JUNE 17, 2019 - No. 048 In This Issue Maintenance Ops Face Unsung Effect From Max Grounding Avation PLC Announces GE Aviation and Avation Asset Transfer System Ruag Showcases Space, MRO and Aerostructures Capabilities TAT Offloads Sabena Technics to Investment Group Robotic Skies And Trumbull Unmanned Partner To Provide Maintenance Services ST Engineering Develops Drones For Aircraft External Inspection DGCA cancels authorisation to Jet's engineering department CFM's Leap Production Back on Schedule UAC Creates Connected Aircraft Enterprise The FAA Could Fine Allegiant Air Over $700,000 For Improper Maintenance NASA's 'Green' Fuel Will Make Its Space Debut on SpaceX Falcon Heavy Mission Maintenance Ops Face Unsung Effect From Max Grounding The continued grounding of the 737 Max will affect Boeing, suppliers, and operators alike, and the longer the crisis goes on the more disruption to the industry it will cause. For the airline sector, the exposure also depends directly on the number of Max jets a particular operator has already taken in proportion to its total fleet. Even though the likes of Southwest Airlines await the return to the air of 34 grounded Max jets, the fact that it flies more than 700 airplanes-all 737NGs-no doubt mitigates the damage. Several Max operators, such as Norwegian and Air Canada, have managed to maintain schedules through not only direct replacement with other types of 737s but with Boeing 787s flying fewer frequencies, for example. Other measures include wet leasing, lease extensions of unaffected aircraft types, or simply cancellation of some service. All such actions, however, threaten to increase unit costs, the burden for which might ultimately fall on Boeing in the form of compensation to the airlines. Another effect few analysts have considered involves maintenance planning. Again, the more Max airplanes a particular operator has taken in relation to the size of its fleet as a whole, the more complicated the job of juggling maintenance burdens will prove-and the longer the grounding continues, the more scheduled maintenance events will come due, particularly those unrelated to the number of hours a particular airplane has flown. Airlines bear a cost as a result, both due to the need to perform upkeep on grounded aircraft and the need to revisit overall maintenance plans. Calendar-driven maintenance tasks cover items such as seals or parts subject to corrosion. Other tasks maintenance crews need to perform on grounded airplanes include running the APU, draining engine oil, and replacing it with special conservation oil, placement of desiccant bags in the cabin, and removal of certain avionics among several other preventive steps to protect the airplane from climatic effects. "Because the airplanes are not flying...calendar activities versus the activities based on flight hours and flight cycles, they become out of sync," explained Yann Cambier, the London-based aviation analyst for global consultant ICF International. "So, one objective when you do your maintenance is to do as many activities as possible at once to reduce the amount of time your aircraft is grounded for maintenance purposes. And most airlines have an automated way of bundling tasks. So if you have a calendar task at 24 months, based on your expected utilization you know which flight-related task you have to do at the same time. But because you are not flying anymore, that kind of automation is kind of falling on its head." MRO providers face the same predicament, in addition to the direct loss of business resulting from the grounding. "Recently...SIA Engineering was mentioning that they have a large contract with Silkair, and because the maintenance activity is not happening, it has an impact on their bottom line," said Cambier. The grounding's financial effect also stands to hit the leasing market hard, as several airlines have opted not to pay their rents on grounded airplanes, noted Cambier, leaving the lessor holding the burden of pursuing compensation from Boeing. "You have a number of airlines that are refusing to pay the lessors because they don't want to pay rent on an aircraft that is not flying," he reported. "So the burden is now on the lessors to go back to Boeing to try to sort the issue out. So, in effect, airlines that have leased their Max jets might face less exposure than those that own their airplanes outright. Out of 354 grounded 737 Max 8s, operators lease 151, or 41 percent of the fleet. "I would expect that technically [the airlines] are still bound to [pay]," added Cambier. "But contracts are not always worth the paper they are written on. When it's such a massive and widely known industry issue, it is a challenge to get someone to pay for something they can't use." