Mattson Spray Equipment introduced the Mattson AutoHeat paint/ material heater that can use compressed shop air to warm paint and other materials up to 105 deg. F without electricity, ending the need for explosion-proof wiring and enhancing shop safety. AutoHeat gives two settings: preheat-and-heat to warm material and preheat insulated hose bundles; and heat only, to warm materials after hoses have been preheated. Mattson Spray Equipment, 230 W. Coleman St., Rice Lake, WI 54868.
Bombardier Aerospace made several Business Aviation Services appointments, including: Bert Moas, regional manager, Mexico/Latin America, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Stephen McNally director of the Business Aviation Services center in Dallas; Walter Cram, manager, sales and support for Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services, Berlin; and Mark Neihaus, manager, engine service sales, Bombardier Aviation Services.
Aerospace Parts International named Martin Klauss director of airline sales. He previously was director of inside sales, airline division, for AAR Distribution.
The winners of the O&M Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul have been selected. The awards will be presented April 17 at a special dinner preceding the start of Aviation Week's MRO 2000 Conference and Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn. The O&M Awards are intended to honor managers or executives who have improved, or contributed significantly to the improvement of, the efficiency, profitability, reliability and/or safety of their company's MRO operation or of aviation MRO generally.
Lufthansa Technik named Wolfgang War-burg executive board member-personnel; August-Wilhelm Henningsen executive board member-products and services; Walter Heerdt, head of AMECO Beijing; Gerald Korbler head of LHT's engine division; Thomas Stuger head of aircraft maintenance; and Uwe Mukrasch, head of aircraft component supply.
Five Group 0 E-2C Hawkeye airborne early-warning and control aircraft operated by the Egyptian air force since 1987 are being upgraded almost to Hawkeye 2000 standards from a $138 million FMS contract received by Northrop Grumman in late 1999. Main changes involve replacement of the original General Electric APS-138 surveillance radar by the Lockheed Martin APS-145, plus a new mission computer that is two-thirds smaller, yet has more capacity, and three new work stations.
Dexter Adhesive&Coating Systems has doubled the overall footprint of its facility in Brownsville, Texas, while increasing manufacturing and warehouse capacity by more than 100%. As part of the renovation, Dexter is replacing or upgrading nearly all of the coatings manufacturing equipment within the facility.
Bombardier Aerospace will establish a factory-owned service center at Love Field, Dallas. Signature Flight Support signed a lease to operate the 43,500-sq. ft. facility -- including 30,000 sq. ft. of hangar space -- within an existing complex at Signature.
Smiths Industries subsidiary Strategic Technology Systems will supply the health usage and monitoring system for the British Army's WAH-64 Apache attack helicopters under a contract from GKN Westland Heli-copters. Initial production buys include 68 sets of equipment to be delivered between 2001 and 2003.
-- Airline Rotables Ltd., a U.K.-based subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Aerospace, signed a contract with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) under which LHT will provide repair services on all components and parts that Airline Rotables provides for the Airbus A320 fleet of customer British Mediterranean Airlines. -- Fuel Accessory Service Technologies Pte. Ltd. (FAST), an SIA Engineering Co. (SIAEC) and Hamilton Sundstrand joint venture, dedicated its new 24,000-sq. ft. facility at Loyang Industrial Park near Singapore's Changi Airport.
Lufthansa Technik (LHT), which ranks itself as the fourth largest MRO provider in Asia, is shooting to increase its marketshare in the region to 10% this year from 8% in 1999, according to August-Wilhelm Henningsen, LHT's newly appointed chief executive of product and services. ``We will continue to step up our involvement in Asia,'' said Henningsen, who until recently was general manager of LHT's AMECO Beijing joint venture with Air China. ``The fact that we continued investing in Asia during the economic crisis is now paying off,'' he said.
Using civilian employees and government owned-equipment and facilities, Hunting Contract Services (HCS) keeps the U.K. Royal Air Force's (RAF) fleet of 54 C-130Ks flying. ``We do for the RAF what they used to do for themselves,'' said Ian Blunt, HCS's boss at RAF Lyneham. ``We offer manpower substitution to free up RAF personnel to front-line duties.''
