FAA Aviation Mechanic - Powerplant (AMP) study guide
FAA Aviation Mechanic - Powerplant (AMP) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Aviation Mechanic Powerplant certificate is the rating that allows a certificated mechanic to maintain, repair, and inspect aircraft engines and their related systems. It is one of the three ratings - General, Airframe, and Powerplant - that together qualify a mechanic to approve an aircraft or component for return to service within the limits of the certificate held. The FAA Aviation Mechanic - Powerplant (AMP) study guide has 10 sections and about 3,447 words.
01Reciprocating Engines
The reciprocating engine domain is mostly about the four-stroke cycle and the hardware that carries it out. Be able to name the events in order - intake, compression, power, exhaust - and relate each to piston position, valve position, and crankshaft rotation.
335 words, about 2 min02Turbine Engines
Turbine engines are described by sections: inlet, compressor, diffuser, combustion section, turbine, and exhaust. Learn what each does and what happens when it fails.
315 words, about 2 min03Engine Inspection
Inspection questions test whether you know what is required, what authorizes it, and how to perform the common checks. Required inspections include the annual inspection (or the 100-hour inspection for aircraft carrying persons for hire), progressive inspections, and inspections mandated by airworthiness directives.
319 words, about 2 min04Engine Instrument Systems
Instrument questions center on what a gauge measures and how its markings are read. Tachometers show engine or propeller RPM and may be mechanical (cable driven), electrical (tach generator), or electronic.
312 words, about 2 min05Engine Fire Protection Systems
Fire protection splits into detection and extinguishing. Detection types include spot detectors (thermal switches that close at a set temperature), thermocouple units, thermistor units, and continuous-loop systems.
311 words, about 2 min06Engine Electrical Systems
Engine electrical systems cover generation, distribution, and circuits tied to the engine. DC generators use residual magnetism and a commutator; alternators rectify AC with diodes and require field current to begin producing.
310 words, about 2 min07Lubrication Systems
Reciprocating engines use either a wet-sump system (oil stored in the engine sump) or a dry-sump system (oil in an external tank). Both have a pressure pump feeding oil to the bearings and one or more scavenge pumps returning it.
317 words, about 2 min08Ignition and Starting Systems
A magneto is a self-contained generator of high-voltage pulses. The rotating magnet induces current in the primary winding; when the breaker points open, the primary field collapses across the capacitor and induces high voltage in the secondary, which travels to the distributor and through the harness to the spark plugs.
319 words, about 2 min09Fuel Metering Systems
The float carburetor meters fuel with a venturi and main metering jet; the throttle valve controls airflow, and the mixture control changes the fuel/air ratio. Know the float chamber and needle valve, idle circuit, accelerator pump, economizer or power valve, and mixture control.
297 words, about 1 min10Engine Fuel, Induction, Cooling, and Exhaust Systems; Propellers
Avgas grades are identified by octane/performance number (100LL is common); turbine fuel is Jet A or A-1. Detonation is uncontrolled, explosive combustion after normal ignition - it raises CHT and can damage cylinders.
612 words, about 3 min