Aviation Maintenance News

Aviation Maintenance News The FAA is reopening the issue of retesting mechanics who took practical tests at St. George Aviation in Sanford, Florida between October 10, 1995 and December 31, 1998. The FAA sent a letter to almost 2,000 A&P mechanics October 4 alerting them that they must set up a retest with their local FAA Flight Standards District Office. According to the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, a lawyer named Mike Moulis based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is preparing a class-action lawsuit against the FAA regarding the retesting. Interested mechanics can contact Moulis at 954-359-3172. The FAA has not commented on whether all the aircraft signed off by the mechanics who received letters are still airworthy, given that the FAA feels that these mechanics are not qualified. PAMA noted that members who are covered by its legal services plan can receive unlimited legal advice about this situation. www.pama.org Pratt & Whitney Canada announced a new premium overhaul and repair warranty for operators of its PT6A and JT15D engines. The program covers 100 percent of the engine, including accessories, for 10 years or to TBO, whichever occurs first, plus use of a rental engine at the customer's operating cost and a standard fee for R&R of the engine if this needs to be done outside of the P&WC Service Centre Network. www.pwc.ca Aviall has expanded its Dallas warehouse facility and headquarters, which now covers 305,000 square feet, up from 280,000. www.aviall.com Jet Professionals and the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association are launching a joint staffing solution for members of PAMA and Jet Professionals on January 1, 2005. The two organizations will share information about job opportunities on each other's websites. www.pama.org, www.jet-professionals.com Dallas Airmotive said that it has enrolled more than 1,600 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A and JT15D engines in its Airtight Warranty program, which covers 100 percent of parts and labor for 10 years or the manufacturer's recommended TBO, whichever comes first. www.dallasairmotive.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AvSoft produces the best-selling ACAS aviation market information system. Updated monthly by CD, ACAS provides details of more than 40,000 aircraft, including, operator, owner(s), history, orders, hours/cycles, values, availability, addresses, maintenance forecasts... ACAS is fast, flexible and easy to use; produces ready-to-print or export reports in seconds. www.avsoft.aero Commercial Aviation Maintenance News Singapore Technologies Aerospace announced a joint venture with China Eastern Airlines following the grant of a business license by Shanghai's State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The joint venture will perform commercial aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul. www.stengg.com Iberia has signed a contact with Luxor Air to inspect, modify, and repair the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 engines on Luxor's fleet of MD80-83s for five years. Honeywell received FAA approval to use its carbon friction material on the Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft brakes. "The carbon heat sink is expected to deliver a 20 percent increase in brake life and is interchangeable with existing wheels and brakes," said Peg Billson, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems. www.honeywell.com The FAA postponed HBAW 04-06, the handbook bulletin that addresses 10-seat aircraft configuration and maintenance programs for aircraft operated under Part 135. The new conformity date is November 22, 2004. Honeywell has signed a maintenance service agreement with Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia to provide service and repair on the carrier's 331-350 APUs. The agreement also includes GMF AeroAsia repairs on Honeywell GTCP 85-series components at its service center. www.honeywell.com Bearing Inspection (Bii) has launched a new website that includes customer order tracking and other B2B capabilities. www.bii.net United Services says it has surpassed its goals for new MRO maintenance services for the year, with strong growth in Asian/Pacific-based airline customers. The company has also implemented Lean, a set of continuous-improvement process tools. www.unitedsvcs.com Lufthansa and Honeywell signed an agreement to provide wheel and brake products for Lufthansa's fleet of 30 Boeing 747-400s. www.honeywell.com AAR has been selected by Malaysia Airlines to perform maintenance, repair, and overhaul of landing gear for Malaysia's fleet of Boeing 737-400 and 747-200 aircraft. www.aarcorp.com AVMATS and L-3 Vertex have been awarded a one-year, $47 million contract to provide contractor logistics support and operation of the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department for Naval Air Systems Command. The total contract is valued at $216.7 million. www.avmats.com Turkey's MNG Technic has been awarded a contract for seven MD-82/83 C-checks. MNG Technic will also perform insulation blanket modification and EGPWS modification. In addition, MNG Technic signed a contract for four MD-88 C-checks for Onur Air. www.mngtechnic.com Pratt & Whitney Canada will re-introduce the JT15D-4 engine into production in the third quarter of 2005. "This will provide significant benefits to operators of the Cessna Citation II aircraft through rental support," said Benoit Brossoit, vice-president service centers. www.pwc.ca Rolls-Royce is predicting the market for business jets is on the upturn starting in 2005. Rolls-Royce said that the age profile of current in-service business jets shows there will be a wave of replacement orders through the forecast period (2004-2023) as almost 40 percent of the current business jet fleet is 20 years old or older. www.rolls-royce.com Dallas Airmotive has developed the TomCat inspection process for Spey and Tay engines. The process, according to Dallas Airmotive, can extend the service life of high-pressure stage 1 turbine blades for an additional 4,000 hours or 10 years, whichever comes first. Dallas Airmotive has been designated as a Rolls-Royce Model 250 authorized maintenance center through 2009. Dallas Airmotive's Premier Turbines completed the 1,000th Honeywell TFE731 engine serviced in September. www.dallasairmotive.com Rolls-Royce added 100 aircraft to the CorporateCare program over the last 12 months. There are now 400 aircraft under CorporateCare or other flight hour agreements. Rolls-Royce announced that Banc of America Leasing improved financing terms for future Banc of America lessees and borrowers who enroll aircraft in Rolls-Royce CorporateCare. www.rolls-royce.com General Electric and Honda Motor Company have formally established a new joint venture company, GE Honda Aero Engines, which is pursuing the launch of Honda's HF118 turbofan engine in the light business jet market. www.world.honda.com, www.geae.com Pratt & Whitney Component Solutions is introducing a new parts kitting service in support of turbine engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities. www.pwc.ca ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turbine-powered aircraft operators - Instantly connect to more than 50 aircraft maintenance & refurbish centers throughout the U.S. Request maintenance & refurb quotes faster and easier through AvQuotes. Click on www.avquotes.com today. General Aviation Maintenance News (including corporate aircraft and helicopters) Duncan Aviation installed its first new Falcon 50 interior shell at its Lincoln, Nebraska facility. The new shell includes up- and downwash lighting and more headroom in the center and at the seats, plus new passenger-service units with integrated gaspers and LED reading lights. www.duncanaviation.com Eclipse Aviation announced that its first two factory service centers will be located at Gainesville, Florida and at the company's headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company also released a white paper discussing the Eclipse maintenance philosophy, especially as it relates to high-utilization operations. www.eclipseaviation.com Global Jet Services filed an anti-trust lawsuit against FlightSafety International, accusing the training company of violations of federal anti-trust law. "Global Jet alleges that [FlightSafety], through illegal tying and exclusive dealing agreements, has unlawfully used its dominant position and power in the corporate jet pilot training market to become the dominant provider of corporate jet maintenance training in the United States," according to a Global Jet statement. www.globaljetservices.com Jet Aviation has launched a new program to provide 24-7 AOG (aircraft on ground) maintenance services in the U.S. The program, called JetResponse, is started when customers call Jet Aviation at 877-JET-HELP. A technician handles the call and dispatches a team with the needed parts and tools to take care of the problem. www.jetaviation.com Bell Helicopter introduced a fixed monthly cost program for helicopter parts called Fly Smart Member Parts Program. Bell plans to expand the program to training, engine support, and possibly insurance. www.bellhelicopter.textron.com Raytheon is taking a proactive stance toward critical problems by attempting to prevent AOG (aircraft on ground) situations instead of waiting for them to happen, then reacting. A new Flight Critical Expedite Team has been created to work directly with customers and a customer care specialist who ensures that needed parts are available to keep the maintenance job on schedule. The Flight Critical system includes a website where customers can track status and a 24-7 hotline (800-AOG-HELP) for up-to-the-minute AOG data. To further help customers, Raytheon has launched a parts price-reduction campaign, with more than 10,000 parts identified for reduction, some as much as 50 percent. Beginning October 12, customers were able to check on parts price updates at Raytheon's RAPID parts website (www.raytheonaircraftparts.com). Bombardier has improved its AOG (aircraft on ground) spare parts service for operators of Learjet, Challenger, and Global Express airplanes, with fill rates increasing to 92 percent. Aiding this effort are two new parts super warehouses, in Chicago, Illinois and Frankfurt, Germany. Caterpillar Logistics is building the new warehouses. Chicago opens in the second quarter 2005 and Frankfurt third quarter 2005. www.aerospace.bombardier.com Embraer has announced a program to enhance the maintenance program for the Legacy in an effort to increase aircraft availability. The company has based its maintenance philosophy on the methodology established by the maintenance steering group of the Air Transport Association. www.legacybyembraer.com. NetJets Europe signed a four-year maintenance agreement with Raytheon's U.K.-based Hawker Aircraft Services, covering the Hawker 800XP and 400XP jets. www.raytheonaircraft.com Stage III Technologies reports that it has demonstrated that its Gulfstream GII/III hushkit is more than a third quieter than the offering of its only competitor in that hushkit market. www.stageiii.com Hawker Pacific Aerospace is adding to its landing gear overhaul capabilities with the Hawker 800 landing gear. The company is stocking a complete line of spares to get Hawker 800 operators back in the air quickly. www.hawker.com Jet Engineering Technical Support was awarded its EASA Part 145 certificate recently. Lufthansa Technik is launching a new design and engineering service for green completions, cabin refurbishments, and modifications. Called Project U, its goal is to integrate engineering and design and offers emotional, visual, and style development with reference to engineering and regulatory requirements. Lufthansa Technik also announced that it signed a new customer for its VIP jet maintenance services, Mid East Jet, with a Boeing 777-200, 767-200, 757-200, and three BBJs. Mid East Jet will have the maintenance done at Lufthansa Technik's Hamburg, Germany base as well as by Lufthansa Technik's Platinet Global Support Network. Joining Platinet is Lufthansa Technik's business aviation subsidiary BizJet International of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will offer maintenance services for VIP Airbus A319 CJs and Boeing BBJs as well as other large VIP jets. www.lufthansa-technik.com Duncan Aviation will be the exclusive agent for Raytheon Aircraft Parts Distribution to repair, overhaul, test, and provide inventory logistics in support of the RAPID rotables program for Hawker landing gear. Inventory will be located at Duncan's Lincoln, Nebraska facility. Duncan Aviation has introduced the Duncan Design Collection, signature designs for nearly all corporate aircraft. Duncan also announced that its Battle Creek, Michigan facility has been named an official Bombardier Learjet service center. www.duncanaviation.com International Water-Guard Industries has received Transport Canada STC for the installation of the Circulating Potable Water System on the Boeing BBJ. www.waterknowledge.com Mooney Airplane Company and Million Air are establishing an alliance to develop a fuel and maintenance saving program for its customers. Mooney owners will receive a per-gallon fuel discount and a percentage off maintenance services at select Million Air locations for a one-year period. Details are still being finalized. www.mooney.com, www.millionair.com Meggitt Avionics has received STC approval for installation of the MAGIC Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) and MAGIC Engine Instrument Display System on Cessna 425 turboprops. Production units for the Cessna 425 are available immediately. www.magic.aero The FAA has released a Flight Standards Handbook for