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.
Bell Helicopter's 412EP achieved Joint Aviation Regulations Operations (JAR-OPS) status, becoming the first legacy helicopter to complete an EASA Joint Operation Evaluation Board (JOEB) Catch-up Process for JAR-OPS 3 compliance, according to the OEM. JAR-OPS 3 consists of proper safety equipage, proven flight procedures and trained crew and support staff.
Iberia and the Consorci Zona Franca of Barcelona (CZFB) laid the cornerstone of the maintenance hangar they announced in September 2007. The 12,100-sq. m hangar is to be Spain's first facility equipped to maintain Airbus A380 aircraft, Iberia says. The hangar, located at Barcelona's El Prat airport, is 75% owned by Iberia and 25% owned by the CZFB, and it marks a total investment of around 24 million euros. The building has been designed to accommodate aircraft up to 151.73 m long, including Airbus A380 aircraft.
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.
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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.
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.
MJET inducted its first Bombardier CRJ200 for VIP conversion for operator Corpac Canada Ltd., of Calgary, Alberta. The conversion reconfigures the 50-seat aircraft into a 15-seater, adds a forward lavatory and incorporates the Elisen Elite Auxiliary Fuel System 500, which provides 4,500 lbs. of additional fuel.
PAS Technologies signed a two-year agreement to supply coating and brazing support to Doncasters Shrewsbury, from its PAS Technologies Ireland facility.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jet Aviation and Deer Air, a Beijing-based subsidiary of HNA Group, signed a joint venture to operate an FBO and line maintenance facility at Beijing's Capital International Airport, to be operational in time for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
