MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008 - (Page 11)

MRO Boeing IDS Steps Outside the Boeing Box A welcome trend at Boeing IDS is upfit work on aircraft Boeing didn’t build. Standout examples are glass cockpits for Lockheedbuilt C-130 Hercules turboprops, and, behind a more recent contract win, new wings for the A-10 Thunderbolt, the aircraft known affectionately as the Warthog—or tank-killer. In mid-2007 Boeing disclosed a U.S. Air Force contract worth as much as $2 billion through 2018 for engineering services and manufacturing of 242 wing sets for A-10s. “The Air Force has recognized that Boeing has the skilled expertise, engineering know-how and the affordable solution,” said Maintenance, Modifications and Upgrades division vp Tony Robertson. The first production A-10A was delivered to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson in October 1975. The aircraft was built by Boeing IDS Support Systems Fast Facts Boeing IDS is installing glass cockpits with HUDs in hundreds of Lockheed-built C-130s. Boeing signed a $258.5 million performance-based logistics contract, for an initial five years, to support AV-8B Harrier jets operated by the U.S. Marine Corps, Italy, and Spain. Lean–The Corpus Christi Army Deport Maintenance Management Team in Texas has achieved an 81% reduction in critical parts shortages for CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters, boosting customer satisfaction by 74%. Boeing’s F/A-18 Integrated Readiness Support Teaming (FIRST) program received a Pentagon award for performance-based logistics excellence. Boeing delivered a refurbished E-4B National Operations Center Aircraft, which is based on the 747-200, ahead of schedule to the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command. Boeing signed its first performance-based logistics contract with the U.S. Army, a $173 million agreement for the support of AH-64 Apache helicopters. Lean–The Japan Integrated Logistics Support Program Team implemented an Enhanced Support Program for AH-64 Apaches, shrinking logistics footprints and reducing costs. The Team also executed the first Apache buy-back of customer-owned spares, eliminating excess inventory and enabling Boeing to fill aircraft parts demand. The auditor for the Japan Ministry of Defense wants to apply the initiative to other programs. Boeing and Korean Air’s aerospace division signed a long-term MoU for F-15K fighter support. Lean–KC-10 Extender Support teams in Long Beach, Calif. convinced the U.S. Air Force to allow layers of paint to be stripped from the cargo-tanker aircraft, resulting in more efficient operations. Boeing established Boeing International Support Systems-Saudi Arabia Limited as a new subsidiary for AWACS and F-15S Eagle fighters in the Kingdom. President Bush personally saluted nearly 1,500 Boeing employees, family members and guests in Wichita at an event for the VC-25 support team. The President himself is an important customer, as the VC-25, based on a 747-200B and extensively modified by Boeing IDS Support Services in 2006, is known, when he is aboard, as Air Force One. A KC-135 about to fuel an A-10 over Afghanistan. Boeing maintains the tankers and has a contract for new wings for the A-10 ‘tank-killers.’ Fairchild. New wing sets are to be delivered in parts and kits for easy installation. C-130 AMP (Avionics Modernization Program), which dates from 2001, will bring more than 300 Hercules transports into compliance with civilian air traffic control regimes, applying an open-system avionics architecture “which integrates highly reliable off-theshelf digital avionics from the Boeing 737 Next Generation commercial airliner and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. “This architecture facilitates the integration of future upgrades and minimizes the impact of obsolescence,” Boeing says. Major C-130 AMP components include a Smiths Aerospace flight management system, six Rockwell Collins multifunction display screens, two Flight Dynamics (now owned by Rockwell Collins) head-up displays, a Northrop Grumman APN-241 radar, and a Honeywell autopilot. The first C-130 AMP aircraft flew on October 20. Why Boeing Bought Aviall ‘We had this idea four or five years ago we would sell people spare parts availability,” says Boeing Commercial Aviation Services vp and general manager Lou Mancini. “In other words, we said, ‘Don’t worry about transacting spare parts with us, why don’t we make an agreement to keep your bins full, let’s say 97% of the time? We will put somebody in your operation. We will do the spare part requirement planning. We will do all the order processing. We will collect all that demand, work with our supply chain, and give you a better proposal.’ “We did that,” Mancini says, “and we did it so successfully that our customers asked us if we can do other people’s parts. That is what, of course, gave us the idea of buying Aviall, to get a bigger basket of spare parts. So, we have transformed ourselves from not only selling transactions, but selling solutions. “Of course, this is the same thing the engine companies did, and the ultimate solution is to take care of the whole airplane.” In another sign of the times, Aviall will open an office in India in the second half of 2008. Aviall India will be located near New Delhi in the Noida Special Economic Zone. www.aviationweek.com/shownews Sponsored by The Boeing Company. April 2008 11 http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008 Contents PBL and Partnerships Delta-Chromalloy PMA Reverse Engineering? Straighter, Rounder Regionals Buck the Trend Composites Loom Large Freighters and Cargo

MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008

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