Aviation

Digital manufacturing for aerospace

Efficient production when failure is not an option Aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must strive to manufacture aircraft that can travel sustainably for longer distances and support net zero goals. They must produce quality components with tight tolerances from difficult-to-machine materials like HRSAs, while also keeping production cost-effective and error-free — but how? This is where digitalisation and big data come into play. Here, Francis Richt, Digital Machining Business Manager at the metal cutting tool specialist Sandvik Coromant, explains how combined digital and tooling solutions will be essential for error-free production in tomorrow’s aircraft manufacturing industry. That includes its own CoroPlus Machining Insights, CoroPlus Tool Library and Silent Tools™ Plus process control solutions, which enable users to monitor their machining process and secure a successful output. The aerospace industry faces unique manufacturing challenges. The complexity of the component shapes and structures, combined with the varying tolerances required for different components can make the production process demanding and costly. The nature of aerospace — and its strict quality assurance rules — also means that component production must be error-free. To optimise manufacturing, proper planning and preparation informed by accurate and reliable data is absolutely essential. To support aerospace OEMs, Sandvik Coromant offer several solutions to improve machining processes and to ensure quality and reliability of components. An increasing number of industries are incorporating digital technologies into their manufacturing operations. Digital tools and the data that they can generate on key parameters can give a level of intuition and insight that traditional machining lacks. This is particularly key in heavily regulated industries such as aerospace where accuracy and efficiency are crucial at every stage. The Sandvik Coromant CoroPlus Tool Library is a web-based software that allows users to build and manage their tool library and tool assemblies from standard data on over […]

Jet Aviation gains Aerospace Standards EN 9110 Certification in Singapore

Jet Aviation’s maintenance facility in Singapore has been awarded Aerospace Standards (AS/EN) EN 9110 certification in recognition of its quality management system. AS/EN certifications are based on ISO 9001 quality standards adapted for the aviation, space and defence (ASD) industry. Following Basel’s certification in January 2018, this is the company’s second MRO site to achieve this internationally recognized industry standard. Developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), AS/EN 9110 certification is the quality standard for repair stations, including criteria critical to the maintenance of commercial, private, and military aircraft. The only organisations eligible for this certification are those whose primary business focus is in supporting MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) and CAMO (continuing airworthiness management organisation) services for civil and military aviation products of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). “This certification is a significant testament to our ongoing commitment to the highest industry standards and best practices,” said Louis Leong, Jet Aviation’s VP South-East Asia and GM of Singapore. “As part of the certification process, we participated in a series of demanding, independent audits by Bureau Veritas to establish our focus on continuous improvement and service excellence — from our documentation processes that improve output consistencies and our quality monitoring procedures for early defect detection and rectification, to the regular review of practices to identify obsolete or inefficient processes and our general rigor regarding proper documentation and maintenance procedures. AS/EN 9110 certification is a great achievement for Singapore, and a great credit to our team.” Located at Singapore’s Seletar Airport, Jet Aviation’s maintenance facility in Singapore is a Factory Authorised Service Center and Warranty Repair Facility for a wide range of aircraft types and models, including Gulfstream, Embraer, Daher-Socata and Boeing Business Jets. It is also the designated Maintenance Response Team for Pratt & Whitney Canada 307 and 308 series […]

Topcast welcomes continued distribution partnership with MarathonNorco Aerospace

Topcast Aviation Supplies Co., Ltd., a global leader in aircraft parts distribution and MRO services, has extended the multi-year distribution agreement with MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc. (“MNAI”) for offering aircraft batteries, Christie chargers and mechanical products. The appointment authorised Topcast to distribute over 1,160 aircraft parts ranging from Nickel-Cadmium vented batteries, sealed batteries, mechanical hold-open rods, receivers, latches and safety fittings. MarathonNorco is committed to a high industry standard of quality assurance in compliance with ISO9001:2015 and AS9100D, and certified by FAA and EASA. To care for the environment, MNAI deploys ISO14001:2015 Environmental Management System to control, monitor and reduce environmental impacts associated with product production to sustainable development. “We’re very pleased to continue our longstanding partnership with MarathonNorco, a member of TransDigm Group. Topcast is proactively collaborating with world-class OEMs to supply top-notch products. I believe this partnership proofs our sound relationship with Principals to meet and exceed our customer expectations,” said Larry Levine, Director of Business Development (America) of Topcast. With more than 70 years of experience, MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc. has served commercial and military aviation markets with reliable electrical power and mechanical products. MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc. designs and manufactures Nickel-cadmium batteries, chargers, engine nacelle hold-open rods and a wide range of mechanical couplings, fasteners, receivers and interlocks.

