Standard Aero (Booth 1995) has signed a three-year agreement with Air Methods to provide dynamic component support for the helicopter operator’s fleet of Airbus Helicopters AS350s and EC130s. The announcement comes along with notable milestones for the company reached this year, including the completion of its 20,000th Honeywell TFE731 engine overhaul and induction of the first five Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 engines at its Summerside facility in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The company is also expecting to complete the second phase of expansion of its Summerside location by year-end.
Under the agreement with Air Methods, StandardAero will provide repair, overhaul, testing, and modification services for dynamic components at the company’s Vancouver, British Columbia location. With approval as an Airbus Helicopter repair center, StandardAero also received an amended license last year to provide dynamic component repair and overhaul for Airbus Helicopter operators outside of North America.
“This contract renewal reinforces our strong commitment to Air Methods and we are honored to once again be entrusted with supporting their fleet,” said Manny Atwal, vice president of sales, marketing, and business development for commercial helicopter services at Standard Aero. “We have been supporting operators in North America with our dynamic component repair expertise for many years, and with our expanded Airbus approval we anticipate even greater demand from global operators.”
Earlier this month, the 20,000th TFE731 scheduled maintenance event took place at StandardAero’s heavy maintenance facility in Fleetland, UK. According to the company, its Fleetland location is the only authorized heavy maintenance facility licensed to perform core zone inspections and major periodical inspections in the European, Middle East, Asia, and Inda (EMEAI) region. “Reaching this milestone is truly historic for StandardAero but even more satisfying that it occurred at our new EMEAI facility,” said Marc Drobny, president of StandardAero business aviation.
The first five PT6A-68 engines have been inducted at the company’s Summerside location, which is undergoing expansion. The company expects to hire an additional 80 employees alongside a 30 percent increase of its shop floor area. “The on-schedule expansion of our Summerside turboprop engine MRO center of excellence demonstrates our continued commitment to our civil, government, and military operator base,” said Pater Turner, president of the airline and fleets business unit at StandardAero.
