How the Survey Was Administered

Continued weakness in the business aviation market appears to ­aircraft. In all of these cases, the manufacturer, if electing to partici- manufacturer had to garner at least 20 ratings. be reflected in a low response rate to the 2010 AIN Product Support pate, is required to provide a complete list of those customers, and The following are the 10 ratings categories, including expla- Survey. This year’s survey invited 17,284 AIN readers to participate AIN invites those customers who qualify to become subscribers. Not nations of the key points that survey participants were asked to but only 921 completed the survey, for a return rate of 5.3 percent. all of those lists include e-mail addresses, which explains the differ- consider when submitting their opinions. Previous participation levels were 12 percent in 2009, 10.28 for 2008 ence between the 8.3 percent participation rate for participants with n Factory Service Centers–cost estimates versus actual, on- and 10 percent in 2007. According to Forecast International of New- e-mail addresses and the 5.3 percent rate for the total number of in- time performance, scheduling ease, service experience. town, Conn., which helped design and administer the survey with vited participants. Last year, for example, 14,948 people were invited n Authorized Service Centers–same as above. AIN, “While this response is a valid basis for determining subscriber to complete the survey, while this year that number jumped to 17,284, n Parts Availability–in stock versus back order, shipping time. opinion, the decrease in participation is discouraging and appears to swelled by lists provided by manufacturers. n Cost of Parts–value for price paid. be a cumulative, strong result of the poor condition of the business This year’s survey was accessible from April 23 to June 13, n AOG Response–speed, accuracy, cost. 2010 aviation community over the past few years.” with time added to encourage additional participation. One change n Warranty Fulfillment–ease of paperwork, extent of coverage. The AIN Product Support Survey is conducted entirely on the that might have made a difference this year is that respondents n Product Support Survey Internet, although some participants are invited via postcard. AIN were initially required to provide registration numbers of the air- Technical Manuals–ease of use, formats available, timeli- did not, however, have e-mail addresses for all invited participants, craft they operate. AIN changed this requirement during the survey ness of updating. PART ONE • AIRCRAFT so the return rate for those with e-mail addresses (11,050) is high- and made providing registration numbers voluntary on May 20, n Technical Reps–response time, knowledge, effectiveness. by Matt Thurber er, at 8.3 percent. but this might still have discouraged participation. This year, AIN n Maintenance Tracking Programs–cost, ease of use, It should be noted that AIN has asked airframe manufacturers to also added questions about where the aircraft is serviced and the accuracy, reliability. provide customer lists so that some models that don’t typically re- type of service facility. n Overall Product Reliability–how the product’s overall Gulfstream once again takes the number one ceive high enough response rates to be included might quality for The survey asks AIN readers to rate their aircraft, engines ­reliability and quality stack up against the competition’s. inclusion. This also will help with new models entering service, such and avionics in 10 categories. On the one-to-10 rating scale, one The aircraft results are published in this issue, while the avionics slot for jets (those built in the U.S.); Hawker as Embraer’s new Phenom 100 and 300, and with out-of-production is inadequate­ and 10 is excellent. To be listed in the results, a report will be featured next month and engines in October. –M.T. takes the top spot among newer turboprops and Bell claims the number one 2010 ratings (revised 09/08/11) Aircraft are listed in the order of their 2010 overall averages. rating among helicopters. Rating Overall Overall Auth. Factory Mx Overall Change % Parts Cost AOG Warranty Technical Technical Average Average Service Service Tracking Aircraft from ’09 Change Availability of Parts Response Fulfillment Manuals Reps 2010 2009 Centers Centers Programs Reliability ulfstream took the lead again Unfortunately, we did not receive to ’10 in the annual AIN Product enough responses this year to include all Overall Average Ratings of Newer and Older Aircraft Combined NEWER BUSINESS JETS Support Survey, coming out of the turboprops. Mitsubishi’s MU-2 Q ahead in both the newer and held its lead with a small jump to 8.90, (in order of 2010 ratings) G Gulfstream (GIV through G550) 8.31 N/app. N/app. N/app. 7.96 8.24 8.44 6.35 8.58 8.55 8.24 8.74 8.71 9.08 older (more than 10 years old) catego- ’s newer King Airs Cessna (Citation) 8.22 7.81 0.41 5.24% 7.78 8.28 8.33 6.93 8.43 8.40 8.04 8.56 8.41 8.79 ries and also in the combined newer and climbed almost 3 percent this year, to The chart below provides the overall average rating of each manu- Rating older aircraft. Bombardier’s ratings for 7.61, while its older models declined by facturer when the newer and older aircraft scores are combined. Overall Overall Bombardier (Learjet) 7.95 7.39 0.56 7.61% 7.69 7.78 7.90 6.51 8.13 8.41 7.91 8.82 8.00 8.38 This gives OEMs and readers a glimpse of a manufacturer’s overall Change % Average Average all models climbed over last year’s. more than 3 percent, to 6.82. support ratings for all its products. The chart is broken down by jets from Change Gulfstream (G100 to G200) 7.75 N/app. N/app. N/app. 7.70 7.54 7.32 6.60 7.81 8.07 7.84 8.26 7.80 8.38 2010 2009 Although the company ranked low in Helicopters saw big gains this year, and turboprops, as the level of service and support can vary widely ’09 to ’10 Dassault (Falcon) 7.68 7.52 0.16 2.18% 7.55 6.94 7.71 6.27 8.07 8.07 7.56 7.97 8.03 8.47 the newer and older jet categories, its im- with Bell again at the forefront with a 13.5- between the two