Oman Air uses Honeywell's MCS-7200 Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satellite communications equipment on its Airbus A330 fleet, and it recently won the APEX award for best inflight connectivity and communications using the technology. The SwiftBroadband system offers a speed of 432 kbps in Oman's configuration. The system is made up of a six-MCU satellite data unit, an eight-MCU high power amplifier and a four-MCU high-speed data unit. The HPA provides 60 watts of power and the HSU has four dedicated Swift64 channels in a single LRU.
The NNS Champ 2929 ride-on scrubber has a 36-volt electrical system that delivers up to 30% more run time than a comparable 24-volt machine. The machine can lift 60 in. of water, runs on six batteries and features a single front-drive wheel that turns 90 degrees. The scrubber comes with two pad drivers and an on-board battery charger. www.nns.com
Fokker Services has signed a consultancy agreement with Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Co. (SACAS), the support division of Comac, to assist in establishing some specific processes to support their new aircraft. Industry executives tell Aviation Week that Fokker Services has agreed to support the ARJ21 overseas, but Fokker did not comment.
StandardAero's Associated Air Center has selected Chip Fichtner as its VP engineering for its VIP aircraft completions center in Dallas. He previously served as director of production, engineering and program management for Gore Design Completions, where he led the engineering, operations and program management effort on narrow and widebody VIP completions.
Nok Air has finalized a deal appointing Lufthansa Technik as its heavy maintenance service provider for its ATR 72s and Boeing 737-800s. The Thai low-cost carrier is due to start operating its first 737-800 in November, but that aircraft first went in for a heavy check on Oct. 26 with Lufthansa Technik, says Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin. The airline operates 10 Boeing 737-400s but is replacing these with 737-800s. It has secured six 737-800s so far, from a mix of lessors, and the carrier plans to ask its board for approval to lease five more, Patee says.
It is hard to imagine that airlines are still using bulky tape systems to show movies to passengers in an age where smartphones are the norm, but in many cases the old technology can be challenging to replace.
Qantas says industrial action by its unions have hurt its maintenance operations so much that had to ground five aircraft and cut flights at O&M's presstime. The carrier says the flight and fleet reductions will remain in place for a month. The grounded aircraft will be four of its 54 Boeing 737s and one of its 25 767s. This will result in 97 flights being cut. The reductions will only apply to mainline operations, and not subsidiaries Jetstar, Jetconnect or QantasLink.
Lessons learned from 65 transport aircraft fuel starvation incidents and accidents in the past four decades have prompted the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to propose certification rule modifications designed to mitigate the occurrence of similar incidents.
There are three ways a manager can learn about a potential safety problem in his organization: (1) he sees it firsthand, (2) his employees bring the issue to his attention, and (3) an incident occurs and the subsequent investigation reveals the problem. Because the aim of a safety program is to avoid #3, and managers are unlikely to spot more than a fraction of potentially unsafe situations, the best route is #2.
Lufthansa Technik Sofia has signed a 10-year contract with Russian operator Air Tatarstan to provide heavy maintenance for its fleet of Airbus A319 and Boeing 737 Classic aircraft. The maintenance agreement will cover light C check and heavy D check maintenance visits at Lufthansa Technik's hangar in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Component Control has announced a new tool, Web Online RFQ, which enables aviation suppliers to integrate a branded parts search engine and RFQ capabilities into their own websites. It is available to both users and non-users of its core management support product, Quantum Control. Component Control also launched a new ecommerce resource for sourcing aircraft parts with Aero Inventory; its web store is located at aeroinv.com.
Lufthansa Technik announced that it has signed a long-term contract with Hamilton Sundstrand, the largest systems supplier on the 787, to service a broad range of its components, including bleedless systems. This agreement also enables LHT to become part of Hamilton Sundstrand's MRO supplier network for the aircraft.
Cobham's HGA-7001 high gain, phased array antenna subsystem is an ARINC 781 antenna specifically designed to meet requirements of the air transport sector. It is available for forward fit on the Boeing 787, 747 and A350 and it has been type certified for the Boeing 767. It will soon be the first option on the Airbus A380 and is a selectable buyer-furnished equipment item on the Boeing 777 and 737. It is also certified on all long-range Airbus aircraft as supplier-furnished equpiment and is a standard fit on the single aisle range of the A320.
Mid-Canada Mod Center is in the process of re-locating from the Lester B. Pearson International Airport's mid-field complex to new facilities in the north end. It plans to start operating at there on Nov. 1.
Xtreme Polishing Systems' Xtreme Skinny used diamond concrete polishing pads at AAR's Miami facility to achieve the floor's wet and shiny finish. The pads are color-coded for abrasion identification and come in grits from 50 to 3000. The pads are attached to a polisher or grinder during the floor restoration project. The pads polish 10,000 to 15,000 sq. ft. www.xtremepolishingsystems.com
An 11-member panel completed one of the most comprehensive reviews of airworthiness directive (AD) management issues ever undertaken. The end of August marked another chapter in the controversy surrounding Southwest Airlines' AD compliance issues that captured headlines in 2008.
What are you doing to ensure your business is competitive? Cemil Sayar, technical director for SunExpress, promotes financial training for the carrier's maintenance staff to empower them to effectively control budgets and costs (see Interview, pg. 13). Despite that cost concerns permeate every layer of the supply chain, how many companies encourage money management training?
Xtreme Polishing Systems' Xtreme Hard is a highly reactive colloidal silica-based densifying agent, which starts working within two minutes. It takes 45 to 60 minutes to dry and has an 8.7 pH level with no VOCs. One gallon of concentrate makes five gallons of product. Each gallon of solution covers 400 to 600 sq. ft. www.extremepolishingsystems.com
Lufthansa Technik Philippines plans to open a one-bay hangar, big enough to hold an A380, in February. It will perform cabin modifications and C checks for about 12 aircraft per year in the new space.
The Middle East aircraft maintenance market has commanded much growth and development in the past decade, driven largely by the success of Dubai International Airport and other hubs. Market-watchers expect the expansion of air traffic volume and fleet sizes in the region to continue, and MRO along with them. By 2015, the UAE will have more commercial aircraft than Japan, now the world's third-largest economy, says Bill Lay, PricewaterhouseCoopers' Dubai-based partner.
Pratt and Whitney and Rolls-Royce have announced plans to form a new engine joint venture to power future mid-size aircraft based initially on the geared turbofan configuration. As part of this, Rolls-Royce will sell its equity and program shares for $1.5 billion in International Aero Engines.
Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance will offer 787 component pool access, maintenance services and logistics support. Its Epcor subsidiary will offer auxiliary power unit support for the Hamilton Sundstrand APS 5000 on the 787. While it's still in the definition phase, AFI KLM says it also is working on structures solutions.
Boeing is speaking to potential customers about a future program for Boeing 777 passenger-to-freighter conversions, but when this program will be launched depends on 777 residual values coming down. Senior VP-Commercial Aviation Services Lou Mancini declines comment on when the 777 freighter conversion program will launch, but says, generally, there is a 20-year rule governing when it becomes suitable to make a freighter conversion program available.
As airlines look to increase passenger comfort and connectivity on their aircraft, many are looking to retrofit the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satellite communications system, or satcom system on older aircraft. A satcom system with SwiftBroadband allows the operator to offer e-mail, text and telephone services to passengers.
