Intelligence: Briefs

Sabena Streamlines VIP Mx

Sabena Technics wants to grow its business and VIP jet maintenance activity and is thus streamlining its organization for better visibility. "We are experienced in business aviation but the market does not know us very well," says Jean-Michel Lefevre, VP for airframe services sales. During EBACE in May, he mentioned a VIP cabin completion on a Fokker 100, and maintenance operations on Cessna Citations and VIP-configured MD-80s, Boeing 727s and 757s, as well as Airbus A310s and A340s. According to French daily La Dépêche du Midi, Sabena Technics has received a contract to refurbish an Airbus A330-200 that is to become Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential aircraft. Lefevre would not confirm. He rather added Sabena Technics holds an EASA Part 145 certificate for a business aircraft maintenance facility at Moscow Vnukovo Airport (VKO). Lefevre explained his company is now building VIP maintenance teams around existing equipment and skills. At the show, he was hoping to find prospect customers for narrowbody or widebody aircraft VIP completion or refurbishment.

FAA Expands Gulfstream ODA

Gulfstream has obtained additional organization designation authorization (ODA) approvals from FAA. The company’s final-phase manufacturing and service center in Savannah, Ga. and facilities in Appleton, Wis., Brunswick, Ga., Dallas, Texas, and Long Beach, Calif. have all received ODA status. FAA issued approval for Savannah initial-phase design, manufacturing and airworthiness in May 2008. Bill Whitton, vice president of Gulfstream’s ODA office, leads a group of around 25 full-time employees and more than 200 engineering and inspection personnel.

Comlux Joins LMF Network

Bombardier has designated Comlux Completion USA in Indianapolis, Ind. as a line maintenance facility (LMF) and aircraft on ground (AOG) support site for Challenger, Global and Learjet aircraft. Comlux will support the aircraft from two hangars at Indianapolis Intl Airport (IND) measuring 25,000 square feet and 22,000 square feet. One of the hangars is dedicated to maintenance and the other to completions. The company has a staff of 44 maintenance technicians, 12 support and 24 completions personnel.

RUAG Teams Up with List

Swiss-based RUAG Aerospace and Austria’s List Components & Furniture have joined forces to offer business jet maintenance and refurbishment in a one-stop scheme. In the first joint project, a List-developed stone floor, was installed in an Embraer Legacy 600 at RUAG’s service center in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. The layer of stone is 1.2-millimeter (1/20-inch) thick and is flexible. The manufacturing process involves slicing some granite, sticking it onto a special foil and "microbreaking" it. It can thus be adapted to curved surfaces. List’s stone floor is available for the entrance and lavatory areas in business aircraft. Meanwhile, RUAG is planing on adding a number of business jet types to its maintenance capabilities in Zurich, Germany, including the Bombardier Challenger 600/601/604, Global 5000 and Global Express family, and Gulfstream’s G450 and G550.

StandardAero Falcon Winglets

Seattle-based Aviation Partners Inc. (API) has appointed StandardAero as an installation provider for its winglets on the Dassault Falcon 2000. According to API, there has been "significant interest" in the winglet modification, which can add up to 260 nm of range. The winglets come standard with the Falcon 2000LX. StandardAero has four U.S. facilities in Augusta, Ga., Springfield, Ill., Houston and Los Angeles, as well as six mobile service teams.