MANILA -- As a result of the emergence of low-cost carriers in the Asia/ Pacific region and the needs of major customer Philippine Airlines, Lufthansa Technik Philippines, the Airbus A330/A340 center of excellence for the Lufthansa Technik Group, likely will expand its heavy check offering to include narrowbody A320s and/or Boeing 737s, according to LHT Chairman August Wilhelm Henningsen.
The MoD announced the launch on Jan. 20 of a new support program for its Joint Force Harrier V/STOL fighter fleet at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland. The new program should reduce costs by £44 million ($83 million) over four years and significantly improve front-line aircraft availability. The MoD has replaced four traditional lines of maintenance with two simplified ones: Forward, at squadron level, and Depth (all other maintenance) support.
GEORGE EBBS George Ebbs, president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was president and CEO of consulting firm the Canaan Group when the first MRO conference was held in 1996. Ebbs helped launch the idea of a conference dedicated to exchanging operators' and suppliers' viewpoints in the aviation aftermarket and helped coin the term "MRO."
Goodrich Fuel And Utility Systems' Integrated Mechanical Diagnostic System recently passed an operational evaluation on U.S. Marine Corps helicopters. The system is designed to improve CH-53E flight safety and simplify maintenance by applying full-time diagnostic monitoring to the H-53 mechanical drive training.
SEATTLE -- Boeing's Commercial Aviation Services division is reinvigorating its product support, from materials management to technical services, "so that operators feel we are here to make the operation of their Boeing aircraft the best possible," said Lou Mancini, vice president and general manager, at a press briefing. As evidence, Boeing plans to form an operational control center, just like airlines have, probably in the third quarter.
Hamilton Sundstrand signed a 10-year support agreement with Qantas Airways covering electric power system products on the airline's fleet of 122 large commercial aircraft. Hamilton Sundstrand will complete the work at, supply the parts to and provide a dedicated on-site advisor to Qantas' maintenance facility in Sydney, Australia.
Expect news to come out of Airbus' and Boeing's Global Aviation RFID Forum, which was scheduled for March 29 to 30. Ken Porad, Boeing's principal engineer for Reliability & Maintainability, said "FAA is expected to release the national policy memo authorizing the safe use of passive RFID devices." He said there's an expectation that FAA will have the memo, or at least a draft of it, to show the audience. Porad also revealed that Boeing and FedEx completed another 90-day in-service evaluation of passive tags onboard an aircraft.
Shark Pressure Washers' line of solvent-free parts washers are designed to automatically clean small engine parts, pistons, cylinders, gaskets and brakes. The SK-5 series washers have 16 directional nozzles to produce a flushing action. Similar to a dishwasher, parts are loaded into a 26-in. by 16-in. stationary basket and cleaned with jets of hot water and biodegradable detergent. The SK-5 washer comes in either 115V or 230V and can handle loads up to 500 lbs. Shark Pressure Washers, 4275 N.W. Pacific Rim Blvd., Camas, WA 98607.
Bombardier Aerospace now offers an engine upgrade for its CRJ700 aircraft. By upgrading the GE CF34-8C1 engines to the CF34-8C5 engines, operators should save 15% on maintenance costs over 15 years.
[Editor's Note: Don Collier, a former Air Transport Association executive and a long-time industry observer, outlines what he believes FAA does well and areas where improvement is needed.] Rulemaking
BAE Systems North America has been awarded a $21 million U.S. Air Force contract, through Air Armament Center HQ at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to convert 17 retired USAF F-4E Phantoms to QF-4 Full-Scale Aerial Targets (FSATs), and to supply associated technical support. This award exercises the first of five annual options of a Lot 11 production contract. With all options, total contract value of Lots 10 to 15 could be $225 million.
Airbus finally unveiled on March 23 the maintenance companies that are part of its MRO network. The 11 include Air Canada Technical Services, Air New Zealand Engineering Services, EADS Sogerma Services, Iberia Maintenance & Engineering, Sabena Technics, SIA Engineering Co., Singapore Technologies Aerospace, SR Technics Switzerland, TACA Aeroman, TAP Maintenance & Engineering and TIMCO Aviation Services.
Lockheed Martin won a $7.3 million firm fixed-price U.S. Air Force contract modification to procure 14 line items of initial spares for Israel Air Force's F-16s. Work should be finished by December 2006.
U.S. scheduled airlines reported a combined net loss of $8.3 billion in 2004 and have lost approximately $31 billion in the past four years, according to statistics released in March by AeroEcon, a consulting company headed by former Air Transport Association economist David Swierenga. AeroEcon attributed the losses to skyrocketing fuel prices and the airlines' inability to raise fares. The International Air Transport Association estimates that the world's airlines lost $4.8 billion in 2004.
Eastman Chemical Co. introduced a methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) alternative, methyl propyl ketone (MPK), that is designed to be a low-density, non-HAP solvent for cleaning and surface preparation. MPK can replace MEK in hand wipes used for surface preparation of military and commercial aircraft. MPK is designed to evaporate more slowly than MEK, so wipes stay moist longer during cleaning. Eastman said if formulators want to achieve further volatile organic compounds reduction and faster solvent evaporation, MPK can be mixed with methyl acetate.
On March 10, 1996, the first MRO Conference & Exhibition was launched in Dallas. Ever since, it has played an integral role in the modern aviation MRO industry. Beginning April 19, 2005, Aviation Week is proud to present the 10th MRO, where Overhaul & Maintenance will be present as the official publication of the conference series.
IAE International Aero Engines selected Hamilton Sundstrand to manage accessory services, including total repair and inventory support, for its V2500 engines.
Monday, April 18 12:30 pm Golf Tournament Tuesday, April 19 9:00 a.m. Welcome/Opening Remarks 9:15 a.m. Keynote Speaker ADMIRAL VERN CLARK, Chief of Naval Operations 10:00 a.m. Military MRO Industry Overview and Forecast KEVIN MICHAELS, Principal, AeroStrategy DAVID PAULING, Asst. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense of Maintenance Policy, Programs and Resources 11:30 a.m. Streamlining MRO with Radio Frequency Identification
3M's HighJump Software customers who implemented its RFID compliance solution were fully operational by the Department of Defense January compliance requirements.
Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Co. (TAECO) will start converting Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft to freighters this year. It currently has contracts for 33 conversions through 2010.
