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FOCUS ON MRO - March 9, 2016
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Heavy Wind, Rain Wreaks Havoc at Abu Dhabi Bizav Expo

Heavy rains and windshear created havoc Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Air Expo, damaging at least one static display aircraft and multiple outdoor exhibits. “It was a very bad day for us and the whole of the UAE,” said Didier Mary of show organizer 4MEvents. “Luckily no one was injured. That was the most important thing.” This weather is not typical for this time of this year, he said.

As the weather worsened Wednesday morning, nervous officials started ordering visitors to leave the main exhibitor marquee, fearing it would collapse in the high winds. Outside stand furniture was reduced to splinters in some cases, and a number of small aircraft rocked against moorings. A short video obtained by AIN showed a crumpled light piston airplane resting on its side against the fuselage of a static display BBJ. Event participants feared for their safety and ran from chalets in the rainstorm as the exceptional severe weather damaged facilities.

Wednesday’s squall led to even worse conditions than the heavy rains experienced Tuesday, effectively halting the business aviation event at 11:30 a.m. On Tuesday,the show closed early, at 1:30 p.m. due to flooding. Organizers said the third day—Thursday—would go ahead as planned.

Officials from both Boeing Business Jets and Gulfstream expressed support for the event, saying its intimacy make it a great venue to meet important Abu Dhabi clients.

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FAA Releases Long-Awaited Part 23 Proposal

The FAA today released the long-awaited proposed rewrite of Part 23, governing certification of small aircraft. To be published in the March 14 Federal Register, the proposal is based on recommendations of a multi-national industry/government rulemaking committee that established a goal of doubling safety while cutting the costs of certification in half.

The proposal is designed to reduce the time it takes to bring new safety technologies to market by taking a more performance-based approach to Part 23 certification, rather than prescriptive approach. It also enables standards for new technologies that are established by an international standards committee.

As written, the proposal would replace current weight- and propulsion-derived divisions in Part 23 with performance- and risk-based divisions for airplanes that seat up to 19 passengers and have a maximum takeoff weight of 19,000 pounds or less. The FAA, noting that the rewrite is one of the largest in the agency’s history, released a video of the highlights of the proposal.

GAMA, which has long pushed for the the proposal, praised its issuance. The FAA is providing 60 days for comment from the date of publication.

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TechnicAir Adds King Air 350 Fusion Cockpit Upgrade

BBA Aviation’s Signature TechnicAir is now offering to upgrade Beechcraft King Air 350s equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line II avionics to the new Pro Line Fusion touchscreen flight deck. The TechnicAir facility in Winston-Salem, N.C., worked with Rockwell Collins to obtain the FAA supplemental type certificate for the upgrade.

The Pro Line Fusion package is basically the same as the avionics suite on new Fusion-equipped King Air 350s and includes three 14.1-inch displays with configurable windows and touchscreen control. Also included are NextGen features such as ADS-B OUT, SBAS-capable global navigation satellite system, LPV approach capability, radius-to-fix legs and more. 

Synthetic vision is standard and includes the Rockwell Collins airport dome and extended runway centerlines with mile markers. The system also offers touch-interactive maps, high-resolution topography, real-time onboard weather overlays, obstacles, special-use airspace, geo-referenced charts and search patterns.

Signature TechnicAir is co-located with Signature Flight Support FBOs at 18 U.S. airports, including bases recently added from the Landmark Aviation acquisition. TechnicAir also operates as CSE Citation Centre in Bournemouth, UK. Most of the TechnicAir locations can install the King Air 350 Pro Line II to Fusion upgrade, according to a Signature spokesman.

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Dassault Aviation Names Sabena Technics Falcon ASC

Dassault Aviation approved Sabena Technics as a major authorized service center for the Falcon 10, 20 and 50. The aircraft will be serviced at Sabena Technics’ Dinard, France facility, which specializes in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of business, regional and military aircraft. 

Sabena's facility is equipped with a 35,800-sq-ft, four-aircraft hangar dedicated to Falcon 10, 20 and 50 activities, and offers paintwork and a full complement of backshop capabilities, including cabin interior, non-destructive testing, avionics and electromechanical hardware repair and refurbishment. It is staffed by a team of 75 technicians and repair specialists, including more than 40 licensed to work on Falcons. 

This agreement is the latest in a series of approvals intended to reinforce Dassault Falcon’s global network. Last year it added authorized service centers in India and Nigeria to serve operators in those fast growing areas. Ligare Aviation Engineering of Delhi was appointed to provide AOG support for the Falcon 7X, while ExecuJet Aviation Nigeria of Lagos was approved to handle line maintenance for the Falcon 7X, 900 and 2000.

