Australia's transport minister announced sweeping reforms for the country's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) that, among other things, will give CASA leeway in assessing penalties for certificate holders. One of the many upsides -- at least according to the regulators -- is that maintenance shops and other certificate holders won't wither on the financial vine during long, drawn-out appeal proceedings. Under CASA's previous system, alleged regulatory violations often meant certificates were completely pulled.
Rockwell Collins Aviation Services' Harry Gregory, vice president and general manager, received the SAE Aerospace Customer Support Person of the Year award.
BAE Systems received a 10 million ontract from the U.K. Ministry of Defence to supply its web-based Trilogi system for maintenance and operations information.
Jet Aviation Zurich received approval from Swiss and Saudi Arabian authorities to perform heavy maintenance and hot section inspections on PW500 engines. Tracer added a 30,000-sq.-ft. office and ware-house facility at its Milwaukee headquarters.
Derco Aerospace completed major C-130 upgrade programs for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). Derco upgraded five aircraft for the FAB and three for the BDF.
Airod completed the second stretch modification of a Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130H. Work involved adding two fuselage plugs to increase the cargo volume by 33%. Malaysian government and Airod are in the final stages of signing a second contract for two more C-130s.
Lightning Eliminators and Consultants' tow-bar mounted grounding assembly is designed to eliminate bound charge and static discharge hazard by providing a low-resistance connection to the pavement, which provides safety to ground crews during storms. The assembly is made of stainless steel components and it clamps to any aircraft tow bar with a U-bar. A spring-loaded plunger presses a stainless steel castored ``tire'' to the driving surface. Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, 6687 Arapahoe Rd., Boulder, CO
Cordiem hired Thierry Kolton as country manager for France and Spain, and it hired Alan Rutter as senior account manager for the U.K., Africa and the Middle East. Both are new positions.
Triumph Group purchased the assets of Boeing's fabrication operation, which is dedicated to the production of parts made of composite and thermoplastic materials.
Weyer Indutec released two compact aircraft deicers designed for general aviation aircraft. The Hotspray De-Icer is a high-pressure unit that heats deicing fluid up to 50 degrees Celsius. The smaller unit weighs 8 kg and contains 5 liters of fluid, and the bigger version carries 10 liters. The unit is especially designed to spot deice aircraft parts like propellers or wings. Weyer Indutec, Schonbachstr. 2, D-86919 Utting, Germany
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero) signed a seven-year, US$7.5 million agreement with AirAsia to provide rotable component management and support for five Boeing 737-300s.
Snecma Services introduced a control display unit (CDU) training device for CFM56-7B engines that is designed to simulate the CDU installed on a 737. The device, originally designed to support the CFM56-7B training course, now is available as a stand-alone product supplied on a CD-ROM. One of the advantages of this product is that it's always available on a PC, accessible anytime, to run engine fault messages and tests. It displays about 250 screens to help technicians learn how to retrieve a message and its relevant complementary information, according to its type.
FAA approved Aviation Learning's new Standard Practices courses for one-hour training credits as part of the agency's AMT awards program. FlightSafety Boeing Training International and Virgin Blue Airlines selected Brisbane, Australia for its new joint-venture training center. (FSBTI plans to change its name in the first quarter to reflect that it is now a wholly owned Boeing company.)
ASG introduced the IS-1000 line of inspection systems. They are designed to provide nondestructive methods of visually inspecting hidden solder joints. They are designed to be used to reduce field failures and detect tiny cracks, surface defects and other abnormalities. All three models include an LED light source and resolution of 330 by 350 lines. The IS-1000H system provides 130 times magnification, which makes it good for detailed component inspection, while the IS-100L system provides 70 times magnification, making it better for internally inspecting components.
The Performance Engineering Group's Thaw-Pak radiant heating and snow melting systems are designed to prevent ice and snow accumulation on hangar door rails. The system automatically detects moisture, and when it does, Thaw-Pak's non-ferrous, copper tube boilers are designed to heat a water and glycol mixture that flows through plastic tubes embedded in the concrete next to the hangar door rails. When the concrete's temperature reaches around 38 degrees Fahrenheit, the boilers and snow melting systems turn off automatically.
FAA issued notices of civil penalties to United and two other airlines for alleged maintenance violations in December. United's violation was the biggest in terms of penalty size, as FAA proposed the ailing carrier pay $805,000 for operating three Boeing 757s with improperly repaired holes in spoilers. United said it is fighting the penalty, with a spokesman noting that the problems did not threaten the plane's safety or airworthiness. FAA inspectors found that United mechanics used speed tape to repair several holes on the 757 spoilers last March.
Airbus received a renewed JAR 145 certificate on Dec. 10. This is the first certificate issued to the integrated Airbus company by DGAC, on behalf of the JAA and FAA.
Having converted four ex-airline Airbus A310s as multi-role cargo/passenger transport aircraft for the German Luftwaffe, EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke engineering division began further adaptation in November of another two for additional air tanker roles. As multi-role tanker/transports (MRTTs), the A310s will be equipped with a hose-and-drogue air-refueling pod beneath each outer wing. Additional lower fuselage tanks will be installed for 70 to 90 metric tons of fuel, for initial deliveries after flight-development and certification, from early 2004.
Carpenter Technology's line of aerospace alloys in strip form can be used to make critical parts and components that require heat resistance up to 2,000 degrees F (1,093 degrees C), corrosion resistance and high strength. The alloys can be used for parts like fasteners, turbine blades and jet engine components. The alloy strips are 0.003 to 0.240 inches thick and 3/8 to 13.5 inches wide. Carpenter Technology, 1047 N. Park Rd., Wyomissing, PA 19610-1339
A Final Operational Clearance Recommendation (FOCR) from EADS Military Aircraft cleared the way for delivery of the first MDC F-4 kit-proof production aircraft to the Hellenic air force. EADS Military Aircraft is prime contractor for the F-4E Phantom II Avionics Upgrade Program (AUP). The hand-over of FOCR documents marked successful completion of both the second test phase in Greece, and the development, prototype modification and validation elements of the HAF's ``Peace Icarus 2000'' AUP contract No.4/97 by EADS.
TIMCO took over the Aviation Management Systems (AMS) facility at Phoenix Goodyear Airport in December, following AMS's Chapter 7 filing. A TIMCO spokesman said the company had been looking for a West Coast maintenance facility for quite a while. After AMS's bankruptcy filing, TIMCO sent a team of 30 technicians to support aircraft stuck there. It now has 35 staff in Phoenix, but it plans to expand that after reconfiguring the facility.
