At the Southern end of the high plains valley created by the San Juan and the Uncompahgre Mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains, sixty-five miles south of Grand Junction and thirty-five miles north of picturesque Ouray, CO, is a town of fifteen thousand.souls: Montrose, is its name. Surrounded as it is with snowy, formidable mountain peaks, it would seem an unlikely location for anything related to aviation.
Not So!
Montrose Regional (MJT) is a huge airport. Its two runways at 5500 ft. handle a plethora of traffic, from small Cessnas and homebuilts, to commuters and a veritable air force of private jets. The aorport is a transportation hub for high profile Telluride, CO, Ouray, Black Canyon and dozens of summer and winter destinations for people who are seeking the clean air, incredible vistas and sporting opportunities only the mountains are able to provide.
MTJ can also boast of two of the country's most viable aviation entities. One is Burt Rutan's Scaled Technologies' Skunkworks, and the other is Western Skyways.
Western Skyways is probably familiar to most long time aviators. The company has an interesting history in aviation, with credentials out the tail pipe, a chronology that at times rivaled a soap opera, and a sterling reputation for high quality engine overhauls.
The Cessna Owner Organization was recently invited to Western Skyways to see what a premium overhaul shop is like. Charged with the duty of following up on the invite, a trip was scheduled that would allow Western Skyways to finish some office remodeling. and Mrs. Writer to accompany yours truly. The Mrs. had never flown in the Mountains, let alone visited the high country in anything other than ski season, so it was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
I had met three of the principals of Western Skyways on another occasion. David Leis, John Robinson and Perry Nicholson, had been working at West Star Aviation, six years ago when I visited their facility. Their association actually goes back into the seventies, and this is as good place as any to start on the history of the company.
According to legend, Western Skyways was originally founded in Troutdale OR, in 1943. This was in the middle the War, with Glenn Miller music, rations for gasoline and butter. Peaking at over 180 employees and with thirty mechanics in the shop, it eventually reached an amazing 65 engine hauls per month. Even though many of these mills were the more dimunitive C-85's, O-200's and Lycoming O-320 type engines, Western Skyways quickly earned the reputation of being the name in engine overhauls. Their philosophy: To hell with Service Limits, we only build to new limits. Of course they didn't say that in words, but that's the gist of how they began to develop their reputation.
It wasn't long before their name became legendary throughout aviation as a shop that produced exceptional engines, offered outstanding warranty and service. For this reason, it began attracting the fleet people, FBO's, aerial applications guys and small commuter airlines. The cost of an overhaul might have been in a price range that was a bit much for the private owner, but for a commercial operator who was betting his existence on dependable power and longevity, was a true value.
Three-fourths of the management team that is today's Western Skyways started with the company in the 1970's (imagine disco and Doobie Brothers on the phone system). This was David Leis, Perry Nicholson and John Robinson, who probably went to work in their bell bottoms and Logo shirts. They quickly melded with the then thirty year old company and began leaving their own marks on direction and quality.
The company was purchased by AAR, and became known as AAR Western Skyways. The core of people running the show continued to provide good product, while the "Beancounters" wrote the checks and maneuvered numbers. As it always seems to happen, the money people maneuvered the company into a corner, and decided to get out of the piston engine business to focus on the burgeoning, higher profit business jet industry. Rather than selling off the engine shop, they simply closed the doors.
What an incredible waste! The shop had become huge, with rows of technicians overhauling not only the engines but all of the accessories needed to provide a virtually new powerplant, ready for installation. A number of well known folks "graduated" from the Western Skyways shop, including Roger Fuchs, who later cemented his reputation as an engine guru at ECI, entrepreneur and visionary, Bernie Coleman, of Superior Air Parts fame, Norm DesJourdians, now with Premier Aircraft Engines (who originally hired Leis) and Medallion Engines' Larry Berreth.
The shop had been doing an engine a day with their thirty employees. All of these overhauls were being sold by David Leis and managed by John and Perry. This cadre had been together for nearly ten years when the doors were slammed. Word got out to the aviation community that this kind of talent, not to mention a customer list that was as long as your arm, was available. Monarch Aviation, of Grand Junction, CO, heard the cash register bells, and negotiated to hire the three head guys to start a shop that would be called West Star Engine Corporation. Perry, John and David loaded up and moved to the Rocky Mountains. Their success can be best described by the growth the company soon enjoyed. West Star became the new premiere engine shop, and soon grew to include an aircraft refurbishing facility, complete with paint shop, interior department, sales and marketing departments and FBO. It nearly consumed the west end of the Grand Junction Airport.
