At the beginning of the new year the Nigerian federal government will ban aircraft operating without an emergency locator transmitter, or ELT, according to the Aviation Safety Network. Nigeria also won’t allow aircraft to be registered or to receive an air operator certificate without the device installed. Nigeria’s CAA announced the decision at a meeting to review a search and rescue operation that involved a Hawker Beechcraft 1900 that disappeared in March over Obudu in Cross River State, ASN said.
When planning began for a new 46,200-sq.-meter MRO facility at the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul, myTECHNIC’s board of directors determined that Lean principles would guide the project. “Lean is often applied retroactively to a facility as a method for change,” said Remzi Saltoglu, myTECHNIC’s director of continuous improvement. “But one of our investors had read an article about Lean initiatives, and we decided to infuse Lean into every aspect of the design and layout of the facility.”
Ametek acquired U.K.-based Muirhead Aerospace, the maker of motion technology parts and avionics MRO provider. The Esterline Technologies Corp. subsidiary is to join Ametek’s Aerospace and Defense division.
Pratt & Whitney Engine Services , issued STCs to install Pratt & Whitney Engine Services hybrid aircraft data acquisition systems and data transmission units on Cessna 560 and 560XL and Raytheon 400A aircraft, STCs ST00279BO, ST00278BO, ST00277BO and ST00276BO
Sabreliner Corp. named Jay Hoffer senior director of its Perryville, Mo., MRO facility, and it named Craig Anderson senior director of quality and product integrity for its Southeast Missouri operations. Hoffer most recently was president of BiltBest Products in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. He and Anderson both will report directly to the VP of operations for Sabreliner’s Southeast Missouri region.
BorescopesRus offers both portable and tool cart-mounted borescopes, recently picked by Premier Turbines and Dallas Airmotive for inspection operations. Both models are designed to be easy to use and compact with cost-saving features. The portable model is equipped with a handheld display and a shoulder carried, battery powered light source. It also features VPU built-in recording capability and should be suitable for inspections far away from light sources or in difficult to access situations.
As 2008 comes to a close, the overhaul and maintenance community will be left with many familiar issues—drug and alcohol testing, looming security proposals, potential foreign repair station restrictions and continued calls for less contract maintenance. These issues, believes Aeronautical Repair Station Association Executive Director Sarah MacLeod, will come “roaring back” in the new year. But they will return against a backdrop of transition.
A series of small motoring dynamometers from SAKOR Technologies designed for low-power applications is available in sizes from 100 watts to five kilowatts. The MicroDyne series is designed to be a fully functional, four-quadrant dynamometer for testing small rotary devices such as motors, pumps, generators and compressors. For higher power output devices, SAKOR offers the AccuDyne range of dynamometers. SAKOR Technologies, 2855 W. Jolly Rd., Okemos, MI 48864 Reader Service #507
AAR Corp. elected Donald J. Wetekam an officer of the company. Wetekam is group VP of AAR’s maintenance, repair and overhaul segment and oversees its domestics and international MRO business.
An all-composite acoustic liner for engine intakes developed by GKN Aerospace reduces by three to four dB the noise level produced by traditional two-piece engine intake designs. The design incorporates cylinders of material embedded in the liner material, which act like organ pipes, GKN says. These are tuned to respond to audible sound frequencies; they cause pressure waves in the intake to bounce around and cancel out vibrations.
National origin: U.S. Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Co. Designer: Ed Heinemann Created: 1953 Introduced: 1956 Retired: 2003 Number built: Nearly 3,000; including the TA-4 two-seat trainer Weights: Empty: 9,853 lb.; Gross: 24,500 lb. Variants: Over 20 versions delivered to the U.S. military and to the air forces of Israel and ArgentinaSource: Naval Aviation Museum Foundation
Flight Display Systems named Joe Little VP, research and development, to oversee the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company’s development of inflight entertainment solutions for business and commercial aircraft.
Gulfstream Aerospace won a firm fixed price contract modification for around $10 million to provide continued fleet maintenance support for nine Gulfstream aircraft owned by the Egyptian government.◗
Lufthansa Technik will maintain components for National Air Services’ fleet of 40 aircraft, comprising narrowbody-based VIP and executive aircraft, as well as the Airbus A320 and Embraer 190/195 family aircraft operated by low-cost subsidiary nasair, under an agreement announced at MEBA in November. The deal launches LHT’s support program for Embraer 190/195 aircraft.
Sid Snedeker stood on the tarmac that early morning, looking at the refurbished Douglas A-4L Skyhawk. With a fresh coat of light gray paint, the restored aircraft looked better than the ones he flew for three tours during the Vietnam War. Whatever trepidation he felt about test flying an aircraft that had been gathering dust in the Arizona desert for 36 years vanished after he strapped himself in.
Duncan Aviation added Scott Mehlhose to its Battle Creek, Mich., engine service sales team, where he will work in Pratt & Whitney, GE CF34 and Honeywell APU products. Mehlhose previously was engine lead technician for P&W engines.
SINGAPORE—“We are moving into a new MRO paradigm where doing more of the same is no longer enough,” said William Tan, president and CEO of SIA Engineering Co. Operators mandating integrated service packages and OEMs expanding their MRO services have broadened the expanse of aftermarket contracts, which often means fewer suppliers providing more. However, these packages require stronger relationships and alliances, said Tan. Combining strengths and growing synergies across the supply chain will be an integral part of MRO in the future, he believes.
Honeywell inked a comprehensive MRO deal with Kunpeng Airlines worth $21 million, covering 10 years of aftermarket maintenance services for 65 parts on its Embraer ERJ-190 fleet. These parts include mechanical components, avionics and lighting equipment. Military
Lufthansa Technik and Norwegian Air Shuttle signed an overhaul agreement covering the more than 100 CFM56-7Bs that power the airline’s current and future fleet of Boeing 737-800s, plus seven spare engines. The 15-year deal is LHT’s largest ever engine service assignment in Scandinavia, and represents the first major order for the MRO’s new engine overhaul facility currently under construction in Hamburg.
There is a shortage of technical personnel in the aerospace industry, and MRO providers are affected. Several reasons have been cited, such as low wages, little emphasis on math and science at school, loss of glamour of the sector, lack of role models—very few engineers as movie heroes. But while all of the above is true, the core question is whether the industry is doing all it can to attract, train and retain the young. I shall focus on the first aspect, and my answer is “no.”
