66.A.30
66.A.30(a) Basic experience
An applicant for an aircraft maintenance licence shall have acquired:
1. for category A, subcategories B1.2 and B1.4 and category B3:
(i) 3 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft, if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or
(ii) 2 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of training considered relevant by the competent authority as a skilled worker, in a technical trade; or
(iii) 1 year of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of a basic training course approved in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147);
2. for category B2 and subcategories B1.1 and B1.3:
(i) 5 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or
(ii) 3 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of training considered relevant by the competent authority as a skilled worker, in a technical trade; or
(iii) 2 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of a basic training course approved in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147);
2a. for category B2L:
(i) 3 years of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft, covering the corresponding system rating(s), if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or
(ii) 2 years of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft, covering the corresponding system rating(s), and completion of training, considered relevant by the competent authority, as a skilled worker in a technical trade; or
(iii) 1 year of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft, covering the corresponding system rating(s), and completion of a Part-147 approved basic training course. For the addition of (a) new system rating(s) to an existing B2L licence, 3 months of practical maintenance experience relevant to the new system rating(s) shall be required for each system rating added.
2b. for category L:
(i) 2 years of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft covering a representative cross section of maintenance activities in the corresponding subcategory;
(ii) as a derogation from point (i), 1 year of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft covering a representative cross section of maintenance activities in the corresponding subcategory, subject to the introduction of the limitation provided for in point 66.A.45(h)(ii)(3).
For the inclusion of an additional subcategory in an existing L licence, the experience required by points (i) and (ii) shall be 12 and 6 months respectively.
The holder of an aircraft maintenance licence in category/subcategory B1.2 or B3 is deemed to meet the basic experience requirements for a licence in subcategories L1C, L1, L2C and L2.
3. for category C with respect to complex motor-powered aircraft:
(i) 3 years of experience exercising category B1.1, B1.3 or B2 privileges on complex motor-powered aircraft or as support staff according to point 145.A.35, or, a combination of both; or
(ii) 5 years of experience exercising category B1.2 or B1.4 privileges on complex motor-powered aircraft or as support staff according to point 145.A.35, or a combination of both;
4. for category C with respect to other than complex motor-powered aircraft: 3 years of experience exercising category B1 or B2 privileges on other than complex motor-powered aircraft or as support staff according to point 145.A.35, or a combination of both;
5. for category C obtained through the academic route: an applicant holding an academic degree in a technical discipline, from a university or other higher educational institution recognised by the competent authority, 3 years of experience working in a civil aircraft maintenance environment on a representative selection of tasks directly associated with aircraft maintenance including 6 months of observation of base maintenance tasks.
AMC 66.A.30(a) Experience requirements
1. For a category C applicant holding an academic degree the representative selection of tasks should include the observation of hangar maintenance, maintenance planning, quality assurance, record-keeping, approved spare parts control and engineering development.
2. While an applicant to a category C licence may be qualified by having 3 years experience as category B1 or B2 certifying staff only in line maintenance, it is however recommended that any applicant to a category C holding a B1 or B2 licence demonstrate at least 12 months experience as a B1 or B2 support staff.
3. 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.
4. 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 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.
5. 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 a 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.
66.A.30(b) Licence extension
An applicant for an extension to an aircraft maintenance licence shall have a minimum civil aircraft maintenance experience requirement appropriate to the additional category or subcategory of licence applied for as defined in Appendix IV to this Annex (Part-66).
66.A.30(c) Maintenance experience
The experience shall be practical and involve a representative cross section of maintenance tasks on aircraft.
AMC 66.A.30(c) B2L clarification
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.
66.A.30(d) Recent maintenance experience
At least 1 year of the required experience shall be recent maintenance experience on aircraft of the category/subcategory for which the initial aircraft maintenance licence is sought. For subsequent category/subcategory additions to an existing aircraft maintenance licence, the additional recent maintenance experience required may be less than 1 year, but shall be at least 3 months. The required experience shall be dependent upon the difference between the licence category/subcategory held and applied for. Such additional experience shall be typical of the new licence category/subcategory sought.
AMC 66.A.30(d) Recent experience
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).
66.A.30(e) Maintenance experience outside civil environment
Notwithstanding point (a), aircraft maintenance experience gained outside a civil aircraft maintenance environment shall be accepted when such maintenance is equivalent to that required by this Annex (Part-66) as established by the competent authority. Additional experience of civil aircraft maintenance shall, however, be required to ensure adequate understanding of the civil aircraft maintenance environment.
AMC 66.A.30(e)
1. For categories A and L, the additional experience should be a minimum of 6 months in a civil aircraft maintenance environment. For categories B1, B2, B2L or B3, the additional experience should be a minimum of 12 months in a civil aircraft maintenance environment.
2. Aircraft maintenance experience gained outside a civil aircraft maintenance environment may include aircraft maintenance experience gained in armed forces, coast guards, police etc. or in aircraft manufacturing.
66.A.30(f) Experience timeframes
Experience shall have been acquired within the 10 years preceding the application for an aircraft maintenance licence or the addition of a category or subcategory to such a licence.