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| By Luke Gillespie | |||
 DeCamp says it is important to understand that small companies such as Precision Pattern employed more than 900 employees a year ago.
After the corporate heads of the Big Three automakers caught so much negative chatter for taking private jets to Washington, it’s no surprise that the general aviation manufacturing industry slowed down. However, Brian DeCamp, vice president and general manager of Precision Pattern Interiors, says the negative perception of the general aviation industry is not warranted. “A large number of the aircraft utilized by the general aviation sector are business tools,” DeCamp says. “People generally see it as a luxury but an estimated 80 percent of corporate flights are carrying everyday employees going to work on a project or meet with customers. If several employees are traveling to the same place, it can be an economical alternative to commercial travel turning a 3 day trip into a day trip.” One can understand why the issue fires up DeCamp: Precision Pattern creates custom aircraft interiors, and as companies and individuals stop buying airplanes, business slows down for Precision Pattern. DeCamp says it is important to understand that small companies such as Precision Pattern employed more than 900 employees a year ago. “Now with the economic downturn and the negative perception of general aviation we are down to 500 employees,” he asserts. DeCamp points out that this extends to other areas of the aviation industry. “There are 19,762 registered airports in the U.S. but only 547 are serviced by commercial airlines,” he says, adding that the majority of airports depend on general aviation to operate. “General Aviation is not a replacement for commercial aviation but is does provide a valuable means of transportation supporting businesses, medical flights and individuals,” he adds. DeCamp is being proactive about addressing issues facing the industry, recently inviting his congressman to Precision Pattern. “PPI, along with five other small business leaders, spent time discussing the public’s perception [of general aviation] and successful incentives used in previous industry downturns,” he explains. “The economy has been devastating to the industry and we all need to work together to do our part to get through.” Producing More “Prior to the current industry downturn we were producing one-and-a-half custom interiors per day — not including interiors built for larger VIP completions such as Boeing Business Jets. “There is a substantial amount of upfront planning and coordination with customers put into the process that will support delivering over 300 custom interiors per year,” DeCamp continues. “Each end costumer has unique requirements and designs to meet their specific needs based on the use of the aircraft. We have developed an effective process for building customized interiors in a lean production process.” In addition to building interiors, he adds that Precision Pattern designs, engineers and supports certification through structural analysis, structural testing and certification burn testing to meet FAA requirements and customer requirements. Precision Pattern says it offers an industry-leading blend of craftsmanship and technology. “We capitalize on the latest advances in materials and fabrication methods to make our products more durable, lightweight and cost-effective than ever thought possible,” the company says. DeCamp notes that even through the current business downturn, R&D efforts moved forward to develop the next generation of aircraft interiors and components. The company says it excels in working with state-of-the-art materials to produce world-class interiors, using exotic veneers supplied by its sister company Carl Booth Veneers. “Precision Pattern and its employees take a lot of pride in building high quality interiors that meet or exceed the customers and FAA requirements,” DeCamp stresses. Company products include:
Fully Integrated Interior DeCamp says Precision Pattern was the first company to build a custom interior cabinet component for a production aircraft and its primary focus has always been interior components for aircrafts in the general aviation sector. “Precision Pattern is very appreciative of the opportunity to support customers such as Cessna Aircraft, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing, Dassault Falcon, Embraer, Bombardier, Gulfstream, Piaggo Aero, Baysys Technologies and many more over its 50 plus year history,” he states. Precision Pattern has designed and built interiors for almost every type of plane, DeCamp says. “We have successfully delivered fully integrated interiors down to small single components, “If it’s an interior component in a plane, we can supply it,” he says. DeCamp points out that if there is something Precision Pattern cannot supply for an aircrafts interior, a DeCrane Aerospace sister company can. The sister companies are:
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