Sometimes, though, too much success can be an unfortunate thing. West Star had begun to make money refurbishing Cessna Conquests and painting and interiorizing jets. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the mix just doesn't work. Company controllers seem to get seduced by the big dollars found in the jet game, and although no one has confirmed this, one could suspect that the belt for the engine shop was being tightened to provide more capital for the jet gang. Whatever the reason, John, Perry and David began to become disappointed with management and at some point begin to reminisce about the "old days," when their shop had been run the way they wanted. Somehow, West Star management found out, and even though no actual plans had been made to pursue the idea, the result was the immediate termination of the three of them.
What a shocker! With no plans, no warning, no nothing, they were out on the street. Of course, you have to remember the caliber of people we're talking about. Their new situation was immediately converted into opportunity. They made overtures to a former customer, proposing a reincarnation of the original shop, with the same standards and philosophy, and a fourth head guy was quickly added.
Al Head, who had formerly owned National Aircraft Part Sales, Inc., joined the team. Al brought industry knowledge, connections and capital into the group. He is the flyer of the mix, with a P210, and gave me all of the mountain flying tips I needed to get comfortable with the trip through the Rockies.
With Al as the new President, David the Vice President in charge of Sales, Perry, the Vice President of Production, Chief Inspector, Al and DAR, and John, the Vice President of Parts (new and used), they decided to re-use the old name and the new Western Skyways was born
The original three had grown to call Colorado home, and since they had cultivated relationships with local shops for sub-contracting work like powder coating, plating and other facets of the overhaul business, they decided to move to the aggressive little community of Montrose, down the road Just sixty or so miles. The new "old" company found lodgings Just off of the Montrose airport. A small building in an Industrial Park was quickly modified to house an engine shop and offices, Al moved to Colorado, and they hung out their shingle.
When the Troutdale shop had closed, sixteen employees had moved to West Star. Eight West Star employees moved to Montrose in 1993. David Leis brought an impressive list of customers over to the new business. John and Perry had refined their logistics and overhaul procedures over the years, and the establishment of the new shop only required logistics, Repair Station authority, and some heavy promotion.
The shop at Montrose is admittedly small. While it allows for a well organized work flow, it is a bit cramped, especially considering the size of the big TCM 520 and 550 engines. The main building has been divided into offices and shop, with the work stations arranged for a flow of work. Engines are staged in one aisle, where all components are assembled prior to the actual reassembly of the engine. Another aisle is devoted to accessories overhaul, where starters, alternators, fuel systems, controllers and turbos are overhauled. It took them less than three months to have repair station status, with Perry working round the clock.
While I've been calling Western Skyway's an overhaul shop, the truth of the matter is that they are on a higher level. The FAA says that only the original manufacturer can use the term "Remanufacture" and "Rebuild" with regards to engine overhauls, even though there is nothing in the FAR's to support this tradition. The Troutdale, OR, shop was the first in the country other than TCM or Lycoming, to overhaul an engine not to Service Limits but to New Limits. Now, if this isn't remanufacturing an engine, I don't know what it could be.
Western Skyways, using a combination of marketing and good sense, reasoned that in order to sell dependability, they had to provide an engine that was as good or better than new. This required an unusually high set of standards, including a higher percentage of new parts than you will find in a simple overhaul, taking all limits to new, not just serviceable, replacement or complete overhaul of all of the accessories, and a Warranty that surpassed the factory's.
Additionally, and this is the kicker, they can do all of this and offer the engine cheaper than the factory version. Unconstrained by a multi-layered distribution system, they can offer an engine at a price based more on cost than margin, and to a customer's accountant, the result is a value. The cost per hour, considering the minimal maintenance and longevity of the engine, is far lower than buying a Factory Reman.
On the mechanical side, where it is real or not, there is a perception throughout the industry that a factory reman, as performed by the original manufacturer, is a less than satisfactory product. Stories (which may be rumors or may be based in fact, I'm just telling our members), are around that tell of one or more rings missing from a piston, some parts installed incorrectly and general sloppy assembly. This is true of both Lycoming and Continental. I'm sure none of this is on purpose, but if it is true, then it brings a certain specter into the equation. Even a Mercedes, a fine a piece of workmanship, is often purchased new and turned over to a shop for refurbishing with more personal, exotic, custom work. In order to successfully compete with the factories, Western Skyways has to take the stories out of play, to use a golf term, and offer a certain amount of personalized attention. The elimination of all risk, real or perceived, is a marketing must in the engine game. Cool paint massages the ego, and a proud, comfortable customer is a repeat customer.
