SAVANNAH, Ga., May 19, 2014 — Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has significantly increased its customer support in Europe with the addition of five maintenance engineers in the last year to its dedicated mobile repair team.
Based in key locations on the continent, this group’s 11 members, who operate as a unit within Gulfstream’s Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST), recently completed their 625th mission in support of customers since forming in April 2011.
“In just three years, our European FAST members have established themselves as a critical part of our service and support network,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “They are based in Europe, but they have assisted customers as far away as Hong Kong and New Zealand, and regularly support operators in Africa, India and the Middle East. We are pleased to continue expanding this extraordinarily mobile and efficient group, whose members always operate with a sense of urgency.”
Since May 2013, European FAST has added members in Switzerland, France, Greece, Italy and Ukraine. In 2012, team members were added in France and England. The group, which operates under the Part 145 authorization of the Gulfstream Luton Service Center near London, started with four maintenance engineers — three in Switzerland and one in Greece.
European FAST personnel can be dispatched by airplane, train, automobile or van. They are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to maintenance issues in the field such as aircraft-on-ground situations. Each team member is type-rated on more than one Gulfstream aircraft model. All are European Aviation Safety Agency-licensed mechanical and/or electrical engineers and hold a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration airframe and powerplant license. One is an entry-into-service engineer.
“The European FAST members are activated and supported by our Operations team in Luton and have extensive parts and materials inventory on-site to draw from,” Burns said. “This unit’s daily communication during support events is monitored by key departments within Gulfstream Product Support, including Technical Operations, Engineering, Luton Operations and Materials. This constant contact enables rapid response and action through the appropriate experts.”
Gulfstream FAST comprises more than 140 people throughout the company’s Product Support organization. FAST includes a U.S.-based airborne support unit comprised of two G150 aircraft and more than 30 dedicated pilots and technicians. This group assists operators of aircraft under warranty by delivering flight-essential parts to them in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Additional FAST resources in the U.S. include a 74-foot/22.6-meter tractor-trailer equipped to support multiple operators gathered at major events and four specially outfitted, rapid-response trucks based in the business aviation hubs of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and New York. Gulfstream FAST also can deploy more than 20 lighter-duty trucks across the U.S. and Europe.
Other Gulfstream FAST personnel include 26 U.S.-based entry-into-service specialists and more than 40 field service representatives worldwide.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,200 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the diverse transportation needs of the future, Gulfstream offers a comprehensive fleet of aircraft, comprising the Gulfstream G150TM, the Gulfstream G280TM, the Gulfstream G450TM, the Gulfstream G550TM, the Gulfstream G650® and the Gulfstream G650ERTM. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales®. The company employs more than 14,000 people at 12 major locations. We invite you to visit our website for more information and photos of Gulfstream aircraft at www.gulfstream.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com.
