CAA NZ AME Radio cheat sheet

CAA NZ AME Radio - Part 66 Licence Syllabus: Radio/Radar Systems and Licensing

• New Zealand AME licensing is administered by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA NZ) under Part 66 of the Civil Aviation Rules; the radio/avionics strand follows the Part 66 AME syllabus groups (basic electrical/electronic fundamentals plus specialised avionics/radio systems).

• Part 66 AME licence categories include A (line maintenance), B1 (mechanical), B2 (avionics) and C (base maintenance certification); radio and radar system work on aircraft sits primarily under the B2 avionics category, with B1 limited to specified avionics tasks.

• Aircraft radio equipment operates under NZ Civil Aviation Rules Part 91 (general operating rules) and the radiocommunications regime administered by Radio Spectrum Management (RSM, MBIE); aircraft station licences and operator radio qualifications are separate from the AME licence.

• The AME licence is type-rated: certification privileges apply only to aircraft types endorsed on the licence holder's record, so radio/avionics maintenance sign-off requires the relevant type endorsement in addition to the B2 category.

• Part 66 requires documented continuation training and a recency/experience record; avionics AMEs must maintain currency on the specific radio and radar systems they certify, including software and database loading tasks.

• Maintenance on radio/avionics systems must be recorded in accordance with Part 43 maintenance records requirements, including the certifying engineer's identity, licence number, date and a description of the work performed and references used.

• The B2 syllabus covers basic electronics, digital techniques, aircraft electrical power, avionics systems (communication, navigation, radar, autoflight, indication) and human factors; knowledge is examined against the CAA NZ Part 66 syllabus modules.

• Radio system maintenance must follow the aircraft maintenance manual (AMM) and component maintenance manual (CMM) procedures; where an approved data source is unavailable, the task cannot be certified without an approved alternative (e.g. design approval or CAA NZ acceptance).