Associated Air Center Full Scale Completion Mockup Center Fulfills Proof of Concept; Exceeds Expectations in Turn Time and Productivity

May 14, 2012
The full size mock up allows interior technicians to fit check the interior furnishings, bulkheads, monuments, headliners, valances, etc., well in advance of the green aircraft arriving at the facility.

GENEVA, Switzerland – May 14, 2012 – Associated Air Center (AAC), StandardAero’s Large Transport Category, VIP Aircraft Completions Center in Dallas, Texas, announced today that its full scale Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) mock up center, announced last July, has exceeded expectations in streamlining the completions turnaround time process and provided additional ancillary benefits  in the areas of project cost and risk management.

The use of the Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) full size mock up, collocated inside one of AAC’s three hangars, allows interior technicians to fit check the interior furnishings, bulkheads, monuments, headliners, valances, etc., well in advance of the green aircraft arriving at the facility, or while other concurrent work, such as the installati on of structural modifications new wiring or plumbing, is on going inside the aircraft.

The use of this mock up virtually eliminates the need to fit and trim components on the actual aircraft, greatly reducing the conflicts often encountered when several skill sets are sharing and competing for the same real estate inside the aircraft cabin.

Enhancements to productivity and safety

By reducing the traffic inside the aircraft cabin, work flow efficiency and turn around time (TAT) improved significantly, while also lessening the possibility of injury to employees or unwelcomed collateral dama ge to the new aircraft. In addition, this work, outside of the actual aircraft, also reduces the possible Foreign Object Damage (FOD) to the new aircraft.

The aircraft final cabin configuration and the overall ergonomics (i.e., location of reading lights, air vents, speakers, access to galley components, etc) can be verified in the mock up with the active involvement of the customer authorized representatives prior to the final installation on the candidate aircraft, thus allowing AAC’s engineers to identify any possible conflicts, interferences and maintenance access issues, prior to operating the actual aircraft.

AAC’s Organizational Designation Authorization (ODA) Unit Members (UM) such as the Inte rior Designated Engineering Representatives (DER) can also walk through the cabin, earlier in the process, in order to identify possible oversights and ensure full compliance with FAA regulations, prior to the final installation.

The mock up center supports the 737NG family of aircrafts: BBJ/-700IGW, BBJ-2/-800ER and –BBJ-3/-900ER.