Banyan Air Service is pleased to provide maintenance tracking assistance for our customers. A computerized  Maintenance tracking program can provide excellent value to owners and operators of aircraft in many ways. It allows operators to more accurately budget maintenance expenses and schedule maintenance down time around their flight schedules. It also allows them to view a snapshot of the status of their aircraft from an internet browser anywhere in the world.

There are many companies that provide maintenance tracking services such as CAMP Systems, Avtrak, CAMS and Cescom, etc. Each provides the same basic service with additional capabilities available ranging from providing electronic flight logs and flight planning to inventory management, and Banyan is always willing to assist in helping customers to choose the best system to fit their needs. Another advantage of utilizing such a service is the portability it provides in the event of the sale of the aircraft. The new owner can choose to continue to use the system for the same beneficial reasons often resulting in an increase in resale value of the aircraft.

For customers whose budget doesn’t include the cost of a dedicated third-party maintenance tracking program, Banyan also provides in-house maintenance tracking at no cost to customers that bring their aircraft here for the bulk of their maintenance needs. Regardless of the maintenance tracking program used, customers and their service manager receive an email each month showing the projected maintenance due over the next calendar year. Any of our customers interested in  assistance with maintenance tracking are invited to contact their service manager to take advantage of this benefit.

Visit the Banyan Maintenance website to learn more.

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Banyan installed the Thrane and Thrane AVIATOR 200 Low Gain Antenna (LGA) on this Beech Jet 400A.

On January 7, 2012 a Beech Jet 400A departed for Argentina outfitted with the Thrane and Thrane AVIATOR 200 Swift Broadband (SBB) system. The AVIATOR 200 turns an aircraft into a business tool and enables pilots and passengers to use PDA devices including Blackberry®, iPhone® and iPads to access a multitude of applications; such as, email, internet browsing, smart phone connectivity and voice communications.

Last year Banyan received the first STC for the Swift Broadband (SBB) 200 class of service in the United States. This year Banyan delivered the first aircraft outfitted with AVIATOR 200 to the South American market.

“Banyan has been one of the industry leaders for High Speed Data and Swift Broadband installations for the last three years and to achieve another first clearly shows the vision of both Banyan and our partner Thrane and Thrane,” says Brian Wilson, Banyan’s director of avionics.

“The AVIATOR 200 Swift Broadband class of service is a perfect fit for our Latin American customers. Passengers enjoy staying connected and entertained during the flight and before departure the crew can download the latest weather conditions, flight plans and charts on their iPads and EFB’s. Banyan has performed more AVIATOR 200 installations on more airframes than any of our competitors. The installation can be performed as quickly as seven days and can be completed at Banyan during regular maintenance inspections,” states Wilson.

To see a video of this product in action, or for more information, visit banyanair.com/aviator200.

About Banyan Avionics:

The Banyan avionics team based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), offers comprehensive avionics installations, repairs, modifications, and is an authorized dealer for all major avionics manufacturers. In addition to High Speed Data solutions, they have extensive installation experience with In-Flight Entertainment upgrades, Glass Cockpits, LPV/WAAS upgrades, Flight Management Systems, Satellite TV, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning Systems, Multifunction Displays, Satellite Communications, Iridium, and Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems.

Banyan’s avionics department is certified as both an FAA and EASA repair station and has also earned repair station designations for Argentina, Brazil, Bermuda and Venezuela. Banyan also offers a mobile avionics team to provide services on location. For more information on Banyan’s other services, visit banyanair.com.

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Recently, our fuel provider, and one of our closest partners, the Avfuel Corporation, invited a delegation from China to tour the Banyan complex.  The delegation was made up of aviation business leaders and aviation government officials from Chengdu, China, one of China’s largest cities. The purpose of the visit was to introduce the delegation to one of the premier U.S. FBOs that partners with Avfuel under their brand. AvFuel’s C.R. Sincock gave a presentation about their business model, followed by an FBO question and answer session and a tour of the Banyan complex led by Don Campion.  The delegation was extremely impressed with the AvFuel presentation and the Banyan complex. While oceans may separate us, the passion for aviation exists all over the world!

