[October 22, 2020] [No. 079] In This Issue : ProSafeT - SMS, Quality & Audit Management Software : MU Aviation Maintenance Technology program receives boost from ARC : Robotic Skies Recognized at 63rd Annual Aviation Week Laureates for Business Aviation MRO : ExecuJet Malaysia Receives Limited Vietnam Certification : MTU Maintenance Canada partners with GE Aviation to support U.S. Air Force F108 engines : MAUtechnic and Luftronix Use Drone-Based Scanning for Automated Inspections : Green Growth : Boeing Max ‘high on China’s minds,’ but no clear return date : What We Can Learn from Others in Aircraft Refueling : American Airlines retires its last Airbus A330, goes all-Boeing for wide-body jets : Air Belgium Sends Half Of Its A340 Fleet Into Long Term Storage : SpaceX Postpones Starlink Launch MU Aviation Maintenance Technology program receives boost from ARC HUNTINGTON — Marshall University’s Aviation Technology and Maintenance program moved a step closer to takeoff with the announcement last week of a $1.36 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to fund startup and operating costs. The new Marshall program is a collaborative effort among Marshall University, the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) and Mountwest Community and Technical College. “The ARC POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) award to the Region 2 Planning and Development Council based in Huntington is crucial to the future economic diversification and resiliency of the Tri-State,” said Chris Chiles, executive director of the Region 2 Planning and Development Council, in a news release. POWER is a federal initiative to spur economic development in communities affected by the decline in coal mining and related industries. In last Wednesday’s announcement, the ARC awarded more than $43.3 million to boost the economy across Appalachia, including more than $5.8 million for projects in West Virginia. “POWER grants are playing a critical role in supporting coal-impacted communities in the Appalachian Region as they recover from COVID-19 by building and expanding critical infrastructure and creating new economic opportunities through innovative and transformative approaches,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas in the release. “Projects like this are getting Appalachia back to work.” “Marshall University’s Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) program helps grow the aerospace industry in West Virginia and expand opportunities in the western region of our state,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., said the project will create new jobs, strengthen the state’s growing aerospace industry, and send more goods and services around the globe. Graduates of the 18-month Aviation Technology and Maintenance program, based at the Huntington Tri-State Airport, will have the opportunity to earn FAA certifications along with an Associate of Applied Science degree in aviation maintenance through a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Marshall University and Mountwest Community and Technical College. The Aviation Technology and Maintenance program is set to launch in January 2022 and is being developed with the input of aviation industry experts. “The development of a highly skilled workforce is key to the continued expansion of the aviation/aerospace sector in West Virginia,” said Marshall President Jerome Gilbert. “Skilled maintenance technicians are in great demand — even during the time of COVID-19. Aviation industry experts project a need for 193,000 new maintenance technicians between 2020 and 2038 because of growth in the sector and the retirement of baby boomers.” The Tri-State Aviation Maintenance Technician Start-Up program, coordinated by the Region 2 Planning and Development Council, Marshall University, RCBI and Mountwest Community and Technical College, will train aviation maintenance technicians for good-paying jobs that support the growing aerospace industry in the state, said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact of this initiative for years to come,” he added. For more information about the Marshall University Aviation Technology and Maintenance program, contact Jim Smith, interim program manager, by phone at 304-781-1688 or by email at jsmith@rcbi.org. https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/mu-aviation-maintenance-technology-program-receives-boost-from-arc/article_f50290db-5a6a-5669-8dd7-ad6cddc1bb74.html Robotic Skies Recognized at 63rd Annual Aviation Week Laureates for Business Aviation MRO The 63rd Annual Laureate Awards to honor all recipients took place as a virtual event on October 19, 2020. Aviation Week Network Editorial Director Joe Anselmo said of the prestigious awards: "For more than six decades, Aviation Week editors have annually awarded Laureates to great achievers in aerospace and aviation. This year's winners embody the spirit of exploration, innovation, and vision that will inspire others to strive for broad-reaching progress in aviation, aerospace, and defense." Anticipating widespread growth in commercial unmanned aircraft, Robotic Skies has created a global network of repair stations to maintain and service the burgeoning fleet. "Unmanned Aircraft Systems are used for business purposes every day, and the technology increasingly plays a role in helping companies perform work in safer, more efficient ways," said Robotic Skies CEO and Founder Brad Hayden. "This is a team accomplishment, and we are thrilled that our vision to maintain these systems on par with traditional aircraft is recognized in the business aviation industry and validated by the highly regarded Laureate Award." Robotic