Flight development of the RAF's first BAE Harrier GR.7 V/STOL ground-attack fighter with an uprated Mk 107 turbofan started on Sept. 20 at Warton, in the hands of BAE test-pilot Mark Bowman. The successful initial 45-minute sortie followed the December 1999 MoD contract to replace the GR.7's original 21,500-pound thrust 11-21 Pegasus Mk 105 engine with the Mk 107 unit, similar to the Pegasus 11-61s in the U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Plus Harrier IIs.
Icelandair ordered the CTT Zonal Drying System for three of its Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The first installation of the Zonal Drying System in the Icelandair aircraft started this year. The Drying System eliminates condensation on the aircraft structure by drying out the critical area between the cabin and the aircraft skin.
Rockwell Collins appointed John W. Borghese as vice president and general manager of Kaiser Aerospace & Electronics, a Rockwell Collins company. He previously was vice president of Kaiser electronics.
Despite the awareness of human factors in the aircraft maintenance industry and the general acknowledgement that it reduces errors and accidents, few airlines and MROs have committed to full-blown programs. In Europe, there's no doubt the Joint Aviation Authorities' (JAA) Notice of Proposed Administration-12 (NPA-12) once mandated will change the way business is done forever. The JAA submitted NPA-12 to the EC for approval and Gert Litterscheidt, JAA maintenance director, believes it will be approved in this form and become law in early 2003.
The subject of cargo conversion is somewhat analogous to the aerodynamic effects of a boomerang. In your grasp, there's a flat, angular throwing club. You hurl it far into the air, only to have it return again. Such can be said about the profit potential of converting passenger airliners to freighters -- a topic that comes back for review and implementation, time and again. But this time, the urge to hurl the idea away is suppressed somewhat by several factors.
FAA's proposed timeline for implementing reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) standards in U.S. domestic airspace will put tremendous pressure on non-airline operators to get their equipment certified or face significant operational penalties come December 2004. That's according to several organizations that filed comments on FAA's proposed domestic RVSM (DRVSM) rule published earlier this year.
EADS Aeroframe Services, Lake Charles, La., received JAA certification to perform overhaul, maintenance and refurbishment on aircraft registered in Europe. EADS Aeroframe Services, a joint venture of EADS Sogerma Services (81%) and Northrop Grumman (19%), also is an FAA approved repair station.
Jet Aviation London Biggin Hill recently was named an approved repair station by the Civil Aviation Authority of Saudi Arabia. The new approval allows the facility to perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, airframe and engine repairs, avionics modifications, inspections, defect rectifications and painting on Falcon, Hawker and Gulfstream aircraft registered in Saudi Arabia.
Unison Industries appointed Michael Sanders vice president of engineering. Sanders, most recently manager of electrical control systems at GE Aircraft Engines, was a member of the Unison/GE engineering integration team following GE Engine Services' acquisition of Unison in April.
The aerospace and defense industry is likely to contract even more over the next three or four years as the lack of work and need to remain competitive drive small and mid-tier companies to consolidate, industry observers say. The need to consolidate has its roots in the end of the Cold War, when U.S.-Soviet hostilities ceased and defense budgets began to fall, said Jon Kutler, chairman and CEO of Quarterdeck Investment Partners.
Meggitt PLC acquired Lodge, an aerospace sensors and transducers and industrial igniters business, from Smiths Group plc for 33 million pounds sterling in cash. Lodge products are used in a variety of engines, including the Rolls-Royce Trent, RB99, RB211 and Pegasus; Honeywell T55; Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6a; and Fiat/GEAE T64.
Jet Aviation Zurich installed its first moving terrain system into a Citation Excel aircraft. The moving map indicates the position of an aircraft on the ground and in flight on an LCD display screen and immediately alters the position when the aircraft moves. The system consists of a control display computer, a GPS receiver and a GPS antenna.
Maintenance work has slowed down in Europe, although not as much as in the U.S., according to Pascal Eymery, a Paris-based partner in Accenture's airline practice. But the key players in European maintenance, Lufthansa Technik, Air France Industries and Airbus-affiliate Sogerma, should have a growing market in the coming years. Europe's low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair, GO and EasyJet, are expanding. ``Low-cost airlines are increasing their market share, and they outsource a lot of MRO,'' Eymery said.
ARINC Inc. appointed Randolph F. Pizzi to the new position of managing director, Asian operations. Pizzi joined ARINC in 1987 and most recently served as head of commercial aviation marketing and sales. He led ARINC's Asian business development activity between 1998 and 2001.
Air New Zealand Engineering Services (ANZES) plans to add Airbus A320 maintenance to its capability list as the carrier gears up to begin taking delivery of the European-made twinjets in October 2003. ANZES also plans to add either V2500 or CFM56 engine overhaul to its list of offerings, depending on which powerplant the carrier chooses for the A320s. Air New Zealand has 15 A320s on order (10 from Airbus and five from GECAS) and holds options on 20 more. Deliveries are expected to continue until late 2005.
Lufthansa Technik ordered a fourth ATEC Series 6 test station from EADS Test&Services and 13 test programs for the maintenance of Airbus A320 and A340 avionics. Lufthansa Technik is one of the first ATEC customers with the ATEC 4000. It now has six ATEC 5000 and four ATEC Series 6 test systems.
Jet Aviation Dallas annouced an expansion of its transient ramp, which will double the size to accommodate additional aircraft. Construction for the expansion is currently in the engineering and bidding stages and will be completed in the first quarter of 2003.
Jet Aviation Dusseldorf got LBA maintenance approvals for the Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets. This makes the company's Dusseldorf location the first Jet Aviation facility to hold an approval for these aircraft types.
Rockwell Collins International Inc. and China Eastern Airlines formed a joint venture to provide full repair and maintenance services for commercial air transport avionics and in-flight entertainment equipment throughout China. The joint venture company, called Collins Aviation Maintenance Services Shanghai Ltd. (CAMSS), will offer maintenance, repair and overhaul of equipment manufactured by Rockwell Collins and other original equipment manufacturers.
U.S. Congress this year approved a $1.5 billion upgrade of 30 Abu Dhabi air force Boeing/ MDH AH-64A attack helicopters with mast-mounted Longbow fire-control radar and associated systems, to AH-64D standards. The contract also includes 240 Boeing/Rockwell AGM-114L Longbow RF Hellfire laser-guided fire-and-forget blast/ fragmentation missiles and 49 AGM-114M versions, with anti-ship capability.
Marshall Aerospace has received a contract from the Royal Netherlands Air Force for heavy maintenance of one of its two McDonnell Douglas KDC-10 tanker/ transports. A Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV) is required every six years, and will be completed in a 42-day program. This involves removal of all significant components, flying surfaces and removable structure, followed by reassembly and repainting.
ASG, a division of Jergens, Inc., announced a new line of rotary actuators for small parts handling. The actuators have an air-over-oil feature that run on standard shop air, but have a self-contained hydraulic system to absorb large quantities of kinetic energy, offering the advantages of hydraulics without traditional hydraulic plumbing. They are available in 90 or 180 degree rotation. Torques range from 47.7 lbs./in. up to 711.8 lbs./in. Rotation times are between .5 and 5 seconds, depending on size. ASG, 15700 South Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110-3898
Goodrich Corp. completed its acquisition of TRW Inc.'s Aeronautical Systems businesses for $1.5 billion in cash. The acquired businesses are expected to be realigned and integrated into existing Goodrich segments, effective Jan. 1, 2003.
