Representatives of the repair station industry, motivated by an ominous deadline inserted as part of the rulemaking directive, are working to help the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) meet a Congressional mandate to craft repair station security rules, even though they question the need for such an exercise.
Active RFID -- No governing standards, being developed -- Transmit energy often in 400 MHz, 900 MHz and 2.45 GHz ranges -- Requires onboard power source with large memory -- Can be read, or written to, from about 300 ft. or less -- Costs about $100 per tag -- DOD already is using active tags -- Primarily used on costly items -- Their physical size is larger than passive tags Passive RFID
International Air Transport Association promoted David Mawdsley to safety director. He joined IATA in January 2001 as assistant director of safety and previously was head of corporate safety at Cathay Pacific.
Garrett Aviation selected Rockwell Collins' Pro Line 21 avionics to include in its Cessna Citation 501 retrofit program. System deliveries will begin in January 2005.
ABAQUS received a contract from Boeing Intellectual Property Business to develop technology to predict fracture and failure in laminated composite materials.
A $1.32 billion December 2002 contract to upgrade NATO's 17 E-3A AWACS aircraft through the Mid-Term Modernization Program (MTMP) was improperly awarded to Boeing, according to an April report by the U.S. Defense Department's Inspector General, Joseph Schmitz. This claims that the contract was negotiated by Darlene Druyan, who later joined Boeing as Missile Defense Systems vice president, and has since pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy in another matter involving Boeing, for which she was discharged.
Karl Storz's TechnoPack X is a remote visual inspection (RVI) system that features a laser measuring system called LaserTrue, which provides measurement on demand. After turning it on, the laser projects through the scope on the workpiece. An operator sets two points on the screen and measurement is automatic. Measurements can be displayed on the screen and stored with the image. The TechnoPack X system includes the ready to use videoscope, keyboard, mouse and monitor. It comes with PCMCIA cards and floppy disc drives for image storage and transfer.
BAE Systems received $60 million worth of follow-contracts from the U.S. Air Force for weapon system upgrades to EC-130H Compass Call aircraft, which are modified Hercules. BAE Systems also received a $24 million contract for Block 35 Lot 4 upgrades to be completed in 2006, as well as a $16 million Prime Mission Engineering Support Services contract for work to be completed in 2005.
Airbus SAS selected Total Engine Support (TES) to supply engine and APU technical services for the Airbus Asset Management portfolio. With this three-year contract, TES's managed engine body includes more than 1,200 engines.
Keystone Helicopter signed a maintenance agreement with America Rising, the only scheduled helicopter airline in the U.S., to provide overhaul and repair services.
NetJets named David Miller senior vice president of fleet management. He will be in charge of fleet acquisitions, maintenance programs and aircraft planning. Miller most recently was senior vice president and general manager of L-3 Communications/EMP Systems.
M.C. Gill will manufacture raw stock panels for Triumph Composite Systems, which will fabricate them into ready-to-install aircraft floor panels for both OEM and aftermarket customers.
IFS Australia signed a contract with Jet Turbine Services to implement its IFS Applications software for MRO services, including document management and financials. Jet Turbine Services recently acquired the former Ansett engine maintenance facility in Melbourne.
Progress at last shows signs of being made for limited NATO upgrades of about 100 Mil Mi-24D/V ``Hind D/E'' attack helicopters operated by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Some degree of NATO system standardization was sought through a planned cooperative agreement between these four Central European Visegrad countries. In the absence of operational equipment requirements and funding level agreements, however, the Visegrad countries began pursuing individual Mi-24 and Mi-8/17 upgrade options.
Rolls-Royce's annual 10-year helicopter forecast revealed that 10,724 turbine-powered helicopters collectively worth $95.6 billion will be delivered from 2004 to 2013. The split will be 50:50, on a unit basis, between civil and military sales. On the civil side, turbine singles will represent 57% of the deliveries and light twins will account for 23%. Rolls-Royce predicted that substantial engine upgrades will occur on military rotorcraft during this time.
Permacel's P-626 and P-626SL cargo liner seam tapes are made from flame-retardant glass cloth backing and are Boeing BMS 5-146 QPL approved. The Permacel tapes also meet Airbus ABD 0031 requirements and FAA 8110-3 certificates for FAR 25.853 and 25.855 flame-retardancy standards. The P-626 shown in the photo is being used to seam cargo liner panel joints to maintain a cargo bay's flame retardancy. Permacel, Attn: Scott Barnes, Aerospace Business Manager, US Highway #1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
In 2003, Lufthansa Technik's companies increased their total number of customers to 458. Two-hundred-and-one new contracts were signed that were valued at 284 million -- 54 of them with new customers. This compared favorably with 2002 when 119 new contracts were signed, including 35 new customers. The number of aircraft being serviced by the group, including the Lufthansa fleet, rose by 11% to a total of 959.
Volvo Aero and British Airways signed a deal to market the airline's surplus spares inventory. Volvo Aero will sell about $100 million in Boeing spares. Wizz Air awarded Lufthansa Technik a five-year Total Technical Support contract, which includes line and base maintenance, for its Airbus A320 fleet.
ATA Airlines deployed Teradata Solutions' data warehouse, customer relationship management and revenue management software to enhance the airline's efficiency. Before, ATA maintained 45 different data sources to cover daily airline activities -- from maintenance to customer service to forecasting. These three Teradata nodes replace the 45.
Dallas Airmotive transitioned from the ISO 9002 standard to the latest ISO 9001:2000 certification for its major overhaul facilities and Regional Turbine Centers. Gulfstream Aerospace expanded the product support of its aircraft in Latin America by collaborating with Varig Engineering & Maintenance's So Paulo facility to boost Gulfstream model-specific technician maintenance training and increase spare parts inventory to $2.4 million.
AVPAC changed its name to Duncan Aviation Parts Support Services to more closely align with its parent company, Duncan Aviation. The parts, components and consignment company will retain the same staff, in addition to adding two technical sales representatives: Darrell Cermak and Mike Mettscher.
CMC Electronics received a contract from Kalitta Air to supply its CMA-900 GPS-based flight management systems for Kalitta's Boeing 747 cockpit upgrade program. CMC Electronics also recently delivered the system to KLM Engineering & Maintenance, which is completing Martinair's avionics upgrade program for four 747s this year.
Jet Aviation Singapore recently scheduled extensive maintenance on a couple of business jets, and said its pre-purchase inspections and other maintenance projects are picking up in Asia again.
British Airways selected Tel-Instrument Electronics' TR-220 multi-function test sets to test aircraft that are being upgraded to meet the new Eurocontrol requirements for Mode S and ADS-B.
