Aviation Maintenance: Intelligence: News

Boeing Seeks Green MRO Concepts Via University Competition

A competition for college students in the U.S. and China is seeking to develop more environmentally friendly methods of operating an MRO facility. Sponsored by Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services, Tsinghau University and the University of North Carolina, the competition will feature teams of up to three students and one faculty adviser that will produce "green" concepts for Boeing Shanghai’s MRO center. "We are committed to creating an MRO business in China that minimizes the carbon footprint of operations and is sensitive to environmental concerns," said Per Noren, leader of Environmental Strategy for Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. "Going ‘green’ is no longer just an option — it is essential. One key opportunity to reduce the environmental footprint of the aviation industry exists in the MRO supply chain."All entries will be reviewed by a panel consisting of Boeing executives and university faculty from participating institutions. On June 15, the five finalist teams will be announced. Finalists will meet on July 9, in Beijing, to give their final presentations. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers at a competition dinner that same day. For more information on the 2008 Boeing Shanghai Challenge go to www.ie.tsinghua.edu.cn or www.clds.unc.edu.

Lockheed Martin Awarded Contracts For AH-64 Apache

The U.S. Army’s AH-64 attack helicopters will continue to receive upgraded night vision/target acquisition systems under a renewed modernization contract for Arrowhead electro-optical systems, according to Lockheed Martin, which developed and builds the system.

The company has received a $172-million U.S. Army follow-on contract to produce 126 Arrowhead kits and/or equivalent unit spares, foreign military sales kits and ground support equipment. This will raise the number of Arrowhead-equipped Apaches to 785.

The Arrowhead program "significantly improves" the night vision capabilities of Apache pilots, according to David Belvin, Apache TADS and Support Programs director at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control division.

The newly modernized system upgrades the Apache’s target acquisition designation sight/pilot night vision sensor (TADS/PNVS), giving it the new designation of M-TADS/PNVS. The ultimate goal is to modernize the entire fleet of AH-64D helicopters, with "about a third to half now done," Belvin says. The program began in 2003, and should run until around 2011 or 2012, he adds.

The system includes an integrated FLIR receiver developed and built by DRS Technologies. This horizontal technology integration (HTI) second-generation FLIR improves the system’s overall performance by 150 percent, while reducing operation and support costs by approximately 60 percent, according to a DRS representative. Much of the installation of the new Arrowhead kits is now being done onsite with Apache units in Iraq, Belvin says. And while the modernization program can be done during periodic maintenance, the units are providing the aircraft as soon as the kits are available in order to get aircraft back in the air with the M-TADS/PNVS as quickly as possible. The Arrowhead system can be installed "in a day and a half to two days," using a team of four people, including someone in charge of all the administrative bookkeeping, Belvin notes.

The new Arrowhead contract was part of the AH-64 Lot 5 agreement, with a base contract for Lot 6 follow-on production options being negotiated. Under current projections, Lot 6 would be awarded in fiscal year 2009 and cover production of 55 units for the U.S. Army plus a potential for two additional foreign military sales customers, the company says. The signing of the contract was announced at the U.S. Army’s Quad A Conference in early April just outside Washington, D.C. During the show, Lockheed Martin also revealed a follow-on contract with the Army to provide spares support for the TADS/PNVS and M-TADS/PNVS systems on the AH-64.

This new contract is part of the Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) program developed for the target acquisition and night vision systems, continuing the agreement for post-production supply chain management, including spares planning, procurement, repairs, maintenance, modifications and inventory management of the fielded systems.

"PBL is intended to save operating supports by having the prime contractor assume responsibility for total performance of the system," Belvin says. "The PBL program will reduce the length of the supply pipeline, enabling the U.S. Army to receive spare parts quicker." — By Douglas Nelms

Dassault Rafale Sees Increased Military Service, Reduced Maintenance Burden

Situated in northeastern France, the Armée de l’Air (AdlA/French Air Force) base at St. Dizier-Robinson is home to the Escadron De Chasse 01.007 Provence (Provence Fighter Squadron), the first AdlA unit to operate the Dassault Rafale combat aircraft in frontline service.

Like its European rival, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Rafale has suffered a protracted development. The aircraft emerged from France’s withdrawal from the Eurofighter initiative in the early 1980s. The first Rafale technology demonstrator took its maiden flight in 1986, but it would be another 20 years until the aircraft entered AdlA service. The Marine Nationale (French Navy) did, however, manage to trump their AdlA colleagues, receiving the aircraft in 2001 for carrier operations as a replacement for their aging Vought F-8N Crusaders.

Today, the base has around 25 fully equipped Rafale B/Cs in service with the Provence squadron and a second squadron being raised this year. In two years, the Rafales have performed three overseas deployments — including one to Spain for the annual NATO Tiger Meet and another to Belgium for the NATO Tactical Leadership Programme. The most talked about excursion has been the deployment of three AdlA aircraft to Dushanbe, Tajikistan to support multinational combat operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The aircraft arrived on March 12, 2007 and amassed more than 750 flight hours.

The Tajkiistan deployments gave the AdlA practical experience at maintaining and supporting the aircraft far from home. However, the aircraft enjoyed an availability rate of around 90 percent. This has increased following the Rafale’s redeployment to Kandahar Airfield in early Feb. 2008 where, according to Adla Rafale Programme Officer Col. François Moussez, "we have an availability of between 90 to 93 percent."

Back home, the aircraft are supported by the Centre de Maintenance Rafale 15.007 (15.007 Rafale Maintenance Centre), which has around 120 technicians at St. Dizier — a 27 percent reduction of the personnel required to support a similar-sized fleet of Dassault Mirage 2000B/C/D/N/-5F combat aircraft.

