The Duncan Download Blog: Business Aviation Advice & Observations

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.

That screwdriver that mysteriously went missing from the toolbox, a scrap of wire or a pack of Lifesavers might not look threatening. But as any A&P Tech will tell you, anything that’s somewhere it doesn’t belong sets the stage for a potentially dangerous situation. Such objects are known as FOD, and Duncan Aviation’s technicians are finding more of them more frequently.

It is common knowledge that any foreign object in, on or around an aircraft can have tragic results. Yet some of our airframe techs have discovered many of these objects during inspections across all makes and models of aircraft. Everything from small bits of trash to misplaced pieces of on-board equipment have been found trapped under floorboards and lying on top of wire bundles.

The definitions of FOD can be as varied as the objects that can cause it: Foreign Object Damage, Foreign Object Debris, etc. One thing all aviation experts agree on is that if FOD is in your aircraft or if it affects the external areas of your aircraft it can lead to an extremely serious situation. FOD comes in many forms–typically debris from other aircraft. It can be nothing more than a small rivet or any other type of object on the ramp or runway.

Tire punctures are common with runway FOD. Hopefully this type of debris is caught during pre-flight inspections and the result is only an inexpensive tire replacement and not a blowout during takeoff.

Internal FOD can result from work crews leaving an object trapped behind a panel or floorboard somewhere on the aircraft. It can even be a part of the airplane that was moved and not returned to its proper place.

During inspections, our techs have discovered items ranging from tie-raps, avionic control buttons, pencils and even an auxiliary gear handle that was lying on top of the flight control pulleys under the co-pilot floor. Any FOD trapped under floorboards can be a potential hazard to the safe operation of an aircraft. Sharp objects found lying on wire bundles, hydraulic lines, pitot static lines, etc., are especially dangerous and can have a chafing potential which can again lead to a catastrophic failure.

Consider this fictional nightmare scenario: After a maintenance event, an auxiliary gear handle is left under the pilot’s floor lying on top of the flight control pulleys. The crew has done a thorough preflight, but does not have X-ray vision and has no idea what’s below them. They start down the runway for the flight home and just as the PNF (pilot not flying) calls V1 (the decision speed to abort the takeoff or fly) one engine quits, so the PF (pilot flying) immediately adds rudder for directional control. The auxiliary gear handle slips from its resting place due to the abnormal side loads and wedges into the rudder cables. The rudder is designed to travel a set number of degrees to give a pilot the required directional control at the speed above V1. Since the handle is now restricting the designed amount of deflection, the pilot’s only option is to reduce power on the good engine to match what rudder is available and PRAY that is enough.

Depending on the type of FOD, a loss of any system aboard an airplane is possible. This can lead to a life-threatening scenario during takeoff, flight and landing. Normally these types of FOD issues don’t arise because of the professional training and maintenance ethics of A&Ps. Vigilance to the task at hand can eliminate many forms of FOD.

When it comes to FOD, carelessness should never be tolerated and strict procedures must be followed. Duncan Aviation is extremely serious about FOD and has an inspection system in place that is strictly adhered to in order to ensure that all foreign objects, regardless of area of origination, are secured prior to panel/floor close up. At Duncan Aviation a task on or around an aircraft is not completed until FOD is eliminated. Make sure to review the FOD procedures at any maintenance facility you might choose and make sure they take FOD as seriously as they should.

Engine FOD Potentially Catastrophic

Engine FOD can be the most dangerous of all FOD. Any material that rips through any engine can cause a catastrophic failure. Engine FOD is both internal and external. Internal FOD can be mitigated through the use of strict procedures. (Check to see the procedures your service provider uses.) External FOD requires proper planning and observation to eliminate.

Internal FOD may include any tool, part or anything a technician may use while servicing an engine. Rivets are common FOD elements for engines. Years ago, a chief pilot decided to test his flight crew’s FOD procedures by placing his hat inside an engine intake. Before he could warn them of his plan, they tested the engine. Several thousand dollars of damage resulted.

External FOD is much more dangerous if the aircraft is in flight. External FOD may include airborne debris such as a sand storm or volcanic ash from an eruption or even hail or ice ingestion. Be aware of FAA NOTAMs in the area of your flight plan. Also be careful when taxiing behind large aircraft as their jet blast and general size can kick up quite a bit of debris.

The damage to the TFE731 engine above was caused by a bird strike. We found damage to the fan blades, nose cowl leading edge, fan stator, and compressor impeller... just to name a few. Depending on the strike, one bird can cause more than half-a-million dollars in damages.

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.

Duncan Aviation’s Engine Rapid Response network has grown and is more widely dispersed than ever. With 30 technicians strategically located across the United States, the demand for AOG and scheduled support at customer locations continues to increase. And they are answering the call, making the trip and getting each customer back in the air and back on schedule.

