The Farnborough International Airshow 2010 posed one of the toughest challenges yet to face Powervamp Ltd, the company providing ground support to the 150 aircraft on display.
Not only was Powervamp the first organisation outside the United States to provide ground support for Boeing’s new 787-8 Dreamliner passenger airliner; it also had to manoeuvre the aircraft into an extremely tight purpose-designed static display area, while avoiding contact with the Airbus A380 just feet away.
Moreover, because Farnborough is still an operational airport with limited ramp space – a problem compounded by the 787’s large size (it can carry up to 250 passengers) – the Powervamp team were unable to tow it (as normal) to an interim location on arrival at the show for crew and Boeing technicians to disembark.
Instead, the Powervamp crew had to deal with the 787 on an “aircraft live” basis, manoeuvring it directly from taxiway to its static display area.
Martin Miller, Aircraft Engineering Support Team Manager in Powervamp’s ground support division, comments: “We had to get everything right first time. It was a matter of meticulous forward planning, minute attention to detail, and the skill of the drivers on our team.”
It was a repeat performance for Powervamp. The company made its first appearance as the main AEST (Aircraft Engineering Support Team) contractor at Farnborough in 2008, having steadily built up its ground support capability over many years.
Powervamp is now well known as a ground support contractor, supplying its services and equipment at various major air shows, including those at Paris and (earlier this year) Singapore.
Positioning Boeing’s 787, however, presented special problems for the team. Unlike typical parking areas, in which the hard standing extends across the full wingspan of the aircraft, the 787 area was made up of a hard standing only 8-10 ft wider than the span of the 787’s undercarriage. To either side of the minimal concrete pad was a grassed area.
“So with the eyes of the world watching, we had to be pretty much position-perfect as we pushed it into position,” Martin Miller says.
The need for accuracy was underlined by the fact that the Airbus 380 had to be parked at right-angles to the 787, with only about 8-10ft of clearance between wing tips.
“It was a brand new location,” Martin says, “and it could only be approached pushing the aircraft at an oblique angle. We had to place enormous faith in the skill of our tug drivers.” In the event, he reports, everything went without a hitch. “We sometimes feel like the unsung heroes of events like this.”
The 787 was just one of many aircraft of all sizes that had to be positioned and tended during the event. The AEST contract calls for an extensive array of resources, many of which have to be sourced months in advance and brought in from far and wide.
“We have to provide everything from wheel chocs to 65-tonne aircraft tugs,” Martin Miller explains. “At Farnborough, that included access stairs which are not available on site, various tow bars and many items of support equipment.
“We even provided fuel bowsers in case any aircraft needed emergency de-fuelling. We kept two tanker vehicles on standby to receive any fuel that might be pumped off.”
Powervamp was also responsible for supplying liquid oxygen needed by military aircraft for their air supply; and nitrogen at 4,000 lb/sq in, which is used to charge accumulators, inflate tyres and serve other equipment used by the maintenance crews.
In addition, Powervamp provided a variety of ground power units (GPUs), which ranged from large diesel-driven units to the electric 115 volt 400Hz and 28 volt DC GPUs manufactured by Powervamp.
“It’s our job to get all the aircraft in position for the static display, and then to tow them to and from the dispersal area each day that they are in the flying display, while making sure their needs are catered for – and with exact timings to the minute as directed by flight ops and Air Traffic Control as we cross the active runway, it’s extremely demanding on the team.”
To supply this diverse range of resources, Powervamp typically fields a team of around 25 specialists, all with extensive knowledge of the aircraft industry, and with the licences necessary to work at these major events.
The company’s ground support division also provides air show services directly to air frame manufacturers, and over the years has worked for many of the biggest names in the business, including Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer, Gulfstream and Raytheon. Currently it has an ongoing arrangements with several air frame manufacturers to provide ground support services worldwide.
The company’s unique power supplies and GPUs are approved and offered directly by some of the best known and largest producers of business jets.
For more information please contact:
Powervamp Ltd
Richard Roller
Managing Director