segments. Hawker Beechcraft (Hawker except 400XP) 7.66 7.29 0.37 5.11% 7.84 7.90 7.07 6.23 7.28 8.27 7.31 8.24 8.25 8.26 proved scores may reflect that it dropped percent jump to 7.91. AgustaWestland Bombardier (Challenger) 7.63 7.56 0.07 0.94% 7.65 7.48 7.24 6.08 7.72 7.87 7.66 8.29 7.90 8.30 a controversial program under which climbed more than 9 percent to 7.48, JETS customers flying older aircraft had to pay while Sikorsky edged up 3 percent to Hawker Beechcraft (Premier I, Hawker 400XP) 7.41 7.40 0.01 0.09% 8.11 8.29 7.13 5.52 7.18 7.27 7.62 7.59 7.76 7.92 extra fees for product support of classic 7.09. Eurocopter’s ranking dropped this Gulfstream (GII through G550) 8.23 N/app. N/app. N/app. Bombardier (Global Express/XRS, Global 5000) 7.16 6.73 0.43 6.38% 7.40 7.16 6.77 5.63 7.18 7.39 6.88 8.20 7.44 7.52 aircraft. The model with the largest per- year by about 5 percent, to 6.17. OLDER BUSINESS JETS centage growth in rankings compared to It is interesting to see that in all the Q Q Cessna (Citation) 7.91 7.65 0.25 3.33% last year is Bombardier’s newer Learjets, aircraft categories overall aircraft reli- Gulfstream (GII through GIV) 8.14 N/app. 0.38 5.28% 7.96 7.76 8.35 6.14 8.65 8.27 8.23 8.61 8.61 8.76 up 7.61 percent, to 7.95. ability is the predominant high-scoring Dassault (Falcon) 7.59 7.21 0.38 5.28% 7.91 6.97 7.73 5.61 7.92 7.35 7.33 8.11 7.91 8.84 One change this year involved realign- ranking for all the manufacturers. In Gulfstream (Astra, Galaxy, G100, G200) 7.76 N/app. N/app. N/app. ing the Gulfstream models to reflect their the newer jet category, however, Bom- Cessna (Citation) 7.46 7.39 0.07 0.97% 7.58 7.08 7.70 5.86 7.53 7.22 7.70 7.58 7.79 8.32 pedigree more accurately. Now the U.S.- bardier Learjet scored highest for tech- Bombardier (Learjet) 7.69 7.26 0.43 5.93% Bombardier (Learjet) 7.35 7.11 0.24 3.33% 7.32 6.58 7.34 6.00 7.67 7.04 7.64 7.74 7.92 8.01 built large-cabin Gulfstream jets (GII nical reps, and the Global series ranked Hawker Beechcraft (Hawker) 7.18 7.03 0.15 2.08% 7.33 6.89 6.92 5.62 6.98 6.87 7.27 7.93 7.95 8.06 through G550) and the Israel Aerospace much higher when comparing techni- Dassault (Falcon) 7.64 7.38 0.26 3.53% Bombardier (Challenger) 7.06 6.66 0.40 6.00% 7.79 6.86 6.71 5.29 7.03 6.76 7.16 7.45 7.74 7.93 Industries-built models (Astra, Galaxy, cal reps with overall reliability. Among Hawker Beechcraft (Premier I, Diamond, Beechjet 400A) 6.94 6.74 0.20 2.92% 7.25 7.25 6.95 5.58 7.06 7.00 6.26 6.77 7.33 8.05 G100 to G200) are clearly separated. The many of the other jet manu­facturers, Hawker Beechcraft (Hawker except 400XP) 7.44 7.19 0.25 3.43%

realignment means that last year’s Gulf- technical reps received the second-high- NEWER TURBOPROPS Q stream numbers are not compared to this est score, which shows not only that the Bombardier (Challenger) 7.41 7.16 0.25 3.48% Hawker Beechcraft (King Air) 7.61 7.41 0.20 2.67% 7.74 6.77 7.02 6.31 7.51 7.97 7.81 7.91 7.93 8.77 year’s rankings. reps are doing a good job but also how OLDER TURBOPROPS For newer business jets, Gulfstream’s important they are in the product sup- Q Q large-cabin models topped the rankings port spectrum. With business aircraft, (BBJ) 7.37 7.80 -0.43 -5.53% Mitsubishi (MU-2, Marquise, Diamond, Solitaire) 8.90 8.81 0.09 1.02% 9.35 9.47 8.83 7.74 8.82 9.00 8.78 8.87 8.81 9.57 at 8.31, followed by Cessna’s Citations, the personal touch is clearly critical. Hawker Beechcraft 7.19 7.04 0.16 2.23% Hawker Beechcraft (King Air) 6.82 7.06 -0.24 -3.41% 7.35 6.45 6.85 5.65 6.48 6.59 7.04 6.66 6.79 8.07 up more than 5 percent, to 8.22. Bom- What about the lowest rankings? (Premier I, Diamond, Beechjet 400A, Hawker 400XP) bardier’s Learjet line made a big leap As is always the case, cost of parts ROTORCRAFT (All Ages) this year to third place, moving past last received the lowest scores for every Bombardier (Global Express/XRS, Global 5000) 7.18 6.73 0.45 6.67% year’s finish behind Dassault Falcon, manufacturer, for both newer and Bell 7.91 6.97 0.94 13.54% 8.29 7.93 7.68 6.32 7.87 8.06 8.13 8.48 8.29 8.46 Hawker Beech­craft (Premier, etc.) and older jets, turboprops and helicopters, TURBOPROPS AgustaWestland 7.48 6.85 0.63 9.18% 8.52 8.13 6.54 6.13 6.79 7.70 8.29 8.25 5.90 8.00 the Challenger line. Bombardier’s Glob- except AgustaWestland. o Sikorsky 7.09 6.88 0.21 3.08% 7.10 6.95 6.58 5.92 6.88 7.32 7.54 7.74 7.24 7.68 al line also saw a healthy jump of more All the reader comments about Mitsubishi (Marquise, MU-2, Solitaire) 8.90 8.81 0.09 1.02% Eurocopter 6.17 6.50 -0.33 -5.06% 6.18 5.53 5.26 4.76 6.00 6.18 6.68 7.33 6.00 7.51 Source: AIN 2010 Product Support Survey than 6 percent this year, to 7.16. product support are available online at Compiled by Jane Campbell with data provided by Forecast International of Newtown, Conn. Bold indicates highest number in each category. In fourth place this year is Gulfstream www.ainonline.com/resource-center/ Hawker Beechcraft (King Air) 7.14 7.14 0 0.00% *Last year’s ratings for Gulfstream are not included due to changes made to more accurately reflectGulfstream’s ­ model breakdown. for its IAI-built jets, at 7.75, followed by The results of the avionics Source: AIN 2010 Product Support Survey Dassault Falcon in fifth place at 7.68. survey will run next month; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Hawker Beechcraft’s newer jets climbed the engine results will run Compiled by Jane Campbell with data provided by Forecast International of Newtown, Conn. strongly to 7.66 this year, up by more in the October issue. Bold indicates highest number in each category. Rating Scale: *The Gulfstream rating category changed this year, and therefore a direct comparison cannot be made between Q Less than 10 years old than 5 percent. Report text continues on page 24 u this year’s and last year’s ratings. Q Q More than 10 years old Inadequate Poor Average Good Excellent

22aaAviation International News • August 2010 • www.ainonline.com www.ainonline.com • August 2010 • Aviation International Newsaa23 2010 Product Support Survey uContinued from preceding page In Their Own Words...

