Thanks for the warm welcome kbalch and Jon.

Aviation wise, I must first tell you that I am in Canada. So we have Aircraft Maintenance Engineers with different licenses, such as small aircraft, large aircraft, and electronics. It is my understanding that a licensed AME can perform and sign for a broader amount of tasks than an A and P mechanic in the U.S.

I did a 2 year AME course at SAIT(southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and worked a little in industry but really I have about 28 more months of work before I can apply for my license, and that was 8 years ago.

I drove loaders, dozers, excavators...but my true "specialty"if you will, is on scrapers.

Jobs I have worked at include the oil rigs, seismic drilling, a little forestry, construction, surveying, comercial building maintenance, and all of the minutia that comes with it.

I am a jack of all trades, with interests such as machining, welding, amateur electronics, and mechanics. That doesnt mean I'm good at any of it, but i try my best, and learn a lot from the interweb and the social media that it makes possible, such as this forum. Its not always easy meeting people of like mind, especially where I work, in Inuvik, NT. Right now the sun will not come above the horizon till about mid January, and outside it is a balmy -30 Celsius(I know, I know: metric crap!). I would almost say that being able to work in the cold, and being concious of all the little things the cold can do to equipment and people is more important than actual trade skills when it is this cold. It's not for everyone thats for sure.

While there are lots of places to get information about tools and such, this site poped up during a search, and I thought I would give it a try.