Fixing Helicopters for a Living: How Miyah Spade Started in Aircraft Maintenance

Aircraft maintenance apprentice Miyah Spade of Canadian Helicopters breaks down what it really takes to keep planes and helicopters safely in the air — and why almost nobody knows this trade exists. Miyah just walked off the floor of an international aerospace maintenance skills competition in Orlando, where her team was the only one to fully complete their event — removing and reinstalling a 150-pound aircraft slide under a strict manual, timed, and inspected to the letter. She talks about what it takes to hold that much information under pressure, and introduces the "Dirty Dozen" — the twelve human factors, like distraction, pressure, and complacency, that aviation maintenance crews are trained to watch for on every real job, not just in competition. Miyah is an aircraft maintenance apprentice studying at Centennial College and working with Canadian Helicopters. She didn't grow up wrenching on dirt bikes or cars — she found her way in through a high school welding and auto shop class, then chose aircraft maintenance over auto body repair because, in her words, "it has a nice ring to it." Since then she's worked on everything from small Cessnas and Pipers to airliners and helicopters, including hands-on time in an overhaul shop tearing apart a helicopter's main rotor head after a real accident. If you're weighing a trade you've never heard of, wondering how to break into aviation without a four-year degree, or trying to figure out how to stand out when resumes get lost in a pile, this conversation is for you. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Cold Open: A "Dirty Dozen" teaser and a first look at Miyah Spade, aircraft maintenance apprentice at Canadian Helicopters. (01:07) – Only Team to Finish: Recapping the skills competition event Miyah just completed — removing and reinstalling a 150-pound aircraft slide under strict, line-by-line inspection. (02:57) – The Dirty Dozen: The twelve human factors — pressure, distraction, complacency — that aviation maintenance crews are trained to watch for every time they sign off on a real aircraft. (03:48) – From Welding to Wings: How a high school auto shop and welding class led Miyah away from cars and into aircraft maintenance. (07:09) – Choosing Helicopters: Why Miyah picked helicopters over big airliners — camping in the bush under a tarp, and landing a job with Canadian Helicopters. (13:30) – Like a Detective: Tearing apart a helicopter's main rotor head after a real accident, and why talking to people beats sending resumes when breaking into the trade. Key Takeaways Aircraft maintenance is a skilled trade almost nobody knows about, even though every flight's safety depends on the mechanics working behind the scenes, not just the pilot. Aviation safety culture is built around the "Dirty Dozen" — pressure, distraction, and complacency are treated as real, named threats, not just workplace buzzwords. You don't need a childhood spent under the hood of a car to succeed in this trade — Miyah came from art and a single high school shop class, not a family of mechanics. Networking beats resumes in aircraft maintenance hiring — cold applications get lost in the pile, but a phone call or a walk-in conversation with a director of maintenance can open doors a resume never will. About the Guest Miyah Spade is an aircraft maintenance apprentice studying at Centennial College and working with Canadian Helicopters. Across her apprenticeship she's worked on small training aircraft, airliners, and helicopters, and spent a summer in Canadian Helicopters' overhaul shop and technical records department getting exposure to nearly every side of the operation. She competed at an international aerospace maintenance skills competition, was part of the only team to fully complete her event, and now advocates for getting more trade exposure in front of studen