PrivateSky
Committed to Better Gulfstream Maintenance
When
Vincent Wolanin found a bunch of surprise charges on
the maintenance bill for his G-II, he didn’t get
mad, but started a company that would keep other Gulfstream
owners from experiencing the same problem.
"PrivateSky
Aviation Services was formed after the purchase of our
company Gulfstream to provide maintenance and management
for the jet," explained Vincent Wolanin, PrivateSky’s
chairman. "At that point, other Gulfstream owners
that told me there was a great deal of dissatisfaction
with the attention to detail and quality of workmanship
going on in the industry.
"Royce
Stevens [who is now PrivateSky’s general manager]
and I became friends during this time and we felt that
there was a need for a first-class maintenance center
for Gulfstream aircraft," he added. "What
we want to do is to recreate what happened back in the
early days of Gulfstream aircraft when the customer
had a lot of trust when they brought their aircraft
into the facility for maintenance."
One
of the biggest elements missing from other Gulfstream
service providers, at least from Wolanin’s experience
(and other owners concurred), was a real commitment
to quality and consistency. So when he and the PrivateSky
management team began envisioning their company, the
first thing they did was create a roadmap to what they
call Total Excellence.
"Total
Excellence was a concept we created when we originally
envisioned the business," Wolanin explained. "And
it’s something we are totally committed to."
To ensure that Total Excellence would receive much more
than lip service, Wolanin talked with every Gulfstream
operator he could find. Since he couldn’t change
the aircraft, he asked questions about what they did
and didn’t like about their current service center.
What
he found was that the owners felt their service providers
weren’t committed to quality. They were often
"just throwing parts at a problem," instead
of taking the time to carefully troubleshoot a solution.
Operators
also complained that the quotes they received up front
were all too often up to 50 percent less than the final
bill, a problem Wolanin encountered with his G-II and
that led to the creation of PrivateSky.
"Too
many maintenance providers just expect customers to
know what extra work has to be done while their airplane
is down," Wolanin said. "So they just add
it on outside the original quote. It can be very embarrassing
for the maintenance director to tell his boss one price
then when the bill comes, it is actually quite a bit
more."
Wolanin
said other operators told him they wanted to find a
facility where they know everything that is happening
to their airplane and how much it is going to cost—as
closely as possible anyway—so there are no surprises
when the final bill comes.
"Our
goal is to make the maintenance chief the hero,"
Wolanin said. "Our quotes cover everything we know
that has to be done with the airplane. If something
comes up that we don’t expect, we contact the
customer and tell them. Then, when the work is done,
we sit down with them and go over every item on the
list prior to their leaving our facility."
PrivateSky’s
customers benefit from more than just accurate quotes.
"Our team of factory-trained technical experts
have a combined total of more than 300 years experience
working on Gulfstreams," explained Royce Stevens,
PrivateSky’s general manager, director, and FAA
DAR. "We pride ourselves in being able to successfully
troubleshoot and resolve aircraft problems."
One
example of their troubleshooting skill was recently
illustrated when an operator came in with a problem
they had been chasing for more than three years. "The
pilot said they had spent more than $200,000 at the
factory trying to find and fix the problem," Wolanin
said. "Our guys spent time carefully troubleshooting
the airplane and found the problem to be in a part that
cost less than $100—that’s a true story.
That customer comes here for maintenance now. They have
faith in us."
Stevens
pointed out that training plays a big role in the Total
Excellence program. "The ability to properly repair
and maintain Gulfstreams comes from expertise gained
through a combination of on-the-job training as well
as traditional classroom training on aircraft systems
and operations," he said. "Our goal is to
have the highest level of technical expertise in the
industry."
Wolanin
said that the 30 technicians presently on staff all
take great pride in what they do. "When you expect
technicians to work on 30 different airplanes, when
they have to troubleshoot something they just throw
parts at it," he explained. "By concentrating
on one type of aircraft, they really get to know the
methodology of trouble-shooting that type. And it creates
situations where repairs are done right the first time
and usually in less time."
Another
big draw to helping PrivateSky attract the best Gulfstream
technicians around is the location in sunny Ft. Myers,
Florida. Not a bad place to get ‘stuck’
while your Gulfstream is getting attention.
Wolanin
said PrivateSky has been deluged by resumes from technicians
wanting a great place to work and to live. And they’ve
got it. PrivateSky’s state-of-the-art hanger is
not only beautiful, it’s functional. In keeping
with the Total Excellence concept, the hangar features
total environmental control. "Customers said they
wanted a place where their sophisticated airplanes wouldn’t
be exposed to too much heat and humidity while they
are being maintained," Wolanin said. "So we
provide 40,000 square feet of air-conditioned space.
Enough room to house six to nine Gulfstreams at a time,
depending on the models."
The
hangar has an overhead crane allowing technicians to
remove and reinstall engines and tail sections safely.
"PrivateSky performs BRR and Rolls-Royce engine
changes on the Gulfstream II, III, IV, and V,"
he said.
"That
allows us to offer even more services to our customers.
If they’re traveling to Europe or South America
and have a problem, they know there’s a place
that delivers top-shelf quality and service in a wonderful
location." — By Dale Smith
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