STARCO broke ground on a new MRO facility in Shanghai. Located at Pudong airport, the RMB280 million ($56 million) facility should be able to accommodate three narrowbody aircraft and two widebody aircraft, including Airbus A380s. It is scheduled to begin operations by mid-2009.
Rolls-Royce Defense Services received a $66.3 million modification to a previously awarded fixed-price, requirements contract to exercise an option to provide Power-By-The-Hour logistics support for approximately 188 F405-RR-401 engines for T-45 aircraft. Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.
American Eagle Airlines plans to expand its Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) maintenance facility, driven in part by American Eagle's recently added service from XNA to Miami, Fla., Washington, D.C., and Raleigh/Durham, N.C. The $10 million investment in a larger hangar should allow American Eagle's XNA-based maintenance crew to take on more maintenance responsibilities.
SR Technics opened a second component overhaul center in Spain, close to Madrid Barajas airport. The 1,400 square meter facility will initially focus on wheels and brakes, and it quickly plans to grow capacity to 500 wheels per month.
Airborne Flying Services of Hot Springs, Ark., developed and now offers the Valve Wizard, a set of three valve spring compressor tools for Lycoming O-235, O-290, IO/O-320, IO/O-360, AEIO-360, O-435, IO-480, IO-540 series and Continental O-470, IO-470, IO-520, IO-550 and TSIO-520 series piston engines.
John Holland Aviation Services picked EVO, the latest model of TRAX Maintenance software. The Australia-based MRO operation is the 64 th company to implement TRAX.
DeWalt launched its first cordless 18 gauge XRP brad nailer, the DC608K. Powered by an 18V cordless battery system, it features a mechanical flywheel system designed to accommodate users' needed nailing rates and drive up to two-inch 18 gauge nails into hardwood. Its box-style magazine also should prevent dust and debris from clogging it.
The sheer magnitude of the fines commanded attention. Roanoke-based ITT Night Vision agreed to pay $100 million and plead guilty in federal court to a pair of felonies. At issue: the firm's unauthorized export of night-vision goggle component parts to China, via a Singapore contractor. If U. S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) weren't front and center before, they certainly are now. The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), the agency that administers the rules for the Department of State, is working more ITAR-related cases than ever these days.
Adams Rite Aerospace and Satair plan to expand their partnership to encompass aftermarket support of ARA products in North, Central and South America for a group of airlines as well as MRO operations and distributors.
N3 Engine Overhaul Services, a joint venture of Lufthansa Technik and Rolls-Royce, officially opened its Thuringia, Germany, facility. N3 was granted EASA Part 145 approval for Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines in April and said it expects to receive approval for Trent 700 engines in 2008 and to start servicing the Trent 900 in 2009. The facility currently services Lufthansa's aircraft, as well as other European and African airlines, and it said it will begin to add customers from the U.S., Europe, Africa and the C.I.S.
Travel Service and Lufthansa Technik signed an eight-year Total Engine Support TES contract, under which the MRO will maintain the Czech carrier's fleet of eight Boeing 737 NG aircraft, expected to grow to 13 aircraft by 2010.
Norwegian Air Shuttle and Lufthansa Technik signed a five-year Total Component Support contract, under which LHT will provide support for the Fornebu-based carrier's fleet from a dedicated stock at the Oslo airport. Norwegian Air Shuttle's fleet comprises 23 Boeing 737-300s to be joined by eight more in 2008, in addition to the 42 Boeing 737-800s the airline recently ordered.
Texas Aero Engine Services Ltd (TAESL), a joint venture of American Airlines and Rolls-Royce, celebrated the 1,500th engine to come through its Fort Worth, Texas, facility. TAESL, formed in 1998, repairs and overhauls RB211 and Trent 800 engines.
Boeing and L-3 Communications MAS in August delivered to the Canadian Department of Defense the first of 79 CF-18A/B Hornets to be modernized under a $150 million contract. Delivery was made as part of Phase II of a major modernization program. Phase I, completed in August 2006, upgraded the CAF Hornet fleet's avionics, radio and weapons capabilities.
AirLiance co-signed a letter of intent with China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corporation (CASGC) and the China Aviation Industrial Base (CAIB) to develop a joint program to expand the commercial aviation material support capabilities of CASGC Aviation Logistic Support Center in Xi'an China. The partners will concentrate on supplying aftermarket materials with joint approved traceability, e-distribution of surplus materials from Chinese airlines to the global industry and lowering material costs for Chinese airlines.
FAA unveiled the first of 18 Beech King Air 300 special use aircraft retrofitted with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics. The retrofit package comprises three eight-inch by 10-inch active matrix liquid crystal displays with engine indication; the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 communication, navigation and surveillance radio suite; digital autopilot with coupled VNAV; dual flight management systems with GPS WAAS receivers; air data sensors; integrated maintenance diagnostics; weather radar; and the integrated flight information system.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace recently met the requirements of EASA Part 21 for Design Organization Approval. ST Aerospace now can approve and perform engineering design work on EU registered aircraft.
AAR named USAF Lt. Gen. Donald J. Wetekam (retired) president of AAR Aircraft Services -- Oklahoma. Wetekam will lead operations at AAR's Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Hot Springs, Ark.; and Roswell, N.M., facilities. Prior to joining AAR, Wetekam served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Installations and Logistics with the U.S. Air Force.
Elsyca, a Belgian electrochemical modeling company, has developed a CAD/CAE (computer-aided design/engineering) product to design tooling for efficient coating and plating of parts such as engine blades, landing gear and actuation components. The company was founded in 1997, but the technology that is at its core goes back to research by its founder done as early as 1977 at the University of Brussels and later in collaboration with the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics.
The European Commission banned two more carriers from operating in Europe Union airspace in adopting the fifth update to its airline blacklist. In the update, the Commission found Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines and the Iranian company Mahan Air to be unsafe.
Boeing signed a GoldCare agreement to support GE Aviation, providing repair and overhaul services for 787 Dreamliner under-wing rotable components as an offering with GE's OnPoint solutions for GEnx engines. Boeing has yet to contract any future Dreamliner operators for the lifecycle management service, but GE Aviation is the second engine OEM to sign a GoldCare deal. Rolls-Royce, maker of the other 787 engine offering, the Trent 1000, signed a similar agreement with Boeing in August.
Cooper Power Tools introduced Cleco D Series pulse tools, an update to its existing pulse tool set. The Cleco D Series features a patented three-chamber air motor designed to improve productivity by providing a higher level of power during fastening applications. It also features an adjustable pulse chamber, which Cooper said is an industry first. Cooper claims its improved pulse tool set should allow service technicians to perform preventative maintenance in approximately two minutes.
Rex-Cut Products offers Cut-N-Finish Disks, flexible cotton fiber impregnated abrasive grinding disks suitable for the light grinding and blending of welds on contoured surfaces.
Behold the "unbundled airline," the carrier that charges extra for extras, and assiduously sheds anything that doesn't directly relate to flying folks from Point A to Point B. Spirit is that kind of carrier, so too is Skybus. And while start-up Virgin America throws in lots of frills for its flyers, operationally it's extraordinarily lean. What all three airlines have in common is dependence on outsourced maintenance -- not just to heavy check their flying machines, but to provide the gamut of support. Total support.
