| • | FL Technics Training Starts Ab Initio Mechanic Program |
| • | Delta Air Lines Donates Jet to Purdue |
| • | Air Service Vamdrup Joins TBM Service Center Network |
| • | Lufthansa Technik Offering Airbus A350 Tech Support |
| • | New Technique Could Detect Acoustically Invisible Cracks |
Also Noted...
Duncan Aviation has released an update to its popular Field Guide “How to Extend the Life of an Aircraft Interior: A DOM’s Guide to Phased Interior Maintenance.” According to Nate Darlington, a completions sales rep, the guide is designed to assist operators with planning and budgeting for aircraft interior maintenance. “The objective is to aid operators with the upkeep of their aircraft interior functionality and aesthetic appearance,” he said. The ebook, which discusses the concept of phasing interior repairs with regularly scheduled maintenance events, includes a cost comparison chart and a sample maintenance plan.
Aircelle (Safran) has opened a new facility for its Aircelle Europe Services business at Pont-Audemer in the Normandy region of France, doubling the operation’s capacity to perform maintenance, repair and overhaul on jet engine nacelle hardware. The 48,400-sq-ft structure adjacent to Aircelle Europe Services’ existing 32,300-sq-ft facility, provides additional area for the specialized jigs, tooling and other material. The MRO works on the nacelles and thrust reversers of approximately 20 different business jets and regional airliners.
The FAA proposes to supersede AD 2013-22-19, which applies to all Gulfstream GVs and GV-SPs. It requires determining if fuel boost pumps with a certain part number are installed, replacing them and revising the airplane maintenance program to include revised instructions for continued airworthiness. The FAA has now determined the AD must be revised to include new service information to require revising the airplane maintenance program to include a fuel-leak check of the fuel boost pumps using the new service information. The proposed AD is to prevent fuel leakage in combination with a capacitor clearance issue, which could result in an uncontrolled fire in the wheel well.
The FAA proposes to supersede AD 2012-14-06, which applies to certain Rolls-Royce 250-C20, - C20B, and -C20R/2 turboshaft engines. The current AD requires a one-time visual inspection and fluorescent-penetrant inspection on certain third- and fourth-stage turbine wheels for cracks in the turbine blades. Since the FAA issued AD 2012-14-06, it has determined that the one-time inspection required by AD 2012-14-06 should be changed to repetitive inspections and add an inspection after any engine hot start. The proposed AD would prevent failure of third- and fourth-stage turbine wheel blades, which could cause engine failure.
Vector Aerospace has signed a five-year agreement to conduct maintenance, repair and overhaul on the AS350 and UH-1H helicopters in operation with California’s Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “Signing this contract highlights Vector’s ability to provide tip-to-tail MRO support for AS350 fleets,” said Chris McDowell, vice president for sales and marketing at Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services – North America. With extensive qualifications and experience on Arriel 1 and 2 engines, AS350 components and UH-1H aircraft, we are looking forward to supporting the MRO requirements of Orange County over the next five years.”
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Lithuania’s FL Technics Training is instituting an ab initio program designed to bring new personnel into the aviation field. When it begins in January, the program will provide comprehensive aircraft maintenance training in accordance with EASA requirements. Kestutis Volungevicius, head of FL Technics Training, said, “Due to historical circumstances, aviation hasn’t been the most popular profession in the majority of Eastern and Central European countries over the past two decades, with youth preferring management, economics, business and other related studies. As a result, today, local aviation industries feel the lack of not only qualified personnel, but also those who will replace the current generation of aircraft engineers, mechanics, NDT-specialists and so on. For that reason we have developed a technical training program specially for aviation enthusiasts from around the world.” The 36-month training program will cover all the basic courses required to qualify as an aircraft mechanic. Graduates of the program, conducted at FL Technics Training’s study centers in Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuania, will have an opportunity to join FL Technics and work at one of the company’s aircraft maintenance centers in Lithuania, as well as throughout its line maintenance network across Europe, the CIS and Asia-Pacific.
Delta Air Lines Donates Jet to Purdue
Purdue University’s Department of Aviation Technology will receive a commercial regional jet, donated by Delta Air Lines, to be used for on-the-ground research and teaching at the Purdue University Airport. “Students in the department's Professional Flight program will be able to use the former Delta aircraft as an advanced systems learning laboratory,” said John Mott, director of the Advanced Aviation Analytics Institute for Research (A3IR-CORE). Mott said that Delta is a key supporter of A3IR-CORE, one of two university-level research centers in the department. “Our aeronautical engineering technology students will gain knowledge in FAA maintenance practices for transport aircraft, and our aviation management students will benefit from coordinating operations involving the aircraft and from participating in ground-handling research projects,” Mott said. The 50-seat CRJ-100ER has two General Electric CF34 turbofans. The donated jet will allow teaching and research related to advanced industry maintenance procedures and ground-handling procedures, such as passenger customer service, aircraft boarding and deboarding, baggage handling, towing and taxiing.
Air Service Vamdrup Joins TBM Service Center Network
Denmark’s Air Service Vamdrup (ASV) has become the latest member of the TBM Customer Support Network as an approved TBM Service Center. ASV is an EASA Part 145-certified operation based at Kolding Vamdrup Airport in southern Denmark, and it recently opened a second facility at Eggenmoen Airport in Norway. With these resources, ASV can serve TBM operators from northern Europe to Russia. “Air Service Vamdrup becomes an important element of our network, serving customers in a region where we expect strong market development for the TBM very fast turboprop aircraft family, especially its newest member, the TBM 900,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher-Socata’s airplane business unit. Air Service Vamdrup offers regular maintenance, major inspections, piston engine overhauls, diesel engine conversions, avionics installations and structural modifications, among other services. The company has approximately 30 employees.
Lufthansa Technik Offering Airbus A350 Tech Support
Lufthansa Technik is set to offer maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the new Airbus A350. The aircraft received EASA certification on
September 30. The spectrum of services covers the entire life cycle of the A350 and includes production inspections, material supply, maintenance and maintenance management as well as engineering services, entry-into-service support and LRU and engine maintenance. A particular focus of services for the A350 is aircraft IT management, since the aircraft and its maintenance systems are much more cross-linked than those of previous aircraft generations. “Lufthansa Technik is already excellently prepared to maintain the A350, its carbon fiber structures and state-of-the-art engines and systems,” said Wolfgang Weynell, vice president for corporate sales and marketing. “Our customers also benefit from the operational experience we have gathered in recent years maintaining the A380, which is quite similar to the technological demands of an A350. The required performance of engineering and maintenance services are already standard practice at Lufthansa Technik and will be available to A350 operators from the first day of commercial operation. The infrastructure needed to maintain the A350 is already in place, and all of our preparations are on schedule.”
New Technique Could Detect Acoustically Invisible Cracks
The next generation of aircraft could be thinner and lighter thanks to the development of a nonlinear acoustic imaging technique that can detect damage previously invisible to acoustic imaging systems. According to Dr. Jack Potter, research assistant in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Bristol’s Ultrasonics and Non-destructive Testing research group, it has long been understood that acoustic nonlinearity is sensitive to many physical properties including material microstructure and mechanical damage. “Imaging acoustic nonlinearity not only provides sensitivity to smaller defects than is currently possible, but may have the potential to detect damage before macroscopic material changes occur,” he said. “This would enable intervention before cracks have even begun to form as well as predicting the remaining life of an engineering structure. Crucially, the technique has been achieved using standard inspection equipment, which will allow for the rapid implementation of the technique in numerous applications.” Currently engineers are able to produce images of the interior of components using ultrasound but can detect only large problems such as cracks. “It’s like being able to detect only broken bones in a medical environment,” he said.
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