Aircraft Technology Engineering & Maintenance

The leading international magazine for the manufacturing and MRO sectors of commercial aviation

December 2010 - January 2011 Issue: 109 www.ubmaviationnews.com

n ENGINE OEMS AND THEIR TOTAL SUPPORT PACKAGES

n MIDDLE EAST MROS READY FOR INCREASED DEMAND

n INTELLIGENT FASTENERS: A REAL BREAKTHROUGH?

n PROFITING FROM THE DOWNTURN — FL TECHNICS

CREATING SPACE FOR MRO BUSINESS— THE PERFECT MAINTENANCE HANGAR

ATE&M 109 FC 01_Layout 1 16/12/2010 08:48 Page 1

As the only U.S.-based independent CF6-50 heavy maintenance, test and overhaul center, the team at Kelly Aviation Center stands ready to make your engine our priority, delivering expertise and facilities unparalleled in the industry. Kelly Aviation Center features vast state-of-the-art MRO and test facilities that enable a quick response customized to your specific needs. From quote through delivery, Kelly Aviation Center will deliver your engine quickly, reliably and affordably – every time.

YOUR ENGINE IS OUR PRIORITY.

FPA_check 104:ATEM 12/3/10 11:18 Page 3

C O N T E N T SDecember 2010 - January 2011 • Issue: 109

DATA & DIRECTIVES60 Industry data: 737 Classic family

64 FAA AD biweekly summary listings

NEWS UPDATE4 A round-up of the latest news, contracts, products and peoplemovements.

INDUSTRY FOCUS14 Middle East MRO focusMRO in the Middle East continues to be seen by operators, suppliersand manufacturers as an area of growth and opportunity. Jason Hollandinvestigated the challenges facing Middle Eastern MROs and how themarket is likely to play out in the next few years .

22 Company profile: FL TechnicsFew regions suffered a more painful recession than the Baltic states. Yetone Lithuanian company, FL Technics, not only survived the recession butthrived, recording profits right through the downturn, as Alex Derberreports.

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION26 Creating space for MRO businessAircraft hangars are long-term investments for their owners/operators andthus require careful planning before construction can begin. But how do yougo about creagting the perfect maintenance hangar?

36 Intelligent fasteners — a technological breakthrough?They are sometimes hidden from sight, other times indiscriminate blem-ishes on the outer skin of an aircraft and most times absent from con-scious thought. They have changed little in the history of aviationfabrication and maintenance but are the metaphorical glue that binds.“They” are fasteners. And they are about to be given intelligence, saysTony Arrowsmith.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY58 Integration of flight operations and technical servicesLow levels of integration between flight operations and technical serv-ices is a significant cause of inefficiency in the aviation industry — thesolution lies in developing a suite of regulatory approved solutions thatelectronically map existing ‘paper-based’ processes.

ENGINEERING & MAINTENANCE42 Engine total support packagesTotal-care maintenance and health-monitoring business has grown con-siderably for engine manufacturers in the past decade and looks set toincrease even more. Chris Kjelgaard reports.

48 CF6 reaches 40 years old: MRO market reviewCF6 MRO revenues are set to decline about 17 per cent by 2019, but themaintenance market remains intense. Scott Hamilton reviews the CF6’smaintenance record and future outlook as it reaches four decades.

Aircraft Technology Engineering & Maintenance (ATE&M) (ISSN: 0967-439X - USPS 022-901)is published bi- monthly, in February, April, June, August, October andDecember with an extra issue in July, plus annual issues of theyearbooks published in September, October, and November by UBM Aviation Publications Ltd. and distributed in the USA by SPP c/o 95, Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437, USA.Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Aircraft Technology Engineering & Maintenance c/o SPP P.O. Box 437 Emigsville, PA 17318-0437, USA.

All subscription records are maintained atUBM Aviation Publications Ltd.First Floor, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road,London, SE1 9UY, UK.

ATE&M UK annual subscription cost is £150.ATE&M Overseas annual subscription cost is £170 or $300 (USA)ATE&M Single copy cost is £25 (UK) or $50 (USA)

All subscriptions enquiries to:Paul Canessa: [email protected]: +44 (0) 207 579 4873Fax: +44 (0) 207 579 4848Website: www.ubmaviationnews.com

ATE&M is published by UBM Aviation Publications Ltd.Printed in England by benhamgoodheadprint Ltd.Mailing house: Flostream UK

Aircraft Technology Engineering & Maintenance (ATE&M), part of UBMAviation Publications Ltd, has used its best efforts in collecting andpreparing material for inclusion in ATE&M but cannot and does notwarrant that the information contained in this product is complete oraccurate and does not assume and hereby disclaims, liability to anyperson for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in ATE&Mwhether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident orany other cause.

This publication may not be reproduced or copied in whole or in part byany means without the express permission of UBM AviationPublications Limited.

Aircraft Technology Engineering & Maintenance™ is a licensedtrademark of UBM Aviation Publications Limited. All trademarks used under license from UBM Aviation Publications Ltd.

© 1999 – 2010, UBM Aviation Publications Limited. All rights reserved.

EDITORJason Holland: [email protected]

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORSTony Arrowsmith, Alex Derber, Scott Hamilton, Chris Kjelgaard

PRODUCTION MANAGERPhil Hine: [email protected]

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTKalven Davis: [email protected]

E-EDITOR & CIRCULATION MANAGERPaul Canessa: [email protected]

MEDIA MANAGER - EUROPE, ASIA & AFRICAAlan Samuel: [email protected]

PUBLISHER & SALES DIRECTOR - USASimon Barker: [email protected]

GROUP PUBLISHERAnthony Smith: [email protected]

Front cover image courtesy of Megadoor/Cardo Entrance Solutions

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 17:02 Page 1

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4 ❙ Aircraft Technology- Issue 109

ST Aerospace has obtained two supple-mental type certificates (STCs) for its757-200SF passenger-to-freighter (PTF)conversion programme. These awardsare from the Civil AviationAdministration of China (CAAC) andTransport Canada.

Fokker Aircraft Services has joined the MiddleEast Business Aviation Association (MEBAA).

ARINC Engineering Services is planningto build a 62,000ft2 hangar in OklahomaCity, OK. The company wants to increasecapacity for aircraft servicing at itsAircraft Modification and OperationsCenter (AMOC), and is aiming to breakground on the hangar in January.

Continental Airlines has reached a tentativeagreement on a new labour contract with theInternational Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)representing its fleet service employees, parentcompany United Continental Holdingsannounced.

Netherlands-based Direct Maintenancehas opened a line maintenance stationat Kilimanjaro Airport near Arusha,Tanzania. The launch customer isEdelweiss Air, the leisure carrier brand ofSwiss International Air Lines.

Allgäu Airport at Memmingen, south Germany,plans to invest around €15m ($20m) into anexpansion programme that is to begin in2012.

Embraer has begun construction workfor the first unit of its component manu-facturing facility in Évora, Portugal. TheBrazilian OEM plans to build a 30,660m2

(330,000ft2) manufacturing site for air-frame structures and components in thetown approximately 110km (68miles)east of Lisbon.

Pratt & Whitney has received supplemental typecertificate (STC) approval from the Civil AviationAdministration of China (CAAC) for its GlobalMaterial Solution (GMS) life-limited parts forthe CFM56-3 engine.

Pratt & Whitney Canada has appointedLufthansa Technik AERO Alzey (LTAA)as a designated overhaul facility (DOF)for the PW901C APU on the 747-8series.

SIA Engineering, the MRO division of SingaporeAirlines, is to build a second hangar at ClarkInternational Airport near Manila. The facility isdesigned to accommodate widebodies —reportedly up to 747 size — costing approxi-mately $23m.

Transport Canada and EASA havegranted Bombardier type certificates forthe CRJ1000.

BAE Systems is to supply a touch-screen‘Attendant Control Panel’ (ACP) for the 737.

Summerside, Canada-based VectorAerospace has opened a MRO and testfacility for Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6Aturboprop engines in Lanseria, SouthAfrica.

Airbus launches A320neoAirbus has officially launched an upgraded A320, which will feature next-generation engine options and high-tech winglets. The A320neo (newengine option) will deliver fuel savings of up to 15 per cent, a reductionin CO2 emissions of up to 3,600 tonnes annually, and a double-digitreduction in NOx emissions, according to the manufacturer. Engine noiseand operating costs will be reduced, and the aircraft will offer up to500nm (950 km) more range or two tonnes more payload. The officialannouncement of the A320neo follows approval from parent EADS.

The launch validates both CFM International’s LEAP-X and Pratt &Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G geared turbofan, the new engineoptions. The new engines will be offered on the A320 as well as deriva-tive A319 and A321 models; the current version of the single-aisle air-craft family will remain on sale. The engines are larger than the modelscurrently used on the A320, but only limited modifications, primarily tothe wing and pylon areas, will be required.

No launch customer for the A320neo was announced, but Lufthansa issaid to have agreed to study details of the aircraft, while Airbus foreseesa market potential of around 4,000 of the aircraft in the next 15 years.Development costs for the programme will be more than €1bn ($1.3bn)— “not really a huge investment” according to John Leahy, COO cus-tomers — and the first deliveries are scheduled for Spring 2016.

The big question though is whether the A320neo’s offerings will beenough to satisfy potential customers. Leasing companies in particularare suspicious, and many believe the A320neo could drive down theresale values of older aircraft. Airbus is looking to hold-off competitionfrom new entrants in the single-aisle market, but many in the industrywould have liked to have seen an entirely new development – a view thatBoeing appears to have taken notice of. Airbus maintains that the tech-nology for a clean sheet build won’t be available until at least 2025;something that Boeing is not so certain about.

During the launch, Airbus president and CEO Tom Enders presented theessential business case for the upgraded aircraft, stating that it offered“maximum benefit with minimum change”. “We are leveraging a reliable,mature aircraft and are making it even more efficient and environmen-tally friendly,” he said.

In an industry of divided opinion, how will the market react now?

Chromalloy opens Florida castingoperationChromalloy has opened a new cast-ing operation in Tampa, Florida.“Chromalloy is pleased to now offerthe industry a single source forengine component design, engineer-ing, tooling, machining, repairs, coat-ings — and castings,” said companypresident Armand Lauzon, Jr. The150,000ft2 centre is designed topour up to one million pounds ofsuperalloy turbine components andparts for the “hot section” or criticalgas path of the engine, includingvanes, nozzles, high pressure tur-bine (HPT) blades and other compo-nents using several methodsincluding equiaxed, directionallysolidified, and advanced, single crys-tal casting technologies. The castingcentre became fully operational onOctober 21, 2010. Chromalloy alsosaid it is to build a $5m ceramiccore production facility adjacent tothe casting centre. Pre-engineeringfor the core facility is complete andconstruction will start in 2011. Thecore facility is scheduled to be oper-ational in early 2012.

Tool company acquired by DixieAerospaceDixie Aerospace has acquired thetool distributor JR Potter. With theacquisition, Dixie said it would beable to provide a multitude of spe-cialty tools and gauges includingtools for bearing and fastener instal-lation and removal as well as rivetinstallation. This addition allows cus-tomers to turn to Dixie Aerospace astheir single source for all facets ofthe bearing installation process.“This is a perfect compliment to thebearing products we sell, and allowsour customers across the globe toget the right products and the righttools to use them from a singlesource,” said Jason Caldwell, DixieAerospace president.

Airbus, CAE renew training contractAirbus and CAE have agreed torenew their flight crew trainingservices co-operation agreementthrough 2017. Under the terms ofthe contract, which began in 2002,CAE provides Airbus operatorswith a joint global network of train-ing centres with the largest fleet offull-flight simulators (FFS) forAirbus aircraft types, standardisedcourseware and instructors. Therenewal of the agreement wasannounced at the biennial AirbusTraining Symposium.

NEWS UPDATE

INBRIEF NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 16:10 Page 4

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6 ❙ Aircraft Technology- Issue 109 ❙

Biofuel to be tested on commercial flights for six monthsFollowing a successful but relatively short period of testing across theaviation industry, Lufthansa is set to become the first airline to operatecommercial flights using a biofuel blend. A six-month testing period ofdaily flights has been announced, in what is a major step forward in theindustry’s search for alternative fuels. Not only will the trials be con-ducted in ‘real’ commercial situations, but there will be an extendedperiod of testing rather than another one-off event, with the underlyingaim being to determine the long-term effects of biofuels on engine main-tenance and lifespan. The Lufthansa trial will begin in April 2011, with a biofuel blend madefrom 50 per cent hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), 50 per cent kerosene,powering one of the aircraft’s engines. Airbus A321s will be used for thetrial on the domestic Hamburg-Frankfurt route, while International AeroEngines will provide the engines.“We see great opportunities in the use of bio-synthetic kerosene. But weare first gathering experience with it in daily practice. Indeed, Lufthansais the world’s first airline to utilise biofuel in flight operations within theframework of a long-term trial,” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa CEO.“This is a further consistent step in a proven sustainability strategy,which Lufthansa has for many years successfully pursued and imple-mented.” The biofuel is being provided by Finland based Neste Oil, under the termsof a long term agreement with Lufthansa. The airline emphasised thatthe fuel will only be produced from sustainable feedstock sources toensure that its bio-feedstock does not compete for food, water or land.Certification of Neste Oil’s biofuel, which contains as much as four percent more energy than regular kerosene, has not yet been achieved butis expected in March 2011. During the six months of testing, Lufthansa estimates it will save around1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The trial is backed by the German gov-ernment, which has provided €2.5m to help fund it. Lufthansa estimatedthe cost of the entire project to be €6.6m.It is a price Prof. Dr. Johann-Dietrich Wörner, chairman of the executiveboard of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), believes to be well worthpaying considering the data that will be collected. “The objective is togather data on pollutants from biofuel in comparison with conventionalkerosene over a longer period,” he said. “The measured pollution patternrelated to diverse stresses in flight and the composition of the exhaustgases will allow us not only to draw conclusions about the compatibilityof biofuel but also about the maintenance needs of aircraft engines.Above all, we expect a significant reduction in soot particles.”Lufthansa’s ultimate target is to use biofuels for between five and 10 percent of all its fuel consumption by 2020, a number constrained by thefact that biofuel will be in short supply, not to mention that it is estimatedto cost three to four times more than kerosene.

VoIP nearing air traffic manage-ment operabilityEurocontrol has published a newdocument which it says marks amajor milestone towards achievinga global standard on voice overinternet protocol (VoIP) in air trafficmanagement. The ‘EurocaeED137A - Interoperability Standardsfor VoIP ATM Components’ docu-ment will allow the ICAOAeronautical Communication PanelWorking Group I to complete theinclusion of the VoIP requirementsinto its ATN/IPS technical annual.“Initial operational capability ofVoIP in ATM in Europe is expectedby January 2013. VoIP will help toreduce significantly overall commu-nication costs by cutting the expen-sive maintenance and operationalcost of analogue voice circuits,”said Bo Redeborn, director of coop-erative network design atEurocontrol.

Asia to drive $14bn growth in valueof global MRO market, says OAGThe global MRO market will grow3.2 per cent in the next nine yearsand will be worth $58bn worldwidein 2019, according to OAG Aviationdata. The company estimates thatthe market is worth $44bn today.Asia will be the fastest-growingregion, with its MRO share increas-ing from 23 per cent in 2009 to 29per cent in 2019. The US’ share,meanwhile, will drop from 38 percent in 2009 to 33 per cent in2019. The data was presented atUBM Aviation’s MRO Trends andForecasts webinar. At the sameevent, Aerostrategy’s David Stewartpredicted mid-single-digit growth inthe global MRO market in 2011,and low double-digit growth in2012. He also stated that despitethe large size (1,553) of the parkedfleet, only a small portion, 200, islikely to return to service at currentfuel prices. This equates to one percent of global capacity, or approxi-mately two months of productionrates.

Newly launched Sargent depart-ment proving a successSargent Aerospace & Defense hasformed a new department with theaim of identifying and managing“emerging aircraft repair opportuni-ties”. Since the ‘New ProductIntroduction’ (NPI) initiative waslaunched a few months ago, thecompany says the department hasalready added more than 60 newrepair capabilities to SargentAftermarket Services, “benefiting atleast ten launch customers”.Additional capabilities continue tobe added at the rate of six to ten permonth, according to Sargent, includ-ing component repairs for A320,737NG and 777 aircraft families.

TAM extends long-running agree-ment with MTUBrazilian airline TAM Linhas Aéreas isto continue a contract with MTUMaintenance Hannover that was orig-inally concluded in 1999. Under thisfollow-on agreement, MTU will providemaintenance services for another 57V2500 engines powering the carrier’sA320-family aircraft, in addition to the84 engines covered by the earlieragreement. The contract runs untilmid-2019 and is estimated to gener-ate more than €500m ($700m) inadditional revenues.

AF447: fourth flight-recorder searchset for FebruaryA new search for the wreckage ofthe Air France A330 that crashedinto the South Atlantic on June 1,2009, has been planned for earlynext year. Thierry Mariani, France’stransport secretary, said the searchis to begin in February. This will bethe fourth attempt to retrieve theaircraft’s missing flight data andcockpit voice recorders (FDR, CVR).The last search effort using aFrench nuclear submarine wascalled off last May. Mariani saidthat the “best equipment currentlyavailable” would be employed forthe new search. AF447 disap-peared in oceanic airspace while enroute from Rio de Janeiro to Parison June 1, 2009, killing all 228passengers and crew onboard.

NEWS UPDATE

NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 16:10 Page 6

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Rolls-Royce tests reveal cause of Trent 900 engine failureThe Australian Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB) says the probablecause of the Qantas engine failure on November 4 has been identifiedduring an inspection at Rolls-Royce’s Derby, UK facility. The agency saidthat a leakage of oil into the HP/IP bearing structure buffer space (anda subsequent oil fire within that area) was central to the engine failureand IP turbine disc liberation event. “Further examination of the crackedarea has identified the axial misalignment of an area of counter-boringwithin the inner diameter of the stub pip; the misalignment having pro-duced a localised thinning of the pipe wall on one side,” it reported. Thearea of fatigue cracking was associated with the area of pipe wall thin-ning. On the back of the results, Qantas says it is to conduct additional,more detailed one-off inspections of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engineson its A380 aircraft. The airline said there was no immediate risk to flightsafety. The ATSB has recommended that these one-off inspections beconducted within two flight cycles, which provides a level of inspectionover and above the current 20-cycle inspection required by the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA).

