Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Pat Bell comments on the job creating power of the aerospace industry in British Columbia along with Mark Van Rooij, Chief Executive Officer and President of AvCorp. Industries Inc. and Cathy Hawkins, senior manager, Boeing.
Everyone from aerospace industry veterans, to hobby aircraft enthusiasts, can appreciate impressive technology when they see it. The Lockheed Martin c130 maintenance center at Cascade Aerospace, is the perfect example of a facility that was built to not only perform its job as an efficient and accessible c130 maintenance hub, but to leave visitors and customers awestruck. It’s all about the sheer size, cutting-edge technology and organized systems, which go into the daily procedures, at this state of the art aircraft base.
Cascade Aerospace is a full service, third party aircraft fleet management firm. They are the solution of choice for managing complex, long-term and integrated aircraft service support programs. Their clients include government, military, OEM and commercial customers. Cascade has a satellite operation in Trenton, ON, located on the Canadian Forces base, to provide c 130j and c130 maintenance services for the Department of National Defence.
The c130 maintenance facility itself is 230 000 square feet. That’s enough space to house eight narrow bodied aircrafts. The center was built in 2000, and it’s located within the Abbotsford International Airport, with airside access. The workshop runs as efficiently as aircrafts after being serviced at Cascade. The facility has many built in efficiencies including:
Hanger floor computers for quick access to technical data and parts ordering for c130 maintenance.
Automated tool and parts delivery to the shop floor
Bar-coded time and material management programs.
Vending machines that allocate consumables to each job.
Overhead cranes to easily remove tails, engines and stabilizers
Support shops including: avionics, electronics, machine shop, structures, paint shop, component repair and overhaul.
The c130 maintenance company, Cascade Aerospace offers a full range of aerospace services. Program management for example, has Cascade acting as the single point of accountability and customer interface, providing: integrated governance, project management, airworthiness management and fleet management. This branch of c130 maintenance ensures that the customer meets all schedule, price and quality requirements. Much more goes into the effective running of an aircraft fleet than can be imagined but the staff, in combination with a top notch c130 maintenance center; guarantee the smooth and streamlined operations of an aircraft fleet.
Aircraft modification is another specialty service offered by Cascade Aerospace. In addition to c130 maintenance, the firm can perform: major or minor aircraft modifications, structural refurbishment, center wing box replacements, avionics upgrades, interior installations, reconfigurations, and aircraft re-engining programs.
Cascade are specialists at c130 maintenance but they are also about extending the aircraft service life, reducing operational costs, and enhancing operational capabilities for their client’s fleet. Their reputation for providing the best solutions, while working actively with clients, is why the aerospace community is growing up under their wing. Both the Abbotsford International Airport, and city of Abbotsford, British Columbia have partnered with Cascade Aerospace to continue supporting and growing the aerospace industry in British Columbia. With c130 maintenance programs, fleet and program management, this is an aerospace facility that is sure to impress any aviation enthusiast.
Cascade Aerospace Inc. is a dynamic, privately-held Canadian specialty aerospace and defence contractor focused on providing long-term integrated aircraft support programs for Original Equipment Manufacturers [OEMs], military, government and commercial customers. For more information please visit www.cascadeaerospace.com.
The top companies in the aviation industry require the specialist skills of leading aircraft maintenance providers to keep their fleet at optimum operational capacity. As one of the world’s most prestigious companies in the field aircraft maintenance, Cascade Aerospace meets the requirements of their clients with innovative, targeted solutions.
The world’s most forward-thinking companies choose to work with Cascade Aerospace because they understand that the organizational capacity of Cascade’s operations can help meet their demands with best-in-class services. Due to the speed, consistency and quality of their services, work span times are reduced, providing clients with a superior turnaround rate for their aircraft maintenance operations.
These best-in-class services have attracted the attention of some of the most illustrious names in the aerospace industry. Operating in one of only 13 Lockheed Martin-authorized C-130 Service Centers in the world, aircraft maintenance specialists at Cascade Aerospace work directly with Lockheed Martin to ensure the operational quality of their C-130 aircrafts. This dynamic working relationship encompasses just one of the many that Cascade Aerospace has developed with some of the world’s leading aerospace pioneers.
