Washington Contractor Conundrum Everything old is new again, though sometimes going back to the future requires a mandate. The FAA is hard at work on a rule aimed at making contract maintenance easier to perform and oversee. At the draft rule's core are two requirements—that airlines keep lists of all their third-party maintenance providers, and that the providers follow instructions provided to them by the carrier—including everything that has been on the books for four-plus decades.
Forty-three years after entering revenue service, the Pratt & Whitney JT9D series continues to power a cross section of operators sprinkled around the globe. While still diverse, the cross section is much thinner than in years past, however, with many operators flying just a handful of engines. It's a sign of the steady and inevitable decline facing the venerable series.
1. Aeria Luxury Interiors MRO: ST Aerospace Locations: Singapore and San Antonio Capabilities: ST Aerospace launched Aeria Luxury Interiors in 2012 to offer total support packages for airline interior completion and refurbishment projects. The MRO also offers this for VIP completions. DRB Aviation Consultants, a design specialist in San Antonio that holds an Organization Designation Authorization, supports ST Aero.
A Lufthansa Technik employee has created a muffler that cuts the noise that avionics ventilation can cause in a hangar. The device, dubbed Silencer, is now being produced by maintenance equipment specialist Franke Care System for widebody and soon narrowbody aircraft. Employee Gunther Adamczyk was rewarded under Lufthansa Technik's “Impulse” internal premium scheme.
Wedged between customer demands for tighter turn times and competition from original equipment manufacturers, independent avionics and component shops are being squeezed to perform as never before.
Washington An FAA About-Face FAA, flooded by a wave of industry opposition that started with a tremor of protest, has agreed to drop a recently minted interpretation of its rule on what constitutes adequate rest for airline mechanics, thus reverting to a more flexible, widely accepted standard.
Airlines can perform predictive maintenance much more effectively because new aircraft yield more data, and the tools for exploiting it have improved dramatically. Yet ways of thinking and business processes also must change, which often is more difficult than tapping sensors.
Asia, the Middle East and North America are emerging as the most attractive likely markets during the next three years for Boeing 777 widebody heavy maintenance visits and C checks, underscoring the potential for a capacity crunch heading the industry's way.
Think “brake container” and safety might not be one's first consideration. Perhaps it should be. Extricating aircraft brakes from traditional containers entails lots of tugging and plenty of manhandling. That's because “the brake lies horizontally,” says Ron Miller. He chairs the Joint Air Transport Safety Committee at the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers. He estimates, depending on the aircraft, those brakes weigh 100-400 lb.
