Air / Lyon Is Rolling In Acquisitions : Aircraft: Elsinore Aerospace is the third company snapped up by the holding company since its founding in late 1989.

Air/Lyon Inc., the aircraft services holding company owned by builder William Lyon and former AirCal president David Banmiller, said Thursday that it has acquired Elsinore Aerospace Services of Downey.

Terms of the deal, expected to be completed in about a week, were not disclosed.

Elsinore, a regional provider of maintenance, modification and engineering services for corporate, commercial and military aircraft, is the third company acquired by Air/Lyon since it was founded in late 1989.

By adding an estimated $40 million in sales and 800 employees to the company’s books, the acquisition gives Air/Lyon nearly 1,000 employees, facilities in 11 states plus Washington and London, a fleet of 40 charter aircraft ranging from small private planes to large corporate jets, and total estimated 1990 sales of about $75 million.

In an interview when the acquisition of Martin Aviation was announced in February, Banmiller said Air/Lyon intended to become a major player in the aircraft services and charter fields through acquisitions and internal growth.

Martin Aviation, the company’s initial operating business, is a 67-year-old flight services and charter operator founded by the late aviation pioneer Eddie Martin and headquartered at John Wayne Airport.

Earlier this month, Air/Lyon bought International Aircraft Support Inc., a Bay Area firm specializing in jet aircraft engine repair, parts sales and leasing.

Elsinore Aerospace was founded in 1969 as an aircraft washing service but soon expanded into other service fields.

Its three divisions are Elsinore Airframe Services in Waco, Tex., a maintenance and modification center for commercial, corporate and military transport aircraft; Elsinore Aircraft Services, headquartered in Downey with operations in 30 U.S. cities that provide aircraft servicing, baggage and other ground-handling services as well as passenger services such as ticketing and customer relations under contract to various air carriers, and Elsinore Aerospace Systems in Reseda, which provides engineering services to manufacturers and airline operators.

Air/Lyon said it intends to leave Elsinore’s management intact. Banmiller will become chairman and chief executive officer.

Banmiller also is president of Air/Lyon.

Lyon, a retired Air Force major general and chairman and chief executive of the William Lyon Co. in Newport Beach, a major residential builder, is chairman of Air/Lyon. He is an active pilot and, with fellow Newport Beach builder George Argyros, acquired AirCal in 1981. They sold the carrier to American Airlines in 1987 at a profit of more than $10 million.