Aero Services

Expert Opinion>>
Due Diligence>>
New Product Research>>
Existing Product Research>>
New Product Development>>

Expert Opinion

Are you part of a legal group or organization seeking Expert Opinion on aerospace matters. We have provided expert opinion regarding wages, hiring, remuneration and aerospace profits/contracts.

M&A is on the approved Expert Opinion list provided by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.

McNeal and Associates has worked for Blake, Cassels & Grayden; Harper, Grey, Easton; Graham and Frame; and Paine Edmonds.

Some of our more recent cases:

1. A borrower failed to repay a large repayable loan, based on profits. McNeal & Associates provided expert opinion on whether fair equipment purchases were made from the Parent Company and how the borrower's profits/losses compared to its competitors.
2. An individual was seeking redress from a vehicle accident. This individual was working as a helicopter mechanic in a public role. McNeal & Associates provided all wage and benefit information for public and private helicopter mechanic positions.
3. A student pilot was injured years earlier in an assault. This student pilot was denied training due to an eye injury from the assault. McNeal & Associates provided all wage and benefit information for Canadian pilots across a variety of employers.

Due Diligence

Some recent projects:

1. M&A performed an analysis of three (3) Technology Partnerships Canada repayable loans. M&A reviewed the submitted Business Plans, performed a forecasting analysis, and analyzed risks to TPC loans. The diligence either substianted the business case of the applicants or cautioned the lenders.
2. M&A helped the Royal Canadian Mounted Police decide between three aircraft (and operator proposals) for its service in Northern Ontario.
3. M&A helped Société générale de financement du Québec (SGF) decide which of two general aviation aircraft were best positioned for an SGF Investment.
4. M&A helped FIND/SVP and TelTech perform an analysis of aviation repair and overhaul operations that would make a good acquisition for its client.

Existing Aero Product Market Research

Do you want to know where your products are now? Do you want to know where the will be in 10 years?

M&A uses its AvSoft license to accurately track the world's aircraft fleet and forecast both the fleet and component removals. AvSoft has now included component tracking devices for components such as avionics. To see all what our AvSoft license can offer>>

Some recent projects:

1. A major avionics repair and overhaul firm was faced with a decision for their legacy product no longer in production (on aircraft slowly being retired) . Do they sell the business to competitors while still profitable? Do they sell in five years when profits are severely reduced by competitor inroads and an influx of cannibalized spares. Or will the fleet and forecast product removals be strong enought to support the client for another ten years? M&A completed a model where the client could predict when profits would be low enought to warrant the sale of its business to a lower-cost competitor. AvSoft was used for fleet forecasting. Operators were contacted to determine removal rates.
2. A major avionics manufacturer was faced with the dilemna of support a legacy product where a lack of repair volume made certain repair methods (no longer used) very expensive and difficult to support. M&A completed a strategy whereby other avionics manufacturers pooled their repair services on legacy products - older than a decade - into one service center. This service center would have the need volume to perform rep methods unique for legacy products

New Aero Product Market Research

Are you considering new aircraft product(s), part spares, or PMA (PDA) parts? Do you know what your target airframe will look like in 10 years? Do you know who your customers will be?

Some recent projects:

1. A major helicopter repair and overhaul provider was considering supplementing their offerings so that they would become a "one-stop repair shop". What were competitors doing? What were competitors offereing? What did customers want? M&A completed all the background information and then facilitated a two-day decision making conference of top executives.
2. TAG Aerospace, an aerospace engineering firm, was designing a cockpit security door for the Shorts aircraft. What were the regulations regarding new security measures? Did they apply to cargo operations? Who should TAG sell to? M&A used their AvSoft license to locate all the Short operators worldwide. We then called these operators to determine their needs and future plans for the Short aircraft. These sales leads were then provided to TAG Aerospace.
3. A major avionics manufacturer was seeking new business opportunities. M&A determined that a major opportunity existed with aging aircraft in the US military. M&A discovered that many avionics on older aircraft are no longer supported and the US military is sometimes faced with cannibalization as the only option. M&A felt that this avionics manufacturer had the expertise to reverse engineer these older products and update them with digital capabilities and/or flat screens. M&A shortlisted one aircraft type facing these problems, detailed the exact future plans for this aircraft, made and located contact military personnel, and lastly, detailed procurement procedures at bases affected.

New Product Development

Do you have a new airframe, airpart or aero product? Do potential investors want to know the market realities for your product? Do you want to rapid prototype in either solid form, or photorenders? McNeal and Associates is one of the only firms in North America that can design models with Solidworks, photorender, post online websurveys, post online interactive models, use the AvSoft database and supply technical reports with market realities - All in-house!

First we can create a 3-D model of your product using SolidWorks. All files can be converted to CATIA. Then we can photorender the product realistically and create animations. We can then use these photorealistic designs for marketing purposes and online websurveys (example: www.mcnealassociates.com/loadstar.html). For detailed analysis work, M&A can locate the fleet of similar products using its Avsoft license. We can then phone the airlines and operators of similar class products to determine their needs.. .

Some recent projects:

1. A large R&D engineering firm with capabilities in testbed flight testing was considering purchasing the rights to an acrobatic jet trainer. Could this trainer garner enough business in upset recovery training from the simulation market? M&A contacted airline operations executives to determine if there was a need for upset recovery training and if so, how much? M&A prepared a major cost benefit analysis along with a business plan.
2. Quest Aircraft was nearing the commencement of prototyping a unique utility aircraft, the Kodiak. They had already completed branding programs and operator surveys. After seeing a market analysis M&A completed earlier for Beaver Aircraft Canada and its investors, Quest retained M&A to detail the total possible market for the Kodiak, competitor market shares, and finally, projected market share for the Kodiak. The Kodiak is set to fly this month.
3. Aeromax had preliminary market done for Aeromax and their Loadstar in 2001. With fresh funding, Aeromax and their investors wanted an update on the market and some leads for deposits etc. With only 2-D design data, M&A used Solidworks and ALIAS to produce leading edge photorenderings and animations. We then used these images for a mailout survey, and a website with an interactive model coupled with an online survey. Not only did M&A receive a high response rate from the photorealistic renderings, but Aeromax received a lot of interest and all the files which then could then use for their own marketing purposes. All the design work is compatible with any future design work the company will do using CATIA. For an example, please click www.mcnealassociates.com/loadstar.html