Third-Party Maintenance Moving into LE Aviation


Aircraft maintenance is expensive; both in terms of having technicians on the police department’s payroll to service and support LE helicopters, plus the cost of tools and machinery needed to do such work in-house.


“The trend of rising maintenance costs are being felt across the aviation community, with small governments being especially susceptible to rising costs,” said Shane Engelauf. He is chief pilot with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Air Support Unit in Punta Gorda, Florida. “The ability to get parts on time at a reasonable cost often puts smaller aviation units out of service for extended periods,” he said.


To counter this trend, the CCSO has contracted its helicopter maintenance work to a third-party supplier. “We have entered a maintenance contract with Brunner Aerospace,” Engelauf said. “For a monthly fee that is far less than a power-by- the-hour program, we are able to project cost and have parts when needed.


“Some of the benefits to our maintenance contract are fixed overhaul costs and priority parts access, yearly mechanic and pilot maintenance training, and access to qualified mechanics in order to conduct higher levels of maintenance at our hangar,” he added. “This allows us to budget and control costs.”


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