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Aeronautical Engineering Technology

Purdue University in West Lafayette

 Learn to design, maintain and manufacture equipment essential to aviation, aerospace operations and aircraft manufacturing. Disciplines include aeronautical materials and structures, electronic and electrical systems, jet engine maintenance, design operations and propulsion systems.

Purdue’s AET program is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET (abet.org). A BS degree in AET prepares you for the FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certification exam.

The Purdue Polytechnic Institute is one of 10 academic colleges at Purdue University. The Polytechnic specializes in team-based labs where you’ll test ideas, take things apart and put them back together — only better. You’ll learn side-by-side with professors who have worked in the industry and thrive on combining theory, imagination and real-world application. In this innovative environment, you'll learn by doing - gaining deep technical knowledge and applied skills in your chosen discipline coupled with problem-solving, critical-thinking, communication and leadership skills employers desire.

AET student gains “firsthand field experience” in Textron Aviation internship

portrait of Curtis Bouchie

My name is Curtis Bouchie, a junior in aeronautical engineering technology. Last summer, I received the opportunity to intern with Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kan., as an aircraft support engineer. In my role, I helped complete maintenance tasks that technicians were having difficulty solving. This role required working hands-on with other engineers, going through engineering drawings to give technicians instructions on how to fix a system, re-wire entire circuits, or any other tasks on the aircraft. The role was really satisfying because I got the opportunity to fix problems every day, which is one of the main reasons I chose aeronautical engineering technology as my major. The role also allowed me to interact with people from all over the world, including locations such as Indonesia, Dubai and Russia.

 

I received a lot of benefits outside of my position as well. The company allows interns to explore positions and sectors of the company that we wouldn’t usually see in our assigned positions. I had a tour of a facility almost every week. This was one of my favorite parts of the summer because it allowed me to get firsthand field experience with processes we learned in class.

Textron Aviation had mentor lunches that allowed us to sit down with managers in departments such as customer service or product development who gave us time to ask questions about their careers. They wanted us to learn our positions, but they also encouraged us to shadow people in other roles if we were interested in different departments. I was incredibly thankful for this because it allowed me to know the “day in and day out” roles and responsibilities of many positions.

One of the best parts of my summer was the opportunity to shadow a field service representative in Vail, Colo., for four days. Textron Aviation flew me to a part of the country I’ve never been before, giving me the opportunity to meet other industry professionals. I was amazed that the company devoted so much money and time on an intern.

Bell Helicopter, TRU Simulation, Textron Systems and others are sister companies to Textron Aviation. This allowed me to receive an internship in quality engineering with Bell Helicopter next summer.

Textron Aviation is a great company for an internship, providing a lot of opportunities for students in aeronautical engineering technology to learn and succeed. They also have a flying club which interns could join to fly brand-new Cessna Skyhawks for only $60 an hour, which is an incredible deal.

Overall, I had an excellent experience at Textron Aviation. The internship allowed me to learn more about what I want to do in the aviation industry. I am thankful for the connections I made with people in the company and with other interns, and I would recommend Textron Aviation to anyone.

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Plan of Study

Aeronautical Engineering Technology Webpage

Transfer to Aeronautical Engineering Technology

Purdue admits to individual majors. Transfer students must meet Purdue's overall transfer criteria, as well as any major-specific requirements. Before you apply, check the closed programs page to confirm this major is open to transfer students. If it is, refer to the information below for major-specific transfer criteria.

Minimum GPA: 3.0


Contact Information


(765) 496-6750
aviation@purdue.edu

Purdue Polytechnic Institute
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Careers in Aeronautical Engineering Technology

  •   Airframe design engineer
  •   Logistics engineer
  •   Reliability engineer
  •   Integration engineer

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