GANDER, N.L. – A made-right-here project has EVAS Air president and CEO Patrick White considering the endless possibilities when it comes to aircraft maintenance.
The Gander-based operation - which has more than 200 employees, largely in central Newfoundland – has completed the design, manufacturing and testing of a lavatory for the Beechcraft 1900D.
The unit is assembled in the A section cargo hold of the plane. While there is some space reduction in the hold – approximately 200 pounds of luggage space– seating isn’t compromised.
A functioning prototype, done in conjunction with D-J Composites, is now in use and the company is moving forward with the assembly of units.
Once EVAS receives its Supplemental Type Certificate – SCT – which allows for modifications to an aircraft – so the lavatory can be installed, White says the company will be reaching out to Beechcraft operators to offer its service.
It was a concept that went into development nearly a decade ago.
As White tells it, the Beechcraft 1900D – which EVAS specializes in – doesn’t come with a lavatory.
“It was designed for very short hops (flights) and a lavatory was optional,” said White.
But being involved with interprovincial flights, and charter opportunities to Greenland, White said EVAS was carrying out longer-haul flights.
“We attempted to buy a lavatory, and there was only one place in North America that made them, which came with a nine-month lead time and cost between $150-250,000,” he said. “It just didn’t seem feasible, so we just decided to do it ourselves.
That’s what the EVAS team has done, and now they have the manufacturing rights to build and assemble the units in Gander.
Which is where White sees the potential.
In bringing in 1900D operators to install the lavatories, it allows the company to pitch other services it has on offer.
“In addition to a lavatory, we can look at structural issues, electrical and electronic upgrades, paint jobs,” he said.
And if all goes as planned, it will mean an increased workload, potentially, an increased workforce, as the aircraft has to be modified to accept the unit.
After a decade from time envisioned, Dean Parsons, director of maintenance with EVAS, called it a milestone for the company and the individuals involved with the project
“Basically, we took this from the direction of the CEO to putting it on paper and bringing it to fruition,” Parsons said. “It’s been a long journey, but because of the team of innovative people we have, we are now in the assembly stage.”