Is There an Online Aviation Maintenance School? What You Can and Can't Do From Home

Why an Online Aviation Maintenance School Can't Skip the Shop

The FAA mechanic certificate with Airframe and Powerplant ratings, known as the A&P, is a hands-on credential. You pass three knowledge tests, then an oral and a practical test given by an FAA Designated Mechanic Examiner. In the practical test you demonstrate the skill elements in the FAA's Aviation Mechanic Airman Certification Standards (ACS), the same standards every FAA-approved school's curriculum has to align with (14 CFR 65.79 and 147.17).

The FAA's school rule, Part 147, sets up the school side. Each school must provide facilities, equipment and materials that fit its ratings and the number of students it teaches. It can train only at its primary location or at fixed locations listed in its operations specifications. And no shop class can run above 25 students per instructor (14 CFR 147.13, 147.15 and 147.19).

What changed in 2022 is the clock. The old rule set minimum hours, 1,900 for a combined Airframe and Powerplant curriculum (400 general, 750 airframe and 750 powerplant). The current rule, effective September 21, 2022, drops the fixed hours and asks for a curriculum that continually aligns with the ACS (87 FR 31415). That flexibility is what lets some schools move theory online.

What the FAA Says About Distance Learning

The regulation itself doesn't mention online classes. The FAA addressed them in the preamble to the 2022 rule, in two passages that matter if you're comparing hybrid programs.

In a second note, the FAA says a school describing its curriculum should include its delivery methods, and it gives "distance learning, in-person learning, virtual labs" as examples (87 FR 31415, footnote 56). So online theory can be part of how a school describes its program to the FAA. Blue Ridge Community College, for one, says its program is "FAA approved to offer courses via distance delivery."

Hybrid Aviation Maintenance Programs That Put Theory Online

The closest thing to an online aviation maintenance school is a hybrid program. We searched the schedules and program descriptions published by all 225 schools for online, hybrid or distance delivery. 8 describe a hybrid format for mechanic coursework. Schools that put only prerequisites or an orientation online are left out. Formats change, so confirm the current schedule with the school. Our methodology page explains how we build the directory.

Location matters more than you'd expect for a hybrid program. Spartan's hybrid students do their campus months in Tulsa, Oklahoma or Broomfield, Colorado, and Blue Ridge's labs are at Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Virginia. Browse FAA-approved schools by state to see what's within driving distance, or start with aviation maintenance schools in Texas, home to three programs on this list.

How a Hybrid Program Works, Start to Certificate

The route through a hybrid program is the same as through any FAA-approved school. Only the first leg changes.

Online Aircraft Mechanic Courses That Aren't FAA-Approved Schools

Search for online aircraft mechanic training and you'll find test prep, video lessons and study guides. They can help you pass the knowledge tests. But a prep course isn't an online aviation maintenance school, and it can't replace an FAA-approved program, because no one may operate an aviation maintenance technician school without an FAA certificate and operations specifications (14 CFR 147.3).

They don't count as experience, either. On the on-the-job route, you need documented practical experience: 18 months for one rating or 30 months for both (14 CFR 65.77). The FAA's own guidance says "Time spent in training cannot be accepted" toward that experience (FAA, Become an Aviation Mechanic).

So an online course fits two situations. You're in an FAA-approved program and want extra study help, or you've logged your hours through an aircraft mechanic apprenticeship, military aircraft maintenance or a repair station job and need to prepare for the tests.

Online Aviation Maintenance Degrees for Certificated Mechanics

Once you hold the A&P, fully online study opens up. Two schools in our directory offer online bachelor's degrees in aviation maintenance management built around the certificate.

• Liberty University lists its B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Management as 100% online in 8-week courses. Liberty says its 45 hours of hands-on mechanic courses "cannot be offered online and must be taken residentially," and an existing mechanic certificate can be credited for those 45 hours.
• Hallmark University in San Antonio offers an online B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Management, a 21-month completion program that requires the FAA mechanic certificate.

Compare these with campus associate and bachelor programs in our guide to aviation maintenance degrees.

Questions to Ask a Hybrid Aviation Maintenance Program

Any hybrid or online aviation maintenance school you're considering should be able to answer these before you enroll.

• How many months will I spend on campus, and on which days of the week?
• Where are the labs, and can I take assessments at a proctored site near home?
• What's the pass rate for recent graduates? Each FAA-approved school must keep at least 70% of students who test within 60 days of graduation passing, measured over three years (14 CFR 147.25).
• How does the online portion affect my GI Bill payment? VA bases the rate for non-college degree programs partly on weekly clock hours and class location (VA.gov).
• What does the whole program cost, including tools and FAA testing? Our aviation maintenance school cost guide shows what schools publish.