PRODUCTS - MAINTENANCE REPAIR AND OVERHAUL
Taking It To The Troops
BY RON WHITNEY A Seattle aerospace company recently won a military
contract and expects the U.S. Army to place future orders with the firm. HEATCON Composite Systems received a $2.6 million deal to provide equipment that assists the mil- itary in repairing composite aircraft in remote locations. “We are proud to be supporting the U.S. Army with
advanced aerospace repair equipment,” HEATCON President Eric Casterline said. With U.S. troops battling in harsh, mountainous ter-
rain, the Army needs a system to fix helicopters and air- planes that are damaged in difficult environments. Besides the enemy, lightning, hail and other random hazards can also ground military aircraft for repair. “Numerous circumstances can cause an aircraft to be not operational,” Casterline explained. “Besides hostile fire,
JANUARY 2012 30 for example, during military operations, impact from
ground vehicles and foreign object debris are common sources of damage. Repairs to composite parts must follow a schedule of heat and pressure application, known as a cure cycle, for a repair to be sound – that is what our equip- ment provides.” Hot bonders and other equipment from HEATCON
will be used to repair structural components of damaged aircraft that require bonding processes. The company is providing the Army with nearly 200 portable hot bonders, which will be used to repair the composite structures on military aircraft. The hot bonders developed for this contract retain
functions similar to those of larger, more traditional equip- ment, while offering portability through the addition of
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