THE CREDENTIAL · GTA ACADEMY BY GLOBAL TIES AVIATION
The Certified Aircraft Appearance Professional (CAAP) certification
CAAP is a professional certification issued by Global Ties Aviation through GTA Academy. It is not an FAA certificate, a mechanic or repairman certificate, a maintenance authorization, or any government credential. It shows the holder was trained and assessed to the GTA Standard for aircraft appearance care.
Hold all three certifications and you are a CAAP: a Certified Aircraft Appearance Professional, trained and assessed to the GTA Standard inside and out.
What does each CAAP certification attest?
Three certifications are earned online, one for each module after the first, and a fourth is earned on aircraft under an instructor. Each is earned by assessment, never by attendance, and each carries a number anyone can check.
01
CAAP Foundation
Module 1, Foundation · Weeks 1 to 1.5
The holder knows the aviation environment, the aircraft, the approved chemistry and the protocol that keeps an aircraft and its crew safe.
02
CAAP Interior
Module 2, Interior · Weeks 1.5 to 3
The holder was trained and assessed to the GTA Standard for aircraft interior care: flight deck, cabin, soft goods, galley, lavatory and protection.
03
CAAP Exterior
Module 3, Exterior · Weeks 3 to 4.5
The holder was trained and assessed to the GTA Standard for aircraft exterior care: washing, brightwork, correction within limits, ceramic coating and protection.
04
CAAP Hands-On Endorsement
In person, after all three
The holder performed the work on aircraft under a GTA instructor and passed the in-person assessment.
What is the GTA Standard a CAAP is assessed to?
The GTA Standard is four words, and every certification level is assessed against all four. They are the same words the company’s own crews work to on every aircraft.
Verify
Scope, authorization, aircraft type, surface, product and conditions are confirmed before anything touches the aircraft.
Protect
The aircraft, the people, the client's confidentiality and your own liability come before speed.
Document
Condition before, actions during, outcome after. If it is not written and photographed, it did not happen.
Deliver
The same result every time, walked through with the client, signed off and followed up.
Is CAAP an FAA certificate?
No. CAAP is a professional certification issued by Global Ties Aviation through GTA Academy. It is not an FAA certificate, a mechanic or repairman certificate, a maintenance authorization, or any government credential. It shows the holder was trained and assessed to the GTA Standard for aircraft appearance care. The line between cleaning and maintenance is the FAA’s: the physical act of washing is usually not maintenance, while the preparation and the follow-on steps around it are, and belong to certificated personnel. A CAAP is trained to know where that line runs on every job.
How is a CAAP certification verified?
Every certificate carries a number. The verification page at globaltiesaviation.com/verify/<number> shows the holder’s name, the level, the issue date and the status, free, in seconds. Graduates who chose to be listed appear in the network directory, each verified by a person.
How do you earn it?
Create a free account and ask to join the network, or apply for the full six weeks. A person at Global Ties Aviation reads and approves every application. Level 1, the CAAP Foundation certification, is free without a plan; the six weeks and all three certifications come with any of the support plans, which are paid monthly and chosen on the Academy page once a person approves the application.
Read next: what Level 1 includes, how to become an aircraft detailer, and what FBOs ask of a detailer.