Category: Intel News

ALOFT AeroArchitects (formerly PATS Aircraft Systems) redelivered a 737-800 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ2) interior completion project. This is the sixteenth VVIP completion by ALOFT at its facility in Georgetown, Del.
ALOFT says it delivered the aircraft, on schedule, to His Majesty the Sultan of Johor of Malaysia. The project outfitted the new BBJ2 with an interior designed in a partnership between ALOFT and Edese Doret Industrial Designs of New York. The custom-designed interior incorporated cutting edge interior equipment and systems and exclusive finishing materials.
“Once again, our experienced team of VVIP interior experts have partnered with our customer to deliver on a beautiful vision. With each new project, we take on the challenge of artfully creating an aerial extension of our clients’ life on the ground,” John Martin, ALOFT’s president and CEO, remarked. “We are entrusted to ensure that the tone by which they live, work and relax is meticulously maintained during their valuable time in the air. We also drive to exceed the clients’ lofty expectations. Our customers’ trust and satisfaction is a byproduct of the skill and dedication of our entire team and the pride they take in delivering the highest quality product to each valued client. This is the perfect aircraft to be our first redelivery under our new moniker, ALOFT AeroArchitects.”
ALOFT says the interior weight and noise suppression both exceeded customer expectations. The project was certified by the ALOFT on-site Organizational Designation Authorization (ODA) who issued the FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and validated through the customer’s local airworthiness authority in Malaysia.

Glebar Company opened a new parts distribution facility in Dublin, Ireland, providing 24-hour turnaround for critical machine components for European customers.The facility is the company’s third rapid-response parts distribution outlet, in addition to its Tokyo, Japan location, which provides next-day delivery of critical components to its Asian customer base, and its headquarters facility in Ramsey, N.J. Glebar will be opening another distribution facility in Costa Rica to service its many medical customers in the region.
“Approximately 35 percent of our overall revenue, on average, is international,” said Adam Cook, CEO, Glebar. “We pride ourselves on being a global service leader, and this necessitates being able to provide essential parts on a 24-hour turnaround basis. We sell solutions at Glebar…and service and the availability of next-day parts is one of those critical solutions.”

Pratt & Whitney opened its first manufacturing facility in Singapore, through its subsidiary P&W NGPF Manufacturing Company Singapore Pte Ltd, during the Singapore Air Show in February. The 180,000 square foot facility, located at Seletar Aerospace Park, will produce fan blades and other key components for Pratt & Whitney’s new PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine family.
“Pratt & Whitney is proud of our presence in Singapore and our more than 30 years of engine overhaul and maintenance services on the island,” said Danny Di Perna, senior vice president, Operations. “With the opening of this brand new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to produce our innovative hybrid metallic fan blades and critical turbine rotating components, we are creating much needed manufacturing capacity and capability for our PurePower engine family. Over the past few years, we have invested more than $1 billion globally to create and modernize our manufacturing infrastructure.”
The company says it has about 7,000 orders/commitments, including options, from 70 customers in 30 countries, and that the facility will prove vital in supporting the GTF engine components to customers n the Asia-pacific region. It is the second Pratt & Whitney production facility in existence to manufacture hybrid metallic blades, which are made with extremely lightweight materials.
The manufacturing facility borders the Pratt & Whitney Component Solutions (PWCS) facility, which opened in 2014 and is equipped with state-of-the-art repair capabilities. PWCS has increased its production while maintaining focus on quality and productivity. PWCS performs a comprehensive variety of engine component repairs.
Both facilities meet LEED Gold standards and Singapore’s Green Mark building scheme.
“Pratt & Whitney’s manufacturing investment in Singapore is a testament to our strengths in complex aerospace manufacturing,” said Mr. Tan Kong Hwee, director for Transport Engineering, Singapore Economic Development Board.

ARC Avionics Corporation (ARC) announced completion and delivery of a B737-400C as avionics-compliant for EASA-SESAR operations. ARC, as Universal Avionics integrator, has installed STC – ST03662AT for dual UNS-1Fw FMS and future UL-801 DataLink capability. Commercial Jet (KMIA) has installed an 11-pallet AEI cargo door and floor conversion as new NextGen DHL freighter conversion delivered to CarGOAir of Sofia, Bulgaria.
In accordance with NextGen and SESAR mandates, SN 24773 is the seventh B737 aircraft upgraded in a fleet of cargo freighters delivered to Bulgarian-based CarGOAir. Meanwhile, ARC has installed more Universal FMS in Boeing aircraft than any other EASA or FAA Engineering Repair Station. ARC’s SN 24773 upgrades include new Universal Dual; full LPV approach-coupled autopilot capability, panel annunciation and EFIS symbology; TrueNorth Avionics; dual Enhanced Mode S transponders, upgradeable for 2020 planning to ADS-B; 18 to 31 parameter Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) upgrade; Digital Cockpit Voice Recorder (DCVR) and Fixed 406 Mhz ELT upgrades.
CarGOAir’s NextGen and SESAR compliant freighter is ARC’s 29th Universal Avionics upgrade on Boeing 737s completed at locations in Florida and Canada with many customized for European and VIP global operators.
ARC Avionics is an EASA/FAA 145 Engineering Repair Station with PMA kit building capabilities to support 12 STCs for Boeing airliners with NextGen and SESAR compliance toward future mandates.