n analyzing the comments from readers who completed AIN’s 2010 Product Q What Have You Done for Me Lately? Support Survey, we tabulated the number of positive or negative comments Ireceived. Available space does not allow publishing all of the comments, by Matt Thurber and those chosen are intended to be informative and representative. All reader comments are online at www.ainonline.com/resource-center/. Some manufacturers responded­ in detail to AIN’s query about what they have done during the past year to improve customer service; some kept mum. In one odd about-face, Bombardier has Factory Service Centers dropped its policy of charging customers with airplanes older than 10 years, while Hawker Beech­craft Bombardier (positive: 33, negative: 14) instituted a new policy implementing fees for older-aircraft product support. n “I use Bombardier Hartford. It has problems sometimes that are probably The case is clear, though, that the manufacturers have maintained spending on product support,­ related to the ebb and flow of the more experienced technicians who move on. Lately it has been top notch, best in years.” despite reduced sales and cutbacks on the manufacturing side. –Ken Lavine, director of maintenance, Whitewind, Challenger 604/605 n “We primarily use BAS Dallas and have had great service. Recently had a more closely with its affiliates supporting the fleet,” Hoblyn ex­  Airbus Corporate Jets maintenance event at BAS Tucson and also had a good experience. The Q did not respond and third-party providers to plained. “The incremental cost of recent changes in customer focus are evident at every level. Technicians develop up­grades, STCs and supporting a Learjet owner [of a from both locations are true professionals.” AgustaWestland licensed spares under the FAA- legacy airplane] is not high, and we –Robert Kleinschmidt, manager of maintenance, Jet Aviation, Global Express/XRS AgustaWestland added six approved parts manufacturer­ want that owner to come back and new authorized service centers approval (PMA) process. buy another.” Cessna (positive: 46, negative: 25) last year, bringing the total to Other developments at Bell One way that Bombardier n “We have noticed a marked uptick in performance at the Orlando service nearly 70, and the company has include a new AOG order policy is keeping support costs more center and more so at the Wichita service center. The downturn seems to approved 12 more authorized fa- “to better control prioritization reasonable is with electronic have made Cessna focus more on customer service and quality.” cilities and is evaluating another of spares ordering” and delivery “smart manuals,” which it is – name withheld by request, Citation CJ3 10. The service center network of all Bell commercial technical developing for all of its aircraft n “They try to put the aircraft back to delivery standards. They over-inspect is managed by more than 30 re- manuals in electronic format. types, including older airplanes. and look at stuff they shouldn’t be to try and run up the bill.” gional customer service manag- This effort helps customers –Dewey Forker, Jet Spec, Excel ers, and “each CSM is responsible  Boeing Business Jets look up information in manuals Dassault Falcon (positive: 14, negative: 23) Q did not respond for a particular region­ or specific before calling a Bombardier tech- n “DAS Reno has started up a nice facility. It has been accommodating and countries and acts as the coordi- nical rep. Bombardier has also professional. The labor rate is high and they are limited to where they can nator and contact point for op- Bombardier made a special effort to imple- get their parts. The parts ordering and the work quoting process were not erators,” the company noted. “During the last three or four ment changes in manuals quickly. smooth. The location is convenient. I appreciated their ability to get me in Last year, AgustaWestland years we’ve been driving hard “We used to have a backlog of on short notice.” –Andy Lindborg, director of maintenance, Falcon 900B doubled the size of its logistics and improving dispatch reliabil- customer re­quests for changes n “Dassault Falcon Service Centers Wilmington and Little Rock, horrible service, center in Lonate Pozzolo, Italy. ity,” said James Hoblyn, Bom- in the thousands,” Hoblyn said. The AgustaWestland fleet op- bardier president of customer “Now there’s no backlog; we [difficulty] sticking to previously set schedules, terrible customer relations/ erations center supports AOG services and specialized and am- jump on it and resolve it.” support personnel, particularly in Little Rock. Had a 2C/gear overhaul there customers 24/7. In Brazil, the phibious aircraft. The company At its factory-owned Business recently; the aircraft was in maintenance twice as long as the estimated five company’s new AgustaWestland now has 42 authorized and sev- Aviation Services facilities, Bom- weeks it was to supposed to take.” –name withheld by request, Falcon 50EX Do Brasil subsidiary is under con- en factory-owned Bombardier bardier has attacked a persistent Embraer (positive: 7, negative: 3) struction and will provide main- Aviation Services facilities­ glob- and complex problem, invoicing n “Embraer Mesa has an amazing staff, great techs, great management.” tenance, logistics, spares, repair, ally and spares depots in São errors. “We had to do a lot of –Shawn Pacheco, crew chief, Legacy 600 overhaul and modifications. Paolo, Frankfurt, Singapore, workshops to solve the issue,” n “We have been using the Embraer factory facility in Brazil for seven years. Dubai, Chicago­ and Mumbai. said Hoblyn. “Three or four years However, problems [linger]. Lack of knowledge of the Legacy 600 and Bell Helicopter Earlier this year, Bombardier ago when we visited customers, systems, constant turnover in the hangar workforce, difficult bureaucracy Bell Helicopter has realigned held a grand opening for its first we used to hear about invoic- to remove parts from factory stock to [fix an] AOG.” its affiliate companies under the non-U.S. wholly owned service ing,” he said, “and now we don’t. –Edison Loredo, maintenance manager, Legacy 600 customer service and support di­ center in Amsterdam. When you’re a customer and that vision, including Edwards & As­ The big news for Bombardier happens every month, it doesn’t Eurocopter (positive: 2, negative: 4) sociates, Aeronautical Accessories is that it has dropped the charg- make you happy.” n “For some questions they are helpful, but if they don’t know, it’s a call to and Rotor Blades. In February, es for product support of older France that might or might not yield an answer.” –name withheld by request Bell purchased Prague-based Avia- legacy aircraft. “Our intention is Cessna tion Service to expand its helicopter not to isolate them,” said Hob­ Cessna says its new Service­ Gulfstream (positive: 29, negative: 17) service capabilities in the European lyn, “but to build a business to Direct initiative is proving pop­ n “Factory service in Savannah is always excellent. Gulfstream assigns