Parts Manufacturer Approval Specialists Expand Offerings As Demand Grows

1. Heavy Maintenance Parts

Company: ATS

Product: ATS has developed more than 350 FAA-approved parts manufacturer approval (PMA) parts across 22 ATA chapters since it launched this capability in 2015. The company specializes in developing PMA parts consumed during airframe heavy maintenance and primarily manufactures structural parts, such as closeout skin and door assemblies, intercostals, rubstrips, seat tracks and tee frames. ATS’ high-demand PMA parts fall under ATA chapters for equipment/furnishings, flight controls, fuselage, wings and powerplants, and the company says it is an industry leader in Boeing 737 MAX-effective PMA. ATS is shifting some of its PMA development capacity to include additional aircraft types and component piece parts.

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2. Landing Gear Focus

Company: Av8 Group

Product: A subsidiary of Victor Sierra Aviation (which TransDigm Group acquired in April), Av8 Group has been designing and manufacturing PMA parts for 15 years. The company focuses on the business jet and regional market, specializing in landing gear parts for Hawker 125 Series and Embraer Phenom 100s and 300s and ERJ145s. Av8 says its PMA manufacturing capability is closely integrated with its landing gear overhaul and specialty repair operations, enabling it to implement PMA parts while ensuring compatibility with repaired or overhauled components. The company now has more than 700 PMA approvals, and its material is distributed exclusively through fellow Victor Sierra subsidiary McFarlane Aviation.

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3. Independent Engine Offerings

Company: Chromalloy

Product: Chromalloy has been developing PMA parts for more than 20 years. Since obtaining its first FAA PMA approval for Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3A engine compressor vane stators in 1998, the company has obtained more than 400 FAA PMA approvals across a variety of engine platforms. Its current PMA portfolio includes high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades, vanes and shrouds; low-pressure turbine vanes; and high-pressure compressor blades. Chromalloy also manufactures several parts for aeroderivative engine applications that do not require FAA approval. The company recently released several new turbine and compressor parts for the CFM International CFM56 and International Aero Engines V2500. In late September, it also announced FAA certification of a new PMA HPT Stage 1 blade for the V2500 Select engine, developed in partnership with Lufthansa Technik.

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4. PMA Pioneer

Company: 

Product: HEICO achieved its first PMA approval in 1972, and it now holds more than 20,000—the most in the MRO industry, it says. The company offers PMA parts for all parts of aircraft, components and engines. HEICO designs, manufactures and distributes PMA parts from 10 locations across the U.S., including its headquarters in Hollywood, Florida. HEICO says its PMA parts can save customers more than $1 billion annually, adding that savings can grow to more than 50% in a decade if customers agree to purchase a “significant volume of parts” (MRO 60). HEICO notes that many of its PMA approvals were initially developed via customer suggestions, with many instances driven by OEM part shortages.

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5. New Approvals

Company: Jet Parts Engineering

Product: Founded in 1994, Jet Parts Engineering (JPE) is a specialist in PMA parts, designated engineering representative repairs and MRO services. The company is headquartered in Seattle and has subsidiaries and sales offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia. JPE has more than 1,400 FAA-certified PMA parts in its catalog, covering what it says is a full range of ATA chapters, including avionics, electrical, fuel, hydraulics, pneumatics and oil. Since the beginning of this year, JPE has announced FAA approval of about 70 new PMA parts for a wide variety of commercial aircraft and engines. JPE was acquired by TransDigm Group in April.

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