United Airlines named Jim Keenan SVP of United Services . Keenan returns to United after six years at Pratt & Whitney, where he was VP and general manager of Pratt & Whitney Global Services Partners. Keenan, who previously spent 14 years at United, will report to SVP Operations Joe Kolshak. United also named Timothy Canavan VP of maintenance and aircraft appearance, responsible for its line maintenance and aircraft appearance teams.
UNITED KINGDOM Despite a decreasing fleet size and expanding needs for maintenance and upgrades, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has recorded meeting requirements for RAF C-130Ks to transport military personnel and freight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hercules, which comprise up to 60% of the MoD’s current air transport assets, have a reported 85% flight availability for planned missions, according to a June report from the National Audit Office.
The warehouse often is the last link in the supply chain. But what goes on inside the four walls can determine the success of repair operations. Three years ago, helicopter engine manufacturer Turbomeca USA began implementing Lean processes in its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations in Grand Prairie, Texas. As the company improved the shop floor processes directly related to engine repair, it noticed that its warehousing and logistics processes weren’t keeping pace. That, in turn, was slowing progress in Turbomeca’s push for improvement.
Bombardier plans to open a U.S. nacelle component repair station for Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies in Dallas. The manufacturer expects the facility to be open in 2009, and said it will function as an expansion of third-party product repair work already conducted at a facility in Belfast, North Ireland.
Gulfstream appointed Todd Strong director, engineering and quality, for its Long Beach, Calif., facility, where he will manage final phase engineering, service center engineering, designated alteration station, quality control and quality assurance functions and personnel.
Texas Aviation Services delivered a mission-ready Bell 407 to the Volusia County, Fla., sheriff’s department for use in emergency medical and law enforcement air support activities. TAS also inked a contract with the Tampa, Fla., police department to carry out mission critical customizations and systems integration on a new Bell 206L-4 helicopter.
Messier Services signed an agreement with Aircraft Accessories and Components Co. Ltd. (AACC) to help the Jeddah-based company set up a landing gear MRO company in Saudi Arabia. The shop will handle both commercial military gear and will be located on an MRO campus AACC currently is developing.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. added Andy Phyler as VP of Hawker Beechcraft Services. Phyler, who previously has worked for Delta Air Lines, BFGoodrich Aerospace, Honeywell and L-3 Communications, will be responsible for all aspects of HBS operations.
Sikorsky picked Goodrich’s Vigor Health and Usage Monitoring System, part of a new line of lower cost, full-function HUMS systems, for the mid-size S-76D executive transport helicopter. Goodrich also introduced its new PC-based Intelligence Reference Library (IRL) software, designed to integrate data from several unrelated systems—such as Goodrich’s DB-110 reconnaissance pod, synthetic aperture radar systems, full motion video or other sensors—into real time battlefield snapshot.
SPAIN Spanish IT company Indra, in temporary partnership with Eurocopter España, will implement self-protection systems in 23 Eurocopter AS 532 Cougar and Boeing Chinook transport helicopters of the Spanish army. Awarded through NATO’s NAMSA agency, the €20 million ($31.8 million) project will explore the radio-electric spectrum for threat detection and identification, such as man-portable air-defense systems, commonly known as MANPADS.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in mid-July issued its first guidance document concerning usage of parts removed from out-of-service aircraft and disposal of scrap parts. The document took effect immediately.
Three of the four engines on a Kalitta Air Boeing 747 freighter failed within four minutes of takeoff, according to a preliminary investigation into the July 7 crash of the aircraft. The crash killed two people on the ground. The aircraft, tail number N714CK, was en route to Miami when it crashed outside Bogota, Colombia. On board the aircraft were some 73 tons of flowers transported on behalf of Centurion Air Cargo.
Value engineering extends the benefits of Lean methodology into the world of the war fighter: these projects ask contractors to identify actions that will reduce costs, increase quality and improve mission capability. The concept has helped the U.S. Department of Defense increase efficiency across its systems, processes and organizations. In 2007 alone, the DOD realized over $4 billion in savings and cost avoidance as a result of value engineering projects.
VEM Maintenance & Engineering delivered to TAM Linhas Aéreas its first Boeing 767-300, painted in the airline’s new livery. The painting of a second aircraft has begun in Rio de Janiero. VEM and TAM also signed a contract to handle 767-300 components, covering maintenance and provisioning of exchange and repair components, such as APUs, landing gears, avionics, pneumatics, hydromechanical systems and others. Engines
New special effects paints and finishes from Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coatings can give airlines and livery designers a wide range of colors and design options to choose from. Mica-based finishes and iridescent or “interference” coatings offer a new tool for use in creating an eye-catching look to distinguish aircraft by brand or to commemorate a special occasion.
CANADA The Canadian government awarded a C$25.9 million to contract L-3 Wescam Inc., in Burlington, Ontario, for an electro-optical and infrared sensor system to be installed in CAF Bell CH-146 Griffon helicopters. Known as the Interoperable Griffon Reconnaissance Escort Surveillance System (INGRESS), the project involves procurement of a common electro-optical/infrared sensor system for CH-146 installation, plus equipment to allow operation of sensors for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and escort tasks.
Durham Manufacturing introduced a new series of heavy duty workbenches rated at 12,000 lbs. The workbenches feature 2 in.-by-2 in.-by-1/4 in. angle iron legs, supported by 3 in-by-3 in.-by-1/4 in. footpads with 5/8-in. anchor holes. A 3/16-in. thick steel top plate, reinforced by 3/16-in. steel gussets at each corner, forms the work surface. For extra storage space and added strength, Durham workbenches feature a 12-gauge lower shelf with 500-lb. capacity.
Designed for the long-term capture of high-frequency data and transient signals, Astro-Med’s new Dash20HF high-speed data recorder can facilitate transient capture and remote troubleshooting applications in aerospace or other industrial fields. It supports recording on 20 analog channels to an internal hard drive at sample rates of up to 500 kHz and a bandwidth of 100 kHz per channel.
SkyBOOKS, a Bell Helicopter and Textron company, signed multi-year service contracts with Houston-based Gulf Coast Aviation, RVA Air Charter in Fort Worth, Texas, Atlanta-based Helicopter Express and the Jacksonville, Fla., sheriff’s office to provide its electronic-based system for maintenance programs, flight and pilot logs and other tracking systems, including warranty tracking capabilities.
Taikoo Sichuan Aircraft Engineering Services Co. Ltd. is the name of the RMB$1 billion joint venture that Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (HAECO) (40%), Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (9%), Sichuan Airlines Group (42%) and Sichuan Haite High-Tech Co. Ltd. (9%) plan to set up at Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. The JV, to be constructed at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in several phases, is to provide heavy maintenance, aircraft conversion, line maintenance, fleet/inventory technical management and other services for Airbus aircraft.
Rolls-Royce is to supply Asiana Airlines with Trent XWB engines for 30 firm and 10 option Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, covered by a long-term TotalCare deal. Asiana will be the first Korean customer for the Trent engine. Rolls also announced total care agreements with Qatar Airways and Jet Airways to support their Rolls-powered Airbus A340 and A330 aircraft (respectively.)
Northstar plans to add 70 machinists and support staff at three of its North American sites in support of its CH-47 Chinook helicopter and Rolls-Royce programs. The increase in numbers comes at a time when some of the industry is cutting back headcount. The additional staff will aid in ramping up production of gears, components and spare parts at its Anderson, Ind., Chicago, Ill., and Windsor, Ontario, sites.
