Phillips Service Industries acquired Skytronics Inc. Technology firm Phillips sees the acquisition of the California maker and repairer of aircraft ball screws, actuator assemblies and transmissions as an expansion of its reach into aerospace; it also owns Beaver Aerospace & Defense, Sciaky Inc., Mountain Secure Systems, Evana Automation Specialists and PSI Repair Services.
Turkish Technic signed a five-year maintenance services agreement with SunExpress for its Boeing 737-800 landing gear, covering removal and installation and spare units. Turkish Technic plans to complete nine overhauls over the course of the program. Joint Ventures/Acquisitions
Abaris Training instructs more than 1,000 students a year at its three facilities in Reno, Nev.; Griffen, Ga. and London. Abaris offers a three-phase introduction to composites called Advanced Composite Structures, as well as advanced classes in structural engineering, stress analysis methods, drawing, tooling and bonded aluminum structures. Abaris also offers an introductory composites course online. www.abaris.com
Sabena technics renewed its agreement with Thomas Cook for line and light maintenance of the Belgian tour operator’s seven Airbus A320s for five more years from January 2011. The contract includes main base support in Brussels as well as component MRO and pool access.
In July 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia left intact a year-old rule that expanded drug and alcohol testing requirements to air carrier subcontractors “at any tier.” But as part of that decision, the appeals court ordered FAA to conduct a final regulatory flexible analysis (RFA) on the expansion—an order that the agency appeared to ignore over the next three years until the court threatened to put a hold on the expansion.
AeroTurbine signed a three-year, exclusive agreement with Webjet Linhas Aereas S.A. to provide engine management services including off-wing maintenance events for Webjet’s growing CFM International CFM56-3 fleet. Webjet is launch customer for AeroTurbine’s Flexible Engine Care Solutions, a tailored engine fleet maintenance product.
TAT Technologies subsidiary Piedmont Aviation Component Services selected Component Control’s Quantum Control enterprise resource planning software to replace its AS400-based application. Piedmont expects to have up to 80 users on the system after it goes live this year.
Job Air Technic at Ostrava International Airport in the Czech Republic is developing base maintenance capability for the Airbus A320 family and received EASA Part 145 approval for the A318/A319/A320/A321 including C checks, modifications, landing gear and engine changes.
ARINC Direct added Isaac Haertel as OEM and technical support manager for South America, based in Montevideo, Uraguay. Haertel formerly worked as a flight coordinator at the company’s headquarters in Annapolis, Md. He complements Regional Sales Manager Perla Fagundez at the company’s Buenos Aires office.
The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) Composites and Advanced Materials laboratory at Wichita State University in Kansas is a 7,420-ft. facility that offers researchers the ability to perform comprehensive materials testing. The composites laboratory has a lay-up room and equipment for bonded repairs, and researchers can test heat and humidity on materials in the structures and fatigue laboratory. NIAR offers classes with universities through the FAA Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials. www.niar.wichita.edu/
A J Walter Aviation decided to locate its new aircraft engine services division in Wales. It says it is targeting $50 million in business in the first year of the facility’s operations.
AirAsia X renewed a supplemental airframe maintenance agreement with Lufthansa Technik Philippines that covers light C checks on its Airbus fleet. The new contract expands a three-year base maintenance agreement signed last year, which already provided C checks, a heavy maintenance check, cabin retrofits and painting for nine AirAsia X Airbus A330s and two A340s.
The camera heads for the 5.0, 6.1 and 8.4 mm probes have an 1/6 in. color charge-coupled device CCD image sensor with a 440,000 pixel count. These cameras also have an added temperature warning sensor. The 3.9 and 6.2 mm probes have a 1/10 in. color CCD image sensor at 290,000 pixels. GE says the titanium camera head is eight times stronger than those that equip older borescopes. www.ge-mcs.com/microsites/xlg3-videoprobe/overview.html
Sukhoi’s Superjet 100 regional jet received type certification from the Russian aircraft certification authority, IAC AR, enabling delivery of the first aircraft. Armavia, which has two firm orders and two options, will receive the first. Sukhoi also conducted the maiden flight of Aeroflot’s first SS100 in the Russian flag-carrier’s colors. Aeroflot has 30 firm orders for the aircraft, plus 15 options. Noting the aircraft’s type certification, the OEM added it has been granted design organization approval certification from IAC AR.
O&M picked this year’s MRO of the Year award winners based on their contributions to military and commercial fleet readiness, championship of new technologies, inclusion of methods to drive efficiency and outstanding customer service. Our 2011 honorees—Air New Zealand Technical Operations, Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Airworks India and Big Ass Fans—provide exemplary models for business leadership, particularly in the areas of smart expansion and green energy.
Aftermarket acquisitions in the second decade of the new millennium got off to a fast start. Aviation consolidation in early 2011 has been “even more robust than we predicted,” summarizes Chris Doan, president and CEO of TeamSAI. “Activity in the first month of 2011 is equal to that of the first quarter in 2010.” Doan sees that strength continuing throughout the year and predicts its aerospace acquisitions will double or triple the number in 2010
Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Technical Thermodynamics have begun ground testing a new technology that, if successful, could eliminate much of the fuel burn and noise generated by airport taxiing.
The number of parked commercial aircraft peaked in the wake of 2008’s financial crisis, with thousands of mature and new-generation aircraft sitting in storage. But these days, the number of parked aircraft seems to be decreasing, and there is a hint of disagreement within the disassembly community about the exact factors driving down the number of assets in storage.
JDA Aviation Technology Solutions and Northwest Data Solutions partnered to introduce a safety management system (SMS) solution to operators interested in outsourcing those functions. It would implement virtual safety office and safety analyst mentor services for customers, hosted via Web-based program SMS Pro.
One year ago, pundits predicted that 2010 would be a tipping point for the airline aftermarket. The optimistic outlook ended up being true, and this year the same people predict growth.
A J Walter signed up African start-up Senegal Airline for a five-year, power-by-the-hour component support contract for its first two Airbus A319 aircraft. The airline also inked a multi-million-dollar spares lease with AJW, for components positioned in Dakar, and a contract for integrated consumables management services.
Aerospace-grade chemical supplier Socomore’s parent company Groupe Méaban acquired MagChem, based in Montreal. This acquisition is intended to reinforce Socomore’s market position in North America and complement recent investments in Dysol and Dynamold. Facilities
Irving Place Capital appointed Jeffrey D. Wood a senior advisor for its industrial practice. Wood formerly was president of Airfoil Technologies International and has 20 years of experience in aerospace, having worked at Pratt & Whitney, Interturbine and General Electric.
GE Aviation is investing $60 million in purchasing and refurbishing a Boeing 747-400 for use as a flying testbed for the next generation of engines, starting with the LEAP-X. It features GE CF6-80C2s and is based at GE’s Victorville, Calif., facility.
