Story ID: 
WestWind Technologies Opens New Facility
By: David A. Lombardo
Caption: WestWind Technologies has opened its new Huntsville Aircraft Modification & Integration Center.
Word Count: 200
WestWind Technologies has opened its new Huntsville Aircraft Modification & Integration Center. According to the company, it is the first time the Huntsville International Airport (Alabama) has partnered with a small business. The 62,000-sq-ft facility provides engineering, manufacturing, electronics integration and structural modifications. The MRO, which is located near the U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal, is designed to accommodate aircraft up to large fixed-wing as well as rotary-wing aircraft in both military and civilian configuration. WestWind COO Roger Messick said, “Since Redstone Arsenal is the center of aviation for the U.S. Army, we’ve designed the hangar to accommodate every type of helicopter in the Army’s inventory as well as a large number of fixed-wing aircraft with sizes up to the Air Force C-130. We offer full maintenance, repair and overhaul for a broad spectrum of military and commercial aircraft.” The MRO has on-site engineering and manufacturing capabilities to support disassembly, integration, repair, reassembly, flight-test and return to service. Additionally, the company also operates manufacturing facilities adjacent to the airport for production of aircraft parts and modification kits as well as flight simulators for Army helicopters. In all, the company has more than 260,000 sq ft of operational facilities.