Goodrich Corp.’s Aerostructures business opened a 50,000-sq.-ft. facility at Tianjin Airport Industrial Park for MRO activities and to support original equipment manufacturing of nacelles and thrust reversers. The plant is, however, only a steppingstone to a larger facility that is scheduled to open in 2010—a 170,000-sq.-ft. site in Tianjin that will be across from the final assembly line for the Airbus A320 aircraft.
In 2005, Rimsky Buitrago, CEO of Coopesa, realized that his business model was changing. To remain competitive, Coopesa’s supply chain processes inside and outside the hangar would have to change as well. Based at the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica, Coopesa is a mid-size MRO specializing in Boeing narrowbody airframe maintenance. The facility can service up to seven aircraft at once.
Elbit Systems subsidiary, Elbit Systems Electro-optics El-Op Ltd. will supply the Israeli Ministry of Transportation with $76 million worth of its commercial multi-spectral infrared countermeasure (C-MUSIC) system, for installation aboard a variety of aircraft owned by Israeli commercial airlines. The system will installed aboard a variety of commercial aircraft owned by Israeli commercial airlines. C-MUSIC is based on Elbit’s MUSIC system for military aircraft, which disrupts missiles fired at aircraft and causes them to veer off course by transmitting a laser beam.
Fire-Safe Storage Buildings Safety Storage’s FireShield buildings are designed for installation near or within existing facilities to store potentially hazardous chemicals and other materials safely. The pre-fabricated, code-compliant buildings meet varied size, access and storage requirements: Safety Storage offers UL-approved two-hour bi-directional fire-rated (FR) model and two-hour bi-directional fire-resistance enhancement (FRE) model buildings, as well as four-hour bi-directional FR model and four-hour bi-directional FRE model buildings.
The U.S. military is known for its odd, sometimes inexplicable acronyms. But the Air Force’s F2AST program, which stands for Future Flexible and Sustainment Tool, seems to hit the nail on the head.
MTU Aero Engines and GE Aviation signed a 10-year agreement to jointly develop component repairs, with the initial focus on repairs for the hot section components in GE CF34 engines. MTU said the first repairs should be available in early 2010. This is the first agreement of this type that MTU has signed with an OEM. Repair development is not restricted to GE engines.
Limco Airepair of Tulsa will not be relocating its operations to North Carolina after all. The company, a subsidiary of TAT Technologies of Gedera, Israel, was scheduled to move to the site of Piedmont Aviation Component Services of Kernersville, another TAT subsidiary. Officials at the Israeli company say that a number of Limco’s major customers asked them to reconsider the move. Another factor was unanticipated expenses that would have “significantly diminished” the savings that were expected to result from the move.
FAA is weighing costs, data requirements, training needs and a number of other factors as the agency prepares for a comprehensive rulemaking that would require all aviation certificate holders, product manufacturers and applicants and employers to develop a Safety Management System (SMS).
U.S. Navy nominated Capt. Timothy Matthews to the rank of rear admiral and he will report from commanding officer of the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Fla., to commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, as well as assistant commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations at Patuxent River, Md. Capt. Paul Sohl assumed command of the FRCSE, and Capt. Rob Caldwell became the executive officer position. Capt.
Jet Aviation added maintenance services at its Seletar Airport and Moscow Vnukovo International Airport facilities. Jet Aviation Singapore added services for Bombardier Challenger 601/604/605 and Cessna 560XL aircraft under its EASA 145 maintenance approval. The company also plans to add to its line maintenance capabilities in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur. Jet Aviation Vnukovo now offers 24/7 line maintenance services and AOG support, and it expanded its AOG services to Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and other Russian airports.
Rolls-Royce plans to start building a $494 million plant in Singapore to manufacture hollow titanium wide chord fan blades for Trent engines. Construction of the building at Rolls-Royce’s Seletar campus should start early next year.
The U.S. Trade Development Agency (USTDA) and Bell Helicopter Textron are cooperating with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to support the growth of the Indian helicopter market. A USTDA grant for $501,849 for “rotorcraft rulemaking, capacity assessment, airspace classification and airspace design” was to be signed under the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program with the DGCA before Aug. 15.
Curtiss-Wright Controls signed a license agreement with Boeing to make and sell replacement flight control spare parts and utility actuation products directly to operators of the 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777.
Interfast plans to expand its footprint outside North America with the acquisition of Burwood Fastener Products in Chobham, Surrey, U.K. The Canadian fastener manufacturer announced a letter of intent to acquire its competitor on Aug. 4. The strategic move would give Interfast a “firm base of operations in Europe” at its ninth facility (and first outside North America), which will operate as Interfast Europe Ltd., the company says. Facilities
Bombardier received approval for adjustments to line maintenance intervals for CRJ700/705/900 NextGen and Q400 aircraft from Transport Canada, the U.S. FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Bombardier obtained approval to adjust the CRJ700/705/900 NextGen aircraft’s line maintenance check intervals from 400 to 600 flight hours; information is being distributed to operators in Revision 9 of the maintenance requirements manual.
The first of four radar systems being upgraded by ITT’s Brazil PAR-2000 modernization team recently completed Site Acceptance Testing (SAT). The four-day test included logistic and quality inspections, system on- and offline checks and flight certification. The Brazilian special flight inspection group performed the flight certification. The Brazilian Air Force uses ITT’s Precision Approach Radars to ensure safe landings in all conditions, especially where visibility is impaired, including night and severe weather landings.
Component Control upgraded its Internet-based parts database StockMarket to include more than 80 million records of U.S. government procurement data, including Master Cross Reference List, characteristics and CAGE Code, following the integration of Resource Data Services’ AvRef National Stock Number database with StockMarket.
