Fire Bottles

Aside from the different OEMs, there are basically two types of fire bottles - o-ring and hermetic. With o-ring bottles, pressure is retained through the use of o-rings. With hermetic bottles, the agent is sealed in the bottle through a welding process. The welding process is significantly more labor intensive than the o-ring process and requires highly specialized equipment and training.

SEMCO Aerospace has the specialized equipment and trained team members to inspect, repair and overhaul several series part numbers of weled and hermetic fire bottles from differing manufacturers.

Blowdown Bottles - A blowdown bottle is a highly pressurized cylinder containing nitrogen which is used to force open doors and deploy landing gear in an emergency.

Standard Hydro Period for a Fire Bottle - This depends on the specific part number and the OEM. For some units, it is five years and other units it is ten years - as a rule - but that can vary. It is important to clarify some terminology - frequently we hear "my bottle is due for hydro".

Mandatory Overhaul - This means that anytime a fire bottle must be hydro tested, the hydro test always includes an overhaul of the unit This is part of the reason the price of a hydro for a fire bottle is more expensive than a hydro for an oxygen bottle.

Standard Overhauls Do Not Include Cartridges ("Squibs") - SEMCO overhauls fire bottles per the latest CMM revisions. The cartridges are not part of the standard overhaul kit. Our policy is to include cartridges as extra costs to the customer if the time has expired (typically 12 years) or if the customer specifically requests cartridges on the repair or purchase order. The customer must explicitly request cartridges in order for SEMCO to provide them.

Evacuation Slides

SEMCO Aerospace services most single lane and dual lane evacuation slides used in commercial aircraft applications, including over-wing, main door, and tail cone slides. The inspection, repair, overhaul and recertification fees charged for each respective service includes all costs associated with that service.

Overhaul/Recertification Services - Costs associated with the overhaul or recertification of evacuation slides include receiving inspection, unpacking, air retention tests, relief valve tests, hydro test of the reservoir cylinder, hydro test of the hoses, bench test of the aspirators, minimal patchwork that may be required, overhaul of the reservoir valves, packing, and the issuance of an accurate 8130 complete with work order documentation. SEMCO does charge for additional parts and services outside the scope of the standard recertification process.

The most common out-of-scope occurrences include:

• Replacement of expired reservoir cylinder
• Replacement of a failed aspirator
• Replacement of failed hoses
• Replacement of the packboard
• Major patchwork (i.e. fixing holes in the inflatable tube)

Recertification Period for Evacuation Slides - The recertification period for evacuation slides depends upon the part number, the OEM, or the Air Carrier's CAMP or other approved maintenance program. As a general rule of thumb, evacuation slides must be recertified once every three years.

Life Rafts

Life rafts are manufactured in a significant variety of sizes defined by their maximum capacity. There are a variety of OEMs including Eastern Aero Marine, Goodrich, Survival Products, Winslow, and RFD. Each part number is specifically designed to fit in a specific aircraft. The inspection, repair, overhaul and recertification fees charged for each respective service includes all costs associated with that service.

Inspection & Repair Services - Due to the nature of the environment into which a life raft is packed, an inspect-only service can be offered only in very limited circumstances. In order to inspect a life raft, it must generally be unpacked. This action then requires subsequent repacking services, which incur the same charges as a repair.

Overhaul/Recertification Services - Costs associated with the overhaul or recertification of life rafts include receiving inspection, unpacking, air retention tests, relief valve tests, hydro test of the reservoir cylinder, hydro test of the hoses, bench test of the aspirators (if equipped), minimal patchwork that may be required, overhaul of the reservoir valves, packing, and the issuance of an accurate 8130 complete with work order documentation. SEMCO does charge for additional parts and services outside the scope of the standard recertification process.

The most common out-of-scope occurrences include:

• Replacement of expired reservoir cylinder
• Replacement of failed hoses
• Major patchwork (i.e. fixing holes in the inflatable tube)

Recertification Period for Life Rafts - The recertification period for evacuation slides depends upon the part number, the OEM, or the Air Carrier's CAMP or other approved maintenance program. As a general rule of thumb, life rafts must be recertified once every one to three years.

Oxygen Masks

SEMCO services flight deck oxygen masks from both Eros/Zodiac and BE, for many different commercial and private aircraft applications. Of all masks serviced, the EROS MX Series and MF series are by far the most prevalent in our system.

Flat-rate Pricing - Under certain circumstances, SEMCO is willing to offer flat-rate pricing for mask inspection, repair, and overhaul. Please contact our sales department to discuss the specifics.

AD Compliance Inspections - SEMCO prides ourselves in our ability to quickly inspect, test and return to service MF Series and MX Series masks needing compliance verification with FAA AD 2015-08-07. In many cases we can provide a two-day turn and, in AOG instances, a same-day turn is possible.

SEMCO Offers Exchanges - When you simply do not have the downtime and require an OHC mask quickly, an exchange may be the best solution. SEMCO does stock oxygen mask cores so please contact us to see if we have your part number in stock and ready to go. We are constantly trying to enhance our rotatable pool and are always looking to buy.