AERO Specialties

There are good reasons to be especially cautious airside when handling diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). Over the last 20 months, at least three incidents involving DEF fuel contamination have occurred. Two of which included Cessna Citation 550 twinjets carrying out air ambulance flights. Though all aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries, the occurrences speak to the importance of taking steps to mitigate or remove the risk of DEF contamination in fuel. The cause of these near-tragedies was the introduction of DEF into the fuel supply. The threat of DEF contamination of a fuel supply is a harrowing one, but, whether it’s by cautious loading of an aircraft tug or an update to ground crew training, with some basic precautions even near-tragedies can be averted. What is DEF? DEF is a non-hazardous fluid that, to meet federal environmental regulations, is added to the exhaust systems of diesel vehicles to break polluting emissions into water and nitrogen. While i...

In most places, winter is going to bring disruptions and difficulties of one kind or another to an airport. In warmer climates, that can mean the increased risk of cloudbursts, electrical storms, and obscuring fog. For the colder regions, however, winter delivers an entire suite of challenges that can make everyone’s work all the more difficult. This is especially true with airside ground crews. They are dealing with all of the visibility and mobility issues of flight crews and air traffic control, on top of which they are moving baggage, piloting service carts, and driving aircraft tugs out in the elements all day. This makes planning, preparing, and stocking up for the winter particularly critical for smooth service airside. Winterizing Your GSE and Preparing Your Ground Crew Winterizing the airside ground support equipment (GSE) and ground crew requires more than outfitting the aircraft tug and baggage tractor with snow tires. It requires preparing the GSE and ...

Any airport’s apron is necessarily a busy place. In addition to the massive aircraft arriving and departing, there are entire fleets of ground support equipment (GSE) vehicles zipping around to service them. Refueling vehicles, aircraft tugs , tractors pulling a string of baggage carts, deicers in winter, all of the lav and food service carts, plus ground crew on foot, are all active on the apron. Not to mention that on any given day there are many millions of dollars represented on the apron, not just in aircraft on the ground, but in money lost to delays. Ground crews face high expectations in a busy workspace to work quickly, safely, and to high standards. When there’s that much going on, with strict schedules to keep and so many moving parts, a lapse in oversight, management, or preparation can result in costly delays. It can also have more dire consequences by increasing the risk of accidents significantly. As such, avoiding GSE congestion should always be a pr...

The responsibilities performed by airside ground crews cover a lot of territory. That means the ground support equipment (GSE) they require to do their jobs is comprised of a diverse collection of vehicles, tools, safety equipment, and stock. It’s not all baggage carts and aircraft tugs (though those are important too). Paying attention to this variety of equipment, and keeping it updated, can improve the working conditions of airside ground crews. The equipment can make their jobs efficient and less difficult, while increasing their comfort level and safety. If you manage or are otherwise responsible for equipping an airside ground crew, consider the following GSE upgrades, updates, and additions that will improve their time on the apron. Weather-Appropriate Equipment Ground support crews are often required to work outdoors regardless of the weather. For many crews, that means dealing with sweltering heat in the summer and glacial frigidity in the winter. Providin...

Communication is absolutely vital for any business’s efficiency, success, and often, safety. That’s doubly true in the aviation industry and with airside ground crews. It’s easy to see how communication failures involving personnel operating multi-ton aircraft tugs hauling multimillion dollar airliners can have some incredibly dire consequences. Unfortunately, the importance of communication is so often cited it can fade into the background and not be proactively discussed, improved, and implemented. Thankfully, there are ways to improve that communication and safety among ground crews and other aviation personnel. Importance and Benefits of Improved Communication In case the benefits, and necessity, of effective communication aren’t clear, they include more efficiency, better productivity, and a far safer work environment. And all of those things can mean more money. After all, the more efficiently work gets done, the more of it gets done. Efficiency also preserve...

Any member of an airside ground crew, which certainly includes the management, will tell you that the work can be pretty high-stress. They are operating under two mandates which are not only often in competition, they can seem fairly contradictory. Those mandates are: “Do the job as quickly as possible!” And, “Be thorough, complete checklists, double-check, make no mistakes, be careful, and be safe.” Although both of those priorities make sense from the perspective of the airlines and those airside serving at the pleasure of those airlines, delays on the ground can cost millions—literally. Not even just big delays. According to an industry report, a large airline loses as much as $35 million (USD) annually for every additional five minutes of ground time. According to the same report, it’s also pointed out that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the aviation industry would save $4 billion annually by taking preventative safety meas...

We all love spending time at airports while traveling, don’t we? The technological advancements and automatically operating system at airports often leave people open-mouthed. From aircraft tug , control towers, intercom system to all other ground support equipment, the entire fleet of apparatuses and the world of the aviation industry in itself is a dream for every tech and machine savvy person. You experience marvels of technology at airports and you know for sure that without the support of these fleets of equipment (technically called Ground Support Equipment) which are gushing on ramps and inside the terminal, aviation operations are just impossible.   That was something from an outsider’s point of view, but what value the ground support equipment holds for aviation professionals. From airline owners, the airport authorities to the runway executives, everyone is dependent upon GSE in some way or another. Air transportation is the basic purpose that aviation industry s...

Flying an aircraft may be easier than it looks. However, handling and maintenance of aircraft on the other hand is no piece of cake. The use of proper equipment to carry out all the complementary and supplementary procedure for the effective functioning of an aircraft is vital. These procedures include airplane pushback , lavatory service, maintenance checks and other such processes that directly influence the efficiency and functioning of the aircraft. These procedures although supplementary, are best done with the use of proper equipment and proven professionals in order to ensure the safe functioning of the aircraft. These procedures require various equipment and vehicles such as aircraft tow tractor , lavatory service vehicle and other such vehicles and equipment. Such equipment requires timely repairs and maintenance in order to function perfectly. The most important fact to remember while getting such equipment repaired is to use Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) spares....

Airport Ground Support Equipment (GSE) is the lifeline for any airline, above all other components. Airports and airline operations would halt if ground support equipment malfunctioned or stopped working. Every activity that occurs and contributes to an airport’s smooth operations happens with the help of a network of strong and reliable GSE. GSE is used worldwide by corporate, FBO, MRO, military, and general aviation stakeholders. GSE products range from basic aircraft tow tractor to fuel service trucks and are typically used for ground power operations, cargo and passenger loading operations and aircraft mobility. Ground support equipment is the foundation of every successful function in the aircraft industry. Hence, faulty or malfunctioning GSE can lead to catastrophic aircraft disasters. Non-powered GSE includes dollies, chocks, tripod jacks and service-stairs. Powered GSE includes refuelers, tugs, tractors, buses, container loaders, transporters, Air ...

Ground Support Equipment is an integral part of the aviation industry. GSE are mechanical tools which are specifically designed to perform the maintenance tasks on an aircraft and its equipment. Efficient GSE and related services are needed to achieve smooth and successful aircraft operations in both the military and civil spheres. Experts working in aviation industry need the right GSE resources to operate efficiently. There are different types of ground support equipment which is of great importance for the proper functioning of the aviation industry. The following are some commonly used GSE. Aircraft ground power unit : The GPU is an external power source, it provides the power supply for the aircraft system and aircraft servicing. A Ground Power Unit can either be a mobile or fixed unit which can be attached to the power system of the aircraft to supply the necessary power. The Ground Power Unit typically consists of a diesel generator, though it c...