Rice Lake Air Center

On March 9, 2019, the longawaited moment finally arrived. The SOCATA TBM-930 single-engine, turboprop aircraft glistened over the horizon of the historic Le Bourget Airport near Paris. The pilots were overcome with emotion as they saw the runway, approaching the final seconds of their journey. As they touched down, cheers roared for the duo that had flown their aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean and into a new world record at 8 hours and 38 minutes. With their domineering spirit and extensive preparation, these pioneering aviators had beaten the 34-year-old speed record to fly a C1e class for turboprop aircraft with a takeoff weight under 13,200 pounds between New York and Paris, demonstrating TBM’s real capabilities.

The speedy, ‘less than half-day odyssey’ was the combined result of months of planning, weather predictions, route definition, and extensive technical modifications. To make the record possible, the TBM-930 light aircraft was fitted with a ferry tank to carry an additional 300 gallons of jet fuel, bringing its total usable fuel to 600 gallons. It was also equipped with an Iridium Go, an in-flight tracking device, and very high frequency (VHF) navigation systems to make their journey safer.

The veteran full-service fixed-base operator and authorized TBM service center, Rice Lake Air Center (RLAC), made these technical modifications. With over three decades of experience in supporting TBMs, RLAC is ideally positioned to offer a wide range of maintenance, repair, and modification services that best-fit clients varying requirements. A certified Part 145 aircraft repair shop, RLAC specializes in aircraft maintenance of the Daher-Socata TBM fleet, the TBM 700 in particular, and serves as an authorized Daher-Socata TBM service center.

“At RLAC, we handle over 120 TBMs a year, serving as a go-to partner for a broad clientele that spans all across the U.S., Canada, France, Chile, and Mexico,” says Joe Robbins, president of RLAC. “We also excel at supporting a wide range of other aircraft, including Cessna Conquest and Citation, and Beechcraft King Air aircraft.”

Service Excellence: a Key Differentiator

RLAC is best known for its excellence in delivering professional maintenance, repair, and modification services to clients, with a core focus on customer experience and attention to detail. The company is committed to their service requirements and schedules to ensure that every goal is achieved through collaboration, making it a reputed player in the industry. This combined with RLAC’s facilities—which include three large hangars and an attached terminal— contribute to its edge in this space.

The company also possesses an impressive inventory of specialized parts and equipment that focuses on the spectrum of aircraft RLAC supports.

This allows RLAC to deliver on their clients’ varied requirements and align with their schedules. Additionally, RLAC excels at building relationships with vendors and partners to expedite aircraft maintenance at a time of escalating supply chain bottlenecks. To cut through these logistical challenges, the company ships the parts via air or road and purchases salvage aircraft to procure specialized parts. Needless to say, RCLA is a truly customer-first organization—a tenet that helps it exceed expectations in the MRO space.

RLAC maintains strong relations with federal regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The company has a proven track record of receiving good reviews in FAA inspections for Part 145 certification, allowing it to perform modifications at the aircraft certification office (ACO) and flight standard district office (FSDO) levels. For example, during the speed record expedition, RLAC’s relationship with the FAA helped it secure a special permit, which allowed for an augmented takeoff weight of 9,500 pounds, which exceeded the TBM 930’s certified maximum takeoff weight.

Delivering the Whole Gamut of Offerings

“We’re rated as Class 1 and 2 in airframes and focus on Alison 250 and the Pratt & Whitney PT6A and PT6 EXT engines,” says Robbins.

The team at RLAC is ideally trained to perform structural inspections and repairs on a wide range of turbine aircraft and PT6A and PT6 EXT engines, which are considered the most advanced systems in the space. They are also well equipped to support all modern innovations, including the most advanced HomeSafe Emergency Autoland System, an emergency system that automatically brings the airplane down to a runway touchdown if the pilot becomes incapacitated. The company has also collaborated with numerous clients to support them with their angle of attack (AOA) to make their aircraft safe. The team is also equipped with all the necessary tools and resources to integrate with an AOA system, keeping them away from accidents when they approach an airport.

Furthermore, teaming up with MT Propeller, a German-based manufacturer of composite propellers, RLAC serves as the only authorized distributor of the 5-blade MT-Propeller for the TBM community in North America. This brought to light a new technology for TBM owners, creating good competition by offering an option to reduce the fleet’s operating costs.

Beyond a Service Provider

RCLA goes above and beyond a typical MRO service provider by delivering a proprietary management system that tracks aircraft maintenance recommendations or issues. A customer interactive tool, it allows operators to utilize the status sheet and put together all logistics, costs, and any upcoming events to help better manage the aircraft. They can also update the hours and cycles on the aircraft via this highly secured system—a feature highly appreciated by its clients.

As a small, agile firm with innovation and customer success deeply woven into its DNA, RCLA invests a lot in data accumulation that takes the central role in advancing the MRO space. Analyzing the huge corpus of data can help the company better understand the root causes behind each issue and predict the best way to alleviate them. Once out of the toolbox, it will build a world of difference in the MRO space, making service delivery more accurate and efficient.

Providing maintenance and technical support year-round, 24x7, clients around the globe appreciate its services, with many even sharing their experiences and helping it procure more clients. Having earned the trust of many TBM users, RCLA positions itself as the go-to veteran for MRO services in the aviation space.