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Serious question, has anyone else seen the shift in composite repair training? | Aircraft Mechanics - Vivisector

Serious question, has anyone else seen the shift in composite repair training?

When I started at a regional carrier in 2010, we had maybe two guys certified for basic fiberglass patches. Now, after the 787 and A350 fleets have grown, our shop in Phoenix requires composite-specific training for half the crew. The change happened over about five years, pushed by the new airframes coming in. What's the biggest new skill you've had to pick up in the last decade?

4 comments

4 Comments

stella1216mo ago

Totally see that shift everywhere, not just in aviation. Feels like every skilled trade now needs some kind of advanced material training to keep up.

xenas166mo ago

You're right, @stella121. My brother's a welder and he's always taking new classes for different composites. It's a whole new skill set now.

derekhunt6mo ago

Tell me about it. I tried to help my buddy fix a carbon fiber bike frame last year and it was a whole different world from steel. Like @stella121 said, it's everywhere now. My uncle's a carpenter and even he's taking classes on gluing up these new fancy laminates. Feels like you need a chemistry degree just to pick up a tool these days.

miasanchez3mo ago

Hear me out on this because I have strong feelings about it. I agree with @stella121 that this isn't just aviation or construction, it's hitting every trade hard. The real issue is that most of these training programs are built by the manufacturers, not by actual hands-on workers, so they skip over the practical stuff. I've seen guys fail a composite repair test because they memorized the theory but couldn't actually lay up a patch without bubbles or voids. The biggest new skill for me was unlearning the old way of thinking that fiberglass and carbon fiber repairs are basically the same, because they really aren't. You have to learn a whole different approach to moisture control, cure cycles, and how the material behaves under load. It's frustrating because the industry moves faster than the training can keep up.