October 02, 2017 - No. 077 In This Issue SpaceX to Phase Out Everything But Its Mars-Colonizing 'BFR' Rocket Thoroughbred Aviation Maintenance to maintain utility helicopters for USDA. Summit Technical Solutions Awarded $35.5 Million Operations, Maintenance, and Logistical Support Contract David Pietrzak: LLCC aviation program expands into new facility European Certificate for Iranian College The lab where aging aircraft are dissected for science - and safety MRO Investments Expand AAR's Parts Pipeline Flying Colours Corp. KSUS Begins First Phase of Expansion at St. Louis Facility American Airlines adds first B737 MAX 8 SpaceX to Phase Out Everything But Its Mars-Colonizing 'BFR' Rocket Falcon Heavy, we hardly knew ye. SpaceX plans to eventually phase out the big rocket, which has yet to fly, as well as the Falcon 9 booster and Dragon capsule to concentrate on the Mars-colonizing BFR system, company founder and CEO Elon Musk announced Friday (Sept. 29). The move should make it possible for SpaceX to afford the BFR's development, he said. "If we can do that, then all the resources that are used for Falcon 9, Heavy and Dragon can be applied to this system," Musk said at the 68th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, where he unveiled SpaceX's latest Mars-colonization architecture. "That's really fundamental." This doesn't mean that SpaceX will be focused exclusively on Mars after the BFR - a huge, reusable rocket-spaceship combo - is up and running. The new system will be flexible, and the company will therefore use it for all manner of missions, from lofting satellites to resupplying the International Space Station to cleaning up space junk. Musk also envisions the BFR (whose name is short for Big F***ing Rocket) helping humanity set up an outpost on the moon, and perhaps even ferrying people from place to place here on Earth. "Most of what people consider to be long-distance trips would be completed in less than half an hour," Musk said. Such point-to-point Earth jaunts would likely cost about as much per seat as an economy-class airplane ticket, he added in an Instagram post on Friday. SpaceX aims to launch the first BFR Mars cargo mission in 2022 and send the first people toward the Red Planet in 2024, Musk said during his IAC talk. But that doesn't necessarily mean all of the company's old-guard gear will be grounded by then. "Some of our customers are conservative, and they want to see BFR fly several times before they're comfortable launching on it," Musk said. "So what we plan to do is to build ahead and have a stock of Falcon 9 and Dragon vehicles, so that customers can be comfortable - if they want to use the old rocket, the old spacecraft, they can do that, because we'll have a bunch in stock. But all of our resources will then turn towards building BFR." The BFR is an updated version of the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) architecture that Musk announced at last year's IAC, in Guadalajara, Mexico. When stacked together, the BFR rocket and spaceship will stand 348 feet (106 meters) high. The rocket will be the most powerful ever built, capable of launching 150 tons to low-Earth orbit; the spaceship will likely carry about 100 people to Mars on each trip. Both vehicles will launch and land many times over the course of their operational lives. Such reusability is key to making Mars settlement economically feasible, Musk stressed. The newly announced BFR system is a bit scaled-back compared with the ITS concept that Musk unveiled last year; the rocket will feature 31 Raptor engines rather than 42, for example. But the most important change in the architecture involves the eventual phaseout of the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon, the billionaire entrepreneur said. https://www.space.com/38323-spacex-phasing-out-rockets-for-mars-bfr-spaceship.html Back to Top Thoroughbred Aviation Maintenance to maintain utility helicopters for USDA Thoroughbred Aviation Maintenance has secured two five-year contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to maintain two Airbus H120 utility helicopters. Thoroughbred will begin by upgrading the aircraft with Garmin automatic dependent surveillance- broadcast (ADS-B) avionics, and by adding Technisonic tactical radios. Thoroughbred will also carry out routine maintenance, as well as any unscheduled maintenance, over the life of the contract. "The fact that we're able to continue to grow and add additional state, local and federal government contracts, is extremely exciting for us," said Joe Otte, co-owner of Thoroughbred Aviation Maintenance. "It's well within our capacity, and it's the direction we wanted to go." Thoroughbred Aviation Maintenance was founded as Thoroughbred Helicopters in 1988 and was acquired by RJ Corman Railroad group in 2005. The company was subsequently renamed RJ Corman Aircraft Maintenance, and Joe Otte was brought on in 2009 to oversee its transformation. In 2016, Joe Otte and his business partner Todd Case acquired the company and proudly reinstated the Thoroughbred name. Now, the company has locations