FAA is weighing costs, data requirements, training needs and a number of other factors as the agency prepares for a comprehensive rulemaking that would require all aviation certificate holders, product manufacturers and applicants and employers to develop a Safety Management System (SMS).
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command awarded Bobby Stroud, production director at the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, the Department of Navy Superior Civilian Service Award “for outstanding technical and managerial contributions,” including the “pay-for-performance system that [he] devised and implemented [that] drove cost-conscious behavior” that saved at least $5 million. Stroud also emphasized workforce development that “institutionalized a culture of continuous improvement and problem solving.”
LED Pen Lights Streamlight’s FiberWrap fiberglass polymer pen lights come in four high-intensity LED colors. The red, green, white and blue PolyStylus pen lights feature a 5-mm LED designed for shock-resistance and a 100-hour lifetime. Customers can buy the pen lights separately or pick a PolyStylus combo pack that comes with a white LED module and interchangeable red, green and blue modules.
MTU Aero Engines and GE Aviation signed a 10-year agreement to jointly develop component repairs, with the initial focus on repairs for the hot section components in GE CF34 engines. MTU said the first repairs should be available in early 2010. This is the first agreement of this type that MTU has signed with an OEM. Repair development is not restricted to GE engines.
Delta TechOps signed a memorandum of understanding with Hawaiian Airlines to provide maintenance support for Hawaiian’s new Airbus A330-200 fleet, in a deal Delta is valuing at as much as $500 million. The deal also includes the extension of an existing support agreement for Hawaiian’s Boeing 767 fleet.
Audio International reissued STC to install the Hollingsead International Sentry One cockpit entry door surveillance camera system on various Boeing 747 series aircraft, STC ST01472LA-D
Flight Display Systems gained FAA parts manufacturer approval for three cabin entertainment products: the VGA distribution amplifier (DAPS350), a universal remote control (FDREMOTE-M), and a 7-in. widescreen LCD and mount (FD70ARM 28V).
BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul appointed Mark Taylor general manager of ERO Component Repair and Accessories. Taylor has worked for ERO’s H+S Aviation in Portsmouth, England for more than 19 years, including six years overseeing H+S Aviations component repair program. In addition to Portsmouth’s repair program, all U.S.-based component repair activity of Dallas Airmotive and Premier Turbines will report through Taylor.
Lycoming Engines selected Yingling Aviation as a new authorized service center approved to sell, install and provide regular and warranty services on Lycoming’s complete line of reciprocating engines, including the IE2, which features electronic controls, and the IO-233 LSA, designed specifically for light sport aircraft applications.
Hawker Beechcraft Services factory-owned service centers offer the Beechcraft King Air 90x upgrade for King Air C90 and E90 owners, a two-part upgrade that provides a gross weight increase and composite winglets. The gross weight increase supplemental type certificate, developed by Centex Aerospace, applies to King Air C90 and E90 models with standard engines or Pratt and Whitney PT6A-135A engines. It approves increasing the King Air C90 and C90A (LJ-577 to serial number LJ-1137) payload 835 lb.
O&M European Editor Bill Burchell’s emerging technologies cover story highlights several innovative developments in the MRO industry and forecasts how such solutions will impact the aftermarket. For instance, Bill reports that prognostic maintenance systems could slice “no fault found” events by 50-80%. “The use of neural networks in software design enables systems to ‘learn’ from the data they process,” says Honeywell’s Kristen Law. Research underway could enable remote monitoring of aircraft structural health.
Cirrus Parts by API launched on July 27. API now provides Cirrus customer service centers and owner/operators with supply chain, logistics and spare parts services per a new, exclusive, multi-year services agreement. The contract’s terms provide API support for Cirrus’ 213 authorized services centers and 5,000 in-service aircraft. The arrangement also covers support for the in-development Cirrus Vision SJ50 (formerly known as The-jet), currently expected to enter service in 2012.
The U.S. Trade Development Agency (USTDA) and Bell Helicopter Textron are cooperating with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to support the growth of the Indian helicopter market. A USTDA grant for $501,849 for “rotorcraft rulemaking, capacity assessment, airspace classification and airspace design” was to be signed under the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program with the DGCA before Aug. 15.
EASA published its Annual Safety Review for the year 2008. The number of fatal accidents involving aircraft registered in Member States of EASA* and performing commercial air transport operations remained at the level of 2007 (three). This number is one of the lowest in the decade and well below the average of six fatal accidents per year. In 2008, 5.5% of all fatal accidents in commercial air transport worldwide occurred with airplanes registered in an EASA Member State.
Elbit Systems subsidiary, Elbit Systems Electro-optics El-Op Ltd. will supply the Israeli Ministry of Transportation with $76 million worth of its commercial multi-spectral infrared countermeasure (C-MUSIC) system, for installation aboard a variety of aircraft owned by Israeli commercial airlines. The system will installed aboard a variety of commercial aircraft owned by Israeli commercial airlines. C-MUSIC is based on Elbit’s MUSIC system for military aircraft, which disrupts missiles fired at aircraft and causes them to veer off course by transmitting a laser beam.
Nov. 4–5 ➤ AVIATION WEEK: Lean Six Sigma for MRO, Atlanta, Ga., Registration Info: Anita Joyce Wright, 800-240-7645 in the U.S. or +1 212-904-6344; fax +1 212-904-3334
Fire-Safe Storage Buildings Safety Storage’s FireShield buildings are designed for installation near or within existing facilities to store potentially hazardous chemicals and other materials safely. The pre-fabricated, code-compliant buildings meet varied size, access and storage requirements: Safety Storage offers UL-approved two-hour bi-directional fire-rated (FR) model and two-hour bi-directional fire-resistance enhancement (FRE) model buildings, as well as four-hour bi-directional FR model and four-hour bi-directional FRE model buildings.
Gulfstream Aerospace to install Universal radio control units, flight management systems, synthetic vision system and UniLink on Gulfstream G-1159, 1159A and/or G1159B aircraft, STCs ST10757SC-D, ST10754SC-D, ST10753SC-D and ST10752SC-D
In an unusual move, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in late June that it planned to issue an airworthiness directive requiring A330/A340 operators to fly with at least two of three pitot tubes built by Goodrich. EASA released the airworthiness directive on Aug. 10.
