A small but persistent group of Honeywell T53 engine operators and suppliers were successful in their effort to get FAA to reconsider its proposal to reduce life limits and force early replacement -- using only OEM-supplied-parts -- of certain high-dollar engine components. In the end, however, and despite two years of dialogue and two comment periods sandwiched around a public meeting, the only thing the group convinced FAA of is that the agency's 2004 draft rule understated the problem.
HAECO plans to open a second hangar for heavy maintenance at Hong Kong International Airport by the end of this year. It will be able to accommodate up to two Boeing 747s plus a 787. The hangar is expected to add 800,000 man-hours. HAECO logged 1.64 million man-hours last year, which was a 15 percent increase over 2004. About 53 percent of the work was for airlines based outside of Hong Kong.
Sharp Details now offers Granitize Aviation International's Xzilon, which is an aircraft exterior high-solids corrosion inhibitor, on its cleaning and detailing work. Xzilon forms a protective barrier on metal and painted aircraft surfaces, thereby preventing parasitic drag, extending paint life and preventing corrosion on polished and unpolished bar metal surfaces. Zxilon is certified for use on Boeing and Gulfstream aircraft. Contact Sharp Details, 2824 Dorr Ave., Suite E, Fairfax, VA 22031.
Kelly Aviation Center, will no longer use Standard Aero to perform T56 maintenance after February 2007, but will do the work itself. Standard Aero generated about 36 percent of its revenues from this subcontract in 2004. Kelly Aviation Center is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin, GE and Rolls-Royce.
TAECO expects to operate three 747-400 passenger to freighter conversion lines for its contract with Boeing, which covers up to 33 conversions through 2010. TAECO signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing for another 17, which brings the potential total to 50.
MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg received EASA and FAA approval to repair GE CF34-8 engines. MTU said there are more than 750 such engines in revenue service and 1,500 more have been ordered for delivery through 2014.
The value of the worldwide commercial jet transport MRO market rose a modest 1.3 percent last year to $38.8 billion, but it is expected to grow at a pace approaching 5 percent annually over the next five years as the recent decline in labor rates bottoms out and engine overhaul costs continue their upward trajectory. The annual MRO Forecast, prepared for O&M by TeamSAI and BACK Aviation Solutions, predicts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7 percent, with the worldwide MRO market reaching a value of $48.8 billion by 2011.
Gulfstream Aerospace plans to add a new 570,000-square-foot service center in Savannah, Ga., that will be twice as big as the existing one. It will include a 42,600 square foot paint hangar. Savannah Technical College plans to open an A&P certification program to train future maintenance technicians for the growth.
Alaska Airlines Maintenance and Engineering began a comprehensive, fleet-wide inspection of aircraft pressurization systems as an additional precaution following a number of recent pressurization-related incidents.
When resources are scarce, it makes sense for different organizations performing similar functions to work together for the common good. That's the premise behind "jointness," a concept and buzzword that currently is ascendant in the United States military.
BBA Aviation Services acquired Ontic Engineering & Manufacturing, a provider of OEM licensed parts, accessories and maintenance services for business aviation, commercial aviation and military operators.
Messier Services-Asia joined Boeing's Component Repair Network as a service center. It will perform landing gear overhauls on MD-11s, 777s and 737s. Boeing also added Goodrich Aerostructures Service Center Asia to the group to perform nacelle component repair and overhaul for 737s and 777s.
After suffering through several years of growing pains in the mid-to-late 1990s, Korean Air now seems to have gotten its growth and operations under control and, two years ago, entered the third-party MRO market. Recently, O&M sat down with K.S. Lee, the carrier's executive vice president of corporate strategy, operations, and maintenance & engineering, to discuss Korean Air's plans for the future. Edited for length and clarity. O&M: Do you complete all of your own maintenance for airframes and engines?
Pratt & Whitney Canada's customer service center in Ludwigsfelde, Germany, started offering MRO services for PW500s. The facility also expanded its Mobile Repair Team to support this engine in the field.
It's too late to revise the design of old airplanes like the Mallard, and the only way to ensure that these aircraft are safe may be intrusive inspections that could require de-riveting wing skins, if there is a suspicion of uninspectable internal damage.
In preparation for this year's MRO Conference & Exhibition in Phoenix, O&M queried members of the Air Transport Association's Engineering, Maintenance and Materiel Council on a variety of aftermarket related topics. Below are some of their responses. MRO is produced by Aviation Week and the ATA EMMC. What is the best innovation your M&E group has achieved in the last year? What do you think it will be in 2006? Yesso Joseph Tekerian Hawaiian Airlines Senior Director, Engineering
