As the business aviation industry recovers, US aircraft operators are increasingly turning to Constant Aviation's AOG mobile response team to help return idled aircraft to service. Aircraft parked for even a few weeks can develop system issues that need to be addressed. Mechanical malfunctions, engine troubles, electrical problems and software glitches are common on aircraft that have been idled, and they must be corrected before passengers can be accepted.

With its nationwide network of mobile technicians that dispatch out of 21 cities in the USA, Constant ensures a rapid response to most metropolitan areas. All tooling and equipment is contained within each of its AOG vehicles, so the technician can service an aircraft wherever it might be sitting: at the operator's hangar, at an FBO or out on a ramp.

“We've witnessed the business aviation rebound firsthand, and it has been dramatic,” says Paul Witt, Constant VP of AOG line stations. “As flying has increased, our AOG division has been working at 120 per cent capacity. That's a big turnaround from March, when we were working at 30 percent capacity. There have been some significant hot spots where they are spending a lot of time, like the Bay Area, the Southeast and Chicago, and we have added technicians in Teterboro and Portland to help us handle the demand we're seeing in the Northeast and on the West Coast.”

While these traditional business aviation destinations see the bulk of Constant Aviation's AOG work, technicians are prepared to leave their vehicles behind and fly to remote locations to get the job done. Within the past year, AOG technicians have serviced aircraft stranded as far as Peru, Alaska and the Caribbean. These missions require careful planning and problem solving to transport tooling to and from the worksite and make the repair.

“Our experienced technicians love a good challenge,” says Witt. “They will come together as a team to find a solution to any situation, and we've seen a lot of unique situations during the coronavirus pandemic. We are hearing from a lot of operators who parked their aircraft in March at resort areas up in the Rockies or down in the Southwest. They know they need to do more than kick the tires and fire the engines, but each aircraft has different return-to-service needs. The AOG division is just a phone call away to assess the situation and help out.”

Most aircraft maintenance manuals contain recommendations for items to check every two weeks during prolonged parking, along with information about return-to-service after a prolonged time out of operation. Operators should also be aware of any manufacturer service bulletins issued while the aircraft is out of service.

Constant Aviation's AOG team has increased its capabilities this month by becoming the first provider outside an Embraer service centre to acquire the necessary tooling kits to address Embraer's recent service bulletin. Tooling can be shipped overnight anywhere in the country, where it is picked up by an AOG technician en route to an idled aircraft.

“We have a longstanding relationship with Embraer and in-house experts with decades of experience on Embraer airframes, so we were able to jump on this service bulletin and quickly act,” says Witt. “Embraer is paying for the kits and labour, so all the operator has to do is reach out to the AOG team to schedule a date for the installation.”

While the business aviation recovery accelerates, so too will the increase in AOG demand. Witt sees each continuing to trend up over the next few months.