February 14, 2019 - No. 013 In This Issue Etihad Airways Engineering Joins Forces With Fabrica Arentina De Aviones for Aircraft Maintenance Services in South America FDOT supports another $20 million for Pensacola's ST Engineering project Clay Lacy Opens New Aircraft Maintenance Facility at Van Nuys Airport Lufthansa Technik Earns Saudi Maintenance Nod DC Aviation Group Completes Major Maintenance Check on Challenger 850 Aircraft FAA Mandating Exterior Registration Numbers on Drones Aviation MRO aftermarket faces specific challenges in Middle East GAMA Testifies Before Congress on the Impact of the Partial U.S. Government Shutdown The US Department of Defense's Artificial Intelligence Strategy highlighted the technology's ability to improve flight safety and aircraft maintenance Pentagon watchdog to review SpaceX's certification to launch national security satellites Etihad Airways Engineering Joins Forces With Fabrica Arentina De Aviones for Aircraft Maintenance Services in South America Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Etihad Airways Engineering, the largest commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider in the Middle East, has signed a collaboration agreement with Argentina's main aircraft manufacturer, Fabrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA), to serve MRO customers in South America. The agreement enables both companies to leverage their strengths and become significant players in the narrow body aircraft maintenance market in South America. As part of the collaboration, Etihad Airways Engineering will support FAdeA in developing the processes and capabilities to maintain and modify aircraft and aircraft components. Abdul Khaliq Saeed, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways Engineering, said: "Etihad Airways Engineering has built a strong customer base in Latin America, having carried out heavy maintenance work on a range of aircraft types from Airbus A330 to Boeing 767, 777 and the 787 Dreamliner for customers in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia. "We're pleased to collaborate with FAdeA and share our expertise and extensive capabilities to serve customers in the region". Antonio Beltramone, President FAdeA, said: "This is a strategic agreement for FAdeA that allows us to maximise the potential of our highly skilled labour force and facilities to provide sustainability for our company, and conquer new commercial aviation markets." The partnership will capitalise on the existing facilities and manpower of FAdeA, coupled with Etihad Airways Engineering's MRO expertise as well as its strong customer footprint in Latin America. Etihad Airways Engineering will be FAdeA's preferred partner for Part 21J Engineering and Part 21G Production. Following the signing of the multi-year agreement, seven Airbus A320 aircraft belonging to LAN Argentina were reconfigured at FAdeA facilities and more projects are planned in the coming months. Etihad Airways Engineering's state-of-the-art facility is located in Abu Dhabi, adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Aircraft hangars at the facility cover approximately 66,000 sq metres, including 10,000 sq metres of aircraft painting facilities and a custom-designed hangar that can accommodate up to three Airbus A380 aircraft simultaneously. The company has successfully completed maintenance projects over the years for airlines across the world. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/press-release/21068248/etihad-airways-engineering-etihad-airways-engineering-joins-forces-with-fabrica-arentina-de-aviones-for-aircraft-maintenance-services-in-south-america Back to Top FDOT supports another $20 million for Pensacola's ST Engineering project Pensacola's ST Engineering expansion project got another $20 million boost Wednesday. Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson announced the Florida Department of Transportation had sent a letter to the city confirming it had identified an additional $20 million for the project. The department has already committed $25 million to the project. "I am proud to announce City of Pensacola has secured the remaining funding for Project Titan, which will expand the Aviation Maintenance Overhaul Repair (MRO) campus at the Pensacola International Airport," Robinson said in the announcement. FDOT is amending its work program to removing funding "from several other projects" to fund the airport project, a process it said takes about eight weeks. FDOT's work program and budget will still need to be reviewed by the Florida Legislature, but if approved, Pensacola will receive the funding in 2021 for the project. The $210 million project would expand ST Engineering's aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the Pensacola International Airport and create an additional 1,325 jobs. Since Robinson became mayor, he has worked to find $45 million to fund the project. The Pensacola City Council, Escambia County Commission and Triumph Gulf Coast each voted last week to add additional funding to the project, totaling $20 million in additional funding. With FDOT's commitment Wednesday, the city still needs about $4.8 million to fully fund the project. Robinson said in his announcement Wednesday that he was thankful for the support of the project from Gov. Ron DeSantis, FDOT Secretary Kevin Thibault and FDOT District Secretary Phillip Gainer. "I am excited for this transformational project to move forward," Robinson said. https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/02/13/fdot-supports-another-20-million-pensacolas-st-engineering-project/2860754002/ Back to Top Clay Lacy Opens New Aircraft Maintenance Facility at Van Nuys Airport Los Angeles - February 13, 2019) Clay Lacy Aviation has opened a new round-the-clock aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for its FAA Part 145 repair station at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles. This facility provides light and heavy maintenance and repair services, avionics and cabin entertainment upgrades and installations, interior design, modifications and refurbishing, and 24/7 AOG support for the southwestern U.S. Employing over 70 technicians, avionics experts, interior craftsmen and support specialists, the facility sits on 7.6 acres with a 66,000-square-foot hangar and 86,000 square feet of office and shop space. New features include an expanded parts and rotables department, interior design suite, battery refurbishment center, client office suites and conference room. The repair station services Gulfstream business jets, Bombardier's Learjet, Challenger and Global models, Dassault Falcon jet models, Hawker aircraft and is an authorized service center for the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300. Line maintenance is available on all other business jet models. "We leveraged our 50 years of aviation experience to create the best one-stop aircraft maintenance center in Southern California," said Ed Mirzakhanian, Vice President, Maintenance and Business Development, Clay Lacy Aviation. "Our new Van Nuys facility can accommodate as many as 15 large-cabin aircraft and the needs of every client, from general inspections to airframe repair, domestic and international Wi-Fi installations to cabin management systems and complete interior upgrades." The facility is an authorized Gulfstream supplier, and an Embraer Authorized Service Center for Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 aircraft. It is also an authorized dealer for Gogo, SmartSky and Honeywell high-speed internet solutions, and Honeywell, Rockwell-Collins, and Garmin avionics warranty programs. The $3.4 million parts inventory includes 6,000 line items and 55,000 parts for shipping worldwide. Also onsite is a full-service interior shop where highly skilled craftsmen perform complete cabin design, reconfiguration and refurbishing, lighting conversions, and cabinetry construction and refinishing. To speak with a Clay Lacy aircraft maintenance expert call 818-989-2900 or emailjetsupport@claylacy.com. About Clay Lacy Aviation Founded in 1968 by legendary aviator and industry pioneer Clay Lacy. Today, Clay Lacy Aviation is considered the world's most experienced operator of private jets. Prominent individuals and leading corporations trust Clay Lacy for aircraft management, charter, maintenance, avionics, interiors and FBO services. The company has aircraft operations and regional offices across the U.S., including a full-service FBO at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, and aircraft maintenance centers in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Oxford, Connecticut. Clay Lacy is the authorized dealer for the Quest Kodiak 100 Series II in the Northeastern U.S. With the most knowledgeable team in the industry, Clay Lacy delivers superior safety, service and value to aircraft owners and jet travelers worldwide. Visitclaylacy.com. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/press-release/21068431/clay-lacy-aviation-clay-lacy-opens-new-aircraft-maintenance-facility-at-van-nuys-airport Back to Top Lufthansa Technik Earns Saudi Maintenance Nod Lufthansa Technik has received approval from Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation to perform maintenance on Saudi-registered aircraft. Last month, the company's Middle East division performed its first A-check on a Saudi Airbus A320 in the hangar of DC Aviation Al-Futtaim at Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). The 400 man-hours check included examination of all systems necessary for flight safety, the exchange of several components, and the completion of Service Bulletins. It also included cooperation from the DC Aviation/Al-Futtaim Group joint venture at DWC. "We are only the second VIP MRO supplier in the Gulf region approved for Saudi-registered aircraft of the Airbus ACJ320 family and Boeing BBJ types," said Omar Aker, Lufthansa Technik's regional sales manager. "The first A-check maintenance has been finished within budget and ahead for schedule." "The cooperation agreement with Lufthansa Technik takes advantage of our facility and the increasing infrastructure available thereby providing the strong foundations for offering maintenance services to our customers both in the region and beyond," said Holger Ostheimer, the facility's managing director. "The agreement also enables us to further diversify our technical knowledge through the larger number of aircraft types being supported." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-02-13/lufthansa-technik-earns-saudi-maintenance-nod Back to Top DC Aviation Group Completes Major Maintenance Check on Challenger 850 Aircraft Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 13, 2019: Stuttgart headquartered DC Aviation Group (DCA), the German joint venture partner of DC Aviation Al-Futtaim (DCAF), has successfully completed a full 96-month major check on a Challenger 850 aircraft. The comprehensive maintenance work which was carried out at DCA's Maintenance Service Centre located at Stuttgart Airport, included a full cabin refurbishment, using choice wood, finest leather and plush carpets. Exterior work included a landing gear and wheel overhaul as well as new exterior painting. In addition, future mandates which include ADS-B Out modification and complex AD's including TOSE/LWTAIS were successfully completed. According to the Surveillance Performance and Interoperability regulation (SPI IR), all aircraft with a maximum take-off mass in excess of 5,700 kg or a maximum cruising true airspeed greater than 250 knots will have to comply with ADS-B Out by January 1, 2020. Oliver Weiss, Vice President Maintenance, DC Aviation said, "Our services continue to attract interest from owners and operators seeking our expertise. We are extremely pleased that our maintenance team, together with our network partner F/List, can carry out exceptionally complex work with the highest levels of reliability and knowledge, which are the cornerstones of our business. "Due to our 24/365 availability, combined with intelligent planning and smooth workflows, DC Aviation is able to meet challenging ground-times. With our leading industry partners like Honeywell, gogo, Collins Aerospace and F/List, we can also offer customized solutions for these mandatory modifications in combination with any other scheduled maintenance or cabin and connectivity projects," he added. DC Aviation can offer line and base maintenance services which are completed in a dedicated 5,000 square meter hangar at Stuttgart Airport (EDDS) and at DCAF's 5,700 square meters approved maintenance facilities at Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW) in Dubai for customers operating the Airbus 320 family, Bombardier Global, Bombardier Challenger 605/604/300/350, Bombardier Learjet 60/45/40, Dassault Falcon 7X/900, Gulfstream G550/450, Cessna Citation XLS+ and other aircraft types. DCA maintains a parts inventory with a value of more than 6.5 million Euros, special tools for specific aircraft, testing equipment and a maintenance logistics centre. Unconventional repairs can also be completed on an efficient and flexible basis. The maintenance team is able to develop a customized maintenance program for a considerable number of different business jets based on the customerīs flight requirements. The complete CAMO authorization meets all the EASA requirements for the maintenance and certification of airworthiness. These and other measures form a solid base for the sustainable preservation of the value and maximum availability of every maintained aircraft. For further information about DCA's maintenance capabilities, please contact Frank Domogalla, on +49 711 93306-395 or by email at frank.domogalla@dc-aviation.com. DCAF is a joint venture between DC Aviation GmbH and Dubai-based Al-Futtaim. For more information on DCAF's hangar and services, please visit www.dc-aviation.ae or call +971 4 870 1800. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/press-release/21068373/dc-aviation-group-completes-major-maintenance-check-on-challenger-850-aircraft Back to Top FAA Mandating Exterior Registration Numbers on Drones Effective for flights starting after February 23, owners of small drones will have to begin displaying their FAA registration numbers on an outside surface of their aircraft, the agency announced today. When the FAA first required registration of small drones in 2015, it mandated that the registration marking could be placed in an enclosed compartment, such as a battery case, if it could be accessed without the use of tools. Subsequently, law enforcement officials and the FAA's interagency security partners have expressed concerns about the risk a concealed explosive device might pose to first responders upon opening a compartment to find a drone's registration number. The agency believes the new requirement will "enhance safety and security by allowing a person to view the unique identifier directly, without handling the drone." The FAA has issued this requirement as an interim final rule with comments due by March 15. The agency said it "will then review any submissions to determine if the provisions of the final rule should be changed." Separately, the FAA has also issued two new notices of proposed rulemaking to allow drones to fly routinely at night and over people without obtaining a waiver and to further integrate them safely into the nation's airspace. The comment period for these proposals ends April 15. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-02-13/faa-mandating-exterior-registration-numbers-drones Back to Top Aviation MRO aftermarket faces specific challenges in Middle East Aviation sector executives have gathered in Dubai to discuss the local MRO market, with a number of challenges specific to the Middle East region. Organised by industry publisher and event producer Aviation Week Network, the MRO Middle East conference has wrapped up for 2019. Prior to the event, senior members of Roland Berger's Aerospace & Defense practice spoke to MRO-Network.com on some of the aviation maintenance and repair issues specific to the Middle East market, such as the hot and sandy local environment. Held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from the 10th to the 12th, the 2019 MRO Middle East conference and exhibition brought together more than 150 senior professionals from the aviation aftermarket for discussions around topics such as innovation in MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul), optimisation and cost reduction strategies, and big data, prognostics and predictive maintenance. Among the speakers for the event were Robbie Bourke, Vice President of Oliver Wyman aviation subsidiary CAVOK, providing a regional industry overview and forecast, and Roland Berger partner Richard Paton, who moderated a panel on the local threats, trends and aftermarket growth opportunities in the Middle East - featuring among others senior leaders from Etihad Airways Engineering and Jordan Aviation Airlines. Prior to the conference, Paton - who was recruited as a partner last year to Roland Berger's Bahrain office - spoke to Aviation Week Network-affiliated industry media site MRO-Network.com on the local market challenges, alongside UK-based Roland Berger managing partner Robert Thompson. One of the most challenging issues: the hot and sandy Middle Eastern environment. Naturally, such conditions are not ideal for aircraft, and especially their engines. But delving deeper, Thompson further note the rapidly expanding fleets in the region - with recent departure growth estimated at around 6.5 percent - but an ageing profile, as the moderation of oil prices and economic slowdown have delayed retirements of older aircraft and curbed the number of new deliveries. Yet local MRO operators - serving an industry which is forecast to grow by 4 percent globally over the next decade to $115 billion - are lacking price competitiveness due primarily lack of home-grown workforce and thus higher labour costs, with international outsourcing the result. Still; "For engine and component services, where labor is a smaller portion of total costs, Middle East providers can be competitive," says Thompson. Particularly, he adds, if they develop their capabilities by investing in facilities such as test beds for engines. Here, there has already been some movement, with new MRO facilities in the UAE and in Jeddah - the latter said to the largest in the world - to provide a more competitive landscape. But, more investment will be needed, concludes Paton, to ensure a stream of qualified local mechanics. https://www.consultancy-me.com/news/1860/aviation-mro-aftermarket-faces-specific-challenges-in-middle-east Back to Top GAMA Testifies Before Congress on the Impact of the Partial U.S. Government Shutdown Washington, DC -- General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President and CEO Pete Bunce today testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee about the impacts of the 35-day partial U.S. government shutdown on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) functions and operations, as well as on the general aviation manufacturing and maintenance industry. "GAMA recognizes that these impacts go far beyond our critical part of the aviation industry," Bunce said. "We appreciate and respect the work of all federal employees, especially those working to promote the safety, security and economic health of the aviation system, and realize how difficult this recent period has been for the federal workforce and those who contract and partner with the federal government." Bunce also recognized the work of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in enacting a five-year FAA Reauthorization bill into law last year, which included certification reforms that are critical to the industry's advancement. He also applauded the leadership of Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Larsen and stated GAMA's vigorous support for the Aviation Funding and Stability Act of 2019. "If enacted, H.R. 1108 would provide targeted stability for the aviation system to function, including air traffic and critical elements of aviation safety - which includes certification, maintenance, and training - while ensuring congressional oversight," said Bunce. "We look forward to working with members of this committee, and other stakeholders who share jurisdiction, in a bipartisan way to advance the Aviation Funding and Stability Act of 2019 in the near-term and mitigate the consequences of any future government shutdown on the FAA." In his testimony, Bunce covered in detail the shutdown's impact on aircraft certification, validation and global leadership, operating authorizations, repair stations and recurrent certification and training. He also discussed what the recovery process and timeline look like for GAMA member companies. "We received weekly assessments of shutdown impacts and ascertained that for each week the shutdown continued, there would be a three-to-four-week impact on aircraft and product certification programs," Bunce said. "The extended length of residual shutdown impact is due to the backlog of tasks that only FAA can perform. While FAA certification offices are working to address this backlog, the day-to-day pace of manufacturing and maintenance activities accompanied by the start of new projects that FAA must also support compounds and complicates the recovery effort." Bunce closed his testimony by expressing concerns that the shutdown significantly set back timelines of fully implementing the FAA Reauthorization and stressing that the success of aviation is highly dependent on advancing and modernizing the regulatory structure and air traffic control system. "Manufacturers large and small are developing incredible new technologies to more efficiently handle current traffic and safely integrate rapidly emerging entrants such as unmanned systems, electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, civil supersonic aircraft, and commercial space vehicles," said Bunce. "I look forward to working with this Subcommittee and the broader membership of this Committee and Congress to prevent future shutdowns but also find ways to realize the promise of these important reforms to benefit aviation in the present and in the existing years ahead." Read Bunce's full testimony. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/press-release/21068409/gama-testifies-before-congress-on-the-impact-of-the-partial-us-government-shutdown Back to Top The US Department of Defense's Artificial Intelligence Strategy highlighted the technology's ability to improve flight safety and aircraft maintenance Artificial intelligence (AI) software could enhance the situational awareness of military commanders as well as pilots, and other large equipment operators, by acting as another set of eyes and ears on the battlefield, the Pentagon said in a summary of its strategy posted online 12 February. The strategy driven and coordinated by the Defense Department's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), established in June 2018 and led by Lt Gen Jack Shanahan. "AI applied to perception tasks, such as imagery analysis, can extract useful information from raw data and equip leaders with increased situational awareness. AI can generate and help commanders explore new options so that they can select courses of action that best achieve mission outcomes, minimizing risks to both deployed forces and civilians," the report says. "AI also has the potential to enhance the safety of operating aircraft, ships, and vehicles in complex, rapidly changing situations by alerting operators to hidden dangers." The report noted that the US Air Force is already working with the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit and JAIC to create prototypes of predictive maintenance software. "These commercially developed AI-based applications have the potential to predict more accurately maintenance needs on equipment, such as the E-3 Sentry, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-35 Lightning II, and Bradley Fighting Vehicle, thereby improving availability and reducing costs," says the report. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dods-ai-strategy-highlights-flight-safety-and-aircr-455743/ Back to Top Pentagon watchdog to review SpaceX's certification to launch national security satellites A Pentagon watchdog agency plans to review the certification the Air Force granted SpaceX to launch national security satellites, a key source of revenue for the company founded by Elon Musk. The move comes three years after SpaceX and the Air Force settled a lawsuitthat ultimately led to the Air Force granting the company the certification. SpaceX had argued it should be given the right to compete against the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, for the lucrative launch contracts. At the time, the ULA had held a virtual monopoly on the contracts for about a decade. In a letter to Air Force leaders, the Defense Department's inspector general said its "objective is to determine whether the U.S. Air Force complied with the Launch Services New Entrant Certification Guide when certifying the launch system design for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle-class SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles." A spokesperson for the inspector general said the review was a "self-initiated project" and "one of the key projects in the OIG's expanding oversight focus on the Department of Defense's space, missile defense, and nuclear management challenges." SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. An official with knowledge of the company's thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that SpaceX was surprised by the announcement of the inspector general's review and doesn't know what prompted it. Bloomberg News first reported the review. For years, SpaceX waged a high-profile campaign to be able to compete for the launch contracts, waging a David vs. Goliath war against two of the biggest military contractors in the world. Musk accused military officials of trying to curry favor with the ULA, which he said was trying to put him out of business. SpaceX also fought in court, saying it should be able to compete for the launches, which it had identified as a key revenue source. In 2014, Musk told reporters that "Lockheed and Boeing are used to stomping on new companies, and they certainly tried to stomp on us...We're certainly a small up-and-comer going against giants." ULA, in turn, had accused SpaceX of trying to "cut corners" and pressuring the Air Force to "rubber stamp" its rocket, which it called a "dangerous approach." ULA replaced its chief executive with Tory Bruno, a longtime space industry executive, who vowed at the time his job was to "literally transform the company" to compete with SpaceX. Then-Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James appointed a former high-ranking Pentagon official to lead an independent review of the certification process, which she said at the time would explore whether there are "ways that we can streamline, speed it up, do things a little bit differently." For years, there has been a significant culture clash between SpaceX, the hard-charging company with a Silicon Valley ethos, and the more bureaucratic Pentagon office. "There's always tension there," a former senior defense official said. In 2015, the Air Force and SpaceX settled the lawsuit, and the Air Force granted SpaceX certification for its Falcon 9 rocket, allowing it to compete against ULA, the only other company that holds a certification. Since then, SpaceX has won five missions to launch GPS satellites and has completed one of those. The Falcon 9 has flown 66 successful missions, and has had two failures, once while launching cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, the other while on the launchpad before an engine test. By the time it was certified, the rocket had flown 18 times, and officials said it had gone through a lengthy certification process. The Air Force has said introducing competition into the launch procurements helped the agency get a much better price. Given the value of the contract awards - single launches can be worth more than $100 million - "there is a lot of pressure," said a former senior defense official. "It's big business." Last year, the Air Force certified another of SpaceX's rockets, the more powerful Falcon Heavy, which can lift even heavier payloads to orbit. It was certified after a single flight, meaning SpaceX would have been required to give the Air Force "a ton of data," the official said. Still, "that probably did raise eyebrows," the official said. Late last year, the Air Force awarded three major contracts, worth more than $2 billion combined, to help companies develop their rockets for future national security missions. ULA, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin each won contracts. SpaceX did not. (Blue Origin is owned by Jeffrey P. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post.) The Pentagon has said it would only pick two companies to provide launches for that next round of missions. SpaceX has led a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill, according to multiple industry and congressional officials, arguing it is at a disadvantage for the future launch contracts because it did not win any of the rocket development money. The Pentagon's review comes after NASA said it was launching a separate review of the safety cultures of SpaceX and Boeing, the companies the space agency has hired to fly its astronauts to the International Space Station. That review was prompted after Musk smoked marijuana on a podcast streamed on the Internet. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/12/pentagon-watchdog-review-spacexs-certification-launch-national-security-satellites/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7a7b03b99149 Curt Lewis