Daily2018-02-20

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

LATEST NEWS

Rolls-Royce Engineers Successfully Test Key Component of UltraFan Engine Design

Engineers at Rolls-Royce in Derby, UK, have successfully tested a key component of the UltraFan engine design. UltraFan will redefine the world of jet engines, delivering significant weight, noise and fuel burn reductions, and will be 25% more efficient than a first-generation Trent engine.

For the first time, all composite elements of the Advanced Low Pressure system (ALPS), including fan blades, a fan case and annulus fillers, were tested together on a donor engine.

The engine parts are manufactured using state-of-the-art, fully automated construction methods at Rolls-Royce’s Composites Technology Facility, a Composites Centre of Excellence.

Each fan blade is made robotically, building up around 500 layers of carbon fibre materials. Heat and pressure are then applied, and each blade is finished with a leading titanium edge, which offers extreme protection against foreign objects and bird strikes. When laid out, the layers of composite material that make up the fan blades and the fan case on this engine would stretch from London to Leeds.

The Advanced Low Pressure System demonstrates Rolls-Royce’s IntelligentEngine vision. Each blade has a digital twin – an identical virtual copy. During testing, vast amounts of data will be collected
that will be fed into the digital twins, and allow engineers to predict how each blade will perform in service.

MTU

Germania subsidiary Germania Flug now 100% Swiss owned

Germania Flug, the Zurich, Switzerland-based subsidiary of the now defunct Germania airline, is now fully operational under all-Swiss ownership. While details of the transaction are yet to be disclosed, principally because the carrier’s operational aspects have yet to be fully resolved. Various procedures are currently in progress and services which until now have been provided from Berlin will be integrated into the Swiss company’s own structures, or outsourced to selected providers, at some point in the future.

It is understood that all shares previously owned by Germania have been sold to Albex Aviation, owner of the virtual airline Air Prishtina.

Germania Flug has been swift to point out that it remains on course for its current winter flight program and 2019 summer schedule. The airline will also be expanding its charter operations by taking over Air Prishtina flights from Basel to Pristina on a full charter basis.

Germania Flug CEO, Tobias Somandin said: “We have taken an important step. And we have kept our promise to ensure that our flight operations will continue as planned. We remain on course and are delighted with the confidence and trust our airline continues to enjoy among Swiss tour operators, travel agents and passengers.”

Germania Flug was formed in August 2014 as a joint venture between Germania and Hotelplan, a Swiss leisure company with the intention of operating under the brand name HolidayJet and serving 17 leisure destinations in Europe and North Africa. In November 2015 the collaboration with Hotelplan ceased and Germania Flug operated thereafter under its own brand name.

Note that Pristina is the European name for Prishtina, Air Prishtinais the Albanian name for the airline, so that is why they are spelled differently.

ePlane

Aviation Capital Group Arranges Financing of One B747-8F Aircraft for AirBridgeCargo

Aircraft operating lessor Aviation Capital Group, has structured, arranged, and provided a guarantee of a loan by MUFG Bank (MUFG) to finance a portion of the purchase price of one Boeing 747-8F aircraft delivered to AirBridgeCargo (ABC) Airlines.

The ABC financing utilized ACG’s Aircraft Financing Solutions (AFS) program. The AFS program complements ACG’s operating lease business by providing customers with cost effective aircraft financing solutions. Among operating lessors, ACG believes that it has created a unique aircraft financing program.

Bruno Vazzoler Appointed EVP, Avionics Division of Safran Electronics & Defense

Effective February 1st, 2019, Bruno Vazzoler is appointed as Executive Vice President, Avionics Division and member of the Executive Committee of Safran Electronics & Defense

Bruno Vazzoler started his career within the Thales Group where he was, in particular, Director of the « Ground Surveillance Radars » business line, Director of the Cockpit activities at Thales Avionics and then Managing Director of Thales Integrated Communication and Supervision Systems for Railways. In 2010, he joined the engineering group Segula Technologies as President of the subsidiary Simra.

