Hundreds of Army missions depend on aircraft for transport, patrol and flight training. Instruments, lights, weapons, ignition systems, landing gear and many other aircraft parts are powered by electricity. It's up to the members of the aircraft electrician team to ensure that the electrical systems on airplanes and helicopters are properly maintained and repaired.

The Aircraft Electrician is primarily responsible for supervising, inspecting and performing maintenance on aircraft electrical systems. Some of your duties as an Aircraft Electrician may include:

• Diagnose and troubleshoot malfunctions in electrical and electronic components
• Repair aircraft instrument systems
• Apply principles of electricity/electronics, hydrostatic motion, pneumatics and hydraulics to the repair of aircraft instrument systems
• Remove, install, repair, adjust and test electrical/electronic elements of assemblies
• Clean, preserve and store electrical/electronic components and aircraft
• Remove, repair, service, install, and troubleshoot nickel-cadmium batteries
• Use and perform operator maintenance on common and special tools
• Requisition and maintain shop and bench stock for repair of aircraft electrical systems
• Prepare forms and records related to aircraft maintenance

Job training for an Aircraft Electrician requires nine weeks of Basic Training, where you'll learn basic Soldiering skills, and 19 weeks of Advanced Individual Training and on-the-job instruction, including practice in repairing electrical systems. Part of this time is spent in the classroom and part in the field. Some of the skills you'll learn are:

• Electrical theory
• Troubleshooting procedures
• Soldering techniques
• Electrical system maintenance

Helpful attributes include:

• An interest in mathematics and shop mechanics
• An interest in solving problems
• An interest in electricity and how electrical equipment works
• An ability to work with tools

Advanced level Aircraft Electricians provides guidance, supervises and trains other Soldiers within the same discipline. As an advanced level Aircraft Electrician, you may also be involved in:

• Participate in maintenance test flights as required

The skills you learn as an Aircraft Electrician will help prepare you for a future with commercial airlines, aircraft maintenance firms, aircraft manufacturers or other organizations that might have fleets of airplanes or helicopters.

• Aircraft Pneudraulics Repairer (15H)
• Aircraft Powerplant Repairer (15B)
• Aircraft Powertrain Repairer (15D)
• Aircraft Structural Repairer (15G)
• OH-58D / ARH Armament/Electrical/Avionics Systems Repairer (15J)

Learn more about the relationship between military training and civilian certification requirements.