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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Finnish Patria company and NH Industries Dec. 14 signed an agreement to enhance their cooperation in NH90 transport helicopter life-cycle support services, which the two companies will jointly offer to Nordic NH90 operators.
LONDON -- With a population of 72 million people, a fast growing economy and potential EU membership, air transport in Turkey is beginning to boom. In 2006, the country's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, carried 17 million passengers, a 20 percent increase from 2005, and added 23 new destinations to its network.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The first phase of Lufthansa Technik's purpose-built maintenance complex for the Airbus A380 was inaugurated at its central maintenance facility in Frankfurt in January.
Saudi Arabian Airlines Technical Services division signed an MoU with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance to "jointly survey potential opportunities and [a] partnership agreement." The signing is "in line with Saudi Arabian Airlines' strategic plan to privatize its technical services division," according to a joint AFI/KLM E&M press release.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association elected Dave Latimer president to fill the post left open by Ian Cheyne. Latimer, current vice president of regulatory compliance for TIMCO Aviation Services and ARSA's former senior vice president, will serve in the position for a one-year term, effective Oct. 29, 2007.
Composite materials now are ubiquitous in aircraft repair and production (see "Carefree Structures," p. 46), and the need for new technology to monitor repairs and material conditions has grown right along with them.
H.I.G. Capital finished acquiring Flight Options from Raytheon, and at that same time, Flight Options ordered 100 Embraer Phenom 300 light jets, with options for 50 more. The deal is worth $746 million but could climb to $1.12 if the operator exercises all options. Flight Options has service and maintenance operations in Cleveland, Ohio; Las Vegas; Sacramento, Calif.; Teterboro, N.J.; and West Palm Beach, Fla.
AERO Vodochody in late November formally delivered to the Czech government four L-159T1 two-seat advanced training and light ground-attack aircraft, following factory conversion from their original single-seat configuration. With a design airframe life of 32,000 flight hours, the four L-159T1s incorporate MIL-STD-1553B Advanced Human Machine Interface, with head-up and color multi-function displays; hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls; and an autonomous navigation system, with ring laser-gyro based inertial navigation system (INS) and GPS.
