Being one of the first compliant air operators under EU 2019/1384, Technical Flight Solutions (TFS) continues to experience a growing demand since its start in October 2020. By adopting Web Manuals document management system, the Specialised Operations Organisation prepares for a growing demand and scaling operations with control, compliance and agility. With documentation under control, TFS can better help the industry recover and take on the massive challenge of getting aircraft back in the air as the crisis pans out.
To date, the Specialised Operations Organisation has conducted over 30 operations including maintenance check flights, elective check flights, acceptance (pre and post-delivery) flights as well as ferry flights. The majority of the flights during the pandemic have been getting aircraft to and from storage locations.
“The good thing for us is, even in a downturn, there is work to be done. Once the upturn hits fully, the demand will be exponentially higher”
– Eoin O’Sullivan, Founder and Head of Training, Technical Flight Solutions
One of the First Compliant Operators under EU 2019/1384
Donal Young and Eoin O’Sullivan, the founders of Technical Flight Solutions, have been closely monitoring the regulatory developments, of what later came to be Commission Implementing Rule EU 2019/1384, since the very start.
According to the founders, the regulatory push of EU 2019/1384 started after an acceptance flight crash in 2008. The final report released by BEA in 2010 detailed that the Airbus A320 and seven crew members could have been saved if the pilots had better expertise of acceptance flights and the acceptable testing parameters. Consequently, discussions around stricter regulations and approved training programs for these specialised operations progressed. In 2017, the first draft regulations were published.
“We saw the need to comply with these regulations and made it our mission to become the first compliant air operator for maintenance check flights and demonstration flights. Web Manuals made it possible for us to structure our required documents and streamline future revisions.”
– Donal Young, Founder and Accountable Manager, Technical Flight Solutions
Safety and Compliance First
Together with Web Manuals, TFS highlights the importance of safety and compliance as a compliant Part NCC and Part SPO.SPEC.MCF operator under EU 2019/1384.
Today, TFS has 38 pilots ready for service by demand. These experienced pilots, with an average of over 10,000 flight hours experience each, undergo various training and certifications to carry out flights on behalf of AOCs and leasing companies.
Currently, TFS is able to provide crew to undertake missions on the:
- Airbus A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380
- Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787
- Embraer E190
- Bombardier Dash-8
- ATR 42/72
The Benefits of an Aviation-Specific Document Management System
Referred to Web Manuals by former colleagues at Air Seychelles, Donal Young quickly saw the benefits of Web Manuals over other compliance solutions.
“Like many other small to midsize operations, we did not want to work with XML and word to PDF always ends up in a mess. Web Manuals was the perfect solution for us.”
– Donal Young, Founder and Accountable Manager, Technical Flight Solutions
Smart Editing
With Web Manuals, TFS can perform smart revisions when updating manuals or accepting a new aircraft. The editor and reviewer allow for incremental changes, cross-departmental collaboration and role-based permissions within the Web Manuals document lifecycle.
Learning Platform
In addition, TFS use Web Manuals as a learning platform to facilitate compliance training for pilots. Readers can be anywhere on the planet when accessing the documents. Training instructors can easily report who has read the manuals and test the pilots with a quiz checkout.
Compliance Monitoring
The next step for TFS is to create compliance connections between various manuals under EU 2019/1384, including PART-NCC and PART-SPO.SPEC.MCF. This will allow for easier compliance monitoring and faster EASA audits with dynamic compliance checklists.
Learn more about creating and managing compliance connections in Web Manuals:
Future Planning under EU 2019/1384
With flight operations still being highly depressed in comparison to 2019 levels, now is the ultimate time to take control of compliance management with a document management system for aviation manuals.
The importance of maintenance check flights, acceptance flights and ferry flights have never been greater. Web Manuals allows for Specialised Operation Organisations to scale and meet the growing demand of the post-pandemic aviation industry.
“We don’t feel like a customer, we feel like a partner”
– Donal Young, Founder, Technical Flight Solutions
Web Manuals is proud to support Technical Flight Solutions, one of the few compliant air operators under EU 2019/1384, as they carry out the crucial task of getting grounded aircraft back in the air and our industry recovers from the crisis.
