Well, no. But still a very good way to spend a weekend. I attended the EAA Sportair Electrical Systems workshop this weekend. It was very professionally done and I learned far more than I expected to. I can heartily recommend this program to anyone even remotely interested in building a plane, and I think even owners of certificated airplanes would learn some valuable things about the electrical workings of their planes. For example, I didn't realize how essential the battery is to protecting the delicate and expensive electronic equipment. With a fully dead battery, running the engine (and by extension the alternator) is practically a recipe for burning up the radios. Anyone that has killed their battery by leaving the master swtich on and hand propping the engine to get it started is running a much larger risk than they realize.
There were many of these little tidbits of knowledge mixed in with a lot of hands-on practical exercises. The instructor was incredibly experienced and he shared quite a few interesting things hen had done in his career. He'd been in military aviation in many capacities (including test flying and aerial missions of North Vietnam) and had tons of general aviation experience too.
The class was held at the Bolton branch of the local community college. This is the building that houses the A&P program. I have thought about taking some A&P classes, and having seen the facility and been exposed (albeit in a very small chunk) to some of the training that would be involved, I think I might pursue that idea further. I doubt if they have many night classes, though, so I'm not sure I could get through the entire A&P program. Still, something to look into.
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