Company ships planes, in pieces, worldwide

Midwest Corporate Aviation's business shipping single-engine aircraft to distant locations like China and India has grown dramatically. The business, called Aircraft Packaging and Shipping, is owned by Midwest Corporate Aviation, a fixed-base operator at Jabara Airport.
Inside a large hangar, mechanics work at disassembling and preparing Cessna 172, 182, 206 single-engine aircraft and other planes and helicopters for shipment in specially designed crates.
As part of the preparations, mechanics remove the fuel, oil, wings, propeller, tail and landing gear. The fuselage is wrapped and protected for travel.
The planes are trucked to Kansas City, then shipped by rail to either coast and loaded on a shipping vessel.
This year, business will double, said Randy Kovalick, service center director.
The company has orders to ship 185 new and used aircraft and helicopters overseas this year, he said. That figure may rise to around 200; last year, it shipped 96 planes.
12/01/07 Molly McMillin/The Wichita Eagle, US

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline