First Aviation Services boosts support for UH-60 Black Hawks

UH-60 Black Hawk Military Helicopter in flight.

MRO and parts manufacturing specialist First Aviation Services is boosting support for Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

The business, head quartered in Westport, Connecticut, is restructuring to integrate the resources of its subsidiaries to improve aftermarket solutions. At present, the subsidiary businesses offer in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for a range of UH-60 Black Hawk components. These include: main and tail rotor blades, main rotor hub, dynamic components, landing gear shock struts, BIM indicators, hoses, lighting, batteries, switch panels and other components.

The new programme is designed to provide operators with a complete maintenance and repair solution, said Paul Bolton, chief operating officer, First Aviation. “By combining our in-house expertise with the capabilities of highly-qualified outside vendors, we can offer a more efficient and cost-effective service to the Black Hawk community,” he said.

Operators are said to benefit from a single point of contact for all their maintenance and repair needs plus access to a wider range of expertise and resources, according to the company. “We believe it is the most comprehensive single point of contact programme in support of Black Hawk operators,” said Bolton.

As part of the restructure, First Aviation’s west coast rotor blade facility subsidiaries that support rotor blade repair, Heliblade International will trade as Aviation Blade Services – West. First Aviation’s subsidiary AAMSI, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, manages the repair of about 500 additional Black Hawk components via First Aviation’s supply chain of subcontractor facilities.

In addition to military and counter insurgency deployments, Black Hawk helicopters are tasked with search-and-rescue (SAR) missions. First Aviation Services operates five FAA approved 145 repair facilities and three FAA Parts Manufacturing Approvals (PMA).