AIN 2016 Product Support Survey

AIN’s AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft In AIN’s annual survey, readers rate airframe manufacturers on product support. The results of the avionics survey will appear in next month’s issue, with engine ratings to follow in October. by Matt Thurber

Embraer Phenom 300

DAVID McINTOSH Embraer leads for jets, Mitsubishi remains in top turboprop spot

Readers responding to AIN’s and these are Bombardier’s category, followed by Pilatus’s first-place finish this year were 2016 Product Support Survey Globals and Textron Avia- PC-12s (7.6) and Textron Avia- its top rankings for parts avail- rank Embraer at the top, with tion’s Citations. Bombardier’s tion’s King Airs (7.1), the same ability (8.6, up 0.2 from last the highest combined overall Learjet support climbed to a placements as last year. year) and overall aircraft reli- average (8.4) for newer and 7.8 rating, up from last year’s Rotorcraft rankings start with ability (up 0.1 to 9.0). older aircraft. Dassault Fal- 7.7, leaving it with a fifth- Bell Helicopter at the top of the Embraer’s rankings were bol- con and Gulfstream (both place ranking. list (7.5), as it was last year, but stered by an 8.6 for authorized midsize- and large-cabin jets) Textron Aviation’s out-of- with a lower rating (down 0.4), service centers (up from 7.5), 7.3 tie for second place at 8.2. In production jets see a diver- then Airbus Helicopters holding for cost of parts (from 7.0 last third place this year is Bom- gence this year, with the the number-two place (down 0.3 year), 9.0 for technical manuals bardier’s Challenger series at smaller jets climbing by 0.2, from last year). Sikorsky moved (up from 8.5) and 9.0 for overall 8.1, up 0.1 but matching last to 7.4, but the midsize Hawk- up one place this year to third aircraft reliability (up from 8.6). year’s third-place finish. ers dropping to 6.9. with 6.5, up 0.2, followed by Gulfstream midsize jets

Two manufacturers tied for In the turboprop arena, Mit- AgustaWestland with 6.3. earned top scores as a result of www.ainonline.com fourth place, both with a 7.9 subishi’s MU-2s climbed to 9.3 an 8.4 for factory-owned ser- rating, up 0.2 from last year, from last year’s 9.1 to top this Newer Jets vice centers, up from last year’s Three OEMs but an unprec- 7.7; 9.0 for AOG response, up edented four jet series earned from 8.6; and 9.2 for technical Gulfstream IV an 8.4 rating to rank first place reps, up from 8.1. For large- in the newer business jets cate- cabin jets, Gulfstream received gory this year, and all showed a 9.1 for warranty fulfillment, an improvement from last year’s up from 9.0; 9.0 (up from 8.6) rating. First-place rankings for maintenance-tracking pro- this year were Dassault Fal- grams; and 9.0 for overall air- con, Embraer and both Gulf- craft reliability for large-cabin stream’s midsize and large-cabin jets, up from 8.9. jets. Embraer and Gulfstream Bombardier’s Challengers midsize saw the largest change, moved into second place, up 0.2 up 0.3 from last year; Falcon from last year and also up two climbed 0.2 and Gulfstream places from last year’s fourth. large cabins were up 0.1. In third place this year Contributing to Dassault’s was Textron Aviation for the © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft

Citations, climbing 0.3 Older Jets Gulfstream’s large-cabin service centers was for newer turboprops cate- to 8.1 and up from last In the older jets cate- jets (down 0.4). the Challengers at 8.1, gory was Pilatus’s PC-12 year’s fifth place. gory, Bombardier made The Globals and climbing sharply from series, with a 7.8 rat- Bombardier’s Globals a big move up to first Challengers tied for 6.4 last year. ing, up 0.1 from last received the same 7.8 rat- place with an 8.1 rating top ranking in the fac- The Globals secured year. Top ratings for the ing as last year, but this for the Globals. tory-owned service cen- an 8.2 ranking in PC-12 included factory- year moved up to fourth The company’s Chal- ters category with 7.3, parts availability and owned service centers place from the fifth-place lengers came in second up from the Challeng- a 9.3 for technical (8.5), parts availabil- tie with the Citations. This place with the same 8.0 ers’ 6.4 last year. (The reps. Challengers were ity (7.4), AOG response year, the Learjets and Tex- as last year, followed by Globals did not receive ranked at 8.7 (up 0.3) (7.5), warranty fulfill- tron’s Hawker 400XPs Learjet in third, climb- enough ratings in the for maintenance-track- ment (8.7), technical ranked in fifth place. The ing 0.4 to 7.9, and tied older jets category to be ing programs. Learjets manuals (8.5), technical larger Hawkers climbed with Dassault Fal- included last year.) Top achieved top rankings reps (8.6), maintenance- 0.2 points this year. con (down 0.1) and ranking for authorized in cost of parts (6.3), tracking programs (8.4) AOG response (8.5) and overall aircraft reli- Overall Overall and technical manuals ability (the highest for Combined Overall Average Ratings of Rating Change Average Average (8.4), up 0.3, 1.1 and any newer aircraft at 9.1). Newer and Older Aircraft from 2015-2016 2016 2015 0.5 respectively. In second place was Falcons also scored Textron Aviation for the JETS an 8.2 for parts avail- King Airs. ability (down 0.3 from In the older turbo- Embraer (Phenom, Legacy, Lineage) 8.4 8.1 0.3 last year); 8.6 for war- props category, Mit- ranty fulfillment (up subishi’s MU-2s remain Dassault (Falcon) 8.2 8.1 0.1 0.5); and 8.9 for over- at the top of the list with all aircraft reliability a 9.3 rating, up from Gulfstream (GII-GV, G300-G650) 8.2 8.3 -0.1 (down 0.1). 9.1 last year, followed Gulfstream (G100-G280) 8.2 7.7 0.5 Gulfstream’s large- by King Airs at 7.0 cabin jets tied with Fal- (down 0.3). The MU-2s Bombardier (Challenger) 8.1 8.0 0.1 con’s 8.9 for overall received top ratings in aircraft reliability (down every category, match- Bombardier (Global) 7.9 7.7 0.2 0.2 from last year). ing last year’s 9.8 rank- Textron Aviation’s ing for overall reliability, Textron Aviation (Citation) 7.9 7.7 0.2 Citations garnered the highest of any air- fourth place, the same craft in the survey. Bombardier (Learjet) 7.8 7.7 0.1 position as last year, with the same 7.7 over- Rotorcraft Textron Aviation all average rating. The rankings of the 7.4 7.2 0.2 (Premier, Beechjet 400/400A, Hawker 400XP) In fifth place in this rotorcraft manufacturers category were Tex- are not separated by newer Textron Aviation (Hawker) 6.9 7.2 -0.3 tron’s lighter jets at 7.0 and older airframes, but (down 0.4), followed of note were the category

TURBOPROPS by the Hawkers at 6.7 rankings, with Bell Heli- www.ainonline.com (down 0.8). copter receiving top spots Mitsubishi (MU-2, Solitaire, Marquise) 9.3 9.1 0.2 in factory-owned service Turboprops centers (7.8), authorized Pilatus (PC-12) 7.6 7.6 0.0 The results in the tur- service centers (7.4), parts boprop categories are availability (7.2), cost of Beechcraft (King Air) 7.1 7.4 -0.3 the same as last year. parts (6.1), AOG response (Typically AIN doesn’t (7.6), warranty fulfillment ROTORCRAFT receive enough ratings (7.5), technical manuals to include the Daher (8.5) and maintenance Bell 7.5 7.9 -0.4 TBM series. These cat- tracking programs (7.2). egories could see some Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters 7.2 7.5 -0.3 change when new turbo- was ranked at the top Sikorsky 6.5 6.3 0.2 props such as the Epic for warranty fulfillment E1000 and Textron sin- (tied with Bell at 7.5), Leonardo Helicopters (formerly AgustaWestland) 6.3 6.8 -0.5 gle-engine turboprop technical reps (8.5) and enter the market.) overall aircraft reliabil- * Listed in order of the 2016 overall average; ties are listed alphabetically; bold indicates highest number in each catergory. In first place in the ity (8.1).  © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft

what Nureddin calls a “virtu- ous cycle,” because customers appreciate nearby service and are then more likely to bring their maintenance to Bombar- dier or an affiliated facility. To that end, Bombardier added six service trucks in the U.S. and two in Europe during the past year. This model doesn’t work, yet, in China, where Bombardier has opened a new factory-owned service center in Tianjin, but that should change eventually. “You will find us rapidly coming up with a mobile operation that is appropriate for the Chinese market,” he said. In June, Bombardier announced that it will estab- lish a fully owned heavy maintenance service center at London Bell customer support Biggin Hill Airport. Opera- tions should begin by this year’s fourth quarter. The location will also boost parts availabil- What have you done for me lately? ity for Bombardier’s European fleet. “Biggin Hill is a market Each year, AIN asks aircraft Haeco Private Jet Solutions in large antenna, another new we couldn’t afford not to be in,” manufacturers to submit sum- Xiamen, China; Sepang Air- option for ACJ owners is instal- Nureddin said. maries of key improvements in craft Engineering in Kuala lation of high-speed Ka-band Newer Bombardier jets are their product support imple- Lumpur, Malaysia; at Jet Avi- satcom, which is capable now entering service equipped mented during the past year, ation Basel, Dubai and Singa- of data speeds of up to 50 Mbps. with its Smart Link data con- and the following reflects the pore; and at ST Aerospace in The Ka-band system became nectivity, monitoring and in- responses of those that chose Singapore. All of these facili- available for ACJ installations in flight reporting service. The to participate. ties offer line and heavy main- this year’s second half. Learjet 75 is the first to be tenance, cabin refurbishing and equipped, and Smart Link is Fixed-wing cabin and system upgrades. Bombardier rolling out on the Challenger ACJ owners can now tap Business Aircraft and Global and will be stan- Airbus into the Camp Systems main- Bombardier’s focus, accord- dard on the upcoming Global Airbus implemented its world- tenance-tracking service ing to Andy Nureddin, Bom- 7000. Retrofit kits are available www.ainonline.com wide ACJ service center net- under an agreement between bardier Business Aircraft v-p in Bombardier service centers. work last year. Owners of the Airbus and Camp. The new and general manager of cus- “Connected airplanes are able 180 Airbus corporate jets in Camp for ACJ service com- tomer services, “is on speed, to give us reams of data,” he service can have their aircraft bines Airbus’s maintenance capacity and technological said. “We can see trends and maintained at Airbus’s own program optimization with innovation driving down the fine-tune the maintenance pro- Airbus Corporate Jet Cen- Camp’s computer-based main- bottom line.” grams. It’s revolutionary how it tre in Toulouse, France; Com- tenance management services. Bombardier says it tries to helps us support and respond lux America in Indianapolis; Since the ACJ can host a ensure that customers are as and troubleshoot airplanes.” close as possible to a Bom- Efforts such as Smart Link, By the Numbers 2016 bardier facility, either fac- Smart Parts, Smart Mainte- Respondents who rated aircraft 809 tory-owned or part of its nance and so on are not just Respondents who completed the survey in its entirety 720 authorized service facil- about cost saving, he explained, ity network. If one of those but “more about budgeting and Aircraft rated 2,927 isn’t available, then a ser- predictability, peace of mind. Aircraft models receiving ratings 150 vice truck or mobile mainte- It’s an ever-present struggle, nance team can help take care how to take cost out and ensure Minimum ratings required to be included in the data 20 of the customer. This drives [we] develop maintenance © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft

Rating Factory Overall Overall Authorized Cost Maintenance Overall 2016 Category Ratings Change Owned Parts AOG Warranty Technical Technical Average Average Service of Tracking Aircraft by Newer and Older Aircraft from Service Availability Response Fulfillment Manuals Reps 2016 2015 Centers Parts Programs Reliability 2015-2016 Centers

NEWER BUSINESS JETS

Dassault (Falcon) 8.4 8.2 0.2 7.5 8.0 8.6 7.1 8.7 8.8 8.5 9.1 8.4 9.0

Embraer (Phenom, Legacy, Lineage) 8.4 8.1 0.3 8.0 8.6 7.8 7.3 8.3 8.8 9.0 8.8 8.8 9.0

Gulfstream (G150-G280) 8.4 8.1 0.3 8.4 8.3 8.2 7.2 9.0 8.9 7.6 9.2 8.9 8.6

Gulfstream (G300-G650) 8.4 8.3 0.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 6.4 8.5 9.1 8.5 8.8 9.0 9.0