For Col. Moussez, the big change for the Rafale, compared to other combat aircraft in the AdlA fleet, has been the elimination of scheduled maintenance: "The aircraft has an ‘on-the-way’ maintenance concept. There’s no more scheduled maintenance on the airframe which makes for a lot of savings."

The removal of scheduled maintenance was a requirement for the Rafale programme from the outset. "It was the French government which imposed the maintenance concept for the Rafale, the first combat aircraft in the world which had both operational and support requirements," according to Yves Robins, Dassault Aviation director of communications. The use of computer-aided design (CAD) tools helped. "We used different tools such as CATIA modelling software," Robins explains. "During the design phase we were able to rehearse the maintenance, removal and installation of equipment on the aircraft to determine what would be the most convenient way. We were able to influence the design of the components so that they could be easily removed and installed... we were able to perform virtual maintenance and even before the first designs were made, locate where the problems were to solve them virtually."

To reduce the Rafale’s maintenance burden, Dassault has embedded sensors throughout the airframe to record details of the aircraft’s behavior. This data is recorded and downloaded into two data cartridges, one of which contains flight operational data and the other maintenance data. These are accessed by the groundcrew on a computer, which can pinpoint the precise cause of a problem and rectify it with line replaceable units (LRUs). "As soon as you have flown, you have the results," remarks Robins. "It tells you very precisely what is happening in different zones."

Rafale’s predecessor, the Mirage 2000, had embedded sensors in the aircraft to record the behavior of the aircraft’s mission systems. "The aircraft is its own test bench. You don’t need a lot of systems besides the aircraft for troubleshooting. You have just one test bench for all the aircraft’s systems, which use shop replaceable units," Moussez says

Modular design is an important element of reducing the aircraft’s maintenance burden. "The engine has 21 modules," Moussez continues, "so even without moving the engine you can repair it. You can move the engine from the aircraft with a crane and that takes you roughly one hour." The aircraft also makes light use of ground support equipment (GSE). For example, the same GSE can be used for the Thales RBE2 radar and frontal electro-optical package. "We tried to reduce the specific GSE to make the aircraft easy to deploy overseas," he notes. The innovations that Dassault has built into the Rafale reduce the necessary groundcrew to eight personnel — 25 percent less than the Mirage 2000 and again, this is to ease deployment.

Space on the Charles de Gualle, France’s solitary aircraft carrier, is at a premium and the savings on GSE and manpower is an important feature. "The French government imposed commonality on the two Rafale types. What is interesting is that on the aircraft carrier, all maintenance has to be done within the ‘shade of the aircraft,’ so to speak," says Robins. Moreover, the naval deployment has given Dassault and the AdlA a good idea of the maintenance burden on the aircraft when it is deployed in harsh conditions. The Kandahar deployment will deepen that knowledge further giving an idea of how the aircraft holds up in the dusty, hot terrain. Word on the street from the AdlA is "so far, so good." — By Thomas Withington

Panasonic Finds Niche In Commercial Hangars

Electronics giant Panasonic is offering its rugged and reliable Toughbook laptop, which provides web-based maintenance information for aircraft repair and is finding a home in hangars around the country. During the Transportation Technology Summit in March 2008 at Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte, N.C., maintenance and IT personnel from American Airlines, US Airways, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines extolled the benefits of this cutting-edge PC.

"The feedback from the maintenance team is positive. They don’t have to leave the plane to order parts — it’s much more efficient," said Larry Strykowski, director of technology for Continental. Technicians are saving time and energy and that is helping make the Toughbook a maintenance tool.

The name is derived from the fact that the Toughbook is very rugged, according to the company. During a session at the technology summit, Panasonic was asked about the average deployment life of their laptops. The answer was five years, which is a massive life cycle time for laptops. According to Panasonic, Toughbooks fail in the low single digits on average. The fully rugged models have a failure rate of around 2 percent. To help prove the lifespan claims, a Panasonic spokesperson explained that the company has models in use today that are running Windows 95.

"These models are mounted in police cruisers," the spokesperson said, adding that the company offers a three-year warranty and guarantees parts and service for each laptop for 10 years. "As an example, the CF-19 was introduced in 2007, which means the model will be deployed until it is replaced by the CF-20 in [approximately] 2010. Parts and service will be available for the CF-19 through at least 2017."

Panasonic designs, builds and tests its laptops at its factory, giving the company control of quality, consistency and a fluid supply chain. The lower failure rate means fewer repair expenses and less downtime. Designs that make the laptop so "tough" include internal dampers and seals that prevent component damage; sealed LCP to protect against moisture and dust; sealed hinges that are dust and water resistant; a sealed keyboard and touchpad; damping materials that insulate the hard drive against vibration and drop shock; and a magnesium alloy case that protects against drops.

US Airways uses the Toughbook in Phoenix, Ariz., Las Vegas, Nev. and 15 other locations around the country that don’t have hangars. "It’s used for overnight repairs like an A-check and at the pad for information on the spot at the 15 locations without hangars," says Wade Guthrie, director of maintenance and engineering/safety. "Minimum training was required, mostly connectivity training. It’s received great feedback from the maintenance team and as we progress into integration, we will look at getting pilot information in-flight to use as soon as touchdown," he continues.

"Toughbook has been overwhelmingly accepted by our mechanics," said Jere Hertenstein, senior analyst of hardware certification for Northwest Airlines. "In the past, a mechanic would be working on the plane and have to leave it to go down to a maintenance office to look up information, drawings or order a part. Now they can do this without leaving the aircraft," he says. "As you can imagine, this saves a lot of valuable time. Northwest Airlines choose the Panasonic product [because] we really did not find any other products that matched the Toughbook durability in this price point. Other products that fit our needs were much more expensive and much more proprietary devices."