Hire A&P Apprentices in Caledonia, Mississippi

Caledonia sits in Mississippi's Golden Triangle, minutes from Columbus Air Force Base — one of the Air Force's primary pilot-training bases — and from the Airbus Helicopters plant in Columbus that has assembled the Army's UH-72 Lakota fleet for nearly two decades. Golden Triangle Regional Airport carries the region's commercial and corporate traffic, and with only a handful of certificated repair shops within 50 miles, mechanics who can sign off work are scarce 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 Mississippi start near $47,650/year and certificated mechanics across the state earn a median of $74,880 (BLS, May 2025). An apprentice starts below the entry-level figure and grows into it as their signed-off hours build — far cheaper than bidding against Columbus Air Force Base's contractors and the Airbus Helicopters line for experienced A&Ps.

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 Jackson FSDO — the office in Flowood serving all of Mississippi, 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. With only 4 certificated shops within 50 miles and the base and the Airbus line hiring from the same bench, training your own A&P is the one pipeline the Golden Triangle can't outbid.

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.