Bombardier (Challenger) 8.2 8.0 0.2 7.3 7.8 8.1 6.8 8.5 8.5 8.2 8.9 8.6 8.8

Textron Aviation (Citation) 8.1 7.8 0.3 7.9 7.6 8.2 6.6 8.3 8.6 8.1 8.4 8.2 8.7

Bombardier (Global) 7.8 7.8 0.0 7.6 7.4 7.4 6.5 8.0 7.7 7.9 8.5 8.5 8.2

Bombardier (Learjet) 7.7 8.0 -0.3 7.5 7.5 7.8 6.1 7.9 8.7 7.5 8.7 8.1 7.8

Textron Aviation 7.7 7.0 0.7 8.2 7.5 7.0 4.9 8.4 8.0 7.9 8.5 7.8 8.8 (Premier, Hawker 400XP)

Textron Aviation (Hawker) 7.2 7.0 0.2 8.0 6.9 6.8 6.1 6.9 7.9 7.2 7.3 8.4 7.6

OLDER BUSINESS JETS

Bombardier (Global) 8.1 NA NA 7.3 8.0 8.2 6.2 8.4 8.1 8.3 9.3 8.6 8.8

Bombardier (Challenger) 8.0 8.0 0.0 7.3 8.1 8.1 5.7 8.3 7.8 8.3 9.2 8.7 8.8

Bombardier (Learjet) 7.9 7.5 0.4 6.8 7.4 7.6 6.3 8.5 8.1 8.4 9.0 8.3 8.8

Dassault (Falcon) 7.9 8.0 -0.1 6.5 7.6 8.2 6.2 8.3 8.6 7.8 8.4 8.3 8.9

Gulfstream (GII-GV, G300-G550) 7.9 8.3 -0.4 6.8 7.8 8.0 5.8 8.2 8.2 8.4 8.6 8.4 8.9

Textron Aviation (Citation) 7.7 7.7 0.0 7.2 7.5 8.0 6.2 7.9 8.1 7.5 7.7 8.3 8.5

Textron Aviation (Premier, Beechjet 7.0 7.4 -0.4 7.0 7.1 6.4 5.8 5.5 8.0 7.2 7.3 8.2 7.6 400/400A, Hawker 400XP)

Textron Aviation (Hawker) 6.7 7.5 -0.8 6.4 7.1 5.9 5.4 6.5 6.8 6.4 6.5 8.4 8.3

NEWER TURBOPROPS

Pilatus (PC-12) 7.8 7.7 0.1 8.5 6.8 7.4 5.6 7.5 8.7 8.5 8.6 8.4 9.1

Textron Aviation (King Air) 7.4 7.5 -0.1 8.4 7.2 7.0 6.0 6.1 7.9 7.4 8.2 7.5 8.2

OLDER TURBOPROPS

Mitsubishi (MU-2, Solitaire, Marquise) 9.3 9.1 0.2 9.2 9.6 9.5 8.4 9.8 9.3 9.1 9.7 8.6 9.8

Textron Aviation (King Air) 7.0 7.3 -0.3 7.4 7.1 6.8 5.4 6.4 7.6 6.8 7.8 7.3 8.6

ROTORCRAFT (ALL AGE ROTORCRAFT)

Bell 7.5 7.9 -0.4 7.8 7.4 7.2 6.1 7.6 7.5 8.5 7.6 7.2 8.0

Airbus Helicopters 7.2 7.5 -0.3 7.2 7.2 6.4 5.2 7.2 7.5 7.5 8.5 6.8 8.1

Sikorsky 6.5 6.3 0.2 6.6 6.8 6.3 4.4 5.8 5.8 7.6 7.4 7.0 7.2

Leonardo Helicopters (AgustaWestland) 6.3 6.8 -0.5 6.2 7.2 5.6 4.3 5.6 6.7 6.9 6.7 6.3 7.0

Listed in order of 2016 overall average; ties are listed alphabetically. Bold indicates highest number in each category. www.ainonline.com programs that are not too bur- everybody benefits. Residual follow “soon thereafter.” Documentation and Mainte- densome on customers. Thank- values stay up, suppliers ben- Other recent efforts include nance Documentation. fully it’s in our DNA; being a efit, and they are seeing more enhancements to the Falcon Dassault’s two new Falcon regional/commercial manufac- repairs through their own shop Response AOG support ser- 900 airborne support aircraft turer, we’ve honed these capabil- because they underwrite these vices, such as more mobile tech have flown 160 support mis- ities of iterative improvements programs.” teams, release of the Falcon sions and 50 alternate transpor- to the maintenance program.” Response mobile app for 24/7 tation missions for customers. To further manage costs, Dassault Falcon access to the global support net- One of the 900s is located in Bombardier works with sup- Falcon owners will soon real- work and “streamlined AOG France and the other in the U.S. pliers to limit future expenses. ize lower maintenance costs, response/deployment protocol To continue meeting cus- For example, negotiating a thanks to a new stream- based upon customer feedback,” tomers’ parts needs, the com- cap on costs for a landing gear lined 12-month check, which according to the company. pany opened distribution overhaul “to provide some sort replaces the nine-month A Heeding advice from its facilities in Louisville, Ky., and of cap to the customer, so it check. The first model to imple- operator advisory board, Lagos, Nigeria. The Falcon doesn’t keep them up at night,” ment the new interval is the 7X, Dassault Falcon has developed spares service level is currently

