Dassault Expands Staffing at Sorocaba Service Center

Over the next six months, Dassault will be expanding the workforce at its Sorocaba service center in Brazil. The SĂŁo Paulo-area facility, which is its first company-owned service center outside France and the U.S., opened four years ago, in June 2009, and holds authorizations from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, as well as from aviation authorities in Brazil, Argentina and Bermuda.

The Sorocaba center is authorized to perform line maintenance and airframe inspections on all Falcon jets, apart from the older Falcon 20 and 100 models. Additionally, the facility has clearance to perform engine maintenance on engines powering the Falcon fleet, including GE’s CFE738, Honeywell’s TFE731 series, and Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW307A and PW308C turbofans.

The facility is equipped for specialized nondestructive testing services, such as penetrant and eddy-current methods. A full-service battery shop is available to repair, replace or change main and emergency batteries on Falcons and a variety of other aircraft.

The Sorocaba personnel includes an aircraft-on-ground “go-team” to provide rapid response directly to an aircraft anywhere in South America, with the parts and tools necessary to get it flying again with minimal delays. Throughout Latin America, there are currently around 129 Falcons registered in various countries.

At Sorobaca, which is about 56 miles from the center of SĂŁo Paulo, Dassault houses more than $3 million worth of commonly used parts. There is also space in its hangars to accommodate three Falcons at a time.

Last month, Dassault launched a new customer service application that allows operators to access its support network on a variety of mobile and tablet devices. It includes instant touch-call features for AOG hotlines, technical centers, spares and field service facilities, as well as tools for searching service center locations and contact Falcon pilots.