Tuesday, May 22, 2012
AviTrader Daily Aviation News Alert
This is an overview of all articles linked within the selected daily newsletter.
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Rolls-Royce wins order from CIT to power 23 aircraft
May 22, 2013
Rolls-Royce has won an order from US leasing company CIT Aerospace for Trent XWB engines, to power ten Airbus A350 XWB aircraft and Trent 700 engines to power 13 Airbus A330 aircraft. The Trent XWB engines will power ten CIT A350 aircraft that were announced in January 2013 which were in addition to five A350 XWB aircraft already on order. The Trent XWB, specifically designed for the Airbus A350, is the fastest selling Trent engine ever, with more than 1,200 already sold. The engine variant that will power the A350-800 and -900 was awarded European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification in February. The engine will power the first flight of the Airbus A350 XWB this year and the aircraft’s first in-service flight in 2014.
GE Aviation signs additive manufacturing cooperative agreement with Sigma Labs
May 24, 2013
GE Aviation and Sigma Labs signed a Joint Technology Development Agreement (JTDA) to advance and implement in-process inspection technologies for additive manufactured jet engine components. The mutually-developed inspection technology will verify the quality and geometry of additive components during the additive build process, increasing additive production speeds up to 25 percent in support of GE Aviation’s growing production rates. “Today, post-build inspection procedures account for as much as 25 percent of the time required to produce an additively manufactured engine component,” said Greg Morris, GE Aviation’s business development leader for additive manufacturing. “By conducting those inspection procedures while the component is being built, GE Aviation and Sigma labs will expedite production rates for GE’s additive manufactured engine components like the LEAP fuel nozzle.”
Qantas to consolidate heavy maintenance facilities
May 21, 2012
Qantas has completed a review of its heavy aircraft maintenance and engineering operations in Australia and will consolidate heavy maintenance work into Brisbane and Avalon. The restructure is necessary as there is currently not enough heavy maintenance work required for three separate facilities and the introduction of new technology and modern aircraft means there will be a further 60% reduction in heavy maintenance requirements over the next seven years. As a result of the restructure, heavy maintenance on Boeing 737 aircraft will move from Tullamarine and be maintained in Brisbane along with B767 aircraft and Airbus A330s. The base at Avalon will continue to maintain Boeing 747s. It will also conduct some work on B737s and B767s, some aircraft reconfiguration work and remain available for one-off maintenace tasks. Qantas will cease heavy maintenance at Tullamarine by August, however line maintenance will continue to be conducted at the facility employing more than 300 people.
Qantas undertook a two-month consultation with unions, employees and other stakeholders to discuss the challenges of having three sub-optimal heavy maintenance bases and options the company was considering. There will be a net reduction of 500 positions as a result of the restructure (Qantas will still employ over 30,000 people in Australia, and around 5,000 in Qantas Engineering). There will be a reduction of 422 positions at Tullamarine. At Avalon, 113 positions will no longer be required due to the recent retirements of five 747 aircraft this year.
OGMA broadens scope of certification in Ukraine
May 21, 2012
OGMA extended the scope of its approval by the Ukrainian Aviation Authority, to get the recognition that allows performing maintenance services for Airbus A320 family aircraft registered in the Ukraine. OGMA has already conducted maintenance on engines AE3007 and Embraer E-Jets / ERJ145 families from Ukrainian registered aircraft.
UTair to operate ten AW139 Helicopters
May 21, 2012
AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, announced that UTair of Russia has recently been certified as an AW139 helicopter operator and is set to operate ten AW139s for passenger, corporate and VVIP transport missions in Russia. The first aircraft is expected to be handed over this summer with deliveries planned to be completed by summer 2013. The aircraft will be deployed in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi and at additional bases located in Siberia. Additionally UTair is set to become an authorized service centre for the AW139. Initial training of UTair staff has started with plans for approximately 60 pilots and 40 technicians to be qualified to fly and maintain the AW139.
ST Aerospace finalises agreements on A330P2F conversion development programme
May 21, 2012
ST Aerospace released that further to an announcement in February 2012, it has signed agreements with Airbus, EADS and EADS EFW for a collaboration to launch the A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion programme. Under the agreements, ST Aerospace will subscribe to new shares in EADS EFW, representing 35% of the enlarged share capital of EADS EFW, for a total consideration of €110.5m (S$186.6m) comprising A330P2F engineering development work and cash injection. This will be funded internally by ST Aerospace. EADS will hold a 65% shareholding in EADS EFW. The agreements include a call option, which EADS has over ST Aerospace’s 35% shareholding in EADS EFW, during the engineering development phase of the A330P2F conversion programme. The right to exercise the call option will be triggered under certain conditions and at various purchase considerations. The call option will automatically lapse when the A330P2F work is successfully delivered to EADS EFW.
ST Aerospace will be the programme and technical lead during the A330P2F development phase. EADS EFW will drive sales and marketing activities, and lead the industrialisation phase. Entry-into-service of the first A330P2F is scheduled for 2016. The conversions will be undertaken in accordance with an agreed allotment schedule, mainly at EADS EFW’s facility in Dresden, Germany, with the remainder at a dedicated facility of ST Aerospace. EADS EFW will also serve as ST Aerospace’s European maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre, which fills the gap in ST Aerospace’s global airframe MRO footprint.
Silver Airways adds two more SAAB 340Bplus aircraft
May 21, 2012
Silver Airways accepted delivery of two more Saab 340Bplus aircraft, bringing the carrier fleet’s total Saabs to six. The Fort Lauderdale-based airline expects to integrate a total of 12 Saab 340Bplus aircraft into its fleet by September 2012. Silver Airways received United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to operate the Saab 340Bplus aircraft type in March 2012. The two newest Saabs to enter the Silver Airways fleet are expected to begin operating scheduled passenger service on June 1, 2012.
Avioserv to support phased retirement of Southwest Airlines’ 737 Classic fleet
May 21, 2012
Avioserv San Diego and ITS Infinity Trading have been selected by Southwest Airlines to support the phased retirement of their 737 Classic Fleet. Avioserv & ITS to market and manage all excess inventories as the sole consignment partners for decommissioned engines and aircraft.
Pratt & Whitney Canada signs 5-year service agreement with Pacific Royale Airways
May 21, 2012
Pratt & Whitney Canada SEA (P&WC SEA), located in Singapore, has signed a five-year Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) agreement with Pacific Royale Airways, a Jakarta, Indonesia-based airline. Pacific Royale Airways has recently begun operations with a 10-aircraft fleet. The PW127B engines which power half of its fleet, five Fokker 50 (High Performance) aircraft, will be covered under the MRO agreement with P&WC SEA. The new airline will serve the Indonesian market where air travel among the nation’s islands is in demand.
P&WC begins compressor demo for next generation regional turboprop engine
May 21, 2012
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has begun testing of the compressor for the next generation regional turboprop engine, a key step in the company’s technology demonstrator program. The high-efficiency compressor is a core element of the new engine and the test hardware has already run to the full range of aerodynamic design points. Key engine characteristics such as component efficiency and pressure ratio will be validated by the demonstration program, bringing the best technology forward. P&WC’s new offering will be a fully integrated propulsion system including engine, nacelle, propellers and engine systems, bringing the most advanced systems integration technologies to this product.
