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.
Mxi Technologies' Maintenix software went live at LAN Airlines in April. Maintenix replaced LAN'an's legacy VISaer system and more than 20 internal sub-systems.
Pratt & Whitney formally launched its PureSolution service program for the PurePower engine family. (For more information, see O&M, April 2011, pg. 66.)
Kazakhstan's Air Astana plans to move into the heavy maintenance business, starting with C checks on its own Airbus A320 family aircraft. The carrier hopes to receive EASA certification in time to do the first C check toward year-end, says CEO Peter Foster. Air Astana, which recently established a wheels, brakes and battery overhaul shop, has long-term ambitions to have a full-fledged airframe MRO business in Almaty to support Air Astana's and other carrier's fleets.
Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group appointed Andrew P. Pearce regional director of aircraft sales for the U.K., Europe and the Middle East, based in London.
Packaging Systems International specializes in the distribution of chemicals, sealants, adhesives and coatings. It packages epoxy, urethane, polysulfide and silicone chemistry materials to customers' specific quantity requirements. Packaging Systems International has the capability to package materials in barrier and injection kits, dual-cartridge kits and Bipacks (bags of two blendable sealant materials separated by a removable clip before use).
AFI KLM Engineering & Maintenance inked a 12-year contract with Virgin Atlantic for Airbus A330 component support, including component repair, pool access and a main base kit at London Heathrow. It already completes engine, component and airframe structural maintenance for Virgin's Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340 fleets. For French airline Corsairfly, AFI KLM E&M will continue component support for two Airbus A330-200s under an extended contract. And it renewed its component support contract with Sunwing Airlines for 737-800 aircraft for six more years.
At one point or another, we all find ourselves looking around the house for misplaced car keys or a business card with an important phone number on it. Usually, these things turn up, and the consequence of carelessness is no more than wasted time. But in a maintenance hangar, forgotten tools can transform into foreign object debris (FOD) that can cause serious damage if left behind in an aircraft.
Elixair International's SkyFamily is a system of sealant removal products designed to tackle both cured and partially cured polysulphides. SkyWipes are used to remove wet and tacky polysulphides and come in packages of 300 or 100 solvent-free wipes. They are non-hazardous and do not require additional hand protection. They are used with SkyWash, a solvent-free surface cleaner. The package also includes SkyRestore, a thixotropic gel, which allows cured sealant to be scraped off with SkyScrapes.
Reducing turnaround time (TAT) is critical to reducing asset costs, and the top outsource providers have been working hard to cut in-shop TAT. But what really counts is total TAT. For engines and components, that means the time between removal from the aircraft until return to airline spare stocks. Airlines can help their outsource providers reduce in-shop TAT on airframes. For engines and components, they must cut waste in the processes that bookend shop TAT and lengthen total TAT. Speeding Airframes
The AC-360 is a fast cure, chromate-free and low-VOC sealant to seal and repair integral fuel tanks and fuselages. AC-360 is fuel resistant and bonds to most metal substrates, including aluminum, titanium, steel and stainless steel. The composition is a thixotropic paste that can be applied by extrusion, injection gun or spatula. The sealant is quick curing at ambient temperatures and does not require baking. Other sealants include the AC-770 for fuselages, AC-251 Class B for windshields and the AC-645 Class B low-density sealant for filling holes and cavities.
Gulf Aviation Academy brought Eng. Mahmood Albalooshi onboard as COO on April 21. The former manager of manpower development for Gulf Air now oversees the academy's programs for pilots, engineers and cabin crew training; ground services and airport management training; and theoretical and practical training.
Industry groups are strongly urging the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to make some key changes to the emergency revocation review, saying the process must be altered to level to the playing field for certificate holders. FAA, however, disagrees that many of the recommended changes are necessary, saying NTSB should keep most of the current processes in place.
At jet engine maker GE Aviation's Hooksett factory near Manchester, N.H., thinking global means adapting someone else's idea to create a winning combination of reduced tooling and production costs for hard-to-machine superalloys. The story started in 2001 at GE Global Research in Niskayuna, N.Y., which passed on some intel from GE Global Research-Shanghai to Mike Lamphere about the way the Chinese were using electric discharge to speed up drilling of machined parts.
PAS Technologies added Brian Meyer as general manager of its Miramar, Fla., facility. Meyer joins PAS Technologies from AAR Landing Gear Systems, where he most recently held the role of VP engineering. Airframes
Air Works Established: 1951 Number of Employees: 700 across 20 locations in the U.K., India and Southeast Asia Service footprint: Includes business and general aviation MRO, commercial aviation MRO, aircraft painting and avionics Maintenance Facilities: Authorized service facility for Agusta Westland, Bell Helicopter, Bombardier Aerospace, Gulfstream, Hawker Beechcraft, Embraer, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. Qualified to maintain 50 aircraft types. Hangars at eight locations in the U.K. and India
Bombardier added repair capability for the Bombardier CRJ200, CRJ700 and CRJ900 nacelle and flight control components at its Dallas site. It previously did this work in Belfast.
Aero Pneudraulics in Torrance, Calif., rebranded under the name AeroWorx and moved into larger facilities. It plans to begin manufacturing parts and perusing PMAs.
Alaska Airlines launched a new inflight entertainment option in April: touchscreen, handheld digEplayer devices that let passengers access new-release movies, television programs, the National Football League network, ReelzChannel Hollywood programming and games. Customers also can pay a fee to use the device to connect to Alaska's Gogo inflight internet. Alaska debuted the system, which is lighter than its predecessor, in 2003. It is available on most flights longer than 3 hr.
MEMPHIS—The annual Avionics Maintenance Conference provides a forum for operators to air their equipment woes to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but April's gathering made for an especially heated environment. The topic of most contention was intellectual property, a concept that generates much confusion. Unhappy operators accused some avionics suppliers of keeping important maintenance information from them and citing intellectual property ownership as an excuse.
SINGAPORE—Southeast Asian countries are developing aerospace parks to attract foreign investment, but poor planning means most lag behind market leader Singapore.
Fokker Services and Lufthansa Technik in May agreed to provide joint support for Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier components, including a range of pneumatic, hydraulics and avionics components, for the next five years. A separate purchase agreement covers the delivery of PMA piece parts for use in Lufthansa Technik repairs.
A finished aircraft is a good lesson in perspective. A passenger on a long-haul flight may see the Boeing 777 as one finished behemoth, seamlessly constructed as though it rolled off the assembly line in one piece. But an aircraft technician knows that the devil is in the details, working for hours to make sure every fastener, bolt and wire harness is secure after maintenance. Before an aircraft exists at the component level, all of the individual parts must be made from raw material.
BEIJING—Year-old GCA Technik, eager to exploit Chinese aviation growth, is on the verge of expansion that will roughly double its workforce over the next three years. The former maintenance department of Hainan Airlines is planning, or is evaluating, a plethora of new and expanded product lines: maintenance for engines, components and business jets; training for technicians; painting of narrowbody aircraft; and more hangar space for heavy airframe maintenance.
