TWIN COMMANDER FLEET BRIEFING

The Latest News & Events

Global Aviation Services, Inc. at George Bush Intercontinental (KIAH) in Houston, Texas, is the newest member of Twin Commander Aircraft’s worldwide family of factory authorized service centers.

“We are pretty excited about it,” commented Global’s President and co-owner Doug Ray. “If I had my choice of any manufacturer to be associated with, it would be Twin Commander Aircraft. We love the airplane. Plus, parts availability is always a concern for a maintenance shop, and that has never been an issue at Twin Commander.”

Global has been involved in Twin Commander maintenance since the company was founded in 1987 by James Ray. Ray died in 1994, and his wife assumed operation of the business. In 2001 the Rays’ son, Doug, and his wife, Sherrie, purchased the business, and they remain co-owners.

Global began by brokering maintenance business, primarily to AiResearch (now Standard Aero) located across the runway. When Doug and Sherrie Ray took over the business, they brought maintenance in house. Since then Ray’s strategy has been slow but steady growth.

“We listen to our customers so we understand all their needs, whether small or large,” Ray says. “When we were brokering business to big companies, I saw that the small details wouldn’t always get done. That’s how we’ve been successful—we make sure all the details are taken care of.”

Global, which is located on the east side of Runway 15L/33R just south of the Atlantic Aviation FBO, has five technicians on staff. Chief of Maintenance Brad Crudup supervised four Grand Renaissance projects at another service center, and Max Trapp has 28 years experience working on Commanders.

Global specializes in Commander maintenance, inspections, and parts. Minor engine maintenance also can be performed by Global; hot sections and engine overhauls are sent to a Honeywell specialty shop. Global also is an authorized Garmin dealer and installation center.

For more information, contact Global Aviation Services, Inc. at 17725 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Houston, TX 77032; telephone 281-443-3533; fax 281-443-0332; email dray7@global-aviation.net

Twin Commander Aircraft has issued a revision to Service Bulletin (SB) 235 calling for repetitive inspections of the rudder tip.

SB 235 originally called for an inspection of the rudder tip (both fiberglass and aluminum tips), and required replacement of the tip if any discrepancies were found as a result of the inspection. Since SB 235 was issued, Twin Commander Aircraft has received a report of a replacement aluminum rudder tip that was found to have cracks 622 hours after it was installed. The cracks originated at a line of rivets on the internal stiffener.

Revision 1 of the service bulletin adds a repetitive inspection at 150 hours to coincide with normal maintenance on the airplane. The repetitive inspection is visual—the rudder tip does not have to be removed from the vertical fin. The inspection is done from a work stand because the cracks may not be visible from the ground.

The revision states that the repetitive inspection will take two hours, but if it is done during the course of a normal 150-hour inspection it should take less time.

The revised service bulletin (SB 235 Rev 1) has been released and is being mailed to authorized service centers and owners. A letter also has been sent to owners who received the subject dash number rudder tips as replacements when SB 235 was performed on their airplanes.

For more information, contact your authorized Twin Commander service center.

Eagle Creek Aviation Services has begun work on a Grand Renaissance Twin Commander for Kern County, California. The county’s fire department ordered the Grand Renaissance to replace a 680FLP Commander, which saw years of service as an aerial commander and control center for fighting wildfires throughout the county, the third largest in the state. The Grand Renaissance will take over that role.

Kern County decided on a Grand Renaissance after concluding that the limited number of new-production turboprops available did not meet its requirements for performance, fuel efficiency, visibility, and acquisition price.

Eagle Creek has already stripped Kern County’s 690A to bare metal inside and out, and is currently conducting an intensive inspection of the airframe and systems. The extensive refurbishment process that will yield a Grand Renaissance will begin soon. The other major component of the project is upgrading the engines to TPE331-10T configuration.

Kern County also has specified a Meggitt MAGIC EFIS panel and 2100 Digital Flight Control System for its Grand Renaissance.

Plans call for setting up a webcam to provide real-time monitoring of the project. Check Eagle Creek’s web site, www.eagle-creek.com, or Twin Commander Aircraft’s at www.twincommander.com for updates.

The second 2008 issue of Twin Commander’s Flight Levels update magazine has been published and mailed to owners and authorized service centers.

The Spring issue features reports on Naples Jet Center, a new factory authorized Twin Commander Service Center; and Kern County, the latest Grand Renaissance customer. Twin Commander owner-pilot Greg Farbolin talks about a recent humanitarian mission he flew in his Dash 10T-powered 690B, and FlightSafety International pilot training experts provide tips on how to prepare for a recurrency session at FSI’s Twin Commander Learning Center in Houston, Texas.

If you have not yet received the latest Flight Levels issue, call Twin Commander Aircraft LLC at 360-435-9797. Then go to www.twincommander.com to sign up for a free subscription to Flight Levels update.

Twin Commander Aircraft’s worldwide network of factory authorized service centers continues to grow with the recent addition of the Naples (Florida) Jet Center and Global Aviation Services in Houston. Like all authorized service centers, Naples Jet Center and Global had to comply with an extensive list of requirements ranging from maintenance capabilities to the training and experience of the people who turn the wrenches on the airplanes.

The vetting process ensures that each service center meets Twin Commander’s high standards for excellence. That’s compelling rationale for patronizing a factory authorized service center instead of the local shop and mechanic you’ve been using since early in your piston flying days.

But there’s more. Only factory authorized service centers can stock and sell factory provided replacement parts and custom kits. Only they possess the extensive knowledge of factory parts, and can offer the best deals on those parts.

Twin Commander service centers also have a direct line to the experts at Twin Commander Aircraft in Arlington, Washington. They participate in regular meetings of Twin Commander service center personnel from around the world, and they talk to each other daily to solve the problems and work out the issues that inevitably arise in the course of maintaining a sophisticated turbine-powered airplane.

All of this institutional knowledge, expertise, and access is available to every factory authorized service center, and by extension to you. That means that when you do business with a Twin Commander service center, you are doing business with a worldwide family of businesses and people who have a singular focus on supporting the fleet.