On Sunday September 24th, SAB members met up at Champaign Willard Airport for a hangar tour – not our own hangar, but a gigantic hangar complex across the parking lot, managed by the well-known Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul service provider and the Fixed Base Operator: Flightstar.
Flightstar has been the Fixed Base Operator at Champaign Willard Airport for the last 45 years. The company provides Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services to all the aircrafts that fly in and out of the airport, including the American Eagle Embraers and the Parkland College’s Pipers. On game days, they also provide ramp support to charters and corporate jets of the teams and audience. On September 24th, SAB members were fortunate enough to have an insider look of the hangar complex and a detailed tour around all the hangars.
Starting from the pistons – where the dreams start – to the jets, the team explored all the services provided by Flightstar, including avionic panel and interior makeover, preventative maintenance, airframe inspection, and jet management. The members had a great time walking around the various aircrafts – from Skylanes to Bonanzas to Learjets to even a majestic Bombardier Global 7500 – all while learning the 45 years of experience Flightstar has to offer.
A tour at the airport is never over without a walk on the ramp area. The team had the opportunity to walk up close to an Embraer E190AR from Breeze Airways, with a self-guided walk-around of the aircraft inspecting the engines, the gears, and witnessing how the cargo door works on this successful Brizilian regional jet.
It was an unforgettable experience visiting Flightstar. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Flightstar for this insightful tour, and we look forward to bringing you, our members, on more unique experiences in the industry!
