Airbus opened a Materials and Logistics Center next to Dubai International Airport, a strategic location that the OEM said will offer greater proximity to customers and should speed up response times. The new operation also should cut transport costs and times for spare parts while supporting efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. The 3,700-square-meter facility houses a 24-hour center that will stock more than 5,000 different parts with 43,000 items at any one time, primarily for the A380, Airbus says.
Dozens of commercial and military engine shops around the world are signing up for GE Aviation's free engine scrap reclamation project. Given the emphasis on safety, cost containment and environmental improvement in the aviation industry, what's not to like about this recycling program that does everything from start to finish -- and pays the engine shop for the alloys?
Lufthansa Technik entered the turboprop equipment and components market with the launch of a support program for Bombardier's Q400. It signed a contract to support Croatia Airlines' fleet of Q400s. Under the contract, which will eventually cover six aircraft, Lufthansa Technik will conduct the repairs at its base in Hamburg, Germany. Croatia ordered four 76-seat Q400 aircraft and has taken options for two more; the new Q400s will replace three ATR42 turboprops in its fleet.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) selected James B. Lackey as deputy assistant commander for acquisition in AIR 1.0 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. Lackey most recently served as PMA-234 principal deputy program manager for the EA-6B and Airborne Electronic Attack. NAVAIR also announced Capt. Mike Belcher assumed command of the aviation support equipment program office, PMA-260. He relieves Capt. George Kilian, who is moving to Capt. Belcher's old post as program executive officer for aircraft carriers as the director of aviation.
Duncan Aviation completed its first Honeywell Advanced File Graphics Server upgrade in a Falcon 900B, under its Glass Box Project. It also recently finished installing the EMS eNfusion HSD-400 satcom in a Bombardier Challenger 601-3R, which gives the aircraft Inmarsat SwiftBroadband capability.
Jettech and Sandel Avionics teamed to develop a glass cockpit for all Cheyenne turboprop and pre-275 serial numbered Citation 500 aircraft, comprising Sandel's LED-powered SA 4550 Primary Attitude, SA 4500 Primary Navigation units and SG 102 AHRS navigational gyro. The various components are available as a complete kit, including a precut instrument panel and wire harness with additional ports for avionics upgrades, or they can be purchased separately. Jettech expects to receive the STC for the installation kit by the end of June.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is hoping to move forward on legislation to increase surveillance at foreign repair stations. McCaskill over the past year has increasingly expressed her concern about the lack of oversight at foreign repair stations. "This should be a national security and consumer safety concern for the flying public," she said. "It is absurd to think that we are crisscrossing this country in airplanes that are serviced in facilities with no required standards and no FAA inspections."
General Dynamics Aviation Services is expanding its Dallas service center by leasing a 47,200-sq.-ft. hangar from Signature Flight Support. The addition will house maintenance operations for Gulfstream G200 aircraft and should allow GDAS to handle eight additional aircraft at the Dallas facility.
Liebherr-Aerospace implemented Inmedius Horizon, an XML content management system, and is the first customer to use the system to create, maintain and publish ATA iSpec 2200 data.
ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES: NORTH AMERICA -- SALES DIRECTOR Matt Holdreith, Phone: 212-904-2628; Fax: 212-904-3993 NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, EAST Katie Taplett, Phone: 202-383-2335; Fax: 202-383-2323 NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, WEST Bill Hux, Phone: 213-480-5202; Fax: 213-480-5249 REGIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, NORTHEAST Gerry Lawrence, Phone: 857-383-5631; Fax: 857-383-5632 NORTHEAST, MID-ATLANTIC AND EASTERN CANADA
The Polish Air Force took delivery in April of a Rockwell Collins F-16C modular aircraft maintenance training simulator. The system-specific device comprises off-the-shelf hardware and employs both immersive and interactive virtual image-based approaches to teaching. The design supports classroom-based training for novice and advanced F-16 maintenance workers, and had previously been acquired by the Egyptian Air Force last year.
Helicopter Association International (HAI) offers its Maintenance Malfunction Information Report (MMIR) system as a free service for the aviation maintenance community, and it recently enhanced the tool to simplify the search process.
