Story ID: 
OEM Relationships Heighten Tech Training
By: Martha Jercinovich
Caption: FlightSafety International offers extensive programs for pilots and maintenance technicians, sometimes within the same facility. 
Word Count: 830
Just as FlightSafety International (FSI) is the go-to name in pilot training, FSI offers equally impressive and extensive programs for maintenance technicians. Many FlightSafety sites provide pilot training and maintenance training within the same facility.
Similar to its pilot programs, maintenance courses are developed closely with the aircraft and engine manufacturers. These strategic partnerships stretch back years, if not decades, bringing valuable and informed OEM data and insights to the development and upkeep of each technician program.
Aircraft Maintenance Focuses
FlightSafety offers a full range of maintenance courses for aircraft-specific APUs, avionics, engines and environmental controls. Each program is designed to improve the quality and efficiency of maintenance departments, incorporating the latest best practices and extensive field experience.
Courses begin with in-depth classroom instruction followed by interactive applied training. FlightSafety employs state-of-the-art instructional technologies and equipment – including desktop and graphical flight-deck simulators as well as other hands-on training devices, training aids and test equipment.
In addition to aircraft and engine-specific courses, FSI’s course catalog includes Advanced Composite Repair, Aircraft Electronic Technicians, Avionics Standard Practices, Next Gen Communication Navigation and Principles of Troubleshooting. Online training is also available through LiveLearning and eLearning courses.
Drawing OEM Expertise 
FlightSafety collaborates closely with the OEMs to construct each course, combining resources and creating maintenance training manuals and courseware. By working directly with the OEMs, FlightSafety gains in-depth knowledge around each aircraft’s design, operation and support.
One of FlightSafety’s longest-standing partnerships is with Gulfstream, dating back to the 1970s. The two created the Total Technician Training (TTT) program in the late ‘90s, which combines interactive learning with hands-on experience. Courses are still developed and taught today by experts from both FlightSafety and Gulfstream.
Pratt & Whitney Canada (PW&C) is the largest maintenance partnership in terms of number of training locations. Since the start of the relationship (2011), FlightSafety has greatly expanded its training footprint, introduced new tools and innovations, and qualified instructors worldwide.
The Honeywell relationship is diverse, with training available across the wide range of engines, APUs, avionics and environmental control systems the company produces. FlightSafety started working with Honeywell in 2016 and now offers 50 courses across five locations.
Other significant OEM partnerships include Embraer, Pilatus, Honda Aircraft, Dassault, Sikorsky and Textron Aviation. Once the appropriate course is selected, technicians can either train at a designated FlightSafety location, schedule off-site instruction at their own premises, or opt for interactive, virtual learning. Type-specific training varies by location.
The Dallas North facility, for example, delivers courseware for Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream, Honeywell and Pilatus. The Greensboro site is dedicated to the HondaJet, and West Palm Beach offers courses for Sikorsky. FlightSafety’s Wichita learning center, located next to Textron Aviation, provides more than 250 courses for Cessna, Hawker, and Beechcraft, P&WC engines and Honeywell engines, APUs and avionics.
FSI actively cooperates with the OEMs in creating the courseware. When any component changes on an aircraft, so do the courses. Technicians always train with the most up-to-date equipment and information.
Become a Master Technician
Just as pilots are challenged with impactful scenario-based training, technicians who train with FlightSafety are immersed in a learning environment designed to replicate real-life troubleshooting issues and events. By utilizing current data directly from the manufacturers, maintenance courses can mimic actual aircraft or engine-specific problems being experienced by operators in the field. 
To advance practical, higher-level training even further, technicians can opt for FlightSafety’s renowned Master Technician program. The Master Technician training program offers a five-step, type-specific career development path designed to increase knowledge and refine skills beyond the routine. The Master Technician program offers six tailored curriculums: 
	Airframe – builds on initial skills and knowledge with increasingly challenging airframe-specific instruction and hands-on practical training.	 Avionics – takes focused elective courses on a range of the newest technology installed in modern aircraft.	Cabin systems – allows in-depth cabin communication and cabin management training to troubleshoot issues.	Composites – delivers an overview of composite use in airframes and builds skills in both repair and fabrication of composite structures.	Engine-specific – in-depth Honeywell or Pratt & Whitney Canada engine-specific training, including line and base instruction and engine condition trend monitoring.	Management – prepares technicians to lead aviation departments and to interact with customers, managers and co-workers.
Once one Master Technician certificate is achieved, participants can fast track to earning additional certificates, further expanding their skillset and professional abilities. Each is designed to build upon your team’s technical abilities while broadening their troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
Commitment to Excellence
FlightSafety maintenance training boasts approvals from nine National Aviation Authorities (NAA), with varied courses available at over a dozen locations across North America and worldwide. Close collaboration with the OEMs in all training areas enriches FlightSafety’s in-depth instruction and interactive applied training, contributing to the industry-wide mission to improve air safety.