Author: neilw

West Star Aviation and Norwest Equity Partners Reach Agreement, Secure Resources for Next Level of Growth

West Star Aviation has successfully reached an investment partnership with Norwest Equity Partners (NEP), a leading middle market investment firm founded in 1961.

Norwest has made a significant investment in West Star Aviation, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing independent providers of Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) and related services to the business aviation industry. The transaction was completed on April 28, 2016.

“On behalf of the entire West Star team, we are confident that our new partnership with NEP will help us successfully achieve our next level of growth. In partnership with NEP, our operating philosophy will remain grounded in our strong technical expertise, experienced employees, attention to detail, and a constant focus on customer service and satisfaction,” stated Robert Rasberry, West Star Aviation CEO.

Tim DeVries, NEP Managing General Partner, stated, “West Star’s solid business model and industry leading management team have helped to establish extremely high barriers to entry within the business aviation maintenance market. West Star has done a great job to earn a global reputation as a highly valued, ‘go-to’ MRO services provider, and we’re going to work hard to leverage their existing growth momentum along with our combined NEP capital and resources to further build and grow the company.”

In addition to its facilities in East Alton, IL; Grand Junction, CO; and Chattanooga, TN, West Star Aviation runs maintenance operations at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Aspen, CO; Chicago Executive Airport in Chicago, IL and Centennial Airport in Denver, CO. The company also provides complete FBO services for transient aircraft at its newly remodeled East Alton and Grand Junction facilities.

“From expanding service capabilities and facilities to key contracts and strategic growth initiatives, West Star is well-positioned for continued success. The right team is also in place to help lead the way,” Todd Solow, NEP Partner, said.

CFM Orders Strong in 2015

2015 proved to be another strong year for CFM orders with the company booking a total of 2,154 engines, including 736 CFM56 engines (commercial, military and spares) and 1,418 LEAP engines (including spares).

The company says 2016 is already off to a good start, with nearly 600 engine orders received in January. At the same time, the LEAP engine has now surpassed 10,000 total engine orders and commitments (excluding options) at a value of $140 billion U.S. at list price.

CFM continues to achieve historic production rates for the CFM56 product line. The company produced 1,638 CFM56 engines in 2016, compared to 1,560 engines in 2014 and 1,502 in 2013. CFM maintains the highest production rate in the industry and has consistently built more than 1,000 CFM56 engines per year since 2006.

“We are honored that airline customers around the world continue to show a preference for CFM engines,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. “The CFM56 family is still going strong and we believe LEAP orders raise even higher as our technology choices prove themselves out in the flight test programs at Airbus and Boeing.

“Our 2015 orders bring the current backlog to more than 13,400 engines and our biggest challenge now is building them all. To meet that challenge, GE and Snecma have invested nearly $1 billion U.S. to date in new and upgraded facilities that incorporate today’s most advanced manufacturing technology. Our goal is to ensure that each new LEAP engine is delivered on time with the same level of quality and reliability our customers have come to expect from a CFM product.”

This year makes the start of the transition to LEAP engine production, with more than 140 units in the plan. The company expects to complete the transition by 2020 with an annual production rate of more than 2,000 engines. CFM will continue to build CFM56 spare engines for many years to support the in-service fleet and plans to produce spare parts for the program until around the year 2045.

State of the Industry

The Top MRO Leaders Share Their Wisdom:

  • Dr. Johannes Bussmann Chairman of the Executive Board, Lufthansa Technik
  • Kevin McAllister President and CEO, GE Aviation, Services
  • Franck Terner Executive Vice President, AIR FRANCE KLM Engineering & Maintenance
  • Matthew Bromberg President, Pratt & Whitney Aftermarket
  • Mário Lobato de Faria Executive Vice President, TAP Maintenance and Engineering
  • Sarah MacLeod Executive Director, Aeronautical Repair Station Association
  • Dany Kleiman AAR, VP of Repair & Engineering
  • Leo Koppers SVP Marketing & Sales, MTU Maintenance
  • Jeff Bartlett Director – Airlines, BAE Systems
  • Pastor Lopez CEO, PEMCO World Air Services
  • Christopher Whiteside President, AJW Group
  • Jeremy Remacha CEO, SR Technics
  • Jim Sokol President MRO Services, HAECO Americas
  • Refael Matalon Senior Director & GM Marketing and BD, IAI/Bedek Group
  • Zilvinas Lapinskas CEO, FL Technics
  • Jim Martin Founder & Managing Partner ACM Aviation Staffing and President & CEO, Marana Aerospace Solutions
  • Turkish Technic Senior Official, Turkish Technic
  • Eric Strafel President and CEO, Aviall
  • Derek Zimmerman President, Gulfstream Product Support
  • Todd Duncan Chairman, Duncan Aviation
  • Neil W. Book President and Chief Executive Officer, Jet Support Services, Inc.
  • Malissa Nesmith Senior Vice President/COO, Global Parts.aero
  • Geoff Chick Vice President of Customer Service, Dassault Falcon
  • Charles Picasso CEO, Aviation Technical Publishers
  • Brad Thress Senior Vice President, Customer Service, Textron Aviation

