2007 NHRA NATIONAL EVENT SCHEDULE
Listen to Trackside Interviews with Champions, Drivers and Crew Chiefs
Robert Hight
Hillary Will
Bob Vandergriff
Dave Connolly
Ed Iskenderian
Cory McClenathan
Robert Hight
Jim Yates
Tony Bartone
Hillary Will
Whit Bazemore
Byron Hines
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AEROSPACE COMPONENTS 2625 75th Street N., St. Pete, Florida (727) 347-9915
Story & Photos by Jim Kelso
Teamwork is one of the most important aspects of Drag Racing, gelling together as one to achieve a common goal. Al and Kim Kussy know the value of team work, and apply team principles every day both in their marriage and in their business. Aerospace Components was founded 20-years ago, and is a family operated business, based on teamwork. Al Kussy, who is the President and Chief Design Engineer, has a formidable education in design and machining as a former Aerospace Industry worker with the Space Shuttle program, and has valuable knowledge in drag racing and race car components as a former racer at Milan Dragway, and Liberty Racing Transmissions employee.
This experience gave Al the knowledge and inspiration to improve on components for racing in his own business. Family is key in the day to day operations at Aerospace Components. Kim, Al’s wife, is Vice-President and Marketing Director and works hand-in-hand with her husband helping to insure the success of this fast growing company. Daughters Breanna and Bethany also work the office and in advertising at Aerospace Components, when not being home schooled or office schooled, and have a desire to try their hand at drag racing in the near future. The Kussy’s have a brand new dragster just about ready for Kim and the girls, to keep the family involved at the track. The Kussy’s consider their employees as family and at about two dozen; they have a good size family! Many of their workers have been with the company for many years, like Sales Manager Aras VanBibber who has been with Aerospace for 10 years. Aras like most employees here has a passion for racing, a key element in work related satisfaction.
Aerospace Components resides in a 36,000-square-foot building in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cranking out hi-tech, quality products is a non-stop process with about two-dozen CNC machines. These machines, some going day and night, start with a raw block of Billet Aluminum and carve it into a finished product with extreme accuracy. All the parts tolerances are checked and the fuel pumps are given a complete fluid pressure test evaluation before being readied for shipping. Best known for their vacuum pump system and light-weight brakes, Aerospace Components actually has a wide variety of products, including water pumps, shifters, fuel pumps, nine-inch Ford “Bullet-Proof” 3rd members, Billet nitrous bottle brackets and pro dial boards.
They also manufacture Battery trays, a crank trigger, 360-degree filler neck, recirculating catch can, servo cover and shorty transmission cover all built from Billet aluminum, and newest to their lineup is shocks and struts. Each product is designed to be the best and track tested, not only on customer’s cars, but on in house race cars owned by Plant Manager Matt Moody, an employee going on 14 years, and Production Manager Gary Owens, a veteran of Aerospace Components for 12 years.
Matt’s ’86 Camaro was built in house, in 1999 and sports a full tube chassis, and a Chevy 496 big-block for power. Inside the powerplant are JE Pistons, Eagle rods and crankshaft, a Crane camshaft and Aerospace Components shaft-mounted rocker arms. Gary’s dragster is a 2002 Undercover chassis with a 225-inch wheelbase. A GM Bow-Tie block is used to get 522-cubic-inches, and is fitted with Eagle crank and rods, JE pistons (12.5:1), Crane cam, Aerospace Components rocker arms, with heads and manifold from Edelbrock.
Both cars,
as well as Kim’s new dragster use Aerospace Components’ products. Such
as the Pro Eliminator shifter, brakes, water pumps, fuel pumps,
regulators and vacuum pumps and are test beds that give valuable
feedback for future design of new components. As you can see, Aerospace
Components is a well rounded company building high-quality race parts,
through design and real world testing, plus they are proud that
everything they build is done in house, right here in the USA! |
