and Powerplant. To become a DME, one must be a A&P mechanic, in good standing, and have at least 5 years of experience. There are less than 500 DME's around, and we are supposed to test applicants that live within our assigned areas. To locate a DME near you, go to the FAA website and you can search for one with very little trouble. If you would like to make an appointment with me, my phone number is (850) 936-9202. I live and conduct exams in Navarre, Florida. Navarre is located in NW FL between Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach.