Teamwork, ingenuity, and technical know-how…That’s how Duncan Aviation removes corrosion in the bores of the main landing gear forward trunnions on the bottom side of the wing. We are also the only MRO with the tooling and capabilities to perform this FAA-accepted repair procedure, and we can do it in less than a week.

Lead Machinist Mark Leppky and Master Machinist Todd Hoffman

How It All Began

Nearly 10 years ago, during a scheduled quick-turn airframe inspection, significant corrosion was found in several areas of the aircraft, including the forward trunnion bores. At the time, there were only two options: Clean the corrosion using a standard hone or remove the wing and have it shipped by truck to the OEM for repair in their fixture. The hone method works by cleaning slight surface corrosion but can easily create an oval where a concentric bore is required if you’re trying to remove extensive corrosion. The second option is more precise, but the downtime is sometimes six months or more.

Duncan Aviation’s Machine Shop researched an alternative repair. The team members designed, engineered, and fabricated a fixture in-house to ream the bores. There was just one critical hurdle to overcome: This fixture had to be mounted on the underside of the wing and hold the correct concentricity and axis alignment with no other points of reference but the hole itself. After extensive research and development, Duncan Aviation designed and developed a fixture that met all requirements and successfully removed the corrosion, staying within allowable limits.

Since then, the fixture has been called into service a number of times on other aircraft, all with the same excellent results.

Repairs on the Road

Most recently, Lead Machinist Mark Leppky and Master Machinist Todd Hoffman took the tooling on the road. The end-customer, an air ambulance operator based in South America, needed the quickest repair possible.

In preparation for the road trip, Mark and Todd inspected the kits, made extra pins, and ensured everything was packed, right down to a cotton swab. On the road, “you don’t have the luxury of walking back to the shop and getting what you need,” says Mark.

They arrived on a Monday and quickly went to work. Through a series of pins, Mark and Todd slowly removed the corrosion by hand, layer by layer, .0325 of an inch at a time. The process requires continual communication and several checks and balances to maintain accuracy. After every cut, the bore’s diameter is checked and the depth measured to make sure it remains square to the back. After the final cut, the bore was within .0002 of tolerance.

“The tolerances are very tight with no room for error,” says Mark. “You get very accurate results following our processes and doing it by hand using sharp tooling, quality fixtures, and being careful.”

The final step is to use the cotton swab to alodine and acid etch the bores before installing a custom- fabricated bushing to bring the bore back to correct diameter. By Friday afternoon, Mark and Todd were packing their kits and getting ready to head home with another successful trunnion repair in the books.

The innovation behind the creation of this wing fixture wasn’t because Duncan Aviation created new technology. It came about because our team members used manual data and regular tooling to conceive of and develop a new method for repair. That resourcefulness and innovation is what sets Duncan Aviation apart. New ideas and test capabilities are developed by taking a different approach to the same information to meet customer needs and change future expectations.

 

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Competitive Advantage: Continuous Improvement

We're not satisfied with standing still. 

 

Do you know how to close the outside baggage door on your Falcon 900 without having to turn on any generator or battery switches? Or have you heard we expanded our Honeywell Primus II Capabilities? No? Then you haven't read the December issue of the Duncan Intelligence.

December Duncan Intelligence

Falcon 900: Closing the Baggage Door
Want to know how to close the outside baggage door on your Falcon 900 without having to turn on any generator or battery switches in the cockpit?

Citation Sovereign Inspection Safety
Citation Sovereign has many items that come due at high hours/cycles. We have performed work on items that the rest of the fleet has yet to realize will be required.

CASP Elite And ADS-B
There are many advantages offered with the CASP Elite aftermarket warranty program that specifically target ADS-B upgrades.

Cessna CIL-21-03: Water Separator Corrosion Repair
Duncan Aviation has the proper tooling to provide Cessna operators a more cost-effective option with a reasonable turntime on Cessna CIL-21-03.

Duncan Aviation Adds To Honeywell Primus II Capabilities
We've added repair and overhaul capabilities for the primary interface used to control the Primus II radio system in the Primus 1000 and Primus 2000 flight decks.  

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The Duncan Intelligence is a free, technical newsletter for business aircraft owners and operators. Written in-house by Duncan Aviation's technical representatives, each edition includes technical tips and advice on topics and trends in business aviation. It is a free, monthly e-mail subscription for aviation enthusiasts around the world.

Last week more than 1,100 exhibitors and attendees from all 50 United States and dozens countries walked the floors of the 2017 NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hundreds of them, aviation professionals, operators, enthusiasts, and students alike, came to the Duncan Aviation booth.

Here's a pictorial recap of our time at 2017 NBAA.

  Big Announcements Were Made!

Duncan Aviation Named North American Winner of Bombardier Authorized Service Facility Excellence Awards 

Keith Hickman, Manager, Authorized Service Facilities, Bombardier Business Aircraft, presented the award to Robert Duncan, Chairman Emeritus, and Aaron Hilkemann, President and CEO, Duncan Aviation during a ceremony at NBAA-BACE.

 

 

 

 

Duncan Aviation and GE Aviation Collaborate to Provide ADS-B Benefits to GE’s OnPoint℠ Customers

Nate Klenke, Duncan Aviation Sales Manager; Elizabeth Bevacqua, GE Services Marketing, Business & General Aviation; Chad Harris, GE Aftermarket Services & Customer Support Leader, Buseinss and General Aviation; Mark Francetic, Duncan Aviation Regional Avionics Sales Manager; Mike Minchow, Duncan Aviation Vice President of Sales.

 

 

We Participated In Panel Discussions

 Robert & Todd Duncan Joined Us At NBAA

Some Of Our Work Was On Display At Static

(Photo courtesy of Gogo Business Aviation)

Gogo Demonstrates Avance L5 Advantage

We Talked With Customer

A Lot Of Customers

The Duncan Aviation in-house professional design team has created five designs specifically for the Citation CJ3 aircraft. The five designs pair light and airy colors that make the cabin appear more spacious and open with darker, complementary colors for the carpeting and lower sidewalls. The beautiful yet neutral hues pull together rich textures, maintenance-friendly materials and subtle patterns that will appeal to most operators and passengers.

 

“The lighter colors in the upper fuselage help expand the feel of the cabin and transition to a darker base,” explains Rachael Weverka, the Duncan Aviation designer who created the collections. “The patterns add interest and variance to the design without being overwhelming.”

Two of the collections are very neutral and the remaining three options work in more gray, taupe and cream, respectively.

Operators can combine the interior refurbishments with a Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion flight deck upgrade and have their aircraft back in service with the best turntimes in the industry.

 “With the CJ3 Fusion flight deck upgrade installations, we anticipate that operators will want to look at refurbishment options,” says Suzanne Hawes, Duncan Aviation Completions Sales Rep. “Since turntime is always important, we want to ensure efficiency with interior materials. The materials in these packages will be in stock and ready to go.”

In addition to the interior collections, Rachael also designed six fresh paint schemes for the CJ3, consisting of five original, Duncan Aviation-exclusive designs.

To see these collections and three-dimensional drawings of how these interiors will look, visit www.DuncanAviation.aero/cj3interiors.

Aircraft landing gear overhaul is often viewed as a behind-the-scenes inspection and scheduled alongside, but taking a backseat to, a major airframe inspection. However, it can have a huge impact on the entire project's schedule if the landing gear restoration runs into major squawks. Because an aircraft can't go anywhere without its legs.

XOJET is a leader in private jet travel that is personal, flexible, and on-demand. Headquartered in Brisbane, California, the company operates a fleet that includes Bombardier Challenger 300 and Cessna Citation X aircraft. Although XOJET has only been in business since 2006, this modern alternative to fractional ownership is definitely in demand.

According to Carlos Partida, Senior Maintenance Planner at XOJET, the company’s fleet flies 40% more flight hours per aircraft per year than their closest Part 135 competitor. "Our fleet is smaller by comparison to our competitors," says Carlos. "Making sure the aircraft are available as much as possible is one of my top priorities." Needless to say, that makes downtime very important. And if you ask Carlos, no one manages downtime better than Duncan Aviation.

Work Completed Quickly

Since 2014, Carlos has been sending all of XOJET’s Citation X oleo sets to Duncan Aviation for inspection. They are nearly always returned to service and headed back to XOJET within a week. Prior to using Duncan Aviation, Carlos was used to waiting months. "It takes Duncan Aviation a week, including shipping, to do something that previously took two months for completion."

Of course, Citation X oleos are not the only gear Duncan Aviation services for XOJET. Our Accessory shop regularly has a complete set of the fleet’s Challenger 300 gear in the shop for 96-month inspections.

Switching to Duncan Aviation was not only a time saver, Carlos says. It has had a positive impact on XOJET’s bottom line. "When our aircraft are not flying, they are not producing revenue." 

Work Completed Well

Carlos also expresses his appreciation for the level of customer service he has received from everyone at Duncan Aviation. "They always deliver the highest in quality work at the best possible downtime savings, served up with a level of customer service that is first rate. Everyone on the Duncan Aviation team is so willing to accommodate all of my requirements. I can’t speak highly enough about the customer service," he says.

Chris Fields

Chris Fields is a Duncan Aviation Master Technician working on the landing gear team since 2008. He knows a thing or two about landing gear and he knows a lot about the Challenger 300 and Citation X gear that come off of XOJET aircraft.

When XOJET sends their gear sets to Duncan Aviation, Chris often takes the lead, especially when it comes to the Citation X main gear oleo doc inspections.

"XOJET takes great care of their gear. They schedule inspections on time and everything is well-documented," says Chris. "We see several sets of oleos every year and typically will have them completed and returned within four days."

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This story was recently published in the Spring 2017 Duncan Debrief magazine. Follow the link below to find more stories like this or subscribe to receive your own copy. 

Be Kind. The person you help today may turn out to be the person you need tomorrow.

In 1997, Susan Masek was calling on aircraft parts brokers to locate parts in support of Duncan Aviation’s in-house aircraft maintenance customers. Every day she picked up her phone and attempted to locate the units on her list.

While searching, Susan often called the same brokers again and again. Over time, she learned who she could rely on to find what she needed. Susan’s first phone call was always to Meredith Daoud, who, at the time, worked for an aircraft parts broker in California.

"I knew Meredith had hundreds of customers, OEMs, FBOs, other MROs, and aircraft management companies. But when I called her, I always felt like I was the only one she was helping that day," says Susan. "She was the best at customer service and nearly always delivered what I needed."

Making Changes

 In 2005, Meredith and her husband Jerry stepped out on faith, moving to McKinney, Texas, and starting their own parts brokerage business—Trinity Aviation.

And because Susan wasn’t the only customer who thought Meredith was exceptional at her job, when Trinity opened for business, many of Meredith’s former customers became Trinity customers. "I work hard to build relationships," says Meredith. "I want to get to know clients beyond the transaction. People appreciate that and respond."

At about the same time, Susan was in the middle of her own transition at Duncan Aviation, leaving the maintenance side and joining Duncan Aviation’s Parts & Rotables Sales team. Instead of purchasing parts, it was now her responsibility to locate and sell aircraft parts, instruments, and components. Guess who called?

Meredith knew from the beginning that she would be relying heavily on Duncan Aviation to help her fulfill the needs of Trinity Aviation’s customers. On one of her first calls to Duncan Aviation, by chance, she was connected to a new Parts Sales Rep, and an old friend.

Thirteen years later, the relationship between Trinity Aviation and Duncan Aviation is a strong one, connected by a professional friendship between Meredith and Susan.

Susan Masek

"When we think of Duncan Aviation, we think of Susan. For us, she is Duncan Aviation."
–Meredith Daoud, Trinity Aviation

When Meredith Daoud has a customer in search of aircraft parts, her first phone call is to Susan Masek. "She is extremely knowledgeable," Meredith says. "I trust all the information she provides and if she doesn’t have the answers right away, she’ll research it and call us back. Her customer service is first-rate."

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This story was recently published in the Spring 2017 Duncan Debrief magazine. Follow the link below to find more stories like this or subscribe to receive your own copy. 

There are 1,500 plank screws in the wings of a Falcon 900 aircraft, and 2,100 in the wings of a Falcon 7X. Every time a plank needs to be removed for inspection, all screws must come out, get cleaned, and replaced in their original positions. The whole process is labor-intensive and used to take more than 40 labor hours to complete. But no longer…

During a time they would much rather forget, the Duncan Aviation Fuel Team spent hours preparing for the removal of every Falcon wing plank by manually creating cardboard cutouts that matched the unique screw patterns of each section. One by one the screws were removed from underneath the wing and placed in the corresponding hole of the cardboard. This individual attention continued as hand tools were used to remove the sealant one screw at a time.

