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Date: 05/11/2026

Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads, stabilizers, landing gear, rigging and control equipment, or heating and ventilating systems.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Set, align, adjust, or synchronize aircraft armament or rigging or control system components to established tolerances or requirements, using sighting devices and hand tools.
    • Clean aircraft structures, parts, or components, using aqueous, semi-aqueous, aliphatic hydrocarbon, or organic solvent cleaning products or techniques to reduce carbon or other harmful emissions.
    • Cut, trim, file, bend, or smooth parts to ensure proper fit and clearance.
    • Weld tubing and fittings or solder cable ends, using tack welders, induction brazing chambers, or other equipment.
    • Set up or operate machines or systems to crimp, cut, bend, form, swage, flare, bead, burr, or straighten tubing, according to specifications.
    • Position and align subassemblies in jigs or fixtures, using measuring instruments and following blueprint lines and index points.
    • Mark identifying information on tubing or cable assemblies, using etching devices, labels, rubber stamps, or other methods.
    • Assemble parts, fittings, or subassemblies on aircraft, using layout tools, hand tools, power tools, or fasteners, such as bolts, screws, rivets, or clamps.
    • Weld tubing and fittings or solder cable ends, using tack welders, induction brazing chambers, or other equipment.
    • Fabricate parts needed for assembly or installation, using shop machinery or equipment.
    • Install mechanical linkages and actuators, using tensiometers to verify tension of cables.
    • Clean, oil, or coat system components, as necessary, before assembly or attachment.
    • Manually install structural assemblies or signal crane operators to position assemblies for joining.
    • Set up or operate machines or systems to crimp, cut, bend, form, swage, flare, bead, burr, or straighten tubing, according to specifications.
    • Adjust, repair, rework, or replace parts or assemblies to ensure proper operation.
    • Attach brackets, hinges, or clips to secure or support components or subassemblies, using bolts, screws, rivets, chemical bonding, or welding.
    • Manually install structural assemblies or signal crane operators to position assemblies for joining.
    • Place and connect control cables to electronically controlled units, using hand tools, ring locks, cotter keys, threaded connectors, turnbuckles, or related devices.
    • Assemble prototypes or integrated-technology demonstrators of new or emerging environmental technologies for aircraft.
    • Verify dimensions of cable assemblies or positions of fittings, using measuring instruments.
    • Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of operations, or identities or relationships of parts.
    • Assemble prefabricated parts to form subassemblies.
    • Join structural assemblies, such as wings, tails, or fuselage.
    • Layout and mark reference points and locations for installation of parts or components, using jigs, templates, or measuring and marking instruments.
    • Cut cables and tubing, using master templates, measuring instruments, and cable cutters or saws.
    • Align, fit, assemble, connect, or install system components, using jigs, fixtures, measuring instruments, hand tools, or power tools.
    • Align, fit, assemble, connect, or install system components, using jigs, fixtures, measuring instruments, hand tools, or power tools.
    • Align, fit, assemble, connect, or install system components, using jigs, fixtures, measuring instruments, hand tools, or power tools.
    • Cut, trim, file, bend, or smooth parts to ensure proper fit and clearance.
    • Install accessories in swaging machines, using hand tools.
    • Cut, trim, file, bend, or smooth parts to ensure proper fit and clearance.
    • Inspect or test installed units, parts, systems, or assemblies for fit, alignment, performance, defects, or compliance with standards, using measuring instruments or test equipment.
    • Fit and fasten sheet metal coverings to surface areas or other sections of aircraft prior to welding or riveting.
    • Adjust, repair, rework, or replace parts or assemblies to ensure proper operation.
    • Clean, oil, or coat system components, as necessary, before assembly or attachment.
    • Capture or segregate waste material, such as aluminum swarf, machine cutting fluid, or solvents, for recycling or environmentally responsible disposal.
    • Fabricate parts needed for assembly or installation, using shop machinery or equipment.

    Skills

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    Knowledge

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 55540/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 26.7/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 220
    • Yearly Projected Openings 20

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • Bearing fitting tool kits
    • Box end wrenches
    • Calipers
    • Deburring tool
    • Desktop computers
    • Ear plugs
    • Guide jig
    • Hand clamps
    • Hand reamer
    • Height gauges
    • Hoists
    • Hydraulic press brake
    • Metal markers or holders
    • Micrometers
    • Mill saw file
    • Milling machines
    • Nut drivers
    • Offset screw driver
    • Pick or place robots
    • Pipe bending mandrel
    • Pneumatic drill
    • Positioning jig
    • Power drills
    • Power flaring tool
    • Power riveter
    • Power saws
    • Power screwguns
    • Protective gloves
    • Ratchets
    • Rivet tools
    • Rolling press
    • Safety glasses
    • Screwdrivers
    • Sealant adhesive robots
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Soldering iron
    • Spanner wrenches
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Spot welding machine
    • Swaging tools
    • Taper pin reamer
    • Templates
    • Tensiometers
    • Thickness measuring devices
    • Torque wrenches
    • Track cranes
    • Tube end finisher
    • Ultrasonic examination equipment
    • Welder torch
    • Welding masks
    • Welding robots
    • Wire or cable cutter

    Technology

    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Industrial control software
    • Office suite software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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