I attended the Enstrom factory maintenance school earlier this year. I was not too impressed. I have 20 years of A&P experience and almost 15 years of helicopter maintenance, both turbine and piston. Having no previous Enstrom experience, they gave you plenty of classroom book learning with almost no hands on...very few airframe mock ups to work on. I'd ask questions like "do you find problems with xxx part or system?" and would get plenty of "no not really" or "not that we've heard of", but while talking to other mechanics in the class with field experience, I would get a different story.
I also am not impressed with the hardware they use to secure rather large panels. Coarse thread sheet metal screws instead of machine screws. Not too smart on a helicopter that vibrates on various frequencies. Also not impressed with the lack of primer anywhere except the pylon. No edge sealant around antennas either. The one we work on is in a very corrosive environment, and while it is a new ship, I for see plenty of corrosion issues, and we already have had to touch up corrosion on both rotors, landing gear and tail rotor drive shaft on an aircraft with less than 500 hours and is not that old calender wise
I do not like working on it, find doing anything to the engine like routine 150 and 300 hr inspections or work on the swashplate/ main rotor gearbox (with its 600 hour retirement life!) a total PITA.
Maybe it will grow on me. But I am not impressed with my first impressions of this aircraft (480B). Your mileage may vary.
Last edited by helofixer; 13th Dec 2008 at 03:53.