One of my goals before I left Compass was to obtain my Inspection Authorization, which in simple terms allows me to do more than just an A&P (airframe & powerplant) mechanic.

Unfortunately, it's not a simple process. As with any certification, it takes studying, and then a lot of paperwork.

I had to drive to Charlotte yesterday with a letter from the guys at Compass, meet with someone from the FAA, and get permission to even take the test.  Then I had to call a testing center, and discovered that the 2 closest ones to the FAA's office did not offer the test for Inspection Authorization; the closest one with that test was 1.5 hours away.

_Wanting to get everything done in one day, I made the dash over to Winston-Salem's airport, took the test, and tried to make it back to the FAA's office for issuance of the certificate (you have to go back with the test results).  Unfortunately, the distance was too much for me to make it back to south-Charlotte in time, even though I would have arrived at 3:45. Why is that too late, you ask . . . because their office closes at 4, and paperwork always takes longer than 15 minutes.

So this morning I went back to the FAA's office in Charlotte, and left with a piece of paper that now gives me permission to perform annual inspections as well as inspect and approve for return to service planes after major repairs or alterations.

One of the guys there at Compass, after I had the certificate, quoted Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility."

There's a lot of stress and liability we carry as mechanics, and we seek to perform our job to such a degree that others are confident that, to the best of our abilities and knowledge, the planes we return to service are in excellent, airworthy condition.

This is simply one more rating which I hope to see used for the Lord in mission aviation.