M7 Aerospace has teamed with San Antonio Aircraft Support
(SAAS) to create a major modification center in San Antonio
specializing in custom corporate interiors for regional airliners,
business aircraft and helicopters needing interior or avionics
upgrades.
The new modification center combines the strength of M7's
Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul operation and its Engineering
department with SAAS's nearly 30 years of experience in fabricating
interior furnishings for head-of-state and corporate VIP executive
aircraft.
John Schildroth, vice president of M7's MRO operation, said the
new modification and completion center will specialize in aircraft
including the Canadair CRJ, Embraer ERJ, ATR 42 and 72, Dornier 328
turboprops and jets, Saab 340 and 2000 series, Bombardier Dash 7
and 8 series and other regional airliners, as well as Dassault
Falcon, Hawker, Citation and Lear business jets, King Air and
Metro/Merlin business turboprops, and various models of Bell,
Sikorsky, AgustaWestland and MD helicopters.
"SAAS will design and fabricate the interiors," Schildroth
explained, "and M7 will install and certify them. We are
essentially providing complete makeovers for corporate and regional
airline aircraft, giving them a new life and a new identity."
Schildroth (pictured right) said M7 will also offer
complete avionics upgrades, converting aircraft equipped with older
technology avionics to complete glass panel installations. M7 has
extensive experience in designing avionics upgrades, and was
recently selected by the U.S. Army to perform a glass panel
avionics upgrade for a fleet of its utility aircraft.
M7 will accomplish the completions at its 426,000 sq ft factory
facility on the San Antonio International Airport. SAAS will design
and prepare the interior furnishings at its 16,000 sq ft. facility
at 27 Burwood Lane in San Antonio, near the international
airport.
Roland Dishmon, president of SAAS, said his company will
concentrate on its core expertise - designing, developing and
fabricating creative high quality interior furnishings for a broad
array of business jets. Over the past 30 years SAAS has done
executive interiors for aircraft including a Boeing 747-300, two
747 SPs, an Airbus A-310, a Boeing 767-200 and a 767-300, all for
head of state clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Additional SAAS programs have included a Boeing 757, three
Airbus A-340s, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, Boeing 737, 727 and 707,
all for VIP clients around the world. The company has also worked
on Falcon 10, 20, 50, 200 and 900 models, Fairchild Dornier 328s,
Bombardier Galaxies and Challengers, an Embraer ERJ-135 Legacy, a
Boeing BBJ, Learjet 24 thru 55 models, as well as numerous Cessna
Citation, Beechjet, Hawker and King Air models.
SAAS will handle all aspects of interior development for the
aircraft it will modify jointly with M7, including cabinet design
and development, wood working, seat upholstery, burn testing,
carpets and headliners, paint and faux finishing, and machining of
hardware and sheet metal to support the installation.
M7, which has extensive experience in working with regional
airline aircraft and helicopters, will install the interiors and
certify the STCs necessary for their installation with the FAA. In
addition to installing executive interiors, M7 has converted more
than 45 ATR 42 and 72 regional airliners from passenger to freight
configuration. It also maintains Fairchild Dornier 328 turboprops
and jets, and is the OEM for the Fairchild Merlin and Metro series
of business and regional airline turboprops, holding the type
certificates for these aircraft. M7 has also rebuilt center
sections for Ericsson Air Crane, originally Sikorsky S-64
helicopters.
A particular strength for the M7 - SAAS team is M7's Engineering
Department, which developed the STCs to convert the ATR 42s and
72s, and developed smoke detection systems to support the cargo
conversions. M7 engineering has also designed structures including
doors and escape hatches for numerous helicopter programs, and has
developed STCs for aircraft operated by the U.S. Military as well
as corporate and regional airline aircraft. The company employs a
fulltime engineering staff of more than 25.
Schildroth said M7 will serve as prime contractor for the
programs it does in conjunction with SAAS.