TIMCO mechanic gains FAA recog-nitionOne of TIMCO Aviation Services’mechanics has been recognised bythe FAA for his 50 years of servicein the aircraft maintenance indus-try. Greensboro-based Bill Hardyhas worked at TIMCO since it wasfounded in 1990, fulfilling a varietyof roles as an A&P mechanic, crewchief and materials specialist,among others. His career began asa helicopter mechanic in the USArmy in 1960, and includes morethan 25 years with Eastern Airlineswhere he worked on most of theaircraft in the airline’s fleet. Hardy’sname will be added to the FAA’sRoll of Honour, a leather-boundbook on display at the entrance tothe FAA Aircraft MaintenanceDivision at the authority’s head-quarters in Washington, DC.

GKN to produce thrust links forBoeing aircraftBoeing has awarded GKNAerospace a multi-year productioncontract to supply lightweight tita-nium thrust links for the 747-8 andfor both engine variants of the 787.GKN is currently investing in a ded-icated production cell at its ElCajon, California, facility, which willmanufacture these items. In addi-tion, thrust link end fittings arebeing machined at the company’sMexicali site in Mexico.

FAA directive seeks to preventPW4000 firesThe FAA has issued an airworthi-ness directive in a bid to prevent oilfires on Pratt & Whitney PW4000s.Operators are required to inspectengines with specified “numberthree bearing oil pressure tubes” forcracks or repairs to prevent oil fires,failure of high-pressure turbinediscs, uncontained engine failures,and general aircraft damage. The ADresulted from a report of a crackedbearing that caused an engine in-flight shutdown, a test cell “event”,and seven reports of the repairednumber three bearing oil pressuretubes cracking since 2007, that ledto unscheduled engine removals.

TAM biofuel flight a Latin AmericanfirstTAM Airlines has become the firstLatin American operator to conducta biofuel test flight using a 50:50blend of locally-sourced BrazilianJaptropha-based bio-kerosene andconventional aviation kerosene. Theexperimental flight, on a CFM56-5Bequipped A320, had the technicalapproval of Airbus and CFM, andwas authorised by the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA) andBrazil’s Agência Nacional de AviaçãoCivil (ANAC). The aircraft took offfrom Rio de Janeiro’s Tom Jobim(Galeão) international airport, andflew in Brazilian air space over theAtlantic Ocean for 45 minutesbefore returning to its point of ori-gin. In addition to two pilots, 18other passengers, including techni-cians and executives from TAM andAirbus, were on the flight. The organ-isations involved in the project aimto implement and establish a cropof Jatropha curcas, in reducedscale, at TAM’s Technological Centrein São Carlos, located in the coun-tryside in the state of São Paulo.

SITA technology implemented by AirServAir Serv, the ground services providerthat manages assistance for pas-sengers with reduced mobility (PRM)at Heathrow Airport, says it hasbecome the industry’s first to imple-ment SITA PRM data access serv-ices. This service feeds specialservice requests (SSRs) from morethan 90 airlines to Air Serv’s per-formance management system. AirServ says it receives around 3,000messages daily, each containing mul-tiple requests for special assistancefor passengers with reduced mobilitydeparting from, or arriving at,Heathrow. These SSRs previouslycame from different sources and indifferent formats; SITA’s servicestreamlines the process by pairingSSRs with live flight data feeds fromanother source in Air Serv’s systems.

Barco ATM system implemented inHong KongAn arrival metering and sequencingsystem has been fully installed andoperationally used at Hong KongAirport. Barco said its air traffic man-agement (ATM) solution, based onthe company’s OSYRIS arrival man-agement (AMAN) software, willenhance the airport’s operationalefficiency, thereby allowing moreflights to be handled per hour.

NEWS UPDATE

NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

Qantas takes no blame for A380 engine failureQantas Airways has gone on record saying that the recent A380 enginefailure had nothing to do with its operations, and everything to do withit being a new engine “that didn’t perform to the parameters that wewould’ve expected”. In an interview with the Australian BroadcastingCorporation, CEO Alan Joyce said the airline had responded “excep-tionally well” to the incident, although resultant costs were still rising.He also stated that the Qantas brand might be enhanced because ofits handling of the incident, rather than damaged. “In the researchwe’re doing, people are aware that this was a Rolls-Royce problem, sowhen we survey the general population the vast majority of peopleknow that there’s a problem with the design of the engines,” he said.

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 16:10 Page 8

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Superjet completes HIRF testingThe Sukhoi Superjet 100 has completed high-intensity radiated field(HIRF) testing in Turin, Italy. The tests were accomplished at AleniaAeronautica facilities at the city’s Caselle airport under supervision ofEASA and Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee Aviation Register (ARIAC), using the third aircraft, SN 95004. Preliminary results show that theaircraft meets all HIRF requirements, the OEM said. HIRF certification isrequired to demonstrate that the aircraft’s electric and electronic equip-ment is not influenced by external electromagnetic fields like those pro-duced by a TV, radio station or radar.

Spirit fabricates first A350XWBcentre fuselage panelSpirit AeroSystems has fabricatedthe first carbon fibre panel for thecentre fuselage section of theA350XWB. The 19.7m (64.6ft)long, 77m2 (829ft2) “crown” panelis the longest fuselage skin pieceand will be used to partly cover thetop of the fuselage structure,above the window line. The com-posite panel was cured at the com-pany’s facility in Kinston, NorthCarolina, and will undergo trim-ming, drilling and non-destructiveinspection in the coming weeks.The EADS subsidiary PremiumAerotech has recently cured a sim-ilar crown panel for the aircraft’sforward fuselage section at its sitein Nordenham, Germany. Finalassembly for the first baselinemodel A350-900 is to begin nextyear, with the first flight due to fol-low in 2012. Entry into service isscheduled for 2013.

Iberia starts Barcelona mainte-nance with Vueling A320Iberia Maintenance began opera-tions in its new hangar atBarcelona’s El Prat airport withthe C check of a Vueling-oper-ated A320. The maintenanceevent took around 10 days.Around 40 technicians are cur-rently working at the facility,approximately half of which havebeen temporarily seconded tothe site from other locations tosupport the newly recruited work-force. The company aims toincrease staff levels in Barcelonato between 150 and 200 employ-ees over the next two years.

Goodrich delivers A350 thrustreversersGoodrich has delivered its firstthrust reversers for the A350 XWB.They will be installed on a Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine to be usedin the engine ground test pro-gramme, which is scheduled tobegin later this year. Goodrichshipped the thrust reversers onNovember 5 from itsAerostructures facility in ChulaVista, California, which was alsothe site of final assembly. Thereversers will first be sent to theRolls-Royce facility in Derby,England for initial testing beforeultimately being shipped to a Rolls-Royce ground testing site locatedat the John C. Stennis SpaceCenter in Mississippi.


GA Telesis to move into larger head-quartersGA Telesis has acquired a new cor-porate headquarters and distribu-tion centre in central FortLauderdale, USA. The buildingoffers an 11,200m2 (120,000ft2)distribution facility and 4,600m2

(50,000ft2) of office space. Thecompany plans to expand its inter-national facilities by 5,500m2

(60,000ft2) in 1Q 2011.

Xian Aero Engine, Avio to set upcombustor facilityChina’s Xian Aero Engine and Italy’sAvio have signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding to set up a combus-tor joint venture. The companiessaid they aimed to create a centreof excellence focusing on the devel-opment and manufacturing of com-bustors for civil aircraft, marineengines and turbines for industrialuse, including relative components.The facility will be located in Xian,North West China, and will primarilyserve the Chinese market.

Three Delta aircraft involved inengine emergenciesThree separate Delta Air Lines air-craft suffered engine shutdowns inone weekend. On each occasion,emergency landings were made,and no one was injured in any ofthe incidents. A 767 bound forMoscow was forced to return toNew York John F. KennedyInternational Airport after losingthrust from its left engine shortlyafter takeoff. Another 767, flying toLos Angeles, made a return landingin Atlanta on the same day afterthe flight crew declared an emer-gency after reporting an engineproblem. The aircraft scraped itstail during the landing. And a 757flying from Philadelphia made anemergency landing in Shannon,Ireland when problems developedon one of its engines while cross-ing the Atlantic. The airline saidpreliminary indications suggestedthe incident was caused by a com-pressor stall.

NEWS UPDATE

NEWSHIGHLIGHTS

787 changes made after electrical fire Boeing will make “minor” changes to the electrical power distributionpanels and associated software on the 787 after the electrical fire on atest aircraft, ZA002, on November 9. Engineers have determined that thefault began as either a short circuit or an electrical arc in the P100 powerdistribution panel. Boeing said this was “most likely” caused by the pres-ence of foreign debris. France’s La Tribune reported on November 23 thatthe fire in the aircraft’s aft electronics bay may have been caused by amislaid tool. The design changes will improve the protection within thepanel, Boeing said. The P100 panel is one of five major power distribu-tion panels and directs electrical power from the left engine to a rangeof aircraft systems. Vital systems are backed-up and should not fail if thepower supply from one engine is interrupted. However, the flight crewreportedly lost several systems during the incident, including primaryflight displays and auto-throttle function. The required design changeswill have to be approved by the FAA before the flight test programme canresume.

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 16:10 Page 10



n Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has selected AAR’s Cargo Systems Division tomanufacture the main deck cargo loading systems for its 767-200 multi-missiontanker transport conversion programme.n Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) has been selected by an undisclosed customer toprovide one 737-300SF 9-pallet configuration passenger-to-freighter conversion. Theaircraft was built in 1988 and is currently undergoing freighter modification and heavymaintenance at AEI’s Authorized Conversion Center, Commercial Jet, in Miami, FL.n Qatar International Airways has ordered 35 frequency converters from Red Box

International for use in its maintenance hangars and workshops, based at NewDoha International Airport in Doha, Qatar.n Airbus Corporate Jet Centre (ACJC) has signed an ‘EngineLife’ agreement withSnecma for full engine service support of CFM International CFM56-5B engines forits VIP, corporate and government customers. The contract covers engine conditionmonitoring, shop visits, foreign object damage protection, line replaceable unit poolaccess and repair, and spare engine availability.n TAM has entered into a three-year contract with Aviation Logistics Network (ALN)strategic partner ILS Services Brasil for the provision of forwarding and logisticsservices. The contract covers the support of AOG, routine and critical service options.n Russia’s Yakutia Airlines has selected Turkish Technic to perform one C checkand one A check on two of its 737NG aircraft. The maintenance activities will becarried out at Turkish Technic’s facilities in Istanbul, Turkey during December 2010.n Canadian maintenance provider Aveos has selected Ramco Systems’ Series 5Aviation MRO software. The contract includes financials and aviation analyticssoftware.n Thai Airlines has awarded Aviation Logistics Network (ALN) in Singapore, Franceand Thailand a contract to co-ordinate the shipment of parts and spares for its fleetas the strategic partner for Lufthansa Technic Logistic.n Emirates has contracted Rolls-Royce to provide ‘TotalCare’ engine support for 50Trent-powered aircraft in its fleet. The agreement is valued at $1.2bn (AED 4.4bn)and comprises the Trent 700 engines of 29 A330s and Trent 800s of 21 777aircraft. n Etihad Airways has chosen SR Technics to provide full technical training supportafter the two companies signed a five year contract. The agreement coverstechnical training on all Airbus and Boeing types and includes basic andspecialised training.n Omni Air International has selected Airborne Maintenance & Engineering

Services (AMES) to provide heavy maintenance for two of its 767-300 aircraft.AMES will accomplish maintenance checks and engine pylon modifications.n Parker Aerospace has selected Porvair Filtration Group to provide filtrationsystems for its on-board aircraft fuel tank inerting systems. The agreement isestimated to be worth more than $40m over its ten-year lifetime.n Brisbane-based Virgin Blue Airlines has selected Rockwell Collins’ avionics for itsordered 737NG fleet, comprising 50 firm aircraft, 25 options and 25 purchaserights. The suite includes the ‘MultiScan’ radar system, TTR-2100 traffic collisionavoidance system (TCAS), GLU-925 multi-mode receiver (MMR), and SAT-2200satellite communication (SATCOM) equipment.n Honeywell has selected Crane Aerospace & Electronics to provide the brakecontrol system (BCS) for the Comac C919. Crane will assist in the integration ofthe BCS, which includes ‘SmartStem’ passive, wireless tire pressure sensingtechnology and a brake temperature monitoring system. n Airbus has selected Goodrich to provide the main landing gear for the -1000variant of the A350 XWB aircraft. Goodrich expects the contract to generate morethan $2bn in original equipment and aftermarket revenue over the life of theprogramme.n Jade Cargo International has selected Ameco Beijing to provide heavymaintenance on its 747-400ERF fleet. The agreement, signed during the ZhuhaiAirshow, covers component services as well as technical training.n Vietnam Airlines has awarded a $100m avionics and auxiliary power unit (APU)contract to Honeywell covering its fleet of 36 ordered and 22 existing A321 aircraft.Honeywell will also work with the airline to help establish an in-house APU repairand overhaul capability.n Aero Engine Controls has handed Cosworth an eight-year contract to producecomponents for the engine control system of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine.Cosworth will manufacture the main casing for the Trent 1000 FADEC system.

n Dhaka, Bangladesh-based GMG Airlines has contracted Pratt & Whitney (P&W) fora five-year engine management agreement, covering PW4060 engines on the airline’s767-300ERs, JT8D-200s on its MD-82/83s, and other engines on future aircraft.n Sun Country Airlines has selected TRAX USA software to manage its MROoperations. The airline will implement e3, the latest version of TRAX Maintenance.n Royal Jordanian Airlines has inked an engine maintenance contract with MTU

Maintenance Hannover covering 26 V2500 engines for the carrier’s A320-familyfleet. The agreement will run until March 2014.n Thomas Cook’s UK and Scandinavian branches have contracted Iberia

Maintenance/British Airways Engineering together with AJ Walter Aviation to provideavionics support for 22 A320 and seven A330 aircraft. The five-year agreement isbased on a price-by-hour pool arrangement and has an extension option for anotherthree years.n AFI KLM E&M and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) E&M have signed a 10-year componentsupport contract for the Malaysian carrier’s fleet of 35 737-800s. The 737component services programme is operated in partnership with Boeing.n Paris-based Aigle Azur Transports Aériens has contracted SR Technics to provideA- and C-checks for 12 A320-family aircraft. The base maintenance work will beconducted in Zürich.

Master Chemical has launched a range of chlorine-free neat oils usingsynthetic and semi-synthetic hydrocracked base fluids together with care-fully selected additives to improve cutting and grinding performance. TheTRIM TEC range has been developed in Europe specifically for Europeanmanufacturers. Benefits include reduced oil consumption to optimiseoperating costs, lower fire risk thanks to higher flash points and lowerfoam for improved cutting and grinding performance.

Spectronics has unveiled a cordless, rechargeable UV LED flashlightdesigned to identify leaks in fuel, lubrication and hydraulic aviation sys-tems. The UV LED light on the Spectroline OPTIMAX 365 makes all leakdetection dyes glow brightly, is four times brighter than other high-inten-sity leak detection lamps and has an inspection range of up to 20 feet,according to the company. Powered by a rechargeable NiMH battery, theflashlight provides 90 minutes of continuous inspection time.Industrial hardware company FDB Panel Fittings has launched a range of hard-ware that has been specifically treated to facilitate the prevention and controlof bacterial infection. This new process is ideal for anything that is powdercoated, as well as most moulded items such as grab rails and handles.

NEWS UPDATE

CONTRACTS

PRODUCTS

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 16:11 Page 12

13❙ Aircraft Technology - Issue 109 ❙

l Boeing has elected Ronald Williams to its board of directors, effectiveimmediately. He is currently the chairman of Aetna, a diversified healthcare benefits company, and stepped down as CEO of the company lastmonth. He will serve on the Boeing board’s audit and finance committees.l Goodrich has appointed Mike Brand VP of 787 and commercial air-frame entry into service (EIS). Dave Castagnola will succeed Brand aspresident of the company’s landing gear business. He is currently VP andGM of programmes and manufacturing.l Mervyn Fernando has been re-elected as president of the Council ofthe International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Air NavigationCommission (ANC). Fernando, who was elected by secret ballot, was firstappointed president of the ANC in 2010 and has been a member since2006. Fernando has 30 years’ experience in operational air traffic con-trol and airspace management.l Victor Chavez has been promoted to CEO of Thales. Chavez will movefrom his current role as deputy CEO on January 1, 2011. He has workedin his current role since October 2008. Alex Dorrian, the company’s cur-rent CEO and EVP, will take the role of chairman. Lord Freeman, who iscurrently the chairman, will remain a director and the chairman of ThalesUK advisory board.l Gerald Weber is to leave Airbus, where he is EVP of operations, mem-ber of the Airbus executive committee in Toulouse and head of Airbusoperations in Hamburg. Weber will hand his post to an unnamed suc-cessor at the end of March 2011. During his four years with the com-pany, Weber instructed change under the company’s restructuringprogramme by adding new working processes for the A380 and prepara-tion for the production of the A400M series.l Paul Kuchta has been promoted to assistant manager of FlightSafetyInternational’s learning centre at the Dallas Fort Worth InternationalAirport in Texas. Under his new role, Kutchta will be responsible for thecentre’s aircraft maintenance technician training programmes.

Rockwell Collins rakes in avionics/IFE orders from Chinese trioXiamen Airlines has selected a suite ofRockwell Collins avionics, including the‘MultiScan’ radar system and GLU-925multi-mode receiver (MMR) for 25 737NGaircraft. Deliveries will begin in July 2011.Hainan Airlines has selected a similar suitefor its firm order of 42 and 15 optional737NG aircraft. These deliveries are due to

begin in August 2011. Tibet Airlines’ ordered a range of avionics and IFEsystems, including the ‘digital programmable audio video entertainmentsystem’ (dPAVES) IFE equipment, ‘MultiScan’ and the GLU-925 MMR, fornine firm and nine optional A319s. Those deliveries will begin in July2011.

Gulfstream to expand Savannah site in $500m programmeGulfstream Aerospace will expand its business aircraft manufacturing,MRO and R&D facilities in a $500m construction plan over the nextseven years. This will generate 1,000 new jobs, an increase of approxi-mately 15 per cent over the company’s current employment level ofaround 5,500 staff at its Georgia, US site. “This expansion is necessaryto meet the projected increase for new business-jet aircraft and themaintenance that will follow [over the next decade],” said Joe Lombardo,president, adding that the company sees “modest” recovery signs. “Webooked more orders than we had in any quarter since the downturnbegan in mid-2008,” he said. The expansion will include new facilities atSavannah/Hilton Head International Airport, renovation of several exist-ing facilities on and the expansion of office and lab facilities.

Thales to provide IFE on C919Thales is to create a joint venturecompany that will integrate its in-flight entertainment (IFE) system inthe cabin of the upcoming C919 air-craft. It has signed a Letter of Intentwith Commercial Aircraft Corporationof China and a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with ChinaElectronics Technology Avionics,whose parent company is ChinaElectronics Technology Corporation.The Thales system to be installed onthe aircraft will be a scalable plat-form offering a “modular entertain-ment experience”, includinginteractive audio solutions throughto full in-seat on-demand services.Future evolutions of the system mayinclude wireless networks and con-nectivity, according to Thales.

Certification process for 737upgrades beginsThe certification process for a pack-age of 737 performance improve-ments has begun with thecompletion of the first test flight.Aerodynamic and engine changesincluded in the package will reducefuel consumption by two per cent,according to Boeing. To achieve thesavings, resistance has beenreduced to air flow around the air-craft. The upper and lower anti-colli-sion lights have changed from around to a more aerodynamic, elon-gated teardrop shape. Wheel-wellfairings have been re-contoured tosmooth the air flow near the mainlanding gear. Finally, the environmen-tal control system, exhaust vent andstreamlined wing slat and spoilertrailing edges have been redesigned.Boeing is phasing the changes intoproduction mid-2011 through early2012. Testing and certification willcontinue through April 2011.

Luxair goes live with Swiss-AS soft-wareLuxair has successfully gone livewith Swiss AviationSoftware’s(Swiss-AS) AMOS system. The car-rier is now using the entire AMOSbundle with all modules for its com-plete fleet. Swiss-AS provided twoweeks of onsite support followingthe start of operations. HorstLenhard, VP technical services ofLuxair, stated: “Right from the begin-ning it was clear that AMOS was aperfect match for Luxair since weare convinced that AMOS will sup-port us in the process of achieving aboost in efficiency while reducingcosts in the maintenance sector.”

Nacelle JV launched in ChinaAircelle and Xian Aircraft Internationalhave agreed to form a joint venturefor the construction and assembly ofnacelle components. The companiessaid the China JV’s “first priority” wasthe C919 aircraft, whose nacelle issupplied by Nexcelle – a JV of Aircelleand GE Aviation’s Middle RiverAircraft Systems (MRAS). The JV hasidentified thrust reverser and doorssubassemblies as possible produc-tion opportunities, and the build-up ofthrust reversers, air inlets and fancowls as assembly opportunities.

Finnish air navigation reformedA single, uniform area control centreis now in charge of the entire Finnishflight information region, which con-sists of seven airspace sectors. TheArea Control Centre Finland, locatedin Aitovuori, Tampere, will now pro-vide Finland’s regional air navigationservices. The region was previouslydivided into airspaces handled bythe Southern Finland Air NavigationCentre and the Northern Finland AirNavigation Centre. The Area ControlCentre Finland co-ordinates over-flights in Finnish airspace and airroute traffic between different air-ports. The new control centre said itwould ensure effective, customer-ori-ented service from now on.

Air China implements Boeinghealth managementBoeing’s Airplane HealthManagement (AHM) system is nowactive on 40 aircraft in Air China’s737 fleet. AHM allows the airline togather and evaluate real-time in-flightflying condition data and relay infor-mation to ground controllers. The aimis to improve the planning and per-formance of repairs, thus minimisingscheduling impacts. “We are quiteexcited to begin seeing the benefitsof AHM,” said Zhong Dechao, AirChina deputy chief engineer. “[It] willhelp us improve our maintenance effi-ciency and will benefit our passen-gers with an even higher level ofon-time performance.”

GE and HNA to form MRO JVGE Aviation and the HNA Group havesigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) to form aMRO services joint venture. It will belocated in Tianjin province in Chinaand will be operated by HNA Group,providing services for GE Aviation’sCF34-10A and CF34-10E engines.GE Aviation itself will provide techni-cal support and materials.

NEWS UPDATE

PEOPLE

News_109_News_109 15/12/2010 16:11 Page 13

14 ❙ Aircraft Technology - Issue 109 ❙

INDUSTRY FOCUS

Middle East MRO focus

MRO in the Middle East continues to be seen by operators, suppliers and manufacturers as anarea of growth and opportunity. Investment is taking place at a rapid rate, and partnershipsand joint ventures continue to be formed. Jason Holland investigated the challenges facingMiddle Eastern MROs and how the market is likely to play out in the next few years.

The aviation industry in the Middle East haslong been regarded as a growth area, andit is still developing rapidly — recession or

not. Throughout the current economic woes,many companies in the region adopted a strat-egy of looking proactively to the future in termsof seeking out potential investments and otheropportunities. Relatively speaking, the impactof the global recession has been less dramaticthan in many other regions.

The future of the Middle East’s MRO indus-try should be seen in the context of the aboveaverage growth of passenger and freighter traf-fic into and through the region — which willnecessarily require MRO work, and thus a grow-ing maintenance industry. Firstly, there are a lotof strong domestic airlines, which will increase

the total amount of work done. Emirates, forexample, currently has an incredible number ofaircraft on order.

Secondly, the general MRO landscape pro-vides significant benefits for potential non-localcustomers. Large scale investment and expan-sion continues to take place in oil-rich placeslike Abu Dhabi, and this means that modernfacilities are being established. Concurrently,airports are developing at a fast pace. The lackof a modern infrastructure has traditionallybeen a problem for the region, and it is onethat will only be solved in time — however it isfair to say that there is the political will to doso. In fact, in some areas the rapid pace ofdevelopment has entirely removed this com-mercial barrier.

AT109_IndFocus_2_AT109_IndFocus 15/12/2010 17:36 Page 14

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The Middle East as a whole can promoteitself as a natural hub between Europe, Asiaand Africa. Being within convenient reach of air-lines in these continents provides the opportu-nity; relatively cheap labour rates may often bethe clincher in a customer’s decision to use aMiddle East MRO, or as Abu Dhabi AircraftTechnologies’ CEO Jeremy Chan puts it, there isan “ability to blend professional MRO experi-ence and skills with a labour force from variouscultures at a very favourable cost base”.

Strategic visionIain Lachlan, Emirates’ divisional senior vice

president engineering, says that the choice andavailability of MRO support boosts competitive-ness, while a further advantage maintenance

companies in the region can offer is a “willing-ness to consider partnerships and relation-ships”. The last few years have seen countlessaerospace giants make their presence felt inthe Middle East through such means.

“The number of Middle East MRO opera-tors is growing faster than in any other regionover recent years. With a strategic vision, anda desire to continually assess new opportuni-ties, the MRO industry in the UAE, the widerMiddle East region and the Indian sub-conti-nent will continue to develop and offer sup-port in areas it feels brings benefit to theirregion and market,” says Lachlan. “Their will-ingness to support opportunities in develop-ing businesses is attracting key suppliersand organisations to the region to consider

❙ Aircraft Technology - Issue 109 ❙

INDUSTRY FOCUS

Emirates Engineering’s hangar complex is among the biggest civil aviation maintenance facilities in the world.


16

setting up support units whether as part of ajoint venture, a strategic partnership or insupport in the growth of their own businessmodel.”

Tied in with this is the decision by manyMiddle East governments to promote the avia-tion industry in their countries by means of reg-ulation. Many have adopted more liberalpolicies, such as open skies. This has erodedthe traditional picture that the internal MiddleEast aviation sector is heavily regulated.

The Middle East, in an aviation businesssense, likes to emphasise the fact that it is rel-atively new on the scene, and so takes a mod-ern approach. From a maintenanceperspective, Chan foresees a major shift infocus from the current situation in terms of the

region’s main capabilities, in line with the gen-eral attitude. He says: “Major changes can beexpected in the focus on modern technologies.Middle East MROs will continuously introducemore capabilities for modern aircraft, engineand component technologies, thus movingaway from a traditionally low cost regionalprovider with a main focus on airframe overhaulof legacy product lines, to a full service provideraiming to support all modern aircraft.”

Many of the companies in the region adopt aglobal approach, and seek to offer third-partyMRO services to other regions. “There is thepotential for further opportunities in this area asthe choice of MRO options globally is not thatextensive, driving the possibility for growth ofexisting MRO outlets in the region,” says Lachlan.


INDUSTRY FOCUS

Emirates Engineering is seeking to add additional third party capacity in the future.


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This is in addition to the aforementionedgrowing Middle East fleet. However, a lot of theregion’s largest MRO providers used to be thein-house operation of a state-owned airline, somost of the airlines with the biggest fleet havetheir maintenance needs readily taken care of.Different approaches have been taken, whetherby choice or circumstance, creating the currentlandscape of Middle East MROs.

Rival schoolsEmirates Engineering, whose main focus is

to support the rapidly expanding Emirates fleet,is in fact still a division of the main airline.“With the current programmes in work, andknown fleet and operational growth scheduled,our facilities and resources are heavily utilisedin ensuring the high standard of operation ofthe Emirates fleet,” reports Lachlan. This hasresulted in only a “limited amount” of capacitybeing available to other potential customers atthis time. The company’s facilities are impres-sive though: its eight hangars form the largestfree-spanned structures in the Middle East,with roofs supported by 110-metre long singlespans, and it is among the biggest civil aviationmaintenance facilities in the world.

There are plans in place for the MRO divisionto seek third party work in the future, and Lachlanreveals something of the plan: “Emirates

Engineering is continually developing key capabil-ities in maintenance/component/system sup-port, and skill and educational development,which will result in additional capacity being avail-able in the future. In the longer term, as Emiratesexpands into additional third party work, it willensure the market place continues to remaincompetitive.”

Slightly further down the third-party route isGulf Air and the kingdom of Bahrain. The airlineused to be owned by not just Bahrain, but AbuDhabi, Qatar and Oman too. Its MRO needswere taken care of by Gulf Aircraft Maintenance(Gamco) in Abu Dhabi – this company has nowbeen rebranded as Abu Dhabi AircraftTechnologies as the Gulf Air connection wascompletely lost. Now that Bahrain is in solecontrol of Gulf Air, the state’s holding companyMumtalakat has signed an agreement withSingapore’s SIA Engineering (SIAEC) to set up anew JV business which will not only service theairline but seek third-party work. A new facilitywill become operational in 2012 and the JVcompany will be named Gulf Technics — so thisnew player in the market will be one to watch inupcoming years.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies(ADAT) remains one of the Middle East’s lead-ing third-party MRO providers, while servicingAbu Dhabi-based Etihad’s fleet (the airline is


INDUSTRY FOCUS

In recent years, we have seenaggressive global growthstrategies being pursued toenable the region to become aglobal player in the MROindustry.— Iain Lachlan, divisionalsenior vice presidentengineering, Emirates

Alsalam was set up to concentrate on servicing Saudi Arabian Airlines, but now counts itself as one of the main players in the Middle East’s third-partyairframe maintenance segment.


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the national carrier of the United ArabEmirates, and its formation precipitated theGulf Air split). With Etihad’s fleet being soyoung though, there is less maintenance needand therefore more available third-party capac-ity. ADAT is owned by the MubadalaDevelopment Company, a strategic investmentand development vehicle wholly-owned by theAbu Dhabi government. According to Chan:“ADAT’s strength is based on a blend of strongownership with a clear strategic approach,exceptional infrastructure, a favourable costbase and professional skills in both manage-ment and production.”

The CEO believes that the MRO’s “flexibility”is unknown in the MRO industry, and that theconditions are in place for further expansion.“The company’s new service spectrum is provid-ing a unique potential for total maintenance costoptimisation through the combination of finan-cial services, integrated fleet and pool manage-ment and production services with a marketleading efficiency and quality,” he explains.

Among the company’s strengths is its focuson what is currently happening in the aviationsector. ADAT has base maintenance capabili-ties for all current and future aircraft models,including the 787 and A380, and this has beensupported by the establishment of a newA380–size hangar. Etihad is scheduled to

receive its first A380s in 2012, and so theseaircraft won’t need their first C-check until2014. In terms of component capabilities,ADAT has also turned its attention to currentand future platforms, such as the 777, 787,A380, and A350. On the engine side of opera-tions, ADAT parent Mubadala signed a deal withGeneral Electric that will mean the MRO willbecome a specialist centre for the GEnx andthe GE90 models.

It is known that Mubadala is seeking tomake an MRO acquisition in either NorthAmerica or Asia, which would further extend itsglobal coverage (it is already the majority ownerof SR Technics), but the company also has afew other aerospace projects ongoing closer tohome. One is Sanad, which was launched inearly 2010 to provide leasing and managementof spare components and engines to the airlineindustry. Essentially, the company will purchaseairlines’ components stock and then maintainit on a contract basis utilising Mubadala’s MROassets: ADAT and SR Technics.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), mean-while, had already established its NorthAmerican presence through its ownership ofStandardAero. However, DAE has put the theaviation services company up for sale. Despiteits grand entrance onto the aerospace scene,DAE seems to be struggling in the wake of the


INDUSTRY FOCUS

Given the high number ofaircraft orders in this regionand by other operators servingthe Middle East, the MROsmust be at the forefront toestablish capabilities for allcurrent and future aircraft.— Jeremy Chan, CEO, AbuDhabi Aircraft Technologies

Jordan-based JorAMCo has pursued an aggressive global growth strategy in recent years to reinforce its position in the market.


21

recent financial crisis that enveloped Dubai.Another oil-rich emirate, Qatar, has yet to

really make its mark on the third-party MROscene. This could change very rapidly though.With the controversial award of the 2022 FIFAWorld Cup to Qatar, there will be additional traf-fic to an already fast-growing emirate, andinvestment is already being put into a newinternational airport in Doha, which is sched-uled to open in 2012. Qatar Airways currentlyrelies on third-party companies to carry out itsmaintenance work. It remains to be seen howit will approach its MRO needs once it relo-cates to the new airport, where it will have theoption to bring maintenance work in-house.

Jordan’s JorAMCo remains one of the majorthird-party providers in the Middle East. It was ini-tially set up as flag carrier Royal JordanianAirlines’ maintenance and engineering depart-ment, but became an independent concern in2000, specialising in narrowbody and Tri-star air-craft. The MRO says that in recent times it haspursued an “aggressive growth strategy to rein-force its position in the market”, which hasentailed doubling the size of its facilities, enhanc-ing its aircraft capabilities, incorporating inte-grated ERP solutions, increasing its workforceand establishing a dedicated training academy.

In Saudi Arabia, the government was a late-adopter in pursuing a policy of promoting itsaviation sector. But once the decision wastaken, it resulted in the privatisation of thecountry’s flag carrier and the emergence of twolow-cost carriers. MRO provider Alsalam wasset up to concentrate on servicing SaudiArabian Airlines, but now counts itself as one ofthe main players in the Middle East’s third-partyairframe maintenance segment. The companyhas three widebody hangars capable of hous-ing 747-400-sized aircraft, and prides itself onthe wide range of support shop capabilities ithas on offer, including composite repairs.

Clear focusThe Middle East, then, remains a fast-grow-

ing aviation sector, and this includes its MROsegment. The available domestic work will con-tinue to increase at a rapid rate, as will thirdparty customers from Europe, Asia and Africa.With this growth it seems likely that other main-tenance companies will enter the market, orexisting ones will expand, as demand necessi-tates increased supply.

Inevitably, there are still many questionssurrounding the region, primarily based on therelatively short history of the aviation industryin the Middle East, the fact that developmentsare still ongoing, and because the industry is“not yet at a mature stage”, as Chan pointsout. Nevertheless, he looks to the major infra-structure investments that are under way, along

with the expansion of various industry partner-ships, as evidence of the region’s long-termhealth.

Lachlan also predicts a rosy outcome forMiddle East MRO. “The potential for futuregrowth remains. Strategic plans for regionalMRO growth are evident and they will continueas the region develops for companies that wishto grow,” he comments. “In recent years, wehave seen aggressive global growth strategiesbeing pursued to enable the region to becomea global player in the MRO industry.”

Chan concludes by re-emphasising theimportance of the growing amount of aircrafttraffic in the region. “Given the high number ofaircraft orders in this region and by other oper-ators serving the Middle East, the MROs mustbe at the forefront to establish capabilities forall current and future aircraft including Entry-Into-Service support or even aircraft selectionsupport,” he says. “With a continuing trend ofoutsourcing and pressure on business caseoptimisation for all airlines, the most success-ful MROs will be able to offer a full spectrum ofservices with a clear focus on total mainte-nance cost optimisation for the airline througha long-term partnership.” ■


INDUSTRY FOCUS



INDUSTRY FOCUS

Company profile: FL TechnicsFew regions suffered a more painful recession than the Baltic states. Yet one Lithuaniancompany, FL Technics, not only survived the recession but thrived, recording profits right throughthe downturn. Now the maintenance company is looking to build on its unrivalled expertise withthe 737 in the region, as Alex Derber reports.

While India and China hog the limelightwhen aviation growth in discussed,other parts of the globe have equally

encouraging expansion trajectories.Airline fleets across Eastern Europe and

Russia will continue to rebuild (there were actu-ally more aircraft in the region 15 years ago)over the coming decade. In its Current MarketOutlook, Boeing points out that 150 millionpeople live within three hours’ flight of Moscow,adding that “long distances between cities andunderdeveloped highway and rail systemsmake air travel particularly attractive”.

The manufacturer forecasts the need for960 new aircraft in the region over the next 20years and these, naturally, will require addi-tional maintenance capacity. US consultancyTeamSAI predicts a compound annual growthrate for the Eastern European and RussianMRO sector of approaching 10 per cent. Thiswould be the highest in the world, marginallyabove China and India.

