MROs and Completion Centers

Clay Lacy has broken ground on a 20 million dollar facility at Waterbury-Oxford Airport. Brian Kirkdoffer, President and CEO of Clay Lacy Aviation, commented: "We’re breaking ground on what will be one of the finest FBOs (fixed-base operators) and aviation facilities in the country. As its East Coast headquarters, "It will expand and enhance all of the services that we provide. Oxford will be an incredible economic and employment engine, attracting and supporting the finest aircraft and flight operations in the world." The first 11-acre phase will feature a passenger terminal, executive offices and a 40,000-square-foot hangar, with a focus on sustainable facilities and operations. Clay Lacy’s commitment to job creation and economic growth for the Oxford community will result in 200 new high-paying jobs with an annual payroll in excess of $32 million and 420 indirect jobs during the construction process. The new full-service FBO and maintenance facility is expected to be completed in the winter of 2023.

West Star announces the expansion of their Chattanooga, TN (CHA) facility with the opening of an additional leased hangar space of 19,200 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft of back shop support space that will be used as a dedicated Embraer support facility. The hangar has been equipped with new LED lighting, fall protection and a completely remodeled office and lounge space for the comfort of our valued customers. Additionally, a fuel farm tank has been added along with dedicated support to the Embraer product line specifically. "We are delighted to be able to offer this upgraded additional hangar and shop space, providing our team and customers with the much-needed area to service even more aircraft and specifically for our Embraer customers. As an Authorized Embraer Base Maintenance facility, the new space is a welcome addition for our Embraer operators," said Steve Goede, General Manager (CHA). West Star has also recently started construction on additional hangar and office space to increase the total operational footprint to approximately 256,828 sq. ft. effectively, once completed in June 2023.

ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East has received approval from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to perform line and base maintenance on Falcon 2000 'Classic' aircraft. The ‘Classic’ refers to the first model of Falcon 2000, which is equipped with a Collins Proline 4 Avionics System and powered by CFE738 engines. CFE was a joint-venture between General Electric and AlliedSignal (now part of Honeywell). "India is a very big and growing market for Dassault Aviation and also a very important market for ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East, thanks to geographic proximity," says Nick Weber, Regional VP Middle East at ExecuJet MRO Services.

Earlier this year Dassault Aviation has announced the opening of a new company-owned service center at New York’s Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip. The facility will initially accommodate up to five or six aircraft and provide scheduled maintenance, AOG support and pre-purchase evaluations. The service center will be less than one hour’s flight time to 20% of the U.S.-based Falcon fleet and will have quick access to technical staff and parts supply at Dassault Falcon Jet’s Teterboro headquarters.

Dassault has also been adding service capacity in other locations in the U.S., including Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Stuart, Florida; and Reno, Nevada.

GlobeAir is building a new maintenance hangar at the Linz Airport. Bernhard Fragner, CEO GlobeAir, commented: "I expect an optimization of our maintenance processes and shorter downtimes of the fleet in the course of ongoing maintenance from our own maintenance hangar. The aim of this significant investment is also to reduce the cost situation in order to remain competitive." They expect the facility to start in Spring of 2023.

Today Dassault announced that the MRO business that it acquired and then called TAG Maintenance Service has been rebranded as Dassault Aviation Business Services (DABS). This is the latest name change for this side of the business as it bought it from TAG Aviation back in 2019. "Customers will see a new name, but the commitment to applying advanced technology and the ultimate in service quality will remain the same as ever," said DABS president Franck Madignier. "In fact, since the acquisition by Dassault, we have invested heavily to expand to new locations, upgrade facilities, and, as always, stay at the leading edge of the MRO business."

Founded in 1976, Skytech Inc. is a specialist service provider and aircraft vendor with two locations in the US states of Maryland and South Carolina. As part of an upcoming succession plan, Pilatus has decided to take over Skytech, and the entire workforce of 120 or so will continue to be employed by the Swiss aircraft manufacturer. Markus Bucher, CEO of Pilatus, commented:
"The US market is very important for us. It is essential that Pilatus continues to expand its ‘footprint’. Through this acquisition, we aim to live up to our claim: ‘We create the Pilatus Class!’ I’m delighted to have the company and its staff on board with us – Welcome to the Pilatus Family!"

Duncan Aviation has started work on a new 40 million dollar MRO facility in Battle Creek, Michigan. The expansion was first announced back in April of this year and now ground has been broken a few months later. The new site will involve 46,000-sq-ft hangar and a 56,000-sq-ft, two-level facility for storage, office space etc. As a result of the new expansion around 70 jobs will be created after the project is completed. Completion is being targeted for the first quarter of 2024.

Sun Air Jets has opened a new facility at the Van Nuys airport. A 66,000 sq ft hangar for its managed clients as well as its repair station (part 145). "Having space of this size makes Sun Air Jets one of the largest hangar facilities in Van Nuys and sets us up for continued expansion of our managed fleet and services at one of the busiest private aviation airports in the world," said Justin Sherill, the company’s director of aircraft management. "The design of the facility is based on our clients’ needs, with a focus on privacy and ease of access for aircraft owners and passengers to be able to drive right up to their aircraft via a private gate." It can hangar jets up to Global 7500 size.

Dassault Falcon Jet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, announced it will build a new maintenance facility at Melbourne Orlando International Airport (KMLB) as part of the company's worldwide expansion of its maintenance, repair and overhaul network. "This new factory service center will considerably grow our presence in the U.S., positioning us to keep up with demand for state-of-the-art maintenance services as the Falcon fleet grows and as new models such as the Falcon 10X and the extra widebody Falcon 6X enter service," said Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier.

Intended to serve customers across North and South America and beyond, the 175,000 square-foot complex will accommodate all current Falcon models, (including the new, ultra-long range Falcon 10X, the largest purpose-built business jet), and will be capable of performing major maintenance and modifications on up to 18 Falcon models simultaneously. "We extensively evaluated several areas before we found that the business environment in Florida, along with its highly skilled workforce on the Space Coast, to be the perfect combination for this project," continued Trappier. "We appreciate the cooperative support received from the Governor's office and the State of Florida. Their support and leadership made this possible."

Bombardier is pleased to announce that it will officially inaugurate its newest, state-of-the-art service center in the U.S., located at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Bombardier’s Leadership team, customers, VIP guests and members of the media will be invited to attend the ceremony on Oct. 31, 2022, in Miami.

Once fully operational, the new 300,000 square foot facility will more than quadruple Bombardier’s current maintenance footprint in Florida and allow the company to transfer its service center operations from Fort Lauderdale to the new one-of-a-kind customer service center at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF), located close to Miami’s bustling business district. The new facility will be fully equipped to perform extensive and complete full-service scheduled and unscheduled heavy maintenance, including paint enhancement services, to help reduce aircraft downtime. It will be fully equipped to perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, aircraft modifications, avionics installations, and Aircraft on Ground Support (AOG) for Bombardier’s business aircraft fleet of Learjet, Challenger, and Global aircraft.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced recently plans to add a new component repair and overhaul facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, metropolitan area. The facility will focus on component repair and maintenance supporting Gulfstream’s commitment to aircraft lifecycle reliability and durability. The 100,000-square-foot/9,290-square-meter facility will initially focus on wheels, brakes and landing gear and is expected to open in the first half of 2023. As the Gulfstream fleet continues to grow, the Dallas-Fort Worth component repair and overhaul facility will ultimately expand its repair and overhaul services to aircraft structures, avionics and other components.

"The Dallas-Fort Worth area is a prime location for our new component overhaul and repair facility," said Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Customer Support. "Its close proximity to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport adds a convenient location adjacent to one of the United States’ largest air cargo operations, allowing us to move these components and parts quickly and efficiently to customers around the country. This facility also complements our service center at Fort Worth Alliance Airport and Gulfstream’s completions and Customer Support service operations at Dallas Love Field Airport to create even more accessibility and options for our customers."

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently announced the addition of new hangar space adjacent to Gulfstream Customer Support’s all-new Mesa, Arizona, service center, which continues to progress toward completion next year at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The new hangar is located at the SkyBridge development at the airport and augments hangar space Gulfstream established at the facility in March. Gulfstream Customer Support announced the new Mesa facility in November 2021 and broke ground last May. The new 225,000-square-foot/20,908 square-meter service center comprises a more than $100 million investment and will significantly expand Gulfstream’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities in the Western United States.

Bombardier has inaugurated its Miami Opa-Locka service center at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF). Once fully operational, the new 300,000 square foot facility will more than quadruple Bombardier’s current maintenance footprint in Florida and allow the company to transfer its service center operations from Fort Lauderdale to the new one-of-a-kind customer service center at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF), located close to Miami’s bustling business district.

The new facility will be fully equipped to perform extensive and complete full-service scheduled and unscheduled heavy maintenance, including paint enhancement services, to help reduce aircraft downtime. It will be fully equipped to perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, aircraft modifications, avionics installations, and Aircraft on Ground Support (AOG) for Bombardier’s business aircraft fleet of Learjet, Challenger, and Global aircraft.

"The Miami Opa-Locka Service Center brings essential, specialized services for our customers, enabling us to continue to deliver the service excellence they have come to expect from Bombardier," said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Executive Vice President, Services and Support, and Corporate Strategy, Bombardier. "Our new facility in Miami will serve as an important gateway for our U.S. based and Latin American customers and will provide significant benefits, including improved aircraft turnarounds, greater convenience and OEM peace of mind to Bombardier’s growing customer base here."

Summit Aviation has now finished moving over to their new location in Greensboro, NC. A new 49,000-sq-ft building in Greensboro will now facilitate more room for its activities. "The increased space provides us with the opportunity to expand our capabilities and add new machinery that allows us to serve our aviation and other types of industry customers in a capacity we haven’t been able to do prior to this move," said Summit Aviation Greensboro manufacturing director Garrett Wishon.

As part of our ongoing investment in dedicated facilities across key real estate markets, we are pleased to share that we are breaking ground on a new NetJets exclusive-use facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our first from-the-ground-up NetJets Maintenance Service Hub™ will significantly improve direct collaboration with our supply chain partners, thereby improving performance and increasing service efficiencies to our aircraft. Securing ramp space will limit traffic congestion and fuel delays and improve on-time performance. For our Owners, this means seamless access to their aircraft so they can continue to depend on us to get them where they need to be.

Textron Aviation recently broke ground on its 180,000 square foot expansion to its parts distribution facility. The project was announced during the last held NBAA-BACE in Orlando. The new project will now allow the company to better support customers who own and operate Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker products. "This is an exciting day for Textron Aviation as we break ground on this expansion to our parts distribution facility," said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, Global Parts and Distribution. "The additional space and capabilities this expansion provides will enable us to continue to invest in inventory to support not only new models like the Cessna SkyCourier and Beechcraft Denali but to continue to bolster our stock levels for other product lines as well."

Southern Sky Aviation is expanding its presence and has added an additional mobile unit to better assist customers. They have expanded the AOG service with the addition of a second mobile unit and team that will serve customers from Panama City, Florida, to New Orleans.

Expansion of Bombardier's London Biggin Hill service center.