May_June_2022 - 16
COVER STORY
ircraft engine maintenance, like
most things in 2022, is not as
straightforward as it used to
be. The strain on the supply
chain and customer trends
are changing the way maintenance
is being planned for and
performed.
JD Kuti, vice president of Pinnacle
Aircraft Engines, has been working
on engines for over 14 years. He says things have definitely
changed over the course of the past few years.
Securing parts is becoming the greatest challenge
of the job.
" It has changed, " Kuti said. " Two years ago, beginning
of COVID, the supply chain wasn't that bad yet.
We were still able to get parts and move through
everything. Over probably, I would say, the last year
it's gotten worse. And the last six months has gotten
even worse. It's kind of been gradually downhill. "
Located in Silverhill, Alabama, and founded in
2010, Kuti and his partners bought Pinnacle in 2019.
They specialize in Lycoming and Continentals, with
Kuti saying there isn't anything they don't work on
besides " some of the older " engines.
" It's not that we can't do them or won't do them,
it's the parts are hard to get for them - makes it very
difficult to do them, " he explained.
The work Pinnacle does runs the gamut from
major overhauls to prop strikes and cam changes.
But Kuti said the majority of the work they see is
engine overhauls.
" We're taking the engine. We tear them down,
re-certify the crank in the case, overhaul the rocker
arms, rods, inspection of all the steel components in
the engine, inspection of all the aluminum components.
We always put new cylinders on, new pistons,
overhaul the fuel system, mags, new harness, new
spark plugs, and we build everything within new tolerances.
Some other places may do it within service
limits. The factory gives us service limits and they
also give us new limits. And here at Pinnacle we do
everything within new limits, " he said.
Kuti reminisced that the most unusual repair
they've ever seen was cleaning concrete mix out of
a sabotaged engine.
Oil filters have been
some of the more
difficult parts to find.
PLANE SAFE AIRCRAFT
MAINTENANCE, INC.
16 MAY/JUNE 2022
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
May_June_2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May_June_2022
So What?
Industry Inspection
Your Mobile Home
The Hunt for Parts
An Inconvenient Truth
Getting Aircraft on Ground Flying Again
In the Post-Pandemic World, General Aviation is Taking Off
The Dos and Don'ts of Communication System Maintenance
Basler Turbo Conversions Makes the Old New Again
A Promising Outlook for General Aviation
How Naval Aviation is Combatting Its Billion- Dollar Corrosion Problem
Advertiser’s Index
May_June_2022 - 1
May_June_2022 - 2
May_June_2022 - 3
May_June_2022 - So What?
May_June_2022 - 5
May_June_2022 - Industry Inspection
May_June_2022 - 7
May_June_2022 - 8
May_June_2022 - 9
May_June_2022 - 10
May_June_2022 - 11
May_June_2022 - Your Mobile Home
May_June_2022 - 13
May_June_2022 - The Hunt for Parts
May_June_2022 - 15
May_June_2022 - 16
May_June_2022 - 17
May_June_2022 - 18
May_June_2022 - 19
May_June_2022 - 20
May_June_2022 - 21
May_June_2022 - An Inconvenient Truth
May_June_2022 - 23
May_June_2022 - Getting Aircraft on Ground Flying Again
May_June_2022 - 25
May_June_2022 - In the Post-Pandemic World, General Aviation is Taking Off
May_June_2022 - 27
May_June_2022 - The Dos and Don'ts of Communication System Maintenance
May_June_2022 - 29
May_June_2022 - 30
May_June_2022 - 31
May_June_2022 - Basler Turbo Conversions Makes the Old New Again
May_June_2022 - 33
May_June_2022 - 34
May_June_2022 - 35
May_June_2022 - A Promising Outlook for General Aviation
May_June_2022 - 37
May_June_2022 - How Naval Aviation is Combatting Its Billion- Dollar Corrosion Problem
May_June_2022 - 39
May_June_2022 - 40
May_June_2022 - 41
May_June_2022 - Advertiser’s Index
May_June_2022 - 43
May_June_2022 - 44
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