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.
JetBlue Airways entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of LiveTV, LLC, a provider of in-flight entertainment services for single-aisle commercial aircraft and a developer of wireless technologies. Under the terms, JetBlue will pay $41 million in cash and the retirement of approximately $40 million of LiveTV debt. Included in the acquisition is $30 million worth of hardware already installed on JetBlue's fleet and spare parts.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics proposed newly manufactured P-3C Orions to meet joint German and Italian requirements for a maritime patrol aircraft replacement (MPA-R) program. Both countries currently operate twin-turboprop 1960s-vintage Breguet 1150 Atlantic ATL.1s for MPA roles. Lockheed's proposal was formally made July 26 at the Farnborough Air Show. The combined fleets include 13 Atlantics in the German navy, plus four equipped for ELINT roles, and 18 ATL.1s that have been operated by the Italian air force since 1972 on behalf of the navy.
Total Aircraft Services Inc. (TAS) promoted Scott Starkey to vice president and general manager. He will manage the overall staff, develop new projects and coordinate TAS' engineering and modification efforts. TAS also announced the appointment of John Nall to director of engineering and Nick Kast as manager of customer service.
Shuttle America named William R. Kratz director of maintenance, responsible for the airline's fleet of Saab 340 aircraft. He formerly was manager of airline services for Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation. Shuttle America operates out of Pittsburgh as a US Airways Express code-share partner.
The consensus among the industry executives I talked to last month during Aviation Week's MRO Europe Conference&Exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, is that it's only a matter of time before the MRO industry rebounds from its depressed state. While no one wanted to predict exactly when the recovery would begin, several people said they began to see an increase in inquiries and business late in the summer.
Precision Conversions, LLC awarded an installation contract to Aviation Management Systems, Inc. for aircraft modification and other technical support services required to support the certification of the company's first Boeing 757 passenger-to-freighter conversion.
FAA's long-awaited omnibus rule governing fractional operations is due out this fall and is expected to clarify, strengthen and liberalize maintenance standards for fractional operations, as well as validate practices already adopted by some fractionals. The Regulation of Fractional Aircraft Ownership Programs and On-Demand Operations, first published on July 18, 2001, in the Federal Register, will affect several FARs, including Parts 13, 21, 61, 91, 119, 125, 135 and Part 142, which governs training centers.
Rockwell Collins signed a strategic alliance agreement with Air New Zealand to jointly pursue common business interests. A business agreement and maintenance support agreement recently were signed to allow for full-service maintenance for commercial air transport and business aircraft as well as regional airline customers in need of service and support.
The competition for free space in overhead storage bins should get a little easier following Boeing's recent announcement that its BigBins now are in production on a 757-300. The new BigBins increase the effective storage capacity by 60%, and allow 58 more roll-aboard bags on a typical 757-300. Previously, the storage bins could only accommodate bags stored in the forward-to-aft (nose-to-tail) direction. The new deeper bins allow the bags to now be stowed in an inboard-to-outboard (wing-to-wing) direction, increasing capacity from three to five roll-aboard bags per bin.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University promoted Guy McCurkan to vice president of affiliate operations, responsible for management of the Aviation&Space Technology Academy.
Midcoast Aviation delivered a repaired Falcon 900B that suffered major structural damage during landing in March 2000. This marks the third successful major structural repair project Midcoast has completed in the past year. In the most recent repair, both wings had to be replaced, but an analysis determined the plane was structurally sound. Midcoast became the first company outside the factory to perform a center wing plank installation.
Air Canada Technical Services secured a five-year C$101.7 million agreement for the maintenance and repair of Canada's Department of National Defense (DND) fleet of Airbus A310 aircraft. The agreement includes five one-year options for contract extension which, if exercised, would bring the total contract term to 10 years with potential revenue to Air Canada of C$250 million.
Jet Aviation Engineering Services is performing engineering services for L3 Communications, a subcontractor for NASA. Jet Aviation will install an infrared telescope in a Boeing aircraft to create a stratospheric observatory, which is all part of an eight-year process that involves modifying the aircraft's airframe to install a 40,000-pound telesope, a protective door and supporting structures in the Boeing 747SP aircraft.
Pratt&Whitney Canada announced that its new PT6C-67D engine, used in the Huey helicopter P&WC UH-1H Plus upgrade program, has received a Type Certificate from Transport Canada. The certificate was validated by the U.S. FAA.
Ozark Aircraft Systems LLC announced several promotions, including J.M. (Jeff) Udesen to senior vice president/general manager, formerly director of programs at the company; Sonny Stern to vice president of sales and marketing, formerly with McDonnell Douglas; and Todd H. White to vice president of maintenance, formerly director of maintenance at Ozark.
Taiwan's TransAsia Airways signed a maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik AG for its V2500-A5 engines, as well as the engine related accessories, of its fleet consisting of six A320 and two A321 aircraft. Lufthansa will maintain TransAsia's aircraft under a ``power-by-the-hour'' based Total Engine Support agreement for the next eight years.
Spirit Airlines appointed retired U.S. Air Force Col. Grady H. Reed as senior vice president of safety. Reed served 24 years in the Air Force in flight operations and aircraft maintenance and has held senior level positions with Northrop Worldwide Aircraft Services, Mesa Air Group and Northwest Airlines.
Timco Aviation Services, Inc. completed the first of several C checks on an Airbus A300-600 freighter at its Greensboro, N.C. facility. Timco's work at the location ranges from C checks to a variety of OEM reliability upgrades.
