Aviation training and qualification

Part 66 is the European rule that sets out how aircraft maintenance engineers get licensed. It defines what you're allowed to certify: Category A covers simple line-maintenance tasks under supervision, Category B1 covers mechanical work (structure, engines, systems), and Category B2 covers avionics (electrics, instruments, radios). Sub-categories like B1.1 (fixed-wing jets) and B1.3 (helicopters) narrow the licence further.

A Part 147 organisation is officially approved to teach the courses and run the exams that lead to a Part 66 licence. Training there is the fastest route into the profession: it lowers the practical-experience requirement from 5 years to 2 years, because your classroom and workshop training already counts.

Part 145 organisations are the approved workshops, hangars and line stations where aircraft are actually maintained and repaired. They're where you'll gain your practical experience and, eventually, work as a licensed engineer signing off maintenance.

A type rating lets you certify maintenance on one specific aircraft type — say, an Airbus A320 — and needs theory, practical training, and (for your very first type) supervised on-the-job training. General familiarisation is a shorter overview course; it doesn't let you sign off work on its own, but it helps if you're working under supervision or getting used to a new type.

B1 is the mechanical licence — structures, engines and the systems around them. B2 is the avionics licence — electrics, instruments and radio/navigation equipment. Many engineers hold both over a career, but they start as separate categories.

In order: (1) pass the required module exams at a Part 147 school; (2) build up practical experience at a Part 145 organisation — 2 years if you trained at Part 147, more otherwise; (3) apply for your basic Part 66 licence; (4) complete type training for your first aircraft; (5) complete on-the-job training (OJT) for that first type; (6) apply for the type rating itself. Each exam stays valid for 10 years, so there is room to plan around it.

OJT is supervised practical work on a real aircraft type, usually around 6 months, done at a Part 145 organisation. You only need it once — for your first type rating. After that, adding more type ratings just needs the theory and practical training courses, no repeat OJT.

It depends on how you trained: 2 years if you completed an approved Part 147 course, 3 years if your training centre was not EASA-approved but was still recognised by your national authority, or 5 years with no formal maintenance training at all. Whichever path, the experience has to come from an EASA Part 145 organisation.

CAMO stands for Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation — the companies responsible for planning maintenance, reviewing airworthiness and keeping the paperwork that proves an aircraft is safe to fly. CAMO work does not need a Part 66 type rating, and it is a common move for experienced licensed engineers later in their career.