The Federal Aviation Administration, which has spent months under fire for apparent safety lapses and “cozy” relationships with airlines, received a little validation from the latest safety review. An Independent Review Team (IRT) said it was impressed with the strides FAA and the industry have made toward safety and found the agency’s safety staff to be “unambiguously committed to its core mission of safety.”
For shipping share parts and other valuable mobile assets, Storopack developed FOAMplus, an integrated system that produces custom-sized, protective foam packing material. The system’s central machine, the FOAMplus Bager, measures about 80 cm-by-80 cm at its base and is 200 cm tall. It attaches to two 200-liter metal barrels, which contain polyol and an isocyanate. The machine can be preprogrammed so that the dose of foam components it dispenses fits perfectly into a film bag.
Bombardier Aerospace appointed Brad Tolbard director, business development, for the Bombardier Service Center Network. Tolbard will be responsible for the service center network’s strategy regarding the interior market. He has held similar positions at Bombardier Flexjet, JetCorp and most recently Atlantic Aero.
Kenya Airways awarded IAI’s Bedek Aviation Group a 10-year, $100 million contract for CFM56-3 and -7 engine overhaul and support. The exclusive agreement covers 26 engines that power the airline’s fleet of a dozen Boeing 737-300s and 737NGs.
SAN DIEGO— F/A-18s roar down the runway as pilots test the systems after major maintenance. Music from a local oldies radio station resonates through an aircraft maintenance hangar, interrupted by the whining of rivet guns and drum beats of hammers. About a mile away, water slaps against a sailboat in the harbor as a Navy frigate passes by.
Air carriers may achieve additional aircraft weight reductions by considering lighter-weight unit load devices (ULD) for shipping purposes. Teleflex Aerospace company Nordisk Aviation Products offers the Nordisk Ultralite cargo container, which features extrusions and panels made from DuPont Kevlar fiber for maximum strength without additional weight. Nordisk said the Ultralite container weighs 136 lbs., compared to the industry average of 185 lbs. for similar aluminum containers.
Goodrich Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Marshall O. Larsen talked about the company’s proposed joint venture with Rolls-Royce on engine controls and other aftermarket business issues during a wide-ranging interview with AVIATION WEEK Senior Business Editor Joseph C. Anselmo at the company’s Charlotte, N.C. headquarters. Excerpts follow.
ExelTech Aerospace opened a new regional aircraft MRO facility at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport. The C$19 million ($18.2 million) 153,000-sq.-ft. facility, which replaces an older building at the same airport, can accommodate up to 10 regional jets and features advanced technical support capabilities, including the maintenance of composite materials, metallic structures, avionics and electronic systems and non-destructive testing. [See item about personnel on p. 9]
myTECHNIC received Turkish Civil Aviation Authority/EASA approval to perform aircraft maintenance at its 46,000-sq.-m., three-floor facility at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. The MRO is certified to perform line to heavy maintenance and modifications on MD-80, Airbus A300 and Boeing 737 Classic aircraft registered in Turkey and in the EU. myTECHNIC also is certified to overhaul GE CF6 engines.
Northstar Network received a follow-on order from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics for 28 shipsets under the P-3 Service Life Extension Program, supplementing the initial award for six ship sets for the six Norwegian Planes. Northstar says the follow-on award will be worth about $4 million in additional revenue over the next year.
The Aviation Suppliers Association added Luis Giacoman, director, supply chain, for El Salvador-based Aeroman, an Aveos group company, to its board of directors. Aveos formerly was known as ACTS.
Austrian inaugurated its Vienna Aviation Campus on Sept. 15, which now co-locates technical, commercial, flight attendant and pilot training. Austrian said training will increase in quality and decrease in cost because of centralized training activities. IT
EADS Defense Electronics (DE), an integrated activity of EADS Defense & Security (DS), announced the award in August of a contract for modernizing about 600 STR2000 transponder systems of the German Armed Forces, and of NATO’s early warning aircraft, to comply with new international Mode S standards. Pursuant to international regulations, all NATO military aircraft must meet this requirement by April 2009 at the latest.
