It's 3 o'clock in the morning. Tony Sanico is about to test the purity of the ``Spirit of America.'' It's delicate night work, but ``somebody's got to do it.'' He walks on asphalt and dirt through the dark and cold to the curvaceous object of his intent. It's Goodyear's newest blimp. And he is testing the purity of the helium that fills her envelope. She's a GZ 20 model --192 feet long, almost 60 feet high and 50 feet wide -- filled with 202,700 cubic feet of high-grade helium.
Malaysian Institute of Aviation Training started offering classes, including aviation maintenance, avionics, composites and technical management, at its Kuala Lumpur International Airport facility. Northrop Rice USA is the technology provider.
Sabena Technics received a two-year contract from Virgin Express to perform C checks for its fleet of 14 737-300 and -400s. Sabena will perform the first 10 C checks in the first half of this year.
Conidia Bioscience's FuelStat resinae is a bug contamination detector kit for aviation fuel that IATA recently recommended. The company says aircraft that fly in the tropics or business jets, which typically fly fewer hours than commercial aircraft, are more likely to get fungal contamination. FuelStat is designed to quickly and accurately detect the damaging fungus so operators can detect the problem before damage sets in. Conidia Bioscience, Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey TW209TY, UK.
TAFA, a subsidiary of Praxair Surface Technologies, created a metal coating designed to strongly adhere to glass and ceramics. The company said the process is particularly good for creating electrically conductive and solderable coatings on ceramic components of electronic systems and electrical heating patterns on glass. The process is possible due to TAFA's development of a specially designed wire arc spray gun and an aluminum alloy. Praxair Surface Technologies, TAFA Inc., 146 Pembroke Rd., Concorde, NH 03301
Rockwell Collins received STC for its FPI-902 electronic attitude director indicator/electronic horizontal situation indication on DC-10 and 747 classic aircraft.
MTU Maintenance Hannover secured a five-year contract from TNT Express Worldwide to repair its CF6-50 engines on a fly-by-hour basis. The contract is worth $25 million.
Fokker Services will perform all ``return to service work,'' including extensive maintenance and reconfiguration, on 17 ex-US Airways Fokker 100 aircraft that Germania acquired in December. On Feb. 6, Fokker Services, launched its ``Future 100'' program, which is attempting to remarket Fokker 100s that currently are available for lease or sale.
Delta TechOps received a seven-year contract from code-sharing partner Royal Air Maroc to maintain two 767-300ER aircraft. Services include engineering, line and component maintenance, inventory and administrative support. Delta and Royal Air Maroc also are discussing cooperative maintenance services for the latter's 767, 757 and 737 aircraft in Africa.
Bell Helicopter Textron reported completion on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Navy's Patuxent River, Md., flight-test center of the envelope expansion portion of the test program for its first upgraded AH-1Z (Zulu One) Super Cobra attack helicopter. More than 400 hours of flight development were required to complete the first major portion of this Marine Corps' program, since the AH-1Z's first flight in December, 2000.
Premier Turbines added new test cell equipment, the Howell Instruments Automated Engine Data Acquisition Testing System III, for JT12 and JFTD12 engines at its Perryville, Mo., facility.
CAE signed a $15.6 million contract with Lockheed Martin to design additional C-130J training devices for the U.S. Air Force. This includes maintenance and pilot training.
FAA's proposed timeline for installing tamper-proof transponders on the U.S. fleet coincides with its already-set March 2005 deadline for installing terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS). But keeping both rules on the same track will not be easy, as the transponder rule already is behind schedule. The transponder notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) lays out a timetable that ends with a March 29, 2005, compliance date.
Lufthansa Technik has widened its MRO network over the past several years, opening joint ventures in China (AMECO-Beijing), Ireland (Shannon Aerospace), the USA (AirLiance Materials), Hungary (Malev Hungarian Airlines), the Philippines (Lufthansa Technik Philippines) and Malta (Lufthansa Technik Malta). O&M European (Commercial) Editor Bill Burchell spoke with LHT Thomas Stuger, senior vice president aircraft maintenance, about the company's latest joint venture, the one with Air Malta.
Aviation Learning named Marty Whalen as vice president of instructor services. He most recently was business and marketing manager for the Rolls-Royce customer training center.
Lufthansa Technik signed a contract with Air Europa to maintain and overhaul the CFM56-7B26 engines that will power the Spanish airline's fleet of 737 NGs over the next 10 years. In addition, Japan Airlines selected Lufthansa Technik to maintain some of its CF6-80 thrust reversers.
Brown & Sharpe is the exclusive North American distributor of Krypton K series optical coordinate measuring machines, which are designed to use optical triangulation technology to inspect large parts, such as sheet metal assemblies or interior parts, on the shop floor. These portable measuring machines combine three cameras in a carbon-fiber frame with an LED-driven probing device. By using cameras instead of lasers, operators can avoid some of the environmental issues associated with laser trackers.
A70 million ($115 million) U.K. MoD post-design services contract, received by BAE Systems' Customer Solutions & Support business (CSS) in December, breaks with tradition by covering the next 10 years of technical support to Royal Navy and Royal Air Force BAE Harrier V/STOL fighters. Awarded by the MoD's Defense Logistics Organization (DLO), the initial contract covers sustaining elements for the first three years and is worth 10 million ($16 million).
Ever since the break up of the Soviet Union, countries in Eastern Europe have been looking for links with the West and, if they get their way, will be part of the European Union by the end of this decade. Long after the Iron Curtain fell, however, most of these countries relied on Russian passenger aircraft for their air transport needs, and it's only in the past five years that most of their national airlines have switched their aircraft fleets to Western types.
Being a line maintenance technician is a lot like being a groom waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. Like the bride, if the airplane is late, there's nothing to do but wait. She'll show up eventually. In most marriage ceremonies, proceedings go smoothly. Every now and then, however, the best man forgets the ring. It's that way with airplanes, too; sometimes it's only a broken coffee pot in the galley to deal with. Other times the wheels fall off, in a figurative sense.
BAE Systems received a 20-year, $485 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to support F-16s. This follow-on contract is for engineering services to the USAF and 18 international air forces for automatic test equipment.
Dassault Falcon Jet named John Rahilly vice president of national sales and marketing for the OEM's factory-owned aircraft service network, which consists of facilities in Little Rock, Ark., and Wilmington, Del. Rahilly was most recently vice president of operations for Mercury Air Centers. Also, Dassault named Todd McGahey as vice president and general manager of its Wilmington facility. He most recently was responsible for Garrett Aviation Services in Springfield, Ill., and three satellite facilities.
FlightSafety Boeing Training chose Alteon as its new name. The training company, now wholly owned by Boeing, will start using its new name on April 14.
The hangars were full at Lockheed Martin Aircraft & Logistics Centers' (LMALC) Greenville Aircraft Center (GAC), but the operation's business focus wasn't clear. Lockheed Martin had invested $40 million there since it set up shop at the former Donaldson Air Force Base in 1984. Its investments were paying off, but its business was a bit disjointed. According to David Posek, LMALC's new president, LMALC has been profitable (he declined to be more specific), but he's not satisfied with the degree of profitability.
