NORDAM announced on Oct. 6 that Ray H. Siegfried II died after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." Siegfried, chairman of the NORDAM Group, grew the company from a bankrupt acquisition with eight employees in 1969 into a large aerospace company. On Oct. 12, the company's board elected CEO Ken Lackey to chairman, as well, and added the job of president to chief operating officer John Uczekaj's title.
Alaska Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association ratified a new four-year contract for the airline's 700 aircraft technicians on Oct. 14.
Garrett/Piedmont Hawthorne/Associated named Roger Wolfe its new chief executive officer and Shawn Vick its new president. The company's leadership had been under consideration since early September when Frank Klaus, president and CEO, announced his retirement. The company also named David Daniels to avionics manager for the company's Springfield, Ill., facility and promoted Gary Buchanan and Peter Muenzen to regional vice presidents of sales.
TIMCO Aviation Services received a contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to perform heavy maintenance on up to eight C-130s. TIMCO was scheduled to begin progressive structural inspections on the aircraft at its Lake City, Fla., facility in October.
Electronic Services Agency's new X2000 Digital Video Recorder is a complete, portable digital video package with capabilities for multiple cameras. The package is PC compatible and downloadable from the field to wireless local area networks. The recorder is used with a removable hard-disk cartridge to record from multiple video and audio sources. Electronic Services Agency, 845 E. 5th St., Marysville, OH 43040
KLM Engineering & Maintenance appointed Robert Pruim vice president of marketing, sales and customer services effective Nov. 1. He succeeds Onno Pietersma, who is becoming CEO of KLM UK Engineering. Pruim started his career at KLM 20 years ago and most recently was part of the KLM E&M Six Sigma office.
Japan Airlines and Ryanair are implementing Boeing Commercial Aviation Services' new Maintenance Performance Toolbox, which is a set of solutions for aircraft maintenance and troubleshooting. JAL is the first licensed customer of the Toolbox, and it has access to the structures tool, whereas Ryanair has subscribed to the technical publications, a 3D structural repair database, and maintenance and engineering data.
Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen expanded its thrust reverser repair capabilities to include those of Boeing 737 (CFM56-3), 747, MD-11 (CF6-80), Airbus A300 and the inlet cowls of the V2500 engine.
India and China, two of the world's most populous countries and fastest growing economies, are the darlings of the MRO world. Ask any self-respecting business development executive from an MRO company above a certain size where they see the most opportunity, and the answer inevitably is China and India. It seems that everyone wants to set up shop in one, or both, of these countries. But over the past several weeks, I've heard a another country mentioned several times: the United States.
FAA's five-year effort to radically overhaul Service Difficulty Report (SDR) filing requirements was put on indefinite hold in September when the agency officially shelved its September 2000 final rule, issued a new proposal for minor changes, and said it would continue to explore a more sweeping SDR overhaul.
Honeywell Hardware Products Group earned the Voluntary Protection Program status of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Honeywell's group in Roanoke, Texas, achieved an injury and illness rate 56% below the industry average, according to OSHA. The VPP initiative promotes workplace safety and health management.
Boeing selected Scientific Monitoring Inc. to provide analytical tools and software to enhance airplane data monitoring and decision support capabilities in the OEM's Airplane Health Monitoring service.
Boeing Aerospace Operations in Oklahoma received a $20 million modification contract from the U.S. Navy to procure organizational, intermediate and limited depot-level aircraft maintenance, management, logistics support services and other related services for 16 F/A-18A/B/C/Ds, two SH-60Fs, two HH-60Hs and 14 F-16A/Bs based at Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nev. The work is expected to be finished in September 2006.
Timken acquired Bearing Inspection and it will consolidate its existing bearing repair operations at Bii's facilities in Los Alamitos, Calif. Former Bii president Drew Baker will be the general manager of the combined operations.
Wesgo Metals Division of Morgan Advanced Ceramics introduced pre-sintered preforms for engine repair. The multi-component systems are designed for dimensional restorations and crack repairs, making them a cost-effective braze repair solutions, according to the company. The porosity of these advanced ceramic preforms is less than 5%, which should help eliminate shrinking. Wesgo Metals offers the preforms in various shapes, including curved, tapered and cylindrical, with thickness ranging from 0.01 inches (0.3 mm) to 0.2 inches (5 mm).
Germania Fluggegesellschaft contracted KLM Engineering & Maintenance to overhaul 737-700 landing gear and allow Germania to borrow landing gear while its are being maintained. KLM E&M also received a 10-year contract to maintain Luxair's five 737-700s' engines.
Boeing added distributor UFC Aerospace to its Integrated Materials Management suppliers. UFC Aerospace provides inventory management services and kit packaging.
SAAB Avitronics in Sweden has received an SEK1 billion ($128.2 million) production order from EADS Deutschland on behalf of Panavia Aircraft for series production of radar-warning equipment to upgrade Luftwaffe Tornado strike aircraft. This contract follows a 2001 adaptation and qualification program, for deliveries of production units between 2006 and 2009.
An Emirates Boeing 777 has had problems with engine pylon skin panels three times in the past three years -- including twice on the same panel -- but neither Boeing nor the airline are quite sure why. They believe, however, that the problem is limited to the single plane in question.
Airbus' Airman maintenance system was not available when the A340 entered service, but it was initiated in 2000 to cover long-range and single-aisle aircraft programs.
Ready Products announced the Ready Ratchet, which stores sockets in a snap-in locking tray in the ratchet's handle. A quick-release cap keeps the sockets secure when not in use. The Ready Ratchet is manufactured from composite materials and exceeds national specifications for torque, making it ideal for aircraft maintenance. The compact and convenient ratchet self-storing socket system is available in three-eighths or one-fourth-inch standard or metric sizes. Ready Products, 5855 Olympia Fields Court, West Chester, OH 45069
A small group of former Hamilton Sundstrand managers has formed a new company that has begun using advanced techniques to test, repair and overhaul components for environmental control systems, specifically for regional aircraft. Sam Qubain, president of Qualified Technologies Corp., said the new company approached its operational service philosophy with the idea that it could redesign the processes being used to test and repair ECS components using modern technology in order to improve quality, reduce turnaround times and cut costs for airline customers.
The first flight of the A340-300 in October 1991 was a seminal moment for Airbus, for that aircraft made it a contender in the long-haul market which, hitherto, had been pretty much Boeing's domain. Suddenly, this European up-start was moving into new territory -- but with a state-of-the-art aircraft that fuelled the debate as to whether the future lay in big twin-engine aircraft, like Boeing's 777, or four-engine aircraft like the A340.
Bell Helicopter Textron received a $30.2 million ceiling priced order from the U.S. Navy for component repair on AH-1Ws and UH-1Ns. Work will be completed by December 2006.
