Phil DiFiore, president and owner of RSI, developed his passion for helicopters as a young boy, after his mother took him to the local library and a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter landed outside. She asked the pilots if her son could get up close to see the aircraft — and that’s all it took. This interest later took him to an aviation trade school to learn about repairing and maintaining helicopters. At the same time, he gained on-the-job experience working for two different helicopter maintenance companies, starting at the bottom by sweeping floors and picking up parts. From 1979 to 1986, he mainly worked on the Bell 206 JetRanger, Bell 47 series, and the Hughes 269/300 and 500 series.
In 1986, at just 22 years of age, DiFiore decided to go off on his own, and established Rotorcraft Support Inc. in half a hangar at Van Nuys Airport. The early days were challenging but exciting. With a small staff, the new company found a niche in servicing Bell 47s for tuna boat operators, and grew to maintain other types — including Bell light and medium turbines, and Hughes 300 and 500s — for new clients.From day one, DiFiores’s goal was to create a “one-stop shop” at RSI to provide for its customers’ needs and keep them operating and productive. “At RSI its more than turning wrenches, our team wants to anticipate what the customer’s needs are and have a positive solution before a problem develops,” he told Vertical. “I’m certain this is where the company’s three decades of experience pays off.”
RSI steadily expanded its operations over the years, to the point where today it occupies four hangars at Van Nuys Airport, including an overhaul shop and a large spare parts room and storage area.
The company has a full-time support staff of 65 people, including 45 mechanics, airframe specialists, and avionics technicians. It also prides itself on having experienced office staff who understand the industry. “The [quality of the] company and its services are attributed to the quality of people that make up RSI,” said DiFiore. “We strive to employ positive, experienced, and motivated people that have a passion for the helicopter industry and want to continue to learn.”
In that vein, RSI places a very high emphasis on continued education for its technical staff, sending 12 to 15 technicians to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) technical training courses each year. RSI also gives back to the industry by sponsoring an annual inspection authorization (IA) renewal seminar, giving eight hours of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved training on helicopter-related topics at no cost. It’s all part of creating a company that employees look forward to coming to each day — and one where they see a long future.
Serving the customer
RSI has been a recognized Platinum-level Bell Helicopter Customer Service Facility since 2009, and an Airbus Helicopters Diamond Award Service Center since 2010. It’s also an authorized service center for Leonardo Helicopters (formerly known as AgustaWestland), MD Helicopters, Robinson Helicopter, Enstrom Helicopter and Scott’s–Bell 47. It has official recognition for its engine repair capabilities, too, as an Approved Service Center for the Rolls-Royce RR300 engine.
RSI has been maintaining the Sikorsky S-76 for years, but was recently named an authorized service center for the type. “Becoming a service center rounds out our service and support capabilities for the S-76 customers,” said DiFiore. “We put a large investment into this, and now our S-76 customers can look forward to the same level of commitment and service that has come to be expected from RSI.”
In addition to providing routine maintenance on these manufacturers’ aircraft, RSI is able to perform more in-depth repairs on rotor heads, transmission and other dynamic system overhauls; generator overhauls; and electronic or electrical repairs. It can also perform airframe and structural repairs and paint services from touch up to complete aircraft refinishing. In terms of avionics, RSI holds multiple dealership authorizations, giving it access to avionics training, installation and operational support, and thereby enhancing its completion, modification and restoration capabilities.
As part of its in-house non-destructive testing, RSI has level III technicians on staff offering magnetic particle, dye penetrant, eddy current, ultrasonic, and radiography (x-ray) inspections. RSI’s technicians and their equipment are completely mobile and can provide almost their entire range of services at a customer’s facility.
As well as maintenance, RSI has become well known for its aircraft restoration and completion services, designing, manufacturing and installing complete custom instrument panels and cockpits. These can include avionics, glass cockpit, radio, seating and other cockpit modifications, such as making it compatible with night vision goggles.
