" PLANE TOUCHES Above, Stephen Lopez, an Antelope Valley College airframe and powerplant student, works inside an A-4 Skyhawk on Thursday at Heritage Air Park in Palmdale.
RON SIDDLE Valley Press "
Posted on 04/28/2003 10:02:04 PM PDT by BenLurkin
PALMDALE - Many students spend spring break partying at the beach or on the slopes.
However, a handful of Antelope Valley College airframe and powerplant students spent two days of their spring break restoring airplanes for display at Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark on Avenue P between 20th and 25th streets west.
Jerry Shatzer, 46, and Betsy Luahiwa, 45, kept busy manufacturing a panel to cover an access panel near the tail end of a 1960s-era Navy A-4 Skyhawk, while Stephen Lopez, 39, Tim Gaines and James Dillard, 21, worked on the top of plane.
"We're covering access panels no longer used," Lopez said.
The Skyhawk eventually will join an A-7, F-86, F-4, F-100, F-104 and T-38 for static display at the airpark. The plane's engines and most of its electronic innards have been removed, so the students were looking only at restoring the plane's body. "This is a pretty big project with a lot of prep time," Lopez said.
They also would like to prevent birds from nesting in the plane. "They tend to make a mess," Lopez said.
The students spent the majority of their time inside a workshop donated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. fabricating the metal panels for the plane, Lopez said.
Although their labor is on airplanes that will no longer fly, they are gaining valuable experience that will help them once they complete the AVC program.
"(We) follow all of the federal regulations" in restoring the planes, Gaines said.
"It's great exposure to the aviation industry," Lopez said.
Antelope Valley College has one of only seven certified airframe and powerplant programs in Los Angeles County. Students who complete the two-year program can move on to careers as entry-level aircraft mechanics in commercial aircraft maintenance, flight line maintenance and general aviation.
Once the students complete the program, they must take a written test and oral and practical exams before getting their FAA licenses.
An FAA licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic can work anywhere in the United States or around the world, said Lopez, who would like to get into research and development.
Starting salary for an entry-level FAA licensed mechanic, what he called an "elite mechanic," runs between $30,000 and $50,000, Gaines said.
The students also benefit from the experience of such volunteers as Luis Provencio, a Lockheed retiree who worked on the U-2 Skunk Works program during his 33 years with the company. Provencio, 77, worked on his first airplane when he was 16 years old.
This is the second year in a row AVC airframe and powerplant students have volunteered at the airpark during spring break.
"We'd like to do it more frequently (and) have volunteers come in on Saturdays," said Richard M. Jimmink, a volunteer restorer and member of Palmdale's aviation and aerospace commission.
The heritage airpark eventually will showcase 42 aircraft along the southern boundary of Plant 42. The 26-acre park is designed to celebrate the aircraft flown, manufactured or modified at Plant 42.
RON SIDDLE Valley Press "
Yeah, that 30-50K figure was a joke, wasn't it? A&P's working at FBOs usually make about minimum wage or a little higher. But you get to buy your own tools!
I guess if you can hire on with the airlines you might make that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.