Industry News

Sabreliner plans to expand its operations and create up to 400 jobs over the next four years. The announcement coincided with the recent groundbreaking of the company’s newest aircraft stripping and painting facility in Perryville, MO, that will enable Sabreliner to provide services to more and larger aircraft. At 27,000 square feet, the new strip/paint facility will accommodate operations for aircraft as large as Gulfstream jets, while continuing to provide inspection and rehabilitation services for other military and commercial jets, propeller-driven planes and helicopters. Construction on the hangar is underway and is expected to be complete in nine to 11 months.

StandardAero facility improvement

StandardAero’s Business Aviation services facility in Springfield, IL, will receive a facility site-improvement investment worth $500,000. Work is expected to be completed over the next six months; it involves repainting the facility’s hangar floors and walls, in addition to the installation of large-facility ventilation fans and new energy-efficient lighting.

Business jet donated

West Star Aviation has donated a Learjet Model 35A to Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely, CO. The aircraft will be used by the college to allow its Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) students to develop the skills they learn in school on a real aircraft.

According to Larry McNutt, director of maintenance for West Star Aviation, “As expensive as aircraft can be, it is hard for an A&P school to acquire real aircraft with which to train their students. This airframe will allow the students to learn and train in a real world environment.”

Enterprise opens maintenance facility

Enterprise Jet Center has moved its entire maintenance department into the company’s former hangar adjacent to the current terminal at Hobby Airport in Houston. The 30,000-square-foot hangar gives Enterprise more dedicated space for maintenance and repair services, while allowing more space for tenant aircraft in the terminal hangar. Enterprise has been a certified FAA repair station (J89R218Y) since 2007.

Precision expands

Precision Aviation Group (PAG) began work on an 65,000-square-foot expansion to its headquarters in Atlanta, GA. The continued growth of PAG’s four companies: Precision Heliparts (PHP), Precision Avionics & Instuments (PAI), Precision Heliparts-Canada (PHP-C), and Precision Accessories & Instruments-Canada (PAI-C), necessitated the facility expansion. It’s the third expansion in 12 years.

FlightSafety adds King Air training in Australia

FlightSafety International plans to offer Beechcraft King Air 350 training in Australia. The Full Flight Simulator is scheduled to be installed at the Ansett Aviation Training facility in Melbourne, Australia, by the end of 2011. The simulator will feature the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 Integrated Avionics System and will be available to King Air 200 aircraft operators for differences training.

US Airways picks TIMCO

US Airways has selected TIMCO’s Macon, GA, operations for airframe base maintenance on its B767 fleet of aircraft beginning late in 2010. The work will be performed at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. TIMCO recently expanded its facilities capabilities to cover the B767 aircraft type through an investment in tooling and equipment, structural enhancements, and new staffing and training

StandardAero to work on Russian fleet

StandardAero has signed a maintenance agreement with Moscow-based, Region Avia Airlines to work on its Embraer 120 fleet of PW118 engines and GTCP36-150AA auxiliary power units (APUs). The agreement grants StandardAero time and maintenance support work, as well as additional support activities, including field service support and Engine Condition Trend Monitoring (ECTM), for Region Avia’s fleet of Embraer 120 aircraft.

Chromalloy offers web-based catalog

Chromalloy has launched a comprehensive web-based catalog that will help gas turbine engine operators and maintenance professionals reduce the time spent searching for parts and repairs. The database-driven catalog lists information by manufacturer, engine type, and engine section, quickly returning results on parts, repairs, and overhaul capabilities. Searches also indicate whether the company produces parts manufacturer approval (PMA) components for a particular part number, and other information including repair turn times and locations in the company’s network that performs the repair. For more information visit www.chromalloy.com/CapabilityCatalog.

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