Boeing Phantom Works has demonstrated a new, low-cost technology for upgrading avionics systems without altering the existing software. Developed under the U.S. Air Force's Incremental Upgrade of Legacy Systems program, the technology consists of a software program that ``wraps'' around both the legacy avionics software and new software, allowing both to operate in an upgrade system. The technology was recently demonstrated in an F-15E, and the USAF is considering the wrapper technology for use in the F-15 and C-17 programs.
Rockwell Collins named Bruce King dir-ector of KC-135 programs. King most recently was Rockwell Collins' manager for Global Air Traffic Management (GATM).
Fast-growing Spanair is facing the unusual task of adding substantially to its fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft this year even as it prepares for deliveries of new Airbus A321s this autumn. The Spanish carrier plans a complete changeover of its narrowbody fleet to the A320 family by 2005. As Spanair continues to train its growing maintenance staff to handle the MD-80s, it also has been laying the foundation for the maintenance and engineering needs of its imminent new aircraft.
Bearing Inspection was named by GE Engine Services as primary provider of repair and overhaul services for mainline and accessory bearings used in GE's commercial jet engines and related components. The three-year agreement calls for Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Bearing Inspection to support all GEES services worldwide, including Malaysia, Wales, South America and Scotland.
Garrett Aviation Services and Florida Jet Center have created Garrett Aviation Avionics, which will provide avionics service and installation at Florida Jet Center's Fort Lauderdale, Fla., facility.
Derco Repair Services disclosed contracts with the U.S. Air Force worth $3.3 million. It will provide support services for electrical generators, hydraulic boosters and various engine/fuel-related components to Kelly, McClellan and Tinker air force bases for C-5 Galaxy, C-130 Hercules and C-141 StarLifter transports, as well as F-16 fighters.
The Air Transport Association (ATA) forecast that fuel prices will jump 40% this year over 1999's level. In the first quarter, fuel costs rose from 44 cents per gallon in 1999 to 77 cents -- an increase of 75%. On an annualized basis, ATA forecast that jet fuel costs will rise from $10.2 billion in 1999 to $14.6 billion in 2000. As fuel prices increase, airlines are more likely to switch older, less fuel-efficient aircraft onto lower utilization routes and/or to accelerate the retirement of such aircraft.
A carrier brash enough to paint its reservations number in 8-ft. letters along the sides of its aircraft -- in livery so vivid it can be seen in thick fog -- is probably not going to handle its maintenance in a traditional manner, either. So it is with easyJet. Started in October 1995 by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a young entrepreneur with Richard Branson-like ambitions, easyJet is rapidly establishing a low-cost niche in Europe that's fast undercutting long-established carriers.
Elbit Systems Inc. was awarded a contract to supply ANVIS/HUD Night Vision Systems for Korean Army and Air Force helicopters. Under the contract, awarded by South Korea's Ministry of National Defense, Elbit will supply the systems to equip UH-60, CH-47 and AH-1 helicopters. Initial value of the contract is more than $6 million and may be expanded to include more than 200 additional systems.
U.S. Air Force selected WPDS GOLD software to continue development of its Integrated Maintenance Data System (IMDS). GOLD, already part of the design baseline IMDS, will be part of the next major increment release, which is in-tended to demonstrate the core capabilities of the new system. WPDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bowthorpe plc, a U.K.-based international technology group.
Texaco enrolled two Gulfstream IV-SPs into Chicago-based Jet Support Services, Inc.'s Gulfstream ServiceCare Program. JSSI, which began offering hourly cost maintenance programs for engines a de-cade ago, launched a ``tip-to-tail'' program last year.
Boeing named Frederick W. ``Rick'' Sine vice president of Boeing Airplane Services, reporting to Joe Gullion, president. Sine formerly was vice president of line maintenance for US Airways.
