Boeing delivered to the U.S. Air Force the 200th T-38C Talon jet trainer modified as part of the T-38 Avionics Upgrade Program. Boeing plans to upgrade more than 500 trainers through this program.
Rolls-Royce promoted Stephen Friedrich to director of business development for its corporate aircraft business. He succeeds Peter Turner, who is going to International Aero Engines.
Anyone who has worked in manufacturing or maintenance knows how easy it is to lose tools, but a small U.K. company may have found a fool-proof solution. Instead of trying to track the tools, Coplan Ltd., based in Milton-Keynes, has turned logic on its head and opted to monitor the tool box. In the past, controls have been visual, usually comprising ``shadow boards'' where each tool is placed over its brightly painted outline. While this makes unfilled spaces easy to see, such boards can't say who took the missing tools or highlight where they might be.
U.S. government approval, and India's agreement to include 10% to 15% Russian industrial participation in the program, cleared the way last October for IAF acquisition of three Il-76-based Beriev A-50EhI airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft costing just over $1 billion. As prime contractors, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elta Electronics in Israel, with about 75% of the program, have joined Taganrog Beriev Technical Complex (TANTK) in Russia, Moscow Instrument Building Scientific Research Institute, and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
McKechnie Aerospace Aftermarket Group hired Craig Corey as director of marketing, engines. He previously was Northwest Airlines' manager of technical support shops and a machine shop/business unit manager.
DeCrane Aircraft Seating upgraded its customer support and service engineering department, which will, among other things, develop all service publications, service bulletins and service engineering communications. It will be based in Loves Park, Ill., along with the company's product development group.
Work was nearing completion late last year at Eindhoven by the Derco Aerospace subsidiary of Sikorsky Aircraft, as prime contractor, on customized avionics upgrades and support for two Royal Netherlands Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130H-30s operated since 1994. The 10-month Dutch contract awarded to Derco in February 2003 covered installation of modular open architecture systems to meet new European communications, navigation, and surveillance/air traffic management (GATM/FANS) requirements.
TDG Aerospace delivered its 600th NOFOD clear ice prevention system to AeroMexico for use on the airline's MD-80s. AeroMexico is the first carrier outside the U.S. to employ NOFOD.
Varig Engineering & Maintenance became a Honeywell authorized avionics repair center for commercial and military customers. VEM's avionics service center is located in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
DATA SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS RECEIVED A $1.6 MILLION CONTRACT from MyTravel Airways to supply CoreWing, an electronic pilot's log. CoreWing is part of Data Systems & Solutions' CoreControl suite of products, most of which provide maintenance and fleet health forecasting information.
LOCKHEED MARTIN SELECTED MXI'S MAINTENIX SOFTWARE for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Maintenix will form the commercial maintenance management system core of the F-35 JSF Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) and will provide asset management, maintenance program management, maintenance planning and scheduling, configuration control and work execution. The initial ALIS flight test capabilities will be tested in August 2005.
EADS Sogerma Services also will provide a complete support package for three Livingston Aviation Group Airbus A320s. This five-year contract is the second from Livingston; the first is for full support for three A321-200s.
BAE Systems, Information Electronic Systems Integration received a $9.5 million contract to design and test solid state digital recorders for an F/A-18 upgrade program.
MALAYSIA AIRLINES PLANS TO INSTALL THE JEPPESEN Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on two of its 15 Boeing 777s. Airline is scheduled to receive two 777s with the EFBs in November.
ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS AND CHINA AIRLINES SELECTED CONNEXION BY BOEING for their long-haul fleets. China Airlines will start installing the service late this year on Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340-300 aircraft.
Jet Aviation signed agreements with Williams-Rolls to support its FJ44 engine at Jet Aviation's Dallas, Duesseldorf, Singapore and Zurich facilities. The FJ44 powers new light business jets such as the Cessna CJ1 and CJ2 Citation and the Raytheon Premier Jet.
Just how serious Airbus is on entering the MRO market can be gauged not only by the creation of its own provider network, but also by its effort to increase the appeal of its maintenance support services. That's why the focus of this effort has been aimed at reliability improvements and maintenance cost reductions. ``There are two ways of improving aircraft economics in an airline operation,'' said Roger Lecomte, senior vice president maintenance Airbus.
ExpressJet Airlines selected Hamilton Sundstrand to provide repair and inventory support for the air management system on its fleet of Embraer 135/145 regional aircraft. The 10-year contract covers the airline's current fleet of 223 aircraft and the additional 51 it might acquire by mid-2006.
FAA's PMA parts database is full of entries for OEMs because companies only can obtain a Type Certificate for aircraft, engines and propellers. Companies that want FAA approval to produce parts can obtain either a PMA or, for certain equipment, a Technical Standard Order Authorization, according to FAA.
ConocoPhillips expanded its Phillips 66 X/C aviation product line to include three new specialty greases: X/C Aviation Grease 22CF, X/C Aviation Grease 27 and X/C Aviation Grease 45. These greases are designed for a variety of temperatures and uses, including lubricating instruments, bearings and airframes. ConocoPhillips, 600 N. Dairy Ashford, Houston, TX 77079
SPS TECHNOLOGIES' AEROSPACE FASTENERS GROUP LAUNCHED an updated version of its online fastener finder, which can be found at www.spstech.com/aero/fastenerfinder.com. Search results are displayed by type, strength and material, and the product's data sheet.