Success at the Annual Gathering of the Avionics Industry

[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”” padding_right=”” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Aviation Electronics Europe, the premier global conference and exhibition for the international avionics and aviation electronics community, met in Munich, Germany on 20th & 21st April for its latest annual industry gathering.

The event delivered a highly focussed Main Conference Programme, as well as a series of Technical Workshops and Certified Training Courses as well as the largest exhibition in aviation electronics.

Following the Opening Keynote, which saw EUROCAE Secretary General Christian Schleifer, and Lufthansa’s SESAR Program manager, Sven Kutschera, deliver insightful overviews, key updates on the SESAR and NextGen programmes from Rick Heinrich of Rockwell Collins, Dung Nguyen from Boring and Thomas Maier at Airbus, enabled delegates to gain a greater understanding of the current position and future developments.

With nearly 1000 registered industry professionals over the two days, who discovered the latest issues, challenges and technologies, and listened to some of the leading international experts in relation to SESAR, NextGen programmes, as well as topics including ADS-B, Cyber Security, Satellite based solutions and Standardization and Certification.[/fusion_text][/one_full][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”bottomshadow” hover_type=”zoomin” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][/one_third][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”zoomin” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][/one_third][one_third last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”zoomin” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][/one_third][/fullwidth]

Maintenance Software: More Real-Time, More Mobile

by Charlotte Adams

SoftwarePix251Automation is everywhere you look — in the hangar and repair shop as well as the cockpit. For the repair shops, line maintenance operations, MROs, and airline support departments that make the best use of it, computer technology gives a competitive edge in this tight-margin business. Benefits include lower costs, higher efficiencies, and greater capacity.

But automation isn’t static. In aviation maintenance as in other industries automation continues driving towards higher-speed, lower-cost processing and to deeper levels of integration both within individual software systems and between enterprise maintenance software and complementary aftermarket applications.

Perhaps the highest-profile trend in the aviation maintenance software market is the integration of mobile devices with core software and the proliferation of Web apps that can allow maintenance technicians to log their hours and sign off on work more quickly yet be trackable by managers in near real time. As a result, traditionally paper-intensive maintenance operations promise to become less costly and more efficient.

Ultramain
Ultramain offers a suite of integrated, but user-selectable, applications oriented around an “ePaper” strategy, according to Mark McCausland, company president. The latest release, ULTRAMAIN v9, was designed for paperless use, he says.

The company provides a series of mobile products – Mobile Mechanic, efbTechLogs, eCabin, Mobile Inventory, and Mobile Executive – that work together with ULTRAMAIN’s M&E/MRO suite as well as with other maintenance systems, he says. Headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M., the company has units in Ireland, India, and Hong Kong. It is mainly focused on the commercial aviation sector.

Ultramain notes three recent go-lives, one of which involved a line maintenance MRO in Mexico, serving 70 airlines with 23 destinations in that country. The latest involved a large international carrier that initiated efbTechLogs for its 777 fleet.

Ultramain software also incorporates optimization into functions such as fleet planning, maintenance scheduling, labor resourcing, and hangar bay usage. It includes cost accounting functions throughout its maintenance and supply applications, McCausland says, and “comes with off-the-shelf integration capabilities … with financial systems such as Oracle and SAP.”

TRAX
Miami-based TRAX has introduced a new Web product called eMRO, a mobile MRO solution usable on any platform, it says. The software is “totally mobile” in that “all functions can be used on mobiles.” And since eMRO is “pure Web,” there is no installed client,” it says.

Most of TRAX’s customers are passenger and cargo airlines although “pure” MROs like Lufthansa Technik Philippines and Turkish Technic also use the software. The company regards Swiss Aviation, SAP, Mxi Technologies, and IFS as competitors.

