RCFontana Receives Lens-polishing Approval

Bombardier Aerospace has approved RCFontana as a training provider to teach technicians how to polish landing light, wingtip, walkway and emergency light lenses. The approval currently covers the Canadair Regional Jet line and should be expanded to the Dash 8 series shortly, according to company founder Ray Fontana. Polishing the lights–rather than replacing them–yields significant savings, given that CRJ landing light lenses cost between $4,000 and $9,000 each, he said. The polishing is done on-wing and takes about 30 minutes per lens. The first training class was held with 10 students at Mesa Airlines in Phoenix. “Payback is immediate,” Fontana said. Cost of the eight-hour course is $3,500 at the customer’s location and includes polishing customer lenses, with 50 percent of the time spent accomplishing hands-on tasks. RCFontana also offers training in flapper peening techniques for removal of corrosion on flap tracks and other areas, without disassembly of aircraft structure.