The Duncan Download Blog: Business Aviation Advice & Observations

When it comes to comparing aircraft maintenance quotes, you should be more concerned about what is not listed than what is.

When comparing maintenance quotes from different MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) facilities, there are a staggering number of variables to consider. It is always unwise to assume the final number on each proposal represents the same level of detail. You should always be asking, ‘What does the quote include?’

To help make this process easier, we have compiled a list of questions and discussion points to help you get the details behind the numbers. This is not an all-inclusive list, but it is a great place to begin.

Here are some things to begin the proposal conversation with your sales rep.

Airframe

• Is the interior R&R included? This is often required to gain access below the cabin floor.
• What about paint touch-up? And if so, is touch-up completed by spray or brush?
• Are there state taxes on parts and labor? Consumables and freight charges? Are they included?
• Are support services like NDT, machining services, hydrostatic testing, included?
• Is tool rental included or an additional charge?

Avionics

• Are engineering fees included?
• Are any additional mods required to complete the workscope, like relocating antennae?
• Does the proposal include just the baseline package or does it outline optional features of the system being installed?
• Is the MRO including other recommended options based on feedback from other operators who have installed the system?

Paint

The number of variables that impact a quote for paint and interior completions work is nearly inexhaustible.

• In addition to the base paint quote, does the proposal include painting the entry air stair?
• Does that include replacing the step tread or masking around it?
• How many stripes and stripe colors are included?
• Are metallic stripes an up-charge?
• Is there design support if the paint scheme is changing?
• What are the options if you request a custom or second base color, wing color, tail color, or logo?
• Is painting of the wheels and landing gear included?
• What is the warranty?

Interior

Aircraft interiors is an area where it can be difficult to gauge the extra effort and care that might go into the project but that isn’t clearly represented by a number. Clarify if your interior proposal includes:

• Is the foam replaced during the seat upholstery or just the dress covers?
• What type of material is being quoted for upholstery of the divan, leather or fabric?
• Is rewebbing of the seatbelts included in the upholstery of the seats and divan?
• If it is a partial interior, and the leather color is changing, are all the leather items quoted for recovery (curtains, entry door shrouds, lavatory seat, etc.)?
• Is the carpet being replaced hand-made or machine-made? Is the carpet pad being replaced and if so, is the new pad being installed equivalent to the existing pad or does it provide additional thermal or acoustical qualities?

Engine

Always provide your logbooks up front. Doing so will get you an accurate quote on Service Bulletins, life-limited component replacements, and required Airworthiness Directives.

For non-program engines determine what level of service is being quoting. If only quoted the lowest minimums available for the engine, you can bet you will end up paying more in the end. Always ask the MRO to be up front about the expected expenses and the parts and other components that typically need replacement.

In addition to the base engine overhaul price, ask if the quote includes:

• Service Bulletin status
• Life-limited component replacement
• Airworthiness Directives
• Shipping charges
• Discrepancies

Landing Gear

Landing gear quotes can be offered in a variety of pricing structures. NTE (Not To Exceed) is the most popular and the structure used most often at Duncan Aviation. With NTE, you are provided with the maximum quote and an assurance your final bill will not exceed that quote. Often, the final bill is under the NTE price.

Other options are Firm Fixed and Standard. With Firm Fixed, you are provided with the final bill before your gear arrives. It comes with a no bill-back guarantee, regardless of the condition of the gear. Standard Pricing includes all labor required to perform the normal inspection or overhaul and required parts. Any discrepancies found during the inspection that require additional parts and labor will be quoted over and above.

Whichever pricing structure you select, pay close attention to the exclusions on the contract. They can add extensive additional costs not included in the quote. These include additional customer requests, optional Service Bulletins, missing or abused parts, replacement of life-limited parts, and engineering fees, if required.

When reviewing your landing gear proposal, ask the following:

• Does it include shipping costs for outsourced components?
• Are parts or other special programs included in the pricing?
• What are the contract exclusions?
• What parts are considered over and above?
• Are discrepancy and repair costs included in the labor flat rate?

