The newest applications for tracking and managing both line and base maintenance can cut costs and boost efficiency. But replacing or modifying old applications, especially legacy systems at major carriers, can be a long and expensive process. That does not fit well with the current financial predicament of most carriers.
Most maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations serving the aerospace market today feel increasing pressure to boost profit margins and reduce operating costs. In the past, whenever the MRO industry prospered, the airline industry was flying older fleets that required extensive and more expensive maintenance. But the recent credit crunch has triggered a paradigm shift of sorts. Aircraft manufacturers are pitching and winning maintenance work that MROs once performed.
Air France Industries and KLM Engineering and Maintenance have formed a joint venture with Aircelle, part of the Safran Group, to repair and overhaul nacelles in the Middle East. The 50/50 partnership, which will be based at Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, combines Air France’s and KLM’s experience in MRO services with Aircelle’s position as a major OEM of small, medium and large engine nacelles.
Goodrich Corp.’s Aerostructures business opened a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility at Tianjin Airport Industrial Park for MRO activities and to support original equipment manufacturing of nacelles and thrust reversers. The plant is, however, only a steppingstone to a larger facility that is scheduled to open in 2010—a 170,000-sq.-ft. site in Tianjin that will be across from the final assembly line for the Airbus A320 aircraft.
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.
Ametek Aerospace & Defense selected Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd T/A Australian Avionics in Cairns, Australia, as an authorized service center for its Measurement & Power Systems products.
In 2005, Rimsky Buitrago, CEO of Coopesa, realized that his business model was changing. To remain competitive, Coopesa’s supply chain processes inside and outside the hangar would have to change as well. Based at the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica, Coopesa is a mid-size MRO specializing in Boeing narrowbody airframe maintenance. The facility can service up to seven aircraft at once.
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.
The U.S. military is known for its odd, sometimes inexplicable acronyms. But the Air Force’s F2AST program, which stands for Future Flexible and Sustainment Tool, seems to hit the nail on the head.
Flightstar Aircraft Services inked a contract with Precision Conversions to convert a Boeing 757-200 from passenger to freighter configuration for a Chinese carrier, to be completed by November. Engines
Egyptair is becoming one of the biggest training providers in Africa and the Middle East as it opens the fourth and final phase of its training complex in Cairo. This phase adds 44 classrooms and two additional simulator bays, for a total of 92 classrooms and eight simulator bays. IT
Nov. 30–3 ➤ National Training & Simulation Assn.: Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference; Orlando, Fla. Contact: Barbara McDaniel, director of conferences and programs, +1 703-247-2569 or [email protected]. Web: iitsec.org/index.cfmOM
U.S. Navy nominated Capt. Timothy Matthews to the rank of rear admiral and he will report from commanding officer of the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Fla., to commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, as well as assistant commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations at Patuxent River, Md. Capt. Paul Sohl assumed command of the FRCSE, and Capt. Rob Caldwell became the executive officer position. Capt.
The Air Force isn’t the only service in the fast lane. The Army has its third-generation Rapid Response Command and Control project (RT23G), a fee-for-service program after which the FAST program was modeled. The Army’s streamlined acquisition process is a multiple–award IDIQ vehicle created to provide critical equipment and support services to government systems and equipment worldwide.
Extended-life Reading Lamps Welch Allyn reading lamps for Boeing, Airbus and ATR aircraft now feature longer lifetimes, which translates into less maintenance. It increased the lifetime ratings for three models of its halogen lamps to up to 10,000 hours, around 20% more than previous generation models. New lifetime ratings and extended warranty offers apply to lamps produced since June. Lamps 998502-4 and 998502-8, original equipment on Boeing 777 and 747-400 aircraft now feature a lifetime rating of 10,000 hours.
Component Control upgraded its Internet-based parts database StockMarket to include more than 80 million records of U.S. government procurement data, including Master Cross Reference List, characteristics and CAGE Code, following the integration of Resource Data Services’ AvRef National Stock Number database with StockMarket.
The Air Force’s Warner Robins Air Logistics Center on July 23, 2008, selected 12 companies to compete for a maximum $6.9 billion under the 10-year F2AST acquisition program.
Bombardier received approval for adjustments to line maintenance intervals for CRJ700/705/900 NextGen and Q400 aircraft from Transport Canada, the U.S. FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Bombardier obtained approval to adjust the CRJ700/705/900 NextGen aircraft’s line maintenance check intervals from 400 to 600 flight hours; information is being distributed to operators in Revision 9 of the maintenance requirements manual.