Back to the nuts and bolts side of this story. We all know that you don't have to go to a shop to get an overhaul. Any A&P mechanic can perform an overhaul to factory guidelines. Many shops will take an engine and overhaul it for the owner, buying parts from a number of sources, having the difficult stuff, like crankcase and cylinder work performed by a specialty shop or Repair Station, all resulting in a perfectly legal overhaul. What's the big deal?
Well, the truth is, if you've had engines overhauled before and been close to the process, you realize that the fact is, most individual or FBO overhauls are performed to the minimum criteria for a legal overhaul. Accessories are often reused without overhaul or even close inspection. Less critical parts, like pistons and piston pins are also sometimes reused. Reusing the parts and accessories can save the shop and owner close to $1000, a significant savings.
Western Skyways recognizes that many owners can only afford this type of overhaul, betting that the engine will last for a few hundred trouble free hours or that if there are accessories failures, they can be better afforded on a onesey twosey basis.
Some owners and most commercial operators, however, don't want to have to mess with their engine. The less maintenance the better. So they want as much dependability as they can get. Such is the appeal of a Reman.
Most individual owners use their airplanes for personal and business travel, rarely subjecting them to the rigors of commercial flying. Meeting a schedule or the responsibility of carrying non-aviation, paying passengers is not a factor. That isn't to say that safety considerations aren't the same, just that the degree of conservatism is different.
The manufacturer, not the FAA, establishes service limits for the components of their engines. These take into account a certain amount of wear that will render a part workable, but not optimal. For the most part, these wear parts are bearings and bushings of some sort, that are either fit into place within the case or rod ends, or pressed into place, like the small rod end and cylinder bosses that hold the rocker shafts.
But there are steel and aluminum parts that wear, the case halves can fret, or move against one another. An imbalance problem can cause a bearing, particularly the crankshaft bearings, to become oblonged. Cylinders wear out, usually at about a thousand hours, and depending upon inherent weaknesses and/or the way the engine is operated, can develop cracks, rust, exhaust face erosion, and broken or pulled studs.
An FBO overhaul rarely includes the overhaul of all accessories. Rather, the components are checked to see if they are working, cleaned (sometimes) and reused, to be replaced when they develop problems. Factory recommended overhaul parts lists don't include accessories, and to keep the costs down, most shops will only replace what the owner demands or can afford.
All of this can be repaired. But the degree of confidence in a repair isn't as high as if the part was new, and this degree of confidence is what the customers of Western Skyways expect.
When an engine is booked into Western Skyways, a dozen photos are taken of the condition of the mill when it arrives. These are placed in a folder with work orders and logbooks that never leave the cart during the process. The engine is then disassembled, with every part, including the hardware, placed on a cart. This cart becomes the engine's home for the parts and the paperwork for as long as the engine is in the shop.
Some shops will make sure that one mechanic is in charge of an engine for the duration of the overhaul. Western Skyways has developed a process where each process, from disassembly to installation, is performed by a specialist. The disassembler knows what and where to look and can ascertain problems that an assembler might not recognize. Even the guys cleaning the parts occasionally find problems under the grime.
At this point, David and the owner have already worked out the kind of overhaul to be performed. The primary option allowed is cylinder choice: the preferred Superior Millennium cylinders, factory new steel, Cerminil, channel chrome, or Cermichrome.
The only other real options are magneto harnesses, and sometimes custom paint or powder coating, which is a pain and not recommended, particularly the powder coating, which is virtually impossible to remove come next overhaul.
The inspection process begins with disassembly. Every part is scrutinized with up to 10x magnification to determine its condition, and suspect parts are slated for closer inspection. Replacement parts, like pistons, rings, and valves are discarded at this time. The rest of the components are then cleaned, using pressure, steam and Safety Kleen 609, an environmentally friendly solvent. All Zyglo and magnaflux inspections are done in-house, with the new ultrasonic inspections, also performed in-house shops that overhaul their particular parts. These latter services Western Skyways performs for a number of FBO's doing their own overhauls.
Cases requiring welding, line boring or any specialized work are sent to Divco, in Tulsa or Engine Components Inc. The seventh-stud, option is installed if needed, and the case is alodyned.
As I mentioned, Western Skyways prefers the Superior Millennium. cylinders. They have had engines reach TBO, and upon inspection found the cylinders to be at new specs, with choke still in the barrel. That's pretty good!
