Company Intros ATLAS Support Division
The US Army recognized Viking's product support service at a
recent informal presentation at Viking's Calgary Alberta facility.
A certificate of appreciation was presented by Fixed Wing Product
Manager, LTC Keith Brown to Viking's product support manager,
George Gee.
Specifically, the award recognizes Viking's customer support for
the US Army Dash 7 Special Electronic Mission Aircraft
(SEMA).Flying approximately 15 percent of the current operational
de Havilland Canada Dash 7 fleet, the US Army is a major operator,
and driving force behind sustaining the aircraft.
Working together with the US Army, Viking has been able to
develop strategies for component replacement and reinstate supplier
manufacturing programs that have lain dormant for decades. The US
Army's award is representative of the success met by Viking to the
challenges it faces as the OEM.
In conjunction with the service award, Viking announced the
launch of its consolidated customer service offering "ATLAS"
(Aircraft Technical Liaison And Support), Viking's global brand for
centralized customer-focused support offering spares, technical
support, in service engineering, field support, fleet tracking,
fleet communications, warranty administration, and technical
publications for the entire legacy de Havilland Canada fleet. ATLAS
will also be responsible for support of the new Twin Otter Series
400 aircraft, which will enter service this fall.
"We are in a unique position; having a well established product
support network sustaining some 1600 airframes ahead of the
introduction of a newly manufactured aircraft ensures our ability
to provide an excellent foundation for our new 400 Series
operators," commented David Curtis, Viking president & CEO, "
the establishment of ATLAS further enhances our support
offering."
Also in attendance as part of the US Army delegation at the
recognition event were Golden Knights Parachute Team
representatives Major Robert Degand and Ken Breeden, who were able
to tour the Calgary facility and view the various stages of the
Twin Otter Series 400 final aircraft assembly currently underway.
The Golden Knights have ordered three new Twin Otter Series 400
aircraft, scheduled for delivery in 2010 and 2011.
Viking provides OEM support for the worldwide fleet of de
Havilland Canada heritage line of aircraft, DHC-1 through DHC-7
models.