Counting experience for a B1.1 application: A-checks, sheet metal and stores
An applicant applies to the competent authority for a B1.1 licence. The logbook shows: 18 months as a mechanic in a Part-145 organisation performing A-checks on A320 aircraft, signed by a certifying staff member; 8 months in a non-Part-145 sheet-metal workshop doing repairs on aircraft structural panels, signed by the workshop supervisor; and 6 months as a stores person issuing parts in the same Part-145. The applicant also holds a Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and an FAA A&P certificate. The applicant claims that the degree and the FAA certificate reduce the required experience to two years, and that the stores period counts as 'maintenance experience' because it involved aircraft parts. The competent authority's guidance says experience must be practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft, recorded in a logbook, and that third-country licences are assessed case by case.
1. How should the competent authority count the applicant's experience?
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Count only practical maintenance experience on aircraft. The 18 months of A-checks is clearly relevant and signed by certifying staff. The 8 months of sheet-metal work may count only if it was maintenance on aircraft or aircraft components under an acceptable quality system and the records show the tasks; work on loose panels away from an aircraft may not count. The 6 months in stores does not count: issuing parts is not maintenance experience. The credible total is therefore at most 26 months, and possibly only 18 months. The applicant's claim of 32 months is not supported by the logbook.
2. Do the aerospace engineering degree and the FAA A&P certificate automatically reduce the experience requirement to two years?
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No. A relevant degree can reduce the experience requirement under Part-66, but it does not automatically reduce it to two years. The competent authority must apply the published table and verify that the degree is relevant. An FAA A&P is a third-country licence; it is not converted automatically. The applicant may receive credit for examination subjects or experience on a case-by-case basis, but he must still satisfy the applicable Part-66 requirements, including the Part-66 examinations and the relevant experience. The authority should not accept the applicant's arithmetic without checking the rule.
3. What should the competent authority do next, and how should it record the decision?
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Request a detailed logbook with task entries, dates, aircraft types and supervisor signatures; employer letters confirming the role and period; and evidence of the degree and FAA certificate. Assess each period against the rule. If the relevant experience falls short, refuse the application or advise what additional experience is needed. If it is sufficient, verify the examination passes and the licence prerequisites. Record the assessment and the reasons, because the applicant may appeal. The authority should also check that the Part-145 experience was actually under a quality system and not merely observation.