The Duncan Download Blog: Business Aviation Advice & Observations

On a Saturday…

A Flight Data Recorder that was on its way to an operator in Moanda, Gabon, Africa, from Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., by way of Boulazac, France, was stopped at the border of Gabon, tied up in the red tape of African Customs. The paperwork was denied by the Customs agency and the unit was not allowed to enter the country.

…do you wait until Monday to respond?

The business of business aviation does not sleep, especially when you consider the size of the industry and that all of the major players conduct business across several time zones, international borders and oceans.

It comes as no surprise to anyone at Duncan Aviation when a customer contacts us over a weekend with an urgent need; in the business of business aviation, there are no weekends.

Case in point: Jewell Chambers, a senior international parts sales rep for Duncan Aviation’s Parts and Rotables Sales, left work as normal on a Friday afternoon, looking forward to the weekend and her grandson’s fifth birthday.

She always enjoys her time away from work, but her customers are never far from her mind. Duncan Aviation Parts and Rotables Sales has 24/7/365 coverage, even on evenings and weekends. There is always someone available to answer the phones.

But when you’ve been doing this as long as Jewell has, you build relationships and long-time customers contact you directly. It has become part of her routine to check her email every Saturday and Sunday morning to make sure her customers in Europe don’t have pressing needs. On this particular Saturday, she received the urgent email above.

Jewell and her grandson, Riley, celebrating his fifth birthday.

Jewel doesn’t mind helping her customers on the weekends, because if it is critical to them, then it is critical to her. She responded back with, “I’m on my way to the office to get you what you need.”

Within an hour, the proper invoice was on its way to Gabon by way of her customer in France and the unit was allowed into the country.

The weekend is her time away from work, but her commitment to doing the right thing by her customers saved them more than 36 hours of waiting. In her line of work, that is too long.

Besides, she made it back home in plenty of time for the birthday party.

Read more from the Fall 2015 Duncan Debrief Magazine

We are one big extended family. When I walk through the hangars I’m not just talking with employees and customers, but with friends. 

                Todd Duncan, Duncan Aviation Chairman

At the very heart of Duncan Aviation is a sense of belonging; a family of friends, co-workers and a valued support system. We work together. Sometimes play together. We live in the same communities and care about each other.

Families that function well together and prosper within great communities provide each other with a ‘total package’ that encompasses the elements each individual needs to grow and evolve. At Duncan Aviation the ‘total package’ involves many things beyond salaries and benefits; it involves a sense of belonging and contributing to something special, something rare in the world of business today.

Watch the following video and listen as several team members describe why they feel like family at Duncan Aviation.

Peter Burwell’s experience with aircraft consignments have not all been positive experiences. “I have had several brokers feed me a line of garbage, telling me what they think I should do in order to achieve their objectives, not mine.”

While Burwell Enterprises’ 39th aircraft, a Falcon 900EX, was in prebuy at Duncan Aviation in Battle Creek, Michigan, Peter, president & CEO, sought recommendations on whom to work with in order to sell number 36, a Challenger 601. It took no time at all before he was handed the name of Doug Roth, one of Duncan Aviation’s Aircraft Sales and Acquisition team members.

Burwell Enterprises has operated and flown so many aircraft over so many years that when it comes time to add to or upgrade their fleet, Peter puts his trust in the experience of his flight department to research and find the right replacement aircraft while at the same time working with a broker to handle the previous aircraft’s consignment.

Although because of previous encounters, he was skeptical when he picked up the phone to call Doug Roth.

Doug Roth, Duncan Aviation Aircraft Sales

Doug has been selling aircraft for customers for more than 36 years. During that time, he has learned that no two transactions are alike. What works for one customer will not necessarily work for the next. So the first thing he does when he talks with a client is LISTEN.

Within a few minutes of speaking with Doug on the phone, Peter knew this experience would be different. “Doug was honest and upfront. He provided me with the facts without the fluff. He shot me straight and I believed him,” said Peter. “I feel I can trust him.”

