Boeing also received a $1.1 billion U.S. Department of Defense contract for C-17 Globemaster III total systems support under the fiscal year 2009 C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, a performance based logistics program. This includes a previous award of $514 million for the first six months of this fiscal year (October 2008-March 2009), and extends the period through September.
Ansell debuted two new types of cut-resistant gloves in January: the PowerFlex 80-658 and HyFlex 11-435. The PowerFlex gloves feature a three-layer construction of steel, fiberglass and Kevlar for maximum cut resistance, and they have long, knitted cuffs to protect the forearm. These gloves also are 3/4 dipped and liquid repellent to protect wearers from water-based contaminants and EN407 level two rated for safe handling of warm objects.
Air New Zealand subsidiary TAE purchased Tenix Aviation, its second aviation services company in Australia. The deal closed on Dec. 9 and Tenix Aviation will be renamed TAE Aviation. TAE (Tasman Aviation Enterprises), headquartered in South East Queensland, provides commercial and defense aftermarket services from five sites in Australia. New Zealand’s National Business Review said the other recent acquisition was Masling Industries in New South Wales, which provides aircraft engine component maintenance.
Hamilton Sundstrand received a firm fixed price U.S. Air Force contract worth an estimated $6.2 million to repair and overhaul digital electronic engine controls, engine diagnostic units and associated parts for F-15 and F-16 aircraft. As of early January, no money had been obligated. Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., was responsible for the contracting activity.
Convincing the U.S. Air Force that a robot could perform an integral fuel tank inspection on its B-52 bombers as well or better than a person was a tall order for Ohio-based research and development firm Batelle. “We presented this program to the Air Force back in 2002, and I gave the original presentation to some folks at Tinker Air Force Base,” said Tim Lastrapes, associate manager for the firm’s equipment development group.
Singapore’s SilkAir picked Panasonic Avionics’ Multiplexed Passenger Entertainment system for installation on 12 Airbus A319/A320s. A regional subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, SilkAir began the conversion work in August at SIA Engineering Co., but word of the contract was not revealed until Jan. 6. The contract includes nine options. The SilkAir fleet includes nine Airbus A320s and six A319s.
Spairliners began component support work for Qantas’ A380s under a new, 10-year technical services agreement. The joint venture of Lufthansa Technik and Air France Industries will repair and replace about 750 components from its warehouse under the deal, which covers all 20 of the aircraft Qantas has ordered. The agreement comes a year before Air France or Lufthansa are slated to receive their first A380s; including these future deliveries, Spairliners will provide component support for 47 total A380 aircraft.
AAR Corp. added Dave Cann as VP, regulatory compliance. Cann, who retired as manager of the FAA Flight Standards Service, Aircraft Maintenance Division, in January 2008, now is in charge of quality and regulatory compliance efforts for AAR’s repair station business under senior quality officer Mickey Cohen. On the safety and environmental side, Rayner Hutchinson continues as VP, quality and safety, also reporting to Cohen.
Messier Services U.K. (Safran Group) and EADS are providing landing gear overhaul services for the RAF’s Tornado combat aircraft fleet, via BAE Systems as prime contractor. This 8.5-year contract covers 134 Tornados.
Airline chiefs are looking at ways to extend the term of voluntary Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP) to encourage more carriers to get involved and make the programs less vulnerable to lapsing. The Air Transport Association’s Safety Council in January discussed the possibility of lengthening the renewal period after certain ASAP programs were put on hold at three of the nation’s largest carriers.
Click Commerce and Miro Technologies formed a strategic alliance to complete and market an aftermarket maintenance and logistics software solution with performance based logistics (PBL) specific functionalities, called the ePBL (extended PBL) portal.
Two sizes of parts washers from Oil Eater are designed to produce little waste and require little maintenance. The larger work station is equipped with a 45-gallon water-based parts washer, measures 24 -by-32-by-9 in., and comes with three five-gallon pails of Oil Eater cleaner-degreaser. The smaller unit comes in a 25-gallon size, measures 19-by-29-by-15 in., and comes with two five-gallon pails of solution.
StandardAero will provide PW100 and PT6 engine MRO services to France’s Direction de la Defence et de la Securite Civile fleet of 12 CL415 water bombers, nine S2F Trackers, three Beechcraft King Air 200s and two Dash 4-402MR aircraft as part of a maintenance package that also includes site management and logistics and line maintenance.
IFS enhanced its IFS Applications maintenance suite with a constraint-based scheduling tool for work orders designed to allow users to see how project changes affect return to service dates for improved turnaround times. IFS says the tool also can help lean programs by identifying bottlenecks and maximizing throughput.
United Airlines named Mark Mounsey VP of base maintenance for United Services in San Francisco. Mounsey joins United after a 20-year career at Pratt & Whitney. He will report to Jim Keenan, SVP maintenance. Mounsey succeeds Tracy Elving, who, according to a United spokesperson, left the company a few months ago. Airframes
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in December issued a checklist for Safety Management System assessments. The CAAS SMS Assessment Checklist, available to download at http://www.caas.gov.sg/ caasWeb/export/sites/caas/en/Regulations_And_Guidelines/Guidelines_and_Manuals/AFO/Reference_Materials/download/aw127.pdf, measures SMS effectiveness.
AgustaWestland appointed Air Works its service center in India . Air Works offers MRO for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. It also provides MRO services for Honeywell engines—TFE 731 and CFE 738 series—and APUs, as per an October 2008 agreement with the OEM. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved Air Works last November for independent airline MRO at its commercial operations center in Hosur, near Bangalore.
AirCell Business Aviation Services, reissued STCs to install satellite communications equipment on Dassault Falcon 2000, Falcon 20, Fan Jet Falcon and Bombardier BD-700-1A10 aircraft, Several STCs
Atlantic Fasteners won a pair of two-year contracts from Lockheed Martin together worth nearly $1 million. The West Springfield, Mass.-based manufacturer will provide Lockheed Martin’s U.S. business units with hundreds of fastener varieties through December 2010.
Health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) have made a major contribution to helicopter safety by keeping a watchful eye on engines, gearboxes and rotors. Now GE Aviation Systems is adding the capability to monitor airframe corrosion under a two-year, $2 million research contract from the U.S. Armys Aviation Applied Technology Directorate.
