Category: Commercial

Greene Tweed has introduced their new Canted Coil MSE (metal spring energized) sealing solution, designed to further reduce power loss and improve precision movement without sacrificing leakage control or durability. The seals offer broad chemical compatibility and resistance to extreme temperatures, pressure, and wear.

Greene Tweed says it devoted two years of design development and in-house testing to lead the industry in not only friction reduction but also sealing in the most challenging low temperature applications. Benchmark testing against some of the top performing spring energized seals highlighted the compromise in performance at extreme temperatures. Low friction at higher temperatures resulted in high leakage at low temperatures. Prioritizing leakage control at low temperatures resulted in higher friction. Greene Tweed’s new canted coil demonstrated a friction improvement of up to 61% across a wide temperature range while improving leakage control up to 74% especially at lower temperatures. Moreover, unlike an elastomer seal, the MSE seals don’t suffer compression set even when exposed to extreme temperatures. Another benefit to the Canted Coil design is even as the sealing material wears away, the sealing and friction performance remains consistent.

Green Tweed says these reasons make the new Canted Coil MSE ideal for a variety of aerospace applications, such as: in Engine and Fuel Systems, Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems, Flight Actuation Systems, Pan and Tilt Systems, and Propeller Actuation and Electric Propulsion Systems.

Emirates announced an order for 202 GE9X engines and spares to power its upcoming fleet of Boeing 777X family of aircraft. The order also includes a long-term services agreement. This brings Emirates’ total order for GE9X engines to 460. The 777X will be the world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet, delivering 10% better fuel consumption, emissions, and operating costs than any aircraft in its class.

“Emirates has a long and strong working partnership with GE, and we are pleased to extend this relationship with additional orders of the GE-9X to power our expanded Boeing 777X fleet,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group. “Today’s deal also involves many other related services over the life-span of the aircraft, which ensures the Emirates fleet remains one of the most modern and efficient in the sky. It is a long-term commitment and investment that generates and sustains jobs throughout the aviation supply chain.”

“GE Aerospace is excited to be ramping up to introduce the power and efficiency of the GE9X for Emirates’ Boeing 777X fleet,” said Larry Culp, chairman and CEO of GE and CEO of GE Aerospace. “Today’s order builds upon decades of partnership with this future-focused airline, including our multi-faceted collaboration across engines with the GE90 and GP7200 [i], engineering and maintenance with the Emirates Engineering & Maintenance Centre, and sustainability and entrepreneurship initiatives.”

The GE9X is the exclusive engine for the Boeing 777X family of aircraft. It is infused with the latest technology, including heat-resistant Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC), additively-manufactured parts, and lean-burn combustion that helps improve fuel efficiency.

With an overall pressure ratio of 60:1, the GE9X engine has the highest pressure ratio of any commercial aircraft engine in service. It offers the low NOx emissions, the company says.

Emirates has the largest backlog of GE9X on order of any airline globally. Like all GE commercial engines, the GE9X is compatible with any approved Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

AFI KLM E&M will deploy its Prognos for Aircraft predictive maintenance solutions to the Boeing 787 fleet operated by Norse Atlantic Airways. Following on from the Component/pooling contract signed between the two groups in 2022, the implementation of Prognos aims to maximize the value and impact of maintenance programs designed by AFI KLM E&M for the Norwegian airline’s aviation operations.

As a reminder, Prognos for Aircraft is the predictive maintenance suite offered by AFI KLM E&M, combining Big Data and AI in order to optimize the scheduling of component and equipment maintenance operations. In particular, it enables users to anticipate future component breakdowns and to organize shop visits for inspection, testing and repairs, thereby avoiding AOG situations and their negative impact on operations.

For airlines that enjoy access to the tool, such as Norse Atlantic Airways, Prognos for Aircraft is therefore a major lever in terms of reducing the risk of operational shutdowns, and improving the efficiency of maintenance operations.

“Norse Atlantic Airways’ decision to enlist AFI KLM E&M’s predictive maintenance solutions follows on from the component support agreement signed in 2022,” said Derk Nieuwenhuijze, VP Digital, marketing & communication at AFI KLM E&M. “Availability was also a key component of that agreement, which provided access to a parts pool and MBK, and the Prognos application adds a further level of security, control and optimization to our customer’s operations.”

Thom-Arne Norheim, COO of Norse Atlantic Airways, added: “For an airline, keeping aircraft in the sky for longer is of course one of our most important objectives. The foresight provided by predictive maintenance, which aims to anticipate problems rather than dealing with them as they arise, is therefore extremely advantageous, and AFI KLM E&M’s Prognos suite enables us to lean in to this approach. For us, this will be a vector for progress in the management and organization of maintenance operations, and by extension a beneficial means of reducing costs in this area.”

Aircraft interior products supplier Jamco America is offering a full suite of certified class dividers. Jamco says their dividers and service offer solutions to airlines looking to divide aircraft classes while saving precious space especially with the rise in demand of classes such as premium economy.

Jamco America says their class dividers are highly integrable, with a variety of models for customers to fit their needs. These include standard dividers, joggle dividers, attendant partitions provisioned for attendant panels and attendant seat, and unique solutions such as the Jamco America hanging soft divider.

The features of each of these class dividers provide benefits to both the airline and its passengers. Joggled options allow for more foot space, while hanging dividers are ideal for airlines who do not want to put in a full height divider in order to save space. In certain cases, hanging dividers can save enough space to add in an extra row of seats. Hanging dividers also provide an opening at the bottom for under space storage, such that passengers sitting behind the class divider do not have to put all their belongings into overhead storage. All of these dividers have been designed to be lightweight with sustainability in mind that provides both fuel savings and allows airlines to retain the majority of their stowage bin capacity. In addition, these products can be installed during regular maintenance checks of the aircraft to avoid additional downtime for the airline.

One of Jamco America’s key differentiators is the fact that it offers one stop shopping for class dividers, including full production, testing, and integration of the dividers for the airline. In addition, Jamco America also offers branding solutions such as colors and logos, as well as the option to put viewing windows into its dividers for flight attendants. The combination of turnkey design, manufacturing and certification services with the highest quality industry leading products that can be delivered with a very competitive lead time provides a powerful vehicle for airlines to successfully retrofit their aircraft to meet their specific business model. From widebody aircraft, single to three class cabin reconfigurations to narrow body domestic first class and economy retrofits, Jamco America can support any airline’s interior needs.

Dowty, a GE Aerospace company and Norrønafly Propeller & NDT have signed an authorized MRO agreement.

The agreement promotes Norrønafly as an authorized maintainer of Dowty R354, R375, R389 and R390 propeller types as installed on the Saab 340 platform. The agreement also covers several Dowty metal propeller types fitted to other platforms, including the CASA 212 (R334), Jetstream 31/32 (R333), Gulfstream Commander (R306) and Fairchild SA227 (R321, R324).

Norrønafly Propeller & NDT, based out of Oslo, Norway, is a leading European maintenance centre for aircraft propeller service and has a long history of supporting aircraft propeller maintenance, including Dowty products.

“We are thrilled to have reached this agreement with Norrønafly, which will strengthen our support for Saab 340 and metal propeller products across Europe,” said Richard Gregson, OE product leader at Dowty. “Norrønafly has an excellent reputation for its repair and overhaul services, and we look forward to working more closely with their team to better serve Dowty customers in the region.”

Lars Kristian Vehus, CEO at Norrønafly Propeller and NDT, “We are proud to be a part of the Dowty network. We are seeing this cooperation with Dowty as a great opportunity to strengthen propeller services for our common customers for many years to come.”