HAI/MARK BENNETT
navigation, leaving the final decision on their installation in individual aircraft up to the customer. Schweizer RSG is also tackling another customer concern:
maintenance and operating costs. Te maintenance schedule for Schweizer aircraft was designed in the 1950s. Other than subsequent airworthiness directives (ADs), it has changed very little. Horton hopes to help change that for the better. “We’re looking at revising the maintenance schedule to
Behind every aircraft built is a team of professionals
passionate about quality. Dave
Horton’s team at Schweizer RSG, shown here, is committed to supporting the
Schweizer legacy.
bring it in line with modern aircraft and modern procedures,” Horton says. “For example, there’s a very short time between inspections on the lower coupling driveshaft—150 hours— and we’re asking the FAA to look at an AD to allow an increase in hours before inspection. Tey’ve made no commitments to do this, but we’re collecting and providing very positive information that supports increasing that inspection interval. Whenever we can increase those inspection times, we can help reduce overall operating costs.”
Another area Horton’s team is exploring is lubrication
intervals and lubrication greases. “A lot of greases and lubricants have been vastly improved over the years,” he
explains. “At some point, we plan to review the potential of changing grease and lubrication products that will allow for longer periods of time before servicing. Tese things take a bit of time to get through the approval process.” Te return to production of the Schweizer S333 is another
story. While there have been some customer inquiries, Horton admits there would need to be considerable interest with multiple orders to support the investment required to start production of this aircraft designed for military training and law enforcement. Te company would also need to secure a partner to help finance the line. One opportunity for the S333 lies in the unmanned
aircraft system (UAS) market. Northrop Grumman’s auton- omous MQ-8B Fire Scout UAS was developed from the S333 platform. Horton believes there are opportunities to expand on the aircraft and technology as the civilian UAS market grows. Another possibility, he says, is converting the S300C to a turbine-powered aircraft for UAS use. “We’ve already started down the UAS path, but we’re
looking into securing a good partner to develop it further,” Horton says. “We’re definitely going to be a player in the UAS business.”
38 ROTOR SEPTEMBER 2021
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