You Play A Part

Evaluating the many quotes an operator receives in the course of preparing for an aircraft service event can be an overwhelming experience.

Ultimately, the success and satisfaction of a maintenance event is a team effort. You are as much a part of the team and its success as we are.

Bottom line…call and allow us the opportunity to walk you through the quote so you can better understand the proposal details as well as the ultimate workscope.

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.

Competitive Advantage: Continuous Improvement

We're not satisfied with standing still. 

Just as every business aircraft is different, every customer is different, and they have varied service preferences. What business aircraft operators truly value in a service facility can be categorized in four main areas: Convenience, Quality, Communication, and On-Time Delivery. Duncan Aviation has long focused on these areas.

But don’t take out word for it.  

Convenience

Making services convenient is a matter of access, responsiveness and expertise. With more than 2,150 aviation experts located around the world, Duncan Aviation has model-specific and system-specific experts for the most popular business jets in use today.

 “My project manager is always a great resource, customer driven and a huge advocate. I’ve worked with members of the sales team, tech reps, airframe, engine, interior and avionics technicians and they’re all great people. Duncan Aviation team members treat our aircraft like it was their own. It is reassuring to me when I drop the aircraft off for maintenance that it will be maintained to the same level or better than I would accomplish. I could probably write a book about all of the positive interactions I’ve had with Duncan Aviation representatives.”

- Greg Hamelink, Senior Manager of Flight Operations and Maintenance.

Quality

Safety is obviously a huge concern for all in business aviation. But quality means so much more than safety. It can mean everything from perfectly straight and carefully made stitches in a seat upholstery to bundled, clearly marked wires behind an aircraft’s sidewalls.

“Duncan Aviation’s quality is second to none. I’ve been using Duncan Aviation since 2002 and I’m impressed with the service every time I bring an inspection there. The teams that I have worked with always make me feel that they are just as concerned with my aircraft as I am.” – Scott Kershaw, Chief of Maintenance for Aramark

There are lots of reasons customers trust Duncan Aviation for their aircraft service work. Here are short videos about a few of the most common reasons we hear.

Communication and Project Management

Based on feedback from customers, they interpret project coordination to include the technical knowledge of their assigned project manager, the communication the customer received throughout the project, and the use of our online myDuncan project management tool.

Duncan Aviation project managers provide customers with personalized service and aircraft project expertise. Each has a minimum of 15 years of technical experience and an average of 25+ years of aviation experience.

 And communication is an area where we have been told we excel. In 2016, customers gave us a 97% approval rating in the category of communication.

That is attributable in part to myDuncan, which lets customers be productive wherever they happen to be. Of the 2,343 aircraft projects completed in 2016, more than half were managed off-site, allowing the aircraft representatives to stay current on project status, item approvals and budget while keeping up on things at work and at home.

“It (myDuncan) makes the squawk approval process seamless. I can be on the hangar floor, in the office or at home and see all discrepancies on the aircraft. If I have questions on a certain item, I can submit a question through myDuncan and receive written responses or pictures to better display the issue. myDuncan allows the user to export numerous reports that I use to see progress and calculate budget to actual as the project progresses.” - Wesley Landgraf, Directory of Maintenance for Midland Financial Co.

  On-Time Delivery

Duncan Aviation develops project timelines by analyzing a database of past work and the time it previously took to complete tasks. Collaborating between all areas involved in complicated workscopes, milestones for the entire project are mapped out and the most efficient way to complete work is analyzed.

We routinely push the envelope on schedule and challenge our technicians to push themselves while not sacrificing safety and quality. Customers are pleased with the results, and even more like that we meet the out-dates we promise. Nine of 10 report that their aircraft project was completed on time with no budgetary surprises.

