Reorganized Sabreliner To Expand Civil MRO Offerings

Sabreliner Aviation president Greg Fedele said the company plans to exploit experience gained in servicing military aircraft to expand its services into the civilian MRO arena. The company has provided maintenance on C-12s and C-21s, military versions of the Beechcraft King Air 200 and Learjet 35, respectively.

“We have an interior, paint, avionics and engine shop, and we do metalwork, composites and structural engineering, all right here,” he said. “There isn’t anything we can’t do to an airplane, and we need to get the word out.” Fedele noted that the Perryville, Mo.-based company has already parlayed its experience with Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks to create VIP transport versions for operators such as Jordan and Bahrain.

In January, Innovative Capital Holdings of Naples, Fla., acquired the assets of Sabreliner Corp. (terms undisclosed) and reorganized the company as Sabreliner Aviation. Founded in 1983 to support the Rockwell Sabreliner business jet fleet, Sabreliner defaulted on loans last fall, blaming its predicament on a financial squeeze exacerbated by reduced government payments mandated by sequestration. Fedele said the reconstituted company will continue to support Sabreliners, and is considering new upgrade programs for the aircraft.