Gear Collapses & Wing Structural Failure

Never Forget Your: Aircraft Maintenance

Detect and correct missing fuselage frame straps and frame cracking for B737 operators — "We are issuing this AD to detect and correct missing fuselage frame straps and frame cracking that can result in severed frames which, with multiple adjacent severed frames, or the combination of a severed frame and fuselage skin chemical mill cracks, can result in uncontrolled decompression of the airplane. An estimated cost of $1,785 per inspection cycle."

C130 structural failure of the wings  — "This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the designapproval holder (DAH) that indicated that the CWB is subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD). We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the lower surface of the CWB, which could result in structural failure of the wings. Estimated cost is $170,000 per inspection cycle."

Mexican 737-300 suffers gear collapse after touchdown — "Mexico City’s international airport was forced to close a runway for 4h after a Boeing 737-300 suffered a landing-gear collapse after touchdown. The accident involved a Magnicharters service, UJ779, from Cancun."

[Tweet "Air safety and the public interest require adopting this AD.."]

Never Forget Your: Components

Emirates Tears Out In-Flight Entertainment Screens in Favor of Larger Ones — "Emirates airlines has made some strong brand positioning decisions recently, including the switch to a two-class cabin A380 which eliminates the First cabin and brings the passenger numbers in Economy to a record 615 on flights to Copenhagen."

Zodiac’s Seat Woes Continue to Weigh on Results — "Presenting its worst ever financial results on November 25 in Paris, French supplier Zodiac Aerospace said it continues to suffer from its well-publicized airliner seat crisis. By November 24 its backlog of delayed seat deliveries stood at 500 “packs,” or the equivalent of 1,500 economy seats."

[Tweet "This week in aviation #news #roundup"]

Never Forget Your: Experts

The Lessons Learned From A Failed Aircraft Maintenance Check Plan — "Have you ever tried juggling multiple things at once? You secretly whisper yes while you think of the dreadful memories. The good news is you’re not alone."

[Tweet "Problems always pop up so getting started quickly is key. #aircraftmaintenance"]

Never Forget Your: Tips, tricks and trends

Airbus has a crazy idea to speed up airplane boarding that looks like something from 'Thunderbirds' — "Unless you're deathly afraid of planes, one of the worst things about flying is the sheer tedium of it. It's nothing but indeterminate waiting — waiting for security, waiting to board, waiting to reach your destination."

Air traffic relations key to Middle East growth, Iata chief says — Countries in the Middle East must expand cooperation on air traffic management and improve safety and security standards to take advantage of surging passenger demand, as the region is expected to lead aviation growth, the International Air Transport Association chief said.

[Tweet "#Aviation tips, tricks and trends"]

Big MRO Data & a Fan Blisk That's More Reliable

As you all enjoy this holiday season while in the midst of your families, unwind with this week's aviation round-up. New innovative fan blisk for GE Passport engine, Air Force destroys $115 million airplane, converting big MRO data into action, and how to manage your time.

Never Forget Your: Quote

"If the maintenance is robust and properly followed, aircraft have a virtually infinite life." — John Cox

[Tweet "“If the maintenance is robust and properly followed, aircraft have a virtually infinite life.” — John Cox #avgeek #quote"]

Never Forget Your: News

Innovative Fan Blisk Spells Reliability and Maintainability — “Among the latest innovations on the GE Passport engine is a unique, 52-inch integrated fan blade and disk, called a blisk, which replaces the traditional fan design that incorporates a hub and individual blades.”

Air Force loses $115 million gunship to a 'sideslip' — “How can you destroy a $115 million airplane without crashing it? Fly it upside down. That's exactly what happened to one of the Air Force's newest gunships, the AC-130J Ghostrider, this year during a test flight.”

Getting Ready For Big MRO Data — “As airframes, engines and avionics generate more data, MROs and OEMs evaluate ways to use it for prognostics, converting big data into action.”

[Tweet "This week in aviation #news #roundup"]

Never Forget Your: Relief

20% Off Popular Aircraft Maintenance Tape — Who doesn’t like some good ‘ole aircraft maintenance tape? We go through a ton of a few popular models so we want to extend some bulk savings to you. For the items mentioned in this post, you’ll receive up to 20% off list price on ALL case orders.

Time Management Tips — Here are 6 time management tips that can improve your organizational skills and increase productivity. The more of these tools you learn to use, the more you will get done each day.

