Duncan Aviation has made ‘SWAT’ services available at its satellite facility at Centennial Airport in Englewood, in the Aurora/Denver metropolitan area of Colorado. The acronym outlines the process of surveying aircraft interiors; writing prompt quotes; artistically cleaning, touching-up, dyeing and correcting; and transforming appearance and functionality.
The company also offers SWAT services at its three full-service facilities, in Battle Creek (Michigan), Lincoln (Nebraska) and Provo (Utah).
The SWAT teams go through an aircraft and evaluate the condition of the small items that are not part of scheduled services. The teams look for the little imperfections that detract from the overall aesthetic of the aircraft so they can fix them. The SWAT teams can touch-up paint, spot-clean carpets, condition and re-dye leather seats, re-web seatbelts and repair hardware on galley cabinets.
“In the time I’ve been on the job, I’ve spent a month in Lincoln, learning the Duncan Aviation way from interior SWAT specialist Tony Houk and his team,” said Andrew Kleinkopf, Duncan Aviation’s SWAT lead tech. “My extensive training consisted of attending debriefs with the pilots, learning the SWAT process, and working hands-on with the SWAT team as we adjusted hydrolocks, lightly cleaned and conditioned seat leather, and worked on window shades. I was also given the opportunity to interact personally with a couple of directors of maintenance (DOMs).”
Kleinkopf said that during training, one DOM asked if he knew how to remove ink marks from one of the leather seats in the cabin, and another asked him to fix a door in the galley that wouldn’t close all the way. “I received overwhelming support from the team at Duncan Aviation in Lincoln,” he said. “In fact, it’s the most support I’ve seen in my entire career. It speaks volumes about the value Duncan Aviation places in the services it offers its customers.”
Even before Kleinkopf had finished training in Lincoln, he had a request from a DOM at the Centennial Airport. The owner’s cat had scratched a sidewall pretty badly, and the DOM wanted Kleinkopf to evaluate the damage. He promised to visit the DOM’s hangar as soon as he returned from training.
One of the reasons Duncan Aviation developed SWAT services years ago is for preventative maintenance. The company says minor fixes go a long way to help refresh the appearance of the interior and retain the value of the aircraft.
“We are excited to add the SWAT capabilities as part of this phase of our satellite growth,” said Matt Nelson, manager of satellite operations. “We’re happy to welcome Andrew to the team, and we’ll see how quickly we’re able to build up the service in Centennial and then consider adding the service to other Duncan Aviation satellite facilities in the coming year.”
