Argosy International’s Shanghai facility received new certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for the custom-blending of Akzo-Nobel aerospace coatings to meet airline, AOG and maintenance requirements. Atlas Air completed the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), meeting globally recognized safety and quality standards for operations, including maintenance and engineering.
GE Aviation finished acquiring Walter Engines , the Prague-based manufacturer of small turboprop engines and high-precision machined parts. GE Aviation Czech, part of the OEM’s Business & General Aviation division, absorbed the company, which will trade as Walter Aircraft Engines, a division of GE Aviation. It says the acquisition should fuel its entry into the small, twin-engine turboprop segment.
Let’s face it: We live in a wired world. Consequently, an increasing number of airline passengers, whether a businessman on his way to a meeting in London, or a family flying to Florida on vacation, want to remain connected while en route. A decade ago, travelers’ inflight entertainment (IFE) options were limited to watching a feature-length movie on an overhead screen during selected long-haul flights.
Grob Aerospace launched a recruitment drive at ILA Berlin in May, intended to attract 60 new engineers and technicians to its facilities in Tussenhausen-Mattsies, Germany, and St. Gallen, Altenhrein, Switzerland. It plans to offer a number of the jobs to ab initio and trainee engineers, who will work alongside its fully qualified and experienced engineers.
Free radicals are atoms or molecules rendered unstable by having unpaired electrons. This will cause them to react quickly with other compounds, trying to capture the needed electron to gain stability. Generally, free radicals attack the nearest stable molecule, “stealing” its electron. But when the “attacked” molecule loses its electron, it becomes a free radical itself, beginning a chain reaction.
With the expected grounding of more than 400 mostly older, maintenance intensive airliners by yearend, MRO spending in 2009 will be $1.3 billion less than previously projected, with the bulk of that reduction coming in North America, according to TeamSAI, which produces O&M’s annual MRO Forecast. What this means for airline and third-party MRO providers is unclear. In mid-July, ACTS laid off 650 workers. Days later, American Airlines said it would cut up to 1,500 jobs from its maintenance and engineering unit. But AAR Corp.
Cascade Flying Service , to install a barrier air filtration system on various Bell Helicopter 47G and Hiller Aircraft UH-12E helicopters, STC SR01845SE
Jet Support Services was acquired by private equity firms 1848 Capital Partners and R.H. Book. The new owners plan to expand the MRO services provider’s market share and broaden its hourly cost maintenance guarantee programs for business aircraft engines and airframes.
Ameco Beijing added Air New Zealand to a growing list of line maintenance customers. The MRO will support Air New Zealand with aircraft release and technical services at Beijing and Shanghai. Ameco Beijing said it has 42 international line maintenance customers and is in active negotiations with another five potential customers, including carriers from the U.S. and Africa.
Air France Industries renewed its Single Multi-Standards Certification label following audits by Bureau Veritas. The new certification adds two international standards across AFI’s maintenance operations, OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety) and ISO 15489 (documentation), to its previous certification.
Lufthansa Technik AERO appointed Mark Johnson CEO. Johnson, who has worked for the group since 1982, formerly was commercial manager of Lufthansa AG’s hub management in Frankfurt, and he succeeds Peter Kamenz, who left the company and joined SR Technics as EVP sales and marketing.
The U.K.’s International Bureau of Aviation (IBA) just finished the second in its series of continuing airworthiness management training courses with four more members of the Nigerian Air Force—Presidential Air Fleet (or PAF). IBA says the four-week course aimed to meet the PAF’s needs by focusing on education in EASA legislation and Part-M requirements for continuing airworthiness management. The program consisted of classroom and project-based work.
Boeing also is testing contact memory buttons, another form of automated identification technology, for data storage on non-serialized repairables. It plans to conduct a similar pilot for contact memory buttons, “although likely a little less ‘world traveled,’” said Phil Coop. The Japanese working group’s value-stream mapping can be used for contact memory buttons, too, so that part of the trial doesn’t need to reoccur, he said.
BAE Systems’ re-launched BAe 146QT Series 200 freighter successfully made its first flight on June 25 after Aerostar finished completing the conversion at its facility in Bacau, Romania. Aerostar, BAE’s partner for the conversion program, began work on the aircraft in January 2007. The aircraft is destined for service with Austrian all-cargo carrier Amerer Air, which plans to purchase it after final maintenance checks.
• CFM International introduced what amounts to a “seal of approval” program it says will enhance the value of CFM engines that run on genuine CFM parts. CFMI launched the TRUEngine designation in response to demand from appraisers for more accurate information on the configuration and service history of in-service CFM56 engines.
Lufthansa Technik and India’s GMR cancelled their planned joint venture. The Hyderabad-based MRO, which was expected to offer medium and heavy checks for Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, was scheduled to open this year; however, the German company confirmed reports that the center will not. No official reason was given for the decision to end the first foreign MRO venture in India. The failure of the GMR joint venture, however, does not affect component and engine part services or expansion plans at Lufthansa Technik’s own Services India subsidiary.
Greenpoint Technologies , to complete the interior and make service access panel security enhancements on Boeing 737-700 series aircraft, STCs ST01832SE and ST01836SE
