Westwind Gets the Once-Over
By Ken Rose
On a December day, I sat in the
copilot's seat of a strange Westwind ready for takeoff at an airport just one
small mountain range shy of the
I had two jobs to do in the cockpit on
that flight. Most basic was my role as gear and flaps mover and being the
airplane's master voice on the radio. This even included a bit of radar range
and tilt settings changing to examine the weather along our course.
My other task that day consisted of
gathering operating information. The flight moved the airplane to
At Meacham, a long taxi to the rear of
a hangar complex brought us to the rollaway doors of Trimec Aviation, Inc., an
independent shop (some might say a fiercely independent shop) that has earned a
legendary reputation among Westwind operators. Trimec would do the pre-purchase
untroubled by my observations.
Past experience with the company had
already taught me that they would see anything of importance in the airframe.
On this airplane, with the engines reported to be enrolled in Jet Support
Services Inc., EMS, pay-as-you-fly major inspection and overhaul program,
engine inspection should amount to little more than data verification. But I
didn't say a word about that as I shook hands with Trimec President John R.
Dunn. We talked about his company's work schedule over the coming holidays and
confirmed the availability of hangar storage, should the airplane pass scrutiny
but need repairs that would delay delivery. We also arranged transportation for
the ferry captain and me to DFW.
Within an hour of deploying the lift
dump system at the ferry captain's command, I sat in a car on my way to the Metroplex's airline hub. At nearly any other place other
than Trimec, leaving town rather than scrutinizing every detail of mechanical
investigation would have been extremely irresponsible behavior on the part of
the jet airplane buyer's broker. At Trimec, however, Dunn and his partners,
Vice President Doug St. Don, and Secretary-Treasurer Steve Aikin,
conduct inspections in exactly the same way, whether left alone with their six
full-time employees or surrounded by buyer's and seller's brokers, dealers and
lawyers. Pilot observations are needed only on operational items that could not
show up on the ground.
I originally found Trimec through a
survey my company, Bear River Turbines among Westwind Managing Captains. Asked to name the best shop to do Westwind per-purchase
inspections, these pilots nearly unanimously named Trimec as number one.
Those who chose another repair station as number one mentioned Trimec as an
alternate. Asked about the best place to maintain a Westwind should cost be no
consideration, the pilots mentioned Trimec the most again. Trimec also led when
the question was which shop could best maintain a Westwind economically. After
watching one pre-buy inspection of an airplane that had a myriad of hidden
problems, I knew I'd never have to stay in that shop again except to enjoy the
pleasure of seeing a smoothly cooperating and competent technical team work
together.
Founded in March 1986, Trimec, a
company whose advertising is restricted to baseball caps, shirts and jackets,
now regularly maintain 35 Westwinds on an annual basis. If occasional major
inspections for operators who do their own minor checks and pre-purchase
inspections are added to the count, Trimec has seen and worked on fully one
third of the entire Westwind fleet, according to John Guyer,
a seven and one-half year veteran of the firm. With the exception of one
Hawker, maintained for the company's hangar landlord, Westwinds make up almost
all of Trimec's business. As the fleet numbers grow ,
however, the company will almost certainly expand into the care and maintenance
of Astras.
Over the years, the company's business
was built on word of mouth among Westwind owners. The company started off doing
Citation work, with an emphasis on hot section inspections. When the company
became a major force in Westwind maintenance, the three owners stayed in the
shop, doing hands-on work, performing inspections, expediting parts and seeing
to quality control. On the day I arrived with the Westwind last month, they
were still in the hangar. Trimec's entire administration is Karla Daniel, so a
pilot calling Trimec for help faces no bureaucracy to filter through.
There is one glaring lack at
Trimec-----tact. A buyer, seller or flyer of an airplane gets the news without
sweetening, softening or evasion: "This is okay". "That window
is cracked beyond limits." "There is Bondo
underneath that airplane hiding damage not shown in the log books."
"Your left brakes are okay." "Your right brakes are out of
limits." Diplomacy consists of using a red rag to wipe off grease before
shaking a visitor's hand.
The pre-purchase report on the
Westwind I left will be rolling out of the fax shortly. Some
of it almost predictable. Certainly, somewhere along the line, Dunn will
remind me to do my job and check the actual contracts on engine maintenance,
including the rotable components list. Reminders
aside, there will be a list of every item examined and prices to fix any
discrepancies. Wherever I receive that fax, I know the report will be just as
thorough as if I had watched every minute of the airplane's time in the shop.
There are very few other places in jet aviation where it is wise to place such
trust.