Then, in 2014, he joined the Zodiac Aerospace group to head the Electrical Systems and Cockpit Solutions division of Zodiac Aerosystems branch, which has since become Safran Aerosystems.

Werner Aero

Southwest Airlines' Flight Simulator Technicians Ratify New Agreement

The Southwest Airlines' Flight Simulator Technicians, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), have voted to ratify a new five-year contract.

Southwest's 50 Flight Simulator Technicians provide maintenance and engineering support for the equipment at the Company's Flight Training Center, where all of Southwest's Pilots receive training. This agreement was reached prior to the current contract's amendable date and is the third ratified agreement that Southwest Airlines has reached with the IBT for its Flight Simulator Technicians since 2014.

ST Engineering's Aerospace Sector Secures 10-year Airframe MRO Contract

Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) has released that its Aerospace sector has signed an agreement with a contract value of about US$600 million (approximately S$813 million) to provide aircraft heavy maintenance services to a major North American operator. ST Engineering will support the operator, an existing customer, on a fleet of over 160 widebody and narrowbody aircraft starting in 2020 for a period of 10 years.

Under the long-term strategic alliance, ST Engineering is able to offer a fleet reliability programme that monitors the health of each aircraft and recommend maintenance actions to address identified issues before they impact the airline's operational reliability. Continuous improvement initiatives over the duration of the programme will also help drive greater efficiency and shorter turnaround times during maintenance.

TrueAero

ATR Extends Type ‘A’ Maintenance Visit Intervals

Turboprop manufacturer ATR has received certification from EASA to extend the intervals between the Type A maintenance checks from 500 to 750 hours, for all of its aircraft series.

This 50% increase in intervals will allow ATR customers a significant reduction in aircraft maintenance costs and an increased aircraft availability of one additional day every 1,500 flight hours, generating additional revenue opportunities.

ATR’s global fleet represents over 1,200 aircraft. As part of its policy of placing the customer at the heart of its business, ATR is able to provide 24/7 support to its operators via its brand new Customer Care Center based in Blagnac.

OGMA to Modify Portuguese Air Force C-130 Aircraft

OGMA has been announced the prime Contractor in the Avionics Modification Program involving four Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) C-130 aircraft, which will consist of a nearly full replacement of the aircraft communication, navigation and flight control systems and instruments.

Such modification will upgrade POAF C-130 aircraft to the latest CNS/ATM requirements (communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management). This program will be developed over two years, with the first aircraft starting modification work in 2019.

OGMA will carry out the integration of all aircraft systems, manufacture the structural components and wire harnesses necessary for equipment installation, design the aircraft change and provide for project certification against the National Military Aviation Authority requirements and for project qualification according to POAF operational and logistic requirements.

OGMA will also be responsible for updating the aircraft operating and maintenance technical data, providing operational training to flight crews and maintenance training to PoAF technicians.

Royal Aero

ACTSI Eyes Subic as Business Aviation Hub

Aviation Concepts Technical Services Inc. (ACTSI) – a business aviation services provider based in the Philippines – has signed a lease agreement with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to transform the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA), a former United States Navy Base, into a hub for business aviation in the Asia Pacific region.

Under a 25-year partnership with the SBMA, ACTSI is committed to providing hangar parking, corporate jet Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) services and aircraft corrosion preventive solutions at SBIA, to ease the congested hangar parking and maintenance burdens in the region. Close to 18,000 m² ACTSI hangar facility is targeted to complete its premiere upgrade in the third quarter of 2019.

The newly refurbished MRO hangar facility is set to meet standards of aircraft Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and clients’ expectations. As the former US Navy base, SBIA allows
ACTSI’s large-sized aircraft users to enjoy the extensive runway length at 9,000 feet for easy take-offs and landings. The ACTSI Subic hangar facility has Part 145 approvals from Civil Aviation Authority of Cayman Islands and Bermuda, it is currently working towards expanding its capabilities to include an FAA
145 approval.

Amros Global
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