MAY 6, 2019 - No. 036 In This Issue Global Prize Received for Breakthroughs in VR Training Jet Aviation acquires stake in Scottsdale Jet Center; New FBO to open in late 2020. Aircraft Manufacturers Looking for Speed West Star Aviation retains top rating in magazine survey KSA Has Just Launched Its First International Aviation Academy. Otumfuo,Thomas Mensah to establish Ghana's first Airport Aircraft maintenance facility in Kumasi KBR Earns Three Year Extension on General Maintenance Services Contract for SATORP. Airline-Focused Parent Keeps Faith in Lufthansa Technik Collins To Launch Paid MRO Apprenticeship Program SpaceX Finally Confirms Dragon Capsule Explosion Global Prize Received for Breakthroughs in VR Training 3 May, 2019- Hong Kong, China] China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL) is very pleased to announce that the Real Virtuality for Aircraft Inspection (ReVAI), a virtual reality (VR) training system developed by CASL and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) with the HKSAR Government Innovation and Technology Fund by Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, has received the Silver Prize of the 47th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva in mid-April this year. The International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva is the biggest event of its kind in the world for showcasing novelties and inventions. The Silver Prize serves as a global recognition for CASL and HKU's dedicated efforts into developing "VR Training Platform for Aircraft Maintenance Inspection", which truly breaks through the traditional mode of aircraft inspection training. Featuring a realistic and immersive apron environment, the newly developed VR Training Platform makes it possible for trainees to carry out essential aircraft walk-around inspection in a virtual context. Dr. Angus Cheung, CASL's Chief Executive Officer revealed, "Our innovative VR Training System fully resolves the limitations of external factors such as adverse weather conditions, noisy environment, availability of aircraft as well as busy ramp traffic that obstructed training." "The award by The International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva fully affirms CASL's endeavours of utilising latest technologies for the betterment of the aviation industry." In manifestation of CASL's core value of "Improvement on Continuous Basis", CASL will strive to put forward innovative solutions to optimise its operations and further enhance its service quality. In addition, receiving such an international recognition marks a milestone and serves as an encouragement for the Company to pursue excellence in future. About China Aircraft Services Limited: China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL) is a joint venture among China National Aviation Corporation (Group) Limited (40%), United Airlines, Inc. (20%), China Airlines Limited (20%) and Gama Aviation (20%), providing aircraft line and base maintenance, cabin cleaning and ground support equipment as well as supply and stores services at Hong Kong International Airport. Apart from operating in Hong Kong, CASL and China Eastern Airlines established a joint venture company Shanghai Eastern Aircraft Maintenance Limited (SEAM) in 2002, providing aircraft line maintenance and ground support equipment services at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. https://www.aviationpros.com/education-training/press-release/21079060/global-prize-received-for-breakthroughs-in-vr-training Back to Top Jet Aviation acquires stake in Scottsdale Jet Center; New FBO to open in late 2020 TETERBORO, N.J., May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Jet Aviation announced today that it has acquired a stake in Scottsdale Jet Center, with the intent to build and operate a new, state-of-the-art Jet Aviation branded fixed-base operator (FBO) and tenant hangar by late 2020. The new facility will complement existing tenant facilities at Scottsdale Airport, a top 15 US business aviation market. With an expanding footprint in the US market, Scottsdale Jet Center allows Jet Aviation to continue its strategy of supporting customers in the locations they most frequent. The new facility will allow Jet Aviation to operate FBOs in eight of the top 15 US business aviation markets. "We are committed to growing Jet Aviation's position as a leading FBO service provider," said Dave Paddock, senior vice president and general manager, Jet Aviation Regional Operations USA. "Scottsdale is a highly attractive location to business jet owners and operators and is regularly ranked in the top 15 US airports. Having a presence in Scottsdale will enable our customers to have greater connectivity across the Jet network." Scottsdale Jet Center currently leases 45,000 square feet of office space, 24,000 square feet of T-hangar space, tie-down spaces and shades. Planning for the new FBO terminal and 30,000-square foot hangar is currently underway, with opening planned for late 2020. Thereafter, Jet Aviation plans additional phases of development to support growing customer demand. Once opened, Scottsdale Jet Center FBO will bring Jet Aviation's global FBO network up to 35 locations. Jet Aviation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was founded in Switzerland in 1967 and is one of the leading business aviation services companies in the world. More than 4,800 employees cater to client needs from close to 50 facilities throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North America, and the Caribbean. The company provides maintenance, completions and refurbishment, engineering, FBO and fuel services, along with aircraft management, charter services and personnel services. Jet Aviation's European and U.S. aircraft management and charter divisions jointly operate a fleet of some 300 aircraft. Please visit www.jetaviation.com and follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/jetaviation. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.generaldynamics.com. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jet-aviation-acquires-stake-in-scottsdale-jet-center-new-fbo-to-open-in-late-2020-300843352.html Back to Top Aircraft Manufacturers Looking for Speed New composites technologies will help meet the growing demand for civil aircraft. Airline companies carried a record-setting 4.3 billion passengers globally in 2018 (International Civil Aviation Association), and by 2037 that number could reach 8.2 billion (International Air Transport Association). To serve those passengers, the research firm Deloitte estimates that aircraft manufacturers will have to produce more than 36,700 aircraft in the next 20 years - and that doesn't even include aircraft orders from regional carriers. Aircraft companies are already ramping up their manufacturing. Production rates on Spirit AeroSystems-supported platforms like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 continue to increase, according to Eric Hein, senior director of research and technology at Spirit AeroSystems. This puts pressure on the composites industry, since aircraft manufacturers have been steadily increasing the percentage of composites used in their planes. The airframe for the Boeing 787, for example, is made from 50 percent advanced composite materials. "Increased production rate capabilities for composite structures are important to commercial aerospace because the demand for composite aircraft structures continues to grow," Hein says. "Composites offer many great advantages when compared to metals. These include weight, tailorability, automation opportunities and service performance." Composite materials in today's aircraft are used primarily for nacelles, streamlined housings or tanks that hold engines, fuel or other equipment. "However, future clean-sheet single aisle fuselage structures are likely to contain significant composite content," Hein adds. A greater use of composites would help reduce the weight of these new designs, an important consideration for carriers that want to reduce their planes' carbon footprints. But there are economic factors at play as well. "Increased speed and volume [in composites manufacturing] result in lower costs due to economies of scale and faster time to market," says John Geriguis, innovation leader for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI). The use of composites also meets customers' demand for lower cost of ownership, not just the initial cost of the aircraft. "Fuel usage, maintenance, reliability and availability of aircraft play a big role in the total cost. Designing and building producible, lighter weight, unitized composite structures to lower initial cost, maintenance cost and fuel consumption is paramount," Geriguis adds. New urban air transportation services that carry people short distances will add to the demand for faster composite manufacturing technologies. Several companies, such as Uber Elevate, Joby Aviation and German-based Volocopter are working on variations of small, electric-powered aircraft that will be able to travel as far as 150 miles on a charge. These aircraft could transport commuters to and from work or take them on short hops between two cities. While some of the aircraft will be operated by pilots at first, the goal is to ultimately have them operate autonomously. "The vehicles will have to be made from composites because they have to be lightweight," says John Melilli, president of Composite Automation LLC. Since these services are intended to be ubiquitous, there will be a need for thousands of aircraft. "When they talk about building urban aircraft, they're not talking about building 30 or 40 a month," says Melilli. "They're talking about building 500 to 1,000 units a month." Improving on Technology Manufacturers currently produce many aircraft parts with thermoset composites using hand lay-up and autoclave curing. It's a labor and capital-intensive process. Much of today's manufacturing equipment isn't designed for higher production rates, either. The specific design details of a part, including its geometry and ply stack-ups, can limit the feed and speed of equipment. "For example, depending on local part curvature, cross-sectional area, ply starts and terminations, and other design details, the equipment will have to slow down to complete a task and avoid creating undesired manufacturing defects," says Larry Ilcewicz, the Federal Aviation Administration's chief scientific and technical advisor for composites. What's needed to meet the increasing demand are processes that enable scalable and variable rates of manufacturing. Melilli says that manufacturers have to find processes that can move production from manual to