part 66 a licence? is there any point in me getting one?

[Ash_pvfc]

i have an nvq level 3 in aeronautical engineering and a couple of years experienc on rotary wing aircraft. i can get a fitters job with this, will a part 66 A licence just get me the equivalent of my nvq? or is an A licence more advanced and get better jobs? sorry if it sounds a stupid question iv just read an A licence is pretty much a fitters licence so surely its pointless? :S

[flame_bringer]

An A license wil get you an approval and hence better job prospects and a better wage whilst your degree will merely render you an unapproved mechanic in the maintenance world.

[Capot]

At the risk of telling you what you surely know already, with an A licence you can, after receiving the company authorisation, sign off your own work on a number of mundane tasks. You'll probably be required to do a Gen Fam course on the aircraft you are working on.

A B1 has to sign off an unlicensed fitter's work, no matter how simple.

Ipso fatso, with an A Licence you are worth more to the organisation.

With your background you should sail through the exams. While you are building a log-book with the A licence for your 5 years experience, you can be working through the Cat B Module exams.

When you have the Modules and the 5 years documented experience, you get a B Licence.

You may be able to count the 2 years you have already, so you could get to the B Licence in 3 years if you can pass all the Module exams in that period, while you are working (and earning).

If you do a Part 147-approved full-time 2 year course, you need only 3 years experience, as well as the approved course, which is 5 years total just as with the "unapproved route".

Similarly, the experience you need to get would be reduced to 1 year if your 2 years can be counted.The total time would then be 3 years, just like the unapproved route. But for 2 of those you would be a non-earning student, and you may have to pay some or all the course costs about £15,000 plus food and accommodation).

So there's no advantage to going down the approved route. An A Licence will make the process of getting the B Licence a lot easier, so go for it. It'll cost you the exam and application fees, and perhaps some travel to the exam centre. Simple, isn't it?

Ignore the diehards mumbling "A Licence is effin useless, I want to stay a low-paid mechanic". You use it to earn better money while you work for the B Licence.

Mind you, if you are with little aeroplanes (<5,700Kg) and want to stay there, a B3 Licence may be what you need. It's a lot easier than the B1 (Cat A plus, really). The B3 more or less gives you B1 privileges, but only on small aircraft. Others' opinions on that would be interesting.

B3 is not to be confused with B1.3!

[wigglyamp]

Don't bother with the B3. It doesn't count at all towards a B1 so if you want B1 in the future, you have to start again.

[Capot]

Mind you, if you are with little aeroplanes (<5,700Kg) and want to stay there, a B3 Licence may be what you need.

please note!

[BluFin]

FWIW

If you are happy to take all of your modules at the A licence standard - go for it, if at some future point you wish to move onto a B1 you would have to retake them all except 2 or 3 at the higher B1 level.

my only take on it would be if your going to put the nose in the books do it just the once, nothing more difficult than starting all over a few years down the road and paying for it all over again.

Do what you feel suits you and your situation

Edit:
Afterthought............... have a look in the new reg 1149/2011 Appendix I & II for the differing levels required as you will be doing this under the NWO (New World Order)

[Ash_pvfc]

thanks for the reply, are all tests short answer tests or are there any essays? i think id struggle at essays and say for example b had essays and A didnt id go for the A licence. One last thing, my experience is 4 years on apache attack helicopter, can i do a fixed wing licence and use my 4 years as experience on fixed wing? is there any cross over?

[cbox chip]

Glad I saw this thread, I just posted in the rotorheads section asking for info about the Part-66 license.

I am a Canadian M2 AME with twin-turbine helicopter experience (EASA B1.3 equivalent) looking to get an EASA license, there is a part 145(or is it 147?) approved training facility semi near me: the British Columbia Institute of Technology or BCIT for short where I can write my exams, 13 of them if I understand correctly.

Right now I am waiting to hear back from both BCIT and EASA with answers to my questions but I figured why not ask the internet?

I have found several sites online offering training material for a fee, this one in particular seems interesting: EASA Part 66 CAT-A, B1, B2, B3 licence - What you always wanted to know about the EASA part 66 / JAR-66 licence and FAA A&P license! (http://www.easa-66.eu/en/EASA-FAQ-EN.html)
but it sure isn't free and I am not about to drop money on study material of questionable quality.

Does anyone on here know where I can get my hands on a decent study guide and where to find a list of textbooks I should purchase?

Practice exam questions are always handy too...

[Capot]

or are there any essays? i think id struggle at essays
There are essay exams as well as MCQ for Modules 7, 9 and 11 exams in all Categories. There is no need to be scared of them. If you can write a simple technical report you can pass the essay. If you cannot do that you are in the wrong job. You need to learn the EASA requirements for the essay and adhere to them, that's all. And you need to know the subject matter; if you get enough key points into the essay you'll pass.

Re the experience, here are the rules (1149/2011), make of them what you will. The key phrase is "Operating aircraft". I understand that this includes military, other jurisdictions than EASA (eg FAA) and so on. You probably need to ask the NAA that you deal with exactly what they would say about Apache experience, but it is within "experience on operating aircraft" in my opinion. What is required is basic aircraft maintenance skills and experience, and that is the pretty much the same for rotary and fixed wing, it seems to me. But I'm not the CAA!

66.A.30 Basic experience requirements

(a) 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);

[Alber Ratman]

Then you have to find a company that wants B1s, A, etc.. The waiting time for many companies especially base, if they give you a type course and the approvals and a slot becomes available can be a lot longer than the training establishement people who post on here and don't see the real world will tell you, because you wouldn't do their courses!:eek: