Hire A&P Apprentices in The Villages, Florida

Because there's a lot of flying around The Villages and very few hands to keep it in the air. Within 25 miles there are 30 private airfields — ranch strips and airparks from Fruitland Park to Belleview — as well as Leesburg International 12 miles away and Ocala International 23, yet the Grease Pilot directory lists only five FAA-certificated repair stations that close. Mechanics are scarce too: the neighboring Ocala metro counts just 40 aircraft mechanics, while Orlando, 45 miles southeast, employs 2,380 at a median of $92,430 (BLS, May 2025) — the market an experienced A&P here can always drive to. With the nearest FAA Part 147 school 42 miles away in Casselberry, the dependable way to staff a hangar here is to train someone who already lives here. 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 Florida start near $45,500/year and certificated mechanics statewide earn a median of $76,940 (BLS, May 2025). The BLS publishes no aircraft-mechanic figure for the Wildwood–The Villages metro; next door, the Ocala metro's median is $71,770 and Orlando's is $92,430. An apprentice starts below the entry-level figure and grows into it as their signed-off hours build — and the mechanic you train here is one you never have to lure up from Orlando.

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 Orlando FSDO — the office serving Sumter and Marion counties, the two The Villages sits in, shown with its address and phone in the section above — which verifies the supervised experience and authorizes the mechanic exams.

Yes — with the work, not the sign-off. Under 14 CFR 43.3(d) an apprentice may perform the maintenance their supervising mechanic is authorized to do, with that mechanic watching closely enough to see it done properly and available in person. That paragraph doesn't authorize any inspection Part 91 requires, so the annual itself is done by someone authorized to perform it — typically an A&P holding an Inspection Authorization (14 CFR 65.95). The apprentice does the maintenance the inspection turns up, and those hours count toward 14 CFR 65.77's 18 months for airframe or powerplant, or 30 for both. Most aircraft need an annual inspection every 12 calendar months (14 CFR 91.409), and with 30 private airfields within 25 miles, that work comes back every year.

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.