Leigh Sargent of ACE Applied Composites Engineering saw his company’s need for turnaround time-focused service as an opportunity for growth. ACE repairs radomes for a variety of aircraft, and before returning these to customers, it used to send the large components to other service providers for tests. If the third party couldn’t return the radome quickly enough, then it impacted ACE’s TAT. ACE decided to take the matter into its own hands: the Indianapolis-based company built its own radome test cell, focused on speed and quality.
Northrop Grumman named Jay Shiba VP of supply chain management for its Electronic Systems sector. Shiba joined the company in 1978, and most recently served as business manager of the Surface Combatant business area.
DRB AVIATION CONSULTANTS, to install an executive interior and reduction in maximum zero fuel weight from 28,814 lbs. to 28,279 lbs. on Dornier 328-300 aircraft, STC ST10933SC
AC TECH received a 2008 Boeing Gold Performance Excellence Award, signifying that it achieved 100% on-time delivery and quality acceptance for a 12-month period. The Garden Grove, Calif.-based company manufactures aircraft sealants and surface treatment products.
A nearly two-year-old law is prohibiting the Federal Aviation Administration from awarding certification to any new foreign repair station applicant. Now, a potential new law could prevent existing foreign repair stations from renewing their certification.
Shannon Aerospace completed D checks on a pair of Croatia Airlines’ Airbus A319s in 24 days each, a milestone in the MRO’s implementation of Lean. Redelivery of the first aircraft to Croatia on Feb. 6 marked the first such turnaround for the company. It completed the D1-check plus sampling (which SAL says is the most comprehensive check possible on a 1998 aircraft), in 17 days. A seven-day paint job took the number of days to 24, which was ahead of the contracted time, SAL said. It achieved an identical timeframe with the second aircraft.
Gulfstream installed its 50th Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display . It began offering the system, which was developed with Honeywell Aerospace, in February 2008.
HYDERABAD—Investments in MRO may have been slow in coming to India, but increasingly companies are finding ways to make homegrown MROs the norm. A trend to incorporate military maintenance in long-term business plans also has emerged, indicating the industry has finally come home to roost. To attract larger foreign investments in India, Special Economic Zones (SEZ) were announced in April 2000, offering fiscal incentives that include tax waivers.
Boeing carried out the first test flight of the third U.S. Air Force C-130 Avionics Modernization Program aircraft three weeks ahead of schedule, completing the major modifications and upgrade package on H3 about 13% faster than the upgrade to H2.5. Aircraft H3 flew Jan. 13, accomplishing both functional check flight and acceptance check flight tests. This third AMP aircraft soon will join aircraft H2 and H2.5 in the flight test program, which Boeing says is 81% complete. Boeing also transferred a third KC-767J tanker to Japanese partner Itochu Corp. on Feb.
SuperJet International opened its North American sales and customer support office in Washington, D.C. John Buckley, VP, business development, joined SuperJet International from ATR North America. Patrick Sullivan is head of customer service Americas.
O&M will present its annual O&M Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul on April 21 as part of AVIATION WEEK’s MRO 2009 Conference & Exhibition in Dallas/Grapevine, Texas. This year, O&M also will recognize a Lifetime Achievement Award winner during the conference.
Pratt & Whitney’s Columbus, Ga., engine center finished the first retrofit of an IAE V2500-A5 engine to the V2500 SelectOne engine. It says benefits of the retrofit include 1% lower fuel burn and corresponding lower emissions, less noise and lower overall operating costs. The V2500-A5 engine (V10301) belongs to US Airways and has been in service for about 11 years.
As fire seasons lengthen and wildland fires become increasingly destructive, the availability of airborne assets is becoming more critical. For Neptune Aviation, assuring the readiness of its aerial tankers has resulted in one of the most comprehensive in-house maintenance capabilities, specifically focused on the total support of a unique, aging aircraft.
AERO MEDICAL PRODUCTS, amended STC to install an Aero Medical Products air ambulance stretcher on various Pilatus PC-12, PC-12/45, PC-12/47 and PC-12/47E aircraft, STC SA01570CH
After 10 years of working on a program, you’d think it might get a little easier, the pace might slow a bit, the targets might become a little more readily achievable. But that’s not the case when it comes to performance based logistics-type sustainment efforts generally, and it certainly doesn’t appear to be true for the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership (GSP). In fact, when you hit your targets and achieve your goals, what you get are more distant targets and more aggressive goals.
Last December, Turboméca and the Turkish Ministry of Defense signed a contract to establish a Level 4 repair center for the French company’s Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines that equip some 50 Eurocopter Cougar helicopters operated by the Turkish Army since the 1990s. This new facility is based at Eskisehir, in the Tusas Engine Industries governmental repair center. Turkish Turboméca customers, mainly operating military equipment, also benefit from availability of an Ankara-based field representative.
Japan Airlines parent JAL Group plans to integrate its four maintenance subsidiaries : JAL Narita Aircraft Maintenance Co., Ltd; JAL Tokyo Aircraft Maintenance Co., Ltd; JAL Engine Technologies Co., Ltd; and JAL Aviation Technologies Co., Ltd. The integration is to take effect on Oct. 1, although details of what changes this will mean for the group’s maintenance business aren’t spelled out.
Conferences & Exhibitions April 14-15 Helicopter Safety & Operations Management Forum, San Diego, Calif. April 21 2009 Lean Six Sigma for Military, Grapevine/Dallas, Texas April 21-23 MRO Americas 2009 Conference & Exhibition, Grapevine/Dallas, Texas April 22-23 MRO Military 2009 Conference & Exhibition, Grapevine/Dallas, Texas May 5-6 Forecasting for Airline Pricing & Capacity Planning, Chicago, Ill. May 6-7 Bird Strike Prevention Forum, Chicago, Ill. Contacts
The Royal Australian Air Force awarded a C-130J Hercules deep maintenance and support contract on March 11 to a team comprising Australian Aerospace (a subsidiary of Eurocopter), Lockheed Martin and StandardAero. The Team Aero members will maintain and support 12 C-130Js via a $292 million five-year rolling contract with the Defense Materiel Organization.
