Jet Aviation St. Louis Designs Testing Machine for Flutter Dampers on Challengers
St. LOUIS / May 14, 2015 – Jet Aviation St. Louis has designed and commissioned the manufacture of a testing machine for flutter dampers on Challengers, becoming one of very few facilities in North America capable of testing flutter dampers.
The machine went into service in April, allowing Jet Aviation St. Louis to complete testing of flutter dampers in three to four days and within 24 hours with advance notice. Each Challenger is equipped with six flutter dampers that are designed to help stabilize flight controls in the event of a hydraulic failure.
“This new capability can eliminate up to three weeks of additional downtime for a Challenger while it’s in for other service,” said Chuck Krugh, senior vice president and general manager at Jet Aviation St. Louis. “The dampers previously had to be sent to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for testing. Now we can perform those tests on site, providing not only this valuable service but also getting our customers’ aircraft back in the air as quickly and as safely as possible.”
Engineers and technicians at Jet Aviation St. Louis designed the testing machine to the specifications in the OEM’s component maintenance manual and had it manufactured at a facility in St. Louis. The machine performs four tests on the flutter dampers – small, shock absorber-like devices located near the ailerons, elevators, and rudder – and immediately prints out a report on whether the dampers passed or failed each test.
Jet Aviation St. Louis is a full-service aircraft maintenance, modifications and completions provider certified to AS9110B, ISO 140001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 standards. The company employs more than 800 people at its St. Louis Downtown Airport location. Jet Aviation St. Louis has in-house design and engineering departments, along with on-site cabinetry, upholstery, composite, avionics, sheet metal, and paint shops. Jet Aviation St. Louis is a Bombardier, Embraer and Gulfstream authorized service center and a Dassault Falcon and Hawker center of expertise. It also is an authorized service center for GE, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell engines. The location also offers FBO services. For more information, visit www.jetaviation.com/stlouis.
Jet Aviation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was founded in Switzerland in 1967 and is one of the leading business aviation services companies in the world. Close to 5,000 employees cater to client needs from more than 25 airport facilities throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North and South America. The company provides maintenance, completions and refurbishment, engineering, FBO and fuel services, along with aircraft management, charter services, aircraft sales and personnel services. Jet Aviation's European and U.S. aircraft management and charter divisions jointly operate a fleet of more than 250 aircraft. Please visit www.jetaviation.com and follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/jetaviation.
More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.
