Embraer opened a hangar at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, in Mesa, Ariz., dedicated to servicing Phenom 100, Phenom 300, Legacy 450, Legacy 500 and Legacy 600 aircraft.
The Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office received an $18.1 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to exercise an option for engineering and logistics services for MV-22 Total Life Cycle logistics support.
The grounding, temporary or permanent, of about 1,000 commercial jets will have a major impact on part markets over the next year. Shedding Boeing 737 Classics and MD-80s from major fleets will trim demand for parts, relocate repair work and reduce at least some part prices. The groundings will accelerate the shift of inventories toward asset managers and leasing companies, especially global ones. Cash must be available and shrewd judgments made to exploit opportunities and control exposure.
StandardAero and Silverhawk Conversions formed a pact to extend their STC portfolios to each other’s organizations. This adds the option for engine upgrades to StandardAero’s overhaul and repair capabilities for King Air C90 and E90 airframes. Instead of a traditional overhaul, StandardAero now can give customers the option to upgrade existing PT6A–20, -21 or –28 engines to new PT6A-135A engines. Avionics/IFE
U.K. accident investigators are urging U.S. and European officials to take steps to reduce risks of ice buildup in the fuel systems of Trent 800-powered Boeing 777s and to review other aircraft and engine systems to ensure that they are not susceptible to ice. The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) released three recommendations in an Interim Report of its investigation of a 777 accident earlier this year.
CORENA Holding named Toralf Johannessen CEO , filling the position after co-founder Steen Hansen decided to step down after almost 30 years in the post. Johannessen formerly was CEO of CORENA Norge.
Crownair Aviation acquired RoigWest Maintenance , an aircraft maintenance and support center at Van Nuys Airport , and West Coast Jet Services, at McClellan Palomar Airport (CRQ). The latter will do business as Crownair Aviation-CRQ.
The Phasor platform of ultrasonic flaw detectors from GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies allow users to choose a fully integrated device or pick a unit that can be upgraded as inspection needs change. The Phasor XS is a portable ultrasonic phased array flaw detector that offers the highest level of resolution and probability of inspection in the product line, according to its manufacturer. GE’s mid-level solution, the Phasor 16/16 Weld, provides both phased array and conventional capabilities, as well as full-color image scans that can be stored as JPG files.
Reductions in refurbishment and upgrades of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) long-serving F/A-18A/B Hornets, with potential cost savings of over $400 million, recently were announced. Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said on Sept. 4 that extensive work by the Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) and the Defense Materiel Organization (DMO), indicates that fatigue in the fuselage center-barrel structure of the RAAF’s Hornets is less developed than originally anticipated.
On July 11, 2007, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757, with 167 passengers, was about to touch down at Fort Lauderdale International Airport when a United Airlines Airbus A320, carrying 133 onboard, pulled onto the same runway on which the Delta crew had been cleared to land. Quick action by the Delta pilot, who executed a go-around, averted a disaster. The two aircraft purportedly missed each other by 100 ft.
Airline and union representatives are protesting a new Department of Transportation rule that requires “intrusive,” direct observation methods for testing of certain employees for drugs and alcohol. DOT released the new rule June 25, to cut down on the potential for cheating on drug tests.
Rolls-Royce signed a long-term CorporateCare agreement with private investment management firm Berwind. The deal covers support for Berwind’s BR725-powered Gulfstream G650, which is scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2012. Rolls says it has signed 150 new CorporateCare deals to date. Another first for Rolls: the first Trent engines entered service in Latin America, equipping Avianca’s first of 10 Bogota-based, Trent 700-powered Airbus A330s.
Glynn Williams has been an owner, advisor and partner in various aerospace companies, including MROs, for over 25 years. He is president and CEO of Navhouse Corp., a Bolton, Ontario-based company that repairs inertial navigation systems. His private equity company, Reliance Aerotech of Toronto, purchased Navhouse in June 2006 from Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc.
Certain Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines should be removed from service for recurring inspections to prevent possible uncontained engine failure, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) urged in a letter to FAA on Oct. 16. The NTSB recommends FAA enact regulations that: • Require that Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines be removed from service for inspection of the 2nd stage turbine hubs when they have accumulated significantly fewer hours and/or cycles than the incident engine (10,880 hours and/or 4,392 cycles).
Keystone Helicopter Corp. , amended STC to install a Maxviz enhanced vision system (EVS-1000) on Sikorsky S-76A, S-76B and S-76C helicopters, STC SR02035NY
Micro AeroDynamics , issued STC to install vortex generators on the wings and horizontal and vertical tail surfaces of Rogers 15AC and S15AC aircraft, STC SA01869SE
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 9 of a possible foreign military sale to Finland of an F-18C/D Mid-Life Upgrade Program, plus associated equipment and services. Total value, with all options, could reach $406 million.
Boeing plans to acquire San Diego-based Tapestry Solutions, a services and software systems provider. The deal, which was expected to close at the end of October, would integrate Tapestry Solutions within Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems Global Services & Support segment.
West Star Aviation broke ground on a new facility near Columbia, S.C. The site will house a 37,500-sq.-ft. hangar and an office/shop complex for corporate aircraft maintenance, avionic and modifications services. It’s slated to open in the second quarter of 2009. IT
Take a money-losing MRO, add the sudden departure of its CEO and the loss of business, and the rumors start flying like plates at a Greek wedding. Example: the company is up for sale, desperately seeking partners or about to go out of business. Such was case with Montreal-based ExelTech Aerospace, whose CEO Derek Nice resigned this summer as chairman and CEO. Also finding the exit was CFO Roland Blais.
Pratt & Whitney named Todd Kallman president of its newly formed Commercial Engines & Global Services organization, which encompasses former Commercial Engines, Global Service Partners and Global Material Solutions. Kallman has headed P&W’s commercial engines business since 2006. Matthew Bromberg, former VP and GM of Global Material Solutions, now is VP, product line management for Commercial Engines.
Lufthansa Technik Switzerland launched in Basel , where the MRO will support regional aircraft for Swiss Air Lines and other customers, in addition to larger VIP versions of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family, from its 500-employee facility at Basel Mulhouse airport.
Thales was selected in mid-September by the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), to upgrade electronic intelligence (ELINT) systems in France’s Transall C-160G Gabriel intelligence aircraft. The system provided by Thales allows the interception, analysis, decoding, recording and processing of signal intelligence (SIGINT). Beginning in 2011, the Transall Gabriel’s optimized system will meet technical requirements to protect naval and air combat platforms against current and future threats.