[Tweet "Six time management #tips that will increase your productivity #avgeek"]

Never Forget Your: Events

CAPA India Aviation Summit

• February 3-4, 2016
• Mumbai, India

Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition

• April 12-14, 2016
• Shanghai, China

European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition

• May 24-26, 2016
• Geneva, Switzerland

[Tweet "Upcoming #events in #aviation"]

20% Off Popular Aircraft Maintenance Tape

Who doesn't like some good 'ole aircraft maintenance tape?

You use it often and it does just about anything you want it too.

We go through a ton of a few popular models so we want to extend some bulk savings to you.

For the below items, you'll receive up to 20% off list price on ALL case orders. 

Bulk Aircraft Maintenance Tape Discounts

• 398FRP, 3" Glass Cloth 3M Tape
  • List Price: $77.58ea
  • Your Price: $65.00ea (16.2% Savings)
• Scotch70, 1" Rubber Electric 3M Tape
  • List Price: $49.22ea
  • Your Price: $39.08ea (20.68% Savings)
• 8663, 3" Transparent Polyurethane Protective 3M Tape
  • List Price: $562.02ea
  • Your Price: $475ea (15.4% Savings)

Would you like to take advantage of these awesome savings?

Get Some Tape Today

Currency Trouble & How to Stay Calm

The best aviation news and events now come to you every week. The future of Viva Group, Emirates removes first class, tips for sleeping well on a plane, Brazilian currency plunge effects on Gol, and how to stay calm under pressure.

Never Forget Your: Quote

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." — Henry Ford

[Tweet ""When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." — Henry Ford #avgeek #quote "]

Never Forget Your: News

Viva Group spreads its ambition to Costa Rica and Central America’s barren LCC landscape — “In mid-2015 new reports surfaced that the Viva Group aimed to launch its third airline in Costa Rica by YE2015 with two A320s initially focusing on flights to Central America."

Emirates plane removes first class to fit in the most seats ever — “Emirates launches new two-class Airbus A380 after scrapping first class in favor of expanding economy and creating the largest ever passenger plane."

11 Tips for Sleeping Well on a Plane — “Studies have shown that lack of sleep can decrease brain performance by 20 percent, so it's crucial to anyone crossing time zones to rest as much as possible during the flight. Washington, D.C.–based clinical sleep educator and RN Terry Cralle shared her tips for powering down (and getting at least a power nap) on a flight."

Brazilian Currency Plunge Put Gol in Bad Position — “Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA posted a record quarterly loss and cut its profitability outlook as the real’s plunge increased the financial burden on Brazil’s biggest airline."

[Tweet "This week's must read #aviation #news"]

Never Forget Your: Relief

Cut Your Rotable Cycle Times In Half Right Now — “You’ll often hear about how awful turn-around-times (TAT) are. They’re a constant headache, almost as much as an AOG. Learn about the stages where time can be cut in half, and millions can be saved."

How Successful People Stay Calm Under Pressure — Losing your cool at the drop of a hat can cause people to doubt your credibility as a business leader. Try these 6 tips for remaining calm and in control.

[Tweet "Stay #calm under pressure. Learn how here #aviation #tips"]

Never Forget Your: Events

Singapore Airshow

• February 16-21, 2016
• Changi, Singapore

SpeedNews 6th Annual Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference

• March 7, 2016
• Beverly Hills, California

MRO Americas

• April 5-7, 2016
• Dallas, Texas

[Tweet "Upcoming #events in #aviation for you"]

Why AOGs Drive Airlines Crazy & How to Minimize Their Impact

Great News! You can find this blog post featured on MRO Network. Markets are competitive. Finding the right economical balance between costs of Aircraft on Ground (AOG) and stock is critical.

It’s these decisions that give you, the operator, a competitive advantage. AOGs are a thorn in your spine. They give you an overwhelmed feeling deep in the pit of your stomach. A feeling you can't outrun. This is why planning and knowing your operational downside is important.

Not all AOGs are created equal

Most carriers make the mistake of believing AOGs are costly. They use the term "cost" loosely. When there’s no pre-defined measure of what cost really is, airlines start making wrong decisions. When you're first battling your AOG problem, it’s important to know what your AOGs costs are. You won't be completely accurate buts it's creating a baseline that's important part.

AOG costs vary from airline to airline. They can cancel flights or delay them for hours. Passenger carriers don't lose revenue since passengers are re-booked. But customer moral sinks. Any delay, passengers get upset. Knowing a customer's lifetime value is smart business as it'll tell you what a lost customer costs. Early morning AOGs will screw up the entire day's schedule while late domestic flights will not.

Other scenarios are at play as well. Load factors, passenger mix and aircraft type all play their part.

