Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Riverside, CA

Mike Calhoun - Safe Structure Designs Testimonial

Big thank you to SafeStructureDesigns for providing us with great maintenance stands for our H145. These make working on helicopters safer and more efficient.

Mike Calhoun - LE Pilot

Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Riverside, CA


Department of the Army & Air Forces, Las Cruces, NM

To whom it may concern:

We utilized S.A.F.E. Structure Designs to design a full line of maintenance support equipment that includes a set of maintenance stands, cowling racks, and blade racks for our fleet of UH-72 Lakota / EC145. S.A.F.E. Structure Designs arranged an initial meeting at our hanger. Their chief designer worked alongside our mechanics to ensure they were designing engine/transmission maintenance stands that genuinely work for our team and with the aircraft. We awarded them a contract to design, engineer, and manufacture these side stands based on their vast knowledge, attention to detail, and innovative design concepts. The maintenance stands were delivered exactly as we expected and are used in our hangar daily.

Because of our satisfaction with the maintenance stands, we contacted S.A.F.E Structure designs once more to increase the safety and efficiency of our mechanics by outfitting our hangar with custom designed cowling racks and blade racks. As anticipated, this equipment exceeded our expectations. The quality of the fabrication is impeccable and they delivered the products on schedule.

We highly recommend S.A.F.E Structure Designs and have a deep appreciation for the platforms and equipment they manufacture to ensure the safety of the mechanics. Their customer service and design team's attention to detail is what makes them stand out from alternative companies within the aviation industry. We could not be more delighted that we chose, and continue to choose to work with S.A.F.E. Structure Designs.

MSG Paul Herrea Jr. - Aviation Maintenance Supervisor

Dept. of the Army & Air Forces - Las Cruces, New Mexico


Columbia Helicopters, Inc., Portland, OR

To whom it may concern:

I am writing a letter of recommendation for SAFE Structure Designs. They have effortlessly satisfied our mechanics needs for custom, fall protection platforms for our CH-47D, BV234 (CH47) and BV107 (CH46). They meet OSHA requirements, are accommodating to the technicians and have given us superior flexibility with the limited hangar space we have. As mechanics are aware, fall protection platforms act more like a safety net when the technician is required to physically work on the aircraft as opposed to working on a maintenance stand. I continuously get thanked by our technicians, which is rare. With these platforms, the mechanics and leads are actually trying to justify why they need the platforms more on their project/aircraft.

Columbia Helicopters' request was unique and challenging, we requested a stand that was capable of adapting to our two main platforms. How can we buy a stand that can be adjusted in minutes and fit two unique airframes? S.A.F.E. Structure Designs fulfilled their commitment and surpassed our expectations. They scheduled several site visits to meet with our mechanics to get critical feedback during the design phase until we were completely satisfied. Once we were satisfied with the design, they took it through the engineering and production process. The platforms were manufactured to the concept design that we initially agreed on. Their quality and attention to detail was superior. As always with new design there can challenges, for example, things that we did not think about but would have been nice. As CHI identified opportunities to make the design better, S.A.F.E. continuously reacted stride for stride with us to incorporate new design features. Their ability and desire to cater to the customers' needs make them stand apart from other companies I have worked with. I personally recommend S.A.F.E. Structure Designs, and will continue to collaborate with them to meet our maintenance challenges in the future.

Oscar Acevedo - Platform Manager

Columbia Helicoptors, Inc., Portland, Oregon

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United States Coast Guard, Clearwater, FL.

To whom it may concern:

In my previous position as the Corrosion Prevention Advocate assigned to the Airworthiness Sustainment Branch located in the Aviation Logistics Command of the US Coast Guard, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the use of ground support equipment. And I saw the non-use of ground support equipment when that equipment did not meet the needs of the technicians.

Some of the equipment I observed was designed and supplied by SAFE Structure Designs. I noticed that those stands were almost always in use, while some other stands, manufactured elsewhere, were not.

Having been an aircraft mechanic for 25 plus years before accepting my present position, I can attest to the accuracy of this statement: “If it doesn’t work well, it will not get used”. The fact that the equipment supplied by S.A.F.E. is used, confirms that they do indeed work!

The willingness of the SAFE team to adapt, change, or otherwise alter their equipment to meet or exceed the needs of their customer is testimony to the end result of that equipment being used by the technicians.

In my personal opinion, the quality of the finished equipment, when coupled with SAFE’s willingness to build exactly what is requested, results in one of the best, dollar for dollar, maintenance investments a company could make.

James Valky - USCG AM1 Retired, Formally Assigned to ASB, USCG

United States Coast Guard - Clearwater, Florida