As aircraft maintenance specialists, Cascade Aerospace works directly with customers across the globe to increase their operational availability. Their services help companies reduce their fleet operation and support costs by extending the service life of aircraft and enhancing their operational capabilities. Client’s operational requirements are managed effectively though Cascade’s Program Management Office, which acts as a vital asset in their clients corner by helping them to meet all scheduling, pricing and quality requirements.
Additionally, Cascade Aerospace provides component repair and overhaul services that ensure their clients’ fleet are in optimal condition for first-class operation. As experts in the field of aircraft maintenance, their team have the necessary experience and skill sets to repair and overhaul a wide array of aircraft parts, including mechanical, pneumatic, flight controls, composites, interiors and communication equipment
The company also possess outstanding capabilities within the field of aircraft modifications, which means their clients can advance their fleet operations through highly innovative upgrades. Their modification services include post OEM-delivery modifications, electrical and mechanical modifications, avionics upgrades and aircraft interior installations and reconfigurations. For added-value flexibility, Cascade Aerospace attends to their clients’ specific modifications on request, thus offering the most widely varied modification services on the market.
Their unwavering commitment to excellence within the field of aircraft maintenance has helped Cascade Aerospace become the largest exclusive third party Transport Canada Approved Maintenance Organization. As part of their service offering, they provide complete nose to tail repair services, including light and heavy aircraft maintenance checks, major structural inspection and repair, bridge maintenance and planning, operational support as well as fly-in and AOG support.
In teaming with the most prominent organizations in the aerospace field, Cascade Aerospace continues to be an industry pioneer, providing their clients with the most innovative, cost-effective solutions as part of their dedication to operational excellence.
About Cascade Aerospace:
Established in 1969, Abbotsford, BC-based Cascade Aerospace has become Canada’s leading aerospace and defence contractor specializing in commercial and military fleet management. For more information, please go to Cascadeaerospace.
Cascade Aerospace Inc. is a dynamic, privately-held Canadian specialty aerospace and defence contractor focused on providing long-term integrated aircraft support programs for Original Equipment Manufacturers [OEMs], military, government and commercial customers.
NASA Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver, gives the keynote address at the Women, Innovation and Aerospace event celebrating Women’s History Month at the George Washington University Jack Morton Auditorium, Thursday, March 8, 2012 in Washington. The WIA day-long event will help to foster a discussion for students and early career professionals about how to continue to encourage women to enter and succeed in the field of aerospace. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
On-site representatives hoping to catch a glimpse of the daily activities at Cascade Aerospace are in luck, the c130 maintenance specialists and industry leaders in aircraft fleet management, warmly welcome potential partners to visit the shop. The team at Cascade Aerospace is proud of their 230 000 square feet facility built in 2000. The Abbotsford BC located c130 maintenance centre is equipped with the tools and space to manage and maintain visiting Boeing, Lockheed Martin or Bombardier fleets.
Entry into Canada to Visit the c130 Maintenance Team
If an International [non-Canadian] on-site customer service representative would like to visit Cascade Aerospace, they can easily obtain a letter of invitation from Cascade. After the letter is received, the representative should carry it, in addition to their personal and company identification to the Canadian border. If a representative is coming on behalf of an American Company, enter through the Sumas border, for quick and close proximity to Cascade Aerospace. Cascade Aerospace will be happy to arrange accommodations for their International visitors, to ensure comfort and convenience, for their c130 maintenance centre visit.
Cascade Aerospace is a dynamic, full service fleet management company. Visitors will be taken away by the sheer volume of comings and goings happening throughout the facility. In addition to c130 maintenance, the company will be busy with: program management, airworthiness tests, integrated logistics support, field service support and component repair and overhaul work. C130 maintenance, repair and overhaul can be witnessed in their facility. In addition to work at their shop, they also perform c130 maintenance on the Canadian Forces base in Trenton, Ontario.
