Intelligence - News [8]
DynCorp / Sabreliner Team Wins C-21A
Maintenance Contract
Three companies vied for the contract to maintain the U.S. Air Forces fleet of C-21a's (Learjet 35A's) when the program recently came up for renewal. The winning bidder of the airframe depot contract was DynCorp, which is owned by CSC. And for its partner, the company that will do the work on the airplanes, DynCorp chose Sabreliner.
Sabreliner plans to do the C-21A depot level maintenance at its Perryville, Missouri facility. The value of the subcontract to Sabreliner is about $17 million over five years.
There are 76 C-21A's in the fleet stationed at seven locations. The Air Force uses the jets to carry passengers and cargo and for medical transport.
The airframe depot contract was previously held by L-3 Com's Vertex Aerospace division. The previous contract was for 10 years and was originally awarded to E-Systems's ServAir. E-Systems was sold to Raytheon, then Raytheon sold the subsidary that eventually became Vertex in 2001.
"You win some, you lose some," said Spectra Jet co-founder John Yegerlehner. "It would have been huge. We spent nine months planning for that, but we'll press on. Maybe the company that won may need some help." In the meantime, Spectra Jet is keeping busy with its regular customers' Learjet maintenance needs, which continue to grow year over year,according to Yegerlehner.
As for Vertex Aerospace, "we are disappointed in the decision," said spokesman Chris Blount, "yet, we are committed to ensuring a seamless transition for our Air Force customer in this program."
Sabreliner has a long history of providing maintenance support for government operated aircraft and engines including the C-20 (Gulfstream), T-39 (Sabre Jet), T-33, T-37 and T-2, and also manufacturing parts for military aircraft. The C-20 program ended last year.
Sabreliner's maintenance technicians have plenty of experience on the C-21, because the company did subcontact work to Vertex. "We've been working on Learjets and C-21's for a while," said Jim Meier, Sabreliner vice-president of government services. "This is a good contract for us."
Under the subcontract, Sabreliner has done much heavy maintenance on the C-21 fleet, having completed 58 12,000-hour (Air Force Phase 16) inspections. Those begin to wind down during the next few years, Meier said, but at the same time, the Phase 14 or 12-year inspections will ramp up and keep Perryville busy.
DynCorp is responsible for tracking the maintenance requirements for the C-21 fleet, according to Meier, and also for the operational and intermediate maintenance, which corresponds to line and routine maintenance in the civilian world. Sabreliner's contract is for the depot-level maintenance, which involves major inspections, repairs, and possibly some modification work.
[www.aviationimx.com] AVIATION MAINTENANCE MARCH 2005 PAGE 9
Congratulations to DynCorp and Sabreliner, we wish them good luck with the C-21 Contract.
