Hire A&P Apprentices in Wasilla, Alaska

Wasilla is the heart of the Mat-Su Valley, some of the busiest bush-flying and floatplane country in Alaska — a region where small operators, lodges, and off-airport strips depend on general aviation year-round. With more than 30 FAA-certificated repair stations and shops within 50 miles (Anchorage's maintenance market is right down the Glenn Highway), certificated A&Ps always have somewhere else to go — training your own keeps them in the Valley. Demand for certificated mechanics is strong — training an apprentice under 14 CFR 65.77 lets your shop grow its own A&Ps instead of competing for them.

You set the wage — there's no mandated apprentice rate. For context, entry-level aircraft mechanics in Alaska start near $54,530/year and certificated mechanics in the Anchorage metro — which includes the Mat-Su Borough — earn a median of $94,120 (BLS, May 2025). An apprentice starts below the entry-level figure and grows into it as their signed-off hours build — and a mechanic trained in the Valley is one Anchorage's wages haven't already claimed.

You do — but there's less than people expect. You document the supervised training as it happens (Grease Pilot's records system does the tracking and signatures); nothing is filed with the FAA until your apprentice is ready to test. At that point FAA Form 8610-2 goes to the Anchorage FSDO — the office serving the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, shown with its address and phone in the section above — which verifies the supervised experience and authorizes the mechanic exams.

Yes — repair stations are exactly where this works. Your apprentice performs work under the supervision of your certificated mechanics (14 CFR 43.3(d) covers supervised work), and every logged hour counts toward the experience requirement — 18 months for airframe or powerplant, 30 months for both, under 14 CFR 65.77. In bush-flying country where every operator needs maintenance and Anchorage is always hiring, growing your own A&P keeps the Valley's work in the Valley.

Check the relocation line on their profile — apprentices state whether they're willing to relocate, and many will move for the right training opportunity. To maximize the quality of apprentice recruits, fill out your supervisor listing inside your account — once published, it shows to apprentices across the Grease Pilot network.