Boeing delivered the second Italian air force (AMI) KC-767A tanker/transport to its Italian partner Aeronavali on May 9, marking the start of local 767 structural and system conversions. These are due for completion by a joint Boeing-Aeronavali team and delivery to AMI in spring 2007. Boeing is expected to perform a similar conversion on the first Italian KC-767A, which was due to begin flight-tests in mid-2005, for early 2006 AMI acceptance.
NetJets hired Tom Mealie as vice president of fleet base maintenance. He most recently was director of quality at Omni Air International. NetJets also named David Bauman vice president of line and recovery maintenance. He previously was vice president of Aerospace Products International.
An estimated $1.1 billion Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) was signed on April 26 for the systems upgrade by Lockheed Martin, as prime contractor, of 189/36 Turkish air force (THK) F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 combat aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force's 76th Maintenance Group within the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center is not shy about touting the value of Lean. "We're firm advocates of Lean and Six Sigma," said Col. James Hannon, commander of the 76th Maintenance Group. "We went from overhauling 36 KC-135s per year to 48 today. And that is as a direct result of implementing these processes."
Ametek Aerospace & Defense selected Kellstrom Commercial Aerospace as its European distributor. Kellstrom already distributes Ametek products in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
Cessna Aircraft developed a uniform avionics cable assembly that can be used on CJ1+, CJ2+ and CJ3 aircraft. Company said this is the first time it has used a standard avionics cable assembly for more than one Citation model. Cessna also announced that 1,000 Citation operators, or one-quarter of the fleet, use ProParts, the company's cost-of-operations program.
Bombardier Aerospace plans to open new parts warehouses in Chicago and Frankfurt in August and November, respectively. This should help Bombardier meet its 12-hour counter-to-counter average delivery time goal for spare parts in Europe and in North America.
Alaska Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association jointly announced a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract for the airline's 700 aircraft technicians on June 16. Terms of the agreement were withheld pending a ratification vote by union members that is expected to begin by June 30.
GE Honda Aero Engines finished component and engine core tests to validate several performance enhancements to the HF118 turbofan engine. The engine, which should provide 1,000 to 3,500 pounds of thrust, now features 8% less weight and provides 4% better fuel consumption. Time between overhaul is targeted at 5,000 hours. The joint venture hopes to certify the engine, which initially will produce 1,700 pounds of thrust, in 2008. No one has ordered the turbofan yet, but a company spokeswoman said, "We continue to talk to potential customers and airframers."
Dragonair awarded an 11-year TotalCare maintenance contract to Rolls-Royce for the operator's fleet of Trent 700 engines that will power 11 Airbus A330s on lease from ILFC. Hong Kong Aero Engine Services will maintain those engines.
National Business Aviation Association created the Maintenance Technical Reward and Career Scholarship for maintenance personnel. The program, called Maintenance TRACS, will offer technician training courses for several aircraft models to at least one applicant annually. Applicants must hold A&P certificates or be in the process of getting one. Application forms are due by Jan. 15, 2006 and can be emailed to [email protected].
Jet fuel prices now represent as much as 20% of most airlines' costs, according to data published by Lehman Brothers Equity Research in New York. The firm reports that since the end of 2004 through early April 2005, fuel prices have risen approximately 130%. The "Short Term Energy Outlook," published by the U.S. Department of Energy (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/steo_ query/app/paresult.asp), forecasts that over an 18-month period, ending December 2006, jet fuel will range in price between $1.54 to $1.63 per-gallon.
Honeywell will provide repair and overhaul services on its GTCP 331-500 series Auxiliary Power Units for up to 77 of Singapore Airlines' Boeing 777s for 10 years. The airline operates 58 of these aircraft and will progressively take delivery of more over the years. Honeywell will provide MRO services at its location in Singapore.
Goodrich's Aviation Technical Services' received an FAA Diamond Award for the sixth consecutive year. Goodrich's Alabama Service Center, which maintains components, nacelles and thrust reversers, should receive the Diamond Award for the fifth year in a row in September.
Eurocopter España (ECE) announced its decision in May to create a new plant in Albacete, near the Spanish air force (EdA) base of Los Llanos (Castilla-La Mancha), in line with the industrial plan agreed within the framework of the group's Tiger HAD attack-helicopter program. This will ensure the development of permanent employment within Eurocopter España for up to 450 employees and revenue of ¤1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) over the next 10 years. Eurocopter will invest more than ¤60 million ($75.6 million) in tooling, equipment and installation in that decade.
Henkel published its Adhesive Sourcebook Volume 5, which is a 149-page guide to the company's line of 1,400 Loctite adhesives, sealants, coatings, cleaners and lubricants. The guide also contains dispensing and curing equipment listings. The catalogue is divided into four application categories, one of which is MRO products. Henkel Corp., 1001 Trout Brook Crossing, Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Officials at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center are rolling out a program that will give the facility's 13,000 employees some extra horsepower to address potential safety issues. The horsepower comes from three wallet-sized printed cards -- one red, one yellow and one green -- that employees and supervisors can "play" and officials have to obey. Among other things, Warner Robins, part of the Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, performs technical orders and maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the F-15, C-130 and C-5 aircraft.
Bell Helicopter Textron received a Naval Air Systems Command $104.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for FY2005 low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot II procurement of three AH-1Z Super Cobras and four UH-1Y Hueys under the U.S. Navy's H-1 upgrade program. Work on these aircraft began immediately at Fort Worth and the new Bell plant in Amarillo, Texas, for completion in December 2007. The first LRIP batch of six UH-1Y and three AH-1Z aircraft, which have about 84% commonality, already is in production at Amarillo.
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