Gulfstream Bolstering Customer Service

Gulfstream Aerospace’s customer support organization will mark 2019 with the opening of a southern California maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility following a year of expansion and new hiring announcements. In 2018 the Savannah, Georgia-based airframer announced plans to add a combined total of 700,000 sq ft (65,032 sq m) to its existing MRO facilities in Savannah; Appleton, Wisconsin; Farnborough, England; and West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Gulfstream also said it would hire 400 more technicians and support personnel, bringing its total customer support staff to nearly 5,000 people across its service network.

“We are as well-positioned as we have ever been to respond to our customers’ evolving needs and deliver on our promise of an exemplary customer ownership experience,” said Gulfstream Customer Support president Derek Zimmerman. “With the opening of these state-of-the-art maintenance facilities in the next two years, along with beginning operations in 2019 at our world-class Van Nuys, California MRO that we announced in 2017, we will have significantly enhanced accessibility for our customers, reinforcing our commitment to them.”

Gulfstream’s plans for the Van Nuys service center calls for a 43,200-sq-ft (4,013-sq-m) facility with nearly 24,000 sq ft (2,230 sq m) of attached shop and office space.

Government Shutdown Furloughs Nearly 18,000 FAA Workers

Nearly 18,000 FAA workers involved in activities such as airmen certificate issuance and NextGen development are furloughed as a result of the partial federal government shutdown that took effect on December 22. This marks the third time this year the government has shut down as Congress and the White House reached stalemates over various issues, this time border-wall funding.

While Congress was able to pass year-long funding bills for agencies such as the Department of Defense, it could not push through bills for numerous federal agencies, including the Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, and Commerce.

For the FAA, this affects 17,791 positions that are not involved in the excepted “life and safety” positions. In addition to airmen certificate issuance and NextGen development, activities suspended include unmanned systems exemption, aviation rulemaking, facility security inspections, routine background checks, air traffic control specialist development, certain drug testing, dispute resolution, and air traffic performance analysis, among many others.

Thanks to the most recent FAA reauthorization bill, the aircraft registry remains open. ATC, maintenance of ATC equipment, field inspections, and “limited” aircraft certification activities also continue.

At other agencies, essential activities such as TSA and Customs continue. However, NBAA notes that overtime arrivals would be affected and advised operators to communicate directly with their port of entry to clarify if this would have an impact on proposed arrival times after normal business hours.

LHT Offers Environmentally Friendly Disinsection Spray

Lufthansa Technik is offering the first environmentally and material-friendly disinsection spray for aircraft that can be shipped by air directly to operators. Previously available disinsection sprays are considered hazardous materials that can be shipped solely by ground and in most instances can be purchased only from FBOs at ports of exit, limiting the ability of flight departments to keep the product on hand when needed.

Many local health authorities require aircraft cabin disinsection—either a short-term top-of-descent or long-lasting residual treatment—when entering the country by aircraft to kill any insects that might have come along for the ride. Thus, Lufthansa Technik has co-developed two water-based, non-flammable disinsection products: top-of-descent “Detmol Pheno” spray, which retails for €14.40 ($16.42) for a 200-ml can, and longer-term “Detmol Bio.A,” which costs €19.80 ($22.57) for a 200-ml spray can or €239.90 ($273.52) for a 10-liter canister.

Both disinsection products have a shelf life of three to four years, according to Lufthansa Technik sales manager Oliver Metcalf. Since the sprays are water-based aerosols and free of propellant, he said, only the active ingredient comes into contact with the aircraft. In addition, the spray will not harm any materials in the aircraft, the company said.

The Future is Now with Video-based Remote Inspection

A confluence of technology, curiosity of a Gulfstream Aerospace quality director, and FAA open-mindedness has opened the door to a unique way to conduct inspections, remotely via live video. The implications of this capability are extraordinary, not only offering savings of huge amounts of travel time and expenses but also enabling more comprehensive inspections of parts and components.

Gulfstream is the first to put this technology—called remote witnessing and remote inspection—to work, beginning with conformity inspections of supplier parts and moving on to maintenance-related inspections.

Ron Witkowski, Gulfstream director of quality-regulatory compliance, came up with the idea and led the effort to prove that this works and to gain the FAA’s blessing. Witkowski realized that medicine has been using live video for many years. “If the medical industry can do this,” he wondered, “why can’t we?”

Gulfstream selected Onsight software developed by Librestream Technologies for transmission and management of the live video. Gulfstream elected to use cellular networks for data transmission because this is far more secure than Wi-Fi networks.

The FAA approved the process in August 2017. Since then, Gulfstream has used the process to conform 700 different parts. After further tests and demonstrations, the FAA recently signed off on Gulfstream’s maintenance virtual inspection process. In addition, the FAA is developing an advisory circular to provide “guidance for using remote connectivity technology and tools.” Final publication is expected in October 2019.