Nureddin said. “Ultimately and the 2000 and 900 series will two new mobile apps, Flight 98.6 percent. © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft

Falcon 7X friendly building at the Savan- nah campus is the new product support distribution center (PSDC), which opened in June. Enclosing more than 400,000 sq ft, the PSDC is the “center- piece” of Gulfstream’s parts distribution network, which “manages 500,000 unique part numbers for 18 aircraft models at 11 warehouses and service centers worldwide,” according to the company. A new distribution center was also opened near Al Maktoum Interna- tional Airport in Dubai. In Europe, Gulfstream has added product support capabilities at Jet Aviation Vienna and Altenrhein Berlin, as well as line maintenance and AOG services at Stansted Airport northeast of London. The company also moved a mobile repair vehicle to Stansted from the Luton service center. Earlier this year, Gulfstream added a diagnostic tool available by subscription for MyCMP maintenance-tracking customers. The new tool “integrates a customizable diagnostic rea- soning engine and a database of known equipment faults and MARK WAGNER troubleshooting procedures,” Embraer Gulfstream The Brunswick facility incorpo- according to Gulfstream, Embraer has delivered 1,000 Last year Gulfstream added rated “several sustainable and and it is based on the Case- business jets, and its global MRO services at Jet Aviation’s green design features, such as Bank Technologies SpotLight. network now numbers 75 ser- facility in Teterboro, NJ. Eleven recycled content, water-saving “The MyCMP diagnostics vice centers. Embraer’s 24/7 technicians are based at Jet Avi- lavatories and showers, energy- tool starts with user input of Customer Service Center is ation and provide line mainte- efficient indoor/outdoor light- an initial observed symptom, located at company headquar- nance, airframe and avionics ing and heating/cooling systems which launches a ‘trouble- www.ainonline.com ters in São José dos Campos, services and 24/7 AOG assis- and preferred parking spaces for shooting dialog,’ similar to an Brazil, and it also owns service tance. Parts are locally avail- low-emission, fuel-efficient vehi- expert on a call-in help desk, centers in Sorocaba, Brazil; able from a $60 million cles,” according to Gulfstream. to arrive at a solution,” said Mesa, Ariz.; Fort Lauderdale, inventory located at Teter- At its Savannah, Ga., ser- Derek Zimmerman, president Fla.; Windsor Locks, Conn.; boro-based FlightPath Services. vice center, Gulfstream opened of Gulfstream product sup- and Paris. The Teterboro technicians can a new paint facility last Sep- port. “By dynamically gener- The Sorocaba facility maintain all Gulfstream jets tember, greatly speeding the ating decision logic based on received FAA repair station registered in the U.S., European painting process for in-service fault-isolation technical data approval in May, covering the Union countries, Bermuda and aircraft, which previously had and user-submitted solutions, entire Embraer business jet line. the Cayman Islands. to be slotted into the produc- the program quickly identifies Last year the company added Gulfstream opened two tion aircraft paint facility. The the cause of issues to guide the an authorized service center, maintenance hangars last year, new facility is air-conditioned user to the corrective action.” ExecuJet Aviation Nigeria, based a 110,000-sq-ft facility that dou- and heated and has a crossdraft Gulfstream has made the new in Lagos. ExecuJet Aviation is bles the company’s capacity in bay for paint stripping, sanding tool available to operators of approved as a Phenom 300 line Brunswick, Ga., and a newly and priming, and a downdraft the G650 and G550 and plans maintenance service center for renovated 19,000-sq-ft hangar at bay for painting. to offer it on the upcoming

ABOVE AND BEYOND We asked AIN Product Support participants to list their favorite support providers and what they like about the service they receive. Here are some of the companies and people respondents chose to recognize. Read the full list at www. ainonline.com/above-beyond-2016.