After meeting with Peter and examining the Challenger, Doug tapped into the technical resources at Duncan Aviation. Armed with the knowledge of airframe, engine, avionics and interior experts and his personal knowledge of and experience with the preowned aircraft market, Doug told Peter exactly what he would do to best represent him and the aircraft. Then, he followed through and did what he said he would.

“Whether buying or selling, I work for my client every time, keeping their objectives in mind. ” says Doug. “I listen to them and create a plan that leverages all the resources I have at Duncan Aviation combined with my knowledge of aviation and the aircraft sales aftermarket.”

It may be several years down the road, but Peter says he will absolutely return to Doug to sell number 39.

Read more from the Fall 2015 Duncan Debrief Magazine

In The Beginning...

In 1973, Leo Sawatzki stepped off the Navy ship U.S.S. Constellation and signed on with Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, Nebraska, as a jet engine mechanic. He was prepared to service GE CJ610 and Pratt & Whitney PT6 engines. However, it wasn’t long after he arrived that Airesearch introduced a new engine, the TFE731. This engine showed lots of promise. Leo and six other Duncan Aviation turbine engine mechanics, with only a four-section wooden box filled with plugs, caps and hardware, were eager to discover and learn all they could.

Early on, as with many first-generation technologies, this new engine had some growing pains. Our engine technicians were called upon many times to provide Aircraft on Ground (AOG) services. Just by the sheer volume of hands-on, field-repair work, they discovered first-hand how the engines operated and what was needed to fix them.

Seeing an unmet need, it didn’t take long before we invested in the necessary tooling and equipment to dispatch a team to any location whenever the calls came in. And the calls did come. On a weekly basis, mechanics were sent as far away as Iceland, Argentina or Canada... or to the hangar just down the road. Their quick responses made them the go-to guys for TFE731 on-the-road engine services.

This Duncan Aviation team was the original AOG engine road crew before such crews became popular. This practice of being ready to travel at a moment’s notice is the genesis of Duncan Aviation’s Engine Rapid Response Teams (RRT). Today, our RRTs are strategically located all across the United States, able to reach an operator’s location in as little as 24 hours.

The Authorizations

We had become a reliable resource for TFE731 operators flying all over the world, proving that even a small shop from the middle of America had a worldwide impact. In 1981, we hit two milestones and received major level authorization to work on the Airesearch TPE331 and TFE731engines. These authorizations allowed all who previously relied upon us to come to their rescue during times of need to entrust their engines to us for high-level, expert Major Periodic Inspection (MPI) service.

In those early years, the Duncan Aviation engine team disassembled the engines and sent them out for repair, relying on the abilities and time schedule of others. The culture at Duncan Aviation has always been to deliver only the best, on time and at budget. Unfortunately, not every company has the same level of customer commitment. "We knew we could provide these same services better, faster and cheaper," says Leo. With that, the decision was made to invest in the research, tooling and training to bring those capabilities in-house.

Engine Services Today

Today, Airesearch is now Honeywell and Duncan Aviation Engine Services has grown to include 73 licensed factory-trained turbine engine technicians working two shifts to provide line maintenance, MPIs, AOG road services and technical expertise, in support of Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce and Williams International aircraft turbine engines.

The "four-room" wooden box is now a modern 20,000-square-foot facility with 12 separate engine bays.  In 2014, we added a 4,050-square-foot engine line maintenance shop to support in-house aircraft maintenance events. This makes Duncan Aviation truly a one-stop shop for all turbine engine maintenance events.

Obtaining the maximum performance out of your engines is an art mastered by the Duncan Aviation turbine engine professionals. Generations of experience combined with investment in all Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)-authorized repair methods bring the most reliable and proven techniques to ensure performance and reliability of your engines.

