What I’m working on now, and what I bring with me from IT.
A&P coursework and shop time in airframe, powerplant and avionics at AIM Orlando.
Follow the manual, torque to spec and write it down. The paperwork is part of the job.
Understand how the whole system works before swapping parts. That goes for a hydraulic system as much as a server.
I make my own quizzes from the handbooks and class notes. It’s how I study, and other students are welcome to use them.
From server racks to turbine engines, I read the source material and keep asking how things work. There’s always something new to pick up.
A few people from aviation and engineering history whose work I keep coming back to.
Pioneers of Powered Flight · 1903
Two bicycle makers from Dayton, Ohio, who made the first controlled, powered airplane flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. They tested carefully and kept detailed records, which is still how good maintenance gets done.
Inventor of the Jet Engine · 1930
An RAF officer who patented the turbojet in 1930. It took him about ten years to get official backing and an engine in the air. The turbine engines I study today go back to his work.
Inventor & Electrical Engineer · 1856–1943
Developed the alternating current system and the induction motor that most of the power grid still runs on. He died nearly broke in New York in 1943.
A few quotes I like
Where I am with aviation, and what I did before it.
I’m working toward my FAA A&P certificate at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Orlando, with regular hands-on time in the shop.
Gas turbine theory, fuel metering, lubrication, ignition and engine instruments. After I’m certified I’d like to work on engines.
The specific tools don’t transfer, but the habits do: troubleshoot one step at a time, write down what you did, and don’t sign off on anything you haven’t checked.
Posts I’m working on. Nothing is published yet.
Why I left a 17-year IT career for A&P school, and how growing up next to an airport in Guyana had a lot to do with it.
Redundancy, fault isolation and avoiding single points of failure. A few ideas from IT that carry over to aircraft maintenance.
In 2017, eight researchers published “Attention Is All You Need,” the paper that introduced the Transformer. A short look at who they were and what the paper changed.
I grew up in Guyana, not far from Ogle Airport, and spent a lot of time watching planes come and go. I always wanted to know how they worked.
I ended up in IT instead and stayed for 17 years, mostly in infrastructure: Proxmox, FortiGate firewalls, ZFS storage and enterprise networks.
Now I’m a full-time Airframe & Powerplant student at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Orlando, focusing on turbine engines. Once I’m certified I’d like to do MRO work for a major airline.
A lot of what I learned in IT still applies. Troubleshooting is troubleshooting, whether it’s a network or an engine.
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