Vector Aerospace appointed Tim Rice new U.K. managing director, as part of its strategy to strengthen its management in line with its acquisition of the former DARA businesses at Fleetlands and Almondbank from the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Vector President and CEO Declan O’Shea, who joined the company in April, is to remain acting managing director until Rice takes up his position on Oct. 20, based at Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services Fleetlands, in Gosport, Hampshire, U.K.
LONDON—Soaring oil prices might be taking a huge toll on airlines, but, according to Mark King, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce, they also present opportunities for engine maintenance providers to really add value to a customer’s fleet through engine MRO. The high price of oil will have a huge impact on the trade-off between maintenance costs, fuel burn and engine time-on-wing, King said, which is why Rolls has started to develop additions to its TotalCare packages to be “more and more focused on a world of high oil prices.”
Two new finish formulas from Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings are designed for use on plastic, metal and composite surfaces in aircraft cabins and cockpits. Its interior aircraft finish can be ordered in unlimited solid colors and multiple gloss ranges with an intermix system, and two formulas are available: solvent-based polyurethane enamel and a water-reducible polyurethane dispersion coating.
L-3 Communications subsidiary SPAR received an $18 million contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defence, Royal Air Force to perform outer wing replacements on three C-130K aircraft. The outer wing refurbishment contract commenced in August at L-3 SPAR’s Edmonton, Alberta, Canada facility. The wings are being reconditioned to meet the Royal Air Force’s Hercules Outer Wing Replacement Plan.
ST Aerospace completed its MD-11 passenger-to-freighter conversion program for UPS with the Sept. 3 delivery of the 38th MD-11 BCF. ST Aviation Services (SASCO) carried out the conversion program, which began in April 2001, for UPS. SASCO has redelivered 58 MD-11 BCF aircraft to various airlines to date.
An enhanced memorandum of understanding signed in late August by the civil aviation authorities of Hong Kong and Singapore will allow for mutual recognition and approval of aircraft and engine maintenance. A previous MoU signed in December 2004 recognized aircraft component maintenance. The two authorities estimate more than 75 MRO companies will benefit from the enhanced agreement.
Data Link Solutions (DLS) will provide the U.K. Ministry of Defence with post-design engineering and logistics support services for Link 16 communications terminals under a $12.2 million contract. DLS, a joint venture of Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems, will support Link 16 products installed on several platforms, including the Royal Air Force E-3, Tornado, and Typhoon; Royal Navy Sea King helicopter and Type 42 destroyers; and the U.K. Air Defense Ground Environment.
Britain’s BAE Systems recently received several support packages worth more than £4 million ($7.66 million) for the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO), to maintain the operating capabilities of its Hawk advanced jet trainers and light ground attack twin- and single-seat aircraft. The RAFO received four two-seat Hawk Mk 103s from 1993, followed by a dozen single-seat Hawk 203s from 1994, supplementing 22 SEPECAT Jaguar combat aircraft and five two-seat trainer versions operated since 1977.
For those of you operating in the U.K., the CAA mandates that all AOC operators and associated approved maintenance organizations have a Safety Management System (SMS) in place from Jan.1, 2009, forward. Baines Simmons is holding a three-day course on developing, implementing, measuring and managing an SMS. Baines Simmons says the course is to cover: • Identifying and mitigating unwanted business losses; • Performing meaningful Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment;
WestWind Technologies, Dynetics and U.S. Falcon were the prime contractors awarded the Scientific, Professional and other Technical Services program through the U.S. Army Materiel Command. The 5-year, $50 million program calls for engineering and technical services for the Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) in Ft. Eustis, Va.
Engine manufacturer refusal to support certain parts has prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to remind aircraft owners, manufacturers and parts manufacturers of their respective responsibilities for ensuring the safety and airworthiness of aircraft. The agency released a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB), noting that the aircraft owners and operators ultimately are responsible for the aircraft, but that replacement parts are interchangeable if they meet FAA standards.