“In 14 years, I have never missed an out-date. I believe the Duncan Aviation technicians are as proud of that as I am.” – Scott Kershaw, Chief of Maintenance for Aramark

The Fall 2017 Duncan Debrief is now online. Download your copy now. 

A little more than 10 years ago, a team of Duncan Aviation project managers and computer programmers had a vision for a communication tool that would help them provide even better customer service and more efficient approvals and keep everyone involved in a complicated multi-shop aircraft project up-to-date. The result, which launched in September 2006, was myDuncan, a web-based portal that allows customers greater access and better control of their projects from anywhere in the world.

myDuncan has been a phenomenal success. It is available to all Duncan Aviation customers with aircraft onsite for airframe, avionics, and engine projects. They can also manage send-in repairs with Component Status Tracking. Nearly all customers transform their computers and mobile devices into “virtual offices” to manage their aircraft projects whether they stay with their aircraft or not. And many travel back to their home bases.

Of the 2,343 aircraft projects delivered in 2016, more than half were managed off-site, allowing the aircraft representatives to stay current on project status, item approvals, and budget while keeping up on things at work and at home.

 Read what Duncan Aviation customers are saying about the benefits myDuncan in the Spring 2017 Duncan Debrief magazine.

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. 

Duncan Aviation team members are among the most experienced in the business aviation industry and the quality of the service they provide is among the best in the world. So it comes as no surprise to us when others recognized and acknowledge what we already know. 

Congratulations Chuck on an award well-deserved. 

Republished with permission from AMT Magazine

39-year-old Chuck Zahnow is an Airframe Technical Representative for Duncan Aviation in Battle Creek, MI. His great uncle worked on aircraft during WWII and he thought that would be a good path to follow.

After high school he attended American Flight and Technology Center, a one-year trade school that has since closed due to low attendance. He has continued his education with aircraft specific training on most of the Citations, Hawker, and Falcon 50 EX and 20 at FlightSafety. Zahnow has also been fortunate in having many people guide him along the way. "I adopted early on that people are always willing to teach, you just have to make yourself available to learn. I have learned from so many I could not begin to list them."

Zahnow started at Zantop Airlines, then went to American International Airways, and from there to Duncan Aviation. He currently works as liaison between the techs on the floor to Textron Aviation (Citation and Hawker) for all facets of airframe maintenance. He is also responsible for managing the tooling needs as it pertains to Textron aircraft and provides additional technical support to techs on the floor as well as external customers. This may mean a phone call, but could also include on-site support.

Mark S. Chaney, senior director, aviation at Coca Cola Bottling Company, says, "Chuck Zahnow has shown a strong commitment to business/general aviation through his incredible work ethic and support of Duncan Aviation customers. I have seen evidence in his support of my company's aircraft as a Duncan customer and reports from other customers. Chuck also serves the industry through his membership on the NBAA Citation 500 Series Technical Committee. I have the pleasure of serving with him as a current committee member and former chairman. He represents his company and Citation operators through a strong personal and professional commitment to safety and product/process improvement. He exceeds all of the qualifications for this award. I expect to see great things for our industry from Chuck in the coming years."

Zahnow is a member of NBAA and its Technical Committee for both the large cabin and small cabin Citation aircraft which helps to better the aircraft for the owners and operators. Duncan Aviation has also given him the opportunity to speak with high school students that are considering aviation as a career either by tours or by visiting with them at a local vocational center.

As for the future, "I have never put a ceiling on my career. I have always considered each opportunity and made a decision that would best serve myself and my family. I have been fortunate to be at a company that recognized and promoted me along the way to get where I am."

Chuck is one among many of whom we are very proud. Meet them all. 

Hanging in Duncan Aviation's Calibration Services Lab is a poster about the History of the Egyptian Cubit. It depicts the beginning of tool calibration more than 5,000 years ago. Many similarities to modern calibrations still remain.