the helicopter market. support them. We’re not going ular with customers, by taking same lead and team to the aircraft so there is continuity that is invaluable.” Bell has created a new “leg- to do that by charging for ­technical maintenance to the customer –Nitish Iyengar, pilot, G550 acy ship” program management support.” Bombardier recognizes instead­ of having the customer n “Appleton is by far the best service center that I have used. Attentive and function, which is designed to that its out-of-production fleet fly to a Citation service center aggressive to make sure things are done correctly. Long Beach has slipped address parts availability for keeps growing, and providing in- for every problem. “It’s hard to to the bottom of the barrel. A lack of leadership has given to poor quality.” older helicopters and work with tegrated solutions such as parts, ask a customer to spend $3,000 –name withheld by request, GV industry to develop upgrades to training and maintenance for these worth of fuel to get $2,000 worth improve mission capabilities. owners helps pay for product sup- of maintenance done,” said Stan Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 23, negative: 12) Bell is planning to work port. “The fixed cost is there for Younger, v-p of service facilities. n “HBS San Antonio has been instrumental in the support of this aircraft. If ServiceDirect includes mo- it were not for them, and my field service rep John Frees, we would have bile service units, of which there dumped this aircraft a long time ago.” were eight by July; Cessna plans –Erling Brabaek, director of flight operations, Hurd Enterprises, Premier I/IA to have a total of 15 in the U.S. n “Hawker Beechcraft Tampa: I feel it is more concerned with its own bottom Another is being added in Lyon, line than with my bottom line. There are no common-sense considerations France. ServiceDirect also helps when dealing with replacing parts and so on.” customers stay at home by of- –name withheld by request, King Air 350 fering to provide maintenance technicians who will work at the Authorized Service Centers customer’s hangar, to help with Bombardier (positive: 20, negative: 7) scheduled maintenance events n “Duncan Aviation: The Challenger team at Duncan Aviation Lincoln are highly or other tasks. This can include trained and experienced on the Challenger series. Our experience with Dun- Cessna technicians spending can has always been positive.” –name withheld by request, Challenger 604/605 time after delivery with a cus- Continues on page 26 u Bell Continues on page 26 u

24aaAviation International News • August 2010 • www.ainonline.com 2010 Product Support Survey uContinued from page 24 Cessna (positive: 25, negative: 7) n “West Star Aviation Grand Junction is our primary maintenance facility, with customers are buying aircraft in knowledgeable staff and fair pricing.” –Skip Thigpen, chief pilot, Citation III China and India,” said Jacques Chauvet, senior v-p of worldwide Dassault Falcon (positive: 25, negative: 3) customer service, “and there are n “We have used Midcoast Aviation at St. Louis Downtown almost exclusively lots of transient aircraft. It’s im- for our maintenance. It has been terrific in all respects. Dassault has unfor- portant to have support there.” tunately removed [Midcoast] from the list of authorized service centers. I’m sure the fact that Midcoast is owned by a competing manufacturer did not Eclipse Aerospace help their case in keeping their Falcon repair authorization.” While it hasn’t yet resumed –name withheld by request, Falcon 50EX manufacturing very light jets, Eclipse Aerospace, which Embraer (positive: 10, negative: 2) bought the assets of bankrupt n “Constant Aviation in Cleveland is by far the best authorized service center Eclipse Aviation, is providing we have visited. Real professionals.” –David Regan, chief pilot, Legacy 600 welcome relief to the owners of Eurocopter (positive: 2, negative: 1) Cessna Citation CJ1+ 260 EA-500 twinjets that for a n “We are fortunate to have two excellent maintenance facilities in the area. while were without any formal The one we use most is Advanced Helicopter Services in Vacaville, Calif. It tomer or deploying a “shop-in- support. Since forming Eclipse Q Daher-Socata did works hand and hand with the airframe and engine manufacturers.” a-box” equipped with tools and not respond Aerospace in September 2009 –Robert Johnson, director of aviation, Concord Jet Service spares to a site to support one or the company has established multiple customers. Dassault Falcon service centers in Chicago; Al- Gulfstream (positive: 9, negative: 4) Cessna is building a new Dassault Falcon is launch- buquerque, N.M.; Boca Raton, n “Duncan Aviation, Battle Creek. Good, dependable, within budget and no factory-owned Citation ser- ing a system to tap into the Fla.; and Istanbul, Turkey. And surprises!” –name withheld by request, GIV-SP vice center in Valencia, Spain, central maintenance computer EA-500 owners finally can have n “Metrojet (Hong Kong). Poor service and expensive.” due to open in 2012. Last year, (CMC) installed on modern their airplanes upgraded to the –name withheld by request, G450 Cessna moved its Long Beach, airplanes such as the 7X and latest configuration, including Calif. service center to Mesa, EASy-equipped jets to diagnose flight-into- known-icing and Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 23, negative: 5) n Ariz., and that facility’s staffing and troubleshoot problems re- the AvioNG 1.7 avionics pack- “Stevens Aviation GSP: More than excellent airframe and engine support.” has already grown 20 percent motely, under the company’s E- age. According to co-founder –David Young, Standridge Color, King Air 350 since opening. Maintenance program. Both the Michael Press, “We are work- n “We use Duncan Aviation and are satisfied with the work and cost control they New products available from Falcon Technical Center or ser- ing on a plan to get back into offer.”–Mark Jones, director of maintenance, Cozzens & Cudahy Air, Hawker jet the Cessna service center net- vice centers can access the CMC production so the [Eclipse 500] work include the RightNow in- data via a laptop computer is not an orphaned airplane.” Parts Availability terior refurb program, which of- hooked up to a wireless or sat- Meanwhile, Eclipse Aerospace Bombardier (positive: 22, negative: 24) fers quick-turn cabin makeovers com network. E-Maintenance is offering used EA-500s with n “Worldwide parts availability has vastly improved over the past five years.” using pre-stocked materials is scheduled for implementation a Total Eclipse package of up- –Ronald Earl, lead technician, Citigroup, Global Express/XRS at the service center locations. early next year, once the com- grades for $2.15 million­ with n “Sometimes available, but the dead-on-arrival rate is annoying.” Cessna is also offering Waas munications systems are set up factory warranty. –name withheld by request, Global Express/XRS upgrades for a number of Cita- at Falcon factory-owned and tion models as well as the Ad- authorized service centers. Embraer Cessna (positive: 39, negative: 16) Viz upgrade with Dassault Falcon has expand- With its fleet of business jets n “25 years operating Citations, never a delay waiting for parts.” IS&S displays. ed its parts distribution network growing rapidly around the –name withheld by request, Citation X On the parts front, Cessna to bring parts closer to customers world, Embraer has been add- n “You can’t beat Citation CPD for availability and great service, but there are opened AOG spares distribu- all over the world. Twelve spares ing service capabilities. New several outside vendors with better pricing. CPD’s guaranteed number of tion centers in Amsterdam and facilities are located in China, authorized service centers are lo- landings for brake exchange is a great program.” Singapore in partnership with Australia, Asia, India, Latin cated in Australia, Canada, Ger- –name withheld by request, Citation V sister company Bell Helicop- America, Europe, Africa, the many, India, South Africa and ter. More important, all Cessna Middle East and the U.S. Anoth- the U.S., and the company has Dassault Falcon (positive: 30, negative: 11) n service centers, mobile service er facility is planned in Russia. added a factory-owned service “Dassault has improved considerably over the past several years. And it units and parts warehouses A new service center strat- center in São José dos Campos, continues to improve.” –name withheld by request, Falcon 50 are connected electronically, egy centers around three levels Brazil. Embraer now has six fac- n “Some parts are not always in stock. Several cases of new parts failing a short so parts are visible within the of authorized service centers, line tory-owned service centers, and time after installation. Same problem with overhauled or exchange parts.” Cessna system. maintenance, major (all main- authorized service centers for –Tim Larsen, chief pilot, Capital Flight, Falcon 900B Cessna appointed three new tenance on certain models) and the Legacy models number 27, Embraer (positive: 6, negative: 6) authorized service facilities re- heavy (all maintenance on all for the Phenoms 22 and for the n “Parts availability has stayed on the upward trend line it has shown.” cently, in Hong Kong, Turkey models). There are now 26 service Lineage five. –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 and the UK and is planning to centers, with new facilities under Last year, Embraer opened n “Embraer needs to ramp up. Still waiting for the -3 brake computer. I was enhance its support infrastruc- discussion in India and Moscow two new parts distribution centers the third Phenom in the U.S. over 1.5 years ago.” ture in Asia. plus two or three more. “More Continues on page 28 u –Bryan Elhardt, chief pilot, Heaven Leasing, Phenom 100

Drawing Winners Eurocopter (positive: 3, negative: 10) n “Eurocopter parts availability is usually good from the factory, but I have In appreciation of readers’ participation in the annual AIN Product Support Survey, each year we hold a drawing and seen long lead times on parts not in country. Eurocopter is issuing service award prizes to survey respondents. This year, AIN has added new drawing prizes, which include three Sennheiser noise- bulletins that require part replacement and then it does not properly plan canceling headsets and 10 $100 retail gift cards. part availability for compliance.” –name withheld by request Winners of the three Sennheiser headsets this year are: n Jamie Stember, aviation dept. manager, CP Manage- n Neil Taylor, flight department manager, Rosewood ment, Lititz, Pa. Gulfstream (positive: 27, negative: 8) Resources, Dallas n Kimberlie Miller, pilot, Jynair, Washougal, Wash. n “Availability is excellent; however, a lot of replacement parts come with ‘no n Dirk Tanis, captain, American Resources, Rock Hill, S.C. n Tony Fishlock, manager of avionics mods, Kelowna fault found,’ but it is still there. We find it.”–name withheld by request, G450 n Gregory Simon, owner/manager, Winged Horse, Santa Flightcraft, Kelowna, B.C. Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 19, negative: 29) Ynez, Calif. n Wesley Violet, aircraft technician, Occidental Petroleum, n “They always find a way to solve a parts issue.” Winners of the 10 retail gift cards are: Newhall, Calif. –Mike Strader, chief pilot, Regal Beloit, Hawker jet n Wayne Pliss, chief pilot fixed wing, Aviation Services, n Steve Chapel, Qwest, Grand Junction, Colo. n “Poor. Parts are stocked only in production [line], [and are] limited, to no spares Yucca Valley, Calif. n Morgan Michel, helicopter pilot, MST Aviation, availability, down to a simple screw. Biggest problem so far with the program.” n Hemet Patel, line captain, Betman, Gainesville, Va. Ashland, Ky. –name withheld by request, n Eddie Yell, aviation dept. manager, Boyd Aviation, n Lindsay Olsen, company administrator, MTC Aviation, Eufaula, Ala. Prairie Village, Kan. Continues on page 28 u

26aaAviation International News • August 2010 • www.ainonline.com 2010 Product Support Survey uContinued from page 26 Cost of Parts Bombardier (positive: 4, negative: 23) in Singapore and Dubai, and this nal facility. “When we built the fleets continue to grow and the n “Average, but would be willing to pay more if only they worked.” year the company plans to add new facility,” said Burns, “we demands for technical support on –name withheld by request, Learjet 36 spares in mainland planned for the inevitable.” This these expanded fleets and newer Cessna (positive: 16, negative: 33) China. meant providing compressed air, models continue to escalate.” n “Batteries that I used to buy from Concorde for $1,100 are now $2,500 and Embraer has expanded its power and wireless Internet at 16 HBC will charge operators can be purchased only from Cessna.” –name withheld by request, Citation X Embraer Executive Care (EEC) spots on the ramp to handle the of Class airplanes for requests hourly maintenance cost pro- inevitable outdoor work. Anoth- for data that is already pub- Dassault Falcon (positive: 13, negative: 31) gram to cover all models and re- er lesson learned was that tools lished in HBC manuals, single- n “They continue to bring costs down and are competitive with other gions where its business jets are and equipment tends to clutter system wiring diagrams, advice sources.” –Andy Lindborg, director of maintenance, 900B operated. the hangar, so the new service or troubleshooting and draw- n “Ridiculous is an understatement. As my boss and the airplane owner says, All parts transactions now center includes a 100,000-sq-ft ing research for modifications. ‘That’s why not too many people own aircraft.’” –name withheld by request, 50EX take place through Embraer’s E- equipment building, which has To help customers deal with parts system on the FlyEmbraer the added benefit of lowering the these costs, HBC implemented Embraer (positive: 0, negative: 1) customer support Web portal, incidence of damage. a new Web-based tool allowing n “Expensive. Overall, we can buy parts from vendors at a significant discount including ordering, warranty A new 24/7 call center was ­limited pay-per-view access to from what Embraer charges.” –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 management, exchanges, order opened in July last year and manuals without having to buy Eurocopter (positive: 1, negative: 9) tracking and checking stock. ­located inside the new service an entire maintenance library. n “A plastic cover about two square inches costs $1,000?” Last August, Embraer center so technical reps can be In January, HBC consoli- –Pieter Koster, check/instructor pilot opened a new customer sup- close to the maintenance action. dated all of its customer support port contact center staffed 24/7, Gulfstream (positive: 2, negative: 28) Hawker 350 based at Embraer headquarters n “The cost of the parts for this airplane runs the range from moderately in São José dos Campos. overpriced to grossly overpriced. It’s virtually impossible to create a budget Embraer jets are equipped that reflects how much it’s going to cost to operate the airplane with respect with central maintenance com- to unscheduled repairs.” puters, and Embraer is taking –Michael Magnani, director of maintenance, Central Management Services advantage of the available data with a new aircraft health analy- Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 6, negative: 37) sis and diagnosis program called n “The lav tank was a stunner at $3,100. I see absolutely no reason for that.” Ahead, which will be launched –name withheld by request, King Air 200 during the second half of this year. Flight hours and cycles and AOG Response any new maintenance issues can Gulfstream’s PlaneConnect functional groups under the new Bombardier (positive: 36, negative: 8) be transmitted while airborne sys­tem is standard on new G450s Hawker Beechcraft Global Cus- n “Field service has always been Bombardier’s strong suit. Now, with the or while on the ground, either and G550s and sends a download tomer Support entity. This in­ addition of a world-class parts organization and a state-of-the-art customer wirelessly or by downloading a of in-flight data to the Gulfstream corporates­ four groups: Support response center, Bombardier’s AOG response truly is best in class!” memory­ card. “We can see and call center at top of descent. Plus; Hawker Beechcraft parts –Ronald Earl, lead technician, Citigroup, Global anticipate problems, analyze Technical reps have been and distribution; Hawker Beech­ Cessna (positive: 32, negative: 5) data, troubleshoot­ and easily lo- posted to China, Mexico, Sin- craft Services; and product sup- n “Very good. Has sent technicians both by personal service vehicles as well cate components that need to be gapore, Russia, India and other port. HBC also established cross- as company aircraft to correct issues.” replaced,” said André Kovacs, locations. The airframer is also functional teams to help make –name withheld by request, Sovereign service center network manager. working closely with its General sure projects get done in five Dassault Falcon (positive: 27, negative: 5) Dynamics sister company Jet key areas, including AOG re- n “The only thing they lack is having a team and parts ready to go in their own Eurocopter Aviation to fulfill support needs sponse; international support AOG support aircraft.” –name withheld by request, 2000EX American Eurocopter last year around the world. Overseas expansion; parts availability, cost introduced its customer service and parts inventories are also grow- and ­distribution; aircraft perfor- Embraer (positive: 8, negative: 4) fleet operations center in Grand ing, with $60 million being in- mance, reliability and resale value n “Factory is fast but FedEx is slow...makes overall delivery slow sometimes.” Prairie, Texas. The introduction of vested in spares stock in Savan- upgrades; and support infrastruc- –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 the new Keycopter online account nah, Madrid, Hong Kong and ture, like the new factory-owned “Not great yet.” –Bryan Elhardt, chief pilot, Heaven Leasing, Phenom 100 management system has been suc- 10 additional feeder locations. service center in Mesa, Ariz., and Gulfstream (positive: 47, negative: 6) cessful, with more than 50 percent “We want to be the service a new facility in Indianapolis. n “One of the best features of Gulfstream customer support.” of American Eurocopter custom- provider for every customer –Jorge Barroso, Tag Aviation, G550 ers signed up. And Eurocopter and know their experience. You MD Helicopters  n “Second-to-none AOG response. I only wish that the AOG response was not has improved logistics and supply don’t get that with a third-party Q did not respond preceded by a poor service-center visit resulting in aircraft issues and AOG chain systems with the Stream- [provider],”­ said Burns. situations.” –Casey Childers, G150 flex initiative, which forecasts and Mitsubishi fulfills orders and ship­ments. Ac- Hawker Beechcraft There are more than 400 Mit- Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 26, negative: 12) cording to American Eurocopter,­ To be able to continue to sup- subishi MU-2 twin turboprops n “Slow on responding to AOG situations.” “The initiative has already­ resulted port older airplanes, Hawker still operating worldwide, with –Jeffrey Miller, chief pilot, Hawker jet in steady increases in order fill rate, Beechcraft (HBC) implemented more than 300 of them in the U.S., n “The people at Hawker Beechcraft have handled every issue. We don’t have on-time delivery and on-time re- the classic legacy aircraft service and Mitsubishi remains dedicated down days due to parts or technical knowledge.” quested delivery.” and support (Class) program, to their ongoing support. Last –Mike Strader, chief pilot, Regal Beloit, Hawker jet which adds fees for support of year, Intercontinental Jet Services Gulfstream certain legacy models. These in- of Tulsa, Okla., completed the Warranty Fulfillment “Even in what has been a clude older piston models, certain prototype MU-2 Limited Edi- Bombardier (positive: 23, negative: 7) challenging time, we have con- King Airs through the 300 series tion, an MU-2 with Honeywell n “Excellent as long as you continue to make known your problems.” tinued to innovate,” said Mark (all FA and FF serial number TPE331-10 engines, overhauled –name withheld by request, Challenger 300 Burns, Gulfstream president of prefixes), MU-300s and straight propellers, all wear items brought product support. Last Septem- 400s and 125 series from model to new standards, interior furnish- Cessna (positive: 18, negative: 4) ber the company opened its new- 1/1A through 800A/B and 1000. ing and soundproofing upgrades, n “Excellent. Has covered all items without question to date.” est facility, the second phase of a HBC supports more than 38,000 fresh paint, optional Sagem glass –name withheld by request, Sovereign new factory-owned service cen- airplanes and averages more cockpit, new windows and other Dassault Falcon (positive: 24, negative: 4) ter at Gulfstream headquarters than 12,000 inquiries per month. improvements. The Limited Edi- n “Dassault has used common sense and gone beyond the written commit- in Savannah, Ga. “Some of these models were deliv- tion MU-2 is now available. ment for us when requested.” The second phase adds an- ered over 40 years ago,” the com- Every other year, Mitsubishi –name withheld by request, 2000 other 700,000 sq ft and holds pany noted. “We receive inquiries sponsors the free Pilots Review of 34 airplanes under roof, more regularly for services and informa- Proficiency seminars for MU-2 Continues on page 30 u than double the 16 in the origi- tion. At the same time, our new Continues on page 32 u

