HARRODS AVIATION (CHALLENGING MAINTENANCE)
Category: Corporate Aviation Company Profiles
Author: Harrods Aviation
Rescue from Le Bourget - returning a Challenger to the air after two years on the ground.
Harrods Aviation has supported in excess of 50% of the worldwide fleet of Bombardier Challenger aircraft and, over the last five years, no aircraft has departed later than scheduled following maintenance. "This achievement is one we are all very proud of, and is because we do the job correctly, making sure we get it right first time," explained Mick Adams, Technical Director for Harrods Aviation.
Harrods Aviation Maintenance and Engineering department recently demonstrated that there are no boundaries to its expertise and technical support of the Bombardier Challenger aircraft.
A Challenger 604 had been under restraint at Le Bourget Paris for almost two years and therefore had not flown during this period. Harrods Aviation was approached by Twinjet Aircraft Sales to see if it could conduct a pre-purchase inspection, rescue the aircraft and bring all of the maintenance and technical records up to date. Then, provided all was well, Harrods Aviation would be required to put the aircraft onto the American register for a new owner.
"Because of the uncertainty surrounding the condition of the machine, Twinjet Aircraft decided that its purchase option, granted by the courts, could only be exercised if 100% reassurance could be provided by an organisation that Twinjet trusted," explained John Keeble, Managing Director, Twinjet Aircraft Sales. "That organisation was Harrods Aviation, who were judged to be able to rapidly assess the "as lying" technical position, put a working party together and ultimately to undertake a 48-month inspection to a fixed budget in a fixed timescale.
"This tough job specification was achieved in full and Twinjet Aircraft were able to deliver as agreed, on time, on budget. Great job!" concluded Keeble.
Ideally suited to this nature of request, Harrods Aviation proceeded to dispatch a team of engineers to Paris when, at the same time, its Maintenance Control department commenced a full review of the aircraft records and history to determine the exact requirements. Harrods Aviation needed to know exactly what it was dealing with – and fast.
As such, this type of situation provided a number of technical considerations like leaking seals, sticky actuators and the aircraft flying control rigging perhaps moving out of adjustment or becoming stiff. Other considerations were how the aircraft had been stored; was it in a dry, warm environment or damp and cold? Had it been moved? Had the wheels rotated?
The aircraft's general condition was good (although it needed a good wash). The cabin was somewhat ghostly as newspapers and cups had been left exactly where they had been after the last flight over two years previously. From a technical and systems operational aspect, the aircraft was found to function well - perhaps better than expected.
Due to logistical issues, Harrods Aviation decided to take on a very ‘mobile’ approach and took a large van kitted out with tool boxes, basic consumables and equipment so as to be fully self sufficient.
The engineers conducted the maintenance inspections and functions required in order to ready the aircraft for a ferry flight from Paris to Harrods Aviation’s London Luton maintenance facility and this resulted in five separate detachments of three engineers from the Luton base.
As the engines had not been turned for over two years, extensive maintenance and inspection work was required including full boroscope inspections of the engines. A boroscope inspection looks inside the engine from ‘outside looking in’ and, in this instance, identified a very small mark to one of the 6th stage compressor blades.
In order to determine whether, or not, this mark was a crack, the top case of the engine was removed while the engine was still installed on the airframe. This activity is one that has to be undertaken with the utmost of care and attention – it could not be rushed even though Harrods Aviation was under pressure to get the aircraft airworthy.
When removing the top case of an engine, maintaining cleanliness is also a crucial element of the activity as internal damage to the engine could be extremely costly in a number of respects and may not be realised until sometime after becoming airborne.
Being conducted away from base, this task was a major, but essential undertaking if safety of the aircraft and its crew were not to be compromised. Harrods Aviation would not release this aircraft for flight until it was absolutely sure it was safe to do so.
Whilst maintaining the safety of the aircraft, this approach also assisted Harrods Aviation’s client with enrolment onto GE MCPH (continued engine monitoring and product support) schemes and would also ensure the new engine warranty was upheld.
During the close-up inspection, the mark was found to be just that – a mark. The engine was reassembled and full power assurance runs were carried out. All parameters and operations were normal – the airplane had two good engines! All that was needed now was for the correct paperwork to be in place for the ferry flight back to Harrods Aviation’s facility at Luton.
Part of the customer requirement was to re-register the aircraft from Bermudan to American and this kind of activity is second nature to Harrods Aviation’s Quality Management department who looked after the entire interface with several airworthiness authorities and legal bodies. The aircraft was re-registered, temporary registration decals applied, mode S and transponder codes changed and then after two years on the ground, the Challenger flew to London Luton under ferry flight conditions.
Typically, a ferry flight allows an aircraft to fly without having undergone all of the scheduled maintenance, to a nominated destination, in daylight, with no passengers and with the undercarriage down and locked. It flies at specific altitudes and must take a specific route. The ferry flight was completed just as expected with only one minor defect being reported.
Following the full review of the aircraft technical records the extent of the work had been determined and it was evident that the aircraft was to undergo extensive maintenance. At the same time, the new owner wanted the aircraft enrolled onto the Bombardier SMART PARTS scheme and, of course, this was no problem given Harrods Aviation’s extensive experience in this area. The aircraft would undergo Airworthiness Directive and Service Bulletin embodiment, Smart Part enrolment, GE MCPH enrolment, Precision Plus avionics upgrade and the scheduled maintenance catch up.
No sooner had the maintenance package installation commenced than a new interest was being shown in the aircraft and additional pre-purchase inspections were added to Harrods Aviation’s work scope.
Harrods Aviation were now conducting extensive maintenance on an aircraft that had been grounded for two years; had a top case inspection to the engine; been re-registered and ferry flown for a new owner; been re-registered again for another new owner; had avionics upgrades and two sets of pre-purchase inspections – plus the odd defect or two!
Following ten weeks of maintenance and modification a full air test with FAA approved crew was required before a new Certificate of Airworthiness could be issued. The aircraft flew out of Luton for only the second time in two years and returned after extensive in-flight testing with only a flap indication defect that proved to be a transmitter change. This standard of service performance is indicative of Harrods Aviation’s attention to detail.
After the air test the new aircraft owner's specific requirements were attended to before the aircraft finally departed for America and landed safely with nil defects reported.
Through the team effort of Harrods Aviation the aircraft was returned back into service quickly and cost effectively making it possible to deliver the aircraft on time to its customer. Challenging? No! Second nature to Harrods Aviation.
For more information, Tel: +44 (0) 1582 589 337
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