HELICOPTER ACQUISITION
Training Training is expensive. Ask for additional slots during your purchase and sales agreement negotiating. You could get a huge discount or even free training slots! Have all your expectations for training on the purchase and sales agreement. If this includes travel, make sure it is also clear and spelled out. One good lesson we learned is that the manufacturer’s expectation is for you to send everyone for the entire length of the training at one time. In other words, if all your modules total fi ve weeks, then they will fl y you one time. Most of us can’t leave for fi ve weeks at a clip, so there were additional costs in the training budget that weren’t expected. Additional fl ights, rental cars, parking, luggage fees, lodging and meals were additional because of a change that was overlooked. It might prove better for you to do your own scheduling for training.
Tooling and Parts Ask for an initial provisional set up for tooling and parts at this stage. Try to get as much free stuff as you can. Just remember that if you don’t ask, they will never off er. Ask about consignment parts — are they willing to stock parts at your facility? Are they willing to give discounts on tooling and parts if purchased as a provisional set up? Parts consignment can come at a cost, so be prepared for
this. One way around no fees is to negotiate. Are you going to have the aircraft on a warranty program? This was how we
negotiated no fees; as long as we had a paid subscription for warranty, they wouldn’t charge consignment fees. Tooling is also a huge investment. Do your research, fi nd other resources to purchase tools outside of the manufacturer and you can save a ton of money. This was another value when visiting other operators and paying attention to their maintenance departments and asking questions.
Not Just Another Pretty Battery Because that is not just another pretty helicopter.
RG-350 (17 Ah)
Certifications Include: Eurocopter AS350B, -B1, -B2, -B3, -BA, AS350D, & EC130B4
Delivery Don’t sign over the fi nal deposit unless you are 100-percent satisfi ed. This is where your maintenance training will be most valuable. Inspect the aircraft and have all items that don’t meet your expectations corrected. Go through all documentation and paperwork and audit for completeness and accuracy. You don’t want surprises when you’re back at home base and trying to get the aircraft on line. The delivery is usually the last time you will get the completion center and the aircraft manufacturer personnel in the same place to get everything corrected that was found not right. Stick to your guns. If you are not comfortable or do not understand something, don’t accept the aircraft. This experience should be a win for the aircraft manufacturer, the completion center and of course you, the end user.
Concorde’s RG® Series – 30 years of proven, quality, mission ready lead acid aircraft batteries. Concorde sealed lead acid batteries are flying everyday on critical operations around the globe – Military, Medevac, Airline, Offshore Support and Flight Training. RG® Series
aircraft batteries are designed to deliver unmatched reliability, are precisely handcrafted in the USA, and are meticulously tested for rated capacity and superior performance in any climate.
Operators worldwide trust Concorde – shouldn’t you?
Edward Jerin joined Era Med LLC in 2008 as the aviation maintenance manager for its Boston Med Flight critical care transport service contract.
He is also on the Helicopter Maintenance magazine Editorial Advisory Board.
CONCORDEBATTERY.COM | PHONE 626.813.1234 | ISO 9001 + AS 9100 32
HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com April | May 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48