Avionics News April 2013 - 52

MeMber

Profile

KENN BOREK
AIR LTD.

COMPANY ADDRESS:
(Main Hangar)
290 McTavish Road, N.E.
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 7G5
403-291-3300

(Corporate Office)
808 – 55th Ave., N.E.
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 6Y4
403-291-3300

Extreme Conditions
Routine for Kenn Borek Air
S T O R Y

B Y

C H R I S T I N E

t the South Pole, a Twin Otter with skis lands on an
icy runway just a few hundred yards from a remote
Antarctic cabin. Some two-dozen penguins waddle
along in the distance eyeing the curious machine. The Kenn
Borek Air crew is bringing much-needed supplies to researchers
studying environmental changes. At 20 degrees Fahrenheit and
around-the-clock sunlight, the coldest place on earth
feels relatively warm on this summer day.
For 27 years, KBAL has been involved in
the Antarctic operations. In 2011, the Calgary,
Alberta-based airline had 17 aircraft on the
Antarctic continent in support of scientific
research. While KBAL is best known for
its remote polar operations utilizing skiequipped Twin Otters, the company also
provides a variety of other services, including
medevac, survey, paradrop, float operations,
third-party maintenance and overhaul.
“We currently own and operate more than 35 aircraft
– from King Airs to a B1900D, from DHC-6 Twin Otters to
turbine-equipped DC-3T Basler aircraft,” said Dan Van Reede,
avionics manager. “The backbone of our operation is the Twin
Otter and DC-3T aircraft, operating on skis and wheels, and
in the case of the Twin Otter, wheel skis, board skis, floats and
oversize Tundra tires.”
The aircraft and crew travel all around the world – in Africa,
Turkey, Georgia, Greenland, Guyana, the Caribbean, Australia,
Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Germany, Antarctica, Canada and the
U.S. From deserts to polar ice caps, rain forests to the Alaskan
52

avionics news

•

april

2013

K N A U E R

bush, the aircraft work in harsh conditions, coming off contract
quite corroded and in need of repairs and inspections.
To support its well-traveled fleet, KBAL operates a Transport
Canada-approved 705 maintenance organization. Its main base
in Calgary provides most of the heavy maintenance, while its
three primary bases in Northern Canada – Inuvik, Iqaluit and
Resolute Bay – offer additional maintenance support.
“The busiest times for Kenn Borek Air maintenance are typically in the spring and the fall,”
Van Reede said. “In the fall, our aircraft are
coming out of the north to Calgary, where
they are maintained and prepped for their
journey south to Antarctica, where they are
on contract with various customers for the
winter. Then in the spring, they head back to
Calgary where they are prepped for contracts
in the Arctic for the summer. Usually, the aircraft
are here for a few hectic weeks in between contracts.
In this time, heavy checks are done, as well any avionics
mods we may have planned for them. Due to the nature of this
scheduling, dealing with tight deadlines and managing crisis is
one of our strong suits.”
In between busy seasons, the maintenance and avionics crew
overhaul the aircraft and provide field support when needed.
“Our avionics techs have traveled to Turkey, Africa, the
Maldives, Italy, all across North America and Chile in support
of our aircraft, as well as participated in an aircraft salvage in
Antarctica,” Van Reede said.
KBAL’s heavy maintenance facility in Calgary is fully

Avionics News April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News April 2013