Serbian business jet operator Prince Aviation has completed a practical Part 147 type training course for the Cessna 560 XL/XLS (Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545) at its hangar in Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport. The course brought together aircraft maintenance engineers from across Europe. The practical phase ran from 28 September to 9 October 2026. It followed four weeks of online theoretical training, held from 31 August to 25 September.

The combined B1/B2 course was attended by engineers from DSA in Czech Republic and Avangard Aviation, Alpha Air and Excellent Jet Service in Germany, as well as several freelance engineers.

“The practical phase is where everything learned in theory comes together on the aircraft itself. For two weeks, the group worked hands-on in our Part 145 hangar, guided by instructors who maintain the Citation XLS every day. That combination of real maintenance experience and structured teaching is what our clients come to us for,” says Boško Zagorac, Part 145 training manager and Part 147 quality manager at Prince Aviation.

Delivering the theory online and holding only the practical part in Belgrade has made the course much easier for operators to plan around.

“Engineers spend less time away from their own fleets, and their companies get type-qualified staff faster. We can also adapt the format to each client. Theory can be held in our classroom, at the client's base or online, and practical training can take place here or off-site,” Zagorac adds.

Prince Aviation is also delivering its Citation 560 XL/XLS training outside Europe. A full course, covering both theory and practice, is due in India in coming weeks.

“We are introducing a new aircraft type in our company, so we needed type training for our people,” states Antoine, Avangard Aviation. “Prince Aviation was the fastest, most efficient and best solution for us. The theoretical part was a really good experience, and the two weeks of practical training here in Serbia were amazing. The instructor knows absolutely everything about the aircraft and answered every question we had.”

“For me, this was the only choice in Europe for this training. You have a very nice place, the people here are very kind to us, and I would do it again,” shares Johan Schön, DSA.

“I heard about Prince by word of mouth. A lot of my friends had done their training here, so it was my first choice,” adds Joseph Melvald, freelance engineer, Czech Republic. “The communication is really good: when I emailed Boško, he replied straight away. I don't like chasing anyone, so that's what matters most to me. The facilities are great, and the people in Serbia are really nice.”

The Prince Aviation Part 147 organisation received its first certificate (RS.147.0004) from the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia (CAD) in 2008, in line with the ICAO regulations in force at the time. At first, training was delivered mainly in-house to company employees. In 2014, Prince Aviation became an EASA-approved Part 147 organisation and began offering its courses commercially.

In the 12 years since, it has issued more than 2,000 certificates for courses covering the B1.1, B2 and C categories. There is hardly a European country with a developed business aviation sector where Prince Aviation has not held at least one course. Training has also been delivered further afield, in places including Abu Dhabi, India, Nigeria and Taiwan.

The instructors are senior engineers from Prince Aviation's own Part 145 facility, each with many years of experience in both aircraft maintenance and teaching.

All courses under the EASA certificate are approved as combined B1/B2 courses and as C category (General Familiarisation) courses. B1/B2 courses consist of a theoretical and a practical part, and General Familiarisation courses are theory only. Several aviation authorities, including those of France, Germany, Slovenia and Austria, have issued one-time approvals recognising Prince Aviation's CAD-approved courses as equivalent to EASA training. This has allowed the company to deliver type courses that are rarely available in Europe. The organisation is also approved by India's DGCA.

Prince Aviation is a premier Southeast European business jet MRO, charter and flight school group located in Belgrade, Serbia. With over 35 years of experience, it provides business jet charter services out of Belgrade and Ljubljana, Slovenia, with an eight aircraft strong fleet of Cessna XLS, XLS+, CJ and M2 jets and a single Falcon 2000LXS. Prince Aviation also provides MRO services with engineering and technical know-how with all major OEM authorisations. The company provides structural repairs and modifications, avionics installations, supporting and performing engine repairs, interior retrofits, with short turnaround times and dedicated AOG support.