Brussels With Love From/To Russia

Washington Contractor Conundrum Everything old is new again, though sometimes going back to the future requires a mandate. The FAA is hard at work on a rule aimed at making contract maintenance easier to perform and oversee. At the draft rule's core are two requirements—that airlines keep lists of all their third-party maintenance providers, and that the providers follow instructions provided to them by the carrier—including everything that has been on the books for four-plus decades.

How BA Engineering quickly integrated BMI's 25 narrowbodies.

Deferring maintenance happens, but it adds up over time

Those who understand aircraft operations know there is at least one more: maintenance downtime.

Forty-three years after entering revenue service, the Pratt & Whitney JT9D series continues to power a cross section of operators sprinkled around the globe. While still diverse, the cross section is much thinner than in years past, however, with many operators flying just a handful of engines. It's a sign of the steady and inevitable decline facing the venerable series.

The revised 787 lithium-ion battery configuration incorporates a range of modifications that Boeing says are designed to prevent conditions under which potential issues might occur, and to isolate them if they do. The revised battery is physically wider than the existing design because of large spacer units attached on either side of the cells. The spacers are configured to improve thermal and electrical isolation, and are bordered toward the outside by additional insulation layers.

Leaders have been appointed to key Boeing Commercial Aircraft programs, filling out an initiative that BCA President and CEO Ray Conner started in December.