A man who faked his qualifications to perform maintenance checks on Qantas 747s and then falsified the character references he was relying on to get a lighter prison term has been sentenced to three years and five months behind bars.

Timothy McCormack, 26, was sentenced in the District Court today and will spend a minimum of two years in jail.

He told his superiors he had passed his aircraft maintenance exam and forged a licence that allowed him to work on the planes.