This month’s Paris Air Show is shaping up as an indicator of the aerospace industry’s health and confidence. As I mentioned in this space last month, I got conflicting signals from AVIATION WEEK’s MRO Americas Conference in April. The conference discussions sounded pretty gloomy, but the mood on the exhibit floor felt upbeat. Of course, Paris draws a much broader swath of the industry, so it should paint a more telling picture of the aerospace business as whole. I’ll be interested to hear about the mood and the chatter in the exhibit halls and on the chalet line.
CAE received FAA Inspection Authorization approval for six of its e-Learning maintenance training courses, which cover Boeing 737NG engine ground operations, advanced digital principles, human factors, maintenance diagnostic systems and reduced vertical separation minimums. It signed a technical training agreement with Canada’s Jazz Air, under which Jazz maintenance training programs will be licensed to CAE.
Rhinestahl Corp. inked a deal with GE to become its authorized provider of aircraft and gas turbine engine customer tooling solutions. Rhinestahl has acquired GE Aviation’s Customer Tooling Solutions business and now is the OEM’s preferred tooling provider.
Mubadala Development Co. acquired a controlling share of SR Technics on April 21, buying out Istithmar’s 30% share, for total ownership of 70%. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise continues to hold a 30% share in the company. Facilities
StandardAero named Jack Lawless president of Associated Air Center in Dallas. Lawless will take on the new role alongside his current position as StandardAero’s COO. Airframes
Lufthansa Technik’s ‘nice’ inflight entertainment and cabin management system became available for retrofit to Bombardier Global and Challenger business jets. The retrofit is part of a package offered by Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services during D check inspections; it includes cabin refurbishment and complete repainting of the aircraft. Parts/Components
Pratt & Whitney Canada Customer Service Center Europe appointed Aero-Dienst of Nuremberg, Germany, and Altenrhein Aviation at St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport in Switzerland, recognized maintenance facilities for PT6A, JT15D and PW300 series engines.
Dallas Airmotive signed a five-year engine service agreement with Avantair to repair, maintain, overhaul and provide field service on PT6A-66 engines that power the operator’s Piaggio Avanti turboprop aircraft. Dallas Airmotive has been a PT6 OEM-authorized distributor and designated overhaul facility since 1967.
Bell Helicopter won a $288 million production contract for Lot 6 of the H-1 Upgrade Program. This includes five AH-1Zs and 11 UH-1Ys being assembled at Bell’s Military Aircraft Assembly Center in Amarillo, Texas, for deliveries from 2011. Bell now is contracted to produce 65 upgraded H-1 helicopters for the Marines, comprising 17 AH-1Z attack and 48 UH-1Y utility aircraft. So far, the company has delivered 23 upgraded H-1 helicopters, comprising six AH-1Zs and 17 UH-1Ys.
Vietnam Airlines will receive engine MRO and management support from SR Technics and Pratt & Whitney under new contracts announced in April. SR Technics will provide MRO services for the Hanoi-based carrier in Zurich. The three-year contract covers 23 CFM56-5B engines and is an extension of an agreement signed in 2006. Engine monitoring services for Vietnam’s 58 PW4000 and IAE V2500 engines will be provided by Pratt & Whitney under a five-year engine management contract.
Imperium signed an agreement with Air Dynamics that allows Air Dynamics to resell Imperium’s Acoustocam to its growing base of U.S., U.K. and Canadian customers for inspection and maintenance purposes.
MORE Co., reissued STCs for Instructions for Continued Airworthiness for various Pratt & Whitney PT6A engine models that define specific maintenance tasks and their associated maintenance schedules, used as a supplement to the applicable Pratt & Whitney Canada manuals, STCs SE00011EN, SE00010EN, SE00006EN, SE00004EN, SE00003EN and SE00002EN
Two new models of replacement reading lamps for several Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier aircraft should last four times as long as current equipment, according to Welch Allyn Lighting Products.
ONE sky Aviation, amended STC to install a fixed mounted Forward.Vision Model 100 enhanced vision system to include an under-wing conformal fairing with sensor, a Detached Electrical Box and a glareshield mounted dedicated display monitor on Cirrus SR20 and SR22 model aircraft, STC SA02329AK
Vietnam Airlines will receive engine MRO and management support from SR Technics and Pratt & Whitney under new contracts announced in April. SR Technics will provide MRO services for the Hanoi-based carrier in Zurich. The three-year contract covers 23 CFM56-5B engines and is an extension of an agreement signed in 2006. Engine monitoring services for Vietnam’s 58 PW4000 and IAE V2500 engines will be provided by Pratt & Whitney under a five-year engine management contract. Avionics/IFE
Bombardier opened a new, $4.3 million Dallas component MRO center for commercial aircraft, southwest of Love Field Airport. The facility mainly will repair and overhaul structural components for nacelles, but it also will offer support capabilities for Rolls-Royce RB211 E4 and IAE V2500 engine types.
American and Polish crews delivered the first of five refurbished and upgraded Lockheed C-130E military transports plus spares on March 24, to the Polish air force (SPRP) at Powidz Air Base, for service with its 14th Airlift Squadron. Maj. Gen. William A. Chambers, director of air and space operations for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, lauded Poland for its support of American and allied forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Poland’s Brig. Gen.
Kelly Aerospace Energy Systems, reissued STC to install the JanAero Devices Division Cycle air conditioning system on various Cessna 310 model aircraft, STC SA775CE
A new digital valve controller is available from Tridak. The model 345 unit can be used to control any pneumatically operated dispensing valve, including both single and double acting pneumatically operated valves. Its manufacturer suggests it is well-suited for actuating valves in high-volume production settings; the model 345 unit has a 0.001 to 10 second cycle time range, settable in 0.0001 second increments.