By Matt Sosna

On October 27, 2011 I had the opportunity as the second Banyan teammate to join the journey to Egbe Hospital in Nigeria. Departing from Ft. Lauderdale, I’m sure that airport security raised an eyebrow or two when they realized one of the bags contained a brand new chainsaw in addition to other unrelated items like peanut butter, a timing light and ten laptop computers. During our layover in Frankfurt, we met with the rest of the team. Most of the additions came from Canada and one from Texas. Finally, we boarded the next plane to Abuja, Nigeria. Upon our arrival, it was obvious that our team of eleven “oweebos”, the nickname for white people in Nigeria, stuck out like a sore thumb. I don’t know if it was that, or the fact we had twenty-two fifty pound bags, eleven carry on bags, and eleven personal items, but Nigerian Customs was intent on checking each bag one by one. Fortunately just as they unzipped the first duffel bag, Dominic, the head of immigration in Nigeria and personal friend of Jason (one of the team members), showed up. He instructed the officials to allow us to continue without inspection. After meeting with our driver Enoch, we began the forty minute bus ride to the Baptist Guest House in Abuja.

At work!

The next day, one of the two vans broke down. Luckily this happened in the driveway of the guest house and we were all able to cram into one van. Roughly eight hours of swerving and bumping later, we arrived at the Egbe Hospital compound. We were greeted by what seemed to be every member of the surrounding community in a parade-like fashion. It was also nice to finally meet Mark and Abbey, the resident volunteers. Everyone was so excited to see us and the next few days consisted of nothing but warm welcomes, introductions and celebrations at the local churches.

Once we got to work, my goal was to inventory the equipment, service all of the engines and repair anything within my abilities. One of the main problems with maintaining and repairing anything in Nigeria is the lack of parts. At one point, I had to make a head gasket from a cardboard box. Temporarily repairing a leaky water pipe required strips of motorcycle inner tubes and hose clamps. At Banyan I am used to having plenty of supplies and resources, in Egbe I had to get creative. Understanding and seeing the absence of resources in Nigeria first hand will definitely help me when choosing supplies to load into the containers we send.

My time in Egbe wasn’t all work and no play. The highlight of the trip for me was mountain biking for a couple hours with Mark. It was my first time riding with clipless pedals so it got pretty interesting at times. We also went hiking on a few mountains that border the compound. The landscape and view of the town was beautiful.

When the time came to prepare for our return trip, I felt like I wasn’t finished. Although I was able to get all the broken equipment running, there was so much more to do. My experience at Egbe Hospital was eye opening. It really highlighted the things we take for granted in our day to day life, like good roads, supplies and clean water. The trip definitely had a positive impact on the residents of Egbe and myself. I hope I will have the opportunity to return and continue to help out with this project in the future. Now I understand when Don says a two week trip doesn’t feel like enough time.

By Don Campion

Don and Sueanne Campion

Sueanne and I are back from another great trip to Egbe, Nigeria with a team of eight, (and coincidentally having celebrated our wedding anniversary for the third year in a row at Egbe!)  Each time we go, we are amazed at how God designs our itinerary and assembles the team.  We were privileged to have Gregg Bryce, SIM Canada Director; Gregg’s son Stephen; Rick Bradford, SIM Canada Regional Director; along with Tim McAlhaney (moving to Egbe in 2012); Betsie Campion Smith; Jason Lee (businessman); Matt Sosna (Banyan mechanic) and Luke Lichty (nephew).  Rick’s presence as a representative of Philpott Memorial Church in Ontario, Canada, which was the church that first sponsored Tommie Titcombe, the first missionary to the Egbe area, spurred much celebration!

Hospital Women’s Ward

It is encouraging to see the medical work and patient care continue while construction and changes are taking place.  In the last eight months Egbe Hospital treated 10,400 out patients, 1,100 in patients, performed close to 300 surgeries, delivered 275 babies, performed 11,250 laboratory tests, and, most importantly, the pastors shared the Gospel with 8,175 people.

