An aircraft sheet metal mechanic inspects, repairs, and fabricates the metal structure of an aircraft: the skin, ribs, spars, stringers, and bulkheads that carry flight loads. The role sits inside aircraft mechanics and service technicians, an occupation with a median annual wage of $78,680 as of May 2024 in Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data. What separates it from the construction trade sharing part of its name is authority: structural repairs on a certificated aircraft must follow Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved data and be signed off by a certificated mechanic.
What an Aircraft Sheet Metal Mechanic Does Day to Day
Structural work begins with finding damage and ends with a logbook entry. Between those points sits a sequence that rarely varies, whether the job is a hail-dented wing skin or a corroded belly panel. Typical duties include:
- Inspecting skin, frames, and longerons for cracks, corrosion, and impact damage
- Assessing whether damage falls inside allowable limits or requires repair
- Laying out repairs and transferring hole patterns to new material
- Drilling, deburring, and countersinking to specified hole size and finish
- Installing solid and blind rivets, then inspecting each one for defects
- Forming and fabricating replacement skins, doublers, and angles
- Removing corrosion and applying protective treatment and sealant
- Documenting the repair and the data it was performed under
Sequence matters more than speed. A rivet installed in an oversized hole, or a patch drilled inside the minimum edge distance, creates a stress concentration that can propagate a crack rather than arrest it. Mechanics working structures verify hole quality and edge margin as they go, because a finished repair hides most of the evidence of how it was built.
Aircraft Sheet Metal Repair Explained
Aircraft sheet metal repair is regulated work, not craft judgment. Under 14 CFR part 43, a mechanic performing maintenance or alteration has to use the methods in the manufacturer’s maintenance manual or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness, or other methods acceptable to the FAA Administrator. In practice that means the aircraft manufacturer’s structural repair manual governs first, and it specifies allowable damage limits, approved patch configurations, and fastener patterns for that airframe.
Where no manufacturer instruction covers the damage, the fallback is FAA Advisory Circular 43.13-1B, which sets out acceptable methods, techniques, and practices for inspecting and repairing nonpressurized areas of civil aircraft. Its guidance generally applies to minor repairs, and it can serve as a basis for FAA approval on major ones.
The minor and major distinction drives the paperwork. A minor repair returns to service on a standard maintenance record entry. A major repair requires FAA Form 337, which records what was done and cites the approved data it was done under. Deciding which category a repair falls into is part of the job, and getting it wrong is a recordkeeping problem that surfaces years later during a pre-purchase inspection.
Tools and Skills the Job Demands
Structures work uses a tool set distinct from the wrenches and torque tools of powerplant maintenance. The core kit runs to:
- Pneumatic rivet gun and a matched set of bucking bars
- Cleco fasteners and pliers for holding assemblies during fit-up
- Drill motors, reamers, and countersink cages with depth stops
- Sheet metal brake, shear, and forming blocks for fabrication
- Rivet cutters, dimpling dies, and deburring tools
- Micrometers, calipers, and hole gauges for verification
A fuller picture of what a technician carries appears in this breakdown of the tools aircraft mechanics use on the job.
The skills behind the tools are less visible. Reading structural drawings and interpreting a repair manual’s callouts comes first, because the drawing determines material, thickness, alloy, and fastener spec before anything is cut. Spatial reasoning matters when a repair wraps a curved surface or ties into an existing frame. So does patience: bucking a rivet takes two people coordinating through sheet metal they cannot see each other through, and a run of bad rivets means drilling them all out and starting over on material that now has holes in it.
The material mix is shifting too. Newer airframes such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 use composite primary structure, so mechanics working structures increasingly handle bonded and laminate repairs alongside riveted aluminum. Metal skills remain the foundation, since most of the active fleet is still aluminum.
Where the Role Sits Against Related Titles
Job titles in this corner of aviation vary by employer. An aircraft structural mechanic and an aircraft sheet metal mechanic generally do the same work, with the former title more common at manufacturers and defense contractors and the latter more common at repair stations. Neither should be confused with the construction and manufacturing trade.
| Role | BLS occupation and May 2024 median | Credential required |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft sheet metal mechanic | Aircraft mechanics and service technicians, $78,680 | FAA airframe rating to approve and sign off work |
| Aircraft structural mechanic | Aircraft mechanics and service technicians, $78,680 | Same, though some manufacturing roles work under a repairman certificate |
| Sheet metal worker | Sheet metal workers, $60,850 | None, typically entered through apprenticeship |
The credential column explains the wage column. Sheet metal workers fabricate and install ductwork, roofing, and siding, an occupation of about 127,000 jobs growing 2 percent through 2034. Aircraft structural work carries airworthiness responsibility, and the FAA restricts who can sign for it.
Within aviation, the split runs along the certificate. The airframe rating covers structures, and the powerplant rating covers engines, which is why structures specialists sometimes hold the airframe rating alone. Mechanics who go deeper into structures often add adjacent skills, including the aviation welding processes used on tubular and steel assemblies, and the broader pattern of how technicians specialize applies here directly.
How to Train for Structures Work
No separate FAA certificate exists for sheet metal. Qualifying means earning the airframe rating, then building structures depth in a shop that does the work. The path runs in order:
- Earn a high school diploma or GED. This is the entry requirement for a maintenance program or the documented-experience route.
- Complete an FAA-approved program. An aviation maintenance technician school operating under FAA Part 147 substitutes for the experience requirement and grants the right to test.
- Pass the FAA exams. Each rating requires written, oral, and practical testing under the rules for becoming a mechanic.
- Earn the airframe rating. Airframe authorizes structural maintenance and sign-off. Adding powerplant produces the full A&P.
Program entry standards are worth checking before applying, and this guide to A&P license requirements covers what schools expect. Beyond certification, structures skill accumulates through repetition on real repairs, manufacturer courses on specific airframes, and time under mechanics who have done it longer.
The demand behind the work is steady. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 13,100 annual openings for aircraft and avionics equipment mechanics and technicians on average across the 2024 to 2034 decade, with many created by retirements rather than expansion.
Structural repair starts with the airframe rating, and the rating starts with training. Explore the aviation maintenance training program at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance to see the curriculum and where structured instruction fits, then check campus locations and request program information to get started.