The c130 Maintenance Team
While visiting Cascade, any guest will be guaranteed to run into many experts and specialists in the aerospace industry. The team at Cascade has reached over 500 people, and all of the staffs are chosen for their drive to guarantee whatever it takes to provide quality aircraft parts and services. A good portion of their employees have twenty to thirty years of aerospace industry experience. The management team has a combined one hundred years of combined experience. C130 maintenance, aircraft repair and fleet management, is in skilled hands at Cascade.
Area Attractions
Visiting Cascade to see the C130 maintenance facility, team and additional services and divisions, will be a memorable experience that an on-site representative will be excited to report back to their own home base. In between the visit and flying home, there are attractions to be seen in Abbotsford. If a visitor is coming all of the way to Abbotsford to see the c130 maintenance centre, then they would most likely be interested in catching the Abbotsford International Air Show in August. For a relaxing break the warm mineral waters of the Harrison Hot Springs or a look around one of the local Farmer’s Markets, is a great way to spend an afternoon.
Cascade is pleased to form new partnerships with other aerospace industry professionals. For more information on their c130 maintenance programs, fleet management or other aircraft programs visit, cascadeaerospace.
Cascade Aerospace Inc. is a dynamic, privately-held Canadian specialty aerospace and defence contractor focused on providing long-term integrated aircraft support programs for Original Equipment Manufacturers [OEMs], military, government and commercial customers. For more information please visit www.cascadeaerospace.com.
Overall: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. long x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.
(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)
Materials:
Aluminum airframe and body with some fiberglass features; payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite; thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.
The first Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground; it is not equipped for spaceflight. Although the airframe and flight control elements are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this vehicle has no propulsion system and only simulated thermal tiles because these features were not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International’s assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-long approach-and-landing test flight program. Thereafter it was used for vibration tests and fit checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight, which would have made it the second space shuttle to fly after Columbia. However, during the construction of Columbia, details of the final design changed, particularly with regard to the weight of the fuselage and wings. Refitting Enterprise for spaceflight would have involved dismantling the orbiter and returning the sections to subcontractors across the country. As this was an expensive proposition, it was determined to be less costly to build Challenger around a body frame (STA-099) that had been created as a test article. Similarly, Enterprise was considered for refit to replace Challenger after the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was built from structural spares instead.
Service
Construction began on the first orbiter on June 4, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A write-in campaign by Trekkies to PresidentGerald Ford asked that the orbiter be named after the Starship Enterprise, featured on the television show Star Trek. Although Ford did not mention the campaign, the president—who during World War II had served on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) that served with USS Enterprise (CV-6)—said that he was "partial to the name" and overrode NASA officials.
The design of OV-101 was not the same as that planned for OV-102, the first flight model; the tail was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods. A large number of subsystems—ranging from main engines to radar equipment—were not installed on this vehicle, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. Instead of a thermal protection system, its surface was primarily fiberglass.
In mid-1976, the orbiter was used for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to compare data from an actual flight vehicle with theoretical models.
On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell’s plant at Palmdale, California. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek were on hand at the dedication ceremony.
While at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate aspects of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". These tests included a maiden "flight" on February 18, 1977 atop a Boeing 747Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking characteristics of the mated system. Ground tests of all orbiter subsystems were carried out to verify functionality prior to atmospheric flight.
The mated Enterprise/SCA combination was then subjected to five test flights with Enterprise unmanned and unactivated. The purpose of these test flights was to measure the flight characteristics of the mated combination. These tests were followed with three test flights with Enterprise manned to test the shuttle flight control systems.
Enterprise underwent five free flights where the craft separated from the SCA and was landed under astronaut control. These tests verified the flight characteristics of the orbiter design and were carried out under several aerodynamic and weight configurations. On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation problems were revealed, which had to be addressed before the first orbital launch occurred.
On August 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise flew on its own for the first time.
