The aircraft brake market—like much of the rest of the industry—is changing rapidly. New materials and new technologies are allowing operators to gain improved useful lives out of lighter-weight products without sacrificing performance. Here are a few companies that are keeping the aircraft brake world moving forward. 1. Coast to Coast Supplier: Heico

On the sidelines of the Aviation Suppliers Association's (ASA) annual conference in Las Vegas this month, a few parts distributor executives told me that they have been receiving partnership, joint venture and/or acquisition offers in the last several months.

Available capital and broader services driving aftermarket parts consolidation.

Europe's commercial operators and airports are becoming safer

Setting up a component repair facility halfway around the world is no small undertaking, but SR Technics is on track to open its new repair facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December. The new shop will complement the company's existing repair network with locations in Switzerland, Spain and Abu Dhabi, as well as support the growth of its Integrated Component Services (ICS) business.

What started in the cockpit and on the hangar floor is now touching the tarmac, making its presence felt in line maintenance and ground operations. The migration of mobile information technology is something short of a torrent, but “I think it's going to accelerate very quickly,” says Freelon Hunter, Boeing's director of fleet and maintenance solutions for Commercial Aviation Services.

Human factors principles are being applied unevenly in aviation maintenance due, in part, to uncertainties about the field. “Not everyone understands human factors,” says Simon Roberts, chairman of the European Human Factors Advisory Group and a 15-year veteran of the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority. “Some academics give the impression that you need to understand psychology and the science of the mind to get it, but I argue it is just people being people. Human factors is just what we do on a daily basis.”

The European Aviation Safety Agency is ordering swaps of high-cycle trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators (THSAs) on Airbus A330s and older A340s after tests on a similar design fitted on A380s showed less-than-expected life limits. Airbus says the problem is in the THSA’s no-back brake, which helps prevent uncommanded movements if the actuator malfunctions.