Skies is the only global network of maintenance Service Centers created to support commercial and defense UAS fleets. The network comprises over 200 certified repair stations vetted and hand-selected from the existing aviation MRO infrastructure. This unique network model provides convenient, local access to professional, aviation-grade maintenance and repair services anywhere in the world UAS operate via a single point of contact. For commercial UAS manufacturers and operators who want to learn more, visit http://www.roboticskies.com. About Robotic Skies, Inc Robotic Skies is a global network of maintenance Service Centers for commercial Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) fleets. Founded in 2014, Robotic Skies has 200 independently owned and operated certified repair stations in its network (and growing), spanning more than 40 countries. The company's aviation-grade field service programs are flexible, scalable, and meet the regulatory requirements for complex commercial operations like drone delivery. Robotic Skies is a Boeing HorizonX portfolio company. Learn more at http://www.roboticskies.com. https://www.prweb.com/releases/robotic_skies_recognized_at_63rd_annual_aviation_week_laureates_for_business_aviation_mro/prweb17489107.htm ExecuJet Malaysia Receives Limited Vietnam Certification ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia has received certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) to perform line and heavy maintenance on certain Dassault Falcon 2000s registered in the Southeast Asian country. Under the certification, line and base maintenance up to and including C checks (72 months or 3,750 flight cycles) is covered on the Falcon 2000EX, 2000EX EASy, and 2000XLS. Maintenance of batteries and landing gear are also covered. Further, the Dassault Aviation-owned maintenance provider has received CAAV certification for work on Pratt & Whitney PW300-series engines. That includes scheduled inspection, repairs, non-routine maintenance, and removal and replacement of engine accessories. “The team at ExecuJet MRO Services is demonstrating initiative and capability, in expanding their offerings for the Dassault Falcon fleet,” said Jean Kayanakis, Dassault senior v-p of worldwide Falcon customer service and service center network. “These developments allow us to continuously improve the Falcon customer experience in the region.” According to ExecuJet MRO Services regional v-p of Asia Ivan Lim, a small number of business aircraft is based in Vietnam, which is rapidly growing as a market for business aviation with average GDP growth of between 5 and 7 percent annually. Additionally, ExecuJet Malaysia’s facility at Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur is in proximity to Vietnam, he noted. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-10-21/execujet-malaysia-receives-limited-vietnam-certification MTU Maintenance Canada partners with GE Aviation to support U.S. Air Force F108 engines MTU Maintenance Canada Ltd, MTU’s stronghold and competence centre for military engine maintenance, will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the United States Air Force (USAF) F108 engines beginning in the fourth quarter of this year. MTU Maintenance will be partnering with GE Aviation on the five-year contract (one-year base and four one-year option periods), taking responsibility for maintenance, repair and overhaul services. “We are delighted to have signed this landmark contract,” said Michael Schreyögg, chief program officer, MTU Aero Engines. It follows on from the F138 military engine contract signed directly with the USAF earlier this year. “With the first F108 engine already in route to our shop and the first F138 that arrived last week, we’re looking forward to continuing the excellent reliability and on-time delivery record we have with USAF and going above and beyond their expectations.” “Securing solid military volume is a key initiative for us at MTU Maintenance Canada,” said Tracy Osadchuk, head of Military Sales and vice-president MRO Programs MTU Maintenance Canada, a facility with over 20 years experience in MRO for military engines. “We are honoured to be directly serving USAF once more as well as be partnering with GE Aviation.” The F108 is the military variant of the CFM56-2 engine and powers the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft. USAF has over 300 of these aircraft and 1,500 plus engines in their fleet. The -2 variant differs only slightly from the CFM56-3, for which MTU Maintenance has been carrying out MRO at its facility in Canada for over 15 years. Further, the MTU Aero Engines Group, of which MTU Maintenance Canada is a North-American affiliate, has over 85 years of experience with military engines. Based in British Columbia, MTU Maintenance Canada repairs and overhauls engines and accessories and performs engine tests. The company holds licenses for work on the CF6, CFM56 and V2500 engine families. Alongside accessory repairs, the Canadian engines experts also offer their customers so-called Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) management services which play an increasing role in MTU’s service offerings. Last year, the company committed to significantly increasing capacity and engine portfolio within North America. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/mtu-maintenance-canada-partners-with-ge-aviation-to-support-us-air-force-f108-engines/ MAUtechnic and Luftronix Use Drone-Based Scanning for Automated Inspections Ukrainian MRO company MAUtechnic, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and Luftronix, Inc have jointly conducted drone-based scans of UIA’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft in Kyiv. All scans were conducted using Luftronix’s custom-built drones with high-precision navigation systems and high-quality scanning equipment, and the Luftronix Orchestrator software for scan planning, flight operations and data analysis. “Our focus is always on the quality of our maintenance, safety of passengers and flawless operation of all aircraft systems,” says Volodymyr Polishchuk, Quality Assurance Manager at MAUtechnic. He added, “it was encouraging to see the Luftronix team sharing the same values and perspectives.” The scans guarantee a consistent surface resolution and the equipment automatically measures the distance from the surface and curvature of the object to allow for precise on-screen measurements of any artifact. This allows inspectors to assess immediately whether the artifacts are within specifications prescribed in the aircraft maintenance and structural repair manuals. In addition, scans are archived for comparisons over time enabling a monitoring practice for any artifact that requires repeated attention. Luftronix’s drones carry multiple fall-back systems to ensure no single equipment failure can create a fatal in-flight incident. Any critical instrument has built-in redundancies. In addition, the autonomously operating drones have built-in emergency operations for known safety-relevant scenarios and can recover from unexpected events, for example foreign objects moving into the flight path, ladders or ropes appearing where they were not expected, or even other drones interfering. “After years of working day and night to ensure safety and precision of our scanning equipment, we see our cooperation with MAUtechnic and UIA as a major milestone in introducing our technology to the aviation industry,” says Klaus Sonnenleiter, President and CEO at Luftronix, and continued, “we see this as a chance to preserve the result of each inspection, make them comparable and have inspections conducted much faster and much more efficiently than it was possible in the past.” MAUtechnic is hoping to reduce the turnaround time for a typical aircraft structure inspection by up to 50%, depending on the type of inspection, and to also utilize the technology in heavy maintenance for various verification use cases. The joint project will continue to repeatedly scan aircraft and find the most efficient path to inspecting aircraft even faster and more reliably. About MAUtechnic MAUtechnic is an EASA Part-145 approved organization, Ukrainian MRO, sister company of Ukraine International Airlines with hangar at Boryspil International Airport, in Kiev, Ukraine. About Ukrainian International Airlines Ukrainian International Airlines (“UIA” or “MAU”) is a network carrier with its main hub in Kyiv Borispil airport. UIA operates domestic and international passenger flights and cargo services to Europe, Middle East, North American and Asia. About Luftronix Luftronix is a technology startup headquartered in Franklin Lakes, NJ with research and development in Lviv, Ukraine and testing facilities in Kyiv, Ukraine. Luftronix makes scanning equipment for commercial aviation using precision drones to inspect the aircraft. Luftronix drones operate fully autonomously and collect images from hard to access areas of the aircraft surface with guaranteed precision and resolution, allowing its customers to drastically reduce the time it takes to inspect their equipment. Luftronix is part-owned by ELEKS, a global contract development company with delivery centers in the US, Europe and Ukraine. About ELEKS ELEKS is a Luftronix parent and Top 100 Global Outsourcing company that partners with SME and enterprise clients to elevate their value, through expert software engineering, product design, quality assurance and consultancy services. We’ve been helping industries including logistics, retail, agriculture, healthcare and government, digitally transform their operations through innovative technologies – for almost 30 years. ELEKS is running analytics and customization projects for Luftronix customers. https://www.uavexpertnews.com/2020/10/mautechnic-and-luftronix-use-drone-based-scanning-for-automated-inspections/ Green Growth Environmentally minded leaders around the world are constantly looking for ways to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) output and reduce their carbon footprint. In the aviation industry, ground handling operations have sought alternative energy ground support equipment (GSE) to help achieve these goals. “The most significant benefits are the positive effect in terms of carbon footprint and sustainability, alongside huge cost savings and maintenance-free management of equipment,” Terri Smart-Jewkes, global sales and marketing director at Aviramp, says. "By utilizing green GSE, you significantly reduce the environmental impact that fossil fuel has,” explains Alberto Rocha, sales director, Americas, ITW GSE. “Electric vehicles also require less maintenance – there are fewer moving parts – and they last longer,” adds Lars Barsoe, VP of sales and marketing at Vestergaard Company. “Since there is no combustion engine, there is also no small particle pollution, which is a serious issue at airports.” Less exposure to exhaust fumes, such as CO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOx), also benefits the health of ground handling personnel that perform aircraft turnarounds, notes Jerry Crump of PosiCharge. Michael Nelson, general manager at Advanced Charging Technologies (ACT), points out maintenance costs can be lowered further with battery-powered GSE as no parts, oil, antifreeze, fuel filters and other components need to be replaced. What’s more, