Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

ST Engineering Aerospace opened a new $46 million, 173,500-sq-ft airframe MRO hangar at Florida’s Pensacola International Airport on June 8. The new facility, which is the company’s third airframe MRO location in the U.S., can perform heavy and line maintenance, as well as modifications, on narrowbody and widebody jets. UPS is the launch customer for the new maintenance center.

 


Able to accommodate six Airbus A321s simultaneously, the facility includes one of the largest hangars in Singapore-based ST Engineering’s global network of airframe maintenance facilities. It carries&nbsp;an annual capacity of 600,000 labor hours, according to the company. Some 150 employees work at the Pensacola facility, and ST plans to add another 500 in the near future.

 


“Pensacola serves as an excellent base for us to serve the MRO needs of the North America region given its rich pool of highly trained engineering and aviation talent,” said ST Engineering Aerospace president Lim Serh Ghee. “We are pleased to have United Parcel Service as our launch customer at the new facility, and we look forward to welcoming more customers and supporting them.”

 


During the grand opening, one of UPS’s Boeing 757 freighters stood on display with many of its wing access panels removed while it underwent a C-check, an inspection that takes an average of 21 to 24 days and must be conducted every 24 months. UPS director of engineering Edward Walton told AIN that its fleet of seventy-five 757 freighters cycle&nbsp;through the Pensacola facility for the inspections, with 21 to be performed there this year and 40 per year thereafter. The 757 is UPS’s smallest aircraft in its fleet and is thus used to serve thinner markets.

 


Meanwhile, UPS’s 757 and 767 freighters are also receiving avionics upgrades at ST Engineering Aerospace’s facility in nearby Mobile, Alabama. That involves swapping out the aircraft’s legacy CRT-based avionics with a Rockwell Collins LCD-based “large display system,” Walton said. He added that some of the work could possibly be done at the new Pensacola facility, though the company harbors no firm plans for that.&nbsp;

 


UPS also uses ST Engineering Aerospace’s MRO in San Antonio, Texas, for airframe maintenance of its MD-11 freighters, as well as ST Engineering’s Singapore Seletar Airport facility for conversion of passenger 767s to freighters.

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

ST Engineering Opens Florida MRO with UPS as Launch Customer

New 173,500-sq-ft Florida facility can perform heavy and line maintenance, as well as modifications, on narrowbody and widebody jets.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Matt Thurber

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Batteries offer significant weight savings and better performance 

Saft Developing Li-ion Batteries for Biz Aircraft, Helos

Curt Epstein

The move gives the company repair locations at two airports

All In Aviation Makes Safe Bet with Mx Provider Purchase

Consistency and proper assessment of the need for STCs are targets

DOT IG To Examine Consistency in FAA STC Process

Charles Alcock

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Maintenance, repair, and overhaul group has 52 line stations in the U.S. and Europe

FEAM Aero Will Support SkyDrive eVTOL Aircraft Operators

40,000-sq-ft hangar allows company to expand aircraft maintenance services

Jets MRO Moves into New Digs at Dallas Executive Airport

The online tool helps operators find suitable service for aircraft

Aviation Heaven Rolls Out Global MRO Map

Projects were handled over a four-month span

ExecuJet Haite Pulls Off Embraer Legacy Triple Play

AmyWilder

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

More In Maintenance and Modifications