If you’re a cargo carrier, you can’t simply rebook passengers. You may lose all revenue if the cargo isn’t delivered on time. This is why you have more support aircraft.

And if that wasn’t enough, you'll need to know the cost of other variables:

• Meals

• Accommodations

• Transportation

• Additional crew costs

• Mechanics overtime

• Component shipping costs

• Productivity losses

Then there comes the AOGs costs that affect the rest of the schedule. If this AOG occurs, what other costs will you experience throughout the network? Putting a figure on this is important.

Actionable tip: Know your AOG cost. A fair estimate is better than no estimate at all.

Create a parts stock model

You’ll then need to figure out how likely each AOG will occur.

Start with your reliability of no-go parts. These are the category 1 on the minimum equipment list (MEL). When these parts malfunction or go bad you’ll have an AOG to deal with.

The next thing you’ll need to do is translate the AOG costs you calculated into a required level of parts stock. In the past this was done through a Required Spare Provisioning List (RSPL) model. This is easier said than done. RSPLs vary in how complete they are and their overall sophistication. Some airlines will use these for initial stock provisioning while other airlines just don't have the time.

The RSPL model will help determine the aircraft part demands by airport and consider transport times.

There’s a ton of software that can help achieve this, if you have the budget and time for implementation.

Actionable tip: Compile a list of your no-go aircraft parts. If you lack the time and budget, work with your preferred spares partner to be ready for AOG situations. Create a transit time from their facility to all your airports. Be prepared. Then, once you have the time and budget, refine this process and make it more integrative.

Arrange your buy, lease or pools

Your next AOG battle is to decide how much capital you want to tie up on the shelves.

Some airlines and MROs prefer to keep their stock in house. They feel as though they’re more in control over their stock. If you go this route, just know the opportunity costs of the money that’s being utilized for this specific strategy. More airlines are putting more trust in aggregators, as that’s what they do.

You must decide if it's more beneficial to take care of it yourself, or outsource so you can focus attention to other areas.

Each is a viable option.

Actionable tip: Work with an aircraft spares partner. Talk with them about the exact problems you’re looking to overcome and let them come up with solutions on how to solve it. Notice if they talk about themselves, they’ll care more about their bottom line than yours. You’ll also want a partner who can support you on the expendables and repairs front as well. This will save you hundreds of hours every year with a tight focus on your entire spare needs.

Understand that once you have a model in place it won’t solve your entire problem. You’ll never know entirely what a real AOG will cost. There’s just too many variables. But having realistic estimates will save you a ton of time and money.

Understand your tradeoffs between AOGs and inventory costs and start making incremental changes.

The Disturbing Truth: How Airplanes Are Maintained Today

The search is over. We bring you the best aviation stories from this week. Why AOGs drive airlines crazy, whether lithium batteries can be made safe, the truth about airplane maintenance, and how to stay positive.

Never Forget Your: Quote

"To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home." — Anonymous

[Tweet ""To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home." — Anonymous #avgeek #quote "]

Never Forget Your: News

Why AOGs drive airlines crazy and how to minimize their impact — “AOGs are a thorn in your spine. They give you an overwhelmed feeling deep in the pit of your stomach. A feeling you can't outrun. This is why planning and knowing your operational downside is important."

To the rescue: Can lithium batteries be made safe for flight? — “Today more than 18 carriers have banned the bulk transport of lithium batteries as belly cargo on passenger planes, and some have banned the cells on all shipments, including freighters."

The Disturbing Truth About How Airplanes Are Maintained Today — “In the last decade, most of the big U.S. airlines have shifted major maintenance work to places like El Salvador, Mexico, and China, where few mechanics are F.A.A. certified and inspections have no teeth."

The world needs aviation — how flying keeps us grounded — “Technology has made it easier than ever to turn our attention inward, with often depressing results. Aviation may seem like the ultimate activity for the confident individual, and yet learning to fly has a unique ability to make us humble."

[Tweet "Must read #aviation #news..."]

Never Forget Your: Relief

The Stress Free Benefits Of On-Demand Expendables — "You've labored over cutting POs, making sure the part number was right, and ensuring you have the right condition without overspending. Making things easier is your operational priority. Find out how through these benefits."

Stay Positive — Thinking negatively can drag down our moods, our actions and even our health. Learn ways to stay positive.