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-06-14/maintenance-ops-face-unsung-effect-max-grounding Back to Top Avation PLC Announces GE Aviation and Avation Asset Transfer System LE BOURGET, FRANCE AND SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / June 17, 2019 / GE Aviation and Avation PLC today announced an agreement to provide the AirVault Asset Transfer System across the lessor's fleet of ATR72 turboprops, A220-300 A320 and A321 narrow-body jets, Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-300 twin-aisle airplanes. The implementation is starting this month, with anticipated completion this year. "By providing the expertise to digitally manage mission-critical records across Avation's fleet, we're strengthening the focus on asset lifecycle management and maintenance optimization for the aviation industry," said Gib Bosworth, director for GE Aviation. The combination of GE's domain expertise in flight analytics and engine diagnostics to bring disparate data together and the digital leased asset transfer system capability will further enable web-based fleet maintenance across the aviation leasing market. Jeff Chatfield, Executive Chairman of Avation PLC said, "Avation is pleased to have selected the GE Aviation Air Vault Asset Transfer System to store and manage our fleet's aircraft records. Avation went through an extensive evaluation and comparison process to select a platform." The Asset Transfer System is a collaborative tool that streamlines and simplifies the way that leased asset documentation is managed between airlines and lessors by allowing operators to organize records in accordance with industry standard. The system enhances the efficiency of lease returns by helping operators organize files, perform collaborative document reviews with their lessors, and transfer files through an intuitive and digital user interface. Bosworth added, "The ability to connect records and data across aviation companies and the IT systems they use to manage their fleets will data availability and drive productivity." Avation PLC (AVAP.L) is a commercial passenger aircraft leasing company headquartered in Singapore, managing a fleet of aircraft which it leases to airlines across the world. Their customers include Flybe, Virgin Australia, Thomas Cook, Air France, easyJet, Eva Air, Philippine Airlines, Air India, Vietjet Air, Fiji Airways, Mandarin Airlines, Galistair, airBaltic and Danish Air Transport. www.avation.net GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE:GE), is a world-leading provider of commercial and military jet engines, and avionics, digital solutions and electrical power systems for aircraft. GE is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.www.geaviation.com/digital https://finance.yahoo.com/news/avation-plc-announces-ge-aviation-070500989.html Back to Top Ruag Showcases Space, MRO and Aerostructures Capabilities Swiss technology company Ruag (Hall 4, D3; Hall 2c, D371) is highlighting at the Paris Air Show the capabilities of its Space, Aerostructures, and MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) divisions. With more than 40 years of launch experience, Ruag's Space division supplies products for the institutional and commercial space markets in Europe and the U.S., specializing in components for satellites and launch vehicles. Its competencies lie primarily in electronics for all space applications; mechanical and thermal products for satellites; and structures and separation systems for launch vehicles. Customers and partners include ESA, NASA, ArianeGroup, Airbus Defense & Space, Thales Alenia Space, OHB, United Launch Alliance, Space Systems Loral, Orbital ATK, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. The Ruag MRO International division is the company's center of excellence for civil and military aircraft maintenance, upgrade programs, and aviation systems and subsystems. Aircraft services include airframe MRO, component and subsystems MRO, engineering, system upgrades, cockpit and avionics reconfigurations, painting, fleet management, logistics management, and support and consulting. Its highly specialized support capabilities for specific aircraft and helicopters span the entire life cycle of these platforms, encompassing maintenance, repair and overhaul services; upgrades; and developing, manufacturing, and integrating subsystems and components. Ruag Aviation's facility in Sion, Switzerland, has been named among the first helicopter services providers in Europe to earn manufacturer MRO approval for the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, which entered service late last year. Bell 505s are shipped to Europe partially disassembled, separated into airframe, tailboom, main rotor blades, and transmission. Ruag reassembles, tests, and certifies the aircraft as ready for service. "Our trained specialists in Sion ensure a reliable and prompt reassembly," said Ruag head of commercial helicopter services Claudio Zeiter. In March, Pilatus Aircraft renewed MRO International's PC-12 service center authorization, in place for 11 years. Operators "have come to understand that this expertise translates into the prompt and reliable resolution of routine maintenance events and optimized downtimes, all of which means improved aircraft availability and more time in the air," said Ruag Geneva site general manager Pio Ming. Also this year, Ruag Australia and its Victoria MRO gained EASA Part 145 approval to perform MRO and line support for European-registered aircraft on components in systems such as air conditioning and pressurization, engine/APU, fuel, pneumatic and vacuum, and ice/rain/fire protection. In addition, as the manufacturer (OEM) of the Dornier 228, a versatile aircraft for special missions as well as passenger and cargo operations, Ruag focuses on customer support solutions, including OEM services. As an independent supplier, support provider, and integrator of systems and components for civil and military aviation worldwide, MRO International also develops, manufactures, and supports simulation and training systems for live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) training. Incorporating complex and flexible functions, the simulation technology supports realistic training scenarios adapted to mission goals at individual, team, and unit instruction levels. Meanwhile, Ruag's Aerostructure division specializes in the development, manufacturing, and final assembly of complete fuselage sections for passenger aircraft, wing and control surface components, as well as sophisticated component assemblies and parts. Known for its ability to manage complex supply chain networks, the division is currently responsible for the complete global fuselage section supply chains for Airbus and Bombardier. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2019-06-16/ruag-showcases-space-mro-and-aerostructures-capabilities Back to Top TAT Offloads Sabena Technics to Investment Group In a move further highlighting the buoyant M&A environment of the aviation aftermarket, the acquisition of aircraft maintenance and modifications specialist Sabena Technics was finalized this week with the company being sold to a consortium of funds who will now become the company's majority shareholders. Sabena's parent company TAT Group confirmed the sale on June 13 to the investment consortium comprised of three entities: French investment bank Bpifrance, Sagard, the Paris-based private equity arm of Power Corporation of Canada and British-U.S. investment company TowerBrook. The deal was first mooted in December 2018 subject to regulatory approvals. Under the new ownership structure, TAT will retain a minority shareholding but Sabena's management structure has undergone some adjustments. Rodolphe Marchais, current chairman of TAT, will take over the presidency of Sabena's supervisory board. Philippe Rochet, Sabena's chief operating officer, will become the executive CEO and shareholder of the group. TAT first acquired Sabena, which used to operate as the maintenance division of former Belgian airline Sabena, back in 2005. The company has remained competitive as an independent MRO provider in Europe's saturated aftermarket, focusing mostly on heavy maintenance services and increasingly so, in modifications work. Last year, it generated a turnover of approximately €450 million ($507 million) in 2018 and has previously confirmed its goal of increasing revenue to €600 million in 2021. Despite some notable private equity-MRO misfires, notably the collapse of Monarch Aircraft Engineering, the aviation aftermarket remains an attractive proposition to private equity companies in the U.S. and Europe. In the past year, Engine repair specialist StandardAero was sold to asset management company The Carlyle Group for around $5 billion. Following this, Carlyle invested in family-owned component manufacturing and repair company Nordam after funding the business out of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Speculation suggests SR Technics could also be attracting the overtures of asset management company Blackstone, which is exploring the MRO segment having raised more than $22 billion from investors for its latest private equity fund earlier this year. https://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/tat-offloads-sabena-technics-investment-group Back to Top Robotic Skies And Trumbull Unmanned Partner To Provide Maintenance Services Robotic Skies® Inc., the only global maintenance network for commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and Trumbull Unmanned, a leader in data and automation in energy and government, announce their partnership to support Trumbull's global UAS operations through the Robotic Skies service center network. As both organizations continue to expand, they are forming partnerships with key players in the commercial UAS industry to ensure they can provide a best-in-class service offering to meet the increasing demand in the energy and government sectors. The companies have a shared view of building a holistic and secure offering, founded in the best practices from their collective aviation experience. "At Trumbull, our aim is to ensure we maintain the highest quality fleet possible as we grow. As a trusted name in aviation maintenance, we are excited to partner with Robotic Skies," said Dyan Gibbens, CEO of Trumbull Unmanned. Together Trumbull and Robotic Skies will provide a complete and reliable UAS package for their customers including world-class pilots and aircraft that are maintained by trained and certified technicians. "We're excited to partner with Trumbull," says Brad Hayden, CEO of Robotic Skies. "Founded by aviators with decades of flight operations experience, Trumbull's safety-based approach allows them to successfully fly the most complex UAS missions in nearly any environment. Our support offerings are an excellent complement to their data solutions portfolio, keeping their fleet of UAS operating as efficiently as possible." About Robotic Skies Robotic Skies is the only global network of certified UAS maintenance centers. It offers comprehensive turnkey field service programs designed to keep UAS flying safely, efficiently and affordable around the world. Founded in 2014, Robotic Skies has more than 170 certified repair stations across more than 40 countries, providing MRO and support services for commercial UAS. Each service center in the network has the aviation expertise and factory training to ensure the mission readiness of these aircraft. About Trumbull Unmanned A Forbes Top 25 Veteran Founded Startup, Trumbull conducts tech-enabled inspections and creates 3D models of critical infrastructure in energy and government. Houston-based, Trumbull focuses on automation, data, and environmental resilience