A Historical Perspective for Incorporating the Airframe and Powerplant Certificate as a Relevant Engineering Technology Skill

Abstract

At first, the concept of an engineering technology program containing an Airframe and Powerplant certificate (A&P) program might seem to be odd. At many colleges and universities the A&P program is considered to be a vocational certificate program, while the engineering program is considered to be more of a professional degree program. The engineering faculty credentials and mandated classroom requirements for engineering have traditionally been diametrically opposed with the A&P certification. But on second look the combination of these two disciplines may not be as odd as it first seems. In fact, the A&P curriculums in four-year colleges today are not that different from where the profession of engineering was in 1900. By understanding the roots of engineering education, and the changes in engineering education over the last century, it becomes easy to see how the A&P certificate holds relevance in engineering education.