The Luftwaffe is continuing long-term upgrades of many of its Panavia Tornado interdictor-strike (IDS) fighters despite the fact it plans to reduce by more than half its current Tornado inventory of 270 aircraft. The Luftwaffe plans to start replacing the aircraft with Eurofighters in JBG 31 ground-attack wing at Noervenich beginning in 2007. The number of Tornados in the German air force inventory is expected to decline to 125 in the next decade.
Singapore Airlines placed its first SpaceBed in a 747-400 and launched it into service in June. The SpaceBed is a seat that folds down so a passenger can lay completely flat and comes with the airline's new-generation inflight entertainment system based on Matsushita Avionics' MAS 3000 system. Singapore airlines will retrofit the SpaceBeds into its 45 747s and 777-200ER aircraft during the next year. The program's cost is $100 million.
Cascade Aerospace expects to hire 100 to 150 additional people over the next 12 months due to its increasing business, said company president David Schellenberg. It is increasing wages to help attract technicians.
UPS Aviation Technologies will equip 100 of its parent company's 757s and 767s with AT2000 a new cockpit display capable of integrating conventional collision avoidance systems with new traffic information from an Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast system. UPS Airlines became the launch customer for the system that meets FAA criteria for onboard weather radar and ground-mapping indicator, airborne multipurpose display and TCAS.
Boeing also completed the first remanufactured CH-47F Chinook helicopter for the U.S. Army as part of a program to upgrade 300 of its 432 CH-47Ds to the F-model configuration.
Boeing announced that Oman Air and Yemenia signed contracts for its 737 spares exchange program, which gives them fast access to critical spare parts so the airlines don't have to stock as much inventory.
When it comes to engine monitoring, airlines have two crucial advantages over powerplant OEMs: operational data and the ability to go look in the engine to assess the equipment's true condition. ``Manufacturers build the engines, but we operate them in all conditions. We have all that knowledge,'' said Walter Taylor, managing director of maintenance process and technology at Delta Air Lines. The most critical monitoring point is take-off. ``We do 2,600 takeoffs a day. That is a lot of data.'' And Delta has kept all its historical engine data.
Jet Aviation Dusseldorf became an authorized service center for the Raytheon Premier I aircraft, which allows it to perform heavy and scheduled line maintenance, airframe maintenance and engine repair on the business jet.
Commercial aviation is a creature of cycles, of fiscal thermals thrown off by an ever-changing economy. The people who pilot the spare parts business understand this. They've weathered the rough air, witnessed Braniff, Pan Am and Eastern fall from the heavens. Parts people kept plowing ahead, adjusting to the market through tried-and-true techniques: buying low, selling dear.
Swiss International Airlines will likely end up with an equity stake in SR Technics (SRT) when the MRO giant is sold off by SAirGroup, Swiss CEO Andre Dose said. SAirGroup in mid-June was reviewing five bids for SRT. Dose would not discuss specifics, but he confirmed that each bidder had talked to Swiss about equity participation and the airline's recently struck deal with SRT. ``After all, we are their biggest customer,'' he said. SRT in late March won a deal to do maintenance on Swiss' 52 mainline aircraft, including Airbus A320s, A330s and A340s.
FAA, responding to concerns expressed by a group of American Airlines Airbus A300-600 pilots, said in late April that the visual inspections recommended by both Airbus and Boeing for checking composite vertical fins are sufficient for detecting damage that could compromise a plane's airworthiness. FAA's position, outlined in a letter signed by certification director John Hickey, is that composite structures are ``designed and certified with an appropriate, intended inspection method.''
AVEXUS launched a Federal Systems Division in a Maryland suburb outside of Washington, D.C. to support its existing government customers and expand its customer based within the U.S. Navy and Air Force, in addition to looking for other capital asset-intensive defense and civilian customers. In addition, Avexus opened a U.K. office in Guildford, Surrey, to market its products to the European community, where Avexus already has clients such as GE Caledonian and Astrium. John Wolfenden will serve as managing director Europe.
Mask-Off Co. offers the Protex line of coating products designed to protect various parts of an aircraft from scratches during maintenance or painting. For example, Protex 10VS is a 10-mil thick latex saturated paper with an exterior vinyl coat for abrasion resistance that can protect interior wood from being scratched or nicked. The Protex 10VS is coated with a
Northwest Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines, a Northwest Airlink carrier formerly known as Express Airlines I, completed a 55,000-square-foot maintenance repair and overhaul facility in Knoxville, Tenn. The facility can house four Canadair Regional Jets.
National Flight Services promoted Dan Poling to aircraft and service manager for its Toledo, Ohio maintenance operation. He started his career with the company as an A&P.
Aerodyne Ulbrich Alloys received AS9100:2001 aerospace quality management system standard. The company supplies stainless steel, nickel alloy and titanium shapes to aviation companies.
Honeywell added an engine troubleshooting service for the TFE731 engine called Spotlight to its e-Engine internet site. Spotlight is a software system that uses field service reports, maintenance manuals and troubleshooting experience to lead users to the most likely fixes to maintenance problems they're experiencing. All MSP operators started having access to the service in June.
Logbook Organizer released its new Internet-based aircraft maintenance tracking system called S.M.A.R.T. (system maintenance aviation record tracking). Users can project maintenance for an entire fleet or an individual aircraft, automate weight and balance changes, track equipment lists and monitor engine trends. A report also can show an aircraft's annual labor and material costs. The system is automatically backed up on the Internet so users don't have to worry about lost logbooks. Signatures are secured by maintenances entry number, date and serial number.
While the U.S. military pursues funds to acquire state-of-the-art training aircraft, there are older systems that aren't going away anytime soon. In the Navy, an exemplary case in point is the T-39, which is undergoing an aggressive modification program involving major structural and avionics upgrades to assure an indefinite service life.
Precision Aircraft Components moved into its 11,600-square-foot facility in Palm City, Fla., which will house its design, engineering and custom interior fabrication products for corporate jets. The new company will start delivering its various interior aircraft products in August.
Wall Colmonoy added coating, vacuum furnace brazing and heating treating capabilities to its services. The additional coatings primarily are used to protect metals from corrosion, abrasion and erosion. Thermal-spray coating technologies include HVOF, plasma, combustion and wire arc. Wall Colmonoy Corp., 30261 Stephenson Hwy., Madison Heights, MI 48071
Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA) petitioned FAA to extend maintenance and manufacturing Designated Airworthiness Representative's (DAR) authority to sign 8130-3 tags for parts held at FAA AC 00-56 accredited distributors.