Airworthiness (HBAW) that will provide guidance to aviation safety inspectors for the issuance of repairman certificates for light-sport aircraft and the cancellation of surrendered certificates. It also provides guidance on the surveillance of light-sport repairman training facilities. www.faa.gov/AVR/AFS/HBAW/HBAW0408.DOC Lycoming Engines announced a partnership with Delphi Corporation for the implementation of proprietary roller tappet technology across its line of certificated aircraft engines. Lycoming has been in the process of proving the designs over the last year and is nearing completion of the FAA certification process. www.lycoming.textron.com Atlantic Aero has been named a Cirrus authorized service center. Atlantic Aero is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. www.atlantic-aero.com Aerospace Products International announced that it now offers call center services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. www.apiparts.com Rolls-Royce announced that Embraer has enrolled all its Legacy demonstrator and asset fleet in its CorporateCare program. www.rollsroyce.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last chance for a FREE listing in the 2005 Aviation Maintenance Repair Center Directory. To update your company's listing or add your company's free listing, please go to www.directorypub.com/am Military Maintenance News The FAA has certified GE's CF6-80C2 engine for the U. S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy modernization program. www.ae.ge.com Aviation Technology Group and Israeli Aircraft Industries have signed an agreement for the design, development, and manufacture of an Advanced Jet Trainer. The trainer is based on ATG's two-seat jet, the Javelin. www.iai.co.il ACROHELIPRO Global Services, a subsidiary of Vector Aerospace, has been awarded a contract to perform repair and overhaul services for U. S. Navy H-3 Helicopter main rotor heads. www.acrohelipro.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maintenance Training News CAE SimuFlite will open a new business aviation training center in the New York/New Jersey area. The center is expected to be operational by third quarter 2006 and will provide flight and maintenance training for the Falcon 7X. SimuFlite also is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. CAE SimuFlite recently introduced the Citation X Simfinity Virtual Maintenance Trainer with a schematic viewer and virtual photography of the aircraft. www.simuflite.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Computing Technology News Lufthansa Technik has introduced Maintenance-record Information System (MARIS), which it says optimizes the maintenance operation management process and is aimed at startup airlines or those with small fleets. www.lufthansa-technik.com Avtrak and Raytheon Aircraft have entered into an agreement to apply Avtrak's aircraft maintenance and compliance tracking technology to increase the functionality of Raytheon's web-based Factory Aircraft Comprehensive Tracking System for Beechcraft and Hawker customers. www.avtrak.com, www.raytheonaircraft.com Altair Avionics has announced the release of enhancements to its Data Analysis Services trend-monitoring program for Pratt & Whitney Canada powered aircraft. Altair Avionics has received an STC for its Data Transmission Unit (DTU) for all Part 23 aircraft. The first certified application of the DTU was the PW306B-powered Avcraft Dornier 328Jet. www.altairavionics.com Avexus announced that its Asset Control & Visibility (ACV) product for maintenance, repair, and overhaul is available for use in the fractional jet and leasing markets. ACV capabilities include asset reliability analysis, maintenance history tracking, maintenance programs, asset control definition and rules, and engineering orders. www.avexus.com Xybernaut has been awarded an add-on contract for $200,000 in hardware and integration services for the deployment of wireless computer solutions for Apache helicopter maintenance at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. www.xybernaut.com Ramco Systems announced the successful implementation of the company's entire VirtualWorks based solution for the fixed wing fleet at Conair in Abbotsford, Canada. www.ramco.