O&M: How would you describe Vector today? O’Shea: We have three bases in Canada. In Vancouver, the Richmond facility handles helicopter engines and dynamic components, and Langley does airframes and avionics. On Prince Edward Island we have Atlantic Turbines, a Pratt & Whitney shop for fixed-wing engines, which now has been rebranded to Vector Aerospace Engine Services Atlantic. That said, we always wanted strategic opportunities to grow outside Canada and the U.S., so Europe was the obvious option.
Goodrich received an FAA supplemental type certificate for a lightweight, one-piece fan cowl design for IAE V2500-A5 engine nacelles, which will be provided via Goodrich Aerostructures’ Foley, Ala., service center as part of its Prime Solutions aftermarket support program.
Aerospace Products International inked a deal with the MidEast Aviation Academy in Amman, Jordan, under which it will provide all spare parts forecasting, procurement, and delivery services as well as management services via its proprietary Electronic Supply Program (ESP). The contract is for five years.
Airline and union representatives are protesting a new Department of Transportation rule that requires “intrusive,” direct observation methods for testing of certain employees for drugs and alcohol. DOT released the new rule June 25, to cut down on the potential for cheating on drug tests.
STOL Aviation , reissued STC to modify the powerplant installation, fuselage (other than weld assembly), wing flaps and tail wheel installation to conform to the designs of the corresponding installations, assemblies and components of the Model S-1B2 airplane (Army L-6 XL-6), STC SA622AL
Duncan Aviation was named the first Raisbeck Propeller Service Center, which allows its Lincoln, Neb., modification center to service all Raisbeck Quiet Turbofan Propellers, part of the EPIC Performance Packages.
Pratt & Whitney named Todd Kallman president of its newly formed Commercial Engines & Global Services organization, which encompasses former Commercial Engines, Global Service Partners and Global Material Solutions. Kallman has headed P&W’s commercial engines business since 2006. Matthew Bromberg, former VP and GM of Global Material Solutions, now is VP, product line management for Commercial Engines.
Duncan Aviation will install the Honeywell NZ-2000 FMS 6.1 WAAS with LPV upgrade in Dassault Falcon 900B. The upgrade includes hardware modifications and a software upgrades. Duncan expects to receive an STC by the end of this year.
Airbus issued guidelines to A330 and A340 operators to prevent a recurrence of a flight control systems anomaly that investigators believe is linked to the Oct. 7 uncommanded pitch-down event onboard a Qantas A330-300. The Australian Transport Safety Board’s (ATSB) preliminary findings, released Oct. 14, indicate that the “abnormal behavior” in one of the aircraft’s three air data inertial reference units (ADIRU) is likely the origin of what it labeled a “unique event.”
Vector Aerospace appointed Trevor Pritchard as business development director for the U.K. Pritchard most recently was director of Honeywell Aerospace, Defense and Space activities in the U.K. Airframes
CORENA Holding named Toralf Johannessen CEO , filling the position after co-founder Steen Hansen decided to step down after almost 30 years in the post. Johannessen formerly was CEO of CORENA Norge.
Texas Aviation Services delivered a new Bell 207 to Aerolineas Marcos outfitted with a VIP interior, advanced avionics and custom kitting. The avionics package included a Garmin suite of a GNS-530W, GPS/NAV/COMM WAAS and a GTX-330 digital transponder. Other integrated avionics systems include the Honeywell KR-87 ADF with KI-227 indicator, HSI with KI-525, Blind Encoder, radar altimeter, remote DME with display, Skywatch and Stormscope. TAS also installed an Airshow inflight entertainment system and of custom kits for comfort and ease of maintenance.
The MRO business has come to a crossroads in its development. Airlines continue to outsource maintenance and some are seeking to shed their maintenance divisions to raise cash and return to their core businesses. Indpendent MRO providers are trying to adjust to a changing marketplace and many are seeking investment and partners.
Crownair Aviation acquired RoigWest Maintenance , an aircraft maintenance and support center at Van Nuys Airport , and West Coast Jet Services, at McClellan Palomar Airport (CRQ). The latter will do business as Crownair Aviation-CRQ.
Page AvJet Corp. , surrendered STCs to install a Sperry PRIMUS800 x band color radar system and dual Sperry ADZ800 air data computer system with VN 801 vertical navigation system on Boeing 727-100 series aircraft, STCs SA1655SO and SA1658SO
Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services Co. received FAA Part 145 repair station certification. The MRO initially is carrying out heavy maintenance on Boeing 737NG aircraft, of which Boeing says there are more than 235 in operation in East Asia and more than 260 on order. In the future the facility is slated to move into twin-aisle airplanes, beginning with the 767-300, and later into passenger-to-freighter conversions.
Thales was selected in mid-September by the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), to upgrade electronic intelligence (ELINT) systems in France’s Transall C-160G Gabriel intelligence aircraft. The system provided by Thales allows the interception, analysis, decoding, recording and processing of signal intelligence (SIGINT). Beginning in 2011, the Transall Gabriel’s optimized system will meet technical requirements to protect naval and air combat platforms against current and future threats.
Jetcraft Avionics installed the first Elbit-Kollsman EVS II for an aftermarket application on a Bombardier Challenger 604. The company expects to receive FAA certification for the installation, which aims to improve situational awareness and make flights safer, by the end of the year.
Northstar Network received an increased purchase order from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics for 13 additional shipsets in follow on work under the P-3 Orion Service Life Extension program. Northstar now will provide 41 shipsets, up from an original 28, representing more than $6 million in revenue over the next year.
The mnemonic “PEAR” calls attention to the primary considerations in human factors management and risk mitigation, write developers Dr. William B. Johnson, chief scientific and technical advisor for human factors for aircraft maintenance systems for FAA, and Dr. Michael E. Maddox, senior scientist for Cary, N.C.-based HumanCentric Technologies.
Keystone Helicopter Corp. , amended STC to install a Maxviz enhanced vision system (EVS-1000) on Sikorsky S-76A, S-76B and S-76C helicopters, STC SR02035NY
British company Fire Fighting Enterprises offers a new type of optical beam smoke detector equipped with a motorized auto-alignment feature. The detector can be retrofitted, said Peter Bangham, a press representative for the company. Bangham said that the devices are designed to need minimal wiring compared to normal “point” detectors, since one beam unit can safely cover an area that would need 15 point units. Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd, 9 Hunting Gate, Hitchin, Herts, U.K. SG4 0TJ
