One of the anomalies of aviation is the lack of FAA direction for, and even recognition of, avionics technicians. Lee Brewster and the National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technologies (NCATT) at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas, set out change that in 1999 by establishing standards in a number of areas. To continue its work, the organization will require corporate sponsorships starting at the end of next month. Brewster, who is the program coordinator, said NCATT set about establishing standards for aircraft electronic technician (AET) certification with the help of a grant from the National Science Foundation.
“We identified AET as a viable career field and systematically identified the skill sets required to be successful,” Brewster said. “We identified 12 skill sets for avionics technicians. The individual sets included areas such as basic fundamentals, navigation, communication, auto flight control systems and datalink services.”
