Maintenance human factors training requirements are coming to the Federal Aviation Regulations, and FAA is taking what some might consider an atypical approach to developing the new rules: It is busily preparing guidance and its own inspector workforce in advance of even a draft rule.
Pratt & Whitney's push into the alternative parts business has given it and Heico in particular a lot of credibility, according to Eric Mendelson, president of Heico Flight Support Group, the largest independent PMA producer. Not that it needed it. Heico's business has been robust, with record revenues and operating income for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2007.
East Star Airlines and Lufthansa Technik signed a Total Component Support TCS contract, under which the private Chinese start-up's fleet of three Airbus A319s will receive service from Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen and components from the A320 pool in Shenzhen. The Wuhan-based carrier will take delivery of six additional A320 aircraft before the end of the year, and it plans to put another 11 short-range Airbus aircraft into operation by 2008.
Sikorsky won a $9.8 million time and materials contract for engineering services for MH-60M aircraft in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command Technology Applications Contracting Office.
The Aviation Suppliers Association's (ASA) board of directors presented Joe Cosma of East Air Corp. with its 2007 Edward J. Glueckler Award for Service in Aviation. Cosma has been an active member of ASA since its inception in 1993. ASA also announced that Terry Bond of M&M Aerospace Hardware and Greg McGowan of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services have been elected to its board. Mike Molli of Technitrade, Inc. and Roy Resto of Tracer and Messier-Bugatti-Tracer were re-elected. The remaining three members of the board will be up for re-election in 2008.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Olympus recently launched its latest generation IPLEX videoscope system, the IPLEX FX. Designed to be compact and durable, the full-featured video borescope has been tested to military standards and is designed to be light enough to carry over the shoulder. Its introduction marks the latest evolution in Olympus' IPLEX line of products for the remote visual inspection (RVI) industry, first introduced in 1991.
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.
GKN Aerospace delivered the first maintenance platform for the RN Type 45 Destroyer to BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions. The platform is designed to enable access to the Merlin helicopter for maintenance of its engines and rotor head, and it is equipped with a slider mechanism that allows an operator to adjust or extend the platform during maintenance. Under the terms of the $1 million contract, GKN Aerospace will supply a total of six platforms to BAE Systems, with the remaining five to be delivered in the coming months.
Ameco Beijing and Cathay Pacific Airways signed an exchange/overhaul agreement for A320 and A321 landing gear, effective through 2015. The first A320 landing gear should arrive at Ameco Beijing's facility by the end of this month.
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.
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.
BAE Systems announced completion in August of the seventh and final Harrier GR9 replacement rear-fuselage, designed and manufactured within a three-year £20 million program for the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The contract was placed in 2004 to produce Harrier unequipped rear-fuselages and to replace fatigue-expired components, as part of the aircraft's through-life support. The final fuselage was delivered from BAE Systems at Brough, in accordance with the baseline program date set nearly three years ago.
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.
AMG Flite Components received FAA certification of its new repair center near Dallas Love Field. The 30,000-square-foot facility will offer in-house composite and sheet metal repairs and metal bonding on all ATA systems for commercial and regional aircraft.
