Jet Aviation’s Hawker Pacific facility in Cairns, Australia, is adding to its service capabilities with FAA approval covering the installation of engine aural alerting equipment aboard Pratt & Whitney Canada-equipped aircraft.

Hawker Pacific Cairns developed the equipment, including the looms and installation hardware, under an agreement with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) covering engine prognostics equipment service and support.  

The Auxiliary Aural Alert System complements P&WC’s engine diagnostics systems by sounding a warning when an aircraft engine is about to exceed its operating limitations. This enables pilots to avert the exceedance, avoiding costly engine damage. It integrates with the P&WC Diagnostics, Prognostics, and Health Management (DPHM).

“Being awarded FAA STC approval is an important step for Hawker Pacific as it opens up further international opportunities for products and labor to be sold out of a regional Queensland location,” noted Rick Webber, Hawker Pacific avionics manager, adding that Hawker Pacific will manufacture the system’s electrical structural components in Cairns. These components traditionally have been manufactured outside Australia.

P&WC worked with the Cairns facility to gain international approvals. On-aircraft engineering development and trial installation were completed in Cairns, while systems were installed on aircraft in countries such as India, Indonesia, Nepal, Japan, and China during the development process.

“Hawker Pacific’s repair and design capability has significant advantages…Operators benefit from in-country support, accelerated repair times, and reduced downtime for their fleets,” said Michael Noble, who is part of the P&WC field operations team.

The additional capabilities followed an expansion of the Cairns MRO, which increased its size by 50 percent last year with the support of the Queensland Government’s Jobs and Regional Growth Fund. Jet Aviation (Chalet CD47) purchased Hawker Pacific in May 2018.

In addition to supporting growth at Hawker Pacific, Jet Aviation has continued to expand its own branded facilities, recently celebrating the opening of its FBO and hangar complex at Van Nuys Airport in California.

Opened late last year and with a formal grand opening celebration held in concert with sister company Gulfstream Aerospace last month, the FBO complex includes a 10,000-sq-ft terminal and a 43,000-sq-ft hangar with 8,000 sq ft of office space and 30-foot clearance that can accommodate current and future ultra-long-range business jets. The site is the first Jet Aviation facility to carry an SAF-blended fuel option and the first to offer sustainable aviation fuel at Van Nuys Airport.

“The enhancements throughout our FBO network are strategically designed to focus on exceeding customer expectations across our full range of business aviation services while using cost- and energy-efficient construction practices,” said David Best, senior v-p and general manager of regional operations for the U.S.