OEMS

Despite the way Agusta (Leonardo) handles its business, Jeffrey Pearl has always Mitsubishi Heavy Jeffrey Pearl Industries America worked to get our aircraft up and running and answer any question I’ve ever had. An Leonardo Helicopters This year Mitsubishi Heavy excellent tech rep. Industries America (MHIA), which supports the roughly Amanda Bondar Has helped us out on the weekend to get parts to us above and beyond her normal 270 MU-2s that are still flying, Airbus Helicopters duty time. and its U.S. contractor Tur- bine Aircraft Services (TAS) Dean, Learjet FSR, knows the aircraft he is responsible for (primarily the Learjet held three Pilots Review of 40/45/70/75) better than anyone we have come across. He will not stop until the Dean Eechaute Proficiency (Prop) seminars in issue is resolved regardless of the complexity. The phrase “I don’t know” isn’t in Bombardier the U.S. The seminars are free, his vocabulary. But if he has to use it, it is followed by “I will find out and let you anyone is welcome to partici- know.” pate, and they are designed to help new and current MU-2 Shane McCabe Shane is the mobile service mechanic and takes ownership of the airplanes he operators share information Citation maintains. Excellent mechanic with a wealth of knowledge. and learn more about how to operate their twin turboprops Gene and his team have constantly exceeded my expectations and constantly deliver safely. Representatives of 170 my company a completed and reliable aircraft. They always strive to deliver my MU-2s attended the Prop sem- Gene Woods inars this year, according to aircraft early and if I ask for the airplane early they will go above and beyond to make Dassault Pat Cannon, president of TAS, it happen. I can always count on anybody on his team to go the extra mile and to treat which helps MHIA support my aircraft like it was their own. the MU-2. Recently, TAS and MHIA Never had a technical rep call me every week to ask how the aircraft is. He wants completed FAA approval of to know my every trip to ensure he or someone else is monitoring the flights. When an Alpha Systems angle-of- Sanjay Pandey problems arise during our trips, Sanjay is always coordinating and making sure attack (AOA) system for the Embraer all questions are answered or making sure one of the Embraer Service Facility MU-2, under new Part 23 reg- [employees] is taking care of us.... even if it’s 3 or 4 a.m. The whole Embraer team in ulations that do not require an STC. The AOA system is cali- Singapore is always supportive and goes beyond the call of duty. brated for all MU-2 flap config- urations and it provides visual Jim continues to go above and beyond in his pursuit to help out the customers in his Jim Beebe and aural warnings, including region. He truly responds 24/7 and even drives three hours each way to our facility to vocal warnings such as “too Gulfstream lend assistance when needed. Great person to work with. slow” and “stall.” The new AOA system costs $5,000 to AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTERS $6,000, according to Cannon. TAS is completing final edit- www.ainonline.com Janet is the best project manager I’ve ever dealt with. She’s always active ing of a new icing video, which Janet Beazely and involved in her projects. She always knows the status of the airplane and was announced last year. MU-2 Duncan Aviation everybody in the facility respects and likes her and helps her get my airplane pilots are required to undergo Lincoln completed on schedule. icing training by watching the video under the supervision of Mark James an instructor every two years, I have every possible contact number for Mark. He is always available to help Intercontinental Jet and this is usually done as part 24/7/365 and his knowledge base is unbelievable. Service Center of the Prop seminars. Now the FAA is allowing MHIA to pro- Gordon went above and beyond ahead of a visit to make sure the project would run vide the icing training online, Gordon Ross smoothly. He even went so far as to spend his company’s money to make sure my and pilots will be able to view Pentastar Aviation fabric would pass burn cert when they did not even have a signed contract. This small the video and answer ques- action won the company the whole project as well as referrals. tions without having to travel or make other arrangements Dan McKillips with a qualified instructor. The Dan’s attention to detail and going the extra mile is great! West Star new video is completely redone,