to collect, visualize, and analyze data via drones. In 2018, Entrepreneur recognized Trumbull in its 100 Brilliant Companies. To learn more please visit www.trumbull.io. https://uasweekly.com/2019/06/16/robotic-skies-and-trumbull-unmanned-partner-to-provide-maintenance-services/ Back to Top ST Engineering Develops Drones For Aircraft External Inspection ST Engineering has developed an aircraft inspection system using drones called DroScan and will commence trials soon in cooperation with Air New Zealand. Droscan has a drone fly around the outside of an aircraft to inspect its surface and produce high definition images which are processed with smart algorithms to detect and classify defects, which aircraft engineers can review and confirm, or carry out further inspection for defects if required. Air New Zealand Chief Ground Operations Officer Carrie Hurihanganui says the airline is committed to exploring new and innovative ways of operating - including in the aircraft engineering space. "Using a drone to inspect our aircraft will save time, taking around one to two hours, compared to up to six - depending on aircraft type - which means repairs can start sooner if needed, and our aircraft will be able to get back in the air more quickly. "We've trialed using DroScan on a number of our aircraft undergoing maintenance inspections in Singapore now and believe using a drone will also help improve inspection quality. In future, there may be an opportunity to use the device in New Zealand, for example to conduct ad hoc inspections after lightning strikes." Deputy President of ST Engineering's Aerospace sector Jeffrey Lam says, "Incorporating innovative technologies into aviation MRO holds great potential in enhancing the way aircraft get serviced. We are happy to be working with our like-minded partner, Air New Zealand which shares the same motivation and belief as us in exploring the full potential of technologies to improve maintenance work. "We believe solutions such as DroScan will drive great value for the aviation industry given the huge emphasis it places on safety and efficiency, and we look forward to using it to great effects after we have completed the trials successfully with Air New Zealand." Further to the DroScan, Air New Zealand and ST Engineering are collaborating to manufacture a growing number of 3D printed replacement interior parts, and in data analytics to optimise maintenance activities. https://www.defenseworld.net/news/24962/ST_Engineering_Develops_Drones_for_Aircraft_ External_Inspection#.XQdeKrzYrnE Back to Top DGCA cancels authorisation to Jet's engineering department The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has cancelled critical authorisations to Jet Airways' engineering department, rendering the grounded airline defunct and unable to carry out any maintenance work on aircraft, said three people aware of the matter, reports Anirban Chowdhury in ET. The action taken by DGCA will impact the airline's most critical assets, its planes, which are in constant need of maintenance and preservation even as they are grounded. Experts said the development left very little value for Jet Airways' flying permit. The bankrupt airline now has 14 planes left in its fleet, primarily comprising the wide-bodied Boeing 777 planes that it owns. Most of its other planes were leased and have been deregistered by lessors as Jet Airways defaulted on monthly rentals. The airline still has around 500 engineers on its rolls. The DGCA's action also bars the airline from doing any third-party aircraft maintenance work for other airlines. "Jet wasn't meeting the minimum criteria for its engineering department to do any maintenance work on planes, which is why the action has been taken," said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who did not wish to be identified. The regulator has cancelled authorisations under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) M, 145 and 147, the official said. CAR M "specifies certain technical requirements to be complied by organisations and personnel involved in the maintenance of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances in order to demonstrate the capability and means of discharging the obligations and associated privileges thereof", according to the DGCA website. "It also specifies conditions of issuing, maintaining, amending, suspending or revoking certificates attesting such compliance." CAR 145 "establishes the requirements to be met by an organisation to qualify for the issue or continuation of an approval for the maintenance of aircraft and components" and is required for an airline to do third party maintenance work. CAR 147 covers the training of personnel to carry out plane maintenance functions. The DGCA's move happened after the airline's quality manager Biju Fernandes and continuing airworthiness manager D. Shyamsundar quit on May 31. Vinay Dube, Jet Airways' CEO as well as its accountable manager quit earlier, on May 14. The three positions - accountable manager, quality manager and continuing airworthiness manager - form the primary criterion under the three CARs. Jet Airways stopped operations on April 17, after it ran out of cash to stay afloat and failed to raise funds. Its lenders, led by the State Bank of India, have been scrambling to find it an investor. Talks are currently on with the Hinduja Group and Etihad Airways, which owns 24% stake in the airline, for fresh investment to revive the airline. (Source: Economic