Few paint the near horizon in shades of untempered optimism. But, there is sufficient faith in the future that MROs are ferreting out places to put new facilities. The present expansionary push doesn’t take in vast swaths of canvas. Instead, it pinpoints targets of optimum opportunity—“plug-and-play” sites, loaded with potential and precisely located. Expansion “definitely takes a geographic tone,” says Rich Bergmann, Accenture’s global lead for manufacturing.
Chromalloy is celebrating the new year with a new thermal barrier coating for high pressure turbine (HPT) blades. Known as RT-35 or simply “Low k,” the coating is enhanced with a rare earth metal that lowers the thermal conductivity between the gas path and HPT blades of aircraft engines. RT-35 gained FAA certification for use in the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 commercial aircraft engine in October 2010, and a similar Low k coating for HPT vanes will be ready for the aftermarket in 2011, Chromalloy says.
Disciplined fleet growth and healthy load factors contributed to economic recovery for many airlines in 2010. As carriers crank the operational tempo, pressure builds for smooth quick-turn maintenance procedures.
IAE International Aero Engines won an order from Sichuan Airlines for V2500 engines to power eight Airbus A320 family aircraft, supported by a long-term service agreement. Earlier this year, Sichuan Airlines selected the V2500 to power 12 Airbus A320s plus a long-term MRO package. Brazil’s TAM Airlines also picked the V2500, for seven new A321s and three A319s slated for delivery starting this year, with a long-term service deal.
Lufthansa re-launched inflight internet on Nov. 30, using a service called FlyNet. Lufthansa was the launch operator of Connexxion by Boeing in 2004, a business that Boeing decided to shutter in 2006. FlyNet uses the old antennas installed on Lufthansa aircraft but cooperates with Panasonic and Deutsche Telekom. The airline hopes that it will be able to outfit its eight Airbus A380 with dual antennas that are bigger and lighter than the existing equipment, as well as its incoming Boeing 747-8 fleet.
Fokker Services Asia (FSA) broke ground Dec. 1 on its new MRO facility in Singapore. FSA already has a hangar and facility at Singapore Seletar Airport’s east side but must relocate to the airport’s west side because the Singapore authorities are redeveloping the airport into an aerospace park. It plans to complete construction of a hangar, adjacent office and other facilities in December. The new hangar will be able to accommodate three regional aircraft, FSA says.
OEMs know the value of rotables and are trying to find niches to add to their revenue streams and to provide better customer support. Boeing and Airbus offer rotables exchange programs, although their partner MROs perform the services. In November, Boeing announced a new rotables exchange services program to support the 787 Dreamliner. It is designed to help reduce customer inventory costs by providing access to a Boeing-managed inventory pool of parts.
Aging aircraft management comes to the forefront again as a new rule aimed at preventing widespread fatigue damage (WFD) takes effect this month. FAA published the final rule in November, several months after the Office of Management and Budget signed off on the rulemaking and nearly four years after FAA issued the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in April 2006. The rulemaking is the latest in a series of actions designed to address aging aircraft structural fatigue, FAA acknowledges, because other programs cannot predict WFD reliably.
ATA Chapter Code ATA 25 Equipment/Furnishings ATA 32 Landing Gear ATA 34 Navigation ATA 27 Flight Controls ATA 21 Air Conditioning ATA 23 Communications ATA 28 Fuel ATA 29 Hydraulic Power ATA 24 Electrical Power ATA 36 Pneumatic
Ameco Beijing and Jade Cargo International Co. signed a letter of intent on aircraft technical services to cover heavy maintenance for Jade Cargo’s Boeing 747-400ER freighter fleet, plus component services and technical training. Ameco has handled heavy maintenance for these Jade Cargo aircraft since 2009.
TIMCO Aerosystems amended STCs to install various equipment (including a Panasonic eX2 inflight entertainment system, cell modem, Honeywell Satcom system, Rockwell Collins Acars system upgrade, aircraft cabin systems, enhanced flight attendant crew rest seats, a triple seat, upgraded lavatories, windscreen with stretcher access) and conduct certain interior reconfigurations on McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90-30, Boeing 737-700/-800, 747-400, 767-300/-400ER and 777-200, Multiple STCs
DAO Aviation at Copenhagen Airport acquired Danish avionics company Dansk Fly Elektronik. It plans to retain current staff as part of its strategy to become a one-stop shop for commercial aircraft and engines.
Bangladesh-based GMG Airlines signed on to Pratt & Whitney’s engine management program for the next five years to monitor its current PW4060 and JT8D-200 and future engines’ performance. Pratt & Whitney’s Global Service Partners business unit leverages Web-based Advanced Diagnostics and Engine Management, or ADEM, tools to monitor the engines for health and maintenance trends. In October, Jordan Aviation inked a three-year, ADEM-based engine performance monitoring program. Other recent customers include Egypt’s Air Memphis.
Kopp Glass in Pittsburgh recently gained ISO 9001:2008 certification. It manufactures precision glasses lenses for applications that include airport lighting, aircraft lighting, light filters and other industrial technical glass uses.
GKN Aerospace’s Engineering Services division inked a three-year contract with Airbus to provide wing engineering design and analysis support to improve manufacturing and maintenance processes for existing product lines.
Lufthansa plans to launch the world’s first scheduled commercial passenger flights powered by biofuel in the first half of 2011. The blend of 50% hydrotreated vegetable oil will fuel an IAE V2500-powered Airbus A321 flying daily services between Hamburg and Frankfurt. The flights will begin in April 2011, and continue for a period of six months as part of the Burn Fair research and technology project to study the long-term impact of sustainable biofuels on aircraft performance. Airbus will provide technical assistance and monitor fuel properties.
Aeronautical Engineers Inc. will convert a Boeing 737-300SF nine-pallet configuration aircraft for an undisclosed customer under a late November contract. The 737-300 was built in 1988, and was then undergoing freighter modification and heavy maintenance at Commercial Jet Inc. in Miami. It also had inducted a second Boeing 737-400SF 11-pallet configuration conversion at Flightstart Aircraft Services in Jacksonville, Fla., for customer Aviation Capital Group.
Happy new year! I hope 2011 is off to a good start for you, and to make it even better, Overhaul & Maintenance presents its first MRO Almanac—full of business opportunities, benchmarks and analysis. We wanted to create a reliable reference package that you can use to develop and gauge your operation.
AFI KLM E&M and Max Aerospace signed a strategic partnership agreement to exchange skills to serve customers in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in component support.
Arinc Engineering Services plans to more than double its Oklahoma City service center with a 62,000-sq.-ft. hangar it will begin building this month. The company says the expansion comes in response to growing demand for avionics upgrades and scheduled depot maintenance, particularly among its government clients.
