General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems won a $43 million modification to a previously awarded ceiling priced contract for the full rate production of 158 Type 3 advanced mission computers (AMCs) for integration into F/A-18E/F and E/A-18G aircraft for the U.S. Navy, and 24 AMCs for the Government of Australia. Work will be performed in Bloomington, Minn. and is expected to be completed in December 2009.
Despite record sales of new business aircraft, legacy corporate jets and turboprops continue to fly. For the MRO industry, keeping those aircraft airborne presents increasing opportunities. Along with the usual cabin refurbishments and flightdeck upgrades, many aircraft are, or soon will be, in need of complex structural repairs requiring unique engineering solutions.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics appointed Dawn Johnson site leader of its Redmond, Wash., facility. Johnson will oversee manufacturing operations, site leadership, quality, operational excellence and strategic employment.
Rockwell Collins, supported by ARINC, now offers the Rockwell Collins eXchange broadband communications system. With connectivity via SKYLink, the system is designed to provide services similar to in-office high-speed Internet, company Intranet (VPN), fax-over IP, voice over IP telephone and Wi-Fi enabled smart phones such as BlackBerry or Treo.
United Airlines named Tracy M. Elving vice president - base maintenance for United Services. Elving, who joined United Services from General Electric, will oversee engine, component and airframe maintenance for United's fleet, customer work at its San Francisco base and all outsourced maintenance.
Avidyne Corp. expanded its technical support by introducing TechLine and TechChat dealer support services, which provide its customers with after-hours access to technical support.
The Federal Aviation Administration is planning next month to seek Department of Transportation review of a final rule covering digital flight data recorders on Boeing 737s. This rule, which stemmed from the 1994 accident of a USAir 737, was first proposed in 1999 to require additional flight data parameters on the Boeing 737. FAA subsequently mandated certain changes to the Boeing 737 and revised the requirements and applicability of the proposal. The supplemental proposal was published in September 2006, and the comment period on the SNPRM closed in December 2006.
In an ironic twist of timing, the U.S. Air Force soon is expected to pick the eventual successor to the KC-135 tanker while at the same time possibly revisiting its decision this fall to award a $1.1 billion KC-135 programmed depot maintenance contract to Boeing. The players in the new tanker competition are Boeing, which is offering a version of the 767, and Northrop Grumman/EADS, which is offering a converted A330. A decision could come by the end of this month.
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has made information available on its website covering the drug and alcohol management programs it plans to begin this year for all holders of Air Operator Certificates (AOC) and Certificates of Approval (C of A). CASA says it will work with the aviation industry to develop the initiative, which will comprise education and awareness campaigns and drug and alcohol testing.
The Department of National Defense in Ottawa confirmed its commitment to the Lockheed P-3 (CP-140) Aurora surveillance and maritime protection fleet through ongoing modernization and structural upgrades. The fleet should continue operating through 2020. As part of the Ottawa government's pledge to ensure the Canadian forces have their required equipment and provide value for taxpayers' dollars, CP-140 Aurora modernization should guarantee that the aircraft remain safe and operationally viable for continued protection of Canada's maritime and northern sovereignty.
During December's ALTA Airline Leaders Forum, Gilberto Lopez Meyer, Mexico's director of civil aviation, announced the country's commitment to recognize IATA's Operational Safety Audit in its auditing processes.
FlightSafety promoted Gil Schnabel to manager of its Detroit Metro/Toledo Learning Center from his previous position as customer assistant manager in Dallas/Ft. Worth. He replaces Blaine Little, who was named manager, airline marketing.
L-3 Communications and Boeing signed an agreement under which the two will compete as a team for the U.S. Navy's T-45 Training System contractor logistics support (CLS) contract. According to L-3, which will lead the team, the Naval Air Systems Command was expected to release a request for proposals (RFP) by the end of 2007. The T-45TS CLS awarded to L-3 in 2003 is valued at $450 million through 2008. The L-3 program is led by unit L-3 Vertex. The T-45 is used to train flight students and prospective instructors.
