A compressed air system from Atlas Copco will support maintenance procedures carried out by Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (MAEL) at its multi-million pound hangar facility at Birmingham International Airport.
Compressed air plays an essential role in aircraft maintenance procedures, so special consideration of the air supply access locations – such as positioning flexible hose reels and siting floor channels to limit clutter and allow proximity to the point of use – were included as part of the original system design and procurement process.
This approach, the company claims, has enabled optimum utilisation of floor space to accommodate simultaneous maintenance operations on a mix of wide-bodied and narrow-bodied aircraft to be carried out at any time.
The Atlas Copco compressor system, supplied and installed by the company’s Coventry-based distributor, Air Kraft Ltd comprises two GA30 VSD FF rotary screw compressors and ancillaries.
Each compressors has an integrated refrigerant dryer and will supply 7bar quality air for specific applications ranging from combination with air movers for the ventilation and emptying of aircraft fuel tanks, to the operation of air tools for structural fastening and assembly tasks and the blind riveting of fuselage panels.
Commenting on the MAEL’s purchase decision, the company’s team leader of Maintenance, Planning and Control, John Swords said: “We were sufficiently impressed with the performance of the Atlas Copco compressed air solutions already installed at our Luton maintenance operation that there was no hesitation in specifying the system for this milestone development with complete confidence.”
MAEL is the engineering division of The Monarch Group. Its 110,000 sqft facility in Birmingham complements the company’s existing engineering operations at London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester airports.