Preparation for STS-1
Following the ALT program, Enterprise was ferried among several NASA facilities to configure the craft for vibration testing. In June 1979, it was mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at Kennedy Space CenterLaunch Pad 39A.
Retirement
With the completion of critical testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour visiting France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (during the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition). It was also used to fit-check the never-used shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, California. Finally, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution.
Post-Challenger
After the Challenger disaster, NASA considered using Enterprise as a replacement. However refitting the shuttle with all of the necessary equipment needed for it to be used in space was considered, but instead it was decided to use spares constructed at the same time as Discovery and Atlantis to build Endeavour.
Post-Columbia
In 2003, after the breakup of Columbia during re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board conducted tests at Southwest Research Institute, which used an air gun to shoot foam blocks of similar size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia at a test structure which mechanically replicated the orbiter wing leading edge. They removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise’s wing to perform analysis of the material and attached it to the test structure, then shot a foam block at it. While the panel was not broken as a result of the test, the impact was enough to permanently deform a seal. As the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was 2.5 times weaker, this suggested that the RCC leading edge would have been shattered. Additional tests on the fiberglass were canceled in order not to risk damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to determine the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC leading edge. On July 7, 2003, a foam impact test created a hole 41 cm by 42.5 cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam impact of the type Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge.
The board determined that the probable cause of the accident was that the foam impact caused a breach of a reinforced carbon-carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing, allowing hot gases generated during re-entry to enter the wing and cause structural collapse. This caused Columbia to spin out of control, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew.
Museum exhibit
Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian’s hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the newly built Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum‘s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, where it has been the centerpiece of the space collection. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, will be added to the collection once the Shuttle fleet is retired. When that happens, Enterprise will be moved to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, to a newly constructed hangar adjacent to the museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again.
No industry on the planet uses more solvents, degreasers and phenyl compounds per unit of sale than the aerospace industry, where the high tolerances required on both mechanical and electrical parts puts a premium on cleanliness and non-conductivity of the cleaning material used.
For going on sixty years, if it was used on a jet engine, it was probably cleaned with trichloroethane 1,1,1, a compound that acted as a solvent, was heavier than air (making it ideal for use in several applications), was non-conductive and had a vapor point that was high enough to be a fire retardant. Unfortunately, trichloroethane is also a chlorofluorocarbon, and it’s used was mandated to be phased out by compliance with the Montreal accords.
The Montreal accords banning CFCs are mostly known for changing refrigerants, but they also ended up mandating changes to a lot of industrial solvents. Aerospace companies are going to have to find replacement chemical solvents that will both get the job done in an efficient manner, and not cost much more than the chemicals they replace. This latter is a significant barrier to entry, because the reasons why the existing solvents are in use is because they’re cheap to get at, most chemical plants could make them from feed stocks at hand, and are royalty and patent free. This allows for significant economy of scale in their production and shipping.
Many of the newer organic solvents are still being put through phase trials, and some of them require mixed solutions -where multiple jobs could be done with a single older chemical solvent, the newer chemical solvents tend to be much more specialized in their applications and the jobs they can be used for. This means that you’ll need smaller quantities of different solvents and reagents on hand.
All that said, the savings these materials offer is on the disposal side of things. As a general rule, they’re easier to work with and safer for your staff to handle; they don’t require quite as rigorous a set of safety gear, and they’re much less hazardous to handle in general. And, as they become more wide spread, the costs will drop – and the fines for use of the older materials will go up.
The future of aerospace work in construction, engine rebuilding and maintenance is going to be dominated by these organic solvents and degreasers; the sooner you adapt your work flow to them, the greater your total benefit is going to be.
More and more businesses are doing what ever it takes by using environmentally safe products such as Organic Degreasers. One of the best places to start is ecolink.com. Ecolink has helped a long list of leading manufacturers, aerospace companies, energy utilities, transportation providers, the military and government organizations navigate unpredictable industrial chemical bans and phase-outs by promoting Less Chemicals and Safer Chemicals. The are a leading authority on Organic Solvents.