Aircraft Cleaner Acquires West Coast Rival

GA aircraft cleaning specialist Sharp Details has expanded its national footprint with the acquisition of T. Brennan Aircraft Cleaning and Performance Carpet Upholstery Cleaning, both under the same ownership. The purchase gives Sharp Details, a PrimeFlight Aviation Services subsidiary, a presence on the West Coast for the first time in its 25-year history.

Sharp Details has more than 40 locations spread throughout the East Coast and Texas. The company provides interior and exterior aircraft cleaning and detailing for aircraft including wet and dry washing, waxing, Teflon paint protection, leather protection, and interior restoration services.

“I am excited to expand our operations to California, adding the experience and professionalism of Terry Brennan and his team,” said Sharp Details president Jim Garland, adding he has known Brennan, who will stay on with the company as regional vice president, for two decades and admires his dedication to detail. “We look forward to bringing our expertise together to offer our customers an unsurpassed service experience from coast to coast.”

Florida VIP TFR Is Cancelled, For Now

A sweeping 16-day VIP TFR restricting business and general aviation operations in the Palm Beach, Florida area was canceled after President Donald Trump announced plans to remain at the White House. The TFR was set to take effect at 2315 UTC and extend until 0100 UTC on Monday, January 7, 2019, and would have involved varying security protocols for a 10-nm inner ring and 30-nm outer ring. These included an outright ban on most private and charter operations in the inner ring, use of gateway airports, and operational procedures.

The White House on December 22, however, announced that in light of the government shutdown, the President was remaining in Washington, D.C., and the First Lady was returning from Florida.

Regional airport officials advise operators to be prepared for the potential of a VIP TFR for the Palm Beach area popping up on short notice at any time over the next several days as the situation could change.

Textron Taps Technology for Bizjet Maintenance

Textron Aviation is leveraging technology to improve the maintenance process for modern Citation jets, while also working to keep its pipeline of technicians filled as the aviation industry faces a growing shortage of technicians. Optimizing the accessibility and accuracy of technical publications is vital for business aircraft maintenance, and for its newest jet, the Longitude, Textron Aviation is rolling out new 2D enhanced color graphics and interactive 3D content in the maintenance manuals. “These advancements empower customers with enhanced visualization of the detailed components on their aircraft and easy access to a broad spectrum of Textron Aviation customer service support services,” said Chris Hearne, vice president of Textron Aviation product support.

The new documents are part of Textron Aviation's 1View system, launched in August 2016. Since then, he said, “[subscribers] to 1View have yielded 73 million online page views. We continue to invest in improving our technical publications and are actively evaluating and leveraging emerging technology to deliver leading-edge capabilities for our customers worldwide." 

Meanwhile, Textron Aviation projects a need to hire approximately 150 technicians per year to keep pace with its business. The company recruits at more than 50 technical schools across the U.S. Further, Textron Aviation, Wichita Public Schools, and WSU Tech have joined forces to develop Aviation Pathway, a new aviation curriculum that serves as the state’s first aviation technical education pathway for high school students, he said.

Torqued: Good News in the FAA’s 2018 Reauthorization Act

The recently passed FAA reauthorization bill addresses many noteworthy issues on the regulatory front, from centralized guidance to the validity of Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports.

Section 223 requires the FAA to establish a centralized regulatory guidance database. “Regulatory guidance documents” means all forms of FAA written information that can be used to interpret regulations and requirements, such as an order, manual, circular, policy statement, legal interpretation, or rulemaking document.

While the FAA has many databases, some of this information is not easy to find or even publicly available. A centralized database will make it easier to comply with the regulations. And, the law requires the database to be publicly available, a requirement that could help level the playing field.

Also, the law requires a “regulatory consistency communications board” (Section 223) that would iron out differences in regulatory interpretations and make those decisions available to the public. 

Another positive is at Section 320, which states: “There shall be a presumption that an individual’s voluntary report of an operational or maintenance issue related to aviation safety under an aviation safety action program meets the criteria for acceptance as a valid report under such program.” 

This presumption may make it more likely that workers will submit ASAP reports. In the past, concerns over whether a report was acceptable have led workers to hesitate to file.

Count on AIN for Full Coverage of Heli-Expo

As ever, you can count on AIN for full coverage of the 2019 Heli-Expo Convention. Our team will publish three of our award-winning daily HAI Convention News editions at the show on March 5, 6, and 7. We will also have comprehensive real-time reporting of all the top news at AINonline.com and in our daily e-newsletters. If you are an exhibiting company that wants to share news or propose pre-show interviews and briefings please contact show editor Kerry Lynch.