Perry will vary the parts he uses to build up an engine. Some customers request only TCM parts, others request only Superior PMA parts. He has tracked warranty and service for their engines for years and will go with what he feels is a better part or better value, and will advise owners, should the need arise. Their inventory is extensive. There is room after room of parts on hand, and just keeping the inventory up-to-date is a one man job. I'd trust their judgement, though, they're a shop with experience and know what will last and what may not.
When the components arrive back at Montrose, they are placed on the cart, which has been laden with gaskets, new parts, and the hardware has been exchanged for fresh cadmium plated hardware.
Balancing is next. While the specialty shops have balanced the components as part of their work, Western Skyways rebalances the crankshaft and rods on their own equipment which they have developed over the years. Smoothness is everything in an aircraft engine, and if you ever sit behind a Western Skyways engine, you'll be amazed at the turbinelike smoothness you feel in the cabin.
The assembly process is on the east side of the building, where the windows overlook the mountains that form Black Canyon. At the northern end of the row of four stations is a station where John Frost performs the unusual jobs, like warranty, ground strike tear down or other insurance inspections, and assembly of custom overhauls, like the personalized paint and chrome this and that.The last thing they do with a fresh engine is oil it up, hook up a live prop and perform a test run in a "gubmint surplus" test chamber. They create a data sheet for each engine, showing pressures and temperatures at all ranges of operation, to provide a base line for the new owner. Radical changes could indicate an operational or mechanical problem developing.
The shop has a cylinder station and custom built flow bench for fuel systems. They keep upwards of eighty core engines on hand for their exchange work, and should work slow down, which is rare, they overhaul one of their own engines.
A Western Skyways engine, using Millennium cylinders, will cost around $17,000, compared to a MSRP of $22,764 for a new TCM 10-520 engine, or $17,500 for exchange plus shipping, for a Factory Reman. The shop offers a turnaround of one month, or an exchange in even less time. They often recommend a Factory Remanned engine if the case or crank is one of the older styles, simply because the core allowance the factory can offer is a better value to the customer. In 1996 and 1997, David sold 76 TCM Factory Remans, in addition to their nearly 30 per month overhauls.
The shop will overhaul just about anything, but they are set up to do the big Continentals. I noticed an older Continental O-300 and a few Lycoming four hangers, but their meat and potatoes are -520 and 550's and variations of the Lycoming -540.
Plans are to build a larger facility on the airport proper before too long. Currently, their 28 employees and thirty carts full of engines consume a lot of space in the small building, even though Al has remodeled a few times and built on additions for parts and shipping/receiving. He is currently finishing an extensive office remodeling project, which will give them pretty comfortable digs until the move to the airport proper. Since almost all of their engines are crated and shipped to and from the shop, the airport site hasn't been necessary, still, these are pilots, and like to be based on an airport. It appears like this will come to pass within the next couple of years.
A network of nearly thirty Service Centers has been established all over the country, with a couple of international locations, where installation and Warranty work can be performed. If they perfers, a customer can use their own shop or FBO to handle removal and installation. While David does all of the estimating and bidding, he will hook a customer up with the most practical Service Center to ensure a smooth job.
Western Skyways has worked closely with Jack and Micki Johnson of Texas Skyways, located in Boerne, TX, an engine mod company, to develop an STC'd Cessna 421 retrofit engine, and they can offer a 1600 hr. TBO for GTSIO-520 D&H series engines.
Western Skyways has a Web Page, (www.westernskyways.com) listing their services and a company history. David gets inquiries for bids, but because of the differences in engines and options, he can't honestly bid a Reman without talking to the owner in person. To speak to him personally, call 800-575-9929. Be patient, as David spends a number of hours picking up and delivering engines for his customers within a five hundred mile radius of Montrose
The kind of engine Western Skyways builds isn't for everyone, even though it would be nice if it could be. If you need or are interested in the company and their work, I would highly recommend checking out the Web page, and then talking with David. I would even go so far as to suggest that you plan a vacation to Central Colorado to visit the shop and take in the local scenery.
Western Skyways is a good company with good people. The location may be just five years old, a mere babe compared to the Troutdale facility, but the philosophy and the main characters have been around for almost twenty-five year. There can't be much better endorsement than that.
For more information, contact David Leis, Sales and Marketing V.P., Western Skyways, 21 Creative Place, Montrose, CO 81401. Phone 1-800-575-9929 or (970) 249-0232, or fax (970) 249-4155.