Gazpromavia Aviation signed a five-year contract with AFI KLM E&M for its subsidiary Epocor to maintain Boeing 737NG auxiliary power units. Gazpromavia is Epcor’s first Russian customer.
Roger van der Velden teaches aviation professionals how to interpret and implement the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)’s regulations at Jargon Aviation Consultancy, his training company in The Netherlands. But he found that hard copies of the EASA regulations went out of date quickly as the agency made amendments to the rules, making it hard for companies to interpret the most recent version of the laws. To solve the problem, van der Velden invented eParts, a consolidated, searchable PDF document updated by the date of the regulations' entry into force.
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres appointed Marcus Hancock technical director. He joins Dunlop from Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. Europe, where he was general manager of the company’s European Technical Center.
Fokker Services lined up Italian start-up Eagle Airlines for a FlyFokker Take Off contract to support the entry into service of its two Fokker 100s. PGA-Portugalia Airlines signed a FLYFokker Take Care contract to support six Fokker 100s.
AFI KLM E&M bought Aero Maintenance Group, and Christian Tallec will become its new CEO. Tallec comes to the position after working as head of Air France’s operations control center and serving as AFI KLM E&M’s VP sales and marketing.
Crane Aerospace’s enhanced landing gear control interface unit (LGCIU) now is standard on new-production Airbus A320 aircraft, and it is available for retrofits. The new LGCIU offers weight savings and has improved operational reliability. The inter-communication of the LGCIU is designed to optimize maintenance by providing better BITE functionality and fault isolation. www.craneae.com
GE Aviation inked engine, fuel and carbon management OnPoint contracts with Air India and Alitalia. The 20-year contract with Air India includes expanding the carrier’s MRO capabilities at Mumbai to include engine overhaul for the GE90. Eventually, it aims to add an engine MRO facility in Nagpur. For Alitalia, GE will analyze fuel spend and operations using proprietary software and consulting services. It expects to reduce the airline’s fuel consumption by 3% on certain segments.
Delta TechOps requires line maintenance workers to wear Class 2 vests such as this one from Ergodyne. The 8205HL model is made from ANSI-compliant polyester mesh and tape, and has a hook and loop closure. The vest can be purchased from a list of distributors available on Ergodyne's website. www.ergodyne.com
Barfield entered into a 10-year support contract with Avianca-TACA for its Airbus A320 fleet. Barfield will provide components support for Avianca, TACA, Aerogal and Ocean Air. It also plans to open repair facilities in Colombia.
ST Aerospace joint venture ST Aerospace (Guangzhou) Aviation Services Co. received a business license to build an aircraft repair facility in Guangzhou. It should open in the second half of 2013.
Sargent Aftermarket Services’ wheel and brake shop in Miami provides wheel and brakes overhaul and repair for most Boeing aircraft, MD-80 series, MD-11, L1011 and Airbus A300 and A320 aircraft. MRO capabilities at the Sargent facility support components from multiple OEMs: Goodrich, Honeywell Landing Systems, Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems, Cleveland Wheel and Brakes and Messier-Bugatti. www.sargentaerospace.com
Have you ever wondered how tools and other paraphernalia can get left behind when a technician closes up a workspace? From the flashlight left in a nose wheel steering cable run to rags left in engines, the maintenance world is often left scratching its head trying to answer this question: How did a maintenance professional miss something so obvious?
Constant Aviation brought Kevin Dillon onboard as VP operations at its Birmingham, Ala., facility. Dillon joins Constant Aviation from his most recent position as managing director at Avantair; prior to that, he managed sales and acquisitions for Flight Options.
CFM International and Air China finalized a joint venture agreement established in 2007 to set up Sichuan Services Aero Engines Maintenance Co. in Chengdu.
TeamSAI M&E Solutions expanded its technical services support for World Airways. In addition to reliability and maintenance program support, TeamSAI M&E Solutions will provide all engineering functions and responsibilities including liaison and operational support, on-wing powerplant engineering, modification programs, reliability improvement, configuration management and service bulletin evaluation.
Much to my chagrin, I spotted an error in our January issue about two minutes after opening it. I bristled and wondered how this could have happened—especially in my editor’s message! This is the only mistake I found in the issue, thankfully, but my disappointment made me backtrack. How could it have happened? Voilà, it was human factors error. I was rushed and facing a deadline, subject to the same pressures that weigh on airlines and MROs as they hurry to get aircraft back up in the air!
Turkish Technic signed agreements with Yakutia Airlines for one Boeing 737NG C check and one 737NG A check to be performed in Istanbul. It also grew its work for OrenAir with two Boeing 737-800 C check and painting contracts, plus a VSV bushing replacement on two CFM International CFM56-7B engines and one 737-500 landing gear set overhaul; Turkish Technic provided six C checks, several mod applications and engine/APU removal/installation services to Orenair in 2010.
ST Aerospace was picked by Guggenheim Aviation Partners to perform a passenger-to-passenger/cargo or combi conversion on a Boeing 757-200 aircraft for TNT Airways. The conversion is ST Aerospace’s first 757-200 combi conversion on a commercial aircraft. To complete it, ST Aerospace will obtain FAA and EASA STCs based on its existing FAA-approved STC for 757-200 passenger-to-freighter conversion work. ST Aerospace says it has redelivered 50 converted 757-200 freighters to date, with a backlog of 56 aircraft.
