Aviation Technical Services received certification from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation, allowing it to pursue work in heavy maintenance and interior furnishings installations, entertainment systems, antennas and cameras on Boeing 737 aircraft flying under Saudi registration.
Pratt & Whitney’s first PurePower PW1000G engine is “doing very well” at the OEM’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility, where it just left the test stand after running well for more than 200 hr. This engine, destined for a Bombardier CSeries installation, now heads to Plattsburgh, N.Y., for icing tests. A second PW1000G, designed for the MRJ platform, moves to the test stand. It is targeted to run for fewer than 200 hr., but as Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners VP Tom Hutton says, “We'll let it run as long as it’s giving us good data.”
SR Technics extended its 10-year agreement with the Airberlin group with financing services and an engine contract that covers more than 300 engines. These include CFM International CFM56-7Bs, CFM56-5Bs and Pratt & Whitney PW4168s. It also includes financing for life limited parts and spare engines via SR Technics’ sister company Sanad Aero Solutions. Avionics/IFE
Avic Electromechanical Systems and Hamilton Sundstrand plan to begin developing a facility in Xian, western China, in June, following the formation of a joint company on March 3. The partnership will supply the electrical system for the Comac C919 airliner and also support programs outside of China. All foreign suppliers to the C919 program are required to work in China; most have chosen to do so with Chinese partners, usually subsidiaries of Avic. Avic Electromechanical is one of two aircraft system subsidiaries of the Avic conglomerate. The other is Avic Avionics.
The number of flights over Europe likely will be 1.8 times greater in 2030 than it was in 2009, according to Eurocontrol’s latest 20-year forecast. It sees a range of scenarios that project between 13.1 million and 20.9 million flights in 2030, assuming average growth of 1.6-3.9% annually. A 2.8% per year average growth rate is the most likely, it says.
Over the next decade, engine MROs that focus on regional airliners will have to adapt to a combination of new aircraft families and geographical shifts in the operations of older and current production models.
AeroTurbine signed a three-year, exclusive agreement with Webjet Linhas Aereas S.A. to provide engine management services including off-wing maintenance events for Webjet’s growing CFM International CFM56-3 fleet. Webjet is launch customer for AeroTurbine’s Flexible Engine Care Solutions, a tailored engine fleet maintenance product.
Sabena technics renewed its agreement with Thomas Cook for line and light maintenance of the Belgian tour operator’s seven Airbus A320s for five more years from January 2011. The contract includes main base support in Brussels as well as component MRO and pool access.
Ameco Beijing says it cut its energy costs in 2010 by 31% by upgrading its heating/energy systems from coal to gas. The project, which involved installing heat exchangers, a boiler system and 15 km of pipeline, increased the campus's thermal efficiency by 10% and decreased carbon dioxide emissions by about 40%.
A J Walter Aviation decided to locate its new aircraft engine services division in Wales. It says it is targeting $50 million in business in the first year of the facility’s operations.
Aerospace-grade chemical supplier Socomore’s parent company Groupe Méaban acquired MagChem, based in Montreal. This acquisition is intended to reinforce Socomore’s market position in North America and complement recent investments in Dysol and Dynamold. Facilities
Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Technical Thermodynamics have begun ground testing a new technology that, if successful, could eliminate much of the fuel burn and noise generated by airport taxiing.
StandardAero named Rick Stine senior VP of its components sector in Cincinnati, one of six new divisions that group the company’s MRO services in six key industry sectors—airlines and fleets, Associated Air Center, business aviation, government and military, helicopters and energy, and components. Stine comes to StandardAero from Heico Corp., where he was senior VP technical operations.
TAT Technologies subsidiary Piedmont Aviation Component Services selected Component Control’s Quantum Control enterprise resource planning software to replace its AS400-based application. Piedmont expects to have up to 80 users on the system after it goes live this year.
San Jose, Costa Rica; San Salvador, and Panama City—The Central America aviation industry is projected to be one of the fastest growing in the world, and three major MRO companies here hope to expand with it. The two more established MROs compete and cooperate, and their hangars are full based on the niches they have developed. The third, and much younger, player is still developing, as part of one of the biggest global MROs.
Apple just released its iPad 2 last month, and the aerospace industry is definitely taking notice of the tablet’s seemingly limitless applications, from the hangar floor to aircraft cabins and cockpits. The FAA has recently approved the use of iPads as electronic flight bags (EFB), which contain important aeronautical charts and manuals, for pilots. Because EFBs can cost thousands of dollars on the market today, many airlines find that the iPad presents a simple, flexible and economical alternative.
FL Technics in Vilnius, Lithuania, applied for EASA Part 147 training certification on the Airbus A320 family. It provides technical type training on Boeing 737 Classic and NG, Boeing 757, Saab 340, Saab 2000 and ATR 42/72 aircraft.
Avtrade will support components for start-up Mega-Maldives’ fleet of Boeing 767-300s through 2016. The power-by-the-hour contract covers pool access, AOG services, logistics, component management and repair; Mega-Maldives also signed a multi-million-dollar lease with Avtrade to set up a base kit in Malé.
AFI KLM E&M was contracted by Philippine Airlines for long-term engine maintenance of the GE90 engines that power its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The contract covers on-site and on-wing maintenance, shop visits, component support, spare engines and engineering support. PAL has used AFI KLM E&M for GE CF6-80E engine maintenance work.
Aftermarket acquisitions in the second decade of the new millennium got off to a fast start. Aviation consolidation in early 2011 has been “even more robust than we predicted,” summarizes Chris Doan, president and CEO of TeamSAI. “Activity in the first month of 2011 is equal to that of the first quarter in 2010.” Doan sees that strength continuing throughout the year and predicts its aerospace acquisitions will double or triple the number in 2010
Sukhoi’s Superjet 100 regional jet received type certification from the Russian aircraft certification authority, IAC AR, enabling delivery of the first aircraft. Armavia, which has two firm orders and two options, will receive the first. Sukhoi also conducted the maiden flight of Aeroflot’s first SS100 in the Russian flag-carrier’s colors. Aeroflot has 30 firm orders for the aircraft, plus 15 options. Noting the aircraft’s type certification, the OEM added it has been granted design organization approval certification from IAC AR.
CFM Materials officially opened a new, 48,000-sq.ft. facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Feb. 23. The subsidiary, which became operational in May 2010, says it has shipped more than 10,000 used serviceable parts to customers.
