Worldwide Customer Service & Service Center Network
Dassault Aviation
Some of our smaller factory service locations perhaps don’t get the recognition in this blog they deserve. A case in point crossed my desk recently, a letter attesting to the great service received at our Dassault Falcon Jet location at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport.
The 27,000 square-foot facility can service four aircraft at a time. Many customers prefer a smaller facility where they can get to know most of the technicians and managers. The St. Louis MRO facility is run by Gene Woods, who is well known to many Falcon operators in the U.S.
One of our customers in the Southeast U.S. knows Gene well and, based in part on that relationship, scheduled avionics upgrades for two of his company’s aircraft in St. Louis. “Gene has built and cultivated a highly capable team in St. Louis, with the ability to handle any task,” the customer wrote.
For its Falcon 900LX and 2000LXS, the customer wanted to replace a single Meggitt backup display on the captain’s side with newer dual Garmin GI 275 secondary flight displays. With future software upgrades the new displays will provide redundancy and dispatch reliability in the event one is inop. Also, with the improved setup, either pilot could fly on a secondary flight display.
The customer worked closely with St. Louis to schedule the work, which was planned four months in advance. The wiring, panel modifications, and installations took 10 working days, as promised, and the plane departed with its new instruments squawk free.
This is the kind of work Dassault service centers around the world do every day—upgrading flight decks and cabins with the latest equipment. Many customers depart happy with the work, but few send such glowing letters of appreciation, so I wanted to share some of this one with you.
The customer was impressed that the team members in St. Louis were so well rounded in their individual skills. “I didn’t realize how much capability they had,” he told me in a subsequent chat. In his letter, he cites some of our outstanding employees, so I will, too: Ty Noe, Dave Kramer, Kevin Borgemeyer, Keith Schaumburg and William Stokes. He then added: “I would also like to express my gratitude to all other team members whose efforts may not be individually highlighted. Your team at this St. Louis location reflects great local leadership, workmanship, and a culture of safety that is truly exceptional.”
As you can imagine, such letters make my day. It was nice to see some team members acknowledged by name and, indeed, as the customer suggests, it goes even deeper than that. Gene noted to me all the other people and processes who contribute to a seamless, successful project such as this one – planning personnel, engineering, as well as lessons learned and shared from other locations.
It also gives me a chance to remind operators that factory service centers can accomplish relatively simple upgrades such as the GI 275 installation as well as complete flight deck modernizations and so much more that keeps your aircraft delivering maximum value. And you’ll be working with some great, talented, passionate professionals along the way.
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Falcon Customer Service & Service Center Network
Dassault Aviation