Continued long-term operation is planned for nearly 60 U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender strategic transport/tankers, which entered service in 1986, from recent invitations for submissions to continue provision of Contractor Logistics Support (CLS). This provides depot-level maintenance and modifications, supply-chain management and other critical support tasks currently provided by Boeing from its former MDC St. Louis plant.
SR Technics appointed Sam Gorman executive vice president component services. Effective Jan. 1, Gorman joined SR Technics from Honeywell Aerospace and replaced Erwin Bamert, who will assume a new position within SR Technics. Torsten Tamm, formerly of Tamm, Bresler & Associates, now heads the company's new integrated supply chain management unit. Gorman and Tamm both join new CEO Bernd Kessler on SR Technic's group executive board.
Michele Dickstein, president, Aviation Suppliers Association
When you were young, did you ever ask one parent for permission because you knew the other parent would never say "yes?" I have three children, and it appears that they learn to manipulate their parents about the same time that they learn to breathe. My boys know that if they want to go play in the mud, they ask their father. Mud is not in mom's vocabulary. But dad will go outside with them and play football with them in the mud. They all get dirty, but dad makes sure they stay safe while they are getting dirty. And he gives them a bath afterward.
Standard Aero signed two new APU support contracts with Lufthansa CityLine, together worth $9 million. Under the first, a five-year, pay-by-the-hour Total Engine Asset Management (TEAM) program, Standard Aero will maintain Lufthansa CityLine's Honeywell GTCP36-150RJ APUs, installed on the carrier's Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft. The second comprises a 10-year TEAM agreement for the Honeywell RE220 APUs on Lufthansa CityLine's CRJ900 aircraft.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace and Xiamen Aviation Industry Co. (XAICO) signed a joint venture agreement to set up an engine MRO facility in Xiamen, China. The JV will be ST Aerospace's second engine MRO facility, and it is to complement its subsidiary ST Aerospace Engines Pte. Ltd. (STA Engines), located in Singapore. ST Aerospace Technologies (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. (STATCO) will represent a total investment of around $78 million. ST Aerospace is to take an 80 percent stake in the JV, while XAICO will hold the remaining 20 percent.
Innotech Aviation began construction of a 41,000-square-foot, twin-bay aircraft paint facility at Montreal's Pierre Trudeau International Airport, Dorval, Quebec. It should accommodate aircraft up to Global XRS business jets in size and is scheduled for completion in May.
Lufthansa Technik and Austrian Airlines signed a long-term cooperation agreement intended to drive "improved utilization and efficiency in the maintenance and workshop areas" at Austrian Airlines' facility in Vienna, where Lufthansa Technik "will ensure that utilization is maintained at a high level" in C check, maintenance and aircraft components areas at Austrian.
T he anti-missile defense system born of a partnership between BAE Systems and American Airlines will be tested on scheduled commercial airline flights this year, under a $29 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract. JetEye infrared laser jamming devices installed on up to three operational American Airlines 767-200 aircraft will "evaluate the system's compatibility with daily passenger airline operations and maintenance," the company said.
Supply chain tensions benefit third-tier suppliers and distributors that are prepared for them. Hardware shortages, from nuts and bolts to specialty parts, have skyrocketed sales, and they've allowed smaller companies to focus their business on the aerospace sector.
Three additional Nomex honeycomb core materials offered by M.C. Gill Corp. have qualified to Boeing's BMS 8-124 specification and now are available. The newly qualified materials, along with M.C. Gill's previously offered honeycomb core products qualified to Class 4 (Nomex) and Class 6 (Kevlar N636), are suitable for a range of aircraft applications, including aircraft flooring, sidewalls, ceilings and other structures, the company said. Gillcore HD Honeycomb is an aramid fiber (Nomex) reinforced honeycomb material coated with phenolic resin.