The Boeing Co. has been awarded a $25,776,011 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization Program Phase 1 Pre-Milestone B activities. They will conduct activities aimed at improving affordability and reducing program execution risk. These activities will include the definition of detailed requirements and design trade-offs required to support informed decisions, leading to a lower-risk engineering and manufacturing development program and lower life-cycle costs.
Work will be performed at Seattle, Wash. and Everett, Wash., and is expected to be complete by April 21, 2017. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2015 research and development funds in the amount of $7,435,326 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

MTU Aero Engines in Munich has completed the first development turbine center frame (TCF) to go into the GE9X engine. The company celebrated with a “Last Bolt Ceremony.
“In this engine program, we are not only responsible for the manufacture of the TCF, but also assumed responsibility for its development right from the outset,” explained Dr. Jörg Henne, SVP Engineering and Technology, at the last bolt ceremony held in Munich in late January. “To make the deadline, we have completed the first GE9X TCF within record time,” according to Theodor Pregler, SVP Commercial Programs at MTU in Munich.
The new GE engine has been selected to be the propulsion system for the Boeing 777X. Delivering more than 100,000 pounds of thrust, the GE9X will be the most fuel-efficient engine ever produced by GE Aviation on a per-pounds-of-thrust basis. MTU says the schedule is as follows: The first run of the engine is slated for this spring, and entry into service is expected for 2020. To date, there are firm orders for more than 300 of the aircraft.
Said Pregler: “We have a stake of four percent in the GE9X program. This secures MTU a significant market share in one of the most important next-generation engines in the upper thrust category.” Long-haul commercial transports are considered a rapidly growing segment of the airliner market that is only moderately exposed to economic fluctuations. Taken over the entire life of the GE9X, MTU expects the program to generate revenues in the amount of some four billion euros. The TCF for the GE9X is the most highly sophisticated turbine center frame in MTU’s portfolio from a technology point of view. “Starting from the basic architecture of the TCF for the GEnx, we’ve made some comprehensive optimizations,” reported Henne. These improvements include enhanced constructions and a new suspension concept for the first LPT vane.”

Pentastar Aviation has been issued FAA STC ST04055CH for certification of compatibility of wireless data technologies on Hawker 800XP and 850XP series aircraft. This STC allows operators to approve the use of portable electronic devices onboard aircraft with wireless networks or Wi-Fi hot spots for their passengers.
The FAA certification of these two aircraft by Pentastar’s avionics team, allows the use of transmitting portable devices for activities such as email, talk, text and video conferencing without interfering with flight-critical aircraft systems. It also compliments previous Pentastar STC’s issued for Wi-Fi Compatibility on Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV and GV series aircraft.
“We continuously look for ways to ensure our customers’ aircraft is updated with the most innovative technology available in the industry,” said Greg Schmidt, Pentastar president and CEO. “For decades, we have contributed our technical expertise to the development of STC’s. Our vast experience with aircraft avionics enables us to develop and obtain these STCs, which provide us the flexibility to install cabin connectivity systems from any manufacturer.”

Gulfstream recently completed its 5,000th airborne support flight, 13 years after Gulfstream launched business aviation’s first airborne maintenance and support service in May 2002.
The Gulfstream Field and Airborne Support Teams, known as FAST, use two dedicated aircraft to deliver flight-essential parts and technicians to operators in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The service, which has accumulated more than 16,600 flight hours and eight million nautical miles since its inception, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In the case of airborne mission No. 5,000, FAST pilots Ty Ung and Shanon Baker departed Savannah to deliver a section of an engine bleed air duct to a G450 at its home base at Illinois’ Waukegan National Airport, which is approximately 45 miles north of Chicago. The G450 made its scheduled flight the next morning.
“Returning an aircraft to service with minimal downtime is what FAST is all about,” said Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “It takes a tremendous effort to pull off a swift, well-coordinated response to operators whose aircraft are unexpectedly grounded as a result of needed parts or technical assistance. FAST members have consistently met the challenge and continue to find ways to improve on what they do.”

Zenith Aviation has been appointed a fully authorized distributor for Hutchinson Aerospace and Barry Controls Aerospace. The agreement allows Zenith to represent Hutchinson’s full line of vibration isolators, engine mount systems, APU mounting systems, electrical harnesses, and other engine components for the full line of commercial, regional, and general aviation aircraft.
Zenith and Hutchinson can now offer customers new, exchange, overhauled and repaired parts to meet all customer requirements the two companies say. PMA mounting parts are also available for non-Hutchinson OEM mounts.

All Metal MS delivered a customized line of Fall Protection Platforms to Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Helicopters. All Metal developed the concept of designing an adjustable Fall Protection Platform, for both the BV107/CH-46 and BV234/CH-47, which supports the aircraft with a platform crafted for specific functionality of fall protection. The mechanics and crews utilizing the platforms have touted the adjustability of the platforms to fit any configuration/ angle of the aircraft is its most job friendly feature. The platforms were designed for use when performing both routine maintenance and complete overhauls.
In March, All Metal began working alongside Columbia Helicopter’s team to design a Fall Protection Platform that was cost effective and more functional than other industry fall protection devices. Fall Protection Platforms differ from maintenance stands because they act more like a safety net when a mechanic is required to physically work on the aircraft, says All Metal.
“I continuously get thanked by our technicians, which is rare,” says Oscar Acevedo, Hangar Operations manager, Columbia Helicopters. “With these new platforms the mechanics and leads are actually trying to justify why they need the platforms more on their project/aircraft.”
Johnny Buscema, All Metal president and CEO, adds: “Designing platforms that are easily mobile, provide versatility for various aircraft, and can contour around aircraft accessories while overcoming the obstacles of hangar space, was a goal we are quite proud to have accomplished. We here at All Metal take pride in assuring that our Fall Protection Platforms provide the highest level of safety, efficiency, quality, and functionality for our clients.”