Quiet Technology Aerospace (QTA) has delivered its 300th Carbon Graphite Engine Inlet Cowl featuring QTA’s carbon fiber inner-barrel to Jet Edge International, a Bombardier Challenger 300 operator in Columbus, Ohio. The 300th barrel is the latest of six pairs of upgraded inlets installed on the company’s Challenger 300 fleet. The QTA inlet upgrade permanently solves a recurring and expensive fleet wide problem with the aircrafts’ Honeywell HTF7000 engines that are plagued with the issue of inlet cowl inner-barrel corrosion.
The delivery milestone is a result of QTA’s very successful engineering and manufacturing program. The Carbon Graphite Engine Inlet Cowl and its carbon fiber inner-barrel terminates the expensive and time-consuming OEM problem of aluminum engine inlet cowl inner-barrel corrosion and acoustic screen degradation. Engine inlet corrosion is not a small problem. It affects several business jet airframes and not only the Honeywell HTF engine.
QTA replaces the aluminum based inner barrel with a lighter weight state-of-the-art Carbon Graphite Composite Barrel which terminates the root cause of the corrosion issue. This permanent solution comes with a lifetime warranty that remains with the aircraft’s serial number and transfers to any future owner. It is the only permanent solution available today.
Installed, the QTA inlets’ appearance is better than originally manufactured. QTA reminds affected operators this is not a ‘repair’ to the original aluminum inlet barrel. It is a permanent and terminating solution to their corrosion issue. Very expensive OEM replacement inlets have been available; however, the problem is they are guaranteed to fail again due to the root cause not being addressed. Ingestion of corroded elements into the engine can potentially cause engine damage, posing operating safety concerns. Safe operation through a permanent solution is QTA’s highest priority.
Barry Fine, CEO of Quiet Technology Aerospace, adds, “The delivery to Jet Edge of our 300th Inlet Upgrade is part of an agreement to replace their sixth set of inlets on their fleet of Challenger 300s.
As a fleet operator, they understand a factory replacement inlet will only corrode and fail again…and that our carbon graphite composite inner-barrel gives them permanent operating confidence along with an added level of safety. Our replacement inlets cure a major headache for operators that have been continuously troubled by expensive and time-consuming inner barrel corrosion ‘fixes’ that never last. The resulting AOG situations caused by the OEM Inlet Cowls as well as the already documented danger of engines ingesting corroded aluminum compounds the problem. Our Carbon Graphite Engine Inlet Cowl program insures QTA customers convenient and quick turn-times when upgrading that is most of all, cost efficient and final. Ours is the industry’s only permanent solution and we have never had a failure of our product.”
Gordon MacSwain, Director of Technical Services for Jet Edge International, explains, “We first used a QTA Inlet Upgrade in 2016 on our Learjet model 60s with great success. We were excited to learn QTA had developed and produced an engine inlet upgrade for our Challenger 300 aircraft which were experiencing repeated corrosion issues. The combination of eliminating corrosion worries, the Lifetime warranty, and excellent build quality reduces risk and cost for our customers which is an excellent fit with our requirements as a major 135 Charter operation. Jet Edge International, now a part of Vista Global, exclusively uses the QTA Inlet upgrade across our fleet.”
QTA backs their Carbon Graphite Composite Barrels with a transferable warranty for the life of the aircraft and to future owners. The warranty is enforced with product liability insurance placed via Lloyds of London. The combined Product Warranty and Liability Insurance provides owner confidence for total coverage over the life of the aircraft.
QTA offers customers a low-cost inlet “exchange program” that keeps aircraft free from extended AOG conditions during installation. QTA can provide either exchange inlets or upgrade a complete set of Inlet Cowls in 2-3 weeks, greatly reducing operator downtime compared to alternative corrosion repairs.
QTA’s Carbon Graphite Engine Inlet Cowl upgrade program was awarded its eighth STC in July 2021 for the Gulfstream G450. To date, STC approved airframes are:
- Bombardier Challenger 300 and 350
- Bombardier Learjet 60 and 60XR
- Dassault Falcon Jet 2000LX-EX
- Gulfstream G200 & G280
- Gulfstream G450
- Hawker 1000
- Embraer Legacy 450/500 series and Embraer Praetor 500/600