Leo, now the Engine Acquisitions and Sales Manager, has seen first-hand the changes the TFE731 has gone through over the last 38 years. One thing has remained constant—Duncan Aviation has remained Duncan Aviation. The company has never changed its name, its ownership or its commitment to delivering only the best.

Years To Come

In 2015, we reached another milestone with the designation as a Honeywell AS907 (HTF 7000) Series Minor Maintenance facility.

Duncan Aviation is the only U.S.-run, family-owned company with this length of historical and technical experience on the TFE731. We are still Duncan Aviation. We have been there since the beginning. And we’ll be here for generations to come.

We all know the drill. As soon as the ball drops we make promises to ourselves to improve life in the coming year. The most common resolutions are to improve fitness, stop vices or change a behavior.

But this is also a time to make and renew commitments to improve our work for the benefit of our customers.

A group of Duncan Aviation team members from all levels and across the country were asked ‘What is your Duncan Aviation New Year’s Resolution?’

Here’s what a few of them had to say.

Todd Duncan Aviation Duncan Aviation Chairman

For me personally, I want to fly more. I’m not in the aviation business just for the benefits of the transaction, I’m in it because I love to fly and I want to spend more time in my personal aircraft.   

On a business level, I am going to celebrate all year the fact my family has been in this business for sixty years and have remained family-owned. In an industry where everyone is for sale, I am committed to remaining independent. For sixty years, we have built our brand around our team members, their families and the American craftsman. We are up for sixty more.

Michael Hill Manager, Engineering Services, BTL

Continue to educate myself and others on Duncan Aviation’s Certification and Engineering processes so we can all understand why we do what we do.

Chris Gress, Manager Duncan Aviation Parts and Rotables Sales, LNK

My goal for 2016 is to get more of our Parts & Rotables Sales Team out to meet Duncan Aviation customers at industry events throughout the year.

Jeff Schipper, Project Manager, PVU

During the coming year, we will continue to seek new offerings and capabilities for our customers at our Provo, UT, location, as well as improve responsiveness to AOG events.

Steve Gade, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, LNK                                    

Do a better job of asking our customers the right questions and listen carefully to their responses so that I may better understand exactly how we can better serve them so they can better serve their customers.

Andrew Arcuri Assistant Manager, Engine Rapid Response Teams

Duncan Aviation Rapid Response Team has grown significantly in 2015, adding seven new technicians alone to the east coast. No matter how carefully we select the technicians for the Rapid Response Team or how thoroughly we prepare them with product knowledge training, there is no substitute for reinforcing customer service communication skills. For my 2016 resolution, I look to better communicate with our customers regarding aircraft/engine workscope, aircraft return-to-service time and an accurate cost of service. I look forward to a great 2016 and thank you to all our customers that make working for Duncan Aviation a great personal experience.    

Melissa Raddatz Avionics Sales Representative, BTL

To continue be a person of integrity, to provide high quality customer service and to seek excellence in all I do.

Joe Tulowitzki Turbine Engine Service Sales Representative

For the coming year I am committed to working closely with my team to say what we are going to do and then deliver exactly what we say, leaving no surprises for the customers in the end.

A Culture Unchanged 

From the beginning, Donald Duncan, Duncan Aviation’s Founder, believed that if you take care of employees, employees will take personal pride to improve and then care for customers. 

To this day, this belief is unchanged. During 2016 as we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we resolve to take personal accountability towards improvement so that we are better able to serve you, our customer.

Celebrate with us by subscribing to the Duncan Download blog, following us on Facebook and Twitter (@DuncanAviation) and visiting our anniversary website at www.DuncanAviation.aero/60.

With only $30,000 and 90 days, Ed Gilmore, then Duncan Aviation Avionics Bench Tech was challenged to design and develop a working prototype to replace the Collins 980L autopilot test set.

He did it. That was 1981 and only the beginning.

Original R&D Team circa 1984 

With the help of a local community college instructor and another former Duncan Aviation team member, Ed designed and built the DATE 1 (Duncan Aviation Test Equipment).