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avionics Maintenance News Dassault announced that Rockwell Collins's Flight Dynamics Enhanced Vision System will be available as an option for all new Falcons equipped with the EASy flight deck. www.rockwellcollins.com Butler National announced that AVCON Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of Butler, and Bizjet, a Lufthansa Technik Service company, have established agreements to set up several facilities to install Learjet 20 series RVSM solutions. www.butlernational.com, www.lufthansa-technik.com Duncan Aviation has announced a program called the Glass Box Project, an avionics retrofit program with certification preplanning and reduced downtime for major retrofits. Duncan has certified and installed the first Universal EFI-890R system in a Challenger 601-3A, also the first installation from the Glass Box Project. Duncan also announced that it received an FAA supplemental type certificate to install the Universal Cockpit Displays mounted on folding arms for display of terminal charts and other navigational data in the Falcon 900. www.duncanaviation.com ARINC and AeroMech have teamed to provide two comprehensive RVSM solutions for the Hawker 700. www.arinc.com Air New Zealand has selected Airshow 4200 for installation on eight new Boeing 777s and seven existing Boeing 747s. Installation is set for mid-2005. www.rockwellcollins.com The Aircraft Electronics Association is holding an Avionics & Panel Installation Seminar on November 3 to 5 at Tarrant County College in Ft. Worth, Texas. Subjects covered include wiring techniques, panel structure and layout, antenna installation, schematic interpretation, and guidelines for documentation of alterations. www.aea.net Independence Air has selected Rockwell Collins to provide service and support for the avionics on its Airbus fleet under a 10-year contract. www.rockwellcollins.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maintenance Industry Calendar October 26-28, 2004: Aviall 2004 Fall SuperSeminars. Chicago, Illinois. www.aviall.com October 26-28, 2004: 14th Annual Shot Peening and Blast Cleaning Workshop and Trade Show. Dearborn, Michigan. Phone 574-256-5001, www.shotpeener.com November 7-9, 2004: Aviation Maintenance Software Technology and Resource (STAR) Symposium. Phoenix, Arizona. www.STARSymposium.com November 7-9, 2004: The Modification and Replacement Parts Association's 4th Annual Conference. Tempe, Arizona. Phone 480-994-3353, www.pmamarpa.com November 14-18, 2004: Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers Association Semi-Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida. Phone: 215-564-3484, www.adma.org November 15-19, 2004: ASNT Fall Conference & Quality Testing Show 2004. Las Vegas, Nevada. Phone 248-414-3730, www.thermalwave.com March 7-9, 2005: Tennessee's 39th Annual Mid-South Aviation Maintenance Conference. Nashville, Tennessee. Phone: 931-431-9700, <a href="http://go.daum.net/bin/go.cgi?relative=1&url=/Mail-bin/login_f.cgi%3Ferror%3Dlogin%26lu%3D/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi%3FTO%3DTNMSAMS@aol.com">TNMSAMS@aol.com</a> April 27-29, 2005: Aero '05. Toluca, Mexico. www.aero05.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to Subscribe Click here to subscribe to Aviation Maintenance Monthly News, and please feel free to forward this to colleagues in the aviation maintenance industry. How To Contact Aviation Maintenance Feel free to contact Aviation Maintenance at any time with your feedback, stories, suggestions, or requests for a media kit or advertising information. Editor (story ideas, news, new products): Matt Thurber 301-354-1831 <a href="http://go.daum.net/bin/go.cgi?relative=1&url=/Mail-bin/login_f.cgi%3Ferror%3Dlogin%26lu%3D/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi%3FTO%3DMthurber@accessintel.com">Mthurber@accessintel.com</a> Managing Editor (story ideas, news, new products): Joy Finnegan 301-354-1830 <a href="http://go.daum.net/bin/go.cgi?relative=1&url=/Mail-bin/login_f.cgi%3Ferror%3Dlogin%26lu%3D/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi%3FTO%3DJfinnegan@accessintel.com">Jfinnegan@accessintel.com</a> Publisher (advertising information, market research): Nancy O'Brien 530-241-3534 <a href="http://go.daum.net/bin/go.cgi?relative=1&url=/Mail-bin/login_f.cgi%3Ferror%3Dlogin%26lu%3D/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi%3FTO%3DNobrien@accessintel.com">Nobrien@accessintel.com</a> Media Kit: contact Nancy O’Brien at 530-241-3534 or e-mail <a href="http://go.daum.net/bin/go.cgi?relative=1&url=/Mail-bin/login_f.cgi%3Ferror%3Dlogin%26lu%3D/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi%3FTO%3DNobrien@accessintel.com">Nobrien@accessintel.com</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe To Aviation Maintenance: to apply for a free subscription to Aviation Maintenance, the monthly magazine for aviation maintenance professionals, click on www.omeda.com/aem