View Full Version : Activites at Keystone PA
Anyone have a heads up on what's going on at Keystone these days?
I know they are part of Sikorsky now and doing S-76 and S-92 completions but interested to know whose S-92s I saw in the hangar last week?
Thre seemed to be a shed load !
FloaterNorthWest
1st Sep 2008, 11:43
Heli1,
Since Sikorsky bought Keystone the plan has been to move all Commercial products to Keystone and leave the main plant to build military machines.
Keystone now assemble all 76s and 92s (better known as joining) that arrive from the various out sourced contractors who build the raw airframe.
They will also carry out the completion of the aircraft to the customers specification or just sell them a green airframe. The bulk of the work is for off-shore operators but they also do VIP, paramilitary, etc.
The main problem they have faced is in manpower. Keystone was a fairly small but very good company but all of a sudden Sikorsky heaped a lot of extra work on them and they didn't have the infra-structure or manpower to cope. When we took deliver of our S76C++ you have one manager trying to run the 4 main divisions. S76 production has gone up from 30 a year to over 50.
From a customers point of view they provide a great product but the whole process is riddled with delays and poor communication due to being overloaded.
Hopefully by the time we order a S76D they will have resolved the issues.
FNW
I hear the first S-76D was due to be assembled by the end of August before being shipped to Stratford but is late ..also whose S92s are in there at the moment??
FloaterNorthWest
3rd Sep 2008, 21:02
Don't know but we just the usual 11th hour call (same happened on my last delivery) to say don't fly from the UK tomorrow to start the 10 day handover of your already delayed aircraft as we still aren't ready. The last 5 new VIP S76C++ aircraft for the UK have all been a catalogue of errors and delays.
The Boss is rightfully jumping up and down and as usual the pilots have to bear the brunt of it. Thanks Sikorsky!
Anyone got a new EC155 for sale?
FNW
212man
3rd Sep 2008, 23:35
FNW, at least they told you! Unlike us where we sent a 7 man team (included the DCA) over in mid-December after being assured all was well and they'd be ready for acceptance, only to hang around for a week then fly back. Oh well, it's only a 22 hour flight and a 13 hour time difference, so no inconvenience there then!
Why didn't you buy a 155 in the first place ????:ok:
FloaterNorthWest
4th Sep 2008, 10:52
212,
We were, deal was all sorted with 2 years free maintenance and then when the Chief Pilot was away the Boss went and bought a B and ordered a C++.
FNW