Both eMRO and the company’s legacy platform, TRAX Maintenance, provide materials management, resource management, technical publications, fleet management, component management, and EDI functions.

Commsoft
Commsoft, a UK-based software developer with a wide-ranging, global customer base, also stresses Web alignment and mobile applications although managing director, Nick Godwin, notes that the trend toward cloud and mobile technologies “is evolving more slowly in reality than optimistic theoretical predictions” imply in the context of the larger environment.

Coatings Application Training Gets an Update

by Dale Smith

CoatingsPix251Whether you are shaking up a rattle can or yielding a high-end airless spray gun, there’s a lot more to achieving a great paint finish than picking the right color.

The aircraft coatings industry has undergone a revolution of sorts. The old chromate-heavy primers and topcoat-type paints have all but been replaced with the new basecoat/clearcoat formulas.

These new paint formulations are not only much, much more environmentally friendly, the fact that they dry faster and hold their colors years longer on the aircraft, have freed airlines up to use their fleet as airborne billboards touting everything from elaborate liveries to some really creative, co-branding messaging.

“For these purposes, the paint performs a very special role,” stated Stefan Jaschinski, head of Technical Services for Mankiewicz Coatings. “The applications of complex liveries and the usage of micas have increased over the past years. The quickness (drying times) of the basecoat applications plays an important role here.”

“For instance, if one were to paint the WestJet Disney livery using topcoats, the aircraft would sit in the hangar for weeks without being able to carry passengers,” he said. “That is inconceivable.”

According to Mankiewicz, the Disney Magic themed 737 the company painted for Canadian Airline WestJet required 36 color shades partially achieved by the company’s “wild spraying technique” which is based on the blending and shading of various colors.

“The wild spraying technique is one of the many process improvements that accompany the basecoat/clearcoat technology,” Jaschinski said. “Instead of the most frequent color (base color) being applied first, you can apply the lowest (background) color first. Amongst time and material, this procedure results in weight and cost savings for the operator.”

“The overwhelming perception is that the basecoat/clearcoat technology potentially adds two to three years to the life of an aircraft’s finish,” explained Richard Giles, Global Technical Service and Training Manager, Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings. “That’s many more years on the strip cycle and that adds up to significant savings, which airlines are using to invest in more aesthetically pleasing livery.” Of course, whether you’re painting a simple white fuselage with red and blue stripes or WestJet’s elaborate Disney Frozen themed livery, the successful application of basecoat/clearcoat paints requires a fundamental rethink of your painting processes. And that requires training. For example, Désiree Oldenburger, AkzoNobel Aerospace Coating’s, segment manager, explained that the company not only offers training for aircraft coatings technicians, they also offer training for livery designers.

“Designers often use different color standards (PMS color std.) as used within the aerospace industry. AkzoNobel set up a dedicated color design studio to assist the artist in developing the new color livery for the aircraft,” she said. “Specially trained people can guide the designer on the realistic options and systems for the exterior application on an aircraft. This initiative is taken to speed up the process from the designer’s drawing board to the aircraft on the runway.”

You’ve Got to Fight for Your Right to PMA-ty

By Jason Dickstein

Over the years, I have heard a lot of debate about the use of PMA parts on leased aircraft. Challenges may arise from restrictive clauses in lease agreements that prevent the use of PMA on the asset. This can cause particular headaches when the lessor is an air carrier that is looking to reduce maintenance costs, but whose largely (or exclusively) leased fleet means that restrictive clauses (either perceived or actual) restrict use of PMA.

The good news for the aviation industry is that lessors’ position with respect to use of PMA appears to be loosening as:
– lessees demand the right to use PMA,
– lessors become more familiar with PMA, and

– the industry continues its shift toward ever greater PMA acceptance.

The first, and most important, step in greater PMA acceptance on leased aircraft is demand by the operators. If PMA is not useful to the operators then it is not useful at all. We have already heard at least two air carriers–Delta Air Lines and Copa Airlines–state unequivocally that they will not sign leases with “no PMA” clauses in them. Many – MANY – others have asked how they can start using PMAs on their leased aircraft. At several industry trade shows over the past year, we have heard multiple parties–both air carriers and lessors–state that the use of PMA on leased aircraft was a common occurrence; the lessee (the air carrier) just has to ASK.

