Many GA And Business Models Now Covered Under CLASS Program

In what must be another sign of the economic times, Hawker Beechcraft implemented a new fee structure on Monday for support of some of its older model GA aircraft. Dubbed "CLASS", for Classic Legacy Aircraft Service and Support, the program institutes charges by Hawker Beechcraft for technical support and services for aircraft models which have been out of production for many years. Depending on the nature of the incoming request, there will be a fee charged for the assistance provided.

In a document forwarded to ANN by a reader, HBC says the fee structure was instituted because HBC Customer Service and Support "... currently provides technical support on all models of airplanes manufactured and delivered by HBC with the exception of some military variants, military surplus, the Model 18 and Staggerwing. This totals over 38,000 airplanes with a wide variance in age and design."

"In the Technical Support department at HBC, we currently average over 12,000 technical inquiries per month supporting these airplanes and provide technical assistance free of charge regardless of the age or model of the airplane. Many of the airplanes operating in this fleet have been resold numerous times and have seen service all over the world. Some of these models were delivered over 40 years ago. We receive inquiries regularly for  services and information such as: researching original configurations of very old aircraft, looking up part numbers or technical information already in our publications, searching for material specifications, and sending out maintenance manual pages that are missing or sections of manuals for airplanes AOG at a non HBC rated facility."

The aircraft that are covered under the CLASS program include:

• Musketeer, Sundowner, Skipper, Duchess, Duke, Debonair, Twin Beech, Queen Air, Twin Bonanza And All Model 35 Series
• Model 36 Series Prior To Serial Number Prefix E-2600
• Model A36TC And B36TC All Serials
• Model 55, 56, 58P And 58TC All Serials
• Model 58 Series Prior To Serial Number Prefix TH-1600
• King Air 90 Model Series Prior To Serial Number Prefix LJ-1300
• King Air E-90 All Serials
• King Air F-90 All Serials
• King Air 100 Model Series All Serial Numbers Prefixes
• King Air 200 Model Series Prior To Serial Number Prefix BB-1400
• King Air 200C / B200C Prior To Serial Number BL-138
• King Air 200T / B200T Prior To Serial Number BT-39
• King Air 300 Model Series, All FA And FF Serial Number Prefixes
• All MU-300 Models And Straight Model 400’s, RJ Serial Number Prefix
• All 125 Series Airplanes From Model 1/1A Through Model 800A/B and 1000

HBC says the list could grow in the future.

The services that will now be subject to a fee-for-service charge include:

• All Requests for Information Already Contained in Our Publications
• All Requests for Single System Wiring Diagrams
• Technical Advice or Troubleshooting Assistance for CLASS Category Airplanes
• All Requests for Drawing Research to Support Modifications

HBC also rolled out a pay-per-view web-based technical publications web tool Monday. The minimum charge for technical support under the CLASS program will be $125 for most services.

FMI: www.hawkerbeechcraft.com