BULGARIA: Budgetary limitations effectively caused the Bulgarian government to abandon earlier plans to acquire 12 to 22 surplus ex-USAF F-16A/Bs and new F-16C/Ds or similar fighters, plus supporting equipment, and retire its obsolete Soviet-supplied MiG-21s and MiG-23s in December 2001. The Bulgarian government instead planned to upgrade its existing MiG-29s, as part of its plans to join NATO and the EU.
FAA approved all FlightSafety International maintenance training courses for Inspection Authorization (IA) renewal. This means that technicians who take one of FSI's 330 maintenance training courses do not have to obtain prior approval from FAA to have that course credited towards IA renewal.
SkyWest Airlines awarded GE Engine Services a $1 billion contract to maintain its fleet of CRJ100 and CRJ200 aircraft. The 16-year deal covers SkyWest's fleet of 40 CRJs that are powered by CF34-3A1 and -3B1 engines, and the airlines' CRJs that are on firm order through 2004. The contract also includes GE converting 20 CF34-3A1 engines to the -3BI configuration.
DeCrane Aircraft's Fort Lauderdale, Fla., facility will provide upholstery and wood repair and modifications to Bombardier Aerospace's business jets. This new venture will become effective in February.
Sikorsky Support Services Inc. (SSSI) is nearly two months into tearing down the first three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters tagged to serve as prototypes in a program that is expected to see more than 1,000 aircraft refurbished and upgraded by 2024. The three helicopters, two UH-60As and one UH-60L, are being disassembled and evaluated at SSSI's Troy, Ala., facility as part of a $219.7 million research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) contract the U.S. Army awarded Sikorsky in May.
OGMA-Industria Aeronautica de Portugal received a heavy-maintenance contract from Malmo Aviation to service Malmo's fleet of 9 Avro RJ-100s and two BAe 146-200s. The first RJ-100 was scheduled to arrive at OGMA on Jan. 2 for a C4 check and an eight-year inspection.
Saab Aviocomp of Sweden received contracts from KLM CityHopper and KLMuk to provide flight-hour price agreements for Fokker 50 component services. The three-year agreement covers 22 Fokker 50s.
The first quarter could be a difficult one for airlines and MRO providers in Asia, but the region's long-term outlook is bright given the strength of the China market and its growth prospects, according to several speakers at Aviation Week's inaugural MRO Asia Conference&Exhibition held here in early December.
Pratt&Whitney Canada completed the first test flight of a UH-1 Huey helicopter powered by a PT6C-67D engine on Nov. 19. The test flight is part of an engine upgrade program that Pratt&Whitney Canada hopes to certify with Transport Canada in February 2002. The manufacturer plans to offer the engine and installation kit in the second quarter.
Boeing authorized Aerosud of South Africa to manufacture parts for use in a range of Boeing aircraft. Aerosud broke ground for a new manufacturing facility next to the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria and hopes to complete the facility by the end of April 2002. Boeing will supply capital equipment, tooling and product technology.
Midcoast Aviation opened its third maintenance operation in the St. Louis area -- the latest one at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Mo. This airport is the second busiest in Missouri and supplements the others at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and St. Louis Downtown Airport.
As air carriers have reduced capacity over the past few months, those that continue to lease airliners are taking advantage of market conditions to negotiate more favorable terms with the leasing companies. What makes this significant is the number of airplanes involved. About 50% of the 14,000-plus commercial jets flying today are operated under some type of lease agreement, according to statistics provided by AVMARK, Inc., an aviation consulting firm. The company projects that this will increase to at least 60% by the end of the decade.
Polar Air Cargo named Jim Jensen president and chief operating officer. He most recently served as senior vice president maintenance and engineering for TWA.
The U.S. Air Force began taking delivery of the new C-130J in 1999, but that did not signal the beginning of the end for the service's existing fleet of 519 earlier production models. Indeed, the Air Force plans to fly many of the older planes, primarily C-130Es and C-130Hs, through 2030, even though the airframes currently average 25 to 26 years of age. But to do so efficiently, the Air Force, which flies 15 variants of the
FLS Aerospace CEO Stephen Henderson will resign on Jan. 31 and Mike Humphreys, currently group vice president of strategic planning, will serve as acting CEO. FLS also appointed John Troman group vice president and general manager of its Manchester and Scandinavia sites. For the past two years he served as general manger of the Copenhagen facility. FLS also named Andrew Hoad group vice president of material solutions.
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents unionized Northwest Airlines mechanics, continues to vocalize concern about outsourcing maintenance to foreign repair stations. In October AMFA urged the airline to return the work to the U.S. based on layoffs that occurred due to Sept. 11. On Jan. 11 AMFA announced its concern about the security of foreign repair stations following events in Singapore, whose government recently apprehended 15 militants suspected to be linked to al Qaeda. NWA outsources its DC-10 maintenance to Singapore.
Pratt&Whitney Canada acquired Altair Avionics Corp. of Norwood, Mass. Altair designs, manufacturers, sells and supports aircraft and engine electronic monitoring systems, in addition to offering an Internet-based service that monitors aircraft and engine parameters.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin Aircraft&Logistics Centers a 7.5-year contract to maintain F-15 fighters and F-22s when they enter service in 2003 at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Fla. The contract is worth $86 million.
Hawaiian Airlines awarded Rockwell Collins Aviation Services a 10-contract to provide service and support for avionics on the airline's fleet of 16 Boeing 767 aircraft.
Aviall and Rolls-Royce signed a 10-year agreement to have Aviall fulfill sales, order administration, warehousing, component repair coordination, and product publication distribution for 501-D turboprop engines, effective Jan. 2. In addition, Rolls-Royce awarded Aviall 10-year worldwide aftermarket fulfillment rights for the T56/501-D series engine. Aviall anticipates this award will add about $3 billion to its sales over the contract's duration. This contract also took effect Jan. 2.
Bombardier designed its latest bizjet, the Continental, with partners and certification authorities involved from the earliest stages, according to John Holding, executive vice president of engineering and product development for the airframe OEM. Holding (see photo) said the Continental's MSG-3 program is on schedule and is 76% complete. He also said this aircraft is the first in which Bombardier included cabin interior, avionics, training programs, spare parts and provisioning, and authorized service center requirements from the early stages.
Device Technologies released its Spring-Fast Flexi-Grommet edging material that fits around metal frames or housing to protect wires or cables from chafing. The company designed the grommet to be easy to install, endure over time, not become brittle and not require glue to install. Mechanics apply it with finger pressure only. The grommet is made of stainless steel bonded with a polymer resin that provides a smooth, non-conductive surface. The company says the product features a high grip strength and should stay in place indefinitely.
Airbus subsidiary KID-Systeme and Lufthansa Technik developed a power supply for laptops at each aircraft cabin seat. The product, called SkyPower, consists of a central distributor of power via master control unit and boxes built into the seat. The system and seats are protected against overload and manipulations. The system received applicable JAR and FAR certifications. KID-Systeme is marketing and producing SkyPower. KID-Systeme GmbH, Lueneburger Schanze 30, 21614 Buxtehude, Germany.
GE Aircraft Engines promoted Roger Seager to vice president of marketing and sales. He previously was general manager of the CF6 engine program. Rick Stanley replaces Seager in the GM role.
