New European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations have prompted Swiss MRO provider Ruag to offer maintenance check flight (MCF) training to helicopter flight crews. EASA now mandates that MCFs be conducted on helicopters after work has been carried out. That includes having a technician aboard during such a flight.
Noting that MCFs are not part of a helo crew’s daily routine, Ruag believes a market now exists for such training since all systems on a rotorcraft cannot be inspected on the ground. Additionally, operators are obliged to offer their crews training on MCFs, which also require the crews to record all procedures during such flights.
The training provided by Ruag includes theory and simulator training as well as with the customer’s own helicopter. “If MCFs are carried out safely, competently, efficiently and carefully, it results in less risk as well as a cost reduction for the operator,” according to Ruag. “[C]ustomers benefit from consulting by experienced factory and test pilots who…regularly conduct MCFs.”