SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY PHOTO


year to make that decision. Financially, we chose not to continue our lease and announced we’d be closing the program. “Te hardest thing about this final decision is we had the


highest number of credible applicants this year,” O’Halloran continues. “People want to become aircraft mechanics.” North Idaho College will continue its aviation maintenance


operations through the end of the 2020–21 school year, ensuring that current students can complete their training. Taking advantage of the FAA relief program, the school was able to offer some lectures online until Idaho moved to Stage 4 of its reopening plan, allowing classroom attendance again. “Te current Part 147 program played a big part in our


decision [to close],” O’Halloran says. “AMT [education] is really complicated in terms of record keeping and detail. It requires more-involved manpower than any of our other programs. For a bigger school, that can be absorbed, but it’s not as easily done for a small, rural school.”


Southern Utah University worked


with the FAA for four years to build the first helicopter-


focused aviation maintenance program in the United States. It


opened in January 2020, as shown in this pre-COVID photo.


airframe side. We were certified in 2015 and, as I like to say, we became the newest antiquated aircraft maintenance school due to the old Part 147 rules.” Adding the power plant certification was more expensive


and required additional work. In 2018, the school began drafting its power plant curriculum for certification. Ten, the FAA released a supplemental NPRM with more suggested changes to Part 147. Tat, paired with the industry’s later action on the PARTT 147 Act, muddied the waters. “We were in the middle of deciding if we would continue


efforts to pursue the power plant program or wait for the new rule when COVID hit,” O’Halloran says. “Our lease would be up for our building in June 2021, and we were considering our options based on pushing forward—renew or get a larger building. Sadly, 2020 proved to be the wrong


Moving to Performance-Based Standards At Southern Utah University (SUU), the stakes couldn’t have been higher. Te school had just been certified to present the first aviation maintenance curriculum in the United States focused on helicopters, beginning with classes in January 2020. Luckily, due to their recent work with the FAA in gaining


approvals for the maintenance training program, the school administration had a strong relationship with their local FAA Flight Standards District Office and were able to receive approvals for virtual learning when the pandemic hit in the spring. SUU began building the program in 2016, meeting the


antiquated requirements of Part 147 while working with the FAA to build in a number of rotor-specific aspects to the curriculum. “We still have to teach the airplane curriculum,


Part 147 Overhaul: 4,332 Days* and Counting … Jan. 8, 2009


Nov. 19, 2015


An industry working group formally recommends broad changes to 14 CFR Part 147.


*As of Nov. 17, 2020 44 ROTOR 2020 Q4


The FAA issues a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) with sweeping changes to AMT education. However, the industry objects to many changes that limit flexibility in teaching, recommending instead that the Department of Education oversee how education is delivered and the FAA focus on learning outcomes, testing, candidate certification, facility equipment, instructor qualifications, and material requirements.


Oct. 5, 2018


The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 is signed into law, mandating that the FAA release a new Part 147 by Apr. 5, 2019.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72