28aaAviation International News • August 2010 • www.ainonline.com 2010 Product Support Survey uContinued from page 28

Embraer (positive: 7, negative: 3) Maintenance Tracking Programs Daher-Socata (positive: 5, negative: 0) n “In the U.S. warranty fulfillment is not a problem at the service (sample comments) n “No dispatch problems last year at all.” centers. Outside the U.S. the service centers do not want to Bombardier –Jerry Fussell, owner, TBM700/850 start warranty work until they have warranty approval from n “Camp. Good but a little spendy.” Dassault Falcon (positive: 50, negative: 9) Embraer. This need for a preapproval takes time, usually at –name withheld by request, Challenger 300 n “Aircraft has been unreliable. Ours is one of the first. The up- least 24 hours, which is unacceptable. This problem stems n “Use Avtrak and will not use any other tracking program.” dates are extremely expensive, and why does Dassault build from the service centers not getting paid for all of the warranty –John Gaines, director of maintenance, Challenger 601-1A an aircraft that has to have so many updates? It is like it is not work that they perform.” –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 Cessna complete when it is built and they build it after you own it. I Gulfstream (positive: 18, negative: 5) n “The switch from the old Cescom to the Camp/Cescom system would never buy an aircraft new with a low serial number.” n “Industry-leading for a reason: they simply perform. Gulf- has created some mistakes in the aircraft status with respect to –name withheld by request, Falcon 7X stream takes ownership of the problem and does not stop maintenance intervals and next maintenance due. From time to n “Continuously performs flawlessly, even when there are long until the issue is fully resolved.” time new mistakes are detected, so at the moment it is hard to periods of idle time between flights.” –John Griffin, director of operations, G450 trust the system.” –name withheld by request, Cessna Mustang –name withheld by request, Falcon 2000 n “Camp took over Cescom so we will see. My beef with Camp Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 17, negative: 4) Embraer (positive: 16, negative: 3) is they send you a requirement and I must determine if it is n “Good as long as you explain in detail the troubleshooting n “Overall very good for a new aircraft. There are systems applicable.” –Dewey Forker, Citation Excel and reason for replacing a suspect part.” though like the flaps and brakes that have been a problem –name withheld by request, Hawker jet Dassault Falcon Jet from the beginning and continue to be.” n “Camp does an excellent job of keeping up with time-oriented –Ronald Gruner, president, Vallex Investments, Phenom 100 Technical Manuals parts as well as providing logbook security within its program.” n “Day to day the aircraft is a pleasure to operate. There is no Bombardier (positive: 20, negative: 17) –Roy White, chief pilot, Falcon 100 other aircraft out there that can do the things we need on n “Getting better but still typos and errors on a mature pro- n “Avtrak good. We were the first Falcon 7X so there were the market. This super-midsize aircraft does what is asked gram. Kind of hard to get a hold of anyone.” some growing pains.” –name withheld by request, Falcon 7X without too much downside. Workmanship on the airframe is –Francois Faust, AME, Challenger 604/605 just as good as any Falcon product I’ve worked on.” Embraer Cessna (positive: 23, negative: 8) –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 n “Flightdocs is a good platform to work from, with ease of n “The upgraded Cesview computer program along with up- access and entry. Data not always the most accurate or com- Eurocopter (positive: 8, negative: 0) loadable DVD maintenance manuals has vastly improved.” plete. A lot of hands-on needed to help things flow right.” n “This helicopter has never let us down.” –name withheld by request, Citation V –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 –Robert Johnson, director of aviation, Concord Jet Service Dassault Falcon (positive: 16, negative: 13) Gulfstream (positive: 51, negative: 6) n “I am satisfied with their manuals and am pleased they are Gulfstream n n “The G200 has come a long way in reliability over the last going to be going to Web-based manuals in the fall.” “Avtrak powers CMP and does a fantastic job with its prod- uct. Great customer support and ever-expanding system.” 10 years.” –John James, aircraft manager, G200 –Andy Lindborg, director of maintenance, 900B n –Casey Childers, G150 “The best airplane on the market for dispatch reliability, bar Embraer (positive: 9, negative: 2) n “CMP is not very good and needs much improvement.... none.” –Sean Leary, chief pilot, Harbour Group Industries, GIV n “A tour de force when it comes to maintenance manuals. we switched to Camp.” –name withheld by request, G200 Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 47, negative: 13) Once you get the manual wired you can find it quickly. Infor- n “Due in part to lack of replacement parts availability, some of mation is accurate and complete most times.” Hawker Beechcraft n our flights have been canceled.” –name withheld by request, Legacy 600 “Avtrak is a great tracking program.” –name withheld by request, King Air 350 –name withheld by request, Hawker jet n Gulfstream (positive: 23, negative: 6) n “Have used Camp for years and the improvements are wel- “Good until something breaks. Pilots like it, passengers like it.” n “Many errors. We send in corrections but don’t see the come and appreciated.” –name withheld by request, Hawker 4000 manual updated quickly.” –name withheld by request, G450 –Mark Jones, director of maintenance, Mitsubishi (positive: 12, negative: 0) Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 17, negative: 11) Cozzens & Cudahy Air, Hawker jet n “The airplane is always ready to fly. No canceled trips this n “Poor. Maintenance manuals are out of date and have very lim- year due to maintenance.” ited useful information, making troubleshooting very difficult.” Overall Reliability –Bruce Abel, president, Caltherm Aviation, MU-2F –name withheld by request, Hawker 4000 AgustaWestland (positive: 1, negative: 0) Piaggio (positive: 1, negative: 1) n “Generally good to excellent for a