Elite Aviation Maintenance Department Services Growing Training Fleet, General Aviation Customers at Spirit of St. Louis Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience begins a mini-series this week focusing on aircraft maintenance at several St. Louis area service providers who support flight training fleets as well as the local general aviation community. As the aviation industry navigates through these turbulent times, there continues to be uncertainty in the ability to maintain the general aviation fleet that trains a new generation of pilots and provides transportation to business and pleasure destinations across the Midwest. We will look at the issue from both the management and labor perspectives based on two interviews conducted in recent weeks.  

In Part One of this series, we visited with Jeff Lucchesi, A&P/IA at Elite Aviation and pilot of a 1946 Aeronca Chief. Lucchesi is in his 29th year as an aircraft maintenance technician, and he is well-connected in the St. Louis aviation community. He has experience working on a wide range of aircraft, including the Cessna single-engine piston models as well as the popular light twins used in the training and commercial aviation sectors. Balancing the needs of a busy flight school and the surrounding general aviation community takes good management along with technical skill.

Elite Aviation provides general aviation aircraft maintenance services, including annual and periodic inspections, airframe and sheet metal repairs, engine cylinder and accessory replacement and avionics diagnostics and installation. The ten Cessna 172S and the Piper Turbo Saratoga training and rental fleet aircraft receive frequent standard inspections, and the most common maintenance procedures include oil changes, checking spark plugs, magneto timing and changing filters. A Cessna 172 undergoing an engine change is also a common site in the Elite Aviation hangar.

Prioritizing fleet maintenance items is essential. Fleet rotation is important, as most fly more than one sortie on a good weather day. Two or three aircraft down for maintenance is a serious problem for the flight schedule. Thankfully, supply chain issues are mostly resolved, and oil filters and cylinders are more plentiful. Throughout the recent shortages, overhauled engines from the Poplar Grove Airport facility were still arriving in a timely manner. Having a standard C172S fleet helped to keep most of the aircraft mission-ready.

External customers are important business for every aircraft maintenance shop. Elite Aviation services the local Civil Air Patrol aircraft fleet as well as regular private owner customers. Aging aircraft require more maintenance, especially when adding updates to existing systems, and having an experienced A&P/IA like Lucchesi to lead the team is vital.

Assembling a service staff to care for an expanding customer base is a challenge, and even with rising pay for A&P technicians, more candidates are needed in the education pipeline. 
“It is getting very hard to find piston mechanics," Lucchesi told The Aero Experience. "There are not many out there - a lot of people are not going into this field.” 

It is difficult for flight schools to get and keep A&Ps. Working for flight school maintenance departments does not pay as well as working on jets and turboprops, but it is generally steady employment and less stressful than the high-pressure working conditions often found in airline or charter operations. Even when short-handed, having a few experienced team leaders helps overcome a staffing crunch. 

“I’ve seen more mechanics coming from apprenticeships coming into the shop," Lucchesi continued. “You invest a lot of time in them, and you don’t want to give them up.” Through the years, a number of military helicopter mechanics, including an apprentice mechanic currently in the Elite Aviation maintenance shop, have been retrained to work on piston aircraft. Lucchesi pointed out that for apprentices, it is not just the knowledge of aircraft mechanics that is important, but also their fine motor skills using tools needed to get into tight spaces. Being organized and able to think through the steps of standard procedures are also critical qualities of a successful A&P apprentice.

Lucchesi stressed the importance of technical competence along with being a team player in the aviation maintenance industry network. “If you’re going to be in the piston world here, you’ve got to be good at what you do. You have to have a name because people will want you.” The network of A&Ps consults each other across employers and disciplines, and there is often an opportunity for a known professional to get a call for extra work or job interview based on name recognition. This network also serves those getting into this field with so many open positions. 

Elite Aviation is looking for A&P Mechanics to join their staff. Contact them today for more information on the current job openings in their aircraft service department.