[Tweet "Try these steps to staying #positive #aviation #lifestyle"]

Never Forget Your: Events 

NAAA 49th Annual Convention & Exposition

• December 7-10, 2015
• Savannah, Georgia

AOPA New Year's Day Fly In

• January 1, 2016
• Nappanee, Indiana

MRO Middle East

• February 3-4, 2016
• Dubai, UAE

[Tweet "Here's some upcoming #aviation events..."]

Weekly Aviation Round-up: The Future of Airline Seat Reclining

The best aviation stories from this week. The future of airline seats, Dynamic Airways fire, Jetblue drops cargo, and how to reduce your stress.

Never Forget Your: Quote

"You can teach a monkey to fly an aircraft, but not to fix it." -Unknown

[Tweet "You can teach a monkey to fly an aircraft, but not to fix it." — Unknown #avgeek #quote "]

Never Forget Your: News

The Future of Airline Seat Reclining or Not — "To recline, or not to recline, is a troublesome question. Recent events in the U.S. air travel market prove that it is a volatile issue for some passengers, leading to aggression onboard."

Dynamic Airways Fire Caused by Faulty Fuel Line Connection — "While initial reports based on eyewitness accounts attributed the source of the fire to be the aircraft’s left Pratt & Whitney JT9D engine, investigators have not found any evidence 'of an engine uncontainment' or other failure.”

JetBlue Drops Cargo Business to Add More Human Cargo on Each Plane — "JetBlue officially got out of the cargo business about a week ago, and one of the factors leading to that business line’s cessation was the airline’s move to place”

Shaheen 737 Heavily Damaged During Landing — "A Boeing 737-400 aircraft operated by Pakistani carrier Shaheen Air International has suffered severe damage upon landing at Allama Iqbal International airport in Lahore.”

[Tweet "Check this out #aviation #news..."]

Never Forget Your: Relief

How To End The Day After A Stressful AOG —  Stress is common and a big part of your aviation life. It grabs you tight, suffocating your every move. Most days are made up of you scrambling to resolve the next urgent issue. One after the other. Try these tips...

Take 10 Relaxing Steps Now —  You're stressed we know it. A stress free life is a healthy life so do us a favor...

[Tweet "Try these #stress reduction tips for #aviation nuts"]

Never Forget Your: Events  

Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition

• November 17-19, 2015
• Las Vegas, Nevada

9th Annual Flight Operations Conference 

• December 1-2, 2015
• Rome, Italy

MRO Latin America 

• January 21-22, 2016
• Lima, Peru

[Tweet "Know your #aviation events. Here's the upcoming ones..."]

Ask an Expert: How to Manage Your Supply Chain Efficiently with Ryan Coyne, U.S. Air Force Chief Logistics Operations

The time has come where we "Ask an Expert" questions that you all have been eager to have answered. We interviewed Ryan Coyne who is the Chief of Logistics Operations for the United States Air Force. To put it simply, he’s no joke. With a $17.5 billion dollar supply chain under his belt, we would say he knows a thing or two about managing supply chain & logistics.

Ryan leads a team of 25 who span supply chain, transportation, planning and QA professionals. If that wasn’t enough, he oversees sustainment solutions for 4500 aircraft and 1.8 million vehicles and equipment assets all over the world.

Without any more hesitation, let’s see what this supply champ has got to say.

http://blog.skylinkintl.com/ask-an-expert-how-to-manage-your-supply-chain-efficiently-with-ryan-coyne-u-s-air-force-chief-logistics-operations/ We interviewed Ryan Coyne who is the Chief of Logistics Operations for the United States Air Force. To put it simply, he's no joke. With a $17.5 billion dollar supply chain under his belt, he knows a thing or two about managing supply chain & logistics. Want more? www.NeverForgetYourWings.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLGoQFgOBKo

The discussion begins at 3:03 with Ryan sharing his responsibilities as the core logistics readiness officer and we quickly learn that he has been involved in supply chain for about 19½ years. That's almost 2 decades of knowing all there is to know about supply chain.

Ryan explains to us that although his team moves parts around the world they deal more with the end user. Due to the fact that he deals with maintenance group providers to even customer complaints, Ryan considers his work on the retail side of things.

Efficiency in your Supply Chain

We asked Ryan how he stays organized with such volume and at 10:02 he explains the organization of his wing and compares the ease of their system to Amazon. Below him is a wing of 25 staffers that work with 3 major commodities, which are aircraft parts, petroleum, and equipment items & parts for vehicles.  

[Tweet "Effective communication is crucial to a successful supply chain"]

His staff of 25 has 3 groups below them of 100-200 folks a piece. Each team has a different role or specialty.

