AeroTurbine opened a new sales and material distribution center near London Heathrow. It aims to open a similar facility for rotable inventory in Asia by yearend.
The country has a new government that will try to balance the national budget by making cuts in defense programs (including, some predict, at least one major program to show how serious efforts will be). Some money, however, will continue flowing for fleet maintenance, as witnessed by the $152-million, three-year contract received by Northrop Grumman for in-service support of the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (Laircm) program.
AeroMexico signed a two-year contract extension with AFI KLM E&M to maintain its fleet of Boeing 777s. The original contract was signed in 2008. Under the terms of the extension, all aircraft will undergo a C check.
Empire Aerospace , a regional turboprop MRO based in northern Idaho, is adding the Saab 340 to its list of capabilities. The first three 340s from customer Saab Aircraft Leasing are being refurbished. Empire is taking steps to add Bombardier CRJ regional jet maintenance capability by yearend.
LONDON—Carbon composite construction has often been described as a “black art,” but efforts to make it more controllable and predictable are increasing. Yet, despite its obvious structural promise, reliable, repeatable repairs are proving difficult to guarantee.
The spontaneous explosion of TWA Flight 800’s center-wing fuel tank in 1996 caused the loss of 230 lives and massive changes fuel-tank systems regulations. Fourteen years later, the response of FAA and decisions by airframe OEMs still cause turmoil among airline maintenance departments and the independent shops that repair fuel-tank systems.
PPG Industries promoted Mark Cancilla to global platform director for aerospace transparencies. Cancilla most recently was global manager for commercial aerospace transparencies.
Brussels Airlines reduced its fuel burn on a Boeing 737-400 by 2.7% during cruise by installing an AeroTech Services’ wing modification. Because of this success, the carrier plans to have Aerostar in Romania install the wing modification on other 737-400s. Swiftair, MNG Airlines, Shenzhen Donghai Airlines, Ukraine International and GECAS are other mod kit customers.
LONDON—Rolls-Royce officially opened its €65-million, state-of-the-art Mechanical Test Operations Center in Dahlewitz, Germany, in May. It aims to create synergies by integrating existing mechanical, vibration and materials test capabilities, historically spread over different sites and businesses, into one facility.
AAR Corp. named Dany Kleiman VP MRO. Kleiman, who joined the company in September 2009 as VP operations, now leads its four heavy maintenance facilities in Miami, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, and Hot Springs, Ark., plus landing gear repair, engineering services, PMA, back shop services, and aircraft sales and leasing. Don Wetekam, who joined AAR in 2007 as head of its MRO group, now is senior VP of government and defense business development, responsible for growing work in missions, maintenance and logistics.
Delta TechOps completed its 500th Aircell Gogo WiFi installation. Aircraft flying with their WiFi work include Airbus A319, Boeing 757-200/-300, 767-300, MD-88/-90 and 737-700/-800. Parts/Components
CHICAGO—If you could make your workplace temperature more comfortable for pennies per day and save $3,000 in monthly energy costs—at a return of investment of two years—would you do it? This is the business proposal that AirLiance, the inventory specialist near O’Hare International, examined for its headquarters. The decision to proceed with this proposition didn’t take long.
WiFi retrofits are increasing on commercial aircraft as more passengers clamor for inflight connectivity. “The ability to use email and broadband are among the evolving expectations of airline passengers,” says Armin Jabs, COO of ICG. The company, whose NxtMail server initially was focused on business jets, expects to announce its first airline customer this year.
Ruag Military Aviation signed a joint agreement with Northrop Grumman to provide aftermarket support, modifications and upgrades to F-5 Tiger aircraft flown by the Swiss air force and other militaries. Northrop Grumman is the OEM of the F-5, which has been in service for 40 years.
Sargent Aerospace & Defense will do $1 million of Rolls-Royce RB2110-535 tube, duct and manifold component overhauls for Texas Aero Engine Services at its facility in Franklin, Ind., under a three-year contract that began in May. The agreement covers more than 60 part numbers and equates to more than 1,000 repairs annually for Sargent.
The Air Force has placed an order for Hellas (Helicopter Laser Radar) obstacle-detection systems from EADS, which will be installed on three Sikorsky S-92 helicopters.
Spairliners started providing full component support for Lufthansa’s Airbus A380s on June 8—four days before the airline’s first passenger flight. Spairliners is supporting 10 A380s, and it has 37 more on contract. JV/Acquisitions
AeroMexico Airlines is installing ICG’s NxtLink communication system that offers flightdeck voice and datalink services over the Iridium satellite network on five Boeing 767-200 and -300 aircraft.
Dual-Circuit Vacuum Lifter Magnetic Inspection Laboratory received NADCAP accreditation for Industry Standard Cadmium Plating Specifications. MIL’s closed-loop environmental management system exceeds current and proposed regulatory requirements. Its capabilities include: barrel and micro-barrel, standard and custom rack, precision masking, automatic barrel abrasive blasting, and pressurized abrasive cabinet blasting. MIL says Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and others are currently auditing the new cadmium plating capabilities.
Smaller Videoscope For hard-to-access crevices on aircraft parts, Machida is offering a 3-mm flexible videoscope, the smallest in the industry, according to Machida VP Jitu Patel. The Machida VSC-3-140-N videoscope relays video images from a distal tip and focusable lens assembly back to a display via internal wiring. The image quality is similar to that of a high-end video camera. The VSC-3-140-N videoscope kit consists of a videoscope, SD card, processor and carrying case. Machida, Inc., 40 Ramland Rd. South, Orangeburg, NY 10962