Textron 1Call SURVEY RULES AND METHODOLOGY

As with AIN Publications’ previous annual Product Support Sur- veys, the objective this year was to obtain from the users of business jets, turboprop airplanes and turbine-powered helicopters statistically valid information about the product support provided by business aircraft manufacturers over the last year and to report this information to our readers. The ultimate goal of the survey is to encourage continuous improvement in aircraft product support throughout the industry. This survey was conducted via a dedicated website, created clinical psychologist and pilot MHIA’s strong support and by AIN from the ground up to provide improved ease of use and Michelle Kole. the MU-2’s outstanding perfor- to encourage greater reader participation. AIN emailed qualified To fill the gap between the mance are attracting new own- biennial Prop seminars, MHIA ers, and they are spending on readers a link to the survey website and also sent a postcard invi- and TAS are developing new upgrades and refurbishment. tation with login credentials to the survey website. training videos. One example is “New owners are coming in The survey website was open from May 2 to June 15. a technique to help pilots lower droves, and there’s probably Respondents were asked to rate individual aircraft and provide the nose of short-body MU-2s been a record number of sales the tail number, age (less than 10 years old or more than 10), more softly after landing to this year,” Cannon said. Pop- help reduce maintenance costs ular panel upgrades are Gar- primary region of service and whether they used factory-owned on nosewheels. “The airplane is min’s G600 flight displays and or authorized service centers, or both. Respondents were fairly nose-heavy,” Cannon said. GTN 650/750 touchscreen also asked to rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, the quality of “The cg runs pretty far forward navigators. “It’s fantastic what service they received during the previous 12 months in the of the mainwheels, and it requires people are doing to their air- following categories: a technique to put the nose down planes,” he said. softly.” The technique, which is • Factory-owned Service Centers–cost estimates versus actual, on- taught at Prop and involves Pilatus Aircraft time performance, scheduling ease, service experience. landing with a small amount of The PC-12 fleet has passed 1,400 • Authorized Service Centers–same as above. power, will also be explained in a and has logged 5.6 million flight • Parts Availability–in stock versus back order, shipping time. new educational video, and these hours. The latest version—the • Cost of Parts–value for price paid. video tips will be available online PC-12/47E (NG)—has seen 630 • AOG Response–speed, accuracy, cost. for anyone to view. deliveries, and these airplanes • Warranty Fulfillment–ease of paperwork, extent of coverage. • Technical Manuals–ease of use, formats available, timeliness www.ainonline.com WINNERS of updating. The following people were randomly selected as winners of • Technical Reps–response time, knowledge, effectiveness. an Apple iPad for participating in our Product Support Survey. • Maintenance Tracking Programs–cost, ease of use, accuracy, BILL WHITE reliability. chief pilot • Overall Product Reliability–how the product’s reliability and quality stack up against the competition. CHAD VELTA aircraft maintenance manager Respondents were also asked to recognize individuals who have provided them with exceptional product support and service. The RONALD LAWHON chief of maintenance full list of these people is available online at www.ainonline.com/ above-beyond-2016. JOE MCCOY chief of maintenance The 2016 AIN Product Support Survey results for aircraft are published in this issue, avionics will be featured next month and engines CRAIG MOORE  chief pilot will follow in October. © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft

Gulfstream Product Support paint hangar

have already reached one mil- Earlier this year, Textron front, Textron Aviation is HCare system, bolstered tech- lion flight hours. Aviation launched the 1Call launching a system called nical support at its three hub Last year, Pilatus added AOG response team, which 1View, which it developed in facilities in France, Dallas and Chile’s Aerocardal as a PC-12 allows customers to place a collaboration with customers. Singapore and added technical authorized service center. Aero- single call to marshal resources The system allows customers to reps. Customers can submit a cardal is based at Santiago to get their Citation, King Air sign on just once for access to technical request 24/7 and receive International Airport, where it and Hawker back in the air as all maintenance manuals, flight an answer “quickly from one of operates an FBO. quickly as possible. “Custom- documents, service information the three hubs,” no matter where Pilatus has been expanding its ers calling this dedicated line and e-commerce features for all the customer is located, and the customer support team around for unscheduled maintenance Textron Aviation aircraft types. hubs will work together to fol- the world, for all of its general events can receive prioritized Documents are linked for quick low up with additional resources aviation models (PC-6, PC-12 technical support, order expe- access, and users can annotate and expertise. and the upcoming PC-24 jet). dited parts, have alternative lift and draw on data and graphics Technical publications are Enhancements to the MyPila- quickly dispatched or schedule in the documents. now easier to use with the tus.com portal include new pub- a mobile service unit,” accord- Orion viewer and have better lications such as fault isolation ing to the company. Rotorcraft content. Airbus is also work- guides for the PC-12NG and 10th In Europe, Textron Aviation ing on “improving technical series and performance infor- placed a CJ3 to provide expe- Airbus Helicopters irritant resolution and mainte- mation leaflets. Pilatus has also dited service. This supplements Airbus Helicopters customer nance programs.” published an EASA-approved the company’s six service cen- support efforts are focused on Parts inventories have www.ainonline.com master minimum equipment list ters, five line service stations “improving technical publica- grown, including $20 million and master maintenance and and European parts distribu- tions, better tracking of cus- worth of additional spares at operating procedures manual. tion center, as well as locally tomer inquiries and issues, the Dallas/Fort Worth logis- To help pilots become more based design engineers and sup- bigger parts inventories and tics hub. This reflects a strat- familiar with the PC-12NG’s plier representatives. vast improvements in the last egy to locate fast-moving parts Honeywell Apex flight deck, To help keep customers two years in on-time parts near customers and to place Honeywell’s Pilot Gateway pro- flying, Textron Aviation has deliveries.” Last year the com- parts where demand tends to vides a pilot integrated learning invested in its parts distribution pany implemented customer be erratic in centralized loca- guide, task trainer and instruc- network with a new forecast- focus groups to learn more tions, according to Airbus. tional videos. ing system that improves accu- about “customers’ irritants and On-time delivery of parts is racy and has led to “significant their expectations,” and then to improving, with deliveries of Textron Aviation increases in fill rate,” according respond to their concerns. unplanned parts orders meet- Textron Aviation’s service net- to the company. Delivery per- During the past two years, ing the requested date 95 per- work now includes 21 factory- formance is better thanks to Airbus Helicopters has added cent of the time, and on-time owned facilities, 65 mobile consolidation of warehouse to its worldwide spares supply, delivery for parts ordered 15 or service units and three dedi- and shipping operations. improved component repair and more days in advance reaching

cated support aircraft. On the technical publications standard exchange offers via its 98 percent. © 2016 AIN Publications. All Rights Reserved. For Reprints go to AIN’s PRODUCT SUPPORT SURVEY Part I: Aircraft

Bell Helicopter

Airbus Helicopters has customer service facilities. system,” redesigning the service customer satisfaction through released the e-Tech Pub for During the past year, Bell contract “with clear perfor- enhancements to customer the H125/H130, available on has worked on improving its mance guarantees” and imple- interface teams, parts inven- iPads and most web browsers. logistics capabilities, the com- menting lean processes in its tory mix and added shipping Users can now conduct full- pany noted, “so that both our maintenance facilities to help capacity have led to shorter text searches using the offline internal and external networks meet customers’ turnaround delivery times and better version. Customers can learn are performing better than time requirements. parts availability. how to use the e-Tech Pubs and anyone else in the world for Parts “delivery schedule The company’s new Cus- Orion viewer by logging into rotorcraft parts.” Bell says its adherence” has reached 90 per- tomer Care Center in Trum- webinars that Airbus Helicop- recently acquired Able Aero- cent for AOG customers and bull, Conn., opened in March. www.ainonline.com ters is developing. space Services facility in Mesa, 94 percent “when taking into Offering 24/7 availability and Ariz., will also help it improve account warranty fulfillment a single phone number to Bell Helicopter its component repair and over- and routine ordering along reach “a focused, interdisci- Bell’s new Customer Advantage haul capabilities. with AOG requests.” Accord- plinary team of experts,” the Plans offer fixed-cost-per-flight- ing to the company, these num- center has helped Sikorsky hour options for operators that Leonardo Helicopters bers have continued improving improve AOG response time use the company’s maintenance (formerly AgustaWestland) year-over-year. by 30 percent. and support services. The ser- Last year Leonardo Heli- Leonardo plans to continue Also opening in March was vice is available for the entire copters expanded into grow- investing to shrink component Sikorsky’s new forward stock- lifecycle of the helicopter, and ing markets in China, South repair turnaround times and to ing location in Stavanger, Nor- it is also transferable to new America and Australia. Cus- keep spare parts pricing below way, which supports S-92s in owners. In addition to helping tomer feedback has helped the the consumer price index and “one of the largest S-92 oper- owners manage maintenance company improve support and other manufacturers’ offerings. ating regions in the world,” costs, the plan offers optional training worldwide, and this is according to the company. non-standard kit coverage and a result of developing “a more Sikorsky Other forward stocking loca- preferred rates from 100 Bell robust and user-friendly e-com- Sikorsky says its efforts dur- tions are planned, and the sec-