Lessors typically enter a lease negotiation with a set of boilerplate terms. Those terms, however, are subject to change to suit the lessee’s business model and to satisfy the needs of both parties. At MRO Asia last year, Ananta Widjaja from Sriwijaya Air pointed out that a lessor will never give a lessee anything outside of the boilerplate unless the carrier asks for it. This point was echoed by a number of lessors over the course of that conference, who recognize that use of PMA is a reality in virtually every air carrier’s operation.

This is an important point for air carrier maintenance departments to discuss with their leasing departments. Remind the leasing department that most lessors will permit PMA to be used on leased aircraft (with a few exceptions); the carrier just has to demand the right. As lessors continue to grow more familiar with PMA, and recognize that use of PMA does not in any way devalue their asset, they grow more willing to waive the “no PMA” clauses in their lease agreements. This is beneficial for the lessee and lessor, as the lessee can continue to realize the savings and reliability improvements provided by PMA, and the lessor opens up more potential customers by allowing the use of PMA.

A number of the air carrier representatives I have met at recent trade shows have pointed out to me that they are quite likely to use PMA during the middle of the lease. For lessors, the most important part of any lease is the return conditions, because these are the terms that dictate the condition of the aircraft for the next lessee. When permitted by the lease, lessees can take advantage of this fact by using PMA throughout the term of the lease (as allowed by the lease terms) and as necessary return, remove PMA parts during the heavy check prior to the return of the aircraft.

I would have expected leasing companies affiliated with OEMs to be the last folks to embrace PMA, but I recently encountered an executive from one such leasing company who admitted that there are PMAs on his company’s products, and acknowledged that it is something they are managing.

Lessors are becoming more accepting of PMA for a couple reasons.

[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20px” padding_bottom=”20px” padding_left=”0px” padding_right=”0px” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”double” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]CURRENT ISSUE[/title][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”bottomshadow” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”center” link=”https://avm-mag.com/wp-content/mag/flipbooks/AVM-2016-06-DIGITAL/index.php#Aviation_Maintenance_Magazine/page2-page3″ linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”” class=”” id=””][/one_third][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]IssueHighlights:[/title][checklist icon=”” iconcolor=”#81d742″ circle=”no” circlecolor=”” size=”18px” class=”” id=””][li_item icon=””]Editor’s Notebook[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Intelligence: News[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Intelligence: About People[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Intelligence: Aviation Electronics News[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Setting the Standard[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Borescopes from Basic to Bodacious[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Parts, Parts, … Who has the Parts?[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Smart Assets[/li_item][/checklist][/one_third][one_third last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”bottomshadow” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”center” link=”https://avm-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/AVM_Calendar_2016_FINAL_v10_LORES.pdf” linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]NEW – the large fold out 2016 Wall planner was inserted into the Dec/Jan issue but you can also click/view above.[/fusion_text][/one_third][/fullwidth]

Crystal Ballin’

by Joy Finnegan, Editor in Chief

Record low oil prices. Record high airline profits. Slow growth in the U. S. and slower than predicted in China. Workforce retirements. Big data. More electric aircraft. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). New technologies.

All of those factors and many more impact the MRO marketplace. Every year at this time, industry forecasts are released by the FAA and consulting groups. Let’s take a look at some of the forecast numbers and see what they are saying about our industry.

2015 was the fifth consecutive year of profitability for the industry. The FAA Annual Forecast says, “The 2016 FAA forecast calls for U.S. carrier passenger growth over the next 20 years to average 2.1 percent per year, slightly faster than last year’s forecast. The sharp decline in the price of oil in 2015 is a catalyst for a short-lived uptick in passenger growth in 2016.” The report goes on to say even though oil prices are projected to fall to around $43 per barrel in 2016, their forecast assumes that they will rise thereafter to exceed $100 by 2023 and $150 by 2036, the end of the forecast period.

“Although the U.S. and global economy continued to sputter in 2015, stable demand and lower energy prices resulted in record profits for U.S. airlines. U.S. carrier profitability should remain steady or increase as the recovery leads to strengthening demand,” the report goes on to say. The U.S. commercial fleet is forecast to increase from 6,871 in 2015 to 8.414 in 2036. That is an average annual growth rate of 1.0 percent a year. See the FAA Forecast here: https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation/aerospace_forecasts/media/FY2016-36_FAA_Aerospace_Forecast.pdf

Dave Marcontell, VP of Oliver Wyman’s Cavok Group, presented the Oliver Wyman 2016-2026 Global Fleet & MRO Market Forecast at the recent MRO Americas conference in April, agreed with the FAA saying, “Record net profits are due in large part to the glut in the oil market.” Interestingly, their report says that this will not impact the fleet plans of operators. They predict new aircraft deliveries and backlogs will continue to grow. But, Marcontell cautioned, economic growth, interest rates and oil prices could disrupt the equilibrium at any time. See their report at http://www.oliverwyman.com.

