EuroUSC BNUC (TM) Ops Manual & Flight Exam Review
So you've completed your theory exam...what happens next?
After completing the exam, EuroUSC will send you all the information you need to start your operations manual. I had completed the Hampshire Aerial Photos operations manual by this time as I started it a month or two before attending the course. I used the CAA guidance in CAP722 to put it together. The EuroUSC template is based on the same guidance with some additional points to make it clear exactly what’s needed to gain approval. With 20/20 hindsight, rather than starting your manual solo (using CAP722) I would say the best option is to try and get the manual template from EuroUSC early (before the ground exam) to allow you to progress this as soon as possible. Going solo with CAP722 didn't actually make the review and submission process any faster. This is because it results in a manual so different (in formatting, order and style) from the EuroUSC template that it may delay the review process. I'm not saying it slowed it down but it certainly didn't speed it up.
How is my Ops Manual Structured?
I structured my ops manual with a generic main body detailing all procedures and rules applicable to all flights (e.g. how high can you go, whats your risk assessment process, incident investigation etc). I then added appendices to detail specific operating procedures for the specific aircraft. (e.g. pre flight checks, wind limitations, weights/configurations, autopilot behaviour etc). This for me is great because it means I have a single ops manual covering all aircraft. I may have an appendix for a Phantom that can only handle 7kt winds but I might also have another appendix for an S1000 that can handle much more than that. Personally I think this approach makes configuration management much easier when making updates and potentially easier for EuroUSC to review when I add an aircraft.
What were the comments like?
EuroUSC provide comments embedded in the PDF operations manual. Their comments were valid and constructive, there was a fair number of them and it took a while to address. Some were just typos, but it’s a professional document and shouldn't have any typos, so to avoid these make sure you give your ops manual to someone to read with a fresh pair of eyes before you submit it. You won’t believe what you can miss despite having read a sentence so many times! Other comments ranged from clarifying details of the aircraft to be flown to detailing accountabilities. We didn't accept a couple of the comments as it was felt that some were addressed further on in the document, but we did not take this lightly and thought long and hard before providing clear justification where applicable. After going round that process once more our ops manual was then approved.
How long did the whole process take?
It took a little over a month working about 20 hours a week to get the Hampshire Aerial Photos manual into a mature version ready for the first submission to EuroUSC.
Once I was ready to submit the manual to EuroUSC the following is a rough timeline for how long this whole process took:
- Day 1 - Submit Manual to EuroUSC
- Day 3 - Receive and Pay Invoice for Ops Manual Review
- Day 22 - Receive first set of Comments
- Day 23 - Respond to Comments and Submit Revised Ops Manual for second review
- Day 45 and 46 - Chased EuroUSC for Response after 15 working days had passed
- Day 51 - Received second set of Comments, on the same day I responded to comments and submitted third edition of ops Manual
- Day 62 - Approval of Ops Manual from Flight Examiner and book flight exam
- Day 89 - Flight Exam
- Day 103 - BNUC-S received
- Day 141 - Permission for Aerial Work
It takes about four and half months to get from submitting your Ops manual to gaining your permission for aerial work. In most correspondence EuroUSC state a 15 working day response time, so give them that long before chasing them, they’re busy and have a lot of candidates going through the process. They’re always friendly and happy to answer any questions, so don’t hesitate to call/contact them if you've got any queries.
This concludes my review of the BNUC-S course. I will do another blog with some detail on what an ops manual is and why operators have them but in the meantime feel free to get in touch if you have any questions using our website or email (enquiries@hampshireaerialphotos.co.uk).