_Overhaul & Maintenance

Aero Dynamix, amended STC to install night vision goggle compatible lighting system on Bell 407 and Eurocopter France AS-350B2 and BA helicopters, STCs SR09350RC and SR09335RC

Kristin Majcher [email protected]
Chromalloy has received Approved Organization Exposition certificates from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) for its service centers in Phoenix, Ariz. and Carson City, Nev. The JCAB approval will allow Chromalloy to perform designated engineering representative repairs on engine components for Japan Air Lines and All Nippon Airways without needing individual repair approvals from the bureau.

Kristin Majcher [email protected]
The Innovative Solutions & Support air data module is a self-sensing, RVSM-compliant digital air data computer that replaces the duplex altimeter system on the DC-9. It has an altitude range of 1,000-53,000 ft., an airspeed range of 40 to 400 knots and a barometer setting range of 22.00 to 31.00 in. of mercury. Aeronautical Radio, Inc.'s standard ARINC-429 messages and the air data module show when a fault has occurred, and the test input sets the outputs to predetermined test values.

Kristin Majcher [email protected]
Blue1, the young business travel operator, characterizes itself as a “challenger airline,” and when it wanted to differentiate each aircraft's exterior to mirror the Finnish landscape, it was a challenge. To initiate its new design concept called “flowing,” it asked paint and coatings manufacturer Mankiewicz and AAR Corp.'s Miami maintenance facility for help.

Staff
Aero Dynamix, amended STC to install night vision goggle compatible lighting system on Bell 407 and Eurocopter France AS-350B2 and BA helicopters, STCs SR09350RC and SR09335RC

Bighorn Airways, reissued STC to reduce/limit the passenger seats to nine on EADS CASA C-212-CC aircraft, STC ST02382AK

Graham Warwick (Washington)
The next generation of unmanned aircraft could be today's systems, but linked in ways only now becoming possible, thereby enabling them to perform missions beyond their individual capabilities. Use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has grown during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as the conflict draws down, services are seeking ways to make better use of their existing assets, recognizing that prospects for new systems are receding as budgets tighten.
Defense and Space

James R. Asker
Few details about the merger are being disclosed, but if approved, it will create a company with more than 40,000 employees and operations to 115 destinations in 23 countries. The combined entity will be named LATAM Airlines Group, although the two companies will operate as separate brands.

Graham Warwick (Washington)
The next generation of unmanned aircraft could be today's systems, but linked in ways only now becoming possible, thereby enabling them to perform missions beyond their individual capabilities. Use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has grown during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as the conflict draws down, services are seeking ways to make better use of their existing assets, recognizing that prospects for new systems are receding as budgets tighten.
Defense and Space

James R. Asker
U.K. forward operating bases in Afghanistan will be bolstered by the deployment of aerostat-mounted persistent ground surveillance systems (PGSS), following successful clearance of integration issues with the British Army's Cortez base surveillance control system.

Gen. V.K. Singh will inaugurate the Army Welfare Housing Organization — a massive housing project for army personnel — at Whitefield near Bengaluru.
Defense and Space

Rene Le Plouhinec (Etiolles, France )
The Army Service Corps Center North out of Gaya in Bihar will merge with the ASC Center South at Bengaluru in Karnataka.

James R. Asker
Saudi Arabia wants 84 new F-15S strike-fighters to replace some of its oldest F-15s, but it also wants an advanced radar that will be similar to the radar on the F-35 that the Israelis plan to buy. (Photo: Boeing)

By Jen DiMascio
Lockheed Martin's Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads) is facing an existential threat on Capitol Hill. Senators are actively trying to end funding for the system and renegotiate the U.S. agreement to develop the missile with Italy and Germany. Rather than simply push back on the cuts, Lockheed Martin is making a run at the competition, arguing it will cost the government more in the long term to sustain Raytheon's Patriot missile system than to opt for Meads.
Defense and Space

Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
"There are concerns expressed by us time and again and we are watching the progress at the other end," one senior Indian Air Force official told AVIATION WEEK.
Space

James R. Asker
Legislation in the Senate would impose harsher penalties on those who counterfeit parts and sell them to the military. But the government also needs to change its purchasing methods to keep counterfeits out of the supply chain, says Dan Ellsworth, a member of the board of the Independent Distributors of Electronics Association. The Defense Department and related buyers currently require proper documentation to ensure a part's authenticity.

Kerry Lynch
C & D Zodiac amended STCs to install an interior and overhead stowage bin extension kits on MD-90-30 aircraft, STCs ST01991LA-D and ST01990LA-D

Elyse Moody
The IBS Group appointed Rajiv Shah CEO. He will lead IBS' business providing IT systems to the global air transportation industry. Rajiv's last assignment was with Wipro Technologies, where he was the chief executive of the securities and capital markets business unit and later the healthcare and services business unit.

Elyse Moody
Tell me about Air Works' transformation that began in 2006. Menon: We commenced the process to invite private equity, diluting our holdings to raise the capital required to fund our plans for the future. Global Technology Investment Group in New York acquired a 33% stake in Air Works, and then we got a second investor called Punj Lloyd Group, which is one of the largest infrastructure groups in the country with business interests spread across the Middle East, Europe and the Far East. We each hold a 33.3% share.

Heather Baldwin
When an MRO technician shows up to work, how do you know if he or she is fit for duty? Stress, fatigue, hangovers and other threats to safe job performance can be hard to identify, yet the ability to call out these potential threats can have a material impact on aviation safety.

Elyse Moody
Boeing expanded its landing gear overhaul and exchange program to cover the Boeing 777-200LR, -300ER and freighter. The program previously covered the MD-11, 717, 737NG, Boeing Business Jet, 747-400ER, 757-300, 767-300ER and 777-200ER.

Elyse Moody
AAR Corp. and Gulf Technics partnered to provide an integrated supply chains and component repair solution for Gulf Air, including parts supply, distribution, IT and logistics. The five-year agreement commenced in April and covers Gulf Air's 14 Airbus A320s, 10 A330s and four A340s.

Elyse Moody
Field Aviation in Ontario completed what it says is the first major modernization of a Bombardier Dash 8 flight deck on schedule for owner the Icelandic coast guard. A Transport Canada supplemental type certificate was issued on April 12, and Field Aviation says the process to obtain FAA and EASA certifications is underway.

Elyse Moody
Delta TechOps signed a five-year component maintenance and exchange agreement with Skymark Airlines to provide advance exchange power-by-the-hour services to Skymark's fleet of 25 CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737NG aircraft. The agreement expanded Delta TechOps' current five-year pact with Skymark, under which it partners with Evergreen Aviation Technologies to provide engine maintenance.

By Jerome Greer Chandler
In the world of modern MRO, complexity layers upon complexity. All these convolutions have to be chronicled—every move, every time. Few industries on earth are so dependent on airtight documentation. To prove regulatory compliance, operators must unambiguously connect the documentary dots.