Bombardier to handle heavy maintenance on Republic's fleet of 32 Q400 twin-engine turboprop regional airliners
MONTREAL, 23 May 2012. Bombardier Aerospace in Montreal signed a 9-year contract to handle heavy aircraft maintenance on the fleet of 32 Bombardier Q400 twin-engine turboprop regional airliners owned by Republic Airways Holdings Inc. in Indianapolis.
Bombardier will perform all heavy maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) tasks for Republic's Q400 aircraft at Bombardier service centers in Macon, Ga., and Tucson, Ariz., through June 2021.
Republic operates its fleet of 32 Q400 aircraft through its Republic Airlines subsidiary. Republic Airlines officials announced earlier this month that they will operate their Q400 regional airliners under the United Express brand starting later this year. Republic's Q400 fleet has been operating with Colgan Air and Republic Airlines. Republic Airways also owns Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Shuttle America.
In addition to handling heavy maintenance for Republic's Q400 aircraft, Bombardier also is enrolling the Q400s in the company's smart parts program to provide Republic with competitive and predictable repair costs.
The Q400 aircraft is designed for short-haul passenger air service. It is a stretched version of the venerable Dash 8 regional airliner, which seats 70 to 78 passengers, and entered service in 2000. The Q400 aircraft uses the active noise and vibration suppression (ANVS) system.
The Q400 has two Pratt & Whitney PW150A engines, operates at altitudes as high as 25,000 feet. It is 108 feet long with a 93-foot wingspan, has a range of about 1,500 miles, and cruises at about 414 miles per hour.
Q400 avionics has the electronic flight instrumentation system (EFIS), with five high-resolution 6-by-8-inch liquid crystal displays. The aircraft's communications suite includes a dual VHF navigation and communications and mode S transponder. The regional airliner also has an emergency locator transponder and a solid state cockpit voice recorder.
The plane's navigation equipment includes a weather radar, a ground proximity warning receiver, a radar altimeter, an automatic direction finder and distance measuring equipment. The Q400 can accommodate a flight management system, a global positioning system (GPS), and a traffic alert and collision avoidance system, TCAS II.
Bombardier has booked firm orders for 428 Q400 aircraft and delivered aircraft are in service with more than 40 operators worldwide. For more information contact Bombardier Aerospace online at www.bombardier.com, or Republic Airways at www.flychautauqua.com.
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John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
