AC’s youngest Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME); A true example of perseverance
Jan 5, 2021, 12:57 pm
#1
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AC’s youngest Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME); A true example of perseverance
An interesting read I thought worth sharing. 
https://skiesmag.com/news/air-canada...-perseverance/
When Sidhant Sharma first started along his path in aviation, he never imagined he would earn the title of Air Canada’s, and possibly the world’s, youngest Boeing 787 engineer. Sharma has been around aviation his whole life — from being in Air Cadets from a young age, to his father being a loadmaster for Japan Airlines, and his brother becoming an Airbus A320 first officer — but he was especially drawn to the often-overshadowed maintenance side of the industry.
“I did find the technical aspect of [aviation] pretty interesting,” said Sharma, “because you have to take such a methodical approach in order to resolve an issue within an airplane. It’s just the kind of person that I am, as well.”
https://skiesmag.com/news/air-canada...-perseverance/
When Sidhant Sharma first started along his path in aviation, he never imagined he would earn the title of Air Canada’s, and possibly the world’s, youngest Boeing 787 engineer. Sharma has been around aviation his whole life — from being in Air Cadets from a young age, to his father being a loadmaster for Japan Airlines, and his brother becoming an Airbus A320 first officer — but he was especially drawn to the often-overshadowed maintenance side of the industry.
“I did find the technical aspect of [aviation] pretty interesting,” said Sharma, “because you have to take such a methodical approach in order to resolve an issue within an airplane. It’s just the kind of person that I am, as well.”
Jan 5, 2021, 7:18 pm
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No. IIRC, most AMEs complete a two-year community college course and then get further aircraft- or specialization-specific training from their employer or manufacturer. It's a gig I looked at briefly in another life and quickly realized it was beyond my extremely limited technical ability.
Jan 5, 2021, 7:31 pm
#5
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No. IIRC, most AMEs complete a two-year community college course and then get further aircraft- or specialization-specific training from their employer or manufacturer. It's a gig I looked at briefly in another life and quickly realized it was beyond my extremely limited technical ability.
Last edited by pentiumvi; Jan 5, 2021 at 7:37 pm
Jan 5, 2021, 11:03 pm
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It's complicated, but generally legal use of "engineer", with or without the "professional" prefix varies by province.
I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I believe that the Feds own Aeronautical stuff. Much past that and you start getting into the wonderfully arcane BNA Act of 1867.
I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I believe that the Feds own Aeronautical stuff. Much past that and you start getting into the wonderfully arcane BNA Act of 1867.
Last edited by Bohemian1; Jan 5, 2021 at 11:05 pm Reason: Canadian History reference for the curious.
Jan 6, 2021, 1:55 am
#9
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In many places in the world it is called mechanic or technician but I guess that is like Software Engineer, Solutions Engineer and the latest I've heard Business Engineer. But in reality this comes more from Locomotive Engineer or even Flight Engineer.
Jan 8, 2021, 6:51 pm
#11
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Aviation is Federally regulated and those Federal Regulations are derived from ICAO requirements.
Canada specifics:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/lic...-engineers-ame
Get a copy of ICAO Annex 1 and read Chapter 4.
The U.S.A is one of the extreme few member states that does not use the word "engineer" for its licensed aircraft maintenance personnel.
Jan 9, 2021, 3:42 am
#12
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Aviation is Federally regulated and those Federal Regulations are derived from ICAO requirements.
Canada specifics:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/lic...-engineers-ame
Get a copy of ICAO Annex 1 and read Chapter 4.
The U.S.A is one of the extreme few member states that does not use the word "engineer" for its licensed aircraft maintenance personnel.
It's not merely a question of parallel regulatory regimes - unlike some employees of the federal government who do engineering work that would plainly require a PEng if done in an area of provincial jurisdiction, AME is also a unique profession from the ones regulated by provincial engineering associations.
Congratulations to Mr. Sharma for his achievements. Interesting that he worked as ramp crew for 8P while putting himself through school at BCIT and later in maintenance after graduating. It demonstrates how important smaller airlines are for giving people a place to get started in the aviation industry.
Jan 9, 2021, 8:03 am
#13
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This reminds m of the battles I saw at my University between the Computer Science department and the Faculty of Engineering as to who should be able to offer a program in Software Engineering.
Jan 9, 2021, 8:36 am
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Jan 9, 2021, 11:47 am
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I was smack in the middle of that when, years ago, me and my EE study group attempted a build-your-own degree in Computer Engineering. Two Deans from two colleges who wouldn't even talk to each other in the same room. An education in petty campus détente.