How many of today's students consider a career in aviation? Or let me frame it this way, how many of us would advise our students to pursue a career in aviation. Well, Steve Davey, the COO of Levaero is definitely one of them. In an exclusive interview with Swati.Ketkar, he proudly talks about the overwhelming and absolutely unexpected response received for the PC-24, the overall effectiveness in the new PC-12 maintenance plan along with sharing concerns about the skilled workforce in aviation.
With a completely out-of-the box outlook towards work and life, Steve shares some of his challenges and success stories. Read On!
Q - First of all, I would like to congratulate you on recently acquiring the Transport Canada Certification. Since then how is the market response for PC- 24?
A - I suspected there would be an influx of inquiries following the Transport Canada type certification, but what happened exceeded our expectations. I believe several contributing factors led to that.
We received the type certification on the Thursday afternoon. The next morning, I issued the Transport Canada Certificate of Airworthiness and handed over the PC-24 to the customer. They were flying under the Canadian registry within the hour, and returned home to Montreal with the aircraft the following morning. One week later we displayed the PC-24 and the PC-12NG at the CBAA static display in Calgary, then followed that event with viewings at AirVenture in Oshkosh. We are overwhelmed by the number of people who booked appointments to view the PC-24 and further overwhelmed by those who are reaching out to us for more viewings. Honestly, this past month has been a bit of a blur. The timing of these events triggered a lot of buzz and elevated interest throughout the industry and it hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
Q - Pilatus engineers recently developed a new PC- 12 Master Maintenance Plan. It aims to reduce the maintenance labour by 20-40 %. Can you explain very briefly the working of this model? Can this model be effectively applied to other aircraft?
A - The worldwide PC-12 fleet has accumulated more than 7.5 million flight hours with an incredible safety and reliability record, so using the data acquired over the years to reduce maintenance costs and downtime was a natural step for the factory to take.
The new Master Maintenance Plan allows greater flexibility for maintenance scheduling in order to reduce the number of inspections required each year. Any aircraft type that operates in versatile roles with a wide range of annual utilization would benefit from a similar program.
The previous PC-12 maintenance program consisted of a repetitive 100-hour inspection, and the interval could be extended to 150 hours, subject to approval of the local authorities. The new repetitive interval is 300 hours and the tasks performed at each interval are bundled based on the operator's annual utilization. Basically, an operator flying more than 150 hours each year will benefit from the new maintenance program, and the savings will increase as the annual utilization escalates, up to 1,200 hours each year.
Transitioning to the new program is simple and typically takes place when the PC-12 is in the shop for its annual inspection.
Q - PC- 24 with its cutting-edge technology and unique features stands out as the only Super Versatile Jet in the world. Can you tell us some of its features that set it apart?
A - Every time I'm asked this question I struggle not to sound like a sales brochure, but it really is a very simple question to answer. Most of those features are obvious - some not so much.
The cargo door still shocks people when they see it for the first time. Many people saw the cargo door in the PC-24 mock-up and prototypes, but didn't expect to see it on a production PC-24 - but it's very real, very big and standard on every PC-24.
The short-field and unprepared runway capabilities open up a huge list of runways and locations that are not accessible to other business jets in its class. This creates a whole new level of accessibility and ease of travel.
Coming from a maintenance background, I believe the elimination of the traditional APU is a great opportunity to reduce maintenance costs and weight. The number two engine has the Quiet Power Mode (QPM) feature, allowing it to run sub-idle while producing the electrical power needed to operate all the systems you would need on the ground, such as the avionics, lighting, heating and air conditioning.
Take all the features I've described and combine them with a large cabin and a flat floor with seat rails throughout the cabin, and you have an aircraft that can be utilized in so many roles, anywhere.
Q - In over two decades of vast experience in Maintenance management, can you recall a specific challenging situation and how you tackled it?
A - Broken airplanes in the middle of nowhere, parts shortages, tight schedules to meet - those are all challenging but are part of the job that you eventually come to accept as routine work. But I think the most challenging has been establishing and managing a successful MRO culture vs. a typical airline culture.
