Eaton Corp. will provide engine-driven hydraulic pumps as well as pump repair and overhaul services for Berlin-based airline Germania's new fleet of Airbus A319s. The value of the contracts was not disclosed. Eaton Corp. manufactures hydraulic pumps for the Airbus A319 in Bedhampton, England, where the repair and overhaul services for Germania also will take place.
Atlantic Fasteners launched a new website, www.AFAero.com, to give aerospace customers better access to its inventory of nearly 10,000 fasteners, connectors, screws and other mil-spec hardware.
EADS in late March completed the acquisition of Canadian helicopter repair company Vector Aerospace. Vector will become part of Eurocopter, which has a mandate to increase its services activity. EADS says the deal for Vector Aerospace values the business at C$625 million ($641 million), or a 15% premium over the March 25 closing price. The price already had increased on takeover rumors and represents an 80% premium above the Dec. 2 price, when Vector Aerospace said it would consider a sale.
Eaton Corp. will provide engine-driven hydraulic pumps as well as pump repair and overhaul services for Berlin-based airline Germania's new fleet of Airbus A319s. The value of the contracts was not disclosed. Eaton Corp. manufactures hydraulic pumps for the Airbus A319 in Bedhampton, England, where the repair and overhaul services for Germania also will take place.
Boeing announced the availability of GoldCare services for 737NG operators in late March. The tailor-made aftermarket program first rolled out for the Boeing 787, but now the OEM is offering it for its next-gen narrowbodies. TUI Travel became the launch customer for the 787 aftermarket management program last April, when it selected GoldCare coverage for its 13 787s. The OEM says it is having “advanced discussions with multiple customers” for 737NG GoldCare, but it has not announced a first client for the service.
Complacency has been called “the silent killer” and “the greatest threat to the survival of organizations today.” It seeps quietly into maintenance hangars over time as technicians become more comfortable in their jobs and begin taking shortcuts, such as not using checklists or using an out-of-date tool rather than making the trek to get a serviceable replacement. And complacency spreads: other technicians witness these shortcuts and figure they can get away with them, too.
Navairsyscom reissued STCs to install dual universal UNS-1D flight management systems and Raytheon APX-119 IFE transponder on various DC-9 aircraft, STCs ST01513AT and ST00022MC
As a long-time supplier of measuring and stacking equipment for engine overhaul shops, Axiam has helped companies such as Delta TechOps, Lufthansa Technik and Pratt & Whitney improve the engine assembly process. Now Axiam is upgrading its Engine Core Restoration (ECR) software, which two commercial engine repair shops use. Axiam will add two new assembly processes called Flow Path Management and Geometric Rotor Stacking and Balancing to its software suite.
United Airlines promoted Michael Lorenzini to managing director of United Technical Operations, maintenance control. He also serves as director of maintenance. Airframes
Super98, a group of mostly ex-McDonnell Douglas and Boeing engineering veterans, said in March that it is in discussions with potential launch customers for an aerodynamic improvement kit designed to reduce the drag of MD-80 family twinjets by at least 3.5%. The kit is about to be certificated and offered for retrofit for both passenger and converted freighter models. It is the first of a potential two-phase improvement plan that could ultimately see MD-80 drag reduced by as much as 7.5%.
Nordam offers cabin windows and transparencies for most types of commercial aircraft, either directly to airframe manufacturers for installation during production or to third-party MRO providers as PMA parts. The company's capabilities include Airbus A320, A330, A340 and A380 models; Boeing 737, 747, 757 and 777 aircraft; Bombardier CRJ regional jets and Dash 8 turboprop aircraft; the Comac ARJ21 and Embraer 145. Nordam's transparency division supports American Airlines' Boeing fleet and Delta Air Lines' A320s and 747s. www.nordam.com
For life-limited consumables, more airlines and MROs are looking at small kit packaging as one approach to inventory control that saves money and reduces waste, says Randy Wilt, director of corporate marketing for Graco Supply and Integrated Services.
Boeing added Ethiopian Airlines as the 13th customer for its 777 Component Services Program, a parts-provisioning service offered by Boeing and Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance designed to reduce airlines' upfront investment in inventory. For Ethiopian Airlines, the program initially will support three Boeing 777-200LR aircraft delivered since November 2010; the airline expects to receive two more aircraft of the type this year, one in late April and another sometime in the third quarter.
Lufthansa Technik's Hamburg auxiliary power unit (APU) shop added the Hamilton Sundstrand APS2300 to its repair portfolio with certification from the German Federal Office of Civil Aviation. The APS2300 APU equips Embraer 170/190 family aircraft. Lufthansa Technik says it has signed a contract with Air Dolomiti for APS2300 services, and work on the first APS2300 started in March.
One of the most important safety concerns in the hangar is the risk of falls, especially when technicians traverse the top of an aircraft to perform maintenance duties.
Diversified Fall Protection designs, fabricates and installs custom fall protection systems for aircraft operators. Its rigid trolley beam fall arrest system is the most popular type of product for aircraft maintenance hangars; this system complies with OSHA standards. The company's Cartesian trolley system gives workers the freedom to move about on two axes. Diversified Fall Protection also supports fall systems for tarmac maintenance. www.fallprotect.com/aircraft-hangar.html
Dublin Aerospace won a contract from Ukraine International Airways for the loan and overhaul of Boeing 737 Classic landing gears. As of April 5, the first shipset of landing gears had been completed; the remaining four shipsets will be completed over the next two years.
Sargent Aerospace & Defense's aftermarket services group acquired more than 1,200 Boeing 737 line-replaceable units worth approximately $4 million in mid-March. Sargent's Miami facility was expected to receive the majority of these components—which range from avionics, fuel pumps, electromechanical actuators and engine components to landing gear top assembly units—in overhauled condition, ready for outright sale and exchange and lease programs.
Solo Aviation in Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela, became a GE Aviation authorized service center for M601 and H80 turboprop engines. Solo Aviation now offers line maintenance, removals and re-installations of engines and LRUs and engine spares for the M601 and H80 engine families; GE Aviation will provide Solo Aviation with comprehensive material support and training.
Like many major carriers, United Airlines had developed its own in-house tools for doing diagnostics on its fleet. But around 2005 and 2006 the airline was starting to fly more routes to very distant destinations where the costs of having a grounded aircraft, and ferrying parts and repair crews, could be very high. So it took a look at Boeing's Aircraft Health Monitoring, speaking both to the airframe manufacturer and early adopters of the system.
In June 2009, the Air Transport Association published its Spec 2000 Chapter 9 data standard for the permanent identification of parts, the identification of receiving/shipping information and traceability. Contrary to popular belief, Spec 2000 Chapter 9 is strictly a “data standard”—not a technology standard. Fourteen required fields of information have been defined, including a small section providing an option to record additional information.
