CFM International and Chinese flag carrier Air China formed a joint venture to repair and overhaul CFM56 engines in China. Air China will own 60% of the venture, and CFMI 40%. They will take over the facilities of Sichuan Snecma Aero-Engine Maintenance in Chengdu. The engine shop will become the first in the world to wear the CFMI nameplate.
Aeromexico retrofitted its first Boeing 737-700NG with Messier-Bugatti carbon brakes. This also marked the first time an in-service 737NG has had its steel brakes replaced, according to Messier-Bugatti. Aeromexico will carry out the upgrade for its 35 additional 737-700NG and -800NGs in house, as well. Other operators under contract to upgrade their 737NG fleets with Messier-Bugatti carbon brakes include Arik Air, Delta Air Lines, El Al, Garuda, Globus Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Wakefield Bahamas.
Collaboration was one of the highest-flying concepts during the Internet boom. The idea was simple: the best companies would seamlessly connect with their customers and suppliers so that information was shared and transparent. Companies that failed to collaborate were doomed. The hype was best illustrated by an ad from a then-famous supply chain software firm with the headline “Collaborate or Die.”
BEIJING—The aircraft maintenance business planned by Avic Defense will pursue civil as well as military customers, says company president Wang Yawei. Wang defines the proposed business as aftersales service and maintenance, including whole-life service. “In the past we’ve been weak in these segments,” he says.
Low-temp Sealing Compound A sealing compound specially engineered for applications that require materials with high-temperature performance combined with low-temperature capabilities launched this summer from Trelleborg Sealing Solutions. Its VCT11 sealing compound is a low-temperature fluorocarbon material (FKM) available in o-rings and other seals in a variety of geometries and gaskets.
In Russia, problems related to the SaM146 engine are reported to be behind the delayed delivery of the first Sukhoi Superjet 100, which Aeroflot now expects in mid-2010. The SaM146 engines are developed and produced by Powerjet, a joint venture between Snecma and NPO Saturn.
Most of the full-service HUMS on the market acquire, analyze, communicate and store data for later analysis. HUMS collect data on speed, torque, temperature, pressure and vibration by combining accelerometers (sensors) with algorithms. The system also provides structural usage monitoring, hard landing detection, oil chip detection in gearboxes, and flight playback, which operators say is useful for flight operations quality assurance, maintenance and pilot training programs.
Southeast Aerospace acquired Global Aerospace Consulting, a systems design, integration, certification and aircraft technical publications company. SEA retained Global Aerospace President N. “J.” Curran as director of engineering and certification at SEA corporate headquarters in Melbourne, Fla. Facilities
Crane Aerospace & Electronics appointed Martin McCarthy VP Europe, Middle East and Africa from his previous position as VP strategy-Europe. Before joining Crane, McCarthy was managing partner of ARDEN Technologies, which has represents Crane Aerospace & Electronics in the UK.
Once upon a time, the most technically competent A&Ps comprised the ranks of aviation maintenance managers. Organizations needing to fill a management position often would look on the shop floor for a experienced person with mechanical smarts and hand him the job, the assumption being that those who were best at maintaining an aircraft also would be best at managing maintainers of aircraft. There’s just one problem with this approach: it doesn’t work.
GE Aviation selected Premier Turbines as its designated repair center in North and South America for M601 and H80 turboprop engines. Premier Turbines planned to begin accepting M601 engines for repair in the first quarter.
Integrated Flight Systems amended STC to install a belt-driven freon air conditioner system with dual condenser blower configuration on Agusta A109A II, A109C, A109E and A109K2 helicopters, STC SR00060DE
LONDON—EASA issued mandatory safety directives in December for the replacement of specified parts on Rolls-Royce Trent engines powering Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. This work must be completed by January 2011. The mandate relates to concerns of ice build-up in the fuel oil heat exchanger (FOHE), which could potentially block fuel lines and shut down engines during long flights—an occurrence thought to have caused the crash-landing of a Boeing 777 at Heathrow in January 2008 and a May 2009 engine malfunction on a Trent 700-powered Etihad Airways A330.
C & D Zodiac to modify and install window shades on McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 aircraft and to modify an existing galley and install ovens on Boeing 737-800 aircraft, STCs ST02255LA and ST02257LA
SR Technics and parent company Mubadala Development Co. landed a January engine acquisition and maintenance deal worth several hundred million dollars that Mubadala Development Co.’s first foray into financing in line with its MRO subsidiary. The 10-year deal with Air Berlin is the first SR Technics has announced in conjunction with Mubadala that includes a financing aspect. One part of the agreement is Mubadala’s financing of 12 spare engines, themselves worth $100 million, in a sale-and-lease-back agreement with Air Berlin.
Fokker Services signed a manufacturing license agreement with Goodrich for Fokker 70 and Fokker 100 main landing gear spare parts that gives Fokker Services B.V. exclusive rights to manufacture all the main landing gear parts for the out-of-production aircraft models. The parts manufactured under the agreement will be used to overhaul the Fokker 70 and Fokker 100 main landing gear as well as spare parts provision. Joint Ventures/Acquisitions
Lockheed Martin Electronic and Fire Control received a $99.4-million firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance work on Army Apache helicopters. The work is part of the Sensors Flying Hours Program for 2010, and includes repair or replacement of units and modules in sensor systems. A-10C Software
FlightSafety International promoted J. Scott Hunter to director, maintenance training sales. Hunter, who joined FlightSafety International in 1994, takes over the role for Doug Bowen, who has been named director, maintenance training services.
US Airways renewed a three-year heavy maintenance contract with ST Aerospace. The renewed agreement started in January and covers heavy checks for the airline’s Airbus A330s and Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft. ST Aerospace’s facility in Mobile, Ala., will complete the work. ST Aerospace has completed maintenance on 206 US Airways aircraft in the past seven years. Contract terms weren’t disclosed. Military
The Pentagon awarded Bell-Boeing an $11.8-million contract for work on the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures (Sirfc) system, which provides protection for USAF Special Operations Command’s CV-22 tiltrotors. The work includes switch-out of two line-replaceable units and antenna radome design modifications. Sirfc was deployed with the aircraft last year in Africa.
When Michael Williams, a professor of business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), first joined the aviation business several decades ago, computers were “unheard of,” he recalls. Today, however, an understanding of technology and computer programs is an essential capability of every maintenance manager. “Being able to use maintenance planning software, scheduling software, being able to communicate electronically—these [skills] are needed more than anything today,” he says.
