Careers

Career Description

Every jet fighter in the Air Force has the names of two people on it — the pilot's and the crew chief in charge of making sure the plane is ready to fly at a moment's notice. As a Tactical Aircraft Maintenance specialist, you'll be responsible for ensuring everything from tip to tail is maintained to the most exacting standards. If a repair is need, you'll either do it yourself or engage a specialist and work with them. At the end of the day, the integrity of the plane and the safety of the pilot rest squarely on your shoulders.

Career Tasks

• Perform scheduled inspections, functional checks and preventive maintenance on tactical aircraft and aircraft-installed equipment
• Prior to flight, you will inspect and perform various functional checks of the aircraft, as well as ensure that the aircraft has been properly serviced with fuel, hydraulic fluid and liquid oxygen
• After flight, you will be responsible for ensuring the aircraft is still in operationally ready condition
• Maintain and repair all parts of the aircraft, performing general mechanical work as opposed to working on a particular system or subsystem
• If during any of your inspections a malfunction occurs, you will request, through maintenance control, assistance from the shop concerned (engine, electrician, etc.)

Relevant Interests & Skills

• Aircraft
• Electronics
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Maintenance and Repair
• Physics

Training

After eight-and-a-half weeks of Basic Military Training, every Airman goes to technical training to learn their career. Here's the basic information about Tactical Aircraft Maintenance technical training:

School location: Sheppard AFB [TX]

Length of course: varies

College degree earned: Aviation Maintenance Technology

College credits earned: varies