Topcast in agreement with Crouzet to supply aviation products worldwide

Hong Kong – Topcast Aviation Supplies Co., Ltd., a global leader in aircraft parts distribution and MRO services, announced today that it has extended its long-term agreement with Crouzet. Under the new agreement, Topcast is an official distributor for all Crouzet components, including switches & position sensors, electrical protection and cockpit controls, to offer globally. Topcast has been the aircraft components distributor in support of Crouzet’s business growth since 2001. Over the years of partnerships, its territory development expanded from ten Asia-Pacific countries/regions to global distribution in the immediate future. The company is committed to providing reliable and high-quality aviation supplies and MRO services to strengthen mutual business growth. “The expanded partnership is a testament to the long-standing collaboration between the two companies. We are delighted to serve our international airline customers with access to all the highly engineered Crouzet products,” said Kasper Transberg, Director of Business Development of Topcast. Over 60 years of experience, Crouzet is manufacturing the future of aerospace industry with sensors, circuit breakers, cockpit controls, actuators and instrumentation services. Crouzet Management System is certified by AFNOR according to standards that take into account Health, Safety, Environment and specific requirements of the automotive, aeronautical, defense and nuclear. Topcast was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Hong Kong SAR, It is a world-leading trustworthy aircraft part distributor and MRO service provider. They offer exceptional OEM and aftermarket aircraft parts, equipment and repair services for a broad range of aircraft types. With a strong global network, they have nineteen offices across Asia-Pacific, Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa connecting suppliers with customers in all segments for over 90 countries.

TAG Aviation Asia authorised service facility for Bombardier business aircraft in Hong Kong

TAG Aviation Asia has been appointed as an Authorized Service Facility for Bombardier Aviation in Hong Kong. This approval includes the Bombardier Global 5000 GVFD, Global 6000 GVFD, Global 7500, and the Challenger 605, for line maintenance services in the region. “We are proud to receive this appointment by Bombardier. TAG Aviation is excited and eager to provide our high quality of maintenance service support to the Bombardier fleet in the Greater Bay area and surrounding region,” said Jolie Howard, CEO of TAG Aviation Asia. “This welcome extension will further reinforce Bombardier’s strong OEM support in the region. The new capability will strengthen TAG Asia’s service offerings for the Bombardier* product line and complements the wide range of high-quality maintenance service facilities at Hong Kong Airport maintenance bases,” said Phil Balmer, Director Maintenance. “This important partnership with TAG Aviation will ensure that our customers in the Greater China region will continue to receive the outstanding aftermarket service they demand and deserve,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “We are committed to expanding our aftermarket services in this region, where we see a bright future for our growing aircraft portfolio.” TAG Aviation Asia has maintenance centres in Hong Kong and Macau. The company provides world class maintenance and cleaning services include internal and external aircraft cleaning services, and Permaguard paint protection at either Hong Kong / Macau permanent stations or across APAC region with Mobile Repair Party teams. TAG Aviation Hong Kong is located in one of the busiest and most important business aviation airports in Asia.

Boeing 787 Unified Livery In-flight over Clouds

HandySCAN 3D scanner meets Boeing’s requirements

Creaform, the worldwide leader in portable 3D measurement solutions and non-destructive testing (NDT) solutions, has announced that its HandySCAN 3D metrology-grade 3D laser scanner can now be used for recording physical attributes of aircraft dents and blends on all models of Boeing commercial airplanes. Boeing has released a service letter with guidance on the use of 3D scanners for measuring dents and blends on airplanes. The SmartDENT 3D solution and the flagship HandySCAN 3D scanner were used in the process of guiding Boeing’s quality requirements for the service letter. “Creaform is proud to see leaders such as Boeing, turn to 3D scanning solutions for surface defect inspection. With SmartDENT 3D, our goal is to provide the most accurate damage assessment to our customers, so they can make informed and safe decisions, while getting their aircraft back flying with minimal down time,” said Jérôme Beaumont, Global NDT Business Manager at Creaform. Overview of SmartDENT 3D benefits: Speed: 80 times faster than the pit gauge technique. It is the fastest and most reliable aircraft surface damage inspection tool available on the market. Metrology-grade measurements for aircraft maintenance: The scanner is accurate to 0.025 mm (0.0009 in.) and has a resolution of up to 0.100 mm (0.0039 in.) with high repeatability and traceable certificate. Intuitive pass/fail assessments: With its intuitive design and real-time software visualization, Creaform’s NDT solutions ensure short learning curves and minimal operator experience influence on the accuracy of results. Live visualisation and portability: Weighting less than a kilo, the handheld scanner is the perfect tool for work in hangars or directly outdoors. Users can easily perform 3D surface inspection of any part of an aircraft on which they would use manual techniques—including on and under wings. In addition to complying with Boeing’s service letter, Creaform HandySCAN 3D scanners are listed […]