It was probably the first-ever computer controlled test set in General Aviation. It used an Apple II-E computer with whopping 64K of memory. It was functional and remained in service for many years.

This test set laid the innovative foundation for what would eventually become Duncan Aviation’s Research and Development (R&D) team. Established in 1984, the R&D department was initially created to support Duncan Aviation’s Avionics Satellite network.

The initial Avionics Satellite shops opened up across the country with the first generation DA test equipment that consisted of large panels taking up a lot of space. In order to grow, the equipment needed to shrink. R&D’s task was to develop test equipment that integrated the current equipment into smaller boxes with increased testing capabilities. But another important requirement was for the equipment to look high-tech and “cool”.

Photo of an original Softset developed by the Duncan Aviation R&D department. 

By 1985 the team began the development of equipment that used software rather than hardware called SoftSet. SoftSet was able to test 80 percent of the avionics units that arrived at Duncan Aviation for repair or overhaul.

By 1990 DATE 1 was upgraded to DATE 1A, converted to run on a Macintosh computer and included the addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI assisted in troubleshooting units and offered solutions based on repair history. The equipment got smarter with each test and became more accurate with repair recommendations.

By the mid-90s, both SoftSet and DATE 1 were advanced further with the ability to handle an advanced number of capabilities with a significantly smaller footprint…and they looked “cool”.

DATE 1B became fully automated in 1996 significantly reducing test times. For example the 4.5 hour test of a 562A-5M5 Collins A/P was reduced to 50 minutes and the eigh hour test of the CA-200 Sperry A/P was able to produce results in only three hours. This freed the technicians to do other things and get the units returned to customers quicker.

For the last 30 years, Duncan Aviation’s R&D has provided far more than just support for the Avionics Satellites. The lion share of their projects are smaller dedicated circuits, mockups, test boxes, modules, and mechanical jigs for the rest of the company.

These projects have helped facilitate Duncan Aviation to hold and grow in the avionics repair market, by providing quality test equipment, support documentation and assistance with certification.

Chris Hogg, R&D Tech, says that this innovation is a partnership between R&D and the technician on the floor. “When the technician sees an opportunity to make how they do their job better, faster or more efficient, they get us involved. We work together to provide services that bring the idea to reality, which is very gratifying. We have had more than a thousand such projects, each a story unto itself.

Other R&D Designed Projects

The Falcon Flight Control Force Tool measures the force required by the pilot to move the control wheel and rudder pedals on Falcon 2000, 900 and 50 series aircraft. It has been recently granted ‘tool equivalency’ status by the FAA after an extensive comparison to the original factory tool.

The R&D also crafted Tail Stand Alarms that notify the mechanics prior to the aircraft making contact with the tail stands.

R&D utilizes 3D printing technology to reduce fabrication time and project costs. It has also been used to provide mockups of in-house developed antenna mounts for aircraft.

DATE 1C upgrade is in development and will replace the current Mac computers used in the Duncan Automated autopilot/flight director Test Equipment with PCs.

The development of this software and equipment is one of the many examples demonstrating how Duncan Aviation employees strive to stay at the front of business aviation, providing innovative, responsive and revolutionary customer service.

Innovative technology has a ripple effect that doesn’t end when a project is over. Today’s fresh new ideas become the foundation and infrastructure for tomorrow’s next big thing. This natural evolution allows those who are willing, the ability to think creatively and find the next step.

“Customer service is key in my business and Duncan Aviation does it better than anyone.”
—Martha Everhart, owner Phast Parts Enterprise LLC

Phast Parts Enterprise Co-Founder Martha Everhart had a customer call her and say ‘“Cuida de mis negocios por favor.” That means “take care of my business please” in Spanish. He needed her assistance in getting the immediate repair of some aircraft avionics components on his Learjet that was soon to enter the market for sale.

