Rockwell Collins added five updates to its Pro Line 21 retrofit package for Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft, including National Transmission Standards Committee video display capabilities for its multi-function display, expanded XM Satellite weather capabilities, three-engine indication, wall-to-wall attitude director indication and ADS-B Out capable transponders. Rockwell Collins also offers a five-year warranty for the Pro Line 21 shipset. Parts/Components
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
FAA is attempting to standardize and update its parts approval and marking procedures under a recently released final rule. But, industry groups still are waiting for guidance to see how this will affect their businesses, says Ric Peri, VP of government and industry affairs for the Aerospace Electronics Association. The rule was written in a manner that gives the agency “a lot of latitude in the guidance,” Peri notes.
The U.A.E. plans to develop and implement a new licensing law to tighten airline and cargo operations, safety and security, according to U.A.E. newspaper the Khaleej Times. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director-general of the U.A.E.'s General Civil Aviation Authority, says the new licensing law also will result in a published blacklist of airlines banned from the country, the newspaper reports. Suwaidi says the list, which contains 30 operators, is not a carbon copy of the European Union's blacklist, though it also is based on ICAO safety requirements and standards.
The most important factors in an airline’s selection of an airframe maintenance firm typically are quality, turnaround time (TAT) and price, in that order. Airlines usually rank TAT ahead of price because it can cost $10,000 a day to lease a narrowbody for each day of planned TAT, and several times that for a widebody, according to maintenance consultants at Oliver Wyman. Unplanned TAT delays cost even more in revenue losses.
Embraer has finished rolling out Component Control’s Quantum Control enterprise resource planning software at its five MRO centers, with its Gavião Peixoto, Brazil, finishing the software implementation in October.
Euravia Engineering signed a five-year contract with the Royal Netherlands Air Force to repair and overhaul the PT6A-25C engines that power its fleet of Pilatus PC-7 aircraft.
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.
SIAEC Completes 1st A380 Check SIA Engineering Co. completed its first C check from Sept. 7-20, was scheduled to complete its second in mid-November and expects to receive the third aircraft next year. In addition to the C checks, which are scheduled every 24 months, SIAEC has completed 37 A checks, done every 1,500 hours, on the A380. SIAEC expects to perform its first D check around 2013, about six years after Singapore Airlines launched A380 service in October 2007.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport and CFM International inked an agreement on Oct. 30 to set up a training center for CFM56 engine maintenance in Hyderabad’s GMR Aerospace Park. The two companies proposed forming the training center in January as a memorandum of understanding. Intended to support customers in South Asia, the MRO training center is set to open in January 2010 at the complex near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. GHIAL will build the facility and lease it to CFM.
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.
Solar-reflective Window Coatings PPG Aerospace’s neutral-silver and gold solar-reflective window coatings are designed to enhance an aircraft’s interior and exterior appearance while reducing cockpit and cabin temperatures and air-conditioning demands. The coatings are being developed for glass and plastic aircraft transparencies; PPG also plans to incorporate solar-reflective coatings into its electrochromatic cabin window systems.
Omni Air International selected Delta TechOps component and inventory support, including avionics and hydraulics, for its Boeing 767-300ER fleet. The companies didn’t disclose the value of the five-year agreement. Omni operates one 767, but it expects to add up to three in the near future. As the fleet grows, Delta will cover the additional 767s with an amendment to the current agreement, according to a Delta spokeswoman. The deal took effect on Aug. 18 but was announced in early November. Delta has been providing component support for Omni’s 757-200ERs fleet since 2003.
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.
EASA has established two representatives abroad—in Washington, D.C., and Beijing—to be the main contact for each country’s civil aviation authority, accident investigation board and the industry.
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.
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.
A J Walter Aviation added Delta TechOps as the 20th customer to approve its spares supply services this year after passing required audits. With its CASE 3A quality audit successfully completed in October, AJW can work directly with Delta TechOps to provide aircraft spares support.
Iran has announced that it will provide MRO and other services to assist Syria in developing its aviation industry. The commitment was disclosed during Syria’s first international aviation technology exhibition, which took place in Damascus in October. Of the 75 firms representing 12 countries at the event, including at least two European nations, 40 were from Iran.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport and CFM International inked an agreement on Oct. 30 to set up a training center for CFM56 engine maintenance in Hyderabad’s GMR Aerospace Park. The two companies proposed forming the training center in January as a memorandum of understanding. Intended to support customers in South Asia, the MRO training center is set to open in January 2010 at the complex near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. GHIAL will build the facility and lease it to CFM.
—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.