Eastern Europe and Russia currently repre-sent three per cent of global MRO spend, atroughly $1.8bn, but this could rise to $2.4bnper year by 2013, according to Frost & Sullivan,and to $5bn by 2020 if TeamSAI’s forecastsare correct. Eagerly eyeing a piece of that pie isLithuanian MRO FL Technics.

Third party deliveranceEmerging from the maintenance depart-

ment of the now defunct Lithuanian Airlines,Vilnius-based FL Technics inherited an organi-sation that had already begun to see thevalue of third-party maintenance work. In2005, Lithuanian performed its first D checkfor an outside customer; by 2010, 95 per centof FL’s work was third-party, the restaccounted for by Small Planet Airlines, part ofAvia Solutions, which owns FL Technics.

“One of the best things that happened tothis organisation was that it became a third-party operator. Our quality is driven by cus-

tomer demand — third parties who will go toother providers if we don’t do a good job. Thathas accelerated the development of this organ-isation,” says FL Technics CEO Jonas Butautis.

Having been part of Aeroflot during the com-munist era, Lithuanian Airlines recovered itsindependence in 1991 and Lithuania becameone of the first countries behind the former ironcurtain to receive a Boeing 737. This means itsengineers, and consequently those of FLTechnics, have unparalleled experience with theaircraft in the region, which has been a mixedblessing for the company.

Butautis explains: “I’m not saying the CIScarriers are not demanding, but they have fiveor seven years’ experience with the 737 andfor them we are the centre of expertisebecause our people have 20 years’ experi-ence. But we always want to benchmark our-selves against the best in the world. When wework with Western customers and specialiststhey tell us how we can improve – then we can



INDUSTRY FOCUS

pass that improvement onto CIS countries aswell.”

This quality drive prompted FL’s manage-ment to reassess its customer base a coupleof years ago. With almost all of its clients hail-ing from Central and Eastern Europe and theCIS, the board discussed attracting moreWestern customers both for the above-men-tioned improvement and the lower credit risk.In 2009, one of its customers, Russia’s KD-Avia, folded. “We were not exposed too muchbut, yes, we had some wipeouts. However, itshowed us our weak points and we createdinternal credit risk managing processes, pressmonitoring and so on, and it’s made us moredisciplined,” comments Butautis.

Economic recovery has also lessened therisk of airline bankruptcy hitting FL’s balancesheet, and the company still boasts plenty ofnon-Western customers, with ex-Soviet statesnow accounting for about 80 per cent of itsclient base. Along with fatter margins, workingwith such airlines offers other advantages, asButautis explains: “We understand those mar-kets: we speak Russian, we know the customs,we know everything. In the future we plan tobalance out a bit and have something like a70:30 ratio, but we will remain focused on CIScountries like Russia, Kazakhstan andBelarus.”

FL’s present customers include Belarus’Belavia; Russian airlines GTK Rossiya,

Transaero, Nordavia and Donavia; and Frenchoperator Europe Airpost.

Standing apartCompeting with FL in the region is one of

the giants of the MRO business, LufthansaTechnik (LHT). The German company has madeno secret of its ambitions in Eastern Europeand Russia and has pursued a vigorous growthstrategy in the region. Lufthansa Technik’sVostok, Sofia and Budapest companies givethe company a commanding presence inRussia, Eastern and Central Europe.

Butautis, however, regards the gradualencroachment on FL’s backyard with equanim-ity. “It’s anyone’s game,” he says. “EvenLufthansa Technik, as dominant as they seem,earn half their revenue coming from their ownairline so it’s not so big a threat. There’s toomany dollars changing hands in MRO marketsfor any one company to be that dominant orthreatening.”

The CEO’s approach does, though, hide adeep admiration for LHT, and he wants hisown company to replicate the one-stop shopmodel so successfully employed by theGerman MRO. “It’s a good example of the typeof organisation we want to become,” he says.“Lufthansa is number one in CIS countries, noquestion. But why is there no clear alterna-tive? For us, we want to become the numberone alternative.”

To achieve this, FL will have to compete witha cluster of independent MRO shops stretchingfrom the Baltic to Turkey, all offering similarlabour cost advantages to Lithuania. Yet ratherthan compete on man-hour rates, Butautis isaiming to position FL as the go-to provider inthe region for high-value products such asspares pooling, landing gear overhauls andtraining programmes.

Declaring that there’s “no joy” in competingwith countries like Turkey and Romania onlabour rates, Butautis describes how FL trans-formed itself in only two years from an MROshop deriving 90 per cent of its revenue fromhangar work, to one focused on premium prod-ucts: “Eighteen months ago we launched sixseparate business lines with higher-value-adding products. In 2010 our hangar revenuewill correspond to less than 40 per cent of ourtotal revenue; it will be our record profit and wewere profitable through the recession.”

In keeping with FL’s new direction, whenasked how his company attracts new cus-tomers, Butautis cites its flexible approach,lack of bureaucracy and customer care; not itsprices. When pressed, he answers: “Yes, wecould offer a lower price and still be profitable.But why do that and ruin the market when thecustomer actually needs that higher standardof care and flexibility? For instance, we havelawyers working 24/7 to create a contract thatwould take other organisations a week because

FL Technics has plans to treble its total number of line stations in Europe before 2013 as part of a $25m investment programme.



INDUSTRY FOCUS

CEO Jonas Butautis is aiming to position FL as the go-to provider in the region for high-valueproducts such as spares pooling, landing gear overhauls and training programmes.

they have law firms in the US actually doing theprocess.”

Back to basicsDespite its customer-orientated approach,

in some areas FL Technics hasn’t lost sight ofthe bottom line. The company’s labour rateadvantages make high-cost regions like nearbyScandinavia and the UK a tempting target forman-hour-heavy activities like line mainte-nance.

The MRO has plans to treble its number ofline stations in Europe before 2013 as part ofa $25m investment programme that will alsosee it ramp up base maintenance capacity. Atpresent, FL’s base sales are three times higherthan line, but that could change once the com-pany adds to its present network of nine linestations, especially if outsourcing trends forline maintenance continue.

FL is not ignoring its hangar work, either,despite moving away from a reliance on basemaintenance sales. The global downturn sawCIS airlines slash frequencies and flighthours, which meant they could defer C and Dchecks. With the recovery underway, though,FL and other MROs expect a glut of airlinesto come in for heavy checks. “We saw therecession hit the hangars very heavily, butwe are overloaded now and are entering2011 with a very good revenue visibility,”says Butautis.

In fact, FL is so overloaded that it estimatesthat the base work it turns away would accountfor a quarter of total heavy maintenance sales.To rectify this, the MRO said in June that itwould increase hangar space at Vilnius to21,500 square metres, allowing it to service12 aircraft simultaneously. That remains anoption, but Butautis reveals that other possibil-ities are also being considered.

“We could build in Vilnius, but in the last fewmonths we have started looking at several dif-ferent options: starting something fromscratch; renting hangars in Poland; or acquiringa company with full operations that is in troublebut has hangars, people and certificates,” hesays.

Funding for FL’s expansion and investmentprogramme will come from an IPO that hadbeen expected in December, but has now beenput back. Gediminas Ziemelis, president of FLparent Avia Solutions, said in a statement: “Wehave decided to suspend the IPO because webelieve that our shares are worth more thanthe price offered by investors. We hope that wewill soon have the opportunity to prove it assoon as the situation in financial markets sta-bilises. We expect that we will return with apublic offering in early 2011.”

Building on a profitable downturnThat an IPO was necessary at all was

down to economic collapse in the Baltic

states, as Butautis explains: “No businesscan get any financing in Lithuania. Neither us,nor the manufacturers, nor anyone else —the banks just don’t give loans. Because ofthat there’s plan B to accelerate growth. Oncewe go through the IPO it will be very easy totalk to the banks because we will be moretransparent, audited and so on. So I thinkwe’ll come back to the banks with anotherquestion when the recession turns the cornerin a year or so.”

Yet, bar a lack of financing, FL had little tocomplain about during a global downturn thathammered Lithuania. “Strange as it sounds,I’m very happy that it happened because itactually helped us,” says Butautis. His rea-soning is easy to follow: FL Technics’ costscentre on a country with 20 per cent unem-ployment and substantial downwards pres-sure on wages, whereas almost all of itsrevenues stem from countries that are recov-ering. Russian domestic air traffic, forinstance, picked up by a third in 2010.

And the good times, for FL if not Lithuania,may roll on if Butautis’ prediction that “the costbase will be sustainable for another few yearsbecause I don’t think the economy will pickup”, bears out.

To capitalise on its good fortune, FL is build-ing on its expertise with the 737 and is alsoadding an A320-family line, “acquiring capabili-ties across all the product ranges”. Butautisbelieves that FL should receive certification forA320 engineering, spare parts, technical train-ing, line and base maintenance by January2011. In addition, he is confident that the com-pany will be offering A320 spare parts beforeApril 2011.

Other aircraft types, such as the 757, 767and Bombardier CRJ family also interest theLithuanian MRO. “Usually we are very cus-tomer driven,” says Butautis. “If we see thedevelopment of the fleet in the region we holdinitial talks with customers and if we can gen-erate a good customer base we apply capa-bilities.”

Much will depend on the success of thedelayed IPO, of course, but despite a lukewarmresponse from the markets, FL’s current busi-ness is thriving and its approach concords withmodern aircraft maintenance trends.

Butautis sums up the new reality: “The MRObusiness is becoming more capital than labourintensive. You just need a few very smart peo-ple and cash behind you to generate MRO rev-enue. We will move more towards premium,capital-driven products and that will differenti-ate us from the typical low-cost operation inBulgaria or Turkey where they are competingagainst man-hour rates, which I think is a no-win situation.” ■


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TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Aircraft hangars are long-term investments for their owners/operatorsand thus require careful planning before construction can begin. Weasked planners and builders of different hangars, as well as the mainsupplier for fabric doors, about their experiences and solutions formaintenance facilities that will not stop working.

Creating space for MRObusiness

AT109Tech_new_AT109_Tech 15/12/2010 17:39 Page 26


Building an aircraft maintenance hangarnecessitates detailed analysis of theMRO requirements of the facility’s

operator and careful planning of the site’slayout and features. Given that the site willlikely last for several decades, the hangarand any associated structures must fulfil notonly the user’s immediate needs but alsoaccommodate requirements, such asfleet/MRO business growth, which may arisein the long-term future.

Panagiotis Poligenis, senior consultant onmaintenance and engineering at LufthansaConsulting in Cologne, recently advised SilkWay Technics (SWT) on a green field MROfacility project at Heydar Aliyev InternationalAirport in Baku. The MRO arm of theAzerbaijani cargo carrier Silk Way Airlinesplans to build a hangar that can accommo-date up to two widebody aircraft and also beused for light as well as heavy maintenance.The company requested LufthansaConsulting’s support to evaluate the currenthangar design and to provide valuable infor-mation in terms of determining the allocationof support facilities such as material storage,wheels & brakes shop, cabin interior shop,etc. In addition, an analysis on optimising thehangar layout in terms of ‘lean production’was performed.

“The optimal planning base to tackle such aproject requires a clear strategy and vision bythe operator about what is required for the timebeing and what the hangar shall be able toaccommodate in the long-term perspective,”states Poligenis. “Such a high value projectneeds to be based on a hangar design to beable to fulfil the requirements of at least thirtyyears.”

Short- and long-term needsThe first step is to produce a plan covering

how the site should be occupied in the short-and long-term future. This will determine whataircraft types are to be serviced, whatprocesses the planned work will involve, andhow the business is expected to develop overtime. For example, aside from supporting itsown fleet, SWT is to offer third-party MRO serv-ices in the future. This analysis should finallylead to the required hangar size and layout.Poligenis’ team, which included a maintenanceexpert from Lufthansa Technik MaintenanceInternational and an associate architect whohad built a number of comparable aircraft main-tenance hangars, recommended a facility witha clear span of 160m (525ft). This would allowheavy maintenance to be undertaken on two747s, while still leaving space for light mainte-nance work to be conducted on up to three nar-rowbody aircraft.



28

Another area the consultants focused onwas the layout of workshops, storage space,offices and other support facilities in andaround the hangar. Apart from the review of cur-rent plans the consultants provided informationon how the building should accommodate sup-ply chain requirements during MRO work, howthe apron and landside periphery should belaid out, or any plans for an employee canteen,according to Poligenis. He recommended locat-ing the material storage space in an area of theworkshop complex at the back of the hangar,which could be expanded in the future if thebusiness grows. A canteen, on the other hand,could be situated in a separate building near

the site’s perimeter. This is not just becausethe canteen is of indirect relevance to the MROprocesses but also to avoid the catering sup-pliers from having to go through, and possiblydelay, the security checks for airside materialdeliveries.

He anticipates that ground will be broken inmid-2011 and that construction work will takebetween one and two years. He estimatesstate of the art hangar buildings — with a non-clearspan of 160m — to cost between €25mto €30m ($33-39m), excluding docking sys-tems. “[A hangar building] depends on whatyou want to have: a simple shelter for your air-craft or a maintenance facility that will fulfil



Building an aircraft maintenance hangar requires detailed analysis of the MRO requirements of the facility’s operator and careful planning of the site’slayout and features.


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your requirements over the next 30 years. [Thatmeans] ensuring low operating cost, environ-mental sustainability and working conditionsfor the employees, which they deserve toaccomplish their work with the required preci-sion.”

Economic use of materialRollo Reid, technical director of John Reid &

Sons (Reidsteel), states that the firm’s hangarsare designed “to fulfil the requirements of cus-tomers, not the requirements of the cus-tomers’ architects.” The company hasdeveloped and patented an arch span frameconstruction that is geared towards economicuse of material. Minimum eaves height, smallground loads and less demanding foundations

are typical features designed to keep the build-ing costs under control. It is also important tonote that Reidsteel makes its own doors, andthis helps the company to design cost effectivehangars within dimensional limitations. Overthe past 20 years, the Dorset-based familybusiness has erected approximately 1,000hangars around the globe.

A recent example is a hangar at RAF Valleyin Anglesey, northwest Wales, where the RoyalAir Force conducts fast jet flight training. Theprincipal contractor for the £20m ($31m) train-ing and maintenance complex was the UK con-struction and regeneration group MorganSindall. Reidsteel came into the project as acommercial partner and tendered an alterna-tive design for the hangar. The structure was



Questions that must be asked in planning a hangar include: what aircraft types are to be serviced? What processes will the planned work involve? Andhow is the business expected to develop over time?


31

changed to create a tighter roof curve at thewishes of the client which enabled it to effi-ciently adopt its own construction system whilemaintaining the functionality of the originaldesign. These changes not only lead to signifi-cant savings in steel tonnage but also reducedthe number of foundations required at thesame time as minimising the loads that thesefoundations had to withstand.

The MRO hangar and fixed base operation(FBO) facility of Rizon Jet, a Bahrain-basedexecutive aircraft firm, at London’s Biggin HillAirport is another recent project. The complexcovers a total area of 13,000m2 (140,000ft2)and includes customer facilities, such as a VIPlounge, crew rest areas, flight briefing facilitiesand offices, on either side of the central main-tenance hall. The main challenge was to realisea clearspan of 88m (289ft) at a relatively shal-low building depth of 40m (131ft). At the sametime the airport operator imposed heightrestrictions, which prevented the employmentof a more efficient roof construction; the clearheight of the hangar is 9.6m (31.5ft).

This was further complicated by the client’srequest to install cranes with lift capability ofup to two tonnes (4,400lb). Reidsteel installed

two underslung cranes, which are supported byfour crane beams and can operate independ-ently from each other across the whole hangararea. “We always knew we could do it,” saysReid; “what was quite surprising is that wecould do it cost effectively. You could alwaysput a mass of steel up there, but we didn’t dothat. We designed a very efficient system.”

Reid urges customers to plan maintenancehangars with generous dimensions and fore-sight, and not to believe that larger facilitieswill necessarily be more expensive thansmaller ones. He reports that many clients aremisinformed and want to tailor the hangar tootightly around their aircraft, for example, keep-ing the general height low and building anextension around the vertical stabiliser “tosave a few square metres of sheeting mate-rial”. Such apparent savings are costly or,worse, impossible to rectify later on when morespace or flexibility is needed. “They never say‘oh b*gger, I made it too big’,” jokes Reid; “theyonly say ‘oh b*gger, I made it too small’!”

Building challengesTed Oberlies, vice president of engineering

at Ghafari Associates, a Dearborn, Michigan-




32

headquartered architectural and engineeringfirm with satellite offices in India and theMiddle East, explains some of the challengesin the planning of aircraft hangars. “Everythingfrom building materials to utilities and over-heads must be evaluated for its functionalneed, life cycle cost and impact on other build-ing elements. Another common challenge weface as designers and engineers is a tightschedule afforded by clients to properly planand develop the design. Typically, too muchtime is spent deliberating and administratingthe launch of the project, often forcing aggres-sive schedules for design and construction.”

The company has designed or participatedin the building of a number of international air-craft MRO facilities, including AeroMexico’s

heavy maintenance base at GuadalajaraInternational Airport, Mexico; FedEx’ A380maintenance base in Memphis, Tennessee;and Qatar Airways’ MRO complex at New DohaInternational Airport. Main challenges duringthe construction are work planning, schedulingand the management of subcontractors. Thiswill in most regions be complicated by differentclimatic conditions, which will impose varyingdemands and allow only certain time windowsfor effective, quality construction. “Largehangar superstructures are typically complex,and require sophisticated schemes for materialstaging, subassembly and erection,” explainsOberlies. “[For example,] hangar floor systemsconstitute some of the more complex concretesystems in buildings today. Slab thickness,pressure formulation and reinforcement are allserious structural considerations, especially inthe presence of poor soil conditions, higherwater tables and/or under-floor utility systemsand tunnel networks.”

Operational systems and equipment for themaintenance of aircraft have a significantimpact on the design and construction of ahangar facility. Oberlies emphasises the impor-tance of identifying the need for aircraft accessinstallations and similar equipment in the earlyplanning stages. “Once major systems such ascranes, telescopic platforms and docking sys-tems are justified, their specific designs aredeveloped. All this is completed before we con-



Maintenance hangars should be planned withgenerous dimensions and foresight, andcustomers should not believe that largerfacilities will necessarily be more expensivethan smaller ones.




sider the size and structure of the hangar enve-lope. Heavy cranes and overhead platformsimpose substantial dead and live loads on thebuilding roof structure. The required strength ofthat structure will influence its depth and thusa component of building height above the clearoperating area of the hangar.”

Lightweight constructionLightweight construction is a speciality of

Rubb Building Systems. The company producesframe-supported tension membrane buildings.It has its roots in Norway, where it originallysupplied structures to the oil industry. The firstaircraft hangar was erected for United Airlines’757 line maintenance at Boston’s LoganInternational Airport in 1992. However, justeight years later, the 54m by 55m (177ft x180ft) facility had already become too small.United decided to fly 777s from Boston to theFar East in 2000 and ordered a hybrid buildingwith a membrane roof and insulated metalwalls that was 78m (255ft) wide and 82m(270ft) deep.

The swop-over highlighted one of the mainadvantages of the unconventional buildingtype: the 757 hangar was simply dissembled to

be erected again elsewhere. United initiallywanted to put it up at Seattle Tacoma Airport,but this proved to be impossible due to con-flicting building height restrictions. It was inter-mittently stored at Rubb’s premises in Sanford,Maine, and later sold to Pan American Airwaysto be assembled again at Sanford Airport inFlorida. But this plan also failed when the rein-carnation carrier of the former brand faltered in2004. Nevertheless, the building survived andwas finally re-erected by Shaheen AirInternational in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2008.

Rubb is participating in the planned con-struction of an air cargo and aircraft mainte-nance complex for Hawaiian Airlines atHonolulu International Airport. The first tensionmembrane section will have a span of 84m(275ft), be 105.8m (347ft) deep and will beused as an aircraft maintenance facility. Thesecond tension membrane section will alsohave a span of 84m (275ft), be 58m (190ft)deep and will be used initially as an air cargofacility. However, the plan is to erect a sepa-rate, dedicated cargo facility, when the busi-ness expands, and then this second structurewill be extended to function as a secondhangar facility.

With increasing flight activity around the world, airlines need flexible facilities for maintenancehangars, air cargo facilities, storage and terminals.They need to keep aircraft maintained and movepeople and cargo efficiently. Rubb can get youroperation under cover in a cost and time efficientmanner anywhere in the world.

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Gordon Collins, director of marketing,reports that the company’s basic designcould be employed for free spans of up to91m (300ft), provided the building does notneed to withstand excessive wind or snowloads.

Above this maximum width the roof trusscomponents would become too large to betransported in standard 40ft containers and forthe hot-dip galvanising process, which makethe structure virtually maintenance free. ThePVC-coated polyester fabric has a lifetime ofapproximately 20 to 25 years. Ultraviolet lightcauses the inherent plasticisers to migrate andthe material to become brittle.

One of the challenges so far has been trans-port to locations far away from the company’sproduction facilities in Norway, the UK and US.The resulting cost disadvantage was exacer-bated in regions with generally low labourcosts, such as Africa, Asia and Latin America,

where conventional buildings could be erectedat more competitive rates. However, Rubbmerged with the Norwegian fabric structuremanufacturer Hallmaker last year, which has itsown production facility in Poland and a share inanother one in China. This could prove to be aconvenient gateway for the growing market inAsia.

Fabric doors PVC-coated polyester is also the main

building material for Megadoor. Megadoor is apart of Cardo Entrance Solutions, which alsoincludes the globally recognised Crawfordbrand for door and docking solutions. Recentprojects include the A350 paint hall for Airbuspartner STTS in Toulouse and a single-bayA380 hangar for Abu Dhabi AircraftTechnologies in the UAE. The company is alsoa contractor for Hawaiian’s aforementionedplanned cargo and maintenance complex.



Large hangar superstructuresare typically complex, andrequire sophisticated schemesfor material staging,subassembly and erection.— Ted Oberlies, vice presidentof engineering, GhafariAssociates

Some clients imagine a cost saving as a result of tailoring the hangar around the shape of the aircraft, but any reduction in the cost of cladding isillusory, as any savings are far outweighed by inefficient load paths in the structure and the high cost of irregular cladding areas.


35

Better sealing is a central advantage of ver-tically lifting fabric doors over traditional bot-tom-rolling steel doors, according to PierreVarlamoff, sales civilian aviation and aircraftmanufacturing at the company’s US base inPeachtree City, Georgia. He states that deflec-tions in the hangar structure, e.g. due to windloads and temperature variations, lead to gapsaround the individual leafs of steel doors. Thisis the main reason why fabric doors have beeninstalled, especially in aircraft paint facilities,where the atmospheric conditions need to becarefully maintained for optimal paint resultsand any leakage of environmentally harmfulsubstances must be avoided.

The fabric doors consist of the inner andouter skins, which are supported by horizontalaluminium profiles inside. All this is hoisted upand down by electric motors at the top. Theskin runs tightly against aluminium door jamprofiles on either side, and the door has a rub-ber seal at the bottom. Depending on the over-all width, the door is split into individualsections connected by vertically-lifting mul-lions. The space in-between the inner and outerskin has to be hollow for the door to be lift andfold up. It cannot be filled up with insulation

material like in conventional steel doors.However, Varlamoff states that approximately80 per cent of heat is usually lost through airleakages around conventional doors, and thatthe fabric door design has thus proven itself inregions with extreme temperatures.

Another advantage of vertically lifting fabricdoors is that there is no need for pockets oneither side of the hangar, where conventionaldoor leafs are parked during aircraft move-ment. Varlamoff reports that this has openedup crucial space in Continental’s 737 MROfacility in Cleveland, Ohio, when the airlinechanged from Classic to the wider-wingspanNextGeneration series. A fabric door can thusbe an option to continue using older facilitiesthat cannot be expanded, for example, due tosurrounding structures.

Retrofitting existing hangars with fabricdoors is one of Megadoor’s main businessfields. Varlamoff reports that the company hasdelivered around 600 doors to the US militaryand has thus become the Pentagon’s main sup-plier for hangar doors. Another growth area ishangars in tropical regions, which originally hadno doors but now need to be closed due to newFAA regulations for MRO facilities. ■



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In the modern aviation industry, mechanical fas-teners have been the mainstay of the way inwhich aircraft are constructed in terms of trans-

forming inanimate hoards of panels and mechan-ical anatomy into the completed flying machine.Up until now, these small yet unassuming boltsand rivets had been attached and unattachedmanually. However, the industry could be on theprecipice of something entirely new.

Potentially turning the world of mechanicalfasteners upside down is a company namedTelezygology, or TZ Inc., from Sydney inAustralia, which has teamed up with TextronFastening Systems to bring its first commercialapplication of Intevia intelligent fastening tech-

nology: a latching system for aircraft that meetsthe aerospace industry’s needs for security andsystems integration and management.

These Intevia-enabled systems enhance air-craft cabin security and provide an all-new tech-nology platform for customisation andmaintainability of entire fleets and individualaircraft. Intevia systems comprise a network ofmechanical fastening or locking devices drivenby smart materials actuation, embedded micro-processing and integrated sensors for statusreporting.

Dickory Rudduck is the founder ofTelezygology, a prolific inventor and the archi-tect of this new fastening technology that we


They are sometimes hidden from sight, other times indiscriminate blemishes on the outer skin ofan aircraft and most times absent from conscious thought. They have changed little in thehistory of aviation fabrication and maintenance but are the metaphorical glue that binds. “They”are fasteners. And they are about to be given intelligence, says Tony Arrowsmith.

Screw by wire



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38

can expect to see being drip fed into the mar-ket very soon. He spoke exclusively to ATE&Mabout the concept of intelligent fastening, thescience behind it, and the potential implica-tions for the aviation industry.

“The simple concept behind this fasteningtechnology is that rather than use a physicalconnection like a conventional screwdriver, weuse a signal, which activates an actuator,” saysRudduck. With their embedded systems andactuators made from shape-memory materials,intelligent fasteners allow remote assembly viawireless devices. At the end of a product’s life-cycle, they can disassemble just as easily, sup-porting an increasingly important need toreclaim components at the end of the product’slife.

The intelligent fasteners get their “brains”from an embedded system that consists of amicroprocessor, an energy switch, and sensorsthat monitor fastener status. Guided byfirmware, this embedded system performs twoimportant functions: it switches energy to thefastener’s actuating mechanism, and it linksthe intelligent fasteners to larger computer net-works.

The fastener becomes just another devicethat lives on the network, and this communica-tion capability gives intelligent fasteners muchof their flexibility. Using standard programmingtools, users will be able to create softwareapplications that add functionality to their array

of intelligent fasteners. They might, for exam-ple, program an assembly sequence into theembedded system. Or they could add securityfeatures. Or they might gather informationabout fastener status and history in a centraldatabase.

These fasteners feature software thatallows them to communicate with a computernetwork via wired or wireless connections, mak-ing it easy to capture information about fas-tener status and maintenance history. They canalso be programmed to act as security devices,controlling access to sensitive components.

In the instance of the Intevia fastener, theactuators are made of an unusual materialcalled shape memory alloy. This material isnovel in that is able to “remember” its original,cold-forged shape: returning the pre-deformedshape by heating and in addition, the materialis a lightweight, solid-state alternative to con-ventional actuators such as hydraulic, pneu-matic, and motor-based systems.

Talk to meNaturally, this advanced material is well

suited to the aviation industry and indeed isalready used in other applications as well asproliferating in other cutting-edge industries.Rudduck believes this could be the next bigstep in operation and maintenance. “We havesuddenly made this big leap between a normalmechanical latch and this type of product which



Up until now, mechanical fasteners have been attached and unattached manually.




is able to communicate with everything else atthe same time as having the advantages ofbeing remotely activated,” he says.

Communication is another of the key attrib-utes this technology can offer the aviation mar-ket. “Sensing capabilities mean that the deviceis able to figure out various things that are hap-pening to itself at the same time as beingaware of the external environmental informa-tion such as temperature, humidity, vibration orwhatever inputs are required to be linked in toit,” remarks Rudduck.

Although these fastening devices could beapplied to many industries, TZ singled out avia-tion as a key focus, primarily because main-tainability and re-configurability are extremelyimportant. “We therefore looked through theaviation industry to find areas that could bene-fit from having some intelligence attached tothem, for example overhead lockers, externallatches on aircraft or latch down radomes,” hecomments.

This of course adds an unprecedentedamount of security, meaning that latches can-not be interfered with. “As soon as we intro-duce technologies that are effectivelynetworked you can have authorisations for spe-

cific engineers or members of staff in the formof a swipe card or a pin code, for example.”

The security advantage of an Intevia-equipped aircraft versus one that uses screwsand bolts is therefore undeniable. It is as dif-ferent as a door equipped with an electronicsecurity access system and one with no lock atall. In the case of overhead lockers, passen-gers wouldn’t be able to open them as theypleased as the pilot would be able to securethe interior of the aircraft with the flick of aswitch, particularly in a situation where the air-craft is experiencing turbulence.

Given the number of accidents that haveoccurred when screwed/bolted hatches haveinadvertently been left open — causing chaosand even disaster in flight — being able to con-firm that all hatches are sealed on the flightdeck would be a boon for both crew and pas-senger safety.

One of the other notable advantages to thetechnology is that Intevia-equipped aircraftwould be far quicker to manufacture, maintain,and reconfigure, from removing hatches andavionics to changing out the seats. “We havealso demonstrated that they are lighter, so theysave weight, and naturally one of the things

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The simple concept behind thisfastening technology is thatrather than use a physicalconnection like a conventionalscrewdriver, we use a signal,which activates an actuator.— Dickory Rudduck, founder,Telezygology


40

that comes with this is a complete audit trail ofinformation of the actions that have been cre-ated against it, which is a key benefit to manu-facturers and suppliers,” says Rudduck. “Sothe normal manual systems that are currentlyused — for example writing things down on apiece of paper – can be replaced with muchmore real time functions.”

The challenges of developing this kind ofgroundbreaking technology have been manyand varied. Cost, for example, could present aproblem in the wrong applications. On a fas-tener-to-fastener basis, the intelligent fasten-ers will cost two to five times as much as theirmechanical counterparts, however, saysRudduck “these fasteners are lighter and sav-ing weight saves fuel”.

Notwithstanding, this technology is notreally intended as a drop-in replacement.Intelligent fasteners will mostly find a home in

new products where they can add value by per-forming tasks that ordinary fasteners can’t.What’s more, intelligent fasteners may sub-stantially lower total costs — by simplifyingassembly operations such as the replacementof robots and other expensive assembly tools— effectively removing some of the capitalintensity of manufacturing.

And that’s not all, says Rudduck. “In termsof maintainability the thing that I really believeis that in terms of time of maintenance proce-dures, the industry will just save masses oftime because everything is automated. Forexample engineers will receive automatic logswhen actions have been performed.

“There are other opportunities too where,because these fasteners have sensors builtinto them, they are able to measure their localenvironment and I believe that in the futurethese devices will be important in terms of pre-dictive maintenance.” In other words, predictingthat something is about to go wrong so that thedevice can be replaced before it actually fails.

StreamliningIntelligent fasteners could also prove their

worth if the assembly ever needs service. Forexample, the fasteners could store serial num-bers and other identification information. Toensure that only authorised personnel are ableto service the product, the fasteners might behidden, out of reach of the consumer. Foradded security, the signal to open or close thefasteners could even be encrypted. There’s nodanger of marring the product during disas-sembly or stripping threads when the product isreassembled. Additionally, the fastener’s micro-processor could record when the product wasserviced and even what repairs were done.

Fasteners can be internal and integratedwith the part and allow pre-finishing. Criticalassembly sequences are reduced and tooldamage to the part during assembly is elimi-nated, while the assembly process itslelf is de-skilled. Furthermore, the fasteners control theaccess and log of assembly/disassembly andservice procedures, whilst hastening assembly,eliminating the need for fastener stations.Another advantage is that they can monitor apart and log failure modes, or provide second-ary switching, say to hold a light in place andalso turn it on and off.

One of the major hurdles blocking the inte-gration of this technology in the industry, saidRudduck, has been in gaining the confidence ofengineers. Naturally, questions have beenraised. Do the built in actuators add a newelectronic failure mode to fastening? Will thesefasteners unlock at the wrong time?

“In aviation one of the biggest challenges isthe certification and approval process. We have






various other businesses where we are usingthis technology but aviation is notoriouslysafety conscious. We have therefore decided topartner with a supplier because we definitelyrequire the expertise within the industry to beable to get through all the approvals.” In someof the ways that matter to design engineers,these new intelligent fasteners won’t differmuch from today’s mechanical fasteners. Sincethey are mechanical fasteners, the jointstrength considerations remain the same.

But in other ways, the new fasteners reallydo change things. On the plus side, they prom-ise to provide additional design freedombecause tool access and assembly sequenceoften dictate the fastener locations as much asjoint strength does. With this new-found free-dom it will be easier to place a joint anywhereone requires. The intelligent fasteners,because of the built-in actuation, can also elim-inate some of the tolerance or orientationissues associated with assembly tools. Crossthreading could be a thing of the past.

There shouldn’t be any packaging difficul-ties, despite the onboard electronics of theintelligent fasteners. They tap into a product’sexisting wiring and electronics. Rudduck

believes that smart fasteners can attain muchsmaller sizes than conventional mechanicalfasteners — in part because they overcometraditional spacing constraints and in partbecause smart materials will allow them to besmaller. Additionally, intelligent fasteners couldalso be the darlings of the aircraft recyclingindustry, since they can be released simultane-ously and disassembly is simpler.

With the new Intevia latching and rapidreconfiguration solutions, Dickory Rudduck’sinvention could be the launch pad to a new gen-eration of technology that will bring fundamen-tal changes to the way aircraft are designed,serviced and adapted to meet market require-ments.

Even though this technology hasn’t yet pro-liferated the market, it has been rigorouslytested and applied to applications in the avia-tion industry, concludes Rudduck: “At themoment these technologies are not up and run-ning per se, but we have enough interest fromvarious partners to say that it will be successfuland we are in a position to decide on who weare going to run with.” With this in mind, it couldbe time for the conventional nuts and bolts tomake way for their intelligent cousins. ■

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In terms of time ofmaintenance procedures, theindustry will just save massesof time because everything isautomated. For exampleengineers will receiveautomatic logs when actionshave been performed.— Dickory Rudduck, founder,Telezygology


42

Providing total-service maintenance andhealth packages has grown to be very bigbusiness indeed for the manufacturers of

today’s commercial-aircraft engines. From theinception of “power by the hour” (PBH) enginetotal-care deals back in the 1980s — Snecmasays it was signing long-term care agreementson CFM56 engines as early as 1988 — thebusiness has grown to the point where today allengine OEMs regard providing such mainte-nance-and-performance packages as a vitalcommercial activity.

So big is the business that GE Aviation cur-rently has a backlog of service contractstotalling approximately $60bn across its CF6,CF34, GE90, CT7 and CFM engine lines,according to Bill Millhaem, general manager ofmaterial for GE Aviation. (The partners in theCFM International joint venture, GE andSnecma, each support the CFM56 independ-ently with total-care packages). Other OEMshave huge contract backlogs too: Rolls-Roycehas even more customers for total-care pack-ages across its widebody-engine lines than

does GE, according to Paul Sheridan, AscendWorldwide’s head of risk advisory for Europe,the Middle East and Africa.

“Rolls-Royce don’t quite require [customersto sign up for] total care but they have quite astrong grip on maintenance for their engines,”says Sheridan. Rolls-Royce is so stronglyfocused on this business that it has trade-marked the name ‘TotalCare’ for its cus-tomised-service packages. Since the phrase‘total care’ is commonly used throughout theairline industry for engine total-service agree-ments, this was probably a smart move.

Meanwhile, International Aero Engines (IAE)— which despite being a joint venture providesits own total care arrangements — says itscomprehensive-management approach toengine care has been so successful in the mar-ket that more than 80 per cent of all V2500engines ordered since 2007 are backed by anIAE Aftermarket Service Agreement.Additionally, more than 80 per cent of IAE’sfuture current order backlog is covered by long-term service agreements. Today, IAE actively


Total-care maintenance and health-monitoring business has grown considerably for enginemanufacturers in the past decade and looks set to grow even more. Chris Kjelgaard reports.

ENGINEERING & MAINTENANCE

manages some 2,800 engines enrolled inAftermarket Service Agreements and somedeals extend well into the 2030s.

