12/2010 | Anniversary in Auburn
From this modest start an FAA-licensed repair station, in which at times over 40 technicians have been working on the project six days a week, has come into being.
After the VIP guests had left the hangar on 20 November 2008, the team headed up by Michael Austermeier immediately got down to resuming their work on the aircraft, which had already begun in the spring of 2008, albeit at that time still in the open. What has been achieved so far is plain to see, not just in the work on the L-1649A itself, but in the area of organization as well. One example: on 4 November 2010 at the request of the US Federal Aviation Administration, the operation in Auburn was licensed as an independent repair station, since when it has traded under the name of BizJet Auburn. It can take up to four years to obtain a license of this kind. Thanks to the commitment of the team and the good relationship with the FAA, this was accomplished in just seven months. Autonomy invariably means assuming greater responsibility locally and allocating more resources to administrative matters.
Meanwhile the local team has completed the dismantling and inspection phase on the Super Star, bringing to light some 6,000 findings, 3,200 of them in the fuselage and 2,800 in the wings. The on-site engineering team analyzes every defect report. Everyone in the industry knows that parts can only be replaced within the permitted limits, beyond which they have to be replaced. Materials procurement and production sequencing experts from Lufthansa Technik working on-site have contributed materially to the progress of the project in the course of the year. “Not least on account of the strict procurement requirements in the Lufthansa Technik Group, material purchases can sometimes take several months,” says Austermeier.
He and his Auburn crew work on restoration of the former “queen of the airways” from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, on Saturdays “only” to 4 p.m. The project is more than just work; it also means a considerable image boost for the entire Lufthansa Group. Thus the Super Star hangar has already served as the impressive backdrop to a presentation ceremony for the Governor of Maine, and for some time now the project has acted in the USA as an advertisement for an extremely successful German-American collaboration. Michael Austermeier says: “The ‘German virtues’ which are highly valued in the USA, coupled with the American pragmatism, are what make this project so successful. We work together as a big, multicultural family and for everyone it is a great privilege to be able to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime project.”
Back to overview
After the VIP guests had left the hangar on 20 November 2008, the team headed up by Michael Austermeier immediately got down to resuming their work on the aircraft, which had already begun in the spring of 2008, albeit at that time still in the open. What has been achieved so far is plain to see, not just in the work on the L-1649A itself, but in the area of organization as well. One example: on 4 November 2010 at the request of the US Federal Aviation Administration, the operation in Auburn was licensed as an independent repair station, since when it has traded under the name of BizJet Auburn. It can take up to four years to obtain a license of this kind. Thanks to the commitment of the team and the good relationship with the FAA, this was accomplished in just seven months. Autonomy invariably means assuming greater responsibility locally and allocating more resources to administrative matters.
Meanwhile the local team has completed the dismantling and inspection phase on the Super Star, bringing to light some 6,000 findings, 3,200 of them in the fuselage and 2,800 in the wings. The on-site engineering team analyzes every defect report. Everyone in the industry knows that parts can only be replaced within the permitted limits, beyond which they have to be replaced. Materials procurement and production sequencing experts from Lufthansa Technik working on-site have contributed materially to the progress of the project in the course of the year. “Not least on account of the strict procurement requirements in the Lufthansa Technik Group, material purchases can sometimes take several months,” says Austermeier.
He and his Auburn crew work on restoration of the former “queen of the airways” from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, on Saturdays “only” to 4 p.m. The project is more than just work; it also means a considerable image boost for the entire Lufthansa Group. Thus the Super Star hangar has already served as the impressive backdrop to a presentation ceremony for the Governor of Maine, and for some time now the project has acted in the USA as an advertisement for an extremely successful German-American collaboration. Michael Austermeier says: “The ‘German virtues’ which are highly valued in the USA, coupled with the American pragmatism, are what make this project so successful. We work together as a big, multicultural family and for everyone it is a great privilege to be able to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime project.”
Back to overview
