Founded over 50 years ago, Tactair is an AS9100 Rev. D / ISO 9001:2015 certified designer and manufacturer of hydraulic and pneumatic controls for the aerospace industry. Acquired by Young & Franklin in 1986 and moved to Liverpool, New York (suburb of Syracuse), Tactair is a subsidiary of Young & Franklin Inc. and operated by an entrepreneurial management team with extensive aerospace engineering and manufacturing experience.
Since then, four additional proprietary aircraft fluid power control product lines have been acquired and integrated into Tactair’s plant: Phoenix Controls in 1989, Teledyne’s Hydra-Power division in 1992, Kaiser Fluid Technology in 2002, and York Industries’ aerospace product lines in 2005.
The combined companies currently have approximately 200 non-union employees, housed in two ultra-modern manufacturing facilities with a total of 180,000 sq. ft. Tactair continues to invest in its future through product development, ongoing acquisitions, and a strategy to remain a U.S. based manufacturer through modernization of equipment, facilities, and systems.
Tactair Perspective
Continuous Improvement & Investment
Tactair’s modern manufacturing plant is equipped for the efficient production of close-tolerance component parts and complex assemblies. Our advanced equipment enables us to hold tolerances to tenths of a thousandth with matched clearances down to ten millionths of an inch. Primary machining is performed on CNC milling, turning, grinding and EDM equipment. A full range of modern manual mills, lathes, laps, hones, and grinders complement our CNC capabilities.
Tactair has aggressively embraced the principles of lean manufacturing, investing heavily in appropriate machinery, such as 5-axis machining centers with multiple turrets, and processes.
Tactair’s manufacturing is further enhanced by CAM and comprehensive production control (MRP II) systems. Our fully integrated MRP II system includes order entry, purchasing, shop floor scheduling, inventory, and accounting modules. This integrated system enables us to efficiently manage production and monitor customer order status in real time.
Integrated Process Control Assures Product Quality
Tactair is certified to AS9100 Rev. D / ISO 9001:2015 by Lloyd’s Register. In addition, the major worldwide aircraft OEMs and their first tier suppliers have approved our quality system.
Our systematic approach to assured quality employs certified operator-inspectors and approved Statistical Process Control (SPC) on the manufacturing floor as an integral process control.
Quality is also designed into our new product development. Tactair’s cross-functional Program Management teams (engineering, manufacturing, sales, purchasing, and quality assurance personnel) work together throughout the product development and prototype phase to ensure that each product is designed for manufacturability as well as for function.
Rigorous Testing Ensures Outstanding Performance
Tactair’s extensive in-house hydraulic and pneumatic test facilities enable us to test our products to verify critical performance, efficiency, and environmental characteristics. All products are performance tested prior to shipment. Data is recorded and archived to support our design, quality assurance and customer support requirements. New product qualification testing is performed to simulate decades of service.
System Modeling Optimizes
Our Development Process
Tactair is the designer for the majority of the products it manufactures. As such, our engineering capability is key to our future success. The Tactair design and engineering teams work together and use an extensive toolbox of computerized design and analytical tools, engineering test lab facilities with leading edge data acquisition, and a fully equipped model shop. Tactair’s CAE/CAD systems support our design group with 3-D parametric modeling, dynamic and static system modeling, and finite element analysis.
Worldwide On-Demand Support
Tactair’s Customer Support organization is a stand-alone operation with its own management team, inventory, repair technicians, and facilities. The repair station is licensed by both the FAA (T5TR698J) and EASA (145.5121) and offers its customers complete overhaul of all Tactair-produced equipment. Turnaround times of less than thirty days are the norm.
Spare component parts are also stocked and shipped throughout the world on a moment’s notice. In addition, an AOG service is available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year.