Hitachi receives orders for Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand

BANGKOK: Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd. have received an order through Hitachi Elevator (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which is in charge of sales and maintenance service of elevators and escalators in Thailand, for the delivery of 174 units of elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks for Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand. Currently, expansion work is underway at Suvarnabhumi International Airport by Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT). The order was awarded by a consortium named PCS Joint Venture, which comprises Power Line Engineering Public Company Limited in Thailand and China State Construction Engineering (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and was commissioned construction by AOT. This is the largest order for Hitachi group’s elevators and escalators in Thailand. The market demand for the installation of new elevators and escalators in Thailand is approximately 6,000 units per year, which makes it the most promising market in Southeast Asia, and is expected to increase stably. In 1974, Hitachi concluded an agent contract with Siam Motors Co., Ltd. and entered the market. The two companies established a joint corporation named Siam-Hitachi Elevator Co., Ltd. in 1991 and constructed a factory in 1992. Hitachi has been leading the elevator and escalator industry in Thailand. Suvarnabhumi International Airport opened in 2006 and is located in Nong Ngu Hao, Samut Prakan Province, about 30 km east of Bangkok. It received approximately 63 million passengers in 2018 and is ranked ninth globally for the number of passengers on international flights. Currently, expansion work is underway to expand the passenger-handling capacity. A new four-story satellite concourse building is under construction and slated to commence operations in April 2020. The units will be manufactured in factories in Thailand and China, and installed by the end of 2020. Hitachi has supplied over 100 units of escalators and moving sidewalks for Suvarnabhumi […]

Airlines can save money and the environment

More precise weather data means safer flights and smaller fuel consumption, as aircrafts can avoid unfavourable winds at given altitudes and start the descent phase at exactly the right moment. Swedish IT company AVTECH has developed a very precise weather and wind data product portfolio to help aircrafts fly as economically and comfortably as possible – without the airlines having to invest in any new equipment. In a recent real-life test, Norwegian Air Shuttle reduced CO2-emissions by 2 000 tons in three months’ time last autumn, by using AVTECH’s services in the company’s fleet of 106 Boeing 737-800 aircrafts. “We saved from one to eighty kilograms of fuel per flight, the average being 22 kilos, purely by optimizing the descent phase of the flights”, says Norwegian pilot and project manager Stig Patey. “The 10K weather grid makes it possible to avoid unfavourable winds at given altitudes during the flight and to start the descent phase at exactly the right moment. Our pilots have reportedly been very pleased with the easy to use service that in real life proved to be much more accurate than the standard weather systems.” All of this was made without any new equipment in the aircrafts, as all real-time calculations are made on the ground by AVTECH. “The timeliness and accuracy of our high-definition weather forecasting means that the normal pre-flight package is usually sufficient on shorter flights,” says David Rytter, Chief Technical Officer at AVTECH. “On longer flights updates can be uplinked when necessary, since the files are very small in size. Now the partnership with Norwegian has deepened, exploring the climb phase of the flight, with part of the funding coming from the Swedish Energy Agency.” World leading weather service AVTECH’s 10K weather is based on the UK Met Office’s high-definition weather modelling system, […]

VIDEO: Mitsubishi MRJ 1st Test Flight

MRJ Completes First Flight

Nagoya: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) today conducted the first flight of the first flight test aircraft for the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet), their next-generation regional jet. The MRJ took off from Nagoya Airport and confirmed its basic characteristics and functionality in ascent, descent and turning in airspace off the Pacific coast during its 1.5-hour first flight. “The MRJ successfully took to the sky today thanks to ongoing cooperation and support from all members involved,” said Hiromichi Morimoto, President, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. “We will make our utmost efforts towards type certificate acquisition, committing all our resources to develop and produce the finest regional jet aircraft to enter commercial service in 2017.” “Operational performance of the MRJ was far better than expected. We had a significantly comfortable flight,” said Pilot Yasumura, who served as captain. Mitsubishi Aircraft and MHI will continue to conduct flight tests for the first delivery scheduled for the second quarter of 2017. The flight tests in the US are scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2016, from the MRJ base at Grant County International Airport at Moses Lake in Washington State. Going forward, Mitsubishi Aircraft and MHI continue to devote their collective resources towards the successful completion of the MRJ project.

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