Story ID: 608BbaEroNewsNBAA12
Busiest Year Ever for Dallas Airmotive
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: 
Word Count: 629
Dallas Airmotive is anticipating that 2012 will be its busiest year ever in terms of field service support events in North America. The engine service provider, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, had 2,600 service calls last year ranging from engine borescope inspections to full engine changes and is on track to exceed 3,000 such events this year.

The company will surely add to its business with the announcement here at NBAA that it is now a designated overhaul facility (DOF) for Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW535B, PW535E and PW545C engine models. With this addition, the company is now authorized to provide repair and overhaul services for all seven engine models in the PW500 series, which makes it the only independent DOF to service the entire range.

Dallas Airmotive received its first PW500 appointment in 2004 for the engines that power the Cessna Citation Bravo, Excel, Encore and XLS jets. “This new appointment extends to the PW535B that powers the Citation Encore+ and the PW545C that powers the Citation XLS+,” said Hugh McElroy, president of BBA Aviation’s engine repair and overhaul group. “Along with the previous DOF appointments this increases our span to cover the bulk of Cessna Citation series aircraft.” The addition of service for the PW535E engine (used on the Embraer Phenom 300) marks the company’s first entrée into that airframer’s product line.

Dallas Airmotive (Booth no. 3100), which is a BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul subsidiary, also announced that it has been selected to provide engine support at Bombardier’s North American service centers. Under the terms of the agreement, Dallas Airmotive will support the Canadian airframer’s Learjet 40, 50, and 60 series airplanes as well as the Challenger 300 and 600 series and the Global Express XRS, 5000 and 6000 jets. The agreement includes line and heavy maintenance on the Honeywell ALF502 and the TFE731; line and minor maintenance for Honeywell’s HTF7000; line maintenance, hot section and overhaul for the P&WC PW305A; and line maintenance on the Rolls-Royce BR710. In addition to support at the Bombardier service centers, Dallas Airmotive also has more than 100 field service technicians and a fleet of strategically positioned service vehicles to support customers throughout the U.S. The company’s F1rst Support command center in Dallas fields more than 10,000 calls a year from the U.S., many resolved through communication alone.

In Brazil, the company’s regional turbine center in Belo Horizonte–which opened in 2009–has outgrown its space and plans to move next year into a larger nearby facility. “Our new facility will more than double the space of the former so that we can accommodate the volume and add services to better support our customers,” said McElroy. The additional space will enable the location to expand service capabilities for in-region support of Honeywell TFE731 engines and GTCP 36 series APUs as well as P&WC PT6A and PW100 engine repairs.

Across the Atlantic, sister BBA ERO subsidiary H+S Aviation has added the latest model of General Electric’s CT7/T700 engine series to its EASA and FAA approvals list. The Portsmouth, UK-based company has been approved on various models of the engine series since 1984 and has processed more than 2,500 of the type.

BBA’s parts distribution subsidiary International Turbine Service has expanded its service offerings to now include spectrometric oil analysis program (SOAP) kits from Jet-Care. “SOAP kits are required for Honeywell’s TFE731 operators and are available for a broad range of turboprop and fanjet engines used in business and general aviation,” noted McElroy. “These kits make a nice addition to our portfolio and added convenience for customers ordering parts through ITS.”