Times) http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/Aviation/dgca-cancels-authorisation-to-jets-engineering-department-43799 Back to Top CFM's Leap Production Back on Schedule CFM confirmed Saturday that it has caught up on production of its Leap engine line, almost one year after company executives told reporters at the Farnborough Air Show that the company had fallen behind by as much as four weeks. The company met its target of delivering 1,100 engines in 2018 and fully expects to meet its 2019 goal of 1,800, representing a 60 percent year-over-year increase in production, reported CFM chief executive Gael Meheust during a pre-show briefing in Paris. Leap engines in service last year registered a 96-percent utilization rate, equaling that of the far more "mature" CFM56, added Meheust. The company has completely addressed problems with the Leap-1A starter air valve, the -1B's low-pressure turbine disk, and the -1A's stage-two disk. CFM introduced last August-on time-a solution to thermal barrier coating loss in the high-pressure turbine of both Leap variants and now awaits only the in-service results over the next year-and-a-half. Fuel leaks in both Leaps also forced CFM to redesign some tubes in the fuel system. That fix has received certification and the company plans to install the new configuration next month. Another problem involved particles coming from a bearing in the Leap-1B's radial drive shaft, which were getting caught in the oil filter screen due to inadequate lubrication. CFM established a Service Bulletin calling for inspection of the screen and devised a redesign scheduled for introduction in the next two months. Finally, the company must still address a fuel nozzle carbon buildup in the -1A under certain operating conditions. For now, maintenance technicians must remove the nozzles to clean them, resulting in modest airplane downtime. CFM continues demonstration testing of new technology that cleans the nozzles while they remain inside the engine. It hopes to have introduced the system by the end of the year, said CFM executive vice president Allen Paxson. "We do have design changes and a process to eliminate this for customers that need it in the future," he noted. "However, those probably won't be available until early 2021. So it's probably a year and a half away until we have a solution that we can put onto the engine that will prevent this from happening in all operational conditions." CFM (Chalet 119) certainly also hopes the Leap-1B-powered Boeing 737 Max returns to revenue service by then. But while questions over the effects of Boeing's rate reduction from 52 to 42 a month kept arising during the briefing in Paris, Paxson said the Max crisis has affected the engine company more from the need to take measures to preserve engines of the grounded airplanes than from any production interruption. "In the field, which has been most of our focus quite frankly, is when you set the airplanes down. We want to make sure that the engines are preserved, that oil systems are preserved appropriately when they're sat down, that engines are covered so we don't have birds nesting in them, and things like that," explained Paxson. "And then we get busy and use the downtime to do a preventative maintenance and get ahead of things. There have been some engines requiring maintenance...We want to get those tasks done...We're really are very focused on getting this back into service in a very smooth way." Despite Boeing's rate cut, CFM continues to build engines at the rates it agreed before the Max crisis, said the executives assembled for the briefing. So it continues to deliver engines as if Boeing still built 52 per month, leaving Boeing with the job of juggling inventory and storage. "We've made minor adjustments at the piece-part level...to align ourselves with the production demand," said Paxson. "We have some levers [with the supply chain], added Meheust. "We have levers because everybody believes that the airplane will fly again in the next months. We don't know exactly if it's two months, three months, four months, I don't know. But the commercial discussions with customers are still open and we deliver spares, and this is a good lever because we are delivering a lot of spares per year. So this is a way we can manage the supply chain at this time." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-06-15/cfms-leap-production-back-schedule Back to Top UAC Creates Connected Aircraft Enterprise Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is developing the Connected Aircraft Enterprise (CAE), an IT-based instrument to facilitate a move from a jetliner as an end-product to what it said is "service on manufacturer-guaranteed on-call delivery of a suitable aircraft to airline customers." The respective concept has been under development and refinement for two years, according to Valery Okulov. Former Aeroflot chief (1997-2009) and then deputy transport minister (till 2017), he now serves a chancellor to the UAC president. In Okulov's view, the indigenous aircraft manufacturing industry has a bad reputation among airlines for deplorable aftersales support resulting in low utilization of locally made passenger jets. UAC can overcome this by offering the market "a completely new product" with most risks pertaining to aircraft-notably the MC-21 narrowbody and reworked Superjet regional jet-carried by the OEM. "This way is the one that shall lead [UAC] to a prominent place on the global market," he said. Neither Airbus nor Boeing is interested in