It is very important to keep the screws in order so they are put back in the exact position they were removed from. If they are not, the nutplates on the inside of wing can be damaged. If this happens, the wing plank has to come off again to repair it.

Each time an aircraft needed a plank removed, a new set of cardboard sections were prepared.

The process worked, but not without some headaches and mishaps. The cardboard planks were often jostled or bumped causing the screws to spill, resulting in more time spent consulting airframe manuals and sorting them out.

Born out of the frustration of doing the same activity over and over again for hours at a time, a set of aluminum screw boards was fabricated for each Falcon aircraft model, eliminating hours of prep time.

The largest reduction of labor hours was realized during the cleaning phase. After much discussion, research and testing, a stainless steel tank was purchased to submerge the boards in solvent. After soaking for a couple of nights and being rinsed with water, the screws come out looking like new.

The boards and soaking tank took what was once a 40+ labor hour job down to three hours. Now, operators down for fuel leaks or a fuel tank inspection can potentially be back in the air in a matter of days.

The Primary Driving Force Of New Inventions Is Need.

Duncan Aviation technicians are some of the most forward-thinking aviation professionals. Their desire to make their work environment safer, time more efficient, and provide a better service has produced tooling, fixtures and maintenance procedures that have fulfilled some very real needs.

Read more examples of how this innovation affects work for Duncan Aviation customers and team members in the Spring 2017 Duncan Debrief. 

Denver? Chicago? Lincoln? It doesn't matter where you go. You're going to get the same great service. 

It was the Sunday night before Thanksgiving; Mark Tucker, Director of Aviation and Chief Pilot for WC Aviation, LLC was flying into Centennial Airport (APA) in Denver, CO, with his company’s Falcon 50 aircraft. The Honeywell TFE731 engines were scheduled for major overhaul and a team of Duncan Aviation Engine Rapid Response (RRT) Technicians were waiting for him to land to get started on the triple R&R. The event required a tight turn-time due to the approaching holiday and an international trip scheduled to leave on that Thursday. The aircraft was already several hours behind schedule.

When Mark landed, he expected to be met with grumblings and frustration. But what he got was a team of men who shook his hand, introduced themselves, and went to work.

“They swarmed the aircraft immediately and got down to business,” said Mark. This was at 7 pm, a time when most have already put in a full day at work and are headed home. “I have witnessed several times when the 6 o’clock bell sounds signally quitting time the teams drop everything and leave. Not his team. They didn’t hesitate and went straight to work. They stayed late to get it done and always with a great attitude.”

Mark left and went to dinner with the team still hard at work. When he returned at 9 pm, they had two of the three engines off. Within 36 hours, the aircraft was returned to service and ready to fly. Mark was very impressed with the amount of work done in a short period of time with such professionalism. And what made this even more impressive to Mark was that this Duncan Aviation RRT team had not worked together before, but performed as if they had been together for years. They knew what needed to be done, who was responsible for what, and was in constant communication with each other to keep things moving forward.

Only Brian Weathers and Eric Hanson were local from the APA shop. Aaron Hutton and Taurean Midgett work out of the Duncan Aviation RRT shops in Northeast area, and Kevin Watrus was brought in from Seattle.

After the engine overhaul was complete the post-CZI R&R was performed in Alton, IL, by another Duncan Aviation Engine RRT team. Mark witnessed the same great Duncan Aviation work ethic. “Another great group of guys,” said Mark. “It may have been a completely different team, but it was the same level of professionalism and Duncan Aviation service.”

This second team included Tyler Spurling, Rustin McCullough and Warren Wiatrek all from Lincoln, NE. Joining them was Kris Werth out of the Chicago RRT shop.

According to Mark both teams were very customer focused. “I know how difficult it is to find such great talent. They weren’t there to just do a job. They were there to help. And I appreciate that.”

To meet the teams who worked on this project, read the rest of the story in the Spring 2017 Duncan Debrief.