The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) in conjunction with Oliver Wyman released a joint MRO market report with the following MRO specific figures. Airframe MRO will account for $16 billion in 2016 and grow to $19.2 billion in 2026. Engine MRO will be around $25.7 billion in 2016 and grow to $43 billion in 2026. Component MRO is on track for $13.1 billion this year and headed for $18.6 billion by 2026. And finally, line MRO is targeted at $12.8 billion in 2016 and aiming for $18.1 billion in 2026. The total forecast for the 2016 year is $67.7 billion growing to $98.9 billion by 2026.

[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20px” padding_bottom=”20px” padding_left=”0px” padding_right=”0px” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”double” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]CURRENT ISSUE[/title][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”bottomshadow” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”center” link=”https://avm-mag.com/wp-content/mag/flipbooks/AVM-2016-06-DIGITAL/index.php#Aviation_Maintenance_Magazine/page2-page3″ linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”” class=”” id=””][/one_third][one_third last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]IssueHighlights:[/title][checklist icon=”” iconcolor=”#81d742″ circle=”no” circlecolor=”” size=”18px” class=”” id=””][li_item icon=””]Editor’s Notebook[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Intelligence: News[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Intelligence: About People[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Intelligence: Aviation Electronics News[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Setting the Standard[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Borescopes from Basic to Bodacious[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Parts, Parts, … Who has the Parts?[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Smart Assets[/li_item][/checklist][/one_third][one_third last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”bottomshadow” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”center” link=”https://avm-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/AVM_Calendar_2016_FINAL_v10_LORES.pdf” linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]NEW – the large fold out 2016 Wall planner was inserted into the Dec/Jan issue but you can also click/view above.[/fusion_text][/one_third][/fullwidth]

Ontic Chooses B&H for Specialist Inventory Management

Aerospace logistics provider B&H Worldwide has been appointed by Ontic, a wholly owned subsidiary of BBA Aviation, as its specialist warehouse and inventory management company for worldwide Ontic-owned AOG support assets.

A B&H dedicated, climate-controlled facility at Heathrow will act as principal service center with a central store providing a 24/7/365 operation. All items that form part of the inventory are produced by Ontic, a leading manufacturer or OEM-licensed parts, which also provides MRO services for legacy aerospace platforms from facilities around the globe.

The facility’s close proximity to London Heathrow with its unparalleled range of international destinations makes it an ideal place to locate the centre.

All shipments from Heathrow will be coordinated through B&H’s unique OnTrack web portal where customers can login to have their parts despatched – with full instructions – at any hour of the day or night.  Parts are received at B&H’s Heathrow facility from all over the world with many being integral elements of the exchange program Ontic operates with its customers. From there the logged-in customer has a choice of how the items are received, can see where the stock is, what the stock levels are and see photos of it. Once the required item is selected he can complete the whole process via OnTrack.

“The bespoke nature of our service solution is what appealed to Ontic,” states B&H Worldwide’s Customer Solutions manager, Chris Allen. “It’s the kind of customer service where our specialist knowledge of the aerospace logistics industry stands out from the crowd and where we can deliver the highly technical support Ontic requires from producing the correct documentation to providing electro-static equipment and a humidity controlled atmosphere for storing their parts.”

In addition to providing the global inventory service B&H is also able to act as a fulfilment center for delivery of AOG freight shipments where required by Ontic.

L-3 Aviation Products now available from Intertrade

Intertrade has announced that it has signed an agreement with L-3 Aviation Products (L-3 AP) to be a global reseller and distributor of select factory-new L-3 equipment.

“This agreement will give our customers around the world access to a broader range of solutions to meet their flight operations needs,” said Shawn Bergquist, director, Intertrade. “We have products ready in-house for all aviation markets, including air transport, business and regional, general aviation and military.”

In addition to reselling products from Rockwell Collins and other OEM’s products, Intertrade is now distributing factory new L-3 equipment, including TCAS solutions, transponders, flight data recorders, cockpit voice recorders, displays, accelerometers, gyros and power supplies, as well as ground support and test equipment.

For more information or to make an immediate request for equipment, call (319) 378-3500 or e-mail collinsintertradeaog@rockwellcollins.com.