practical efforts on the materialization of such a radical concept because that duopoly has a seven- to nine-year backlog on the major types it produces, Okulov explained. Under this concept, the manufacturer would act as "as a service provider that undertakes all obligations on aircraft availability and flight safety, including speedy provision of a replacement airplane" when necessary. "This is what shall truly become the Total Technical Support as we understand it today," Okulov said. While this adds to the burden of issues the aircraft manufacturing industry has been carrying, he added, "we do not have much choice in the conditions of tough competition" with foreign OEMs. Practical implementation of this concept requires the manufacturer to team with interested MRO organizations and other service providers. These may include financial institutions and leasing companies as well as purposely formed aircraft operators as providers of jetliners on wet (or dry) lease terms to airlines acting as end-users. While network fleet management has been successfully practiced for several years, including in Russia (for instance, Aeroflot managing commercial activities and fleets of Rossiya and Pobeda airlines in the group it leads), it needs further development to involve the aircraft OEM. As part of this broader effort, UAC is developing CAE as a common IT platform that would unite the OEM, its vendors and suppliers, as well as financial institutions, lessors, and airlines. The platform employs advanced computer technologies as blockchain, predictive analytics, and others. After the software package is tested and cleared as being mature for commercial application, UAC will distribute it free of charge to airline partners, "since above 80 percent of those do not have the financial resources to buy it anyway," said SCAC general manager Kamil Gayutdinov, who was a former Boeing employee. To make matters worse, many air carriers supply vital data in different formats and at different time intervals. "In most cases," he said, "they use Microsoft Excel as the only applied computer program to support their daily activities." CAE is meant to be a comprehensive software package that collects and processes big data volumes voluntarily provided by the aforementioned organizations involved in aircraft operations, so as to give a complete and clear picture of airplanes in operation as both technical and financial assets. Although similar IT efforts have been in the market for a while, few have delivered what was expected of them, and UAC intends that CAE prove different, through much more active involvement of the OEM and its industrial partners. Among other things, the OEM and its partners can add and verify vital information on authenticity and history of parts, their reliability in operation, and predictions for the need of spares. The CAE software receives data from airplanes (parametric data, reports of onboard systems, failures) and airlines (technical departments, flight departments, and ground services) to perform real-time monitoring of the technical and financial condition of aviation assets. Through access to information on operational (technical) reserves remaining and status of rental payments under leasing contracts, CAE can enable the lessor or other aircraft owner to monitor the technical conditions of an asset and the status of rental payments, which is vital to ensure return on investment and remarketing capability. CAE is also viewed as an instrument to calculate direct operational expenses, depending on aircraft type, the number of years in operation, and maintenance procedures. The tool allows for the calculation of residual costs, facilitates audits, and helps achieve cost reduction through fewer personal meetings between aircraft owners and operators, according to Gayutdinov. Overall, CAE provides "a quality analysis of operational costs on an asset and advises an optimal service strategy." If successful, the Total Technical Support and CAE could give a boost to UAC's reputation among airlines and a rise in income and profits from placement of MC-21 and SSJ100 airliners. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-06-15/uac-creates-connected-aircraft-enterprise Back to Top The FAA Could Fine Allegiant Air Over $700,000 For Improper Maintenance The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering fining Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air $715,438 According to website Flight Safety. On Wednesday, the FAA issued a statement in which they claimed that, in October of 2017, Allegiant Air contacted them asking for permission to deactivate the automatic reverse thrust on their MD-80 aircraft when the exhaust gas temperature was above normal. The FAA responded to the low-cost airline two months later saying that to deactivate the system went against procedures, unless it was the system that was responsible for the higher than normal temperatures. While saying this, they pointed out the above normal temperatures could be due to something else and not the automatic reverse thrust. While flying to Orlando, Florida from Roanoke, Virginia on April 13, 2018, the FAA claims that the exhaust gas exceeded normal temperature limits during the aircraft's take-off saying: "When this occurs, the MD-80 maintenance manual calls for turning off the automatic reverse thrust system, finding the cause of the excess temperature and correcting the cause before turning the system on again." "Allegiant, however, did not determine the cause