Maintenance test flights

[chperplt]

Does your company have maintenance pilots on staff, or do line pilots do these flights?

 

[supsup]

Mx flights

Usually the crew does it. If the crew is not available then the Chief Pilot or our Dir. of Training.

supsup

 

[JBcrjca]

Usually whatever line pilots are available; or if it's at a co-located mx/pilot base, crew sched will grab a crew sitting reserve.

 

[ILikePlanes]

Where i work the test flights are done by only a select group of pilots. Don't know how they are chosen for the duty or if the company requires any special classes, but then again why would they. Of course this was all the case last timer i went on one of these flights which was probably over a year and a half ago.

p.s. thanks to the pilots for making these types of flights so much fun

 

[Rick1128]

It depends on the particular company and their policies. Some require select crews for MX tests and other do not. Some just require special crews for certain flight checks.

Under certain circumstances special crews are required by regulation or by the maintenance manual. For example after some inspections or servicing the stall system of a Learjet the aircraft requires a stall test. But the maintenance manual requires that it be a pilot qualified by Learjet to conduct the stall test. And for an engine out ferry, 121 carriers require a specially trained crew to do the flight.

 

[mattfish42]

I usually do the test flight myself. Does wonders for the confidence of the instructors and students.

 

[Nolife]

Mx flight

I always feel better if the MX tech goes with during test flights especially if it was critical MX, like spar repair.

Otherwise at my last company they got whoever was off and available to do the flight. Easy money... sometimes.

 

[AWACoff]

I fly for a 121 airline and our "special training" for an engine out ferry is anything but. We read the 7 or so pages in our pilot handbook during training and as F.O.'s we do one 3 engine takeoff in the sim. I just did a 3 engine ferry. I had flown 100 hours since February and the it was the captain's first 3 engine ferry. I wouldn't consider it very special training considering all crews are trained identically for our 146s.

 

[Starcheck]

Usually the Aircraft program managers, or Instructor Pilots.

 

[Jungle Prop]

Line pilots (usually reserves) do both maintenance ferries and test flights.

 

[enigma]

My carrier attempts to use experienced m/x test pilots, but sometimes will use reserve crews if the work was minor. For post heavy check flights, we try hard to utilize a select few who actually know the test flight profile and all of its nuances. We don't want to loose a DC9 because the reserve crew didn't properly understand the stall test sequence, but more importantly, line crews don't really know how to perform the true return to service systems checks and sometimes allow an aircraft to return to service when it really shouldn't.

regards,
enigma

 

[350DRIVER]

in the Dork Jet (328) a few select are the ones that do this. Most of the time a MX guy (usually director of mx is onboard as well)

CJ, Sabres, King Airs, etc, regular line pilots. A very extensive run-up is done on all mx flights prior to wheels up. Any uncertainty or concern by crew during this run-up then aircraft does not fly and it is up to chief pilot/asst. to make other arrangements to "test fly" it prior to returning it to service. 135/91 dept.

pretty good mx here.


3 5 0

 

[328dude]

We don't have anything like that at PSA. Crews fly mostly all the MX ferry flights if they agree with it. The FCF flights for heavy C checks airplanes are usally done by the crews as well, but they try to keep the same one's since they know the profile and all the paperwork.


A shout out goes to Great Plains for keeping everything smooth for my FCF flights (8) out of heavy C checks in Tulsa.