Pratt & Whitney, too, has seen its total-carebusiness grow substantially in the past fewyears. The company’s Fleet ManagementProgrammes and maintenance-material man-agement business now total “in the double-digit billions” of dollars, says Bob Merrill,service programmes director for Pratt &Whitney Commercial Engines. P&W now has“close to 2,000 engines” under managementfor services ranging from monitoring to com-prehensive power-by-the-hour FleetManagement Programmes. Among them aremore than 200 engines the company is man-aging of its own accord on a total-care basisand up to another 200 overhauled in its cus-tomers own shops but for which P&W is pro-viding spares and other support.

In addition to supporting total care for itsown PW4000 and PW2000 lines, P&W also pro-vides partial care for the IAE V2500 line andOEM-quality, FAA-approved life-limited parts

Caring more with eachpassing year

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 15/12/2010 17:41 Page 42

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ing for lesser periods of time, say one to threeyears on average — though some contractsinclude automatic renewals if both partiesagree to this condition. Some OEMs — IAE isone — look for long-term contracts covering acomprehensive selection of services.

But whether OEMs offer total-care packagesas a widely ranging menu of optional services oras a more comprehensive core package plus amore limited selection of optional additional serv-ices, the range of services provided will usuallyinclude some basics, says Sheridan. One isengine-overhaul performance restoration duringone of the three major shop visits. Also oftenincluded is replacement of LLPs, and this is usu-ally accomplished in the same shop visit in whichperformance-restoration work is carried out.

Depending on the deal concluded and thenumber of engines involved, other total-careservices can include repair of foreign-objectdebris (FOD) damage; transportation of enginesand parts; unscheduled maintenance (often aeuphemism for repair of in-flight damage toengines); providing spares and spare engines;installing engine upgrades; performing inspec-tions and parts replacements to comply withservice bulletins and airworthiness directives;and health-monitoring of engines in-flight. “Thetechnology is increasingly there to do [health-monitoring] real-time,” says Sheridan, notingthat “Rolls-Royce do a lot of that — they wouldknow the status of almost everyone” operatingthe company’s engines on a total-care basis.

The growth of the enginetotal-care business

According to Sheridan, engine OEMs’ total-care business started taking off in the 1990s,as the manufacturers began offering cost-per-hour guarantees “and offering a lot more cer-tainty” to their customers in terms of managingrisk. Total-care services have become muchmore profitable in the past 10 years, “andmore driven by manufacturers,” he says. “Allkinds of customers are buying into it as well,

(LLPs) for the CFM56-3 engine series, underthe Global Material Solutions brand. (P&W isnot an OEM for the CFM56-3 but has obtainedthe only supplemental type certificates evergranted for non-OEM LLPs for the engine.)

A master-stroke on P&W’s part was todevelop the EcoWash engine water-washingservice, widely viewed as the industry-leadingengine wash in terms of improving engine effi-ciency and environmental friendliness. In addi-tion to offering EcoWash services for theV2500, P&W also offers it for the CFM56 andit has won some high-profile CFM56 customersfor the service – including Southwest Airlines,which has contracted P&W to provide EcoWashservice across its entire fleet of Boeing 737s,the largest in the world.

Total-care branding and practicesAn indication of how important total-care

packages have become to engine OEMs is thefact that each manufacturer has registered itsown trademarked name for its service-productsuite. In 2010 Snecma launched the‘EngineLife’ brand, emphasising that itsCFM56 total-care packages are available tocover the entire lives of its engines. Pratt &Whitney uses the Global Service Partnersbrand for its across-the-board portfolio of serv-ices. GE Aviation uses the name On PointSolutions. IAE simply calls its aftermarket busi-ness Aftermarket Services and its deals centreon fleet hour agreements available for allV2500 engine models.

Where companies provide what Snecmacalls “à la carte” menus of optional services,customers tend to contract for different serv-ices for different periods of time, according toP&W’s Merrill. For instance, customers usuallycontract for full-overhaul, full-maintenancepackages for periods from five to 15 years —“for at least one [shop visit maintenance] inter-val, seven to 10 years on average,” he says.However, P&W generally sees customers con-tracting for line-maintenance and water-wash-

and for all aircraft types” — even large airlines,particularly if they only have small numbers ofa given engine type in service.

Although the acceleration of the total-carebusiness has paralleled the rise of the PartsManufacturing Authority (PMA) industry, whichproduces non-OEM spare parts, the OEMs’interest in providing total-care packagesappears not to be driven by concerns on theirpart about losing business to the PMAproviders. Snecma says that even as the avail-ability of non-OEM parts has grown, mostCFM56 operators have preferred to continueusing OEM aftermarket services and materialsto protect the residual value of their assets.Similarly, Millhaem says that the growth of GEAviation’s total-care services — which the com-pany began offering in the mid-1990s as anevolution of its traditional T&M business —“has mainly been driven by our customers’needs for varied maintenance solutions”.

PMA-industry growth is “not a major driver”of OEMs’ increased focus on total-care busi-ness, agrees Sheridan. “The manufacturersprobably think of it as a side benefit, in that itprobably restricts PMA-provider competition,”he says. “Their main reasons are to win long-term maintenance contracts.”

The choice for the OEM is to seek the guar-anteed, steady income provided over the longterm by a total-care package versus the slightlyhigher-margin but less certain income itreceives from selling parts and shop-visit over-haul services on an ad hoc basis. Another fac-tor leading OEMs to tout their total-careservices is that “packages tend to have reten-tion – customers don’t go away from them,”adds Sheridan.

The attraction for customersFor customers, engine total-care packages

offer a variety of benefits. A key attraction isthat total care can effectively provide an insur-ance policy against maintenance risk, saysMerrill. In turn, the outsourcing of this risk canhelp airlines keep their costs down. “Becauseof the comprehensive service coverage, ourcustomers do not need to hire experiencedstaff to manage the maintenance of theirV2500s,” says IAE. “This allows our customersto stay lean and focus on their core businessof flying passengers.” In addition, says IAE,“data shows engines managed and maintainedby IAE are more reliable … with the OEM, thecustomer receives expert advice and highly reli-able maintenance at a predictable cost.”

Snecma says its EngineLife agreementsalways guarantee savings for its customers.The best way to reduce customers’ direct oper-ating costs is to decrease the number of shopvisits that engines require during the life of the



Today, all engine OEMs regard providing total service maintenance-and-performance packages as avital commercial activity.

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 15/12/2010 17:41 Page 44

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46

service products. For instance, Snecma cus-tomers can pick from an “à la carte” menu ofall maintenance, monitoring and materialsservices on CFM56 engines beyond line main-tenance (which Snecma notes airlines have aregulatory responsibility to support them-selves). However, competitor International AeroEngines does not offer such a menu, insteadproviding a core, multi-service product as stan-dard and offering several additional services asoptions.

“IAE’s Aftermarket Services Agreementsinclude a comprehensive core suite of cover-age, and offers some optional services as well… This is not a sliding-scale or menu of serv-ices,” notes the joint venture. The venture’score suite of services includes all shop labour;materials and fees; a clear outline of modifica-tions and upgrades included throughout theterm of the agreement; and coverage for for-eign-object damage and damage that may bedeemed beyond economic repair. IAE’s optionalservices are for customers wanting more cov-erage for items such as LLPs, engine acces-sories, line replaceable units (LRUs),transportation and emergency spare-enginesupport.

Other engine OEMs offer wide ranges oftotal-care packages. For instance, GE Aviationoffers packages ranging from complete enginemaintenance solutions for airlines to materiallogistics for MRO customers — a business thatGE says is growing in popularity with airlinesthat have their own maintenance, repair andoverhaul operations and also with third-partyMROs. Snecma’s à la carte menu includeseverything from a basic time-and-material(T&M) contract for a shop visit to services suchas spare-engine support, fleet management,full engineering monitoring, remote diagnosticwork, LRU support, on-site support — and soon.

For Pratt & Whitney, providing EcoWash serv-ices and Global Materials Solutions LLPs areonly the tip of the iceberg. “Total care starts

agreement, argues the French company.Accordingly, in its EngineLife deals, Snecmaaims to keep each engine on-wing as long aspossible; optimise the work-scope for eachshop visit; and maximise the number of OEM-produced, repaired and used serviceable partssupplied to each engine.

However, P&W’s Merrill says that, dependingon circumstances, a customer doesn’t alwaysfind it cheaper to contract for a total-care pack-age than for a T&M deal. For instance, if the cus-tomer’s engine ends up staying on-wing for morethan 20,000 hours without encountering anyproblems, the customer might not feel as goodabout paying for total care as it would if the pack-age pays for the retrofit of a new, upgraded ringcase for a 94-inch widebody engine two yearsafter the customer has bought it.

Another big advantage of total-care con-tracts to customers is that nowadays mostOEMs offer a variety of financing options tohelp customers pay for their engine mainte-nance. “GE’s OnPoint Solutions are more thanjust power-by-the-hour agreements,” saysMillhaem. “They can also be by the cycle, orfirm fixed-price not to exceed, or fixed-pricelabour schedule in dollars per shop visit, includ-ing flexible payment terms – or some combina-tion … depending on the customer and thenature of the contractual relationship.”

Merrill says that, in addition to offering amonthly payment system for flight hoursaccrued during the month (the classic PBHschedule), Pratt & Whitney offers other total-care payment options. These include paymenton other schedules for accumulated hours;level payments at set intervals; partial pay-ments every month plus additional payments atthe time of each shop visit; and on occasion a“step-rate programme”, whereby the customercan begin the agreement at a low initial pay-ment rate but step up later to a higher rate tofully cover the costs of the flight hours eachengine has accumulated.

Where more than one engine type is availablefor an aircraft, engine OEMs can offer total-careservices strategically as an integral part of adeal, say Sheridan. OEMs can do this either towin a single deal from the airline or to try to wina potential customer for other products in its lineas well. Strategic marketing of hardware-and-total-care packages results in some carriers con-centrating on one OEM’s products. For instance,Aer Lingus operates A320-family aircraft pow-ered by CFM56s and its A330 widebody fleet ispowered by GE CF6-80E1 engines.

Differing philosophies amongOEMs

Different OEMs have differing philosophiesabout how they offer their engine total-care

with engine health monitoring,” and extendsthrough line maintenance tasks such as boro-scoping and blade-blending — performed eitherby P&W itself or by its global network of sup-port providers — to off-wing shop activities,says Merrill. In the past three to four years, asP&W has witnessed its total-care businessgrow strongly, the company’s aftermarket busi-ness has seen “a lot of step-up” in providingline-maintenance services and spare-enginesupport.

According to Merrill, P&W’s total-care busi-ness has also evolved to include performanceassessments for customers, which look at theperformance of the engine and airframetogether and suggest ways to create improve-ments. These assessments can include fuel-management programmes, which analysefactors such as cruise speed selection, flapsettings and engine de-rate procedures ontake-off in order to help airlines operate morefuel-efficiently.

Future prospects for total careThere are three major reasons to think that

the total-care business is going to becomeeven more important to OEMs — and their cus-tomers — in future than it is today, says Merrill.He believes that, as engine technology evolvesand commercial-aircraft powerplants becomemore complex, airlines are increasingly likely towant to have the OEMs handle maintenancerather than perform it themselves.

The situation is analogous to the averagedriver facing the need to change the oil in hisor her car, Merrill argues: It is easier to let aspecialist company which is expert at perform-ing the task change the oil rather than doing itoneself. In the case of the airlines, “they willwant to put it back to the manufacturer,because that’s where the expertise is,” hesays. “The LEAP-X and Geared Turbofan arecomplex engines.”

Secondly, as the airline industry becomesever more competitive, airlines will be disin-clined to want to put money into heavy-mainte-nance equipment and resources. “Airlinesdon’t want to tie up their capital” in expensiveitems such as engine test cells, says Merrill.“Engine maintenance is not where an airlinewants to put their money.”

Third, as airlines’ desire to outsourceincreases and OEMs benefit from this, theOEMs themselves will have greater opportuni-ties to bundle services, argues Merrill. If he isright — and the past decade’s growth in engineOEM total-care business does nothing to indi-cate his outlook is too optimistic — then thecommercial-aircraft engine manufacturers willbe viewing the aftermarket-services businesswith much hope. ■



Airlines don’t want to tie uptheir capital in expensiveitems. Engine maintenance isnot where an airline wants toput their money.— Bob Merrill, serviceprogrammes director, Pratt &Whitney Commercial Engines

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 15/12/2010 17:41 Page 46

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CF6 reaches40 years old:MRO marketreview

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 48


GEAviation’s CF6, the company’sfirst commercial widebodyengine, will be 40 years old next

year. There is an installed base of 4,500 —including about 3,000 of the -80C2 series —but the market forecast for the rest of thisdecade shows an overall decline in revenueprojections, according to data analysed by theMRO consultancy AeroStrategy.

The CF6 market includes five versions pow-ering a dozen basic aircraft and several sub-types, ranging from the McDonnell DouglasDC-10-10 that introduced the CF6-6 to theworld, to the latest versions on Airbus’ A330-200/300.

The older versions, the CF6-6 and CF6-50,have already been eclipsed by the -80 series,but the -80A and -80C2 will see sharp declinesin MRO revenue by 2019, according to DavidStewart, a partner at AeroStrategy, whichfocuses on the global MRO market.

AeroStrategy projects that CF6 MRO rev-enues will end this year at just under $2.7bn,declining to $2.2bn through 2019, about 17per cent. The -80E is a bright spot, with rev-enues projected to increase 90 per cent


CF6 MRO revenues are set to decline about 17 per cent by2019, but the maintenance market remains intense. ScottHamilton reviews the CF6’s maintenance record and futureoutlook as it reaches four decades

through 2019, according to Stewart.Revenues from the -80C2 will decline by 25per cent but will remain at a hefty $1.5bn,according to Stewart.

Stewart believes MRO spending on theCF6 will decline for every subtype except the-80E as CF6-powered aircraft are retired. Heconcurs with the Airbus view that the A330passenger family will sell for the balance ofthis decade, tapering off as the A350 andBoeing’s 787 replace the A330 passengerversion. Airbus sees production continuing ata lower level for the A330F, particularly if itsparent, EADS, wins the hotly contested com-petition for the US Air Force’s KC-X aerial refu-eling contract. The USAF, which so far hasseen two KC-X contracts voided due to impro-prieties and mismanagement of the 2002and 2008 deals, seeks to procure 179tankers in the current competition.Contenders are the EADS KC-45, based onthe A330-200 and CF6-80E engines, and theBoeing KC-767 with Pratt & Whitney engines.The USAF currently suggests an award inJanuary 2011, but in November madeanother misstep in procedures that has both

Over the life of the 52 C-5M aircraft programme, CF6 enginessave more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide and over 90million gallons of fuel compared to the current TF39-powered C-5fleet. With regards to time on wing, the –80C2 will provide 10ximprovement.

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 49

50

sides talking about a protest after the con-tract is awarded.

Procurement would be at a dinky 15 aircrafta year from full production beginning in 2015,extending the need for new-production CF6-80Es at least through 2027 should EADS win.Airbus plans to build A330 cargo aircraft on thesame production line in Mobile, AL. Airbus cur-rently foresees sales of the A330 freighterextending perhaps up to seven years afterA330P production ends.

GE Aviation’s Chuck Williams, CF6 productline manager, says his company foreseesanother 10 years of production for the -80C2and 15 years for the -80E, reflecting new air-craft sales and spare engine requirements,including the C-5, KC-X and KC-45 potential.

Stewart also notes that the MRO life for theCF6 continues well beyond the production lifeof the aircraft for which they were designed.

Future opportunitiesThe CF6-6 first appeared on the McDonnell

Douglas DC-10 in 1971, followed by the AirbusA300B2 in 1974. The engine was an outgrowthof the TF39 developed for the military’sLockheed C-5, the first jumbo jet which had itsmaiden flight in June 1968 (preceding the firstflight of the Pratt & Whitney-powered 747-100in February 1969).



CF6 ModelsCF6-6: DC-10-10, 747-100SR Five active operatorsCF6-50: DC-10-30, A300B1/B2/B4

/200/300, KC-10A, E441 active operators57% within US

CF6-80A: 767, A310 15 active operatorsCF6-80C2: A300-600R(P)/600R(F), A310-204/300, 767-200

/200ER/300(P)/-300(F)/-300ER(P)/300ER(F)/400, 747-200BAF/300/400, MD-11, C-5M,Kawasaki C-X

160 active operators

CF6-80E1: A330-200/300 27 active operatorsSource: GE Aviation

CF6

Market

Share

$ million

2010 2019

CF6-6 $130 $125 ($5) -4%CF6-50 $225 $186 ($39) -17%CF6-80A $125 $27 ($98) -78%CF6-80C2 $2,000 $1,500 ($500) -25%CF6-80E $195 $370 ($175) 90%Total $2,675 $2,208 ($467) -17%Source: UBM Aviation/AeroStrategy

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 50

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The CF6-80C2 is the engine of choice forthe USAF’s C-5M upgrade, which includesreplacing the TF39s with the newer technol-ogy, more fuel-efficient and environmentallyfriendly -80C2. It’s also on the new KawasakiC-X, an aircraft that looks sort of like a twin-engine Boeing C-17 and which represents amajor step in Japan’s emerging aerospaceindustry.

“Over the life of the 52 C-5M aircraft pro-gramme, CF6 engines save more than one mil-lion tonnes of carbon dioxide and over 90million gallons of fuel compared to the currentTF39-powered C-5 fleet. With regards to timeon wing, the –80C2 will provide 10x improve-ment,” says a GE Engines spokesperson.

Stiff competitionCompetition in the engine MRO market is

stiff, with OEMs often tying MRO packageswith point-of-sale contracts to lock in futureprofits. It’s widely acknowledged in the indus-try that engine makers have been known toliterally give away the engine to a customerproviding MRO and parts contracts areawarded to the OEM. Further, as engines nowachieve on-wing times of 10 years or more


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AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 52


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(compared with the one-two years of the earlyCF6-6 days, for example), the service busi-ness is all the more important for OEMs torecoup their research and technology costs indeveloping the engines.

The leading engine MROs illustrate theOEM-MRO tie-in. OEMs take four of the top fiveproviders positions in 2009 and six of the topten, according to MTU (a joint venture partnerin International Aero Engines and a key OEMprovider in a variety of other engines) andAeroStrategy.

