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MRO Profile: Standard Aero Augusta
By: David A. Lombardo
Caption: StandardAero Augusta (Georgia) is the most recent incarnation of an operation that has provided maintenance services to the business aviation community for
Word Count: 666
StandardAero Augusta (Georgia) is the most recent incarnation of an operation that has provided maintenance services to the business aviation community for nearly 40 years. 

The facility opened in May 1974 as Garrett Aviation Services and 20 years later was purchased from AlliedSignal by members of management, Carlisle Enterprise and First Chicago Equity Capital. In 1997, Garrett Aviation Services was acquired by General Electric and subsequently acquired by StandardAero. 
StandardAero’s Augusta location provides maintenance services for business aircraft operators ranging from engines and auxiliary power units to airframes and avionics. 
“Our goal is to reduce the complexity of owning and operating aircraft by providing customers with a single source for all their maintenance, repair and overhaul service needs,” Chris Bodine, StandardAero Augusta’s vice president/general manager, told AIN. 
“We take a lot of pride in our dedication to our customers. We focus on customer service and our goal is to deliver on time, squawk free. Our company motto is: Done right, done on time; done at the right price.”  
Bodine said the company recently added the Honeywell HTF7000 and three APU product lines. 
“We’ve brought the TPE331 back to Augusta from Los Angeles. We’ve been in the 331 business here since 1974 and at one point all our sites were doing it, but the company decided it made more sense to consolidate it all and the 331 business is back in Augusta,” he said. 
The 140,600-sq-ft EASA-certified, FAA Part 145 repair station employs 170, including 110 A&P mechanics, six avionics techs and 52 engine shop technicians. The facility includes separate accessory and interior shops, a parts room, chemical storage facility, office area and lobby. There are also two 100- by 150-foot hangars, two 100- by 200-foot hangars and three test cells. 
Bodine explained the shop can support most corporate aircraft and pointed out that it does more TFE731 heavy maintenance work than anyone else in the world. “Our 731 shop is the largest TFE731 shop in the world. Overall, our engine shop averages about 350 to 400 engines of all types per year,” he said. 
The Augusta facility is a Honeywell TFE731 heavy service center, an overhaul service center for the Honeywell TPE331 and 36-100/150 APU and an HTF7000 minor service center. The facility houses three test cells that can run and certify all models of the TFE731 and TPE331, and GTCP36-100/150 APUs.  
The company’s airframe specialization includes minor repairs to major alterations, with special emphasis on scheduled airframe inspections. It is an FAA Class 4 airframe repair station with specialized airframe expertise in Falcons, Hawkers, Challengers, Learjets, Astras, Westwinds and the Embraer Legacy. It is also an authorized service facility for Dassault Falcon (all models), Bombardier Challenger (600 series) and Embraer (Legacy 600 series). 
StandardAero Augusta offers avionics line maintenance, troubleshooting, aircraft repairs and modifications. The facility holds all major avionics dealerships and can accomplish line maintenance on all avionics systems commonly found on business jets. Technician training includes high-speed broadband, satellite communications, Waas navigation, ADS-B transponders and high-definition cabin displays. 
“The game plan for 2010 is to solidify, strengthen, expand and invest,” Bodine said. “First, we want to solidify relationships with our customers and employees. We want to strengthen and get better at all of the different platforms we work on and both expand those product lines as well as introduce new ones. Finally, we are increasing our emphasis on being environmentally friendly.
Bodine acknowledges the facility is part of a large company but notes that it has its own P&L line. “We’re autonomous in some ways, but there are a lot of times when we share resources with our Los Angeles, Houston and Springfield operations,” he said. “The advantage we offer our customers is that we are autonomous enough to build personal relationships and can be flexible as necessary, yet we have the resources of an international corporation behind us.”