Laboratory

We arrived to another warm welcome from the community!  Mark and Abby’s (the construction managers living at Egbe) parents and sister, Erin, had been at Egbe for a week organizing items from the containers, building cabinetry, helping on the wards, and providing nursing instruction at the hospital.  It was great to meet them – even if it meant traveling to Egbe to do so.

Abby's parents, Jim and Ada Loscheider

Throughout the first week we visited church leaders and schools to introduce our team members and to give brief updates.  The team was treated to two special programs honoring the work of missionaries to this area.  Experiencing Egbe first-hand was helpful for Rick and Gregg to better share Egbe needs with others in North America.

Rick Bradford brings greetings from Philpott Church

During our second week I traveled to Jos to meet with government, church and mission executives.  Each of these key leaders reiterated their excitement and full support of the Revitalization Project.

The team was put to work fixing small engines, removing dead trees, labeling equipment, servicing vehicles and doing carpentry, prep work, electrical, and demolition in some of the houses.  We continue to work with Samaritan’s Purse to find skilled laborer volunteers, and to encourage church groups and other organizations to send manpower to work alongside Mark and Abby.  SIM recruiters are also assisting in the search for long-term missionaries called to spend several years at Egbe doing maintenance, construction, administrative or medical work.

Matt Sosna at work! The master mechanic!

Mark and local laborers

Much time was spent taking measurements and reviewing drafting options for the construction of the hospital’s new front entrance and outpatient department and transition plans.  We received some great feedback from the resident doctors to incorporate into the draft plans. Detailed measurements were also taken of each house on the compound so we can send needed supplies and materials on the next few shipping containers.

“Fresh Air” transportation

While we were in Egbe, two doctors that had served at Egbe attended the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, Kentucky as exhibitors in the Egbe Hospital Revitalization Project booth.  We were pleased to hear of the interest expressed by several medical candidates and will be following up with each as we continue to look for long-term personnel.

Don Campion, Dr. Sam Kunhiyop (ECWA General Secretary), Moses Igunnubole, Dr. Shaibu, Dr. Lengmang (ECWA Acting Director of Medical Services)

We love to share what’s been accomplished since our last trip and find it exciting to introduce this great project to new  people for the first time.

Thanks for your interest!

Don and Sueanne Campion
Project Leader
www.egbehospital.org

There was still time to have a little fun hiking the nearby hills and riding bicycles for miles along seldom used roads.

If you know of someone interested in becoming a part of this great project, contact Betsie, our project coordinator.
4smiths@rogers.com
905.718.2380

Assop Falls with Rick Bradford, Gregg and Stephen Bryce

In just a few more weeks we hope to have our mobile telephone tower right on the hospital compound

With the increased coverage provided by adding a second shift and the addition of nine new technicians in the last ninety days, Banyan Air Service (FXE) has added the Lear 40 series airframe to their growing list of capabilities.

“Our on-going marketing research has shown a real need from the Lear 40/45 community for another option other than the OEM for support in South Florida and Banyan Air Service intends to answer that call.  With many of these aircraft coming out of their factory warranty period, we have made the investment in training and tooling to serve this market. Banyan has been serving the Learjet community for well over 30 years and this is a decision that our customers helped us make,” says, Paul Rose, Banyan’s vice president of technical sales.

Banyan Air Service based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport is both an FAA and EASA approved repair station, and holds Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazilian government maintenance approvals.  Banyan caters to domestic and international aircraft owners, corporations and governmental agencies.  In addition to Learjet maintenance, Banyan Air Service offers avionics solutions, 24-hour FBO services, aircraft management and sales, Jet Runway Café and a unique Pilot Shop.  For more information visit www.banyanair.com.

