66.A.30 Basic experience requirements

1.Maintenance experience on operating aircraft: means the experience of being involved in maintenance tasks on aircraft which are being operated by airlines, air taxi organisations, aero clubs, owners, etc., as relevant to the licence category/subcategory; should cover a wide range of tasks in terms of length, complexity and variety; aims at gaining sufficient experience in the real environment of maintenance as opposed to only the training school environment; may be gained within different types of maintenance organisations (Part-145, M.A. Subpart F, Part-CAO, FAR-145, etc.) or under the supervision of independent certifying staff; may be combined with Part-147 approved training (or other training approved by the competent authority) so that periods of training can be intermixed with periods of experience, similar to an apprenticeship; may be full-time or part-time, either as a professional or on a voluntary basis; in the case of the L licence, it is acceptable that the 1 or 2 years of experience required by 66.A.30(a)(2b) covers maintenance performed only during the weekends (or equivalent periods) as long as the applicant has achieved a sufficient level of competency related to the applicable licence subcategory as attested by the corresponding statement(s) issued by the maintenance organisation(s) or independent certifying staff that supervised the applicant.

2.A skilled worker is a person who has successfully completed a training, acceptable to the competent authority, involving the manufacture, repair, overhaul or inspection of mechanical, electrical or electronic equipment. The training would include the use of tools and measuring devices.

3.In the case of an applicant for a licence, including several categories/subcategories, it is acceptable to combine the periods of experience as long as there is sufficient experience for each category/subcategory during the required period. Examples: Application for a B1.1 (turbine aeroplanes) + B1.3 (turbine helicopters): the Regulation requires 5 years of experience for B1.1 and 5 years of experience for B1.3 for an applicant with no relevant previous technical training. It is not acceptable to combine the experience in a single 5-year period where the applicant has been working for 3 years on turbine aeroplanes and 2 years on turbine helicopters. However, it is acceptable to combine the experience in a single 5-year period if the applicant has been working for 5 years on turbine aeroplanes and turbine helicopters (for example, aeroplanes in the morning, helicopters in the afternoon, or a few days every week on aeroplanes and a few days every week on helicopters). Application for a B1.1 (turbine aeroplanes) + B2 (avionics): the Regulation requires 5 years of experience for B1.1 and 5 years of experience for B2 for an applicant with no relevant previous technical training. It is not acceptable to combine the experience in a single 5-year period where the applicant has been working for 3 years on turbine aeroplanes (with no avionics work) and 2 years on avionics systems. However, it is acceptable to combine the experience in a single 5-year period if the applicant has been working for 5 years on structures, powerplant, mechanical and electrical systems and avionics (for B1.1 tasks in the morning, B2 tasks in the afternoon, or a few days every week for B1.1 tasks and a few days every week for B2 tasks). Application for a B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B1.4 and B2: the Regulation requires 5 years of experience for B1.1, B1.3 and B2, and 3 years of experience for B1.2 and B1.4 for an applicant with no relevant previous technical training. In this case, it is very unlikely that the experience for each category/subcategory would be sufficient.

4.For a category C applicant that holds an academic degree, the participation in the performance of maintenance tasks on operating aircraft may include maintenance, maintenance planning, quality assurance, record-keeping, spare parts management and engineering development. ‘Experience in working in a civil aircraft maintenance environment on a representative selection of tasks directly associated with aircraft maintenance’ means experience gained at an organisation that is approved in accordance with Part-145, Part-CAO, Part-CAMO or similar, or experience in performing comparable work that is directly related to the continuing airworthiness of aircraft within a competent authority. Similar work performed on ‘Annex I aircraft’ or state aircraft may be acceptable as well. ‘Including 6 months of participation in the performance of base maintenance tasks’ on operating aircraft means experience gained through the active participation in base maintenance checks at maintenance organisations. If the applicant has acquired experience on operating CMPA, the corresponding category C licence should be issued. If the experience acquired has been limited to other than CMPA, then only the corresponding category C licence with respect to other than CMPA should be issued. While it is strongly recommended that the participation in the performance of maintenance on aircraft should be at the level required for the issue of a B1 or B2 licence, the objective of the required experience is to gain insight into the performance of base maintenance. The applicant for an academic category C licence should be aware of the type of maintenance carried out before the signature of support staff and understand their roles in the release-to-service process of base maintenance. It is encouraged that the future category C licence holder participates in both simple and complex tasks during their experience in base maintenance and gains insight in some aircraft critical systems. In the case presented in point 66.A.30(e), for the required experience gained outside the European civil regulatory framework, at least 1 year should be in a Part-145 or Part-CAO environment, including participation in the performance of base maintenance tasks for 6 months.

The table below summarises the basic experience requirements for the category C licence.

* Only applicable to category C for other than CMPA. ** Only applicable to category C for CMPA.

In the case of the category B2L licence, the sentence ‘a representative cross section of maintenance tasks on aircraft’ refers to the person that has carried out some maintenance tasks that are representative of the systems corresponding to the system ratings for which he/she applies (see 66.A.3). These tasks may include troubleshooting, modifications or repairs.

To be considered as recent experience; at least 50% of the required 12-month recent experience should be gained within the 12 month period prior to the date of application for the aircraft maintenance licence. The remainder of the recent experience should have been gained within the 7-year period prior to application. It must be noted that the rest of the basic experience required by 66.A.30 must be obtained within the 10 years prior to the application as required by 66.A.30(f).

(a)If the licensing authority has established that the experience gained outside an aircraft maintenance organisation approved in accordance with Part-145 or Part-CAO is equivalent to that required by Part-66, the minimum additional experience in aircraft maintenance organisation(s) that is (are) approved in accordance with Part-145 or Part-CAO should be:

(1)for categories A and L: 6 months;

(2)for categories B1, B2, B2L, B3 and C: 12 months.

(b)Experience in aircraft maintenance gained outside an aircraft maintenance organisation(s) that is (are) approved in accordance with Part-145 or Part-CAO may include experience in aircraft maintenance gained in the armed forces, coast guard, police, nationally approved organisations, organisations approved by non-EASA Member States, etc., or in aircraft manufacturing.