of the excess temperature. ... Instead, the carrier deactivated the system on April 14, 2018, and installed an inoperative placard on it." The FAA went on to say that Allegiant Air continued to fly the plane a further 28 times without having determined what was causing the excessive exhaust gas temperatures. "As a result, Allegiant violated the terms of its FAA-issued operations specifications," the FAA said. After receiving notification from the FAA, the airline will have 30 days to respond. This is not the first time Allegiant Air has been in trouble with the FAA In 2016 the Tampa Bay Times ran a story saying that Allegiant's planes were four times more likely to have in-flight failures than any other American airline. A report by the highly-respected CBS television news show 60 Minutes following up on the Tampa Bay lead found that the airline had more than 100 serious mechanical issues during 2016 and 2017. These included mid-flight engine failure, rapid emergency descents, aborted take-offs, landings and smoke in the cabin. Allegiant Air no longer uses the MD-80 After years of being the leisure airline's workhorse, Smarter Travel reports that the last MD-80 flight took place in December of 2018. The airline now only operates with a fleet of Airbus A320's, hopefully ending years of reliability and safety concerns. According to Smarter Travel, Allegiant responded to the 60 Minutes television show, saying, "Safety is at the forefront of our minds and the core of our operations." Following up on promises made at that time, the airline was good to its word and has replaced all of its ageing MD-80s with newer Airbus A320's. Should Allegiant Air still be fined $700,000? It's all well and good that Allegiant Air got rid of their old MD-80's for newer Airbus planes, but we still have to face facts that from what the FAA says the airline knowingly flew defective aircraft. That being the case they still need to be fined, as it not only punishes them for what they did, but sends a strong message to other airlines looking to cut corners. Is the FAA doing a good enough job? Following the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, there have been plenty of questions raised insinuating that the plane was rushed through its airworthiness process so that Boeing would not lose out on orders to Airbus. Then, of course, the FAA allowed Boeing to issue pilot instructions on how to fly the new jet on an iPad rather than have pilots train in simulators. In fact, Sen. Chuck Schumer blasted the FAA in a New York Post article saying: "Since at least 2014, it would appear the FAA has been in a nose-dive on safety, and that simply cannot fly." The article in the post continued saying enforcement actions" related to aeroplane maintenance as well as fines levied against airlines dropped by 70 per cent between 2014 and 2017. Given those statements, we can assume that the FAA is now looking to redeem itself and impose fines anywhere it can. https://simpleflying.com/faa-allegiant-maintenance-fine/ Back to Top NASA's 'Green' Fuel Will Make Its Space Debut on SpaceX Falcon Heavy Mission The pressure to "go green" will soon travel outside of our horizon and into space. NASA's Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) is currently scheduled to launch on June 24 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as part of a technology-testing mission dubbed STP-2. GPIM, a small, box-shaped spacecraft powered by green technology, will test out a low-toxicity propellant in space for the first time, according to NASA. The clean propellant, a hydroxyl ammonium nitrate fuel/oxidizer mix called AF-M315E, will serve as an alternative to hydrazine, a highly toxic compound used in rocket fuel to power satellites and spacecraft. "It's important that we develop technology that increases protections for launch personnel and the environment, and that has the potential to reduce costs," Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement. GPIM, which cost NASA a total of $65 million, has been in the works for years now and passed its first thruster pulsing test in 2013. This month marks another step toward the agency's goal of providing a sustainable and efficient alternative fuel for spaceflight. Right now, most spacecraft run on hydrazine, but NASA's new fuel is nearly 50% more efficient, promising longer missions that use less propellant. The fuel is also higher in density, meaning that more of it can be stored in less space, and it has a lower freezing point, and so requires less spacecraft power to maintain its temperature, according to NASA. And compared with hydrazine, the fuel is much safer for humans. "It's pretty benign, and we think that it can be loaded at universities or other environments where you're not typically doing propellant-loading operations," Dayna Ise, the technology demonstration missions program executive in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said during a media call held on June 7. "Oh, and you can send it through FedEx, so it's safe enough to be FedExed around the country." Ball Aerospace, a spacecraft manufacturer in Colorado, has been working with subcontractor Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA scientists to develop a propulsion system for the green fuel. GPIM is one of four NASA technology missions among the payloads of the STP-2 mission that a SpaceX Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch on June 24. https://www.space.com/falcon-heavy-nasa-testing-clean-fuel-stp2.html Curt Lewis