4TH ANNUAL NW REGIONAL AMT SKILLS COMPETITION Andy Dodson | Spokane Community College
Another year brings more opportunity for aviation maintenance students from colleges around the Northwest Region to showcase their skills as they compete at the NW Regional Aviation Maintenance Competition. In keeping with WAA’s continued efforts of aviation related education and awareness, this year’s competition is bound to entertain and educate the general public, while providing a challenging series of maintenance related events. This year’s competition will host 28 of the best students from the following Aircraft Maintenance Technology Schools: Big Bend Community College, WA; Clover Park Technical College, WA; Everett Community College, WA; Lane Community College, OR; North Idaho College, ID; Spokane Community College, WA; South Seattle Community College, WA. The competitive events are designed to test the skills and abilities of AMT students through a series of aircraft related maintenance tasks that are typically a part of the education and training that ultimately leads to an FAA Mechanic License. They range from seemingly simple tasks like securing bolts and turnbuckles with lock wire, to flight critical tasks like rigging flight control cables and push rods. Each competitive event is 30 minutes in length, and designed to examine the essential skills an aircraft mechanic is expected to master in order to ensure aircraft are maintained in an airworthy condition. It is not possible to include all of the basic maintenance tasks a mechanic must master in a single day-long event.
2018 AMT Skills Competitors and volunteers
However, this year’s competition will focus on ten important maintenance tasks: AIRCRAFT BRAKE ASSEMBLIES: Competitors will remove a brake assembly from the wheel strut, remove and replace the brake linings, inspect the rotor for wear limits, and then reinstall the brake assembly.
FLIGHT CONTROL CABLE RIGGING: Competitors will use a tensiometer to inspect the cable tension on a mockup Boeing 757 flight control system. They will ensure the system is rigged properly as they perform a functional test of the control system. ELECTRICAL TROUBLESHOOTING: Competitors will be challenged to test several electronic components and isolate the exact location of the electrical fault using a multimeter and schematic wiring diagrams. RIGID FLUID LINES: Competitors will fabricate and route a rigid fluid line to meet exact installation dimension specifications and limits.
PRECISION MEASUREMENTS: Competitors will use various precision measurement tools on several aircraft engine components to determine if they meet manufacturer specifications, and thus be returned to service. SAFETY WIRE AND TURNBUCKLES: Competitors will secure various fasteners configured in several patterns and access points with lock wire.
WEIGHT AND BALANCE REPORT: Competitors will weigh an aircraft on a set of three digital scales, and then use the weight data to calculate a current weight and balance report for the aircraft.
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