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.
Limco Airepair of Tulsa will not be relocating its operations to North Carolina after all. The company, a subsidiary of TAT Technologies of Gedera, Israel, was scheduled to move to the site of Piedmont Aviation Component Services of Kernersville, another TAT subsidiary. Officials at the Israeli company say that a number of Limco’s major customers asked them to reconsider the move. Another factor was unanticipated expenses that would have “significantly diminished” the savings that were expected to result from the move.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Jet Aviation added maintenance services at its Seletar Airport and Moscow Vnukovo International Airport facilities. Jet Aviation Singapore added services for Bombardier Challenger 601/604/605 and Cessna 560XL aircraft under its EASA 145 maintenance approval. The company also plans to add to its line maintenance capabilities in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur. Jet Aviation Vnukovo now offers 24/7 line maintenance services and AOG support, and it expanded its AOG services to Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and other Russian airports.
AMC/Aircraft Manufacturing Co. to build and install an oil tank filler cap assembly in various MD Helicopter 369, 500N and 600N helicopters, STC SR01996SE
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.
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 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.
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
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.