With this continued growth, we are proud to announce the appointment of new leaders within our Engine Rapid Response (RRT) network.

Joe Stubbs—Atlanta, Georgia

Joe Stubbs has been with Duncan Aviation for 10 years, nine of those on the engine line at the company's headquarters in Lincoln, Neb. In 2014, he successfully launched a new Engine Rapid Response office in Long Beach, Calif., then moved on to join the Seattle RRT. Turbine Engine Service Manager James Prater says that when the Atlanta leadership opportunity became available, Stubbs was the clear choice. "Joe's flexibility, versatility and wealth of engine knowledge make him a valuable resource in our RRT network. We are happy that he has accepted this leadership opportunity in Atlanta."

For engine service and support in the Atlanta region, Joe Stubbs can be reached at +1 770.286.4410.

Mike Bruhn—Chicago, Illinois

Mike Bruhn joined the Rapid Response Team in Chicago with experience as an A&P certified technician in flight departments and repair stations on a broad spectrum of corporate jets. In his five years at Chicago, he has built a strong rapport with area operators. "We are excited to allow Mike the opportunity to continue to strengthen those relationships while serving as Team Leader and work toward his vision for growing the team and expanding its presence throughout the area," says Prater.

For engine service and support in the Chicago region, Mike Bruhn can be reached at +1 773.294.5169.

Regis Biarrieta—Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale is Duncan Aviation's largest Engine Rapid Response Team. Regis Biarrieta has taken over as the new Team Leader for the Fort Lauderdale office. Baiarrieta has been with Duncan Aviation for four years, having worked in both Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale. His prior A&P experiences include airlines, corporate jets and government contracts where he spent seven years in Spain maintaining the Spanish Air Force Presidential and Royal fleet. Prater believes these experiences along with his Venezuelan roots and multilingual ability make him a great fit for Duncan Aviation's south Florida clientele. "He is a great asset in Fort Lauderdale and will be a tremendous Team Leader."

For engine service and support in the Fort Lauderdale region, Regis Biarrieta can be reached at +1 954.410.0058.

There are 15 technicians at our Lincoln, Nebraska and Battle Creek, Michigan facilities who have worked on turbine engines at Duncan Aviation for more than 20 years. They have touched hundreds of Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls Royce and Williams’ engines.

They have worked untold hours exchanging engine parts, performing non-destructive testing and MPIs and repairing or overhauling engines. They have the technical know-how, tooling, training and industry contacts to offer nearly comprehensive services for your turbine engines.

All of those years and all of the engines add up to an impressive amount of experience.

• Jim Smith, 38 years
• Dan Soderstrom, 28 years
• Stan Schwarkopf, 36 years
• Jeff Schwebke, 26 years
• Greg Palensky, 26 years
• Chris Peet, 26 years
• Troy Pedersen, 25 years
• Lance Boatwright, 25 years
• Scott Hamilton, 25 years
• Dennis Gully, 24 years
• Mark Earnest, 24 years
• Terry Fransen, 24 years
• Lanny Renshaw, 24 years
• Rod Porter, 22 years
• Scott Pengra, 20 years

Because of this experience, our customers trust us with their engines.

Sharon Klose, engine service and sales manager, has been selling aircraft engines for 25 years. She sums up Duncan Aviation’s capabilities by saying, “I’m working for a company I fully respect, with team members I consider the best in the business, and selling products I know and trust.”  

We support the following engine models:

• TFE731
• JT15D
• CF34
• P&W 300, 500 & 600
• PT6

And our service authorizations cover:

• Honeywell TFE731 Major Service Center
• Honeywell CFE738 Line Service Center
• Honeywell HTF7000 (AS907) Flight Line Service Center
• Rolls-Royce 3007A/C Line Maintenance
• William FJ44 Line Maintenance
• General Electric CF34-1/3 Line Maintenance Service Center Authorizations
• Pratt & Whitney/Canada Line Maintenance Service Center Authorizations
• Honeywell APU Service Center Certifications

We can troubleshoot, replace line replacement units (LRUs), do performance runs and change engines. With our state-of-the-art equipment, we can also troubleshoot and change auxiliary power units (APUs).

“We are not just another aviation company,” says Joe Tulowitzki, engine sales and service manager. “As a family owned business, we still conduct business based on family core values.”

Sharon Klose, Airframe/Engine Services & Sales

570-523-1676 (Office)

570-815-3992 (Cell)

Sharon.Klose@DuncanAviation.com

 

 

Joe Tulowitzki, Airframe/Engine Services & Sales

540-349-3142 (Office)

540-272-2656 (Cell)

Joe.Tulowitzki@DuncanAviation.com