Since it opened earlier this year, Oriens Aviation's exclusive British Isles Pilatus centre at London Biggin Hill airport is now supporting 12 regular PC-12 customers, including 10 on the UK register and two that are new arrivals now flying with private customers.

Oriens Maintenance, which complements Oriens Aviation's sales activity as exclusive Pilatus PC-12 distributor for the British Isles, has also extended support to Swedish, Finnish, Swiss and N-reg US PC-12 customers since the start of the year.

Adhering to the Swiss OEM's newly-revised maintenance inspection schedule for all PC-12 series, which changes the timing of inspections from 100 to 300 hours, Oriens finds it has more capability to handle other aircraft types too. So far this year the business has carried out MRO checks on a Hawker 1000, Citation 500, Beechcraft 99 and Cessna 421. Maintenance manager Steve Westran says: “We are keen to widen out our EASA capability and support types such as the Beechcraft 90 and 200 series, plus the Cessna 208 Caravan.”

Responding to stepped-up demand for remote support and in readiness for the winter months, Oriens Maintenance is investing in a larger Mercedes van that will be equipped as a mobile workshop. This is due to arrive later this month.

The business continues to enjoy additional satellite centre support in a partnership with Goodwood Engineering at Goodwood Aerodrome, UK, which contributes Part M continuous airworthiness activity. Oriens is in the process of applying for Part M approval itself for aircraft management services, to further widen its offering.

Since the formal inauguration of its fully refurbished hangar and office suite in February, Oriens Maintenance has invested in new tooling for propeller balancing, battery capacity testing, pitot static calibration and avionics testing. It has also initiated two work and type experience placements to students and trainee engineers, which were overseen by its licensed Pilatus PC-12 engineers.

Oriens Aviation CEO and founder Edwin Brenninkmeyer comments: “Taking for granted that we always strive for the highest levels of safety and professionalism first and foremost, we aim to provide the best possible service to each individual customer. This involves not only excellence in technical support but also a personal approach. There should be no surprises, and customers are impressed with our attention to detail that can only come from knowing how each individual customer likes their aircraft presented after a visit to our facility. Technical expertise, professionalism, and the highest level of business ethics and integrity are our core values. We look forward to continuing to build the Oriens brand and expanding our offering as a premier aircraft maintenance provider for business aviation in the British Isles.”