London Biggin Hill Service Centre hosts Challenger 300 for notable 7,500-hour inspection

Bombardier’s London Biggin Hill Service Centre opened its hangar doors to a very special customer on Oct. 9, 2023.  

Taxiing up to the recently-expanded facility was a Challenger 300 aircraft reporting for a 7,500-hour inspection, the first of its kind performed in Europe. 

“The maintenance team is incredibly excited about this inspection because it is the first big mid-life inspection outside North America,” said Paul Thompson, General Manager of the London Biggin Hill Service Centre, which doubled its footprint in November 2022.  

The enhancement added a spacious new hangar featuring 22 service bays, facilities for heavy maintenance and modifications, wheel and battery shops, and on-site interiors. 

The Challenger 300 is expected to be at the UK centre for 80 days and work is already well underway.  

During the 7,500-hour inspection, Bombardier’s factory-trained maintenance technicians will remove and inspect the structure of major airframe components, including engines, parts of the tail, flight controls and landing gear. The interior of the aircraft will be completely removed to facilitate access to aircraft parts and access panels.  

“This first 7,500-hour inspection outside the U.S. service network is very special to us,” said Chris Wigg, Lead Customer Project Manager, London Biggin Hill Service Centre. “The inspection is very important for the longevity of the aircraft, as it prolongs the life and allows the owner peace of mind to fly safely for the coming years.”  

He said the service centre team has been liaising with the aircraft owner for months to plan the milestone inspection. 

“The OEM is the best place to have this done,” said Wigg. “We have factory-trained staff, we have availability of all the tooling, data, everything you need, including the overhead crane for the lifting of major components on the aircraft.” 

Stevan Tojagic, Bombardier’s Regional Sales Manager for the UK, Ireland, Eastern Europe and Turkey, agreed that the OEM is best equipped for such a thorough inspection.  

“We built the aircraft in the first place,” he said. “An inspection like this is taking the aircraft to the very bare bones. That’s why it’s so important to bring it back to the people who know it inside out.” 

For more on the 7,500-hour landing inspection at our Biggin Hill facility, click here.

Stay tuned for further updates on this Challenger 300’s 7,500-hour inspection, currently underway at Bombardier’s London Biggin Hill Service Centre.