Serious About Cirrus Continued from page 33 exclusively on Cirrus, which accounts for about 98 percent of our business,” he reported. “The fact that we are a Cirrus specialist, and do not service a lot of other aircraft types, is what has made us successful in the Cirrus product line.” Cirrus’ current pro- duction single engine piston models are the SR20, SR22 and SR22T. The Lancaster location services over 350 customer aircraft per year. Of that, about one percent are a combination of Piper, Beechcraft and Cessna singles and twins. The remaining one percent of the business derives from the Diamond Aircraft family. In fact, flyADVANCED is a factory authorized service center- -specifically for the single-engine DA40, and twin piston DA42. “Diamond business is obviously not very large, and we are not ex- pecting significant growth, simply because there are not as many operators out there,” Glover said. “However, we will continue to work with Diamond Aircraft, providing airframe and engine work.” Most of flyADVANCED Diamond customers come from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. The majority of the company’s Cirrus customers are based in the mid-Atlantic states. But Glover remarked that Lancaster is serv- ing a growing number of op- erators from as far as Maine and Florida. “We also have a Cirrus customer in Missouri who flies his SR22 here for his airplane’s an- nual inspection,” said Glover. The Lancaster facility, which holds a FAR Part 145 repair station certifi- cate, is housed within a single 14,000 square-foot hangar, encompassing 34 12,000 square feet of shop floor space and 2,000 square feet of back office. The staff includes eight full-time airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics, one manager for parts and warranty work, one full-time painter, a part-time administrator, and a part-time employee tasked with general cleanup and aircraft washing. While flyADVANCED carries out most airframe and powerplant maintenance for its customers onsite, all propeller work is outsourced. “Most of the Cirrus aircraft are equipped with Hartzell propellers, but some early production mod- els are equipped with either MT or McCauley propellers,” Glover said. “The SR22 and SR22T use four- bladed propellers, while the SR20 is equipped with three bladed props.” The Cirrus SR20, SR22, and SR22T are powered by Continental IO-360-ES, IO-550-N, and TSIO- 550-K engines, respectively. For them, as well as all engines it ser- vices, flyADVANCED performs line level through “top overhauls,” which as Glover said, can be done on-wing without the removal and opening of the engine case. A good example, he explained, is the re- placement of those engines’ six cylinders. “A major overhaul, re- quiring an engine teardown, will be sent out of house,” Glover added. The company’s repair station certificate also includes Cirrus aircraft avionics system work, including software upgrades and swap-outs of line replaceable units (LRU). In that regard, flyADVANCED is working with Cirrus owners to bring their aircraft into compli- ance with ADS-B Out, mandated for the NextGen air traffic manage- ment system as of January 2020. “All Cirrus aircraft produced since 2015 are ADS-B Out compli- ant off the assembly line,” Glover pointed out. “We have the capability to bring the older members of the family into compliance—in some cases. Specifically, if the aircraft comes in with a Mode S transponder, equipped with an extended squit- ter, we will be able to do a software upgrade. But, if it’s a basic Mode S transponder, the work would be contracted out for the necessary hardware and software changes.” The facility is also certified to do structural composite repairs, an invaluable asset, given that the Cirrus airframe is built mainly of fiber- glass and carbon fiber materials. One of the most interesting fea- tures of the Cirrus aircraft family is that each aircraft is equipped with a parachute which can be deployed in the event of an engine failure to help assure a safe landing. As a factory ser- vice center, flyADVANCED is Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) certified. As Glover explained, the parachute, and rocket that deploys it, must be replaced at 10-year intervals. And, for an aircraft that has had to deploy its parachute, flyADVANCED offers a special aircraft recovery ser- vice, available within 1,500 miles of Lancaster, although, Glover reported, longer distances could be entertained. “Our aircraft recovery system, which is designed for heavy duty lifting and transport, consists of a Dodge diesel truck, pulling a trailer with an installed crane.” Glover said. “We have already made several Cirrus aircraft recoveries using our Aviation Business Journal | 4th Quarter 2016
