A scan of recent supply chain- and logistics-related product announcements underscores that aviation is placing a premium on keeping real-time tabs on high-value goods. On the production line, manufacturers are marking parts with tags designed to help everyone from line mechanics to vendors. In the aftermarket, using sophisticated sensors to monitor parts and key shipments—from components sent to bail out a grounded aircraft to the tooling needed to do the job—is becoming bigger business.

Additive manufacturing has captured industry’s imagination, but even as the first parts appear inside jet engines, the technology’s possibilities are only just being realized. As researchers experiment with new materials and optimized designs made possible by 3-D printing, the potential scale of the revolution in manufacturing is becoming clearer.

New information from Airbus has prompted the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to drastically reduce a proposed compliance window for replacing a faulty Airbus A320-family landing gear door component tied to at least one gear-up landing. The revised proposed airworthiness directive (PAD) would give A320-family operators as little as one year to swap certain main landing gear (MLG) door actuators. An original draft, issued in August, proposed a five-year window. In September, EASA issued a second version, cutting the interval to three years.

An unexplained mix-up at a repair station caused a Canadian British Aerospace Jetstream 31 operator to return an aircraft to service with expired landing gear components, prompting Transport Canada (TC) to warn other operators to double-check their records. The issue, outlined in a TC safety alert, focuses on a 2006 airworthiness directive (AD) issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency and adopted by TC that established life limits for certain main and nose landing gear components. 

International Aero Engines (IAE) has stepped into the certified surplus materials arena, announcing the Pure-V designation available to V2500 engines with approved parts and repair histories. Pure-V figures to bring several benefits to both the manufacturer and V2500 owners, notably lessors. Customers with Pure-V-certified engines stand to benefit from the potential of higher residual values when selling them, and will be offered extended warranties on parts.

Nicarnica Aviation’s aircraft-mounted ash cloud sensor passed its most comprehensive test to date, clearing the way for eager early adopter EasyJet to proceed with getting the system approved for installation.

Bombardier CRJ200 operators are being urged to inspect emergency manual landing gear release systems to ensure they are operating correctly, following an in-service report of a latent failure potentially caused by unrelated maintenance.

Intertrade, which facilitated the establishment of the airliner surplus parts supplier business four decades ago, has added engine parts to its portfolio, completing its evolution from a one-product specialist to a full-service used-components supplier.