It is believed that around 3,000 B.C. the Egyptian unit of length was established. The Royal Egyptian cubit was decreed to be equal to length of the forearm from the bent elbow to the tip of the extended middle finger plus the width of the palm of the hand of the Pharaoh ruling at the time. The Royal Cubit Master was carved from a block of black granite to endure for all time (the equivalent of today’s primary standard).

Workers building tombs, temples and pyramids were supplied with cubit sticks made of wood or granite. The Royal Architect or foreman of each construction site was responsible for maintaining and transferring the unit of length to the workers’ cubit sticks (modern tool calibration). It was required that the cubit sticks be brought at each full moon (calibration cycle) to be compared to the Royal Cubit Master to ensure their accuracy. Failure to do so was punishable by death (OK…some things have changed).

The strict accuracy of the cubit is why many magnificent structures, such as the Egyptian pyramids, survive today. Egyptians took their metrology very seriously and as a result, their measurement accuracy was impressive. Over a distance of 230 meters, measurements typically varied by only 0.05%.

Maintaining tool accuracy through periodic tool calibrations remains extremely important to guarantee a unit or measure can transfer from one aircraft to another and one country to the next. 

The next time you reach for that torque wrench or micrometer, ask yourself, “am I getting the most accurate reading I need? How do I find out?”

Duncan Aviation Calibration Services

Duncan Aviation’s Calibration Services use NIST traceable standards to calibrate measuring & test equipment (M&TE). Bring your tools with you the next time your business aircraft is serviced at one of our full-service maintenance facilities. They will be returned to you when you are ready to leave, properly calibrated and ready for use.

Can’t be long without your tools? Send them to us and we’ll have them back to you in fewer than five days.

Calibration Services

• Certified to ISO/IEC 17025:2005
• Certified ASQ-CCT technicians
• Calibration data available
• Repair capabilities on most M&TE

For a complete list of our calibration capabilities, download the Duncan Aviation Calibrations Fact Sheet.

Hanging in Duncan Aviation's Calibration Services Lab is a poster about the History of the Egyptian Cubit. It depicts the beginning of tool calibration more than 5,000 years ago. Many similarities to modern calibrations still remain.

It is believed that around 3,000 B.C. the Egyptian unit of length was established. The Royal Egyptian cubit was decreed to be equal to length of the forearm from the bent elbow to the tip of the extended middle finger plus the width of the palm of the hand of the Pharaoh ruling at the time. The Royal Cubit Master was carved from a block of black granite to endure for all time (the equivalent of today’s primary standard).

Workers building tombs, temples and pyramids were supplied with cubit sticks made of wood or granite. The Royal Architect or foreman of each construction site was responsible for maintaining and transferring the unit of length to the workers’ cubit sticks (modern tool calibration). It was required that the cubit sticks be brought at each full moon (calibration cycle) to be compared to the Royal Cubit Master to ensure their accuracy. Failure to do so was punishable by death (OK…some things have changed).

The strict accuracy of the cubit is why many magnificent structures, such as the Egyptian pyramids, survive today. Egyptians took their metrology very seriously and as a result, their measurement accuracy was impressive. Over a distance of 230 meters, measurements typically varied by only 0.05%.

Maintaining tool accuracy through periodic tool calibrations remains extremely important to guarantee a unit or measure can transfer from one aircraft to another and one country to the next. 

The next time you reach for that torque wrench or micrometer, ask yourself, “am I getting the most accurate reading I need? How do I find out?”

Duncan Aviation Calibration Services

Duncan Aviation’s Calibration Services use NIST traceable standards to calibrate measuring & test equipment (M&TE). Bring your tools with you the next time your aircraft is serviced at one of our full-service maintenance facilities. They will be returned to you when you are ready to leave, properly calibrated and ready for use.

Can’t be long without your tools? Send them to us and we’ll have them back to you in fewer than five days.

Calibration Services

• Certified to ISO/IEC 17025:2005
• Certified ASQ-CCT technicians
• Calibration data available
• Repair capabilities on most M&TE

For a complete list of our calibration capabilities, download the Duncan Aviation Calibrations Fact Sheet.

