The U.S. military increasingly turns to civilian maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities to modify and maintain aircraft and keep its fleet operationally ready. But the military does not send this work to just any MRO. Custom military interior and exterior modifications require an experienced MRO equipped to modify and maintain aircraft to exacting military standards.
Government specifications significantly impact military work. For instance, when the U.S. Air Force solicits bids, it publishes a statement of work and gives specific Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARs) to comply with. However, Jarid King, president of King Aerospace Companies, says the work is largely the same. King speaks from experience; the 28-year-old company started by his father, Jerry King, handles both corporate and military work.
He says King Aerospace provides high-level aircraft support services to both domestic and foreign governments and military organizations. The Addison, Texas-headquartered company designs, develops and modifies special-mission aircraft and provides special-mission equipment operators and training to military organizations around the world. The company also manages and maintains government-owned aircraft fleets and subcontracts work from major defense contractors. And, King Aerospace operates FAA repair stations that support government and military operations.
“The military expects MROs to meet the highest standards,” King said. “But the quality they expect is in line with the operations we already do on VIP Boeing Business Jet aircraft.”
He explains that the military selects similar coatings but requires identical color matches and stringent adherence to coating mil thicknesses on every aircraft. For interiors, the military selects utilitarian, workhorse and stain-resistant materials, but overall, the modifications remain the same. For cabinetry, the military gears their choices toward end missions. “On the interior, you’re still taking care of the components, being cautious of the way you route things and the functionality,” he noted. “We make sure we understand the customer’s requirements and we apply the same principles on the interior side [for military aircraft] that we do on the VIP side.”
King sees the company’s experience with commercial and business jets as a plus when working with military planes. “Most of the military aircraft we work with are commercial derivative aircraft," he explained. "They are not designed for the military, by the military, for a military need. The military wants us to modify these planes for their use, and that’s where we come in.”
He explains modifying commercial aircraft for military use is more cost-effective than building a military-specific aircraft. “From a parts perspective, a military-specific aircraft would be very expensive to maintain,” he said. “Also, we can pull mechanics from other areas of the industry to work on this aircraft.”
The Hero Project
The King Aerospace MRO teamed with multiple companies to deliver the aircraft modifications in less than half the normal time frame. Boeing dubbed the project the “Hero Project” because it took a “heroic effort” to pull it off.
“The Boeing Group didn’t think we could realistically turn the aircraft in the time frame they asked for; they expected it to take twice as long,” King explained. “We pulled it off in the time they’d hoped for, but not what they realistically expected. We surprised them, and they were thrilled with that.” He explains that though it was a tighter-than-normal time frame, it wasn’t a full modification. Another MRO performed three-quarters of the modification a year earlier. Work stopped when “they needed to put the aircraft back in use,” he said, “and the MRO left part of the aircraft incomplete.”
When the military scheduled a fresh paint job, which routinely takes six weeks, they asked King Aerospace to finish the airplane with wall coverings, carpets and electronics installations at the same time. Boeing expected the interior work to take another 12 weeks. King did it in five.
“We had some time on the front end. Because of that, we could do interior work as we painted the aircraft,” siad Wayne Jamroz, general manager of operations at the King Aerospace division in Ardmore, OK. “Sometimes we had to remove interior pieces and send them out for coverings with another vendor to stay on track.”
King Aerospace worked closely with engineering, designers and suppliers in advance to ensure they completed all design work and received all materials by the time the aircraft came in for service.
The company met the turnaround time with ease. King explains, “We are a one-stop shop with maintenance capabilities and interior capabilities, avionics specialties and painting capabilities, which helped us maximize turn time.” He added, “There is a lot of pre-planning that goes into every project, whether military or commercial.” King Aerospace meets with key stakeholders to plan every job. The company also meets with other vendors because he says it’s “critical to set expectations upfront.”
King explains that the MRO orders all materials and parts upfront, then works with vendors to make sure they are prepped and ready to go. “We give them time frames for when they can expect the product in their hands and when we expect it back in ours.” The company always keeps customers in the loop and leverages all resources to solve problems. “In 2019 we were blessed with 100% on time delivery,” he said. “And, it’s because of the teamwork between all stakeholders involved.”
Top Quality Work
The Hero Project required a complete paint job. King Aerospace painters applied a non-chrome primer, a sacrificial topcoat as a sanding surfacer, three coats of topcoat gloss and the livery color scheme. All was done according to the contract's stringent quality criteria. Gloss, mil thickness and orange peel instrument readings were required to ensure all specifications were met or exceeded. An electronic mil thickness gauge measured coating thickness, a wave scan meter measured the orange peel, and seven readings in each zone were taken to ensure the paint job met specifications.
