BSc (Hons) Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (Including Foundation Year)

The Foundation Year will give you a good understanding of our engineering courses and provide you with a good numerical background to support you throughout the remainder of the degree. Following your initial foundation year, you will progress onto the modules studied as part of the BSc (Hons) Aircraft Engineering and Maintenance Systems (Including Foundation Year).

Foundation Year: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

The Foundation Year will give you a good understanding of our engineering courses and provide you with a good numerical background to support you throughout the remainder of the degree. Following your initial foundation year, you will progress onto the modules studied as part of your award.

• Foundations of Mathematics
• Application of Mathematical Skills
• Essential Engineering Skills
• Engineering Project
• Foundation Engineering Principles
• English for Engineering (optional)
• Introduction to Aircraft Maintenance Academic Studies (optional)

Year One: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

Aircraft are complex machines that incorporate a host of engineering disciplines. An understanding of general science, mathematics, and technology-based subjects are explored to provide the foundations necessary to progress to the more complex subjects related to commercial aircraft. 

Aerospace Mechanics(20 Credits)

The content of this module will provide the essential underpinning to understand the aerodynamics and physics related to flight and the control mechanisms used to maintain altitude, speed and direction.

Electronic Fundamentals for Maintenance Engineers (20 Credits) and Electrical Fundamentals for Maintenance Engineers (20 Credits)

These modules will equip you with the foundations in Electrical and Electronic engineering required to progress onto more complex avionics systems.

Aerospace Materials and Hardware (20 Credits)

By studying this module, you will gain a theoretical and practical understanding of the materials and hardware requirements for aircraft design, manufacture and maintenance.

Professional Engineering Techniques (20 Credits)

You will investigate the soft skills that are a vital attribute of any future engineer, including communication skills, professional development planning and critical analysis.

Analytical Methods for Engineers (20 Credits)

This module will provide the mathematical principles to underpin your ongoing studies. The focus is to ensure you have sufficient knowledge and understanding to apply mathematical solutions to aircraft engineering problems.

Year 1 embeds 6 of the 13 modules required to obtain the Part-66 Cat B1.1 licence.

Year Two: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

This year will expose you to common mechanical and electronic systems found on aircraft. It also introduces you to Human Factors along with an underpinning knowledge of the business practices within the aviation industry.

The Maintenance Practices for B1 Licence (40 Credits)

This module will provide you with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to conduct aircraft maintenance tasks and the know-how to complete the required legislative paperwork, a requirement for audit and accountability purposes.

The Aircraft Instrumentation Systems

During this activity, you will be exposed to digital system design techniques, from basic logic systems to embedded system design. You will learn about various sensors typically found on aircraft systems and understand the operation, the process of testing and how to interface them to a digital system.

Fundamentals of Air Transport Management

This module provides you with the knowledge and understanding of airline companies' challenges in maintaining and operating aircraft in a very competitive commercial environment.

Human Factors

Using historical case studies, you will be shown how the research into Human Factors (HF) has influenced and changed the processes and procedures that were once adopted as standard practices.

Maintenance and Repair of Aircraft Propeller Systems

You will gain a detailed knowledge of the theoretical aspects of propeller construction, control, operation, maintenance and storage. 

Year 2 embeds 4 of the 13 modules required to obtain the Part-66 Cat B1.1 qualification. 

Year Three: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

The final year of the course has been designed to focus the student's attention on the new and emerging technologies used in MROs and the challenges surrounding the maintenance practices of operating in these organisations.

Employment in a PART-145 organisation (optional 20 credits)

This module will give you the necessary understanding of the operation of a PART-145 MRO organisation. It will provide knowledge and understanding of the MOE requirements and the authority's role in overseeing the organisation, and the organisation's legal requirements. The course also aims to enhance your employability by providing mandatory aviation training in Human Factors, Fuel Tank Safety and Electrical Wiring Interconnection Systems required for working in the industry.

Group Project – PART-145 The Simulated Environment (optional 20 credits)

You will gain an insight into working in a regulated Part-145 MRO organisation by preparing and conducting maintenance activities in terms of the Maintenance Resources and Planning Management requirements. You will work as a team, rotationally taking the lead on a maintenance activity by organising the workforce, project planning and preparing the legislative documents complying with the appropriate authorities.

Aerospace Turbine Propulsion Systems (20 Credits)

You will continue to develop maintenance engineering skills by investigating propulsion systems, their environmental impact and alternative sustainable solutions. 

Aero-Structures, Aerodynamics and Systems (20 Credits)

This module is the largest in terms of content and aims to combine the breadth of knowledge gained across all modules and consolidate this to holistically review aircraft maintenance.

Individual Project (optional 40 Credits)

This optional final-year individual project allows you to conduct a self-directed study encompassing the knowledge and practical skills gained over the course. You are expected to derive a project plan that would enable you to undertake a detailed review of an aircraft engineering problem. This will allow you to conduct in-depth research in aircraft maintenance or design an engineering solution to aircraft problems.

Year 3 embeds the remaining 3 modules required to obtain the Part-66 Cat B1.1 qualification.

Featured modules and facilities 

You'll complete practical exercises in our state-of-the-art Part 147 Basic Training hangars – a vibrant hub of civilian aircraft and a Boeing 747 simulator. Here you'll provide solutions to real-world problems and learn the engineer's responsibilities in performing the maintenance tasks. The practical content of the course progressively intensifies throughout the levels, which are the parts our students like the most.

All the standard maintenance and audit practices are covered too, so you will complete tasks in line with industry standards from the very start. In year three, you'll either combine modules that embed employability and practical group tasks in our simulated Part-145 environment – or complete a research dissertation in an Individual Project instead. This way, you can shape your degree depending on whether you'd rather go into a managerial, research or practical role.

The course is delivered full-time on campus. The Authorities require students to receive 2400 hours of education and training over the three years of study, equating to 27 hours/week of contact time. Students will be in lectures/workshops for 4.5 days per week. You will study 120 university credits and a portion of the 13 Part-66 modules at each level. The type of activities vary, but as you progress through the years, a more intense hands-on practical approach will be adopted, allowing you to gain valuable experience maintaining complex aircraft systems.

You will be assessed through assignments, coursework, ongoing class tests and exams. The Part-66 assessments contribute to the overall module mark into which they are embedded. This contribution varies depending on the academic level.

• Year 1 40%
• Year 2 30%
• Year 3 20%