ASI Aviation (ASI Group, Reims – France) delivered on July 7, 2020, a completely refurbished Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II, equipped for scientific research purposes to the Technical University of Braunschweig Institute of Environmental Sciences. The refurbishment of the aircraft included a complete custom interior, replacement of the sonic and thermal insulation, the design and installation of custom operator consoles, the installation of a complete glass-cockpit and modern avionic suite and the certification and installation of a new set of modern propellers that reduces significantly the noise signature of the aircraft. « This aircraft, replacing a Dornier DO-128 ( 6 units only produced) offers our customer all the advantages of an economical and reliable airframe while adding unique features such as a larger interior, allowing for a custom full electronic data gathering suite to be installed without sacrificing the comfort of the operators. The useful load was greatly increased, thanks to the use of modern materials during the refurbishment. The pilot workload has been greatly diminished by replacing the traditional legacy avionics by an integrated glass-cockpit suite by Garmin. This complete refurbishment of the aircraft and its systems was conducted in close partnership with the Technical University of Braunschweig Institute of Environmental Sciences. This has allowed ASI to certify all the modifications to the aircraft in record time while customizing the aircraft completely to the needs of our customer. » said Jean-Pierre Kohn, Président and CEO, ASI Aviation. « When we arrived to the conclusion that we had to replace our Dornier DO-128 it didn’t take long to realize that the F406 was the ideal aircraft for us. The performances were exceeding our expectations while the total cost of the aircraft, refurbishment, and additional systems was in line with our own investment forecast. The F406 operational reliability, its capacity to operate from the roughest runways, its low operating and maintenance costs were the final items that convinced us that it was the right aircraft for us. ASI Aviation’s work allowed to go even further than initially anticipated, installing state of the art avionics and mission-related systems. We now have the ideal research platform, at a fraction of the cost of a brand new aircraft.” added Dr. Thomas Feuerle, of the Technical University of Braunschweig Institute of Environmental Sciences.
ASI Group
ASI Group is a French holding that controls two separate companies: « ASI Innovation », headquartered in Reims, close to Paris, was founded in 2010 by a team of highly qualified and experienced aeronautical engineers. ASI Innovation continuously increased its know-how in the field of the design, certification and installation of complex heterogeneous mission systems on fixed and rotary wing aircraft of all sizes.
« ASI Innovation »is today, one of the few French companies to have obtained the highest level of certification for design, modifications, production of major and minor changes, aircraft assemblies and sub-assemblies, and maintenance. (EASA DOA, POA)
ASI Group has extended its activities by creating “ASI Aviation” in 2014.
ASI Aviation is in charge of the Type Certificate of the famous Reims-Cessna F406 (100 units produced, with most of them still used daily as surveillance of mission aircraft).
Between its two companies, ASI Group has obtained 4 certifications from EASA allowing the group to work on aircraft of all classes, whether they are fixed-wing or rotary-wing. The Group may design, test fly, certify, produce, and maintain aircraft certified under CS-23 to CS-29 certification norms. Additionally, ASI is certified as a military and state aircraft contractor.
ASI Innovation Certification :
- DOA EASA Part 21 J 482
ASI Aviation Certifications:
- DOA EASA Part 21 J 064
- Part 21 G Production agreement FR.21G.076
- Part 145 Maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) FR.145.536
- FRA
High res pictures available (click on the link)
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