On the 2nd of February 2024 a mixed group of learners from Bournemouth Airport, GAMA Aviation, Signature TechnicAir and Britten-Norman Ltd. undertook an exam as part of their learning journey towards their CAA Part 66 B1 and B2 licence.
This group has been under the guidance of Marshall Skills Academy’s technical trainer Matt Sibbons for 2 years. Matt, a seasoned educator, delivered the Level 4 B Licence for Seetec previously and has a pedigree spanning a broad range of Avionic platforms such as the Jaguar GR3 aircraft and the Tornado GR4 on which he discovered his passion for teaching while in the Royal Air Force.
A category B1 licence is part of the CAA Part 66 licencing structure that enables licenced aircraft maintenance engineers to perform or supervise maintenance activities on airframe and engines while the B2 licence gives these privileges for the avionics aspects. This ensures any work carried out meets quality standards and the aircraft is certified airworthy.
The cohort undertook 22 chapters of study for this module including physics and gas laws, the stages of an engine, gearboxes, fuel, control systems, APU’s, engine monitoring and fire protection. This module alone took 10 weeks of self-study combined with 3.5 days of focused revision at Signature Technicair, with MSA leading, and 2 mock exams produced by the Skills Academy team. The final exam for this module was hosted by GAMA Aviation and the multiple-choice examination paper on gas turbine engines resulted in an average pass mark of 85% with the top scorer attaining a staggering 89%.
This cohort was adopted by MSA half-way through their learning journey due to the previous apprenticeship provider cancelling the programme and are now approaching the finish line with only 4 modules left to attain their B1 & B2 certifications. Matt Sibbons commented “This really is a fantastic result for the cohort. Gas turbine engines are not my background as my area of expertise was as an avionics & electrical engineer in the RAF, however this group have really taken control of their study and worked together as a group to identify and tackle any difficult areas. Even going so far as to create their own Kahoot quizzes for the whole group to attempt. Their success really is a testament to them!”
In addition to Matt’s comments the feedback on the results from the cohort was unanimously positive about Matt’s teaching with comments such as: “I think a lot of the credit goes to Matt and all of his hard work, so thanks again Matt!” A learner from Signature TechnicAir responded. Another from GAMA Aviation commented “Again, thank you so much to Matt for the tuition. I can definitely credit the passes to you!”
To learn more about Marshall Skills Academy’s technical aviation training, click here.