Sino Swearingen Aircraft (SSA) has sacked Gamesa as wing and fuselage supplier for its SJ30-2 light business jet and awarded the contract to Nashville, Tennessee-based Aerostructures. SSA sources say the contractor switch followed "an unsatisfactory service" from the Spanish aircraft parts maker.
Aerostructures, which also builds subassemblies for Airbus, Boeing, Cessna and Gulfstream, is to deliver parts for the first production aircraft within 15 months.
SSA's relationship with Gamesa has been unsteady for some time. The San Antonio, Texas-based manufacturer suffered delays in the SJ30-2 certification schedule due in part to late delivery and poor quality of the subcontracted aircraft parts, admits a source close to the programme. "Although Gamesa has built and delivered all five test aircraft there have been serious quality issues with some parts, which had to be disassembled and rebuilt," he says. "The fuselage and wing sets for the first production aircraft should now be sitting in our Martinsburg, West Virginia [assembly and manufacturing] facility but they have not arrived." Gamesa was unable to comment as Flight International went to press.
Adding to the problem, Gamesa is believed to have transferred its highly skilled engineers from the SJ30-2 programme on to other contracts, the source adds.
Aerostructures is in talks with Gamesa's European subcontractors to continue making and supplying SJ30-2 components.
Source: Flight International