helicopter.” n “Fortunately for us, we have had a 100-percent dispatch rate Technical Reps –Robert Steinbrunn, aeromedical pilot the last year.” –name withheld by request, Avanti II Bombardier (positive: 36, negative: 9) Airbus (positive: 2, negative: 0) n “They gave us classic aircraft operators field reps again, but Pilatus (positive: 6, negative: 2) n “Perfect.” –name withheld by request, ACJ apparently they’re not boosting the plane-to-rep ratio here in n “Good thing here is that although parts are expensive the the U.S. My local rep keeps getting sent overseas to handle Bell Helicopter (positive: 4, negative: 0) aircraft does not break often.” other projects.” n “Our Bell 206s have been reliable and dependable aircraft. As –Nicholas Fells, vice president, Fells & Associates, PC-12 I’ve been told before, ‘They work well and last a long time.” –Doug Gordon, director of maintenance, Pittco, Challenger 601-3R Piper (Cheyenne) (positive: 1, negative: 1) –Carl Boylan, chief pilot, Consumers Energy Cessna (positive: 31, negative: 9) n “Not the best. We have more aircraft than we need, just to n “Don’t have experience on aircraft as much as needed, rely Boeing (positive: 7, negative: 0) ensure our dispatch reliability.” too much on what troubleshooting program states. I usually n “Without question, the finest aircraft flying.” –name withheld by request, Cheyenne IIXL end up doing better on my own.” –name withheld by request, BBJ/737 Twin Commander (positive: 2, negative: 1) –name withheld by request, Citation II Bombardier (positive: 45, negative: 19) n “Acceptable. The pressurization systems are needing more Dassault Falcon (positive: 37, negative: 11) n “More new-airplane bugs than you can shake a stick at, both work and the avionics are causing more problems. They need n “Some are super-excellent. Others seem to be reading the in the cabin systems and base airframe.” new systems but the aircraft have reached a value where the troubleshooting printout at me.” –name withheld by request, Global Express/XRS upgrades are hard to justify.” –name withheld by request, Falcon 50 n “Aircraft reliability has improved due to Learjet’s continued –Reed Lamb, director of maintenance, commitment to improvement.” Tamarack Flight Management, Commander 840 Gulfstream (positive: 46, negative: 2) –Randall Bogerding, chief of aircraft maintenance, /45XR n “These gentlemen are knowledgeable, professional and Sabreliner (positive: 2, negative: 1) Cessna (positive: 51, negative: 9) responsive; go above and beyond to assist.” n “Extremely good for an aging aircraft. Never missed or n “I have zero confidence this airplane will fly trouble free –name withheld by request, GIV-SP cancelled a trip due to a mechanical issue.” between maintenance cycles. I rate it an F-.” –Thomas Windham, aviation department manager, Sabre 60 Hawker Beechcraft (positive: 30, negative: 12) –name withheld by request, Citation Encore/Encore+ n “Tech reps good, knowledgeable and experienced, but they n “The proven reliability of the Citation V can’t be beat. Simplic- Sikorsky (positive: 4, negative: 0) want to charge a fee for help on older aircraft, which is abso- ity, loved by mechanics and pilots alike.” n “No reports of dropped flights due to maintenance.” lutely unacceptable.” –name withheld by request, King Air 90 –name withheld by request, Citation V –name withheld by request

30aaAviation International News • August 2010 • www.ainonline.com 2010 Product Support Survey uContinued from page 28 pilots and anyone considering latus’s life-extension program QPiper did not respond to the company. Other Sabre- Sikorsky buy­ing an MU-2. Three Prop has increased the safe-life limit liner developments include a In the information arena, seminars were held this year. to 25,000 hours/30,000 landings Sabreliner new Web site for operators that Sikorsky­ Aerospace Services from 20,000/27,000. Pilatus also Sabreliner has reestablished includes the jet’s history, perfor- says it has improved its interac- Q Piaggio did not respond developed a supplemental struc- the Sabreliner operator advi- mance data, service bulletin his- tive electronic technical manuals tural inspection program that sory panel, “which provides tory and available upgrades. Sa- by adding the capability for im- Pilatus sets a damage-tolerant limit at for enhanced communications breliner has also hired a current mediate updating of temporary Pilatus owners now have new 50,000 hours/60,000 landings. between aircraft operators and Sabreliner operator as a field revisions so data is completely airframe life limits that will ex- Pilatus also added two new the maintenance technicians and service and technical support current. Sikorsky added dynamic tend the utility of their PC-12 service centers and four new sat- engineering/service/parts depart- advisor to add more technical maintenance work cards, which single-engine turboprops. Pi- ellite centers. ments at Sabreliner,” according ­expertise to the support team. include summaries of airworthi- ness requirements and mainte- nance procedures that reduce maintenance man-hours and fa- cilitate FAA compliance audits, according to the company. AOG support was improved by creating a system for verifi- cation of delivery of spares to customers, with 24/7 live com- munications and a team of deliv- ery specialists working with all Sikorsky entities. This includes enhanced monitoring of AOG status and tracking fed to the Sikorsky customer portal.

Twin Commander Twin Commander Aircraft now has 15 service centers in the U.S., two in Australia, two in Europe and three in Mexico and South America, providing ongo- ing support for the long-out-of- production Twin Commander turboprop. “It is an older air- frame,” said a spokesman, “but one that Twin Commander al- ways wants to maintain as con- temporary as possible.” To keep the fleet flying, Twin Commander issues service bul- letins to fix what might seem like small items but that are impor- tant for safety and reliability. One example is a new nut with a seal where the condition and power lever cables attach to the cockpit levers, which helps pre- vent pressurization leaks. Twin Commander has com- pleted 50 Renaissance Command- er upgrades. Every system in the airplane is restored and engines are upgraded to the latest Honey- well TPE331-10 configuration. “The key to this game is to make sure that parts are out there,” the spokesman said. “If a particular part price is getting out of line,” he said, “we work with new suppliers to see if we can re- engineer it and lower the cost.” Last year, Twin Command- er moved its headquarters to Creedmoor, N.C., adding space for new inventory and supply systems. Service centers can now view the spares inventory online. Every year, Twin Commander holds an event for owners, opera- tors and service centers, alternat- ing between Twin Commander Uni­versity and the service center symposium.­ “We don’t want our owners to feel like they’re flying an orphan,” said the spokesman. o

32aaAviation International News • August 2010 • www.ainonline.com