Not surprisingly, GE is the leading engineMRO provider. GE’s MRO business is part of thecompany’s core philosophy to provide services(and profits) in addition to the hardware unitslike engines or the aircraft leasing arm, GECAS.GE’s philosophy is also to be No. 1 or No. 2 inany business it is in.

AeroStrategy’s Stewart provided a listing ofthose major companies and airlines undertak-ing CF6 maintenance, but he did not rank them(see page 56).

Shifting marketThe CF6-80 has long-since eclipsed the

CF6-50 as the engine of choice for newly

ordered aircraft. The CF6-50 retains a wideuser base of 620 engines and 42 operators,85 per cent of whom are freighter/cargo.

GE’s Williams says that the CF6-80 willeventually be eclipsed by the GE90 (althoughnot directly replaced), which is on the 777.There are currently 1,000 GE90s on the 777,which shares its power with Rolls-Royce andPratt & Whitney. GE is the exclusive enginesupplier for the 777-300 and the 777-200LR.Then there is the GEnx, developed for the 787and 747-8, and from which technology hasalready been borrowed for the CFMInternational LEAP-X, the engine for theA320neo and COMAC C919. The LEAP-X willsupersede the ubiquitous CFM 56 series nowon the 737 and A320.

In the meantime, MRO providers have toshift with the transition from CF6-6s to -50s to-80As and -80C2s to -80Es. This is where anMRO like Kelly Aviation Center comes in.

Going independentKelly was formed in 1999 following the clo-

sure of Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX.A USAF Request for Proposals for thePropulsion Business Area (PBA) Competition

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 53



for the F100, TF39, T56, and aircraft acces-sories workloads maintenance put Kelly intobusiness. Teaming with Oklahoma City AirLogistics Center and Lockheed Martin, thegroup won the contract and Kelly AviationCenter was born. The company is now 95 percent owned by Lockheed Martin and five percent by Rolls-Royce.

Up to this point, Kelly’s work has been mili-tary focused. It has only recently begun toexpand into the commercial arena, with theCF6-50 MRO in operation now and expansionunderway for the -80. Kelly has 15 commercialcustomers for the -50 for 10-15 aircraft, largelycargo carriers in the Americas.

Kelly has one million square feet of hangarspace, four test cells and provides completeoverhaul of all the modules and components.“Other shops don’t have these,” says FrankCowen, business development director forKelly. “There are four or five other -50 shops inthe States, but not full service.”

Cowen says Kelly has a goal of signing -80contracts this year for shop work; field work is

CF6 MRO Revenue 2019 $million

CF6 Subtype Installed Base, 2010

CF6 MRO Revenue 2010 $million

$2,00075%

$1,50068%

312066%

4109%

1904%

730, 16%

220, 5%

$1957%

$1305%

$2258% $125

5%$37017%

$1256% $186

8%

$271%

CF6-6CF6-50CF6-80ACF6-80C2CF6-80E

Key

Top 10 Engine MRO Providers 2009MRO Provider Market ShareGE Engine Services 14%Rolls-Royce 10%-13%Lufthansa Technik 7%-9%MTU Maintenance 7%-8%Pratt & Whitney 6%-7%Delta TechOps 6%Air France/KLM 5%-6%American Airlines 4%Snecma Services 3%-4%SR Technics 3%Sources: MTU Aero Engines, AeroStrategy 2009All engine types

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 54



Our customer-driven focus isaround total cost ofownership.This is the long-termoperating cost on wing, fuelconsumption and time-on-wing.We’ve historically focused atremendous amount ofattention on these. Once itcomes in for overhaul, we lookfor ways to increase the timeon wing.— Chuck Williams, CF6product line manager, GEAviation

already underway. Kelly is bringing in all therequired -80 equipment. It has finished firsttraining with Lufthansa and the second round isto be completed in February. First inductionsare planned for July.

None of the contracts are long-term andeach is for a single engine. None at this time ispower-by-the-hour, though Cowen says Kelly willgrow into it.

The challenges of a new entrant into thisconcentrated market are large, however. WhileCowen points out that Kelly is an establishedcompany, it is new to commercial business.

“If they have economies of scale, then theyhave a chance to compete,” saysAeroStrategy’s Stewart. “The critical successfactor is that for a primarily military organisa-tion, can they compete in the commercial mar-ket, write a complex contract without gettingthe shirt ripped off their back, and have a goodturn-time? They have to move in a very com-petitive commercial market with competitivetime and cost. That’s by no means easy.”

Cowen is confident. “You have someexceptional people out there doing worknow,” he says. “An advantage is that we havea very flexible workforce, very customer-ori-

ented, customise solution for the operator.This gives us an edge over the big existingOEM type operations.”

Kelly is non-union and Texas is a lower-coststate (wages, cost of doing business) than Europeand other parts of the US. “Our rate is very, verycompetitive with everybody else compared withoperations in US Northeast or unionised costs, orOEMs, or Lufthansa,” Cowen said.

Kelly will be going up against GE, whichwas actually a former JV partner up until twoyears ago, by expanding into commercial CF6-50/80 MRO. To use a Texas term, GE sug-gests to operators that they ought to ‘dancewith the one that brung ya’. GE’s Williamsbelieves that relying on GE’s experience withdesigning the engines, parts and relying onOEM aftermarket support — including originalparts rather than Parts ManufacturedApproval (PMA) — provides better quality andreliability. “We don’t recommend PMA as anoption or a choice,” Williams says.“Temperatures approach 3,000F, and partsare under high pressure move at super-sonicspeeds. PMA vendors don’t have access toall the design data to understand why a partwas designed that way.”

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:14 Page 55

Cowen takes a different view, and had thisto say about PMA parts. “They are FAA certi-fied,” he says. “If these are not rotating parts,PMAs can be very cost-effective.”

The nuts and boltsOne of the challenges facing MROs is the

increasing on-wing time achieved by engines.The OEMs love to tout on-wing time as majorbenefits in sales campaigns, and clearly theairlines want times to be as long as possible.The original CF6-6 initially had 1,300 cycles onwing equaling 2-3 years between overhaul.

“That was pretty good by 1960s-1970sstandards,” says Williams. “Our HT-90 pro-



Companies undertaking CF6 maintenance

Asia Model Status

ANA -80C2 Self

China Airlines -80C2 Self

EGAT -80C2 Self

Japan Air Lines -80C2 Self

LTQ Engineering -80E Self

Europe Model Status

Air France Group -50, -80C2, -80E Self, Third Party

GE Caledonian All except -80E Third Party

Lufthansa Technik -50, -80C2 LH, Third Party

MTU Maintenance -50, -80C2 Third Party

TAP Portugal -80C2 Self

Turkish Technic -80A, 80C2 Self, Third Party

USA Model Status

American Airlines -80A, -80C2 Self, Third Party

Delta TechOps -80A, -80C2, -80E Self, Third Party

GE Engine Services All Third Party

Kelly Aviation Center -50, entering -80 Third Party

MTU Canada -50 Third PartyEGAT is joint venture EVAAirlines, GE. LTQ is joint ventureQantas and LufthansaSource: AeroStrategy

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:15 Page 56



[GE] always tries to designbeyond the current standardsas much as we can. Eventhough the CF6, whichessentially began its design in1960s and had its EIS in 1971,we foresaw fuel consumptionbeing a significant driver. Longbefore it was cool, in the1980s, we were focused onemissions.— Chuck Williams, CF6product line manager, GEAviation

gramme effectively doubled the time on wing.FedEx is pretty much the world’s only operatorof this engine, so they are benefitting tremen-dously from this.”

Today’s CF6-80C2 has an on-wing time ofaround 20,000 hours.

“Our customer-driven focus is around totalcost of ownership,” says Williams. “This isthe long-term operating cost including fuelconsumption and time-on-wing. We’ve histori-cally focused a tremendous amount of atten-tion on these. When engines come in foroverhaul, we look for ways to increase thetime on wing.”

With 20 years on-wing, MROs have to beconcerned about the evolving environmentalregulations. This is another area where deal-ing with OEM MROs is an advantage, saysWilliams. “[GE] always tries to design beyondthe current standards as much as we can,”he says. “Even though the earliest CF6design originated in the 1960s and had itsEIS in 1971, we foresaw fuel consumptionbeing a significant driver. Long before it wascool, in the 1980s, we were focused onemissions. We anticipated at some pointthere would be regulations that would come

out that would be tighter than the currentones.”

GE can help the installed base with ‘ProductImprovement Packages’ (PIP) to achieve gainsin fuel consumption and environmental regula-tions. Kelly’s Cowen says independents canwork with PIPs as well. “We can use DERs andPMA parts to help on the cost side.”

Other independents tout their innovation.Lufthansa Technik claims it developed an“advanced repair” that is an “innovativemethod that eliminates the need to scrap anexpensive engine component.” Lufthansa saysthe compressor rear frame stationary CDP airseal in the -80C2 can be repaired, “a solutionclearly superior to purchasing a spare part[from GE], both financially and technically.” TheCDP costs about $100,000, the MRO says.

The company also points to what it calls theSuperalloy Welding at Elevated Temperatures torepair low-pressure turbine nozzles, also on the-80C2, as another cost-cutting repair tech-nique. “The SWET procedures enable evenheavily worn parts to be repairs, thus reducingthe scrap rate,” Lufthansa says. The MROclaims that by following such practices, over-haul costs can be substantially reduced. ■

AT109_E&M_AT109_E&M 16/12/2010 10:15 Page 57

58

Having identified the problems, furtherresearch indicated that costly paperbased operational and maintenance

processes were the root cause of the ineffi-ciency. A solution became apparent immedi-ately. If Skypaq could develop a suite ofregulatory approved solutions that electroni-cally map existing ‘paper based’ processes, itwould unlock the full potential of the existingprocesses and remove significant costs fromthe operation.

A specific process, the ‘Aircraft Technicaland Maintenance Logbook’ process, wasselected to prove the business case to the air-line industry. The logbook was chosen as it isthe primary source of technical and operationaldata and its upkeep is a regulatory requirementfor each and every flight. The logbook records

malfunctions, block times and fuel consump-tion. It also records all maintenance carried outon an aircraft between scheduled base mainte-nance visits. In a nutshell, it is one of the mostimportant documents for various departmentswithin an airline.

The next stage of the development was tocreate a framework whereby the major stake-holders (airlines, regulators and Skypaq)clearly laid out their objectives. These objec-tives had to be addressed and met, otherwisethe paper based process would remain inplace.

In 2008, Finnair decided to overhaul theirexisting paper based technical and mainte-nance logbook process in three stages:1. Electronically map existing processes with a

regulatory approved software solution that

would work across their diverse fleet ofaircraft (Embraer, Airbus, Boeing, MD andATR).

2. Integrate the new electronic solution withexisting MRO and operational softwareapplications.

3. Address other costly areas of the processwith ‘lean technology software’.

Finnair went to the market and following anextensive tendering process, Skypaq’s suite ofapplications was selected due to its high levelof functional capabilities and the ‘less than 12month return on investment’ fundamentals.The applications were evaluated and deployedacross the Finnair fleet, while full regulatoryapproval followed with minimum impact onFinnair internal resources.


During 2005/06, Skypaq conducted significant research into areas of inefficiency and unnecessarycost within the airline industry. A survey of 60 airlines discovered that the low levels of integrationbetween flight operations and technical services was identified as a significant contributor to theproblems.

Integration of flightoperations and technicalservices

CURRENT SITUATION

BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS EFFECTS OF PROBLEMS

PAPER-BASEDPROCESSES

MANUAL INPUT, MANUAL RETRIVAL,ERROR PRONE, FREQUENTDUPLICATION OF TASK, & LATENCYOF DATA

HIGH UNNECESSARY COSTS

INEFFICIENCY OF OPERATION

LESS THAN Q2 MONTH ROI

SIGNIFICANT COST SAVING

ELECTRONICALLY MAP EXISTING PROCESSES

INTEGRATE SOLUTION WITH EXISTING APPLICATIONS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

AT109_IT_AT109_IT 16/12/2010 11:30 Page 58

59

Finnair’s Toni Kivinen, development man-ager of flight operations, stated: “Skypaq’srange of MRO software and integration solu-tions have removed up to 30 per cent of thedirect labour costs associated with maintain-ing paper based processes and improved thequality of managing the airworthiness of theFinnair fleet.” In particular, Finnair now enjoysunrivalled visibility across its fleet and hasachieved:❏ Live feed of aircraft flight hours and cycles

to flight operations and technical services.❏ Accurately scheduled maintenance

planning and improved co-ordinatedavailability of technicians, tool and parts.

❏ Minimal cost and managed impactregarding the routing of aircraft withlimitations.

❏ Live feed of CRS data ensuring compliancewith regulatory, safety and emissionsrequirements.

❏ Direct defect data transfer by thetechnician from the hanger to the aircraft.

❏ Accurate reporting of aircraft status andcomplete transparency with regard to partsand warranties.

❏ Work order data input at the techniciansdesktop during scheduled linemaintenance.

❏ Multiple aircraft management from onelocation.

❏ Airworthiness directives and servicebulletins tracking.

Finnair is utilising the solutions within itsown bases and also at remote bases in the US,Europe and Asia.

In additional to the Finnair technicians, thirdparty providers of MRO services are also utilis-ing the benefits of the remote maintenancecapabilities of the solution.

John Corrigan, Skypaq company director,states: “The Skypaq suite of applications pro-vides an ideal solution for any airline seeking toeradicate unnecessary costs and unlock thefull capabilities of their processes.” Corrigangoes on to say that “software as a solution notonly works, but Skypaq has proven that thesolution is delivered on time and withinbudget”.

The winning philosophy of the solution withinthe Finnair operation is underpinned by the factthat the solutions are agnostic of all hardwareplatforms, software applications and communi-cation networks. In fact, the deployment ofSkypaq has resulted in the data transmissionscosts between the aircraft and the head officeaveraging €40 per aircraft per month.

Finnair’s Kivinen concludes: “Unnecessary vis-its by technical staff to the aircraft have now finallybeen eliminated. This has resulted in greater pro-ductivity and improved turnaround times”.

Skypaq and Finnair have now formed a tech-nology partnership and this has resulted in a num-ber of airlines in the US and in Europe initiating anevaluation of the solution. Skypaq chief executiveRichard McKenna stated: “Our sales pipeline hasseriously ramped up over the last six months duein no small part to the significant cost savingsthat the software can bring to any airline — small,medium or large. Airlines are now actively seekingout leading edge technologies that have regula-tory approval to improve the bottom line andimprove operational efficiency”. ■


INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The world of aviation maintenance is evolving. Maintenance organizations looking to maintain their competitive edge and safeguard their future need adaptable maintenance software.

With its unparalleled commitment to quality and innovation, Mxi Technologies delivers industry-leading software that lets you keep pace.

Don’t just react to changes in the aviation industry. Evolve with them.

Join the Evolution. mxi.com/evolveEVOLVE

Skypaq’s range of MROsoftware and integrationsolutions have removed up to30 per cent of the directlabour costs associated withmaintaining paper basedprocesses and improved thequality of managing theairworthiness of the Finnairfleet.— Toni Kivinen, developmentmanager of flight operations,Finnair

AT109_IT_AT109_IT 16/12/2010 11:30 Page 59


Aircraft data: 737 Classic

ADRIA AIRWAYS SLOVENIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1684 1 2 3368AEGEAN AIRLINES GREECE PASSENGER CFM56-3 12645 5 10 25291AERO CONTRACTORS NIGERIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 22036 10 20 44072AEROFLOT CARGO RUSSIA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1174 1 2 2348AEROFLOT-DON RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 13481 10 20 26963AEROFLOT-NORD RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 28186 16 32 56373AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS ARGENTINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 39116 17 34 78232AEROLINEAS GALAPAGOS ECUADOR PASSENGER CFM56-3 1560 1 2 3120AEROSVIT AIRLINES UKRAINE PASSENGER CFM56-3 16972 10 20 33944AIR ALGERIE ALGERIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 3338 1 2 6675AIR AUSTRAL REUNION PASSENGER CFM56-3 2515 2 4 5031AIR BALTIC LATVIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 33346 18 36 66693AIR BERLIN GERMANY (PRE-10/90 W.G) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2002 1 2 4004AIR BUSAN SOUTH KOREA PASSENGER CFM56-3 2266 1 2 4532AIR CHINA CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 82817 32 64 165633AIR ITALY ITALY PASSENGER CFM56-3 4004 2 4 8009AIR MADAGASCAR MALAGASY (MADAGASCAR) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2032 2 4 4064AIR NAMIBIA-NATIONAL AIRLINES NAMIBIA (FMR. SW AFRICA) PASSENGER CFM56-3 5118 2 4 10236AIR NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND PASSENGER CFM56-3 33207 16 32 66414AIR NEXT JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 18089 8 16 36178AIR NIPPON JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 21205 10 20 42411AIR ONE [ITALY] ITALY PASSENGER CFM56-3 30633 17 34 61266AIR PHILIPPINES PHILIPPINES PASSENGER CFM56-3 2170 1 2 4339ALASKA AIRLINES UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) FREIGHTER CFM56-3 12223 6 12 24447ALASKA AIRLINES UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 63668 28 56 127335ALEXANDRIA AIRLINES EGYPT PASSENGER CFM56-3 1396 1 2 2792ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 4095 2 4 8190ARIK AIR NIGERIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 4188 2 4 8377ASIANA AIRLINES SOUTH KOREA PASSENGER CFM56-3 19431 9 18 38862ASTRAEUS AIRLINES UNITED KINGDOM PASSENGER CFM56-3 2002 1 2 4004ATLANT-SOYUZ AIRLINES RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1684 1 2 3368ATLANTIC AIRLINES [UK] UNITED KINGDOM FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1319 1 2 2639AURELA LITHUANIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 3368 2 4 6736AUSTRALIAN AIR EXPRESS AUSTRALIA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 3700 4 8 7399AVE.COM UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PASSENGER CFM56-3 5526 3 6 11052AVIACSA MEXICO PASSENGER CFM56-3 8101 3 6 16203AVOLAR AEROLINEAS MEXICO PASSENGER CFM56-3 2446 1 2 4893AXIOM AIR NIGERIA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 829 1 2 1657BELAVIA BELARUS PASSENGER CFM56-3 11088 7 14 22176BH-AIR BULGARIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1758 1 2 3515BLUE AIR-TRANSPORT AERIAN ROMANIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 8281 5 10 16561BLUE PANORAMA AIRLINES ITALY PASSENGER CFM56-3 9309 5 10 18618BLUEBIRD CARGO ICELAND FREIGHTER CFM56-3 6668 5 10 13337BMIBABY UNITED KINGDOM PASSENGER CFM56-3 18562 17 34 37124BOLIVIANA DE AVIACION BOLIVIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 4893 2 4 9786BREMENFLY GERMANY (PRE-10/90 W.G) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2002 1 2 4004BRITISH AIRWAYS UNITED KINGDOM PASSENGER CFM56-3 52219 21 42 104437BRUSSELS AIRLINES BELGIUM PASSENGER CFM56-3 19812 11 22 39623BULGARIA AIR BULGARIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 4733 5 10 9465CAAC SPECIAL SERVICES DIVISION CHINA OTHER CFM56-3 3034 4 8 6068CARDIG AIR INDONESIA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 685 2 4 1370CARGO AIR BULGARIA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1041 1 2 2081CAYMAN AIRWAYS CAYMAN ISLANDS PASSENGER CFM56-3 6600 4 8 13200CHANCHANGI AIRLINES NIGERIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 4966 2 4 9931CHILEAN AIR FORCE CHILE OTHER CFM56-3 1340 2 4 2681CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 50800 20 40 101600

