Confident that ICAO actions stressing the need for oversight in the area have been sufficient, FAA wiped out a proposal to mandate drug and alcohol testing by foreign carriers performing ``safety-sensitive'' tasks at U.S. locations. However, the U.S. agency said in its Jan. 13 withdrawal notice that it won't hesitate to take further action if ``the threat to aviation safety posed by substance abuse has increased or re-quires additional efforts and the international community has not adequately responded.''
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) formed a new, wholly owned subsidiary, Lufthansa Aircraft Painting Shannon, Ltd. LHT has leased a hangar at the Shannon, Ireland, airport from Aer Rianta, the Irish airport authority. Niall Cunningham will manage the operation, which can handle aircraft up to the Boeing 767 and DC-10 in size. The company expects to employ 40 at the facility.
Honeywell successfully flight tested its new AS900 turbofan engine for the business and regional aircraft markets. The engine is expected to be certified in the first quarter 2001 and enter service on the Avro RJX regional aircraft in the fall of that year. The AS900 also is expected to enter service on the Bombardier Con-tinental Business Jet in 2002.
With the globalization of the air transport industry and the blurring of international borders by alliances and joint ventures, aircraft operators and lessors from the U.S. are looking further afield for maintenance, repair and overhaul services.
Lufthansa Technical Training and Airbus Industrie will jointly produce a training manual for United Parcel Service covering the Airbus A300-600F's electrical system, airframe, avionics and engine interface. The manual will be supplemented with multimedia elements for digital use. The A300-600F will enter UPS' fleet in July.
Pratt&Whitney has adopted Robotic Vision Systems, Inc.'s (RVSI) Data Matrix two-dimensional symbology for on-parts marking of engines. Also, P&W will use RVSI's MXi hand-held imager to read those parts.
Northrop Grumman was awarded a $138 million Foreign Military Sales contract in November for upgrade kits, integrated logistics support and sustaining activities for Egyptian Air Force E-2C Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft. Egypt took delivery from 1987-1993 of six Grumman E-2Cs, which will now be upgraded from their original Group 0 export standard by Northrop Grumman at its U.S. plants by 2006.
Triumph Group realigned its aviation segment into four units, one of which is Aftermarket Services. The unit will consist of: the Component Repair and Overhaul Group, headed by John Brasch, which will consist of Triumph Air Repair, Phoenix, Ariz.; Triumph Air Repair Europe, Lasham, U.K.; and Lamar Electro-Air, Wellington, Kan.; and the Instrument Repair and Overhaul Group, run by Rick Rockwood, which includes A. Biederman, Glendale, Calif., and JDC Co., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
With the dawn of the 21st century, aviation MRO companies, not normally known for embracing the new over the tried and true, seemingly are ready to take the next steps in management technology, catching up to less risk-averse industries.
With OEMs becoming more involved with aftermarket support, independent engine service firms are moving to strengthen their long-term competitive prospects, using such strategies as offering support on older engines that are less interesting to the OEMs, offering more extensive component rework and cutting turntimes. In addition, they are offering parts and supplies management to keep hold on their customer bases.
The evolution is apparent in both the language used in the latest set of proposed rules and the tone now being taken by industry participants who, by their own accounts, finally are being listened to by the feds.
PRATT&WHITNEY ENGINE SERVICES It wasn't that long ago that Pratt&Whitney set its sights on doubling engine services revenue to $2 billion within five years. Now, less than two years later, P&W Engine Services already is looking beyond that benchmark. Recently, O&M Editor-in-Chief Frank Jackman talked to ROBERT WEINER, Pratt's vice president engine services, about the OEM's MRO business. Edited for length and clarity.
Sermatech International formed a joint venture with Samsung Aerospace Industries to provide surface treatment services for new and repair turbine engine components. Sermatech Korea will be based at Samsung's plant in Changwon, Korea.
Snecma Services and Motoren- und Turbinen-Union (MTU) will establish a joint-venture ceramic coating facility at Chatellerault, France, in 2001. FlightSafety International won JAA approval as a type rating training organization (TRTO).
GKN Westland Aerospace, Inc., named Thomas Lahey CEO of its Connecticut composites division. Lahey previously was president, Pacific Rim, for Hexcel Corp.
NADEP Cherry Point -- Sole DOD depot repair point (DRP) for the AV-8B Harrier and V-22 Osprey airframes. -- Navy center of excellence for rotary wing aircraft. -- Only DOD DRP facility capable of testing engines in the 715 shp to 10,000 shp range to military specs. ``The real benefits of implementation will be...improved product and service quality, more competitive prices, higher customer loyalty and additional workload.'' CAPABILITES Airframe H-46 Sea Knight
Honeywell will acquire Dallas-based TriStar Aerospace for $291 million. TriStar has annual sales of about $200 million and 500 employees, and provides fasteners, fastening systems and related hardware, as well as just-in-time and automatic parts replenishment and other customized inventory management services.
Aviation Sales Co. named Michael Brant vice president and CFO. Brant previously was vice president and corporate controller for John Alden Life Insurance Co.