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IBT, Flexjet/Flight Options Clash Over Pilot Seniority

The management of fractional ownership providers Flexjet and Flight Options this week accused the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union of penalizing some pilots in drawing up the integrated seniority list to be applied as the companies combine their workforces under parent company OneSky. On February 24, Teamsters Local 1108 president Efrem Vojta sent the integrated seniority list to Michael Silvestro, CEO of Flight Options and Flexjet, and asked the company to immediately engage in negotiations for a joint collective bargaining agreement (CBA) under Section 6 of the U.S. Railway Labor Act. Late last year, the merged pilot group narrowly voted in favor of union representation.

According to Votja, the integrated list was “constructed based on longevity date, meaning modified adjusted time in active service at either carrier.” He added that the company agreed in the 2010 CBA to accept the list put forth by the IBT in the event there ever was a merger. “There is no requirement for the union to negotiate the list with management,” he told AIN.

In a written statement, Flight Options and Flexjet accused the IBT of attempting to “penalize those who did not support their unionization efforts.” They allege that the process by which the integrated seniority list was drawn up “violated the process outlined in the CBA” and characterized it as being “blatantly unfair.”

In its letter to Silvestro, the IBT stated that, under the joint CBA, the company has nine months from February 24 to implement the integrated seniority list and that if agreement cannot be reached over this the two sides are required to submit to binding arbitration.

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Rolls-Royce Recognizes Dallas Airmotive for Support

Dallas Airmotive, a BBA Aviation Global Engine Services company, has been recognized by Rolls-Royce for the investments and advancements the company has made to reduce turn times and improve customer support for its M250 maintenance, repair and overhaul services. Rolls-Royce presented Dallas Airmotive with the “Most Improved” award during the recent annual Rolls-Royce M250 First network award reception and recognition event.

“We are very happy to be recognized by Rolls-Royce for the improvements we made last year,” said Peg Billson, president and CEO of BBA Aviation Global Engine Services. “This award certainly reflects the focus and investment we have made to improve processes to deliver faster turn times to customers.”

Billson explained that, in the last year, Dallas Airmotive has increased the speed and the throughput of all the company’s MRO lines and processes. “In 2015, we reduced turn times by 42 percent across all of our product lines,” she said.

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Associated Air Center Redelivers VIP Boeing 747-8

Associated Air Center (AAC), StandardAero's bizliner completions center, completed and redelivered the company's first Boeing 747-8 for a Middle East head-of-state customer. The company handed over the widebody aircraft 35 days ahead of schedule. 

AAC’s in-house certification organization designation authorization team obtained several FAA STCs applicable to the customized cabin configuration. The 4,786-sq-ft upper and main deck cabins were supplemented with a 393-sq-ft module installed above the aft passenger cabin, accommodating eight private sleeping compartments and changing area.

The cabin systems feature audio/video-on-demand available through in-arm, personal, LCD touchscreens and 55-inch bulkhead-mounted LED monitors, with a large library of high-definition (HD) videos and a passenger flight information system with HD 3-D worldwide moving maps and aircraft location. In addition, the cabin includes multi-region satellite TV, satcom broadband allowing access to the Internet and videoconferencing, in-seat outlets for charging personal electronic devices, external HD cameras for landscape viewing, LED mood lighting providing an array of pre-programmed scenarios and multi-zonal cabin humidification system. Additional potable and gray water tanks were installed to support the integration of nine lavatories, three of which are equipped with showers, and three galleys.

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Gulfstream Names Global Jet Services Authorized Trainer

Gulfstream Aerospace appointed Global Jet Services an authorized provider of European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)-certified maintenance training on several out-of-production aircraft. The agreement covers practical and theoretical mechanical (B1) and avionics (B2) training on the Gulfstream GII, GIII, GIV and GV.

“Global Jet Services has provided a variety of high-quality training to customers and Gulfstream employees for many years,” said Gulftream director of customer relations Tim Steinhauser. “This is just another example of our mutual commitment to providing the training required to meet the regulatory training requirements of our customers around the world.”

In most cases, Global Jet Services’ GIV and GV EASA training is available to Gulfstream customers at their base of operation. More than 80 courses are available. Global Jet Services’ GII and GIII EASA training will be available at a later date. Global Jet Services is headquartered in Avon, Conn.

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Recent Airworthiness Directives
AD Number: EASA
Manufacturer: Turbomeca
Model(s): Arrius 2F
Published Date: March 3, 2016
Effective Date: March 17, 2016
 

AD requires replacement of the fuel control unit (FCU), delta P return pipe and FCU drain pipe to meet Turbomeca developed modification Tf 77. In addition, AD prohibits installing any pre-Mod Tf77 parts on an engine.

AD Number: Japan TCD-8678-2016
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi
Model(s): MU-2
Published Date: February 5, 2016
Effective Date: February 19, 2016
 

AD requires replacing the bolt of the propeller pitch control lever with a new bolt at the next 100-hour inspection or by Feb. 19, 2017, whichever comes first.

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