The Safran Group’s Microturbo has 4,000 APUs and Gas Turbine Systems in operation on Dassault Falcon 20s and Rafales, Bombardier CL415s, BAE Hawk 200s and Aermacchi M346s, as well as on NH Industries NH90s and Eurocopter EC725s. A new e-APU for business aircraft and helicopters has been selected for two models and made its first test-bed run on Dec. 31, 2008. Microturbo’s network supports all its APUs and offers cost per hour contracts. The company has seen no decline in APU usage because its APUs mainly serve military aircraft and helicopters.
BEIJING—China’s newly formed military aircraft and missile company, Avic Defense, is emphasizing maintenance as part of a business model that it has expanded far beyond just making original equipment. General Manager Wang Yawei says the company will forge a complete value chain covering the whole life cycle of its products, from weapons system predevelopment to maintenance and support guarantees for equipment that it has sold.
United Airlines selected TIMCO Aviation Services to provide line maintenance at San Jose Airport in California. TIMCO will provide daily operational coverage and overnight servicing, as necessary. It also will provide line maintenance transit checks for Icelandair in Minneapolis, Minn. Joint Ventures/Acquisitions
Qantas cut 500 more management positions in mid-April, to slash costs and streamline the airline. CEO Alan Joyce said a statement that Qantas wants to avoid redundancies but is exploring alternatives to further cuts, such as part time work, various types of leave and other tactics. He said the the group’s diversified business portfolio and financial management have “cushioned” the impact of market conditions on its business. “Taking further action on costs and capacity will ensure we can continue to benefit from these strategies,” Joyce said.
Lufthansa Technik scored two big wins for its photo-luminescent strips for commercial aircraft. It signed a preferred supplier agreement with Airbus on March 31, making Lufthansa Technik’s Guideline ColourFit emergency floor-path guidance system standard on Airbus’ complete line of aircraft. And, C&D Zodiac, one of the main suppliers for Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft, selected LHT to supply the Guideline ColourFit floor-path marking for use in the 100-149 seat aircraft.
The Longbow Limited Liability Co., marked the first successful powered flight of the Radar Electronics Unit (REU) configuration of the Longbow Fire Control Radar (FCR) onboard an AH-64D Apache Block III prototype attack helicopter. The joint venture of Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin’s radar is designed to enable the Apache Longbow to rapidly search, detect, locate, classify, prioritize and engage both moving and stationary targets, while improving power ratios and providing built-in processor expansion growth. Parts/Components
Delta TechOps secured more than $200 million in extended work for Global Aviation Holdings subsidiaries World Airways and North American Airlines. This is the third such service extension with the two airlines, TechOps says. The contracts cover component repair, inventory exchange programs, drop-in A and C check inspections, time and material engine maintenance for World’s Pratt & Whitney PW4000 and GE CF6-80C2 engines, and exclusive provision of repairs for North American’s Honeywell 331-200 APUs.
The Bell Helicopter Training Academy launched its first online course for customer service facilities that maintain Bell 412 products. The 412-CSF field maintenance refresher course, available through Bell’s Learning Management System, allows technicians to complete refresher training requirements and earn full Bell Achievement Ranking System training credits online. IT
In an extensive move toward expanding its long-term engineering operations, Canberra’s Defense Materiel Organization (DMO) awarded a contract on March 11 to Australian Aerospace and subcontractor Lockheed Martin to provide Through-Life Support (TLS) services for the Royal Australian Air Force’s 12 C-130J Hercules transports. DMO Aerospace Division Head, Air Vice-Marshal Colin Thorne, said that the $A292 million ($192.46 million) TLS contract “will provide innovative solutions to C-130J maintenance and reduce future costs of ownership.
For many of its sensors, PCB Piezotronics offers a sealed, watertight, integral cable assembly for protection from liquid ingress. The submersible accelerometers offer an alternative sealing technique that PCB Piezotronics says adds value when used in gearboxes, transmissions, flow tubes and valves, sealed chemical reactors with mixers, and when measuring structural reactions to turbulence.
All airlines with a Benin operating certificate, along with several other carriers, have been added to the European Union’s airline blacklist. The EU says the decision on Benin came after an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization highlighted problems.
Safran plans to start building two plants in Mexico this spring to produce landing gear components and engine parts for its Messier-Dowty and Snecma businesses. The facilities are to be built close to its landing gear repair shop and CFM56 engine overhaul facility in Queretaro, according to Marcelo Lopez, Queretaro’s undersecretary for economic development. The new plants are expected to be ready for production from 2010.
StandardAero appointed Chris Swan VP/general manager of its component services operation in Cincinnati. Swan joins the DAE company from GE Aviation, where he served as regional director, Americas for commercial field service among other roles. Airframes
Bluebird Cargo will operate the first Boeing 737-400 Bedek Special Freighter Configuration aircraft , which it is leasing from General Electric Commercial Aviation Services. Bluebird, based in Iceland, already operates three 737-300BDSF aircraft. The 737-400 is the 39th passenger to freighter conversion performed by IAI, which holds supplemental type certificates from the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the FAA.
I look forward every year to AVIATION WEEK’S MRO Americas and MRO Military conferences in the spring as opportunities to get a sense of the industry’s mood and direction. This year’s event was one of conflicting signals.
Madrid Aerospace Services delivered its first overhauled landing gear , an Airbus A320 gear belonging to Iberia Airlines, in early April. The 50/50 joint venture of ST Aerospace and Iberia Maintenance, formed in February 2008 and approved by the European Commission last June, operates two lines, one for A320s and one for A330/340s, but it plans to expand its capacity to six lines. Located near Madrid Barajas Airport, Madrid Aerospace Services received AESA and EASA approval in December 2008.