“The military has a very specific spec,” King said. “If you average the numbers from the scans, and the aircraft is not within spec, you repaint the entire aircraft. Fortunately, we’ve done many of these aircraft and only had minor touch-ups”
King explains the company’s VVIP aircraft painters couple their deep well of knowledge with computer-generated paint schemes and renderings to set the standard for quality paint performance. And, the company warrantees all paint jobs for three years to validate the quality of the project. "We are always striving to improve,” King noted. “A lot of MROs struggle with painting military VIP aircraft and meeting military’s specs. The struggle has been with the color scans to ensure the color is an identical match. But, by following the same processes and procedures every time and paying very close attention to detail, we get a consistent look.”
He adds that the company’s VVIP aircraft painters take a lot of pride in their work. “When a military craft goes out, there are tears in their eyes,” he said. “They put their hearts and souls into the work because they know they get to be part of something that’s bigger than them. It’s not just a paint job to them.”
Focus on the Interior
The Hero Project also included refurbishing the seats and overhead bins, new sidewalls and ceilings, new cabinetry and new coverings throughout the aircraft. “We did not deal with the mission-system work,” King explained. “Our job was the visual things inside the plane and to add some electronics so they could plug in computers and other electronics. We didn’t do any high-end ‘Top Secret’ kind of stuff."
In the Army Now
King reports the best way to know you’re doing an outstanding job is for more to work to come your way. And, King Aerospace’s division in Ardmore recently experienced just that when they expanded its contractor logistics support (CLS) work for the U.S. Army’s Special Electronic Mission Aircraft (SEMA) fleet. “This represents a significant increase in our SEMA-specific maintenance personnel and high-level aircraft services,” said Greg Mitchell, King Aerospace, vice president of government services.
For this work, King Aerospace serves as a subcontractor for Northrop Grumman and provides life-cycle services for a fleet of 75 highly modified King Air (C-12), De Havilland Canada Dash (DHC-7) and Dash 8 (DHC-8) turboprop aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Northrop Grumman awarded the contract to King Aerospace in 2017 and extended it to 2026 in February.
King Aerospace performs SEMA work at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas; Camp Humphreys in South Korea; and other U.S. Army deployments worldwide.
“This work adds to our growing portfolio of ISR mission support,” King said. “It’s an honor to apply our know-how to such a mission-critical program.”
King oversaw the project’s expansion and hiring of additional team members. He now devotes a portion of his time to fostering the King Aerospace “no excuses” culture and helping team members understand their purpose. “Having the right expertise and experience is only part of our success,” King explained. “The wins happen when you have a dedicated and efficient team pulling in the same direction.”
Work at the Ardmore facility also includes work on military Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 aircraft, maintaining U.S. Coast Guard aircraft, such as EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft used for search and rescue and maritime patrol andHC-27 Spartan surveillance aircraft; Dash 7s and Dash 8s; King Airs and Citation aircraft. “The only aircraft we haven’t ventured into is the fighter jet,” Jamroz said. “It’s mainly turboprops or Boeings on the military side.”
He notes Ardmore does launch and recovery work and hourly calendar inspections for the Coast Guard. The work is not Depot-Level events (in-depth maintenance that includes disassembly, inspection, repair, rebuilding, repainting and flight testing).
ADS-B Upgrades
King Aerospace also aids the military with ADS-B changes. “We’ve helped the military upgrade their transponders and perform upgrades related to that regulatory change,” King said.
The company developed the three- to four-person teams comprising avionics and structures experts to go to military bases and do these installations. Teams recently completed upgrades in South Korea through the SEMA program. “We make sure they have the right parts, arrange their travel, and they do the work,” he said.
Ready for Future Growth
King Aerospace’s Ardmore facility employs 90 people within its four hangars, one of which is large enough to house multiple Boeing-sized aircraft. The company has had up to eight aircraft at the facility at a time, but it can only fit three Boeings into its largest hangar at once.
“This situation drove us to look for new opportunities,” King said. “For the last year, we’ve explored the merits of constructing a new hangar. We partnered with the Ardmore Development Authority to construct a new hangar at the Ardmore Air Park and it’s big enough to hold five 737s or a mixture of large aircraft.”
As the company grows, King stresses it will adhere to the old Texan promise that “their word is their bond.”
He explaied, “King Aerospace will do what we say we will do, and you can take that to the bank.”
Ronnie Wendt is a freelance writer based in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She specializes in writing about aviation-related topics.