Several of Martha’s customers are from Latin America and they seek her out to facilitate their aviation service needs in an English-speaking industry. It’s easy to understand why. As an American citizen originally hailing from Mexico with more than 20 years of experience working for aircraft manufacturers, Martha understands aviation and is able to overcome language and cultural barriers.

She feels this sector is sorely underserved and does anything and everything she can to meet their needs. She therefore called the only other company she knew that cared about customer service as much as she does.

She called Duncan Aviation. Tyler Lauer, customer account rep for Duncan Aviation’s avionics component repair services, answered her call.

Tyler listened to Martha’s needs and took immediate action by calling in Matthews Pastor, another customer account rep, to assist. They tag-teamed the project by having Tyler work directly with the OEMs on units sent out for repair while Matthews managed and coordinated all work performed internally at Duncan Aviation.

Martha was kept in the loop with daily emails, work orders and other progress reports. She was assured the units would be delivered when promised. “I had immediate communication,” says Martha. “They understood my urgency and responded with professionalism while under pressure. It didn’t matter if I talked to Tyler or Matthews, both answered my questions about the whole project. And I talked to them many times a day.”

Martha has been in this industry a long time and says the level of customer service that Tyler and Matthews provided her is unique. “My customer called me and said, ‘I don’t know where you sent my parts for overhaul, but I am getting them back already and it’s only been three days!” All remaining units, except for one due to a backordered part, were returned to the customer in Mexico within one week.

“When I send a quote to Duncan Aviation, I usually have my answer within 10 minutes. My customers are impressed that I am able to respond so quickly. My customers come back to me because I keep going to Duncan Aviation,” says Martha. “They make me look good.”

Read more from the Fall 2015 Duncan Debrief Magazine

Donald Duncan believed that if you took care of your employees, your employees would, in turn, take care of customers.

It is a belief that empowers all Duncan Aviation team members to take the initiative, often times stepping outside their normal job requirements, to discover and deliver what customers need and want, sometimes before they know they need or want it.

We are listening. 

2016 is a special year. It is Duncan Aviation’s 60th year of helping business aircraft operators be safe, efficient and productive. For six decades, customers have asked us for solutions and services. We are celebrating our 60 years by telling the stories about the people of Duncan Aviation who listened and took action.

Celebrate with us by subscribing to the Duncan Download blog, following us on Facebook and Twitter (@DuncanAviation) and visiting our anniversary website at www.DuncanAviation.aero/60.

We tore down our website and built a new one. One that we are sure you’re going to love!

But we haven’t moved.  You can still find us at the same address, www.DuncanAviation.aero.

Watch the highlight video below. 

Duncan Aviation has acquired the capabilities to completely overhaul and repair landing gear for both commercial and business Embraer aircraft at our Lincoln, Nebraska, facility. With the necessary technical data, maintenance manuals and aircraft landing gear parts, Duncan Aviation's Accessories Services has received and successfully overhauled its first set of ERJ-145 landing gear.

Before

"We have been completing landing gear inspections and overhauls on the most popular business aviation make/model landing gear for 30 years," said Tony Curtis, accessories team leader. "There were no surprises with the Embraer landing gear."

He explained that landing gear all perform the same basic function and have similar features and load capacities appropriate for the aircraft. The only difference was learning the uniqueness of the Embraer gear.

In 2013, the aircraft accessories shop in Lincoln, Nebraska, went through major renovations that more than doubled the shop area, gaining approximately 6,300 square feet of service area, doubling its work benches and adding new tooling and in-house capabilities, including an overhead crane and a new paint booth with curing room.

After

Tony's team is trained, experienced and equipped with the proper tooling and access to Embraer parts and repair processes. 

Duncan Aviation Embraer Landing Gear Capabilities include the following:

• Embraer 135 (Legacy 600/650) business aircraft
• Embraer 145 series commercial airline

For more information, contact Duncan Aviation accessories service sales for quotes and scheduling information.

Take a moment and watch this before and after ERJ-145 overhaul video. 

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