Identification of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required for Aircraft Electronics Technicians

Abstract

Advances in electronics technology have transformed the cockpits of large and small modern aircraft. This transformation has created new challenges for the aviation electronics industry and the technicians that support and maintain aircraft. To meet these challenges, it is important to know the knowledge skills, and abilities required by these new technologies. The primary goal of this study is to determine the knowledge, skills, and abilities currently used by aircraft electronics technicians as defined by the technicians and managers working in the aviation industry. A secondary goal is to determine the differences in knowledge, skills, and abilities used in the commercial and general aviation industry segments. A third goal is to determine the type of training being used for initial training and required new training of these technicians. The study limited participants to only those actively working as technicians or actively supervising technicians. Participants were sought from all business sectors through personal contacts and professional trade organizations, by means of mass emailing and personal solicitations. A booth was also setup at the 2017 Aircraft Electronics Association national conference in New Orleans to solicit qualified participants. Study findings identified fiber optics and MEMS represented new advances in technology that will increase in use on modern aircraft for years to come. Establishment of these elements of new technology will result in a need for new knowledge, skills, and abilities for the modern technicians. Additionally, in the commercial and regional airlines segment of the industry avionics technicians with A & P certificates and the most experience are promoted to bench technician positions that do not work directly on-aircraft.