Source One Aircraft Repair (SOAR) and engineering services provider Tass Inc. have partnered for a renewable three-year cooperative working agreement to offer aircraft on ground field support services. Tass brings capabilities of aircraft recovery, repair, logistics, engineering, planning and touch labor under FAA DER, EASA, CASA CAR 35 and CAANZ Part 146 approvals.
Blue1, the young business travel operator, characterizes itself as a “challenger airline,” and when it wanted to differentiate each aircraft's exterior to mirror the Finnish landscape, it was a challenge. To initiate its new design concept called “flowing,” it asked paint and coatings manufacturer Mankiewicz and AAR Corp.'s Miami maintenance facility for help.
Chromalloy has received Approved Organization Exposition certificates from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) for its service centers in Phoenix, Ariz. and Carson City, Nev. The JCAB approval will allow Chromalloy to perform designated engineering representative repairs on engine components for Japan Air Lines and All Nippon Airways without needing individual repair approvals from the bureau.
Timco, amended STCs to reconfigure the interior of Boeing 767-300 series aircraft and install wiring and provisions for a Panasonic global communications suite on Boeing 737-700 series aircraft, STCs ST03706AT-D and ST03809AT-D
Ethiopian Airlines has gone live with Mxi Technologies' Maintenix software for its Bombardier Q400 and Boeing 777-200LR fleets. It is working on rolling out the software across the remainder of its fleet.
Iberia has opted for General Electric CF6-801E engines to power its new fleet of Airbus A330-300s. In March the airline committed to buying eight of the widebodies, with options for eight more, but held off on the engine selection. The engine deal includes a 15-year support package for the powerplants.
Lockheed Martin's Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads) is facing an existential threat on Capitol Hill. Senators are actively trying to end funding for the system and renegotiate the U.S. agreement to develop the missile with Italy and Germany. Rather than simply push back on the cuts, Lockheed Martin is making a run at the competition, arguing it will cost the government more in the long term to sustain Raytheon's Patriot missile system than to opt for Meads.
U.K. forward operating bases in Afghanistan will be bolstered by the deployment of aerostat-mounted persistent ground surveillance systems (PGSS), following successful clearance of integration issues with the British Army's Cortez base surveillance control system.
Saudi Arabia wants 84 new F-15S strike-fighters to replace some of its oldest F-15s, but it also wants an advanced radar that will be similar to the radar on the F-35 that the Israelis plan to buy. (Photo: Boeing)
Legislation in the Senate would impose harsher penalties on those who counterfeit parts and sell them to the military. But the government also needs to change its purchasing methods to keep counterfeits out of the supply chain, says Dan Ellsworth, a member of the board of the Independent Distributors of Electronics Association. The Defense Department and related buyers currently require proper documentation to ensure a part's authenticity.
Few details about the merger are being disclosed, but if approved, it will create a company with more than 40,000 employees and operations to 115 destinations in 23 countries. The combined entity will be named LATAM Airlines Group, although the two companies will operate as separate brands.
"There are concerns expressed by us time and again and we are watching the progress at the other end," one senior Indian Air Force official told AVIATION WEEK.
The next generation of unmanned aircraft could be today's systems, but linked in ways only now becoming possible, thereby enabling them to perform missions beyond their individual capabilities. Use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has grown during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as the conflict draws down, services are seeking ways to make better use of their existing assets, recognizing that prospects for new systems are receding as budgets tighten.
The next generation of unmanned aircraft could be today's systems, but linked in ways only now becoming possible, thereby enabling them to perform missions beyond their individual capabilities. Use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has grown during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as the conflict draws down, services are seeking ways to make better use of their existing assets, recognizing that prospects for new systems are receding as budgets tighten.
The IBS Group appointed Rajiv Shah CEO. He will lead IBS' business providing IT systems to the global air transportation industry. Rajiv's last assignment was with Wipro Technologies, where he was the chief executive of the securities and capital markets business unit and later the healthcare and services business unit.
Ramco Systems launched its new enterprise resource planning offering for aviation, aerospace and defense customers, Series 5 Manufacturing, in April. The manufacturing suite is designed to provide a single solution for engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, service management, plant maintenance, human resources and financial operations.
Boeing expanded its landing gear overhaul and exchange program to cover the Boeing 777-200LR, -300ER and freighter. The program previously covered the MD-11, 717, 737NG, Boeing Business Jet, 747-400ER, 757-300, 767-300ER and 777-200ER.
In the world of modern MRO, complexity layers upon complexity. All these convolutions have to be chronicled—every move, every time. Few industries on earth are so dependent on airtight documentation. To prove regulatory compliance, operators must unambiguously connect the documentary dots.
When an MRO technician shows up to work, how do you know if he or she is fit for duty? Stress, fatigue, hangovers and other threats to safe job performance can be hard to identify, yet the ability to call out these potential threats can have a material impact on aviation safety.
Delta TechOps signed a five-year component maintenance and exchange agreement with Skymark Airlines to provide advance exchange power-by-the-hour services to Skymark's fleet of 25 CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737NG aircraft. The agreement expanded Delta TechOps' current five-year pact with Skymark, under which it partners with Evergreen Aviation Technologies to provide engine maintenance.
AAR Corp. and Gulf Technics partnered to provide an integrated supply chains and component repair solution for Gulf Air, including parts supply, distribution, IT and logistics. The five-year agreement commenced in April and covers Gulf Air's 14 Airbus A320s, 10 A330s and four A340s.
