On July 11, 2007, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757, with 167 passengers, was about to touch down at Fort Lauderdale International Airport when a United Airlines Airbus A320, carrying 133 onboard, pulled onto the same runway on which the Delta crew had been cleared to land. Quick action by the Delta pilot, who executed a go-around, averted a disaster. The two aircraft purportedly missed each other by 100 ft.
The Bird Buffer, a programmable, electronic aerosol generator, is designed to keep birds away by emitting a repellent haze. Fog Force, the repellent, is harmless to both birds and painted surfaces; it consists of liquid grape food flavoring, which the Bird Buffer unit converts into nanoparticles and expels at 90 mph. This creates a haze that can stay suspended in the air for up to six hours.
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.
McDonnell Douglas won a $5.5 million indefinite delivery indefinite quantity technical service firm fixed fee price contract to support additional efforts for the Aircraft Survivability Product Improvement Kit improvement for the Longbow Apache Program-AMCOM. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
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.
The grounding, temporary or permanent, of about 1,000 commercial jets will have a major impact on part markets over the next year. Shedding Boeing 737 Classics and MD-80s from major fleets will trim demand for parts, relocate repair work and reduce at least some part prices. The groundings will accelerate the shift of inventories toward asset managers and leasing companies, especially global ones. Cash must be available and shrewd judgments made to exploit opportunities and control exposure.
U.K. accident investigators are urging U.S. and European officials to take steps to reduce risks of ice buildup in the fuel systems of Trent 800-powered Boeing 777s and to review other aircraft and engine systems to ensure that they are not susceptible to ice. The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) released three recommendations in an Interim Report of its investigation of a 777 accident earlier this year.
Jet Aviation signed an MoU with Vnukovo Invest to form a joint venture that will triple the Zurich-based company’s footprint at the Moscow airport. Jet Aviation Vnukovo plans to move into a 32,827-sq.-ft. hangar close to the large Moscow Vnukovo-3 FBO next year, where it will offer support for Bombardier and Gulfstream aircraft. Facilities
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 9 of a possible foreign military sale to Finland of an F-18C/D Mid-Life Upgrade Program, plus associated equipment and services. Total value, with all options, could reach $406 million.
The Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office received an $18.1 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to exercise an option for engineering and logistics services for MV-22 Total Life Cycle logistics support.
Rolls-Royce signed a long-term CorporateCare agreement with private investment management firm Berwind. The deal covers support for Berwind’s BR725-powered Gulfstream G650, which is scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2012. Rolls says it has signed 150 new CorporateCare deals to date. Another first for Rolls: the first Trent engines entered service in Latin America, equipping Avianca’s first of 10 Bogota-based, Trent 700-powered Airbus A330s.
Boeing plans to acquire San Diego-based Tapestry Solutions, a services and software systems provider. The deal, which was expected to close at the end of October, would integrate Tapestry Solutions within Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems Global Services & Support segment.
Certain Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines should be removed from service for recurring inspections to prevent possible uncontained engine failure, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) urged in a letter to FAA on Oct. 16. The NTSB recommends FAA enact regulations that: • Require that Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines be removed from service for inspection of the 2nd stage turbine hubs when they have accumulated significantly fewer hours and/or cycles than the incident engine (10,880 hours and/or 4,392 cycles).
Glynn Williams has been an owner, advisor and partner in various aerospace companies, including MROs, for over 25 years. He is president and CEO of Navhouse Corp., a Bolton, Ontario-based company that repairs inertial navigation systems. His private equity company, Reliance Aerotech of Toronto, purchased Navhouse in June 2006 from Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc.
Australian Aerospace and Thales Australia signed an agreement on Aug. 26, to provide through life support (TLS) for the Australian Army’s new Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH). This was one of several key subcontracts awarded by Australian Aerospace, prime contractor for the Tiger program, to establish comprehensive TLS facilities. The first three of 22 ARH Tigers to enter Australian service recently deployed to Darwin as the nucleus of two new squadrons—161 and 162—of the Army’s ARH Regiment.
Spirit AeroSystems opened a new MRO repair station at its European headquarters in Prestwick, Scotland. It initially will focus on engine nacelles and components for Boeing 737NG and 777 aircraft.
Lufthansa Technik Switzerland launched in Basel , where the MRO will support regional aircraft for Swiss Air Lines and other customers, in addition to larger VIP versions of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family, from its 500-employee facility at Basel Mulhouse airport.
Micro AeroDynamics , issued STC to install vortex generators on the wings and horizontal and vertical tail surfaces of Rogers 15AC and S15AC aircraft, STC SA01869SE
Take a money-losing MRO, add the sudden departure of its CEO and the loss of business, and the rumors start flying like plates at a Greek wedding. Example: the company is up for sale, desperately seeking partners or about to go out of business. Such was case with Montreal-based ExelTech Aerospace, whose CEO Derek Nice resigned this summer as chairman and CEO. Also finding the exit was CFO Roland Blais.
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.
I am pretty cynical when it comes to airline mergers. I quickly lose patience with all the “wave of consolidation” talk that sweeps through the industry every few years. If all the mergers happened that the “experts” predicted would happen over the past two decades, there’d be maybe a half dozen airlines left in the world.
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.
October’s Upgrades/Retrofits referred to OGMA - Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal, S.A., by its former name, Oficinas Gerais de Manutenção Aeronáutica.
Avionics Support Group , to install Wingspeed XLINK Iridium communication management systems and a single navAero tBagC2 electronic flight bag on Boeing 727-200 series, STC ST03588AT
