Embraer has started construction on the second of three planned factory-owned service centres in the USA for the Phenom 100, Phenom 300 and Legacy 600 business jets in advance of first deliveries of the Phenom 100 next year.
At a groundbreaking ceremony at Bradley International airport in July, Embraer, airport and city leaders said that the new facility will provide jobs for 50 technicians and 10 administrative staff starting next year, although expansion is possible.
Located near a runway end at the airport, the $8.2 million, 4,181m2 (45,000 ft2) facility is to be built on a 2Ha (5 acre) parcel, with a second 2Ha lot available to the company for future expansion. Included is a 2,600m2 hangar, offices, "amenities" for pilots and "back-shops" for composite (the Phenom line has an all-composite tail), controls and sheet metal repairs.
Embraer says there will be no fuelling or other fixed-base operation-type services at the facility.
Embraer will also spend almost $2 million more for "infrastructure, machinery and equipment," says Gary Spulak, president of Embraer Aircraft Holdings, the company's US subsidiary. The airport is to build and pay for a connecting taxiway.
Embraer one month ago broke ground on a similar facility at Williams Gateway airport in Mesa, Arizona. Construction on the third service centre, in Ft Lauderdale, will start next month. Embraer to date has 14 authorised service centres for the Legacy 600, currently the only business jet in the company's portfolio.
Service centres are to provide services including scheduled maintenance based on calendar or use as well as repairs for damaged aircraft, service bulletins and airworthiness directives. Embraer expects to open all three facilities next August.
Source: Flight International
