LONDON—Deicing and anti-icing services have been part of the airport scene in cold climates for decades, and despite the direct effect such services have on aircraft flight safety, no standard exists for them in Europe. But that could change very soon. [See related deicing article, pg. 28.] Concerns over the variability of deicing and anti-icing services across the EU were first raised in 2006 by EASA’s Safety Standards Consultative Committee (SSCC). Since then, pressure to mandate or regulate a consistent standard across the EU has grown.
Everts Air Cargo reissued STC to deactivate the cabin pressurization system, convert the cargo compartment to a Class E compartment, and modify the ventilation system of DC-6A and DC-6B aircraft, STC ST981SO
The maintenance world is familiar with the “Dirty Dozen”—the 12 most common causes of human factors-related maintenance errors. There is one more root cause that doesn’t appear on the list but should: attitude. When individuals and organizations develop the right attitude toward error reduction, it typically follows that errors decrease.
One industrial building specialist’s first LEED project—and its largest-ever single project in terms of value—is in the works now for a site adjacent to Honolulu International Airport. Rubb, Inc. is working with the state of Hawaii and Hawaiian Airlines to build a new, LEED Silver certified campus for the carrier that is comprised of an aircraft maintenance hangar and an air cargo building, says Gordon Collins, sales manager for Rubb. Another green building also could take shape on the site in the future.
Mxi Technologies will provide its Maintenix enterprise resource planning software to Ethiopian Airlines, which will be one of the first airlines to implement Maintenix for Boeing 787 operations following its introduction to its fleet.
British Airways Engineering added 105 apprentices in London. BA offers three-year apprenticeships for 10-15 students at MRO bases in Cardiff, Wales, and Glasgow, Scotland, but the London Heathrow-based apprenticeships are the first offered there in 16 years.
OGMA promoted Pedro Costa Santos to marketing and sales director for engines and components services, effective July 1. Santos had been OGMA’s sales manager for commercial and executive aviation services for three years.
GE Aviation will decide by the fourth quarter whether to offer the TRUEngine program for its powerplants, says Bill Millhaem, GE’s general manager, material and CFM services. GE and Snecma offer the program for CFM56 engines with documented proof that they include no PMA parts. He anticipates the TRUE number to climb from 5,300 to 9,000 by year end. Czech Airlines just achieved the status for 22 CFM56-3 and 31 -5B engines.
Start preparing for NextGen retrofit—even if NextGen may be a money-loser. That is a pessimistic way to read the FAA’s final rule mandating equipage for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out for all aircraft flying in U.S. Class A, B and C airspace, around busy airports and above 10,000 ft. by Jan. 1, 2020. The agency issued the final rule on May 28. FAA acknowledges that the present-value net benefits of the ADS-B Out rule could be negative if costs are higher than expected or if benefits are low or slow to come.
Iberia Maintenance is developing an automated robotic workshop that will accomplish each step of a compressor blade repair process in a closed, predictable environment. The automated repair process, with minor differences, can be used for almost all compressor blades regardless of manufacturer, says José Luis Quirós Cuevas, the company’s VP sales, marketing and business development. “It’s a single technique.” Iberia’s goal is to repair about 60,000 blades per year and become a center of excellence for compressors.
Ascent Aviation Services added R. Rick Townsend as senior VP sales and business development. Townsend formerly was AAR’s VP sales, marketing and customer support.
Volvo Aero’s new engine parts repair business signed a cooperative agreement with Lufthansa Technik to develop new repairs and jointly market them. Both companies plan to promote the new repairs and offer them as part of their repair services. Avionics/IFE
Pratt & Whitney’s EcoPower engine wash system will launch in India with an Air India service center at Mumbai International Airport. Air India plans to wash its own engines as well as those of third-party customers. Pratt also renewed its engine wash agreement with JetBlue Airways for another two years. The carrier started washing its IAE V2500 and CF34 engines using the EcoPower system last year. Pratt recently washed its 13,000th engine, and it formed a partnership with fuel management consultant Flight Sciences International called Eco Flight Solutions.
Aviation Technical Services expanded Raj Sharma’s responsibilities to include those of CEO. Sharma was named executive chairman in January; prior to that he was a senior advisor at Aveos Fleet Performance. ATS also named Jodie Douglas VP human resources.
Ameco Beijing’s Civil Aviation Calibration & Test Center developed new calibration and repair capabilities and received China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment certification.
Bombardier Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding with Fokker to develop logistics support solutions for Dash 8/Q100/200/300 aircraft through Fokker’s ABACUS component program.
TIMCO’s Brice Seating will supply RwandAir with its B1010 economy seats and B2054 seats for new-delivery Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The seats will be part of the first aircraft fitted with the new Boeing “Sky Interior” cabin to be based in Africa.
Emteq Engineering to install provisions for the Flight Deck Resources SkyTab 3200A electronic flight bag system on various ATR 42 and 72 models, STC ST03846AT