From their $17.5 billion dollar supply chain, $8-9 billion alone comes from aircraft parts. Ryan and his wing goes through about 5½ million customer transactions a month. That's more transactions than most companies receive in a year.

Ryan stresses the importance of taking advantage of demand patterns. Due to the fact that his wing can move inventory back and forth they skip the step of asking retail teams and do it themselves.

At 14:03 Ryan shares with us the importance of communication within his team and how having an enterprise view of their supply chain has worked for them.

Leadership & Motivation

Leadership

Lastly we discussed with Ryan what he believes makes a good leader. At 20:49 Ryan shares that he looked to his coaches back in high school for leadership skills.

"I've never given an order in my entire career and I've been a commander 3 times. You know it's more of a collaboration, a coaching effort, constant huddles, making sure we have a consensus before we move forward." - Ryan Coyne  

Ryan believes that if you aren't leading by coaching and collaborating then you will lose trust and your staff will do things because they have to and not because they want to. 

He then goes on to explain that a leader must give people a chance to learn new skills, treat their staff calmly, with dignity, and look out for them.

At 26:45 Ryan adds that when it comes to motivating the younger generations a good leader must ask a lot of questions leading them to getting the right answer. This way they learn on their own and their time is protected.

In his line of work they don't receive bonuses but as a leader when you give associates back time, that's a bonus worth gold.

Why Your Urgent RFQs Become AOG & How to Fix It

You’re always stuck firefighting AOGs. It’s routine for you. A normal way of your aviation life. Yet, every time it wastes time and money. It’s a burden. It’s stressful. It’s wasteful.

100% of the airlines and MROs we work with struggle with the same problem. Some more than others.

When AOGs happen, you’re in trouble. You do everything you can to resolve the issue. It drains your time, you spend extra money and you have better things to do.

What if you could reduce your AOGs?

You were urgent and now you’re AOG. Why?

Follow me through this narrative….

It’s Monday, an airline (you) asks Skylink for 5 urgent aircraft components. 3 days later we check in with you to make sure everything is going good since you haven’t asked us to ship. On the 7 day you call us saying you're now AOG. In 2 days, your aircraft will be grounded, so you need these items rushed.

You go from an urgent request to an AOG request.

You go from nominal processing and shipping costs to doubling your expenses. We’ve seen expenses go as high as 13x the original direct cost due to AOG shipping costs and fees.

Crazy!

You had everything planned with your original request. You asked for a quote and you got the quote. The items were ready, waiting for you to make a decision. But you decided to wait.

It’s natural. You want to wait as the urgent request may resolve itself. Yet decisions like this cost the industry millions of dollars a year.

The most urgent items will not become less urgent over time. They progress into an AOG. Causing you time and money.

Rarely you’ll solve the urgent request by yourself with internal means.

Statistically, you’re taking a gamble. A big gamble.

How can you stay in the urgent and avoid the AOG?

Every day we think about ways to help you resolve AOGs. We’re pretty darn good at it too. But that’s not enough.

Being fast to get you what you want, when you want it still costs you more time and money then you deserve.

Here’s something we’re playing with…

You need to purchase the urgent items when you need them. Don’t second guess yourself. Worst case scenario you resolve the issue and have an extra order on your hands. The best case scenario, you have support components to resolve an urgent situation before it costs you AOG fees.

You can calculate your return on investment by making a smart, quick and decisive decision. But, this still adds a small burden to you.

What if you could then return these items if you figure things out? These urgent items will act as an insurance policy to avoid an AOG and you have the peace of mind for a simple return.

Would a peace of mind guarantee make your life easier? Would it help you purchase urgent items and resolve a request before it becomes AOG with the peace of mind of being able to return them with little hassle?

We would love to hear your thoughts on how this idea would help your operation.

Email your dedicated Account Manager or our VP Nate Anglin (nate@skylinkintl.com) and discuss the benefits this would create for you and how we can implement it to best serve you.

Do You Know Your Wide-body Aircraft Operating Costs?

Whether you own a fleet of regional, narrow-body or wide-body aircraft, knowing your operating costs is important.

Your goal is to lean out and maximize your fleet to it’s fullest potential. What strategies can you adopt to streamline your maintenance costs? With crew and maintenance costs being over 25% of your total operating costs, I would say these are important, wouldn’t you?

Below is a list from planestats.com on the reported aircraft operating costs for nearly 500 wide-body aircraft for the 12 months of 2014. Its good to note that fuel prices will clearly be much different for 2015.

Aircraft operating costs per block hour

Cost per ASM

Monthly ownership costs

Average daily aircraft utilization.