New Jersey Upgraded, Australia Signs; Turbofan Test Cell Comes Online

Dallas Airmotive (DAI), a global field service organization providing repair and overhaul to turbine aircraft operators, today announced two new facilities, a new test cell, and other enhancements to its services at the National Business Aviation Association Convention in Orlando, Florida.

New Facilities Come Online

The company opened a Regional Turbine Center at Millville Municipal Airport (KMIV) in Millville, New Jersey, to support turbine aircraft operators in the Northeastern U.S. The 8,000 sq. ft. facility adjacent to the company’s maintenance hangar, will provide maintenance, repair and hot section inspection services on Pratt & Whitney PT6A and JT15D engines. It will also support ongoing Millville operations including engine changes, flight line services, vibration surveys, and AOG support for many other turbine powerplants.

Another facility joined the Dallas Airmotive family today also, as Dallas Airmotive signed contracts with Pacific Turbines Brisbane Limited of Brisbane, Australia. PTB Is now a sales representative and a Dallas Airmotive Authorized Service Center for Australia and the region.

PTB will also focus primarily on the common PT6A and JT15D powered aircraft, but will represent the full range of Dallas Airmotive services.

These facilities join Dallas Airmotive's two facilities in Texas (where else?), its Premier Turbines facility in Neosho, Missouri, and its H+S Aviation affiliate in Portsmouth, England.

New Test Cell For P&W Turbofans

In its Forest Park, Texas facility, Dallas Airmotive has unveiled a state-of-the-art engine test cell for PW300 and PW500 turbofan engines. The company has unveiled a new test cell to support its repair and overhaul operations.

The new test cell has been designed, constructed, and calibrated by an industry-leading test cell contractor, and incorporates the latest data collection and aggregation technologies.

The cell can accommodate a 500 lb./sec. engine mass flow and a maximum thrust load of 10,000 lbs., which not only supports the largest PW300 and PW500 series engines today, but allows some room for growth. The modern design of the test cell keeps the noise at Dallas Airmotive's property line down to a neighborly 65 db.

Dallas Airmotive President and CEO, Hugh McElroy, explained how modern techniques led to a state-of-the-art test cell. "This test cell was designed using computerized fluid design software so that we could get an extremely accurate simulation prior to actual construction," McElroy said.

The new design was designed to speed for engine pre-test preparation by letting it take place outside of the test cell, maximizing the cell's availability for actual test runs. Prior to entering the cell, fuel lines, oil lines, and data sensors are attached between the engine and a strong back (support harness). Once the engine is brought to the test cell, installation can take as little as 30 minutes.

The photographs show a PW305 engine in the test cell, a technician working on a PW530 engine, and a PW 300 series fan section in DAI's sophisticated Schenck balancer, also in DAI's Forest Park overhaul facility.

Dallas Airmotive Services

Dallas Airmotive’s primary business is the overhaul and repair of turbine engines, and claims the largest global field service organization among independent repair and overhaul companies. Mobile Repair Teams are available 24 hours a day to respond to customer needs anywhere in the world.

The company services 86% of the turbine engine models used in business and general aviation, and was appointed in 2004 as a Designated Overhaul Facility for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 and PW500 series turbofan engines.

FMI: www.dallasairmotive.com