T o say that "ramp rash" is a wide spread human factors problem in the commercial airline industry is one thing. To put a dollar sign on the slang term for ground incidents is another.
Composite airframe components have been around for more than two decades, but with new aircraft coming online that feature greater composite content, getting ready to operate and support such planes will require more training, new repairs, more inspection equipment and better ground handling. Researchers also are working on more sophisticated nondestructive inspection (NDI) techniques to test the composite repairs.
This year was a busy one in the world of MRO, but as I look back on the almost completed 2006, the most intriguing development of the year -- notice I didn't say best or worst, but most intriguing -- was the launch of the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE). Why? First of all, there's the sheer size of the venture: a $15 billion, government-backed investment to create a global aerospace manufacturing and services corporation.
L-3 Vertex Aerospace received a $28.6 million ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for logistics services covering the U.S. Navy's E-6B fleet. Work should be completed in October 2007.
PAS Technologies in Kansas City named Mark Greene, manger of marketing and business development; Chris Eppard sales manager of the U.S. Southwest; and Bill Lodwick, currently managing director of Asian Surface Technologies, as Asia-Pacific regional director, as well.
Universal Avionics, Comm- ercial Jet and ARC Avionics announced receipt of an FAA STC on Oct. 19 to retrofit a flat panel display flightdeck on a Boeing 737-300F. The installation includes four Universal Avionics EFI-890 flat panel displays, a Vision-1 synthetic vision system, dual UNS-1F flight management systems and Class A terrain awareness and warning system. The existing autopilot stays.
While electric braking systems are considered state-of-the-art technology, manufacturers also are making improvements to the carbon heat stacks that ultimately make airplanes stop. For Honeywell, those improvements are focusing on longer life spans, according to Henry Steele, director of marketing and product management for Honeywell's wheels and brakes product line.
Aerospace Products International announced that it will open a 172,000-square-foot facility in Southaven, Miss., 2.5 miles from the Memphis International Airport and the FedEx Express hub. API will consolidate four of its warehouse facilities in early 2007 into a recently completed distribution center.
In October, Aero Vodochody presented its upgraded L-159BAT project to the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) as a suitable candidate to replace or supplement about 40 Greek Rockwell T-3C/E Buckeye advanced jet-trainers. L-159BAT development is based on a general agreement on the 25-year Follow-on Support Service for the Czech Air Force L-159/L-39 fleet, signed between Aero and the Prague Defense Ministry in December 2005. It involves using wings and tail sections of surplus Czech Republic Air Force (VSACR) single seat L-159As, with newly built tandem two-seat fuselages.
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Lufthansa Technik appointed new senior vice presidents for two of its six product divisions. As of January 2007, Dr. Johannes Bussmann will take over managing the Aircraft Component Services group. He succeeds Uwe Mukrasch, who joins the board of Lufthansa Technik as chief executive of human resources and information management. Dr. Andreas Heizner will head the Aircraft Overhaul division. Heizner, former president and CEO of Lufthansa Technik Philippines, takes over responsibility from Andreas Meisel, who becomes general manager of Ameco Beijing.
Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics received FAA Supplemental Type Certification on the new Bombardier Learjet 60 XR business jet. The installation was completed by Rockwell Collins' certification center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The first of 69 single-seat Harrier GR7 V/STOL ground-attack fighters upgraded to GR9 standards returned to service with the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm on Sept. 27. This is part of a £500 million ($938 million) improvement package to Capability B2+ standards for the aircraft. Together with 12 two-seat Harrier T12 (from T10) combat trainers, the GR9s emerge from upgrades in an incremental program by BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support (CS&S), partnered with the Ministry of Defense (MoD), at RAF Cottesmore in Lincolnshire.
Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) already makes a difference in U.S. Army aviation -- despite the fact the program still is in its formative stages. An aviation unit from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) confirms CBM is working, said Col. Frank Atkins, director of Condition Based Maintenance for the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
ARINC received an STC to install Iridium-based telephone service on a Boeing 747-200 cargo aircraft. Installing the service will allow flight crews to communicate with the ground and flight operations. "This is a great benefit for operators using remote oceanic and polar routes where HF is currently the only voice option," said Wayne Turnquist, ARINC's director of aircraft services. The package includes Iridium avionics developed by the International Communi- cations Group in Newport News, Va. ARINC can perform the modification wherever the customer chooses.
Hainan Airline Group selected Ameco Beijing to provide landing gear overhaul and exchange over seven years for the customer's Boeing 737NGs. From 2007 to 2014, Ameco Beijing will overhaul or exchange at least 40 landing gears.
Boeing has named Italy's Alenia Aeronavali to provide its warranted conversion of 767-300 passenger aircraft into dedicated freighters. The program is patterned after the 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter program, which has accumulated more than 40 orders. The 767-300 BCF program has had a slower start, with All Nippon Cargo the sole customer. It placed three firm orders and holds four options. Work on the first aircraft is to begin next spring; delivery will be in December 2007. The other two aircraft are to be finished in 2008.
Southwest Airlines named Greg Wells as senior vice president of operations, reporting to Mike Van de Ven, the airline's new executive vice president and chief of operations.
Alaska Airlines completed the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), which serves as a worldwide benchmark for airline safety and quality. To achieve IOSA Registration, Alaska Airlines satisfied more than 700 standards in eight operational areas, including aircraft engineering and maintenance, flight operations, operational control and flight dispatch, cabin operations, aircraft ground handling, cargo operations and operational security.
Loos signed a data license agreement with Boeing to allow Loos to use detail engineering design to obtain PMA for wire rope flight control cable assemblies. Loos will manufacture the PMA parts under its quality system, and it can distribute the assemblies directly to operators. Loos manufactures 5,000 items used on Boeing aircraft.
XIAMEN, CHINA -- Boeing continues to enthusiastically promote passive radio frequency identification (RFID) smart tags for use on commercial aircraft. The 70 Boeing 787 component suppliers that must incorporate smart labels on about 1,750 parts are entrench- ed in the smart labels details, as Boeing prepares for the aircraft's first flight next year.
Rolls-Royce Defense Services won a $65.3 million fixed-price modification to a previously awarded requirements contract to exercise an option for power-by-the-hour logistics support for 188 T-45 F405-RR-401 engines. Work is expected to be completed in September 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ATA Airlines appointed Gary Ellmer as senior vice president of operations and general manager of charter. He most recently was president and COO for American Eagle's Executive Airlines/American Eagle Caribbean unit.
Pratt & Whitney Canada named John Saabas as executive vice president and Benoît Brossoit as senior vice president of service centers and operations. Saabas most recently was senior vice president of engineering and operations, and Brossoit previously was vice president of service centers.
