My Ameriflight Experience So Far: MX Technician Burke Hendrickson

We are fortunate to have Burke on the Ameriflight team!
We recently asked him to tell us about his experience with Ameriflight so far.
Here’s what he had to say:

“My name is Burke Hendrickson and I’ve been working in the Ameriflight Maintenance Department for nearly six years. I had interviewed with Ameriflight for a Seattle position summer of 2009 but never got a call back. It wasn’t until April 2011 that a friend told me to call again and see if they were hiring. Surprisingly, they remembered who I was and said, “Come on in, we’ll give you another interview.” Just like that, I finally had a good, stable job in my field.

I work the main/night shift with an awesome group of people at the Seattle base. A lot of us, including myself, were very thankful when, just recently, Ameriflight made their pay structure a lot like that of Boeing. There are now levels you can achieve for different pay grades.

While working for Ameriflight, I have had the opportunity to do just about everything an A&P is trained to do. From turbine engine hot section inspections to propeller tear down, it pretty much all gets done in-house. That’s something I was told I wouldn’t get to do unless I went to a specialty shop.

A lot of aircraft these days are transitioning to computer controlled/monitored systems which make troubleshooting and maintaining a lot different. Let’s just say you get a lot less dirt under your fingernails with those aircraft. That’s not the case at Ameriflight. With the aircraft I work on, I do a lot with my hands and am really in there, learning the aircraft.

The Brasilia is my preferred aircraft to work on because the maintenance manuals are very detailed. Also, the airplane is bigger which means you don’t have to be a contortionist just to reach a component. What I’ve come to appreciate from working at Ameriflight is how fast I am learning good troubleshooting techniques. This is a skill that doesn’t come easily and takes a lot of time to master. With the opportunity to learn on aircraft with such unique personalities, it’s definitely a very valuable skill for the resume. It’s also something I have taken home with me and I’ll always be grateful for that.

We’re in need of more mechanics! Join us!

Burke Hendrickson
Maintenance Technician III”