time needed to put back aircraft after long term parking in EUR

[ATC Watcher]

I have posted this question on the tech log recently but did not get an answer , I realize it should have been asked better here ;

Flying recently into Saarbrucken I saw a few dozens of ex FlyBe Dash 8 and other ex Adria CRJs parked there since a few months Many other aircraft are currently in long term parking in many North European airports. With winter coming I was wondering if pass this winter it would be easy and fast to put them back again in flying condition. Any idea how many maintenance man hours are needed to restore to flying conditions a typical twin engine aircraft that was parked a year outside in our North European climate ?

[Tobikan Judan]

Depends on how its been looked after while it's on the deck.
We have aircraft been parked since March that can fly immediately because we have been doing care of maintenance and flight ready storage procedures.

On the other hand if we had aircraft that have been parked since March that the owners have refused to pay for any maintenance/preservation. Some of these will require deeper more in depth inspection and possibly engine removal. So this can take a while.

Another thing to note is that they may hit the time limits for certain maintenance checks whilst parked up e.g. 24 month inspection. Whilst not necessarily accruing airframe hours.

[PilotLZ]

It could be hours or it could be weeks, depending on the type of storage. Some aircraft are stored in a way which allows for very rapid reactivation - but that's definitely more costly than deep storage as you need to regularly start the APU and the engines, check the hydraulics and flight controls etc. Apart from mechanic man-hours, this often brings up the need to tow the aircraft to a location where the engine run can be performed; it also uses fuel and engine cycles and hours. So, over time, those expenses can easily outweigh the greater number of man-hours required for deep storage and subsequent reactivation. It's another matter that some airlines willingly pay for the added flexibility of short-term storage as it allows them to almost immediately pick up any flying job which comes up.

[ivor toolbox]

In addition to both those answers...

Generally there is usually a 'penalty maintenance' check performed when bringing an aeroplane out of deep , long term storage, this may be a B, C or D check , depending on manufacturers requirements,
as specified in chapter 10 of aircraft maintenance manual.

However, the numbers of MRO with availability to carry out said checks might be limited . It's why certain types it is better to keep active as a ' long term parked ' tail, rather than storage tail, due to the complexity of check required.

Likewise, different manufacturers have different definitions of what is (or isn't) considered long term, it can be as little as 45 days inactivity and the penalty check becomes due.

[ATC Watcher]

Thank you. My underlying next question is to see if maintenance issues is going to be major factor that could prevent a smooth restart. The indications we are now getting is that 2021 will probably not see the expecting return , and the earlier rebound being is more likely to start in 2022 , some pessimistic even talk about 2024.
In my line of work (ATC) we are currently stopping all training , canceling contracts and starting to get rid of older staff . Based on previous crises, all not as bad as this one , it took years to get back to normal staffing levels.
Do you see a similar trend among ground maintenance staff ?

[ivor toolbox]

Absolutely.
All airlines and MRO are cutting headcount. Now, its not a matter of simply re hiring staff when (if) upturn comes; we now have competency and recency requirements to consider, and in some cases it would mean re taking type rating courses (which aren't cheap), before someone would be allowed to certify.

Ttfn

[MAC 40612]

The ex FlyBe Dash-8s are under a care and maintenance program which is being paid for by the leasing company. The could all be flown at very short notice but as you realise there aren't many carriers taking any aircraft at he moment.

Most of the major airlines with aircraft parked up also have them in a care and maintenance state [if not slated for for retirement] This means they can be brought up at relatively short notice [depending on the aircraft type] The care and maintenance packages that I was working were drawn up in conjunction between the airlines and aircraft manufacturers and consisted of a different work package for every 7,14 and 28 day period. This was in addition to the normal aircraft checks.