Essentially, all our maintenance staff, including myself, came from the airlines at one time or another. When you're an AME or apprentice working for an airline you basically have one or two bosses and a straight-forward set of expectations to work with. In an MRO - or at least at Levaero - every single maintenance customer has his or her own unique expectations. As their service provider, you and your staff need to clearly understand what those expectations are, otherwise you will undoubtedly disappoint your customer and may never see them again.
In Levaero's earlier days, when a customer entered the hangar, the maintenance staff would make themselves scarce. That was the culture we were all used to. Maintenance staff simply didn't interact with the customers. Today when customers drop off or pick up their aircraft at Levaero, they meet and shake the hands of the people who are working on their aircraft. If there are questions about the work that was done, they are getting answers directly from the person who performed the work. In return, when customers offer compliments or criticism, the whole team gets to hear it from the customers first hand, which they appreciate so much more than hearing it from management. Most importantly, they get to know who they're really working for.
This cultural change has been very challenging but, also very rewarding. I am very, very proud of the relationships that have been established between our customers and our maintenance staff.
Q - What is your advice to the youth currently pursuing their careers in aviation maintenance?
A - Twice a year, we visit each grade 10 careers class in the Thunder Bay public school system. Our goal is to introduce high school students to a career in aviation, with the hope they will choose an aviation co-op placement the following year and continue with aviation programs in their post-secondary studies (I selfishly nudge as many as I can towards maintenance).
The first advice I give the students is simply "consider a career in aviation, because the demand in the industry has never been as strong as it is now, and compensation, opportunity for advancement and worldwide opportunities is the highest I have ever seen it". That usually gets their attention. I then share with the students stories and photos of the projects our maintenance staff or I have been involved with over the years, and explain that the toughest, most challenging tasks I have faced in my career are the ones I remember best and look back upon as the high points of my career - and certainly the most fun.
At Levaero, we focus not only on very competitive compensation packages, but also on an exceptional working environment with an emphasis on flexibility and quality of life. It's no secret that's what the young people entering the workforce are looking for so, as an industry, we must find creative ways to make that happen.
Q - Although many reports show rising trends in Aviation & MRO markets, the on-ground situation remains grim due to shutting down or selling over of many major airlines across the world, how do you see the future of this industry (Aviation & MRO) in years to come?
A - The biggest concern we, as an industry, have right now is a lack of human resources - a growing shortage of pilots and mechanics. Add to that the increasing employment opportunities in other parts of the world, airlines choosing higher frequency with smaller aircraft, young people choosing non-trade career paths, and we're essentially looking at an epidemic.
Overall experience is diminishing which in turn requires more oversight and management. It really is the perfect storm and there is no overnight solution. Increased automation of flight and modern technologies to reduce aircraft maintenance is coming, but we have a tough road ahead of us before it will get better. Meanwhile, wages are increasing significantly in order to retain existing employees and to attract new ones. As airline passengers, we can expect to pay significantly more to travel for a while to come.
Q - PC- 12 NG and the new PC-24 are customised to suit specific customer needs, be it corporate transport, surveillance, Intelligence or disaster response. Apart from the routine, have you ever received any unique request for customisation?
A - There have been a lot of modifications proposed to me over the years, for various needs. When I think back, most of them were executed and delivered. For the ones that didn't materialize, it was usually because there simply wasn't enough demand to justify the costs associated with developing, approving and delivering the modification.
The more common modifications Levaero performs are aeromedical interiors with varying configurations. In conjunction with our aeromedical systems, we worked with LifePort for more than two years to develop a mission seat for the PC-12. This was one of the most extensive certification projects I've personally been involved in and it resulted in a very versatile and capable certified seat that has many uses in multiple aircraft types.
Very early in my Pilatus days I was asked if we would modify and certify a PC-12 on floats. That's one of the "didn't materialize" projects I mentioned. After all, that's what the PC-6 Porter is for!
Q - And lastly, do these specific customised aircraft have any specific maintenance requirements?
A - It really depends on the extent of the modification and how it would affect safety of flight in the event of a malfunction or failure of the modification.
The instructions for continued airworthiness (ICAs) are the additional maintenance requirements associated with a modification. These are ultimately determined and specified by the engineer responsible for the modification design and approval. The ICAs may require repetitive inspections or tests to ensure the serviceability and safety of the modified aircraft or, in some cases, the modification may require nothing beyond the scope of the aircraft manufacturer's maintenance manuals.