1200 G STREET, N.W., SUITE 900, WASHINGTON, DC 20005 PH: 202-383-2431 FAX: 202-383-2440 O&[email protected] EDITORIAL DIRECTOR FRANK JACKMAN, [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR LEE ANN TEGTMEIER, [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITOR ELYSE MOODY, [email protected] PRODUCTION DIRECTOR WILLIAM F. HALFPAP, [email protected] PRODUCTION EDITOR SUSAN LOVETT PAYTON, [email protected] EUROPEAN EDITOR (COMMERCIAL) BILL BURCHELL
In May, Sikorsky Aircraft applied a revolutionary paint and corrosion protection system to a new-production U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter for the first time. What makes the system -- consisting of a conversion coating, primer and top coat -- so different is that it is entirely free of hexavalent chrome, or "chrome VI" as it is more commonly known.
Turbine Engine Consultants introduced a parts consignment program called Excess Inventory Management (EIM), managed out of its 75,000-square foot Joplin, Mo., warehouse. The company supplies parts for Honeywell TPE331 engines, in addition to APUS for various corporate, regional and commercial aviation aircraft.
Imagine that a jet is towed into your repair hangar. As it enters the facility, it passes through a portal that automatically reads an RFID tag that contains the complete bill of materials of every part and component on that aircraft along with the maintenance history of those components. Gaining that level of visibility is what makes RFID so intriguing. Still, despite the technology's promise, it has been slow to take hold in most industries, including the MRO space.
The Canadian Air Force is conducting an 18-month trial of a nifty new technology to dramatically improve repair efficiency on the Rolls-Royce T56 engine that powers the C-130 Hercules. The goals are to cut the no-fault-found rate in half, reduce tech training time by 30% and cut in half the time required to look up needed parts in maintenance manuals. The technology is a 3D-interactive simulation of engine repair that is embedded in digitized maintenance documents.
Logistics Specialties received a 10-year, $1.5 billion Landing Gear Prime Vendor Contract (LGPVC) to provide integrated logistics services to Hill Air Force Base for landing gear parts procurement. Hill AFB is the prime U.S. Air Force Logistics Command depot for landing gear maintenance. Previously, it purchased parts through individual governmental requests, which could mean more than a year between the time of contract award and the parts' physical arrival at the depot.
Embraer reported further in April on its Northrop F-5BR combat aircraft upgrade program being jointly performed with Israel's Elbit for the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira, or FAB). The program is intended to improve the mission capability and to extend the service life of the aircraft by 15 years. The single- and tandem two-seat F-5E/Fs entered FAB service in the early 1970s and are being modernized for enhanced capabilities required to ensure at least 15 years more of operation.
TOULOUSE -- With record orders in 2007 and an initiative underway to lower maintenance costs through extended airframe scheduled maintenance intervals, Airbus is bullish on the future of its A330 widebody twin. In the past decade, Airbus has sold an average of 71 A330s a year, but that number jumped to 198 in 2007, according to data presented in May by Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy, who said the A330 has "re-established" itself vs. new-generation twins.
More efficient engines, significantly lighter aircraft, alternative fuels or some startling new technology that no one has thought of yet likely will have a huge impact on the greening of the aviation industry some time in the future. Who's to know when? But while we wait, it's imperative that the industry realize that there are smaller, less dramatic but still effective steps that can, and should, be taken now.
Standard Aero earned a spot in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Performance Track Program by maintaining a sustained environmental compliance record and committing to reduce and recycle at its San Antonio facility. As part of the "green leadership" program, it will aim to reduce waste, energy consumption and noise.
The U.S. Coast Guard implemented Click Commerce Parts at its Aircraft Repair and Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., which provides depot level maintenance and engineering, supply and information services support for USCG missions. Click Commerce Parts comprises commercial off-the-shelf software for Readiness Based Sparing and Advanced Planning and Decision Support, which facilitate spare parts management and strategic placement in addition to "sense and respond" capabilities for rapid response times to mission changes.
