Airbus Americas added Tom Anderson , recently of Virgin America, as SVP, Airbus North America Customer Services. He will report to Airbus Americas President and CEO Barry Eccleston and succeeds Francois Mourareau, who is retiring after nearly 40 years with Airbus.
For airborne applications requiring high-speed image capture, Vision Research has developed the Miro Airborne. This newest addition to its Phantom Miro line of products is a compact, rugged, high speed digital camera designed for such tasks as stores release or landing gear analysis. The camera is engineered to withstand extreme environments, and its specially designed CMOS sensor has a maximum resolution of 800 by 600.
Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings’ new aerospace putty is designed to give users good spreadability and the right pot life for application to aircraft surfaces, including aluminum and composites. Fill Bond, developed specifically for aerospace applications, should be extremely flexible, and it should provide good direct-to-metal adhesion on properly pretreated aluminum. Sherwin-Williams says it also is designed to retain a degree of flexibility, making it appropriate for aircraft seams that are constantly under stress.
A J Walter Aviation and private Danish airline Jet Time signed a five-year , power-by-the-hour agreement under which A J Walter also will maintain a consignment stock in Copenhagen.
In late September, Alenia Aermacchi test flew the first Italian Air Force (AMI) MB-339CD advanced and Lead-In-Fighter jet trainer upgraded to Batch 2 standards. The aircraft recently completed its company test flights and now is starting official acceptance trials. This is the first of 14 trainers covered by the October 2007 AMI contract signed with Finmeccanica group’s Alenia Aermacchi company.
Britain’s government requested a proposed $1.068 billion acquisition in October of three USAF Boeing KC-135Rs converted into RC-135V/W Rivet Joint electronic warfare aircraft, with L-3 Communications of Greenville, Texas, as prime contractor. This involves installation of three APX-119 IFF systems, three LN-100GT Inertial Reference Units, five JTIDS terminals and 18 ARC-210 Radios with 28 control heads.
STOL Aviation , reissued STC to modify the powerplant installation, fuselage (other than weld assembly), wing flaps and tail wheel installation to conform to Model S-1B2 airplane installation, assembly and component designs, STC SA622AL
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.
