MAINTENANCE
truly put systems through their paces as to how they are used in flight, or even following some systems like air-to-ground internet services which cannot be checked on the ground,” says Marc Drobny, president of StandardAero Business Aviation. “MCFs are even useful following major interior modifications, a high altitude ‘cold soak’ ensures there are no issues of drawers, doors and latches fitting properly as the aircraft swells, contracts and moves under temperature changes or flight loads.” Mark Goertzen, Dassault Falcon technical representative at Duncan Aviation highlights that the Dassault Falconjet’s requirement for an MCF is after a ‘C’ check and MCFs are mostly conducted by the crew of the owner/operator, but there are instances when an experienced rated crew member is brought in from the outside to assist in the flight, especially with new operators of an aircraft type. “There is a specific Dassault published airframe maintenance manual task card for checking system parameters and Dassault also has a publication called the ‘Maintenance Check Flight Guide’ tailored to assisting crews in the preparation and conduct of this flight,” he says.
Debi Cunningham, vice president of Marketing at West Star Aviation observes that some original equipment manufacturers (OEM) require MCFs after large maintenance events, while others do not. “A MCF is extremely important after a large maintenance event. Not only does it ensure that everything is functioning properly, it also gives customers the satisfaction of knowing the aircraft was maintained with quality workmanship,” she says. According to Sarah MacLeod,
executive director at the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) aircraft owners do take a ‘test’ flight’ — whether they recognise
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it or not — after any maintenance, be it preventive maintenance or an alteration. “If one is entering into a contract with a maintenance provider, it would not be a bad idea to put something in the agreement regarding testing the aircraft as indicated in the applicable regulation after almost anything has been done,” she says.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS AND OPERATORS
The maintenance organizations and the aircraft operators are both involved in maintenance check flights and they have different responsibilities. “Maintenance organizations should ensure that, when an MCF is required, there is an entry in the logbook noting such a flight is mandated. The operator is required to ensure that the flight is taken and passengers are not allowed on the aircraft until the check have been completed, and that an appropriate entry is made in the logbook after the flight check is complete,” says Nicolas Riley, Bristow Group Inc. chief inspector at New Iberia, Louisiana.
“In addition to the obvious
responsibility of properly conducting the maintenance work scope, the maintenance organization is responsible to ensure all maintenance is completed and signed off and the aircraft is officially released from maintenance as airworthy and safe for flight,” says Drobny.
“Maintenance organizations are
required to uphold the OEM’s chapter 5 requirements. When and if we recommend an MCF outside chapter 5 guidelines to one of our customers, they normally agree to accomplish the MCF,” says Cunningham. “It is always the operator’s
responsibility — and that means every private pilot also — to ensure the work has been recorded
properly by the mechanic and that the required flight checks are done. It is the maintenance providers’ responsibility to perform the work properly, ensure it is performed properly and to make an appropriate maintenance record,” says MacLeod.
PROCEDURES FOR MCFS When it comes to the procedures for conducting MCFs, most manufacturers have a flight check procedures manual stating what the check must consist of, observes Riley. “Operators can create their own flight check procedures manuals or documents,” he says. Indeed, every operator may have its
own unique set of precautions to take and techniques to use for conducting an MCF, observes Drobny. “For example, easing into stall condition or conducting a stall above certain altitudes that are more restrictive than what the manufacturer recommends. Pilot experience means a lot when putting an aircraft through a check flight, and most operators will establish criteria for who is allowed to perform a check flight or will require two very experienced pilots not just one ‘appropriately-rated’ pilot-in- command,” he says. MacLeod observes that since the
verbiage in the rules is performance- based — i.e., MCFs must be done after work that may have appreciably changed the flight characteristics or substantially affected the operation in flight — the operators and the maintainers have taken either literal or conservative approaches to when MCFs ‘must’ be done. “Since a major alteration is one that does have an appreciable effect on flight characteristics or other ‘operations in flight’, most operators start with this basic premise,” she says. “When it comes to major repairs, an operator may develop a decision ‘tree’ based upon certain questions about where and what was repaired.
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