The evolution of winglet technology traces farther back than many may think—back more than a century, when the English engineer, Frederick Lanchester, patented wing end plates in 1897 and Scottish-born engineer William Somerville attached end plates to the top wing of his biplane 13 years later. In recent decades, incited by soaring fuel prices in…

Thanks to the combination of an increased demand for new passenger aircraft and the global explosion of online shopping; passenger-to-freighter conversions are bringing new life to aging airframes. What does English inventor Michael Aldrich have to do with the rapid growth of passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions? Well, probably a lot more than you think. Aldrich invented…

This image shows the catastrophic failure of the acoustic screen wrapped around the P1/T1 probes on a Lear 60. Quiet Technology Aerospace (QTA) has developed an STC to address aircraft whose inlet cowls suffer from in-service corrosion. The company modifies these inlet cowls by replacing the inner barrel with a single-piece, carbon graphite barrel with…

The current global MRO market is around $79 billion, with the Middle East MRO market expected to account for about 8% of that, according to Jonathan Berger, Managing Director of Alton Aviation Consultancy, a New York-based aviation advisory firm. And while the global market is expected to grow at about 4% per year, the Middle…

Aviation Maintenance takes a look at some of the changes helicopter manufacturers are making to improve the ongoing maintenance of their aircraft in the field. Not to overstate the obvious, but helicopters are extremely complex flying machines. And being such, they require a lot of maintenance. Helicopters have a large number of moving parts, designed…

Commercial Pure MRO (puremro) is primed for growth but faces more than the usual challenges. Scale, flexibility, technology, and global reach will be important in this ever-more-competitive arena. And, besides the tight labor market, players will experience a magnified OEM effect, as Airbus and Boeing make a more concerted effort to capture after-sale revenues. The…

How they’re different. How they’re the same. And how they can save owners, operators and MROs money at maintenance time. Ever since Charles Taylor started turning a wrench on the Wright Flyer, aviation has been an industry built on rules and regulations. The problem is, way too many of the “Regs” are written by administrators…

What advantages exist for a maintenance-training center closely associated with an OEM? A newly established academy next door to Textron Aviation is set to provide an answer. Textron Inc.’s full-on entry into the aviation-training field begat a unique center for maintenance instruction accredited by OEMs. Unique because the center’s location in Wichita, Kan., allows it…

Who? MTU Maintenance is a division of MTU Aero Engines. We are the world’s largest independent provider of engine services and a trusted OEM network partner. In short, we are engine experts. What? Maintenance, repair and overhaul. And so much more. We make it our business to minimize costs and maximize engine value across the…

BEDEK – THE FULL SERVICE PROVIDER Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) is a world leader in the delivery of state-of-the-art ground, air, sea, space, and cyber technologies and systems for both the defence and commercial markets. BEDEK Aviation Group, one of IAI’s six business groups, provides the full spectrum of aircraft services, all under one roof. This includes…