Operator fleet listing with engine

Operator Operator Equipment Engine Equipment Aircraft Engine Engine Country Role Family Utilization Count Count Utitlization

DATA & DIRECTIVES

AT109_DataDir_AT109_DD 15/12/2010 17:42 Page 60


DATA & DIRECTIVES

CHINA POSTAL AIRLINES CHINA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 21022 12 24 42044CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES CHINA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1332 1 2 2663CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 68538 25 50 137075CHINA UNITED AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 890 2 4 1779CHINA UNITED AIRLINES CHINA OTHER CFM56-3 2250 2 4 4501CHINA WEST AIR CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 7101 2 4 14202CHINA XINHUA AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 23282 8 16 46564COMAIR [SOUTH AFRICA] REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA PASSENGER CFM56-3 32762 17 34 65524CONTINENTAL AIRLINES UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 129613 57 114 259225CONVIASA VENEZUELA PASSENGER CFM56-3 7378 3 6 14755CORENDON AIRLINES TURKEY PASSENGER CFM56-3 8009 4 8 16017CSA CZECH AIRLINES CZECH REP.(FMR CZECHOSLOVAKIA) PASSENGER CFM56-3 27014 18 36 54027DEER JET CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 12751 4 8 25501DNIEPROAVIA UKRAINE PASSENGER CFM56-3 9935 6 12 19870EAST AIR [TAJIKISTAN] TAJIKISTAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 3562 2 4 7124EGYPTAIR EGYPT PASSENGER CFM56-3 9808 4 8 19615ESTAFETA CARGA AEREA MEXICO FREIGHTER CFM56-3 6228 4 8 12457ESTONIAN AIR ESTONIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 6141 4 8 12282EUROPE AIRPOST FRANCE FREIGHTER CFM56-3 23115 17 34 46231FLAIR AIRLINES CANADA PASSENGER CFM56-3 5372 2 4 10745FLYANT CARGO SPAIN FREIGHTER CFM56-3 2639 2 4 5278FLYLAL CHARTER EESTI ESTONIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1684 1 2 3368FLYLAL CHARTERS LITHUANIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1878 1 2 3755GARUDA INDONESIAN AIRWAYS INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 102561 39 78 205122GEORGIAN AIRWAYS GEORGIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 6736 4 8 13473GERMANIA GERMANY (PRE-10/90 W.G) PASSENGER CFM56-3 11341 7 14 22681GLOBAL JET LTD. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PASSENGER CFM56-3 2068 1 2 4136GLOBUS RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 5386 4 8 10773GOL TRANSPORTES AEREOS BRAZIL PASSENGER CFM56-3 42787 15 30 85575HAINAN AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 29244 9 18 58488HEAVYLIFT INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FREIGHTER CFM56-3 860 1 2 1720HOKKAIDO INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 11302 5 10 22605HOLA AIRLINES SPAIN PASSENGER CFM56-3 1569 1 2 3139ICAR AIRLINES UKRAINE PASSENGER CFM56-3 1963 1 2 3925INDONESIA AIRASIA INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 22003 8 16 44006ION TIRIAC AIR ROMANIA OTHER CFM56-3 1293 1 2 2585IRAQI AIRWAYS IRAQ PASSENGER CFM56-3 2339 1 2 4678JAL EXPRESS JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 15891 7 14 31783JAPAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 2175 1 2 4351JAPAN TRANSOCEAN AIR JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 34674 15 30 69349JAT AIRWAYS SERBIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 11875 7 14 23751JET TIME DENMARK PASSENGER CFM56-3 10087 5 10 20174JET2 UNITED KINGDOM FREIGHTER CFM56-3 4632 4 8 9265JET2 UNITED KINGDOM PASSENGER CFM56-3 36636 18 36 73272JET4YOU MOROCCO PASSENGER CFM56-3 7324 3 6 14648JETCONNECT NEW ZEALAND PASSENGER CFM56-3 17178 7 14 34356JETSTAR PACIFIC AIRLINES VIETNAM PASSENGER CFM56-3 12404 6 12 24808JORDAN AVIATION JORDAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 10871 5 10 21742KALININGRAD AIR RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 21893 13 26 43787KARTHAGO AIRLINES TUNISIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 10210 4 8 20420KENYA AIRWAYS KENYA PASSENGER CFM56-3 7079 4 8 14158KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES NETHERLANDS PASSENGER CFM56-3 34616 20 40 69233LAS VEGAS SANDS CORPORATION UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) OTHER CFM56-3 275 2 4 550LION AIR [INDONESIA] INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 18600 9 18 37199LITHUANIAN AIRLINES LITHUANIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1740 1 2 3480LOCKHEED MARTIN AERONAUTICS CO. UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) OTHER CFM56-3 657 1 2 1314LOT POLISH AIRLINES POLAND PASSENGER CFM56-3 23004 15 30 46009LUFTHANSA GERMANY (PRE-10/90 W.G) PASSENGER CFM56-3 125576 63 126 251152LUXAIR LUXEMBOURG PASSENGER CFM56-3 1858 1 2 3715MACEDONIAN AIRLINES [MACEDONIA] MACEDONIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1470 1 2 2941MADAGASCAR GOVERNMENT MALAGASY (MADAGASCAR) OTHER CFM56-3 127 1 2 255MAGNICHARTERS MEXICO PASSENGER CFM56-3 1767 2 4 3533MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM MALAYSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 74784 35 70 149568MARAGE AVIATION LTD. UNITED KINGDOM OTHER CFM56-3 423 1 2 845MERPATI NUSANTARA AIRLINE INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 15861 7 14 31723METRO BATAVIA INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 32214 20 40 64428MEXICAN AIR FORCE MEXICO OTHER CFM56-3 683 2 4 1366MIAMI AIR INTERNATIONAL UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2850 2 4 5701MISTRAL AIR ITALY FREIGHTER CFM56-3 5217 3 6 10433MSG FLIGHT OPERATIONS UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 277 1 2 554MYANMA AIRWAYS MYANMAR (BURMA) PASSENGER CFM56-3 1998 1 2 3996NAYZAK AIR TRANSPORT LIBYA PASSENGER CFM56-3 5153 3 6 10306NEW AXIS AIRWAYS FRANCE FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1780 1 2 3560NEW AXIS AIRWAYS FRANCE PASSENGER CFM56-3 2382 1 2 4765NIGERIAN EAGLE AIRLINES NIGERIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 3806 4 8 7611NOK AIRLINES THAILAND PASSENGER CFM56-3 8643 4 8 17286

Operator fleet listing with engine (cont...)Operator Operator Equipment Engine Equipment Aircraft Engine Engine

Country Role Family Utilization Count Count Utitlization



DATA & DIRECTIVES

Operator fleet listing with engine (cont...)Operator Operator Equipment Engine Equipment Aircraft Engine Engine

Country Role Family Utilization Count Count Utitlization

NORDSTAR RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1684 1 2 3368NORWEGIAN AIR SHUTTLE NORWAY PASSENGER CFM56-3 70117 28 56 140235OKAY AIRWAYS CHINA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 2797 3 6 5595OLYMPIC AIRLINES GREECE PASSENGER CFM56-3 48541 17 34 97081ORENBURG AIRLINES RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 10879 6 12 21758OUR AIRLINE NAURU PASSENGER CFM56-3 4554 2 4 9108PACIFIC SKY AVIATION CANADA OTHER CFM56-3 657 1 2 1314PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES PAKISTAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 5659 2 4 11319PAMIR AIR AFGHANISTAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 2353 1 2 4706PEGASUS AIRLINES [TURKEY] TURKEY PASSENGER CFM56-3 8875 6 12 17750PERUVIAN AIR FORCE PERU OTHER CFM56-3 1328 1 2 2656PRECISION AIR SERVICES TANZANIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 2020 1 2 4039QANTAS AUSTRALIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 37672 17 34 75343REPUBLIC OF KOREA GOVERNMENT SOUTH KOREA OTHER CFM56-3 181 1 2 362ROSSIYA RUSSIAN AIRLINES RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 6922 5 10 13844ROYAL AIR MAROC MOROCCO PASSENGER CFM56-3 30566 12 24 61133ROYAL FALCON OF JORDAN JORDAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 2859 1 2 5718ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE THAILAND OTHER CFM56-3 362 2 4 724SAFAIR REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 794 1 2 1587SAFI AIRWAYS AFGHANISTAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 4532 2 4 9064SAGA AIRLINES TURKEY PASSENGER CFM56-3 3100 1 2 6200SAMA AIRWAYS SAUDI ARABIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 12185 6 12 24370SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SYSTEM SWEDEN PASSENGER CFM56-3 13211 15 30 26422SCAT KAZAKSTAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 5159 3 6 10319SEAGLE AIR SLOVAK REPUBLIC PASSENGER CFM56-3 6983 4 8 13966SHANDONG AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 33695 12 24 67390SHENZHEN AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 24279 9 18 48558SHENZHEN DONGHAI AIRLINES CHINA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 4383 4 8 8766SILVER AIR [UAE] UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PASSENGER CFM56-3 4136 2 4 8272SKY AIRLINES TURKEY PASSENGER CFM56-3 8760 6 12 17521SKYEXPRESS RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 15686 9 18 31371SKYLINK ARABIA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PASSENGER CFM56-3 1374 1 2 2748SKYNET ASIA AIRWAYS JAPAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 18243 8 16 36487SMARTWINGS CZECH REP.(FMR CZECHOSLOVAKIA) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2091 1 2 4183SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1692 2 4 3384SOUTHWEST AIRLINES UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 587955 191 382 1175911SPORTS JET LLC UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) OTHER CFM56-3 657 1 2 1314SRIWIJAYA AIR INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 20757 10 20 41514SURINAM AIRWAYS SURINAME PASSENGER CFM56-3 4893 2 4 9786SWIFT AIR UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 5220 2 4 10441SWIFTAIR [SPAIN] SPAIN FREIGHTER CFM56-3 7916 6 12 15833TAILWIND HAVA YOLLARI TURKEY PASSENGER CFM56-3 5616 3 6 11232TAROM ROMANIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 6632 4 8 13264TATARSTAN AIRCOMPANY RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 4278 3 6 8556THAI AIRASIA THAILAND PASSENGER CFM56-3 10160 3 6 20319THAI AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL THAILAND PASSENGER CFM56-3 11242 6 12 22485THOMSON AIRWAYS UNITED KINGDOM PASSENGER CFM56-3 19910 7 14 39820TITAN AIRWAYS UNITED KINGDOM FREIGHTER CFM56-3 4381 4 8 8763TNT AIRWAYS BELGIUM FREIGHTER CFM56-3 12260 10 20 24521TOLL PRIORITY AUSTRALIA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 2192 3 6 4385TOR AIR SWEDEN PASSENGER CFM56-3 2457 1 2 4915TOUMAI AIR TCHAD CHAD PASSENGER CFM56-3 2094 1 2 4188TRANSAERO AIRLINES RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 36843 17 34 73686TRAVEL SERVICE AIRLINES CZECH REP.(FMR CZECHOSLOVAKIA) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2070 1 2 4139TRAVIRA AIR INDONESIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 1906 1 2 3812TUI AIRLINES BELGIUM BELGIUM PASSENGER CFM56-3 6225 2 4 12451TUNIS AIR TUNISIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 8999 4 8 17998TURK HAVA YOLLARI TURKEY PASSENGER CFM56-3 11576 5 10 23153TURKMENISTAN AIRLINES TURKMENISTAN PASSENGER CFM56-3 3424 2 4 6848UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES UKRAINE FREIGHTER CFM56-3 1107 1 2 2215UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES UKRAINE PASSENGER CFM56-3 27873 15 30 55745UNITED AIR LINES UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 18570 26 52 37140UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) OTHER CFM56-3 386 1 2 772US AIRWAYS UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 174669 71 142 349337UTAIR AVIATION RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 15235 8 16 30470VIKING AIRLINES SWEDEN PASSENGER CFM56-3 4972 2 4 9943VISION AIR [NV-USA] UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) OTHER CFM56-3 657 1 2 1314VISION AIR [NV-USA] UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 5220 2 4 10441VIVA AEROBUS MEXICO PASSENGER CFM56-3 8748 3 6 17496WEBJET LINHAS AEREAS BRAZIL PASSENGER CFM56-3 35049 14 28 70098XIAMEN AIRLINES CHINA PASSENGER CFM56-3 4205 2 4 8411XTRA AIRWAYS UNITED STATES (&TERRITORIES) PASSENGER CFM56-3 2289 2 4 4577YAMAL AIRLINES RUSSIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 8421 5 10 16841YANGTZE RIVER EXPRESS AIRLINES CHINA FREIGHTER CFM56-3 9636 6 12 19272ZAMBEZI AIRLINES ZAMBIA PASSENGER CFM56-3 3858 2 4 7717


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FAA airworthiness directives - large aircraftSummary of biweekly listings for the last two months

Biweekly 2010-19

2010-17-14 Boeing 737-100 and -200 For specified aircraft, do a detailed inspection for cracks and damaged fasteners of the fuselage frames and stub beams and an eddy current inspection for cracking of the inboard chord fastener hole of the frame at body station 639, stringer S-16. If any crack or damaged fastener is found, repair or do a preventive modification IAW SB 737-53-1061.

2010-18-08S Bombardier CL-600-2C10 and CL-600-2D24 Supersedes AD 2009-10-10. Install modified or new CPC units, P/N GG670-98002-7, IAW SB A670BA-21-022.

2010-18-10 BAE Systems BAe 146 series, Avro 146 series Install new aileron interconnect cable pulley guards IAW SB 27-183-36246A.

2010-18-11 Bombardier CL-600-2C10, -2D15, -2D24 Inspect HSTAs having P/Ns 8489-7 and 8489-7R to determine if applicable S/Ns are installed. Replace if applicable.

Biweekly 2010-20

2010-18-13 Pratt & Whitney PW40,41,44 series Perform a local fluorescent penetrant inspection for cracks in the HPC drum rotor disk assembly blade locking and loading slots of the specific stages of the HPC drum rotor disk assemblies from which any of the blades are removed as specified by AD. Remove as appropriate.

2010-19-01S Rolls-Royce AE 3007A Supersedes AD 2009-08-51. For specified engines, remove applicable wheels from service.

2010-19-02 Bombardier DHC-8-201, -202, -301, -311, -315 Do a detailed inspection of each collector tank flapper valve for the presence of a valve spring, IAW SB 8-28-54. If the valve spring is not present, apply an identification mark. If the valve spring is present, remove the valve spring and apply an identification mark.

2010-19-03 Boeing 737-700 Deactivate the auxiliary fuel tanks, IAW a deactivation procedure approved by the Manager, New York Aircraft Certification Office (ACO). Modify the auxiliary fuel system by doing all the applicable actions IAW SB ST00936NY-D-28-SB-001–K.

2010-19-04 Embraer EMB-120s Do an external detailed inspection for corrosion of the APU, auxiliary and center mounting rods, and rod ends. If any corrosion is found during any inspection, before further flight, do corrective actions IAW SB 120-49-0023.

2010-20-04 Gulfstream Aerospace Galaxy and Gulfstream 200 Revise the Limitations section of the Gulfstream 200 AFMto include the applicable statement.

2010-20-11 Rolls-Royce RB211 Trent Perform a one-time, piece-part, full inspection, including all applicable focus inspection Subtasks, of the IP and HP compressor shafts.

Biweekly 2010-21

2010-19-06 Boeing 747 Install certain equipment associated withthe flight deck door IAW SB 747-52-2293.

2010-20-03 Bombardier CL-600-2B16 For specified S/Ns, do an inspection to determine if the symbol ''24-5'' is marked on the ADG identification plate.

2010-20-07 International Aero Engines V2500 and related Perform an initial ultrasonic inspection of the HPC stage 3 to 8 drum IAW SB V2500-ENG-72-0594. If cracks or crack indications are identified, remove the drum from service before further flight.

2010-20-08S Boeing 747 Supersedes AD 2001-16-02. do a detailed inspection, an open hole high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspection, a surface HFEC inspection, and a subsurface low frequency eddy current (LFEC) inspection for cracking of the forward edge frame of the number 5 main entry door cutouts, at station 2231, between stringers 16 and 23; IAW SB 747-53A2450.

Note: The letter ‘C’ after the AD number denotes a correction to the original AD The letter ‘S’ after the AD number indicates that the AD supersedes a previous ADThe letter ‘R’ after the AD number indicates a revision to the original ADThe letter ‘E’ after the AD number indicates an emergency ADThe letters ‘FR’ indicate the final rule of an emergency AD

Please note that the above information is quoted for interest purposes. The latest versions of the ADs issued by the FAA must be used for reference purposes


DATA & DIRECTIVES


© Aircraft Technology Engineering & Maintenance

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