Calspan lands Navy contract
Plane project carries $5.6 million price tag
Calspan Corporation's Flight Research Group is flying high after landing a $5.6 million contract with the U.S. Navy.
The contract calls for Calspan to modify a Saab 340 twin-engine turboprop with specialized sensor equipment and a simulation cockpit that will be used to train students at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md.
The price tag covers the extensive modifications to the plane as well as three years of Calspan-supported operations. Modifications, which include swapping out the nose of the former commercial airliner with that of an F-16 fighter jet, are expected to be complete by January.
''It was a nice win for us. Our Learjets have been operating at [Patuxent River] for some time. Having a multi-year program there with a new plane is a nice evolutionary step for the business,'' said Paul Schifferle, Calspan technical manager.
In addition to the Learjets, Calspan-modified variable stability SH-60 helicopters are a fixture at the school.
Two new ''good-paying'' jobs will be created as a result of the contract.
''It's not every day we do contracts that result in new positions,'' said Bruce Magoon, vice president for aeronautics and a test pilot.
Calspan employs about 200 people companywide. About 10 of the 32 people at the company's Niagara Falls location are working on the new airborne systems training and research support project.
Pilots and engineers will use the plane to learn how to evaluate integrated airborne sensor systems. It will be deployed at the school in Maryland for 40 weeks per year, returning to the Niagara Falls hangar every six months for maintenance and inspection.
Calspan's plane will replace an outdated, four-engine NP-3D aircraft previously used by the Navy for its airborne systems training and research support.
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