The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

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swivelhead
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The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

Post by swivelhead »

IMPORTANT: for passengers flying under TC maintenance regulated airplanes.

Do you know of graduates coming out of school buying metric wrenches? not knowing how to reverse a ratchet? using their greasy hands on oxygen systems? not knowing how to use a wire chart? not cleaning that prop brush block? considering jet A1 and 100LL the same versions of Skydrol? not grounding that wire? thinking the brakes are naturally spongy? I think I know why:

Instead of the old TC system of 10 exams, the style has gone to the FAA system of an Airframe, a Powerplant, Standard Practices, and CARs. Here's my opinion, and yes I'm pissed. There are 90 questions on the new style Airframe exam. TC gives out a guideline (if requested) which explains the subject areas to study. They give themselves "the right to remove and/or add subjects areas without notice". That's where I lost. I did the exam today, studied for about 3 weeks with full confidence all the material, (completed the FAA Airframe exam last May) and received 96% on that, yet received 66% on TC's exam.

Why?

Exams are definitely not the same, neither are standards, that’s understandable, but aircraft systems are.

Here’s the reasoning:

Well, when less than 5% of the airplanes in Canada are helicopters, 95% of the AME's work on fixed wing and TC decides that 33% (30 questions out of the 90) of the exam will be rotary wing based, then 66% is possible.

When Transport Canada decides that metal structures, wood structures, welding and tubing, fabric covering, painting and finishing, fire protection, ice and rain protection, and navigation and recording systems are no longer part of the airframe exam even though the guidelines indicate to study for them, then 66% is possible.

How does Transport Canada remove ice and rain protection from an airframe examination. This is Canada. Imagine not needing to know anything about ice and rain protection in Canada as an AME? “Lift will just occur magically, and brakes won’t freeze regardless of how much freezing rain fell since the airplane was sitting over night.”

Who cares about fire protection (non-airframe), after June 2003 when Transport Canada put in a new testing format, airplanes didn't need AME’s to know anything about fire protection, so why study for it? Nothing will ever needed to be detected or extinguished.
0 questions on fire detection.

1 question on fuel systems, and 30 (no exaggeration) on helichoppers? Since there are 30 times more helicopters than there are fuel systems in Canada, then that's logical.

Composite Structure? Not part of the airframe.

And obviously metallic structures including spars, stringers, and bulkheads shouldn't have any space on an AIRFRAME exam.

Paint is bull, AME’s paints airplanes in maintenance shops anywhere in Canada, that includes bombardier, 'flying colors' and touch ups which must now be obsolete. Paint protection has nothing to do with corrosion. So I understand why there is not one question on paint and finishing.

Knowing what a good weld looks like doesn’t matter anymore because AME’s don’t usually weld but they do all work on helicopters. Out of 90 AME’s, 30 will work on choppers and not one will inspect a weld? Makes sense.

Navigation and recording systems are avionics and even though the AME M license covers avionics, and this exam was for that rating, we’ll just let the avionics guys change that inop altimeter when the plane returns. The guidelines stated to study for superhets, antennas, weather radar, VOR, ILS, DME, TCAS, ELTs, FDRs, CVRs, I even studied MLS and there was only one question on a loop antenna.

Wood antiques don't exist where AMEs do. Fabric covered airplanes don't have airframes so who cares? Airframes are made of either metal, composite, or wood, and the closest thing the exam had to this was the wooden pencil I used and metallic corrosion free desk.

Batteries? Starters? Wiring? Yeah right What wires? Not one question. And why would there be? Wires aren't associated with the airframe. Not bonding, grounding, and actually, wires should be removed from the powerplant exam too. AME’s should consider wires a thing of the past.

Heating systems are for car mechanics. 0 questions on heating systems.

Oxygen? Not one question. All AMO's should remove oxygens systems out of airframes, TC no longer considers knowledge of oxygen systems just as vitally important as the coriolis effect or gyroscopic precession of rotors or the numerous questions on vibration analysis. So tell your pilots to forget breathing during depressurization, use your conical bearings or auto-rotational techniques to fight off hypoxia. 0 questions on oxygen systems or it's usefulness.

I studied for the material in the guidelines, which all successful AME's would consider mandatory, TC left 8 out of the 20 subjects it had advised. Obviously the person configuring the exams has no clue how airplanes work, what an airplane needs to fulfill its destiny, or what an airframe is. To ignore the importance of fuel, fire protection, oxygen, ice and rain, metal, composites and wires is ridiculous. 99% of airplanes include these items and TC's exams should reflect that at least a little bit. 95% of airplanes are not helicopters. I love choppers and heli testing needs to be on the exam., but there are a huge outnumbering amount of fuel systems and wires than there are helichoppers. The FAA examinations included everything they outlined on the guideline, and it dealt with the entire airframe including helicopter theory and components, but not 30 questions worth out of the 100. I wasn’t prepared for the exam because I used my time to study as per the guideline given by TC which included 2 areas of study for helis. If I had the slightest clue that 8 subject areas would be left out, I would have studied accordingly. It’s like removing 8 subjects and putting 30 questions on supersonic engine inlets (airframe) and shock wave effects on the wing leaving out wiring and fuel and stating “well, supersonic inlets and wings are part of modern day airframe”. Airframes must be made of either metal, composite, or wood, and none of these were touched.

An exam leaving out crucial airframe components including metal, wire and fuel, (which 99% of airplanes have) cannot complete the AME’s Airframe knowledge requirements which is the exams purpose.

Transport Canada is setting the example and guidelines for aircraft maintenance in Canada. After speaking to the Supervisor, I asked him what I should follow for studying for my Powerplant exam since TC’s realistic, all-inclusive, full-bodied, airframe guideline cannot be relied upon. His look was grim. Today was my ugliest day in aviation since I signed up for the maintenance course.
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Propwash
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Post by Propwash »

boo-who!!!!
study harder!
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J.P.WISER
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Post by J.P.WISER »

If all that has been taken off the exam then what is on it? Is there any questions on drinking cause there should be a practical test and if you puke you can't get into aviation? :? That's just the truth!!! You sound like a none drinker!!! :twisted:
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HAVIN A DRINK FOR YOU!!

J.P. WISER
tcas
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Post by tcas »

If you had spent as much time studying for the exam as you did taking note of what wasn't on the exam you would probably be an AME right now!
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stinson10a
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Re: The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

Post by stinson10a »

we must have taken the same exam 68 % and I was passing all the sample exams at 95% + The exam had nothing to do whatsoever with the TC syllabus bizarre questions that seem to be written by people that have northing to do with aviation at all there were some good quality helicopter related questions that I missed due to me not concentrating on helicopter study material. I wont make that mistake again ! To get this exam you have to know your choppers inside out as yes there are 20 + questions on that subject. I have written a s load of TC exams and this is by far the most off the mark exam I have ever undertaken .
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fixnfly
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Re: The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

Post by fixnfly »

Sorry to hear you failed your exam. I had to do the CARs exam last summer and passed but if I had to do the airframe test or powerplant test with all that helicopter stuff I surely would have failed. I hardly remember anything to do with helicopters from college. In my experience I have found I only remember what I have to deal with everyday in industry. If you don't work on small piston aircraft for your apprenticeship then your going to have a tough time remembering what you were taught 3 years ago in college which is why it's so important to get the 70% in all your classes to obtain that TC accreditation.
Unfortunately it is Transport Canadas game and they make the rules. The more you fight them; the more difficult they will make it for you to get your license. No amount of ranting on a forum will help you pass their exams. I don't agree with the way the licensing system works since I've never worked on piston aircraft but I can sign them out with my license. It's kind of a scary thought that the current system allows people to do that. Study hard and good luck!

p.s. this should probably be in the maintenance forum.
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CamAero
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Re: The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

Post by CamAero »

When I wrote, which I think my class was the first under that new exam system, we had been told to use FAA A&P practice exams.

They were available online at no charge.

As far as I could see, the TC exam questions seemed to have been lifted right out of the FAA's data base.

What's wrong with knowing all that helicopter stuff? In the big scheme, it's all applicable aerodynamics and physics principals we should all be versed in.

It's all syllabus you will have had to pass through the various modules to get through the schooling.

You've got to be able to wrap your head around subjects, analyze, retain and successfully complete exams.

It's an expectation you can anticipate from employers out in the industry as well.

Your drastic examples of woeful incompetence that you outlined in the beginning of your rant, I don't think relate back to a lack of coverage in the AME final exam subject areas, really; do you?

If those are true examples, many filters should have sorted those folks out.

CA
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trey kule
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Re: The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

Post by trey kule »

What's wrong with knowing all that helicopter stuff? In the big scheme, it's all applicable aerodynamics and physics principals we should all be versed in.
That is pretty much the sense I got of it. If you know everything you are supposed to know, it does not really matter if the exam questions are skewed. If you only studied and learned 70% of what you should have, your mark was fairly accurate .

The impression I took away from your rant (the Op), was that instead of studying everything you should have, you tried to only learn what you thought would be on the exam....really not a great attitude gearing your knowledge only to passing an exam.
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CamAero
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Re: The knowledgeable apprentice fixing your airplane.

Post by CamAero »

Yes, well put Trey, and to this:
swivelhead wrote:Today was my ugliest day in aviation since I signed up for the maintenance course.
My friend, one time when I was about 10 or 11, I was railing away to my mother about something some teacher had done that was unfair.. "Waaa-waaa-waaa''

"Mom, this was the worst day of my life~!"

"Son", she cheerfully replied; "I hope it is and I hope you'll still feel that way about it in 40 years."

Time heals all wounds Swivel. One day, you'll look back on the small potatoes this really was.

By the way, your waxin' and maudlin is damn near poetry.

There is good application for creative writing in aircraft maintenance and I am sure you will put this skill-set to good use. Not goading you or chiding you there. I mean it.

Next time, just know your poop & get it in a group.

CA
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