No. The program is centered around the requirements for maintenance certification as published in the Federal Aviation Regulation Part 147, which specifies the knowledge and skill sets a person must have to test with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to receive Airframe and Power Plant certifications.

No. Students interested in the program are required to contact the Aviation Maintenance Technology Program Advisor to be added to the waitlist as students are accepted on a “first come, first served” basis. The waitlist is the primary management tool used to manage impartiality and intake flow for students wishing to begin the program. Regulations limit the student-to-instructor ratio to 20:1 in all aviation maintenance classes.

Students interested in the aviation maintenance technology program will be placed on a waitlist and will be registered for classes when the student becomes registration eligible (i.e., all administrative holds are removed), and they have attended a program orientation specific to the aviation program. Students who have not attended the aviation program orientation will not be eligible to be registered for classes until doing so. The first 20 students who are “registration ready” will be registered in next Cohort of students starting the program. Typically, fall registration begins the first week of July, and Spring registration begins the first week of November.

Yes. Students will need Reading, English, and Math (REM) levels of at least 1, 1, 1 respectively to be considered “registration ready” for the aviation classes. Students wishing to pursue an Associate degree will be required to have minimum REM levels of 3, 3, 2 to be registered for the CORE electives in those degree plans. The State of Texas considers a student to be college-ready with scores of 3, 3, 2.

REM levels can be improved by retaking the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) test. Students can also take Developmental Education courses offered by the College to improve their REM level scores. There are certain exceptions that may exempt a student from the TSIA scores. They can be found on the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Compliance page here.

The program offers 2 basic majors: Airframe Applied Technology and Power Plant Applied Technology. Each degree has 2 levels of award…an Associate degree or a Level 2 Certificate. All degree plans require the same aviation maintenance courses. The level of award will be determined by what CORE electives are required for the degree.

Del Mar College codes the degrees in the following manner:

• Airframe Applied Technology w/ Associate Degree (AVAF.AAS)
• Power Plant Applied Technology w/ Associate Degree (AVPT.AAS)
• Airframe Applied Technology – Level 2 Certificate (AVAC.CER2)
• Power Plant Applied Technology – level 2 Certificate (AVPC.CER2)

The main difference between the two levels of award is what CORE elective classes are completed. The Associate degree requires a student to complete 5 traditional classes such as English Composition, a Speech class, A Math or Natural Sciences class, Social/Behavioral Science class, and a Humanities/Visual or Performing Arts class. These 5 CORE electives will transfer to a 4-year institution as longs as a grade of “C” or higher is achieved. The Level 2 Certificate requires a student to complete Special Topics in Communication class and an Industrial Mathematics class. Unlike the CORE electives for the Associate degree, these courses will not transfer to a 4-year institution.

The program is designed to be able to complete both the Airframe and Power Plant majors in an 18-month period for a full-time student. A part-time student can expect to complete both the Airframe and Power Plant majors in a 36-month period. Students can expect to be enrolled in classes every semester (Fall, Spring, Summer) until program completion.

Del Mar’s tuition costs are based on credit hours for the course, state residency, and a home of record address. All tuition rates and fees can be found on the Tuition and Fees page here.

Yes. Del Mar’s Foundation offers scholarships for many programs at the college. The application period for scholarships through Del Mar’s Foundation is normally 01 February through 30 April for the scholarship to be awarded in the next academic year beginning in the Fall semester. There is a scholarship specific to the aviation program for students who are enrolled in an aviation major and have a 2.5 GPA or higher. There are also many other sources for aviation-specific scholarships that can be found through a simple search on Google.

The program scheduling a very non-traditional. Full-time students are scheduled for classes Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Part-time students will have to decide to attend classes in the morning from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm or attend classes in the afternoon from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

No. Del Mar’s aviation program does not currently offer any evening classes.

No. All aviation maintenance classes are offered as in-person classes only as the curriculum is centrally focused on practical hands-on application of the theories taught. The aviation maintenance curriculum focuses on the knowledge, skill sets, and experience needed to successfully pass the FAA’s testing for aviation maintenance technician certification.

Yes. Tools are an essential component of an aviation maintenance technician’s livelihood. Students are required to purchase all the tools on the tool list to be considered ready for lab projects. The estimated cost of tools is $850 and will vary depending on the brand of tool the student decides on purchasing.

No. You will receive diplomas from Del Mar College as a graduate. Graduates will have satisfied the requirements listed in part 147 which makes them eligible to take the FAA tests to receive their Airframe and Power Plant certificates.

You can choose to major in only one degree. However, the industry prefers and values maintenance technicians who are qualified to work on both Airframe and Power Plant systems. The odds of being hired as an aviation maintenance technician with both Airframe and Power Plant certificates are exponentially higher than those only having one certification.

Industry demand is high for aviation maintenance technicians with their Airframe and Power Plant certifications between the years 2023-2033. Currently, there are 13,400 openings for technicians projected over each year, on average, over the next decade.

Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage, as of May 2024, of aircraft mechanics and service technicians is $78,680. The median annual wage for those directly employed in the air transportation industry is $95,320.

The curriculum is considered challenging and rewarding by those who complete the program. Students succeed by making attendance a priority so they can take full advantage of participating in the lab projects. These projects are designed to prepare students for hands-on testing with the FAA. Personal commitment to attending classes every day and completing assigned work cannot be overemphasized. Failure to attend classes in-person and complete the assigned work will result in significant program setbacks.