Saab will develop and upgrade the Swedish Armed Forces SK60 training aircraft to extend their use until 2017 under an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, worth SEK130 million ($19 million). The upgrade, which should be completed by the end of 2011, includes a new GPS, audible altitude and primary warning signals for the pilot, the replacement of certain instruments, and a new aircraft cabin layout.OM
—Mass air travel can be seen as both a boon and a bane for humanity: a boon because it facilitates social, leisure and business opportunities, and a bane because the close confines of passenger aircraft cabins could potentially facilitate the international spread of human diseases. The outbreaks of SARS and bird flu this decade and the imminent potential of a swine flu pandemic have concentrated efforts to clean cabin air of every conceivable contaminant.
MTU Maintenance Canada will do engine depot work on U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender tanker aircraft at its facility in Richmond, B.C. MTU is part of a team led by Northrop Grumman that is providing maintenance, engineering, field service support and condition monitoring for 204 CF6-50C2 engines. Other contractors working with MTU are Chromolloy and AAR Corp. MTU’s part of the nine-year deal is valued at $500 million. The work includes aerial refueling system support for two KDC-10s operated by the Netherlands.
Airline Services Components signed an agreement with low-fare Russian start-up Avianova to provide wheels and brakes support for the airlines Airbus A320s on a cost-per-landing basis.
Duncan Aviation added two new online tools for operators: a maintenance event planning Web resource and an MRO comparison worksheet. The Web-based planning tool is designed to help owners/operators and maintenance directors identify their needs before asking for a quote, which should save time and generate a more accurate quote, says Duncan VP of Sales John Slieter. And, the worksheet should help operators compare service providers once they receive quotes.
Mxi Technologies and Pba Consult formed a strategic teaming agreement focused on providing an aviation lifecycle management solution to one of Russia’s top aircraft manufacturers. Contracts Commercial
SR Technics and Garuda Indonesia Airways extended their component services contract through 2014. The agreement covers exchange, MRO, logistics and management of more than 700 components for Garuda Indonesias current fleet of 10 Airbus A330s as well as additional A330s it plans to add. Facilities
Lufthansa Technik inked a seven-year component services deal with Olympic Air for 26 aircraft, 16 Airbus A320s and 10 Bombardier Q400s, that includes writing specifications, initial provisioning studies, home base allocation, MRO, troubleshooting, documentation and engineering services.
—Expect to see high-level aftermarket responsibility shift to the U.S. government from industry as the government takes over some resource allocation. This move comes as the Defense Department faces major equipment maintenance because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has less planned funding to provide for it. It also comes at a time when manufacturers rely on aftermarket revenue streams, which have been hit by the recession.
The Defense Ministry has given AgustaWestland a £439 million ($715 million) integrated operation support contract for maintenance of its 67 Apache helicopters in the U.K. The deal frees up military personnel who work on the attack helicopter to deploy to Afghanistan and support operations 24/7 there. Work on the Apache in the U.K. is done at Wattisham Airfield, Suffolk. Eighteen months ago, the Apache Depth Support Unit there was run entirely by military technicians. Now, 180 personnel from AgustaWestland are replacing them.
Spirit AeroSystems and Slingsby Advanced Composites both opened facilities at Scotland’s Prestwick Airport in October, in line with an initiative headed by Scottish Enterprise to increase research and development activity in the country’s small- to medium-sized enterprise sector, which employs around 22,000 people and supports the jobs of 30,000 more. Together the facilities should generate more than 70 new jobs.
The European Regions Airline Association named Marc Lamidey, president and CEO of Brit Air, VP to replace Padraig O’Ceidigh, chairman of Aer Arann, who stepped down earlier this year.
Ahlers Aerospace amended STC to install a night vision goggle-compatible interior lighting system on Eurocopter Deutschland MBB-BK 117 B-1 and MBB-BK 117 B-2 helicopters, STC SR09523RC
Duncan Aviation added Nate Darlington as a completions sales representative, Bill Gehman as customer service assistant manager, and Chad Ostertag as an avionics installations sales representative.
Capital Aviation received an FAA supplemental type certificate for its Reflections Program to upgrade Bombardier Challenger 600 series aircraft with an end-to-end interior and exterior refurbishment and the installation of Universal Avionics’ WAAS-capable flight management system, EFI-890R flat-panel displays and terrain awareness and warning system.
As any MRO knows, controlling labor costs is one of the keys to remaining competitive, especially as the industry expands globally to low-wage countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.Cost control was central to Roger Porter’s strategy when he took over the Aeroframe repair facility in Lake Charles, La., from EADS Aeroframe Services in July 2005. “EADS was focused on increasing Airbus maintenance support in the Americas,” says Porter.
—Gulfstream Aerospace plans to first fly its long-range G650 business jet before yearend, but even though this aircraft just rolled out in September, maintenance preparation started before engineers first took pen to paper.
TAP Maintenance and Engineering Brazil completed its first Airbus A330 C check in the promised 23-day turnaround time in early November. The achievement underscores the big push the MRO has made to expand its Airbus service capabilities and gain certification from Transport Canada, EASA, the FAA and Brazilian ANAC. The first A330 is operated by Air Transat, a customer who also has had 10 A310s undergo maintenance at TAP’s facilities in Rio de Janeiro.