at five airports in Georgetown, Somerset, Danville and Richmond, Kentucky, and also provides mobile maintenance. It also has a full service aircraft paint shop located at Big Sandy Regional Airport in eastern Kentucky. Thoroughbred is an Airbus Service Center and maintains aircraft as small as a helicycle and as large as an Airbus AS365 N3+, as well as Robinson, Bell and MD helicopters. The company is also an authorized avionics installer for Garmin, Cobham, Wescam, FLIR, Churchill Navigation, and several other leading brands. Thoroughbred also has a maintenance contract with the USDA for three OH-6A Cayuse helicopters and has several law enforcement contracts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. "We are grateful for the opportunity to continue our relationship with the USDA through this new contract," said Otte. "We value this relationship a great deal, and we look forward to building upon it as we move forward." https://www.verticalmag.com/press-releases/thoroughbred-aviation-maintenance-maintain-utility- helicopters-usda/ Back to Top Summit Technical Solutions Awarded $35.5 Million Operations, Maintenance, and Logistical Support Contract with U.S. Air Force COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Technical Solutions, LLC (STS), a professional services and technical solutions company, announced today that the Company has been awarded the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization Systems (PARCS) Operations, Maintenance, and Logistical Support (OM&S) Contract by the United States Department of the Air Force, beginning performance on 01 October 2017. As the winner of the prime contract, STS will assist the Air Force Space Command, 14th Air Force, 21st Space Wing and 21st Operations Group, 10th Space Warning Squadron's (10SWS) continuous requirement to operate and maintain the world's most capable phased-array radar system. Work on this contract supports the 10th Space Warning Squadron at Cavalier Air Force Station (AFS); Cavalier AFS is a geographically separate unit of the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. The PARCS OM&S contract has a seven-month base period with five one-year option periods, and is valued at $35.5 million over the five-year 7 month period, if all options and award terms are exercised. The PARCS radar system continuously provides critical missile warning and space surveillance data to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), and regional combatant commanders. PARCS monitors and tracks over half of all earth-orbiting objects to enable space situational awareness and space control. "We are extremely honored to be selected to deliver mission-critical Operations, Maintenance and Logistics Support to the Air Force Space Command, the primary space force for the U.S. Armed Forces," said Kelly Terrien, Founder, President and CEO of Summit Technical Solutions. "Through past performance for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Federal Aviation Administration we have demonstrated our expertise in incorporating innovative technologies that support mission performance, systems maintenance, and logistical support an economic and efficient manner." Summit Technical Solutions, LLC is dedicated to performance excellence, business integrity and serving the mission-critical needs of its valued customers. STS is a certified WBE, Veteran and Woman-Owned Small Business. Existing clients include the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force. More information about STS can be found at http://www.sts-llc.com. http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Summit-Technical-Solutions-Awarded-35-5- Million-Operations-Maintenance-and-Logistical-Support-Contract-with-U-S-Air-Force-1002909989 Back to Top David Pietrzak: LLCC aviation program expands into new facility Thanks to the generosity of Dick Levi, CEO of Levi, Ray and Shoup, Inc., Lincoln Land Community College's aviation program has a beautiful and functional new home at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. We invite you to see what we have to offer at a public open house Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 5 p.m. It is my privilege to serve as director of LLCC's aviation program. In February 2016, a major gift from Mr. Levi was announced for construction of a new classroom facility to be built adjacent to the current LLCC aviation center at the airport. In his honor, the LLCC Board of Trustees named the new building the Levi, Ray and Shoup, Inc. Aviation Center at LLCC. We appreciate the support of the Springfield Airport Authority for collaborating with LLCC to make this new building a reality. Also, thank you to local unions Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, Laborers' International Union of North America AFL/CIO, Plumbers & Steamfitters L.U. #137, and Southern & Central Illinois Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust for their generous assistance in furnishing the new classrooms, and the LLCC Foundation's contributions through its "Grow Beyond" campaign. Our program allows students, from recent high school graduates to individuals looking to change careers, to train for an in-demand, well-paying career in aviation mechanics. The new facility expands the number of students we can serve in this hands-on career program that teaches the repair and maintenance of modern engines and airframes. Our graduates are prepared to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification exam for airframe and power plant (A & P) mechanics and then step into a great career. Take Alex Moore, for example. Alex graduated from our program with a job offer from Standard Aero, also located at the Springfield airport. Alex long had an interest in engines and airplanes and planned to join the U.S. Air Force. However, a collarbone injury sidelined those plans, and he turned to LLCC to continue his pursuit of a career in aviation. Alex has now been working for Standard Aero for two years as an A & P technician, and it all started with an internship at the company through the LLCC aviation program. Every time you fly in a plane, you rely on the skills of the mechanic that serviced that plane. They help keep the world moving and travelers safe. A & P technicians like Alex maintain and troubleshoot the complex systems that an aircraft contains - turbine and piston engines, electrical systems, hydraulics, pneumatics, sheet metal, communication, navigation, cooling and exhaust. LLCC Aviation prepares students with hands-on experience for the variety of skills needed on the job. Looking back at his time in the program, Alex says, "The program gets your feet wet in a little bit of everything - sheet metal, avionics, forms and records, welding, electric, fuel metering and others. It was fun getting to take engines apart, getting them to run and putting them back together again. And the aviation program has really good instructors and was more affordable than other schools." LLCC's aviation students are in high demand and are often offered paid internships and jobs prior to completing their program. I get calls constantly from employers wondering when we'll have our next group of graduates ready for the jobs they have available. Students in the LLCC aviation program have a nearly 100 percent job placement rate. Seventy-five percent of current aviation mechanics are over the age of 50, and the field is short of qualified workers. We foresee great opportunity for our graduates over the next 10 to 20 years. As the only aviation mechanics program in central Illinois, we're proud to say that everything in the new facility is conducive to excellence in teaching and learning. The center provides new classrooms and training spaces, a computer lab, a technical library, an expansive lobby and two offices for the intake of new students, all attached to our existing hangar and shops. We hope you'll join us Oct. 25 as we show off this new facility. In the meantime, you can learn more about our program by visiting www.llcc.edu/aviation or by contacting me at 544-4965 or david.pietrzak@llcc.edu. http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170930/david-pietrzak-llcc-aviation-program-expands-into-new- facility Back to Top European Certificate for Iranian College Iran's Civil Aviation Technology College has been granted Maintenance Training Organization Part 147 Approvals by the European Aviation Safety Agency. On Wednesday, Francois Delhaye, Belgium's ambassador to Iran, gave the Maintenance Training and Examination Organization Approval Certificate to Hossein Qanbari, the head of CATC, during a ceremony, IRNA cited the website of the college as reporting. CATC can now offer specialized courses under license categories of A, B1, and B2 according to EASA standards. In addition, the college will organize relevant examinations and issue certificates. Qanbari said the approval was granted after several visits and strict inspections by the EASA. "This is the first time this certificate is being issued in the Middle East," he said. https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/73302/european-certificate-for- iranian-college Back to Top The lab where aging aircraft are dissected for science - and safety Flying may be stressful for some people, but planes have it much harder: Every takeoff, landing and patch of turbulence adds wear to a plane's airframe, or body. Planes in the US undergo careful inspections and routine maintenance to combat this wear. But how do airplane mechanics know what needs inspecting or maintaining, especially when not every issue is visible from the surface? That's where the Aging Aircraft Lab comes in. Located at Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research, the lab is where aging planes are taken apart piece by piece to learn more about the ravages of time on various aircraft designs - from cracking, to corrosion, to metal fatigue. And we're not just talking about on very old planes. "Really, we start the aging process the minute an aircraft rolls off the production line," says lab director Melinda Laubach-Hock. "We want to get ahead of the problems before they happen." "Most of the aircraft have cracking at some point in their life, also corrosion issues, so it's best to have a plan from the beginning on how you're going to treat those before they come up in the fleet," she adds. "Engineers have gotten very good at predicting when cracks will occur, where they will occur, and they develop really good inspection plans to address those and keep our aircraft safe. But every now and then, there's an issue that just pops up at a certain point in the service life that no one could predict because we're not perfect at doing engineering work." The lab often receives donor planes to do its research, or occasionally uses funding from the Federal Aviation Administration to purchase old aircraft. Laubach-Hock says her team has examined everything from passenger jets to military bombers, tankers, and fighter aircraft. In the process, they inspect each piece of the airframe for damage, using techniques like a fluorescent dye bath to highlight cracks on some parts. On others, they use what's called an eddy current machine. "It basically induces an electromagnetic field into the part," Laubach-Hock explains. "And you have trained technicians that look at a scope, and when they get a specific signal, that tells them there's a crack." Even ultrasounds can be used to detect issues in certain materials, she adds. The team also performs structural testing - subjecting planes to simulated takeoffs, landings, wind gusts and "anything that would cause cracks or damage to the airframe," she says. "We can do an entire lifetime of an airframe in a couple of years instead of waiting for 20, 30 years down the road." The lab's inspection is painstaking - by Laubach-Hock's estimate, it takes about a year to take apart and inspect a Cessna-sized aircraft, and in the process, the team examines areas that haven't been seen since the aircraft was built. "Dissected" planes can't be returned to service, but what's learned from them can make the remaining fleet safer. "I just finished a program on the KC-135," Laubach-Hock says, referring to the military tanker. "It was designed and built in the '50s and the '60s ... and they originally designed that aircraft to last 10 years." "Well, now here we are in 2017. They're looking to fly that aircraft to 2040, 2050, maybe even beyond. So, how do you keep an aircraft flying when the average fleet age is going to reach 80 years? So the teardown process was very important to them." But in the future, Laubach-Hock hopes planes will be built with sensors to self-diagnose problems during their service life. She says there's already been research done into structural health monitoring, "which means embedding sensors into certain parts of the airframe as you build it and then monitoring certain properties of the airframe as you go on." "Just think about the engine in your car," she adds. "It gives you a light and says something's wrong with it. That's applicable to airframes too. We just haven't been able to get there with the structural part of an airframe yet." http://kazu.org/post/lab-where-aging-aircraft-are-dissected-science-and-safety#stream/0 Back to Top MRO Investments Expand AAR's Parts Pipeline AAR Corp.'s investment in more airframe heavy maintenance facilities [http://www.mro- network.com/airlines/aar-buys-two-premier-aviation-facilities-retains-air-canada-work] increases its pipeline to customers that may also use the supplier's growing logistics support services-a combination that executives say provides a differentiator that top OEM parts-supply competitors can't match. Known for its extensive heavy-check services, AAR has been ramping up its component support and parts-supply businesses. It now has an estimated 1,500 aircraft under some sort of support deal, ranging from 737 Classics to the newest Maxs and A320neos on the narrowbody side, and a similar broad mix on the widebody side. Combined with growing heavy-check and component overhaul work, AAR has ample opportunity to sell parts. "I'd say the value proposition for us relative to our two largest competitors, Aviall and Satair, is our independence and our channels to market," says John Holmes, AAR president and COO, referring to the Boeing and Airbus subsidiaries. "With the growth of the power-by-the-hour business, with the growth of the MRO business, we have a number of touch points with the customers that allow us to push the OEM's product in a way that our competitors may not be." AAR's Aviation Services business, which includes MRO and aftermarket supply and logistics for civil and defense customers, grew about 20% in its fiscal 2018 first quarter, which ended Aug 31. The figure excludes the effect of the previously-announced wind-down of KC-10 logistics work that contributed nearly $27 million in revenue during the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, the company in August announced it received a notice to proceed on a 15-year, $909 million deal to provide the U.S. Air Force with supply chain management support for C-130, KC-135 and E-3 landing gear parts. AAR's Aviation Services segment reported revenues of $371.3 million in the quarter, up 11% from fiscal 2017's total of $334.6 million. Services represents about 85% of the company's annual sales, with the rest coming from its expeditionary services and airlift work Within Services, about 67% of revenues are from the supply chain side, including power-by-the- hour deals and parts sales. The rest is from MRO work, including airframe, component, landing gear, and engineering services. About 75% of Services's revenue comes from commercial work, and 25% from defense customers. http://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/mro-investments-expand-aars-parts- pipeline Back to Top Flying Colours Corp. KSUS Begins First Phase of Expansion at St. Louis Facility Ahead of this year's NBAA-BACE, Flying Colours - booth N5908 - announced today that the third phase of the Canadian company's long-term expansion strategy has begun as work is under way on the first round of infrastructure development at its St. Louis, MO. facility. The project will include the addition of a new building, the upgrading of several back shops, a doubling in size of the cabinetry workshop and a workforce growth of 30%. The new Flying Colours KSUS edifice is conveniently located at the end of the Spirit of St. Louis Airport runway, and gives easy access to the existing Flying Colours hangars. When the doors open in mid-December, a further 40 300 square feet will be added to the Flying Colours Corp. north American footprint. The new site's layout has been specifically designed to improve productivity, efficiency and streamline the work flow. When the doors open on the bright, white open-plan interior it will house a state-of-the-art cabinetry workshop which more than doubles the size of the existing St. Louis wood-working shop. The fully refurbished facility will comfortably accommodate a CNC room for design, an expansive machine room with a range of detailing tools, two dedicated temperature controlled spray booths, insulated buffing and sanding sections, two varnish and paint mixing rooms, as well as assembly, framing and finishing areas. A unique feature of the new unit is the installation of an enclosed "curing" room, used to bake the varnish and paint onto monument cutouts. Upgraded upholstery, avionics and engineering workshops will also be accommodated in the modernized building. A series of offices for production control planning and production management teams, as well as conference rooms, storage areas, and further offices will complement the workshops and provide comfortable, stylish customer meeting areas too. To gear up for the opening in mid-December, Flying Colours is already busy recruiting a team of over 70 workers, and is making the most of the rich source of talent in the St. Louis area. "Our new building gave us a blank canvas on which we have designed and created the ultimate cabinetry workshop. It will look as pristine as an operating theatre when we open, provide a great working environment for our existing and new team members, and a superb location for customer visits. We are very excited about our first phase of growth here," said Sean Gillespie, Executive VP, Flying Colours Corp. This expansion phase represents a multi-million-dollar investment from Flying Colours which committed to the project having won a significant set of cabinetry projects, for which work will begin in Q1 2018. With the additional building the Flying Colours Corp. KSUS' footprint will exceed more than 100 000 square feet in total. Photo Caption: Flying Colours Corp. begins first phase of St. Louis expansion. About Flying Colours Corp: With facilities in Canada, the USA, & Singapore, global aviation services company Flying Colours Corp, brings over 25 years of experience to every facet of its business, which includes Green Completions, Interior Refurbishment & Modifications, Heavy Maintenance, Exterior Paint, Special Mission Modifications, and Avionics Installations. Flying Colours specializes in all mid to large sized business aircraft, including the Bombardier Global Express and Challenger families, Dassault Falcon, Beechcraft/Hawker and Gulfstream models. Flying Colours is an Authorized Service Facility for Bombardier and a Bombardier Preferred Completion Center. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12370089/flying-colours-corp-ksus-begins-first-phase- of-expansion-at-st-louis-facility Back to Top American Airlines adds first B737 MAX 8 American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) has taken delivery of its maiden B737 MAX 8. N324RA (msn 44459) was officially handed over by Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare) on Thursday, September 28, with a further three expected this year. N324RA is scheduled to enter service on November 29 on the carrier's Miami Int'l-New York La Guardia route. American is expecting to add a further sixteen B737 MAX 8s in 2018 followed by twenty more in 2019. American currently operates 299 B737-800s already according to the ch- aviaviation fleets database. https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/59979-american-airlines-adds-first-b737-max-8 Curt Lewis