Jeffrey Teubner, vice president of quality and technical operations, talked Vertical through a typical law enforcement completion, such as the four recently-completed Bell UH-1N Twin Huey retrofits for U.S. Customs and Border Protection: “We utilize a CAD [computer aided design] program-operated cutter to cut a new panel to exact specification, install a special package of radios, and then integrate a FLIR [forward-looking infrared] and its large screen into the front tactical flight officer’s position, and put a second screen into the rear cabin for a second operator to use.” RSI will be completing a further four UH-1N Twin Hueys for the agency.
RSI owns Bell-approved fuselage and tailboom repair fixtures for the 206A/B JetRanger and the L-model LongRanger. The company also owns a Bell-approved tailboom fixture for the Bell 204, 205, 212, 412 and UH-1 series helicopters. “We can potentially build a new tailboom, but in the end it comes down to the economics,” said Teubner. “We have done some very in-depth repairs, bordering on the extraordinary, but it always comes down to: ‘Can the item be repaired for less than the cost of a new boom — and does it make economic sense?’” In addition to these tailboom repairs, RSI also sells and installs the BLR Aerospace FastFin and Dual Tailboom Strake kits.
The company offers field maintenance and repair to customers across the United States through longstanding contracts. “We provide support for multiple law enforcement and fire agencies,” said Kevin Mawhinney, director of outside sales. “This is through direct support with RSI mechanics on location and a complete support staff at RSI. We provide recordkeeping, technical support, regulatory oversight, and parts, allowing the technician to focus on getting their aircraft back in the air.”
RSI will also send maintenance personnel to (almost) anywhere a customer needs support. “We are very flexible, if someone has a broken helicopter we will do our best to get there and get the aircraft flying again,” said DiFiore.
The final part of the business is the import and export of helicopters. “We have been doing this for years and have had aircraft arrive from virtually every continent,” said DiFiore. The company can prepare and package aircraft for shipment, and through DiFiore’s Designated Airworthiness Representative certificate, RSI can issue an import or export airworthiness certificate. “These services are complicated and in-depth, but we do it routinely and understand the process,” he said.
Providing the parts
To reduce customer downtime and increase aircraft availability, RSI provides spare parts to clients around the globe. The company maintain an extensive parts inventory and exchange pool that operators can access, and provides in-house component overhaul and repairs to control quality and delivery times. It provides everything from batteries, lighting, servos, actuators, starter generators, engine accessories, and dynamic components, all the way down to common hardware and consumables such as bolts, nuts, washers and individual light bulbs.
To ensure it continue to provide the highest quality products, RSI has become the exclusive distributor of a select line of PMA (parts manufacturer approval) parts with the intention of reducing cost, and increasing availability. It now carries the PMA vision air disc assembly for the Bell 206 series and the vision air crossbeam nut, crimping rivet and tail rotor push pull tube for the Airbus AS350/H125, AS355 and EC130 series helicopters. “We expect more PMAs in the near future so our customers have more options,” said DiFiore.
When asked about the changes he has seen in the industry since starting RSI, DiFiore said: “Like every company providing maintenance and support services, the constant advancement of technology brings with it the complexity of repair on both the electronic and hardware side. The cost of tooling and diagnostic equipment is always a burden and I don’t see this issue relieving itself any time soon.”
DiFiore added that when he started working on helicopters over 36 years ago, aircraft that were contemporary then are now considered legacy. “Today, we still support these legacy machines [as well as] helicopters that entered service over the last three decades, such the Bell 407 and late-model AStars,” he said. “Into the future, we look forward to supporting the newest helicopter designs that are sure to bring the same challenges as previous machines.”
In facing that future, RSI now has the problem of potentially outgrowing its current location; there simply isn’t room for any more expansion. The only option is to find a new facility that can accommodate the growing business. “Right now things are tight and getting tighter,” said DiFiore. “Ultimately, we’d like to have larger work stations for the mechanics, more room for the overhaul shop and a larger parts storage area. We also need more office space. It’s a good problem to have and we are looking at finding a solution in the near future.”