automated operations, from resin systems that require going into an autoclave to systems that can get parts production out of the autoclave. Spirit AeroSystems is currently researching new material systems that improve performance, processing and cost. It's also developing new high-rate deposition processes. "Material deposition rates and cure times are key to improving fabrication costs and throughput," notes Hein. Aerospace composites manufacturers are beginning to research and build processes around fast-cure resin systems. Improvements in cure time will ultimately remove the autoclave or oven as a potential production bottle neck. Thermoplastic Possibilities Composite parts makers are experimenting with a variety of out-of-autoclave (OoA) technologies, including compression molding, resin transfer molding (RTM), vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), and bladder and mandrel curing. Thermoplastic in-situ consolidation is one OoA technology that's attracting interest. Modern laser technology has given manufacturers more control over the temperatures required for working with thermoplastics; they can employ a laser to heat up the thermoplastic resin system and create pressure with a roller, so there's no need for an autoclave cure. Robotic tape placement is another possibility with in-situ consolidation. GA-ASI, for example, has introduced a tool-less thermoplastic manufacturing process that uses two robots, one to dispense thermoplastic tape and the other to consolidate it. This eliminates the need for massive tools; only perimeter holding and handling fixtures are necessary. With in-situ consolidation, part makers can form a unified composite structure comprising several different components in real time. This eliminates the need to drill holes to bolt things together. "You don't want to drill holes in a composite part if you can help it, because you're breaking the fibers," Melilli says. In-situ consolidation also enables the manufacture of strong, lightweight parts in less time. "Thermoplastics can be put down substantially faster, and there's not as much waste," says John Tyson, president of Trilion Quality Systems. The graphite epoxies used for thermosets have a limited shelf life, and they can become outdated before manufacturers can use them. With thermoplastics, there are no shelf life limitations. Thermoplastics offer another advantage. "Thermoplastic parts are effectively just as strong if not stronger than thermosets, because they don't have as many knockdowns," Tyson adds. "You don't have to put additional material on the part, which makes it lighter." He notes that thermoplastics are already being used in aircraft like the Airbus A380, which has a thermoplastic leading edge. In addition, Tyson predicts that the use of thermoplastics could reduce costs substantially, perhaps as much as 50 percent. While the work being done in thermoplastics holds promise, Melilli cautions that it's not yet ready for large-scale production. "Where and how thermoplastics will have a role in increasing the production throughput of aircraft is still developing," he says. "There's a lot of interest and work by major companies in this area. The materials manufacturers, the Tier 1s and the OEMS are working together to explore how and where these kinds of technologies will fit well with certain classes of their parts." In-Situ Inspection and Repair One of the challenges in moving to OoA parts production is maintaining the quality. "When you put the thermoplastic in a tool and then you put the tool in an autoclave, the annealing or curing process under a vacuum bag and against a hard tool solves a lot of problems. A lot of errors in manufacturing are fixed in the curing process," Tyson says. GA-ASI, for example, has begun incorporating in-situ inspections along with in-situ rework and repair into its tool-less manufacturing process. This makes the process more reliable and efficient and yields more predictable results. ARAMIS Thermography, developed by Trilion Quality Systems, is a full-field optical measurement system that can monitor the quality of composites parts as they're being produced. It's an integral part of the Real-time Virtual Assembly Tooling (RVAT) system being used by GA-ASI. "This technology uses a high-speed, thermographic camera. We can heat up a cured part, and as the part cools, using that camera, we can actually detect any voids or any foreign objects that are in the part," Melilli says. "That allows us to know whether or not the part is acceptable from a quality standpoint. It's faster than using ultrasonic technologies, which are the current accepted standards for examining parts after they've been made." One camera can do a lot of different things, Tyson explains. "While we're laying tape down with a robot head, we can track that head in six degrees of freedom so we can make sure that it's laying down material where it's supposed to be," he says. "We can check the bond quality of the material that's getting laid down and we can check the shape of the material - or the whole part - while it's being built to make sure it matches CAD in real time." Tyson says the number of production steps for in-situ monitoring with thermoplastics is half the number required for thermoset parts production. This makes manufacturing up to 10 times faster and may cut costs in half. But utilizing data from thermographic cameras could be helpful in thermoset parts production as well. The cameras could immediately detect any foreign materials caught between the layers of fabric during the lay-up process. To take advantage of the cameras' capabilities, Trilion has begun adding patterns on critical composite parts during manufacturing to enhance visual inspection. Using data from thermographic cameras, aircraft companies will be able to look for changes in the pattern to check for strains on those parts. They can monitor a plane's structural health during its lifetime without adding any weight or power (such as multiple strain gauges or acoustic sensors) to the aircraft. It is equivalent to using millions of strain gauges, according to Trilion. Faster Lay-up The use of sophisticated software is another way that manufacturers can speed parts production while improving the parts' quality. Fiber patch placement, for example, could cut lay-up time for tools and reduce the amount of fiber required for a composite part without impacting its strength. Developed by Cevotec, the fiber patch placement process uses pieces of unidirectional material, ranging from credit-card to letter-sized, in conjunction with a flexible gripper and a CAD model. After the gripper picks a patch up, a camera in the system exams the material for defects. The gripper then places each patch on a tool, arranging and orienting the pieces to optimize the strength of the part along its load path. "We have the potential of arranging the patches so that they are precisely where they need to be in the part to provide the strength that the part needs as defined in its CAD model," Melilli explains. "The software does all of the analysis, including a finite element analysis of the part." With this system, companies could produce thermoset or dry fiber preforms that can either go into an autoclave or into a clamshell mold for resin infusion. Plus, fiber patch placement is a faster process than hand lay-up, eliminating many steps in the manufacturing process. Composite Automation has done some prototype programs with the fiber patch placement, and European aerospace companies Safran and Premium Aerotec are doing some development work with it as well. Sharing Information Industry-wide cooperative efforts, including the sharing of data about new manufacturing technologies, will help speed development of the next generation of composite aircraft components. "In general, these improvements must be developed aggressively, which requires commitment and engagement from industry and partners," Hein says. In the United Kingdom, Spirit AeroSystems is partnering with the University of Strathclyde and other organizations on this research. "U.K. Catapult centers allow industry partners, like Spirit AeroSystems, to experiment on next-generation equipment much sooner than would typically be possible through internal funding," he adds. Established by UK Innovate, the United Kingdom's innovation agency, Catapult centers are a network of not-for-profit centers designed to spur innovation in a variety of industries. Another example of the cooperative approach is the Thermoplastic Composites Research Center (TPRC) in the Netherlands. The members of this consortium believe that thermoplastic composites are the best choice of material for lightweight manufacturing in large volumes, and they work together to eliminate technological barriers to its adoption. Melilli says NASA is proposing a similar thermoplastic consolidation institute in the U.S. But whether or not this becomes a reality, there's little doubt that manufacturers in this country will soon be trying some new approaches to aircraft parts production. Geriguis predicts that in the next three to five years, aerospace leaders like NASA, Airbus, Boeing and General Atomics and manufacturers like Fokker GKN and Spirit will adopt the new concepts of thermoplastic consolidation and that within a decade it will become one of the methods routinely employed for composites manufacturing. Hein sees some challenges, however. While many of the new composites technologies will be ready for incorporation into manufacturing in the next five years, the nature of the aircraft industry could delay their implementation. "Some of the technologies will require capitalization, material qualification or even changes to engineering, which are costs that are hard to justify on an existing program," he explains. "In those cases, the implementation will need to be coordinated with new product launches, which aren't as frequent in aerospace as in some other industries. At the same time, this drives a need to have the technologies ready earlier for when an implementation opportunity presents itself." Improved technologies will speed the adoption of composites by the aircraft industry. "There has already been a major increase in composite utilization in aerospace that has coincided with the productivity increases that have been incorporated over the last 20-plus years," Hein continues. As the cost and cycle times improve even further, composite material will likely assume an even larger role in future aircraft products. http://compositesmanufacturingmagazine.com/2019/05/aircraft-manufacturers-looking-for-speed/ Back to Top West Star Aviation retains top rating in magazine survey An aviation company with operations in Grand Junction remains the top-ranked maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the latest results of an annual magazine survey. West Star Aviation ranked first among most-preferred MROs in the 2019 survey conducted by Professional Pilot magazine. The company has ranked first since the magazine added the category to the survey in 2014. The rankings are based on a survey of magazine subscribers, including pilots, aviation managers and executives in charge of flight departments. West Star Aviation offers a range of services that include the maintenance and repair of airframes, engines and avionics as well as painting and interior refurbishments. At the Grand Junction Regional Airport, West Star Aviation operates a total of more than 280,000 square feet of hangars, shops and office space and employs more than 400 people. In addition to Grand Junction, West Star also operates facilities in Aspen and Denver as well as in Arizona, Illinois, Minneapolis, Missouri, Tennesee and Texas. For more information, visit the website at www.weststaraviation.com. https://thebusinesstimes.com/west-star-aviation-retains-top-rating-in-magazine-survey/ Back to Top KSA Has Just Launched Its First International Aviation Academy This week, Saudi Arabia's first-ever aviation academy was established in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Rabigh. According to Saudi Press Agency, the National Aviation Academy of Saudi Arabia (Tayaran) was inaugurated by Prince Sultan Bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Space Commission and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the newly-opened academy. Speaking at the event, Prince Sultan explained that the academy has been setup to qualify national cadres in accordance with the highest international standards and is in line with Saudi Arabia's goals to provide employment opportunities for its citizens. Regarding the latter point, it was highlighted during the event that the Kingdom needs around 8,800 pilots and 11,700 aircraft maintenance technicians in the civil and military sector over the next seven years, so the opening of the Tayaran academy is timely. "The academy will strengthen the Saudi economy and the aviation industry. With the Kingdom's strategic position and strong economy, it continues to make great progress in aviation, with the largest airports, the largest freight jets, and many significant international aviation conferences and forums," Prince Sultan said. According to Arab News, Captain Mohammed Al-Subaiei, director general of the academy, also spoke at the opening ceremony, saying that the academy plans on training 1,650 trainees every year, including 1,200 in aircraft maintenance and 450 as pilots, making it the largest center of its kind in the Middle East. "In three years, the academy will accept students from around the world. Such an ambitious project will initially begin with around 5 percent of the total number of applicants," he explained. "The academy is committed to utilizing the best technologies and teaching internationally accredited programs to prepare its members to become pioneers [...] [It] will provide job opportunities for young people who, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said, are our foremost resource." https://www.abouther.com/node/19206/people/features/ksa-has-just-launched-its-first-international-aviation-academy Back to Top Otumfuo,Thomas Mensah to establish Ghana's first Airport Aircraft maintenance facility in Kumasi Ghanaian-American inventor and creator of Silicon Valley of Ghana, Dr. Thomas Mensah has disclosed that his outfit in collaboration with Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has secured funds to set up an Airport Aircraft Maintenance Facility in the Ashanti region. According to him the project which is estimated at $400 million would be located at Kaase on a 23,000-acre land. Speaking to Citi News at the "World Meets-In Ghana Investment Forum" held in Kumasi as part of the Asantehene's 20th Anniversary said the investment will be the first in Ghana and will bring about major developments in Kumasi and West Africa. "The Airport Aircraft Management facility MRO, which will be the first in Ghana will be located in Kumasi. It will be built on land donated by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. We have already raised the money- so we have it already. This is going to be an anchor for an Airport city that will bring development to Kumasi and entire West Africa." "All people in West Africa will fly in here and they will be and put into the Aircraft Maintenance facility. Engineers from KNUST will come in, look at all the systems and instrument and change those that are bad before the Aircraft takes off. This will be for all airlines including the international ones", he added. Making Ghana an aviation hub The Akufo-Addo has promised to make Ghana an aviation hub for international and regional airlines and a destination of choice for travellers. Government has already on several key strategic programmes to fulfil its vision and change the fortunes of the aviation industry. The Kotoka International Airport's Terminal three project which was funded by a 120 million dollar loan from the African Development Bank has also been rolled out of which government expects to rake in some revenue. Parliament has also approved an EPC/Turnkey contract of 58.9 million euros between the Government of Ghana and Contracta Construction UK Limited for the execution of the development of phase three of the Kumasi Airport. https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Otumfuo-Thomas-Mensah-to-establish-Ghana-s-first-Airport-Aircraft-maintenance-facility-in-Kumasi-743900# Back to Top KBR Earns Three Year Extension on General Maintenance Services Contract for SATORP HOUSTON, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) announced today that it has received a three year extension to its existing General Maintenance Services (GMS) contract for the 440,000 bpd refinery at SATORP's (a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total) refining and petrochemicals project in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under the terms of the GMS contract, KBR, through its local joint venture subsidiary, will continue to provide preventive, predictive, corrective and shutdown maintenance services most notably for the Crude Distillation Units, Distillate Hydrocracker, Sulphur Recovery Unit, Aromatics, Catalytic Cracking Unit, Tank Farms and Port Loading Facilities among others. "This contract extension confirms SATORP's continued confidence in KBR as a full-service partner throughout the lifecycle of their asset, and KBR's position as the preeminent market leader in Industrial Services," said Jay Ibrahim, KBR President, Energy Solutions -- Services. "We are also proud that our strong commitment to ZERO HARM has achieved over 2.3 million safe man-hours on this project." KBR's strategic partnership with SATORP has the potential to stimulate industry-wide changes to current maintenance outsourcing philosophies, as KBR intends to drive its proven digital transformation initiatives to maximize asset utilization, minimize opex and augment asset ROI for customers. KBR has capitalized on driving digital transformation including robotics, modeling & simulation, data analytics, and enterprise software development from its government services business into the energy space. "KBR's culture of excellence is evident in its people's expertise and professionalism," said Suleiman Mansour Ababtain, SATORP CEO. "We appreciate KBR as a business partner in diverse business segments, and look forward to expanding our partnership to leverage off its advanced capabilities for delivering operational excellence in our refinery." About KBR, Inc. KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 37,500 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses: Government Solutions, serving government customers globally, including capabilities that cover the full lifecycle of defense, space, aviation and other government programs and missions from research and development, through systems engineering, test and evaluation, program management, to operations, maintenance, and field logistics Technology Solutions, including proprietary technology focused on the monetization of hydrocarbons (especially natural gas and natural gas liquids) in ethylene and petrochemicals; ammonia, nitric acid and fertilizers; oil refining and gasification Energy Solutions, including onshore oil and gas; LNG (liquefaction and regasification)/GTL; oil refining; petrochemicals; chemicals; fertilizers; differentiated EPC; maintenance services (Brown & Root Industrial Services); offshore oil and gas (shallow-water, deep-water, subsea); floating solutions (FPU, FPSO, FLNG & FSRU); program management and consulting services KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, integrated EPC delivery and long term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver. Visit www.kbr.com https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kbr-earns-three-year-extension-on-general-maintenance-services-contract-for-satorp-300843204.html Back to Top Airline-Focused Parent Keeps Faith in Lufthansa Technik Falling passenger yields in Europe and elsewhere meant a rocky first quarter for Lufthansa Group airlines, with Deutsche Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian and Eurowings all posting lower profits or bigger losses than the prior-year quarter. Lufthansa Technik provided the only real bright spot, with its operating profit climbing 17% to €125 million ($139 million) - versus a €336 million loss for the group as a whole. Lufthansa Technik's sales were also up 17% while operating margin was almost unchanged at 7.2%, and the MRO provider increased the number of aircraft it supports under exclusive contracts to 5,185. Commenting on the improved performance Lufthansa chief financial officer Ulrik Svensson said it was "mainly to do with an improvement in the engine division where throughput was up markedly." That remark is somewhat surprising given the global trend for engine overhaul delays due to parts shortage, but it could just be that overall engine maintenance demand is higher than last year, or that parts shortages were worse last year. More interesting was an analyst question about whether Lufthansa would pursue further divestitures following its decision to sell catering arm LSG. The company now defines itself as an 'airline' rather than 'aviation' group and Svensson acknowledged that "gradually just by the size of the airlines growing much more than the other business, it is going to be more an airline." He also confirmed that several Lufthansa Technik functions would move into Deutsche Lufthansa's responsibility, "which is already how it exists in most airlines in the world, including SWISS." Svensson cited benefits such as better transparency and fleet planning, all of which might suggest the company is distancing itself from Lufthansa Technik. However, he also scotched any speculation that Lufthansa Technik might be next on the block, saying: "We indeed are intending to keep that business going forward." https://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/airline-focused-parent-keeps-faith-lufthansa-technik Back to Top Collins To Launch Paid MRO Apprenticeship Program Collins Aerospace Systems will announce later today (May 2) that it is launching an aviation maintenance technician apprenticeship program at its aerostructures facility in Foley, Alabama, to fill skilled jobs it needs. The four-year program includes two years of college and two years of on-the-job training, done in cooperation with Coastal Alabama Community College. After completing the four-year blended curriculum, apprentices will receive an associate degree from the college and an FAA airframe license. "They will also be trained in all aspects of aircraft nacelle systems repair and overhaul processes, along with gaining experience in the business support functions including engineering repair design," says Scott Hannah, general manager of Collins Aerospace's Foley facilit This new apprenticeship program complements the facility's aviation work/study and internship programs and provides full-time employment. Hannah says he originally was going to start with two apprentices but "due to the high standards of applicants, we increased it to three." He expects to add a similar number of apprentices each year. The apprenticeship opportunity was posted on the Collins Aerospace online job site. The minimum requirement is a high school diploma and a minimum 2.5 GPA or higher throughout college. Candidates also "must successfully navigate a panel interview," says Hannah. Collins Aerospace's facility in Foley mainly provides MRO on large commercial aircraft nacelle systems. It also provides engine-build up and quick engine change services for Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan, CFM56-5 and V2500-A5 engines. The facility was part of UTC Aerospace Systems before United Technologies and Rockwell Collins merged in November 2018. https://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/collins-launch-paid-mro-apprenticeship-program Back to Top SpaceX Finally Confirms Dragon Capsule Explosion SpaceX has finally confirmed what we all suspected - its Dragon II spacecraft was totally destroyed during a test late last month. The admission comes from the company's vice president of mission assurance Hans Koenigsmann. During a recent press event, Koenigsmann addressed the loss of the capsule and provided the first official details on the "anomaly," as SpaceX calls it. The private spaceflight company founded by Elon Musk is one of two firms developing spacecraft for NASA's Commercial Crew Program along with Boeing. SpaceX was riding high on recent successes including the Dragon II test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the first commercial Falcon Heavy launch when tragedy struck on April 20th. The only official word at the time was that an anomaly had occurred on the test stand. Observers noted a cloud of smoke rising from Cape Canaveral. Later, a leaked video showed the capsule exploding. Koenigsmann seemed to confirm the issue arose from the Dragon's SuperDraco thrusters. The cargo Dragon and Dragon II both have smaller Draco engines, and those tested fine on the spacecraft. However, something happened as SpaceX prepared to fire the SuperDraco engines. These engines use hypergolic liquid fuel to produce enough thrust to pull the crew capsule away from a Falcon 9 rocket in an emergency. SpaceX also has aspirations to use them for propulsive landings. The SuperDracos had not actually started firing at the time of the explosion, so the cause remains unclear. Koenigsmann says it's too early to tell what happened. SpaceX Crew Dragon Explosion | LZ-1 | 20th April 2019 The vessel on the test stand that day was the same one that flew to the ISS several weeks before. SpaceX recovered it from the ocean for additional testing. The best case scenario is that it became damaged during the landing or recovery operation. NASA will use a fresh Dragon II for each crewed flight to the ISS, so this may not affect mission safety. Although, the loss of the Dragon II could also point to an undiscovered flaw in the design that could be a ticking time bomb. SpaceX is doing several innovative things with the Dragon II including the use of 3D printing to produce the SuperDraco combustion chamber. The sheer fact that SpaceX's launch abort system is liquid-fueled is unusual. NASA and SpaceX are working to investigate the incident, but the evidence is in pieces strewn across the testing platform. Boeing had to push back its CST-100 launch timeline by months following a fuel leak last year. SpaceX could be looking at a much longer delay. Its human-crewed test flight might not take place until 2020 at this rate. https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/290744-spacex-finally-confirms-dragon-capsule-explosion Curt Lewis