Operations – The flying part of an airline company.
Prior to even considering a commercial helicopter operation there are lots of things that need to be in place in addition to a pilot and a helicopter; manuals, educations, managers, organisation.
When you as a customer are about to engage a helicopter operator, for your own sake always verify that all licenses and insurances are in place and that the operator is authorized to perform the specific type of aerial work in question (stated under section 6 in AOC Part 2 below).
You also find information on the Swedish CAA homepage regarding which helicopter companies that are holding an Operating License.
Licensing and rules
HeliAir Sweden’s helicopter activities are divided into two parts that each operate under it’s set of rules and regulations:
- AOC – Commercial Air Transport
This part of helicopter operations are governed by a common legislation for all of Europe, EASA-OPS, implemented as late as in October 2014.It replaces JAR-OPS 3, which was a further development of the first common set of rules for commercial air transport in Europe. Since all operators qualified for an EASA-OPS certification work with the same set of rules, this is the basis for all common flight safety work and the development of air operations throughout Europe.
- Aerial Work
The aerial work, which comprises all helicopter operations except passenger traffic and carriage of goods, still sort under the national legislation in ecah country (in Sweden LFS 2007:49). This, together with the types of aerial work categories listed in part 2 of the AOC, states what the operator is allowed to do. More detailed descriptions of training, education and execution of the respective types of work are documented in the company’s Operating Manuals, and all aspects of the operator´s ability to perform the activity are revised by the Swedish CAA Transportstyrelsen before entered in the AOC…
Our AOC
Our Aerial Work Permit
In addition to the above licenses, it is also required that the operator has an (contracted or it’s own) organisation (Part-M) for the administrative part of maintenance, aka continued airworthiness.
Organization
In order to obtain a license for commercial helicopter operations, the authorities place quite a lot of requirements on the company, it´s staff and organization. EASA through the Swedish CAA Transportstyrelsen review, interview and appoint all executives in the company. They also perform ongoing scheduled and non-scheduled audits and inspections of all parts of the operations to ensure that all activities are conducted in compliance with existing rules and regulations.
In order to conduct commercial operations under an AOC, the following organizational positions and roles are required:
- AM – Accountable Manager. Ultimately responsible for the whole operation against the authorities
- NP FO – Flight Operations Manager. Responsible for the carrying out of all flight related activities as well as the pilot’s competences and permissions
- SM – Safety Manager. Responsible for all safety and quality related matters
- CMM – Compliance Monitoring Manager. Monitors that all aspects of the operations are compliant with EASA-OPS and national legislations
- NP CAM – Continuing Airworthiness Manager. The manager responsible for the airworthiness of the fleet and that the maintenance programs are adhered to
- NP CT – Crew Training. Under supervision of FOM responsible that the operator’s control- and PC flights are carried out according to protocol and within time limits
- NP GO – Ground Operations Manager. Answers for all ground related activities related to flights, and that they are carried out in accordance with regulations
Education and training
There are high demands for continuous training and education of all personnel within the company, pilots as well as technicians and managers. Since we at HeliAir Sweden have our own flight school, we are completely self-suficient when it comes to all training and control flights required in commercial air operations for our pilots. A number of our pilots are licensed as Flight Instructors as well ass CAA Controllers, and carry out:
- PC – Proficiency Check. Recurrent (every 12 months) control of the pilot’s skills and abilities and the capacity to fly the actual helicopter type in question including all emergency procedures
- OPC – Operator Proficiency Check. Recurrent (six months) check of flight skills and operator specific routines and procedures
- PFT – Periodical Flight Training. Not to be confused with control flights, this entails active flight training sessions for aerial work types within the company
- LC – Line Check. Recurrent control of routines and procedures related to commercial air transport and passenger transport flights
To find out more about or flight training activities, or to engage us for PC, type ratings and special course packages, please visit out flight school HeliAir Academy.
For all other personnel there are various requirements depending on position and work role. We follow all recommendations and rules regarding this and have a continuous dialogue with our inspectors at the Swedish CAA.