MRO 2008 Show News Briefing - April 7, 2008 - (Page 5)

United Services Tools for More Precise Rotation and Reduced Fuel Burn United Airlines (via its United Services affiliate) is installing sophisticated tooling allowing for more precise alignment and roundness of rotating parts to help reduce fuel burn while at the same time reducing wear—and hence reduce offwing time, says engineering MD Larry Slate. The goal, Slate says, is “to ensure that the engine is built as straight as possible and also Larry Slate. that the engine is as concentric as possible, so there is less rub out and the engine will operate more efficiently.” “Once we have the tooling in place, we will use it for any engine that goes through that engine build line,” he says. “It will provide improvement to our customers as well as to United.” Another United strategy, Slate told Show News, is to work closely with flight operations people to determine why some aircraft consume more fuel than others of the same type and equipment. “There is a significant scatter in the data,” he says. “There is also significant difference between airplanes that we view as identical within our fleet.” “What we need to focus on is finding the key things,” he says, to improve maintenance practices without increasing airplane down time. “We don’t want to do a whole of lot of extra maintenance work and find that we have no measurable difference.” (Booth 303). Fokker Services for A318 Completions… Fokker Services is completing its first Airbus A318 at the company’s Woensdrecht facility in the Netherlands. The green aircraft, destined for an undisclosed operator in the Middle East, is scheduled to be finished by mid-2008. Previously, Fokker Services outfitted an Airbus ACJ for the Austrian company Stumpf AG. Fokker is at Booth 1303. …and Aerotron for Cathay Components Stork subsidiary Fokker Aerotron is to provide component support to Cathay Pacific under a long-term cost-per-flight-hour agreement. The Fokker unit will be responsible for repair services and inventory support of the Chapter 21 system components on Cathay’s Boeing 747 Classic and 747-400 fleet, building on Aerotron’s in-house capabilities while taking advantage of Fokker Services’ ABACUS component availability program. Some 200 aircraft with various airlines are using ABACUS. KLM Develops ‘Greener’ Paint Four aircraft have been painted via a new system by KLM Engineering the firm says brings “green” benefits through saving weight: the aircraft consumes less fuel and thus produces fewer CO2 emissions. The paint, developed with German supplier Mankiewicz, allows the application of thinner paint layers and reduces coating weight by a full 15%. The new paint also requires less drying time and reduces labor. The new system has already been used on a 747 freighter and three 737s, and four more will follow in the next few weeks. Booth 821. Standard Aero Relaunches Standard Aero has completed the integration of the Landmark Aviation maintenance facilities and launched a new corporate identity— Standard Aero—with more than 4,000 employees worldwide and $1.4 billion a year in sales. The new Standard Aero—the five legacy Landmark Aviation maintenance facilities and the seven legacy Standard Aero facilities combined—was created when Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) purchased Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation from the Carlyle Group in July 2007. The group has five broad markets: business aviation, airlines, helicopters and energy, military, and VIP transport interior completion. Embraer Steps Up Aircraft Maintenance The latest step in Embraer’s two-year plan to invest $100 million in MRO facilities worldwide is the opening of an Executive Jets Center at Le Bourget, outside Paris, with EASA Part 145 approval. Dedicated exclusively to the Embraer executive jet fleet, it joins the existing service center network that includes OGMA, in Portugal, and four other Embraer authorized service centers in the region. Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services is at Booth 627. United’s participation here includes presentations by svp William Norman on “Mutually Beneficial MRO and Airline Relationships—Defining the Recipe for Success,” at 10.45 a.m. on Wednesday, and by Larry Slate, MD of engineering for United Airlines, on “Improving Fuel Efficiency and the Role of the MRO,” at 10.45 a.m. on Thursday. www.aviationweek.com/shownews 3M Beefs Up Tool Line Multifaceted 3M is promoting a new line of tools and abrasives, including clean sanding disks for composites, as well as double-coated flame-retardant carpet tape, all at Booth 1615. April 2008 5 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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