The mini is done at night....like about 7:30 PM or so.....all lights on the tarmac off (to more accurately replicate an actual evacuation). If completed successfully (and the crew will know immediately after the test), the next thing to do is the ditching exercise, which is apparently quite simple and utilizes one of the deployed slides. The slide is removed from the plane and dragged inside a hangar.
The very next day is utilized for paperwork and final planning, and the Proving Flights follow the day after (that is, about 36 to 40 hours after the successful completion of the mini).
If we estimate Proving Flights at 6 hours per day (3 hours to a destination in the US, and then 3 hours back again), 5 days a week, then they should easily be completed in less than a month (keep in mind Baltia just finished training another crew of Pilots so that they can fly one day after another....5 days per week at a minimum).
Further keep in mind that the international flights are at least 8 hours in one direction, so that portion of the Proving Flights will add up faster than the domestic ones (basically, from point A to point B here in the states is about a 6 hour round trip flight).
WHEN (LOL, not "if", as they are really quite well rehearsed and prepared for this one) Baltia passes on the 24th, PFs should very well begin on Thursday the 26th, and Baltia could easily be done with the PFs before the end of March.
In other words, it is very plausible that Baltia could be certified before April 1st.....providing all goes according to plan...............
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