Asian Aerospace gets under way just a day after its namesake, Philippine maintenance company Asian Aerospace, was scheduled to hand back its first refurbished and overhauled Lockheed Hercules to the Philippines air force.
The company says the aircraft, an L-100-20, was grounded, heavily corroded and overdue for programme depot maintenance when it began a service maintenance programme in February 2004 in collaboration with technical partner and primary contractor Lockheed Martin.
Although the originally scheduled $2 million programme was completed by June 2004, a further $2 million of extra work was required before the transport was ready to be handed back to the air force, says chief executive Peter Rodriguez. “It has been a long process,” he says. The air force “didn’t even have the manual for the aircraft”.
Rodriguez, who is based at the Lockheed Martin pavilion this week, says that although his company does not have formal programme depot maintenance (PDM) status, it has all the capabilities expected of a PDM.
Work on a C-130 is about to begin and the company hopes that funding to refurbish a further two C-130s will be forthcoming. Based at Clark Field, it also plans to pursue work from overseas Hercules operators.
The company says the aircraft, an L-100-20, was grounded, heavily corroded and overdue for programme depot maintenance when it began a service maintenance programme in February 2004 in collaboration with technical partner and primary contractor Lockheed Martin.
Although the originally scheduled $2 million programme was completed by June 2004, a further $2 million of extra work was required before the transport was ready to be handed back to the air force, says chief executive Peter Rodriguez. “It has been a long process,” he says. The air force “didn’t even have the manual for the aircraft”.
Rodriguez, who is based at the Lockheed Martin pavilion this week, says that although his company does not have formal programme depot maintenance (PDM) status, it has all the capabilities expected of a PDM.
Work on a C-130 is about to begin and the company hopes that funding to refurbish a further two C-130s will be forthcoming. Based at Clark Field, it also plans to pursue work from overseas Hercules operators.
Source: Flight Daily News