Simplifying A Puzzle of Complexity

Ever put together a 1,000 piece puzzle? How about one with no straight-edges or picture on the box? What if you only had a couple of hours to finish and the pieces kept changing shape? Sounds a little daunting, if not impossible doesn’t it. Yet this is a daily scenario at Duncan Aviation.

Getting Downtime…Down

Operations Planning Coordinators, Brian Barto, Doug Schmitt, and Jason Kinnan have the difficult job of identifying and pulling together all the loose pieces of every aircraft maintenance event at our Battle Creek, MI, Lincoln, NE, and Provo, UT, facilities to determine an appropriate downtime. On any given day, they may have 35-40 schedules to plan.

They are only able to do this with the help of a very skilled team members who are aware of every shop’s maintenance capabilities and the capacity of work that can be expected. They communicate directly with Project Managers, Team Leaders, and Tech Reps.

They know the work required, the manpower necessary, and the time needed to satisfy the customer’s need for the shortest downtime, while maintaining the quality of work they expect from us.

Read more Duncan Aviation Airframe Maintenance

Hitting the Ground Running

Because of the hard work these teams do prior to every customer’s arrival, all the factory-trained technicians assigned are knowledgeable and well-prepared to begin work immediately upon touchdown with all necessary tools and parts assembled. This is a result of hours of team members being in constant communication with each other, making sure that all work is done in the most efficient time, with no overlaps and minimal interruptions.

“We are very aware that downtime is of high importance to customers. That makes it a high priority to us, as well,” says Shawn Busby, Project Manager. “Because we are a full-service maintenance facility, we have the advantage of doing all that is required under one roof in the shortest amount of time. It also requires a higher level of communication and teamwork so we are able to reduce downtime, increase efficiency and save our customers money.”

Read more Duncan Aviation Avionics Install

Unmatched

“Our engine capabilities are so inclusive that other FBO operations use Duncan Aviation engine team members to support them,” said Mike Bernholtz, Turbine Engine Service Sales Rep. “It is difficult for them to match our expertise, capabilities and downtime with our factory authorizations for Honeywell TFE731, HTF7000 and APUs; Pratt & Whitney 300 series, 500 series, 600 series, JT15, and PT6; Williams International and General Electric CF34.”

Read more Duncan Aviation Turbine Engine Services

You Get What You Pay For

We understand that budgets are tight and you want the best value, but don’t mistake the lowest price tag as your best option. When it comes to considering an MRO for aircraft paint or interior refurbishment work, you really do get what you pay for. “We have seen customers go with the lowest offer in order to save money. But end up having to pay more for services their chosen facilities are incapable of providing,” says Suzanne Hawes, Completions Sales Rep.

Read more Duncan Aviation Interior Completions

“In the case of hidden damage and corrosion, if the low-cost service provider does not have engineering and structural capabilities, the customer ends up having to hire a separate engineering consultant to assess the damage. And potentially even a third facility to do the structural repairs..  

At Duncan Aviation we have the experience, that if the damage is beyond tolerance, we work directly with the OEMs to create a repair disposition and have a structures team able to complete the repairs in-house.

Read more Duncan Aviation Aircraft Paint Services

We Have Anticipated Your Needs

There is no simple solution to keeping an aircraft airworthy. The regularly scheduled maintenance events and those that are not expected all add to the cost of doing business by air. As an aircraft operator as well as a service provider, Duncan Aviation understands the daily complexities and has already anticipated your needs before you have.

We make it our business to take the complicated puzzle of aircraft operation and ownership and make it as simple as possible for you.

The best and most economic choice for maintenance events, all the time, every time, is Duncan Aviation. The years of experience and the long list of capabilities at all of our facilities has proven that when we promise to do a job, we are promising to deliver on time, at a fair price, and with the highest quality of work.

This isn’t a random guess disguised as a promise; it is the expert opinion of team members who make it their job to know.