LONDON—Dublin Aerospace, a new start-up MRO, planned to open in September on the site vacated by SR Technics at Dublin Airport. It will eventually employ some 226 people. “We knew SR Technics had given up trying to sell the company as a going concern and was starting to sell-off their assets and tooling. So we put a group of investors together and created a business plan which, we felt, would make this business relevant in the current environment,” said Connor McCarthy, executive chairman, Dublin Aerospace.
Rockwell Collins reissued STC to install Rockwell Collins GLU-920 multi-mode receivers in place of AlliedSignal or Sextant multi-mode receivers on Boeing 737-700, -600 and -800 series aircraft, STC ST00983LA-D
OGMA recently delivered an SA330 Puma helicopter operated by the French government to SIMMAD (Structure Integree du Maintien en condition operationnele des Materiels Aeronautiques de la Defense). SIMMAD has been a helicopter maintenance customer of OGMA's since 2002.
Lufthansa Technik will support up to 10 Felix Airways Bombardier CRJs under a seven-year comprehensive agreement for component work, including writing specifications, initial provisioning studies, home base allocation, MRO, troubleshooting, documentation and engineering services. Sana'a-based Felix Airways is owned by national carrier Yemenia (25%) and Saudi Arabian investors. It launched operations last September and now services seven domestic and 15 international destinations in the Middle East and North Africa with two CRJ-200s and two CRJ-700s.
Low-VOC Contact Adhesives, Cements A new line of low volatile organic content contact adhesives and cements is available from Royal Adhesives and Sealants. The new Silaprene brand contact adhesives and cements contain less than 250 grams per liter of VOCs, compared to more than 600 grams per liter of VOCs in traditional solvent-based contact adhesives and cements.
The global economic downturn has dealt blows across aerospace, and neither the commercial nor military sector has gone unscathed. Program cancellations, bankruptcies, downsizing and layoffs have been in the headlines for months. Tough times such as these are where leadership and core values matter most—to both individuals and organizations. When budgets are fat and margins are healthy, organizations and individuals sometimes become laissez-faire, and accountability diffuses.
Portable Ultrasonic Flaw Detector A new, portable ultrasonic flaw detector from GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies weighs just 2.2 lb. and is designed for prolonged use in harsh environments. The USM Go inspection tool is equipped with a pressure-responsive, joystick control; ergonomic design features; and a data display screen with the largest pixel count of any instrument in its category, according to GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies.
Iberia is splitting its airline division into two units: commercial and clients, focused on increasing income, and production, tasked with boosting profitability and productivity. Manuel Lopez Aguilar, who has led Iberia’s Maintenance and Engineering Division since 2004, will head the Commercial and Clients unit dedicated to developing income. To fill his former position, Iberia is promoting Jose Luis Ruiz de Castaneda de la Llave to manager of Maintenance and Engineering from industrial maintenance unit manager.
Vector Aerospace has been selected to begin upgrading the Royal Air Force’s fleet of Chinook multi-mission, heavy-lift helicopters next year, by installing the model 55-L-714A engine and spare parts from Honeywell Aerospace. The work is expected to last for five years. The contract, valued at approximately $185 million, was awarded to Honeywell in August.
Equipment for Inflight HD TV A new Flight Display Systems HDMI to CAT5E/6 transmitter and receiver product set is designed to make it easy to run high-definition video throughout an aircraft's cabin. The FDC5TX transmitter and FDC5RX receiver offer a cabling solution for connecting HD source equipment and displays; Flight Display Systems notes that the products allow customers to extend 1080i and 1080p video signals up to 100 ft. using a single Category 5E (CAT5E) or Category 6E (CAT6E) cable.
Delta TechOps inked a $7 million, four-year component maintenance and inventory logistics contract with Canadian charter airline CanJet. Delta TechOps will take care of component and logistics inventory support for the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based carrier's Boeing 737-800s. The agreement covers avionics, pneumatics, and hydraulics, and it provides access to Delta's inventory of 737-800 components for spare parts. It also signed a $1.3 million, three-year component deal with another Canadian carrier, First Air.
Business aircraft MRO shops are adjusting to a lackluster refurbishment and modification market, reeling from the impact of tight budgets, cutbacks in flying and a huge inventory of unsold pre-owned aircraft.
Ramco Systems launched its Series 5 aviation suite, a group of aviation maintenance and enterprise management software applications developed on the newest version of its Ramco Virtual Works platform. Contracts Military
There is no internationally recognized certification to indicate that one is qualified to manage an aviation maintenance human factors program. The career path to the HF manager’s job varies. The HF manager must be something of a super hero, with a unique skill set that includes great communication abilities, a positive attitude and knowledge of human factors and aviation maintenance. If the job position is a good one, then it will demand highly qualified candidates who bring “The Right Stuff” to the job.
WestWind Technologies promoted Roger Tanner to business development manager for hangar operations. Tanner has been hangar operations manager for WestWind for six years. He took on the new position in mid-August as WestWind opened its new Huntsville, Ala., aircraft modification and integration center at Huntsville International Airport. Airframes
Elbit Systems received an operation and maintenance contract from the defense ministry covering the Israel Air Force’s (IAF) new Hawker Beechcraft T-6 (Effroni) turboprop trainer. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. The contract runs for five years and contains an option for five more. Elbit has provided MRO services to the IAF for training aircraft and helicopters since 2002.
Waste and Recycling Cabinet Shure Manufacturing Corp. offers a new waste/recycle cabinet to store used materials and keep service areas looking clean organized. Tilt-out steel doors with aluminum handles should make it easy to access to included plastic waste/recycle bins. A steel top is available at an additional charge. Single, double and triple cabinets waste/recycle storage units are available in 22 Shure Signature powder coat paint colors and ship unassembled. Shure Manufacturing Corp., 1901 West Main St., Washington, MO 63090
Consultation periods for an EASA Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA 2009-06) concerning the use of composite materials in aircraft structures ends this month. With new, largely composite jetliners soon to enter the market, NPA 2009-06 aims to create a single Acceptable Means of Compliance chapter (AMC 20-29) to standardize recognized good practices for composite aircraft structure design, manufacturing and maintenance.
Part-way through the devastating slump in air traffic, the MRO industry is under severe pressure. In the short term, these pressures are pushing at least some airframe work to smaller shops that offer very low prices, at least for a while. Airframe prices industry-wide are thus softening a bit. But major providers are fighting fiercely to hold on to long-term customers without cutting prices drastically. So far, they appear to be succeeding. After the slump, the best of these firms could wind up with an even bigger share of the airframe business.
The Dutch military has formally requested modification kits to upgrade 29 of its AH-64D Apache Block I attack helicopters to a Block II configuration. The request was filed in August with the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency. If, as expected, it passes a review, the deal would be worth approximately $181 million, and include support equipment, spare parts, tools, test equipment and other resources. Boeing will act as the prime contractor, but offsets have been proposed as part of the contract.
Jet Aviation appointed Frank Kusserow director and head of FBO services for EMEA and Asia, in addition to his role as director of FBO at Jet Aviation Dusseldorf. In his new position, Kusserow will report to Cristof Späth, SVP MRO and FBO services for EMEA and Asia.