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“SUPERVAN 900” engine upgrade

The Banyan maintenance team has partnered with Texas Turbine Conversions from Celina, Texas to perform an exciting engine upgrade utilizing an STC (supplemental type certificate) developed by Texas Turbine Conversions called the “SUPERVAN 900”. The existing Pratt and Whitney PT-6A engine was removed and a factory-fresh Honeywell TPE-331-12JR is being installed. This complex engine upgrade includes replacement of not only the engine, propeller, and all associated wiring and batteries, but also includes a complete redesign of the cowlings and exhaust system.

This engine conversion will provide the operator with increased horsepower going from 675 shaft-horsepower with the original engine to a whopping 900 shaft-horsepower. Additional benefits include reduced fuel burn and longer maintenance intervals, which results in lower overall operating cost.

While performing the extensive engine modification, the Banyan avionics team is also upgrading the avionics suite. The existing Garmin stack and electromechanical instruments will be replaced with a dual Garmin G600 panel, dual Garmin GTN 750s, GDL-69A unit, and L3’s trilogy ESI-2000 for a complete glass makeover. Goodbye needles, hello GLASS! To read more about this avionics upgrade see our Caravan 208 Avionics Upgrade blog.

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Caravan 208 - Before

Banyan Avionics removed the standard six pack vacuum and pressure primary flight instruments from the pilot and copilot cockpit instrument panels and replaced them with a Dual Garmin G600 Flat Panel Display System. The new displays were complimented by new Dual GDC-74 Air Data Computers and GRS-77 Attitude Heading Reference Systems along with a new L-3 ESI-2000 Glass standby unit. The upgrade also included dual GTN-750’s, Garmin new revolutionary touchscreen displays, along with a GDL-69A which provides weather information to the displays. The Transponder was upgraded to the Garmin GTX-330 Extended Squitter Transponder for ADS-B capabilities. New instrument panels were also fabricated to complete the installation.

Caravan 208 - After

The highly anticipated aera 796 and 795 portable units have arrived and are on display in the Electronics Tower of Banyan Pilot Shop. Stop in to see and feel for yourself how Garmin has once again set the bar high in the world of portable aviation navigation.

The Garmin aera 796 incorporates the popular features of the Garmin 696, while also adding new capabilities such as a touchscreen user interface, pilot-selectable screen orientation and 3D Vision (synthetic vision). The 796 may be qualified for use as either a Class I or Class II Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). Geo-referenced IFR Enroute charts and VFR Sectional charts come pre-loaded, and the Garmin 796 also includes geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts, an electronic version of the AeroNav U.S. Terminal Procedures Publication. Other new features include a built-in digital document viewer that enables the pilot to load and view PDF documents, JPEG photos, and many other electronically formatted materials including checklists and detailed performance/procedural data from the aircraft flight manual. There is also a convenient scratch pad for writing down clearances or other important notes.

The Garmin aera 795 has the same features and functionality as the aera 796 minus the XM satellite weather. The 795 is available in three versions: Americas, Atlantic and Pacific.

Both the aera 796 and 795 will be available to the public sometime in mid-October, 2011. If you know you’re going to want one of these units when they arrive, it’s strongly recommended that you pre-order your unit in the store or at www.BanyanPilotShop.net.

If you cannot make it into Banyan Pilot Shop to play with these units for yourself, check out these online videos:

Garmin aera 796 in-flight video and iPad comparison

Quest Kodiak

Banyan has recently been appointed an authorized service center for Quest Aircraft to provide sales and service for the new KODIAK utility turboprop aircraft. “This partnership continues Banyan’s growth to serve the customer and is in alignment with our team’s commitment to assist in the needs of humanitarian organizations worldwide,” says Don Campion, Banyan’s president. From inception, Quest Aircraft’s mission has been to design and manufacture a bush / utility aircraft specifically suited to the needs of missionary and humanitarian aviation organizations that provide access to the most remote regions of the world and the isolated people who live in

them. The Quest KODIAK aircraft meets this challenge with very impressive modern STOL design, and it’s rugged construction and high useful load coupled with proven Pratt and Whitney PT-6A Turbine power that makes it an excellent bush/utility aircraft. We are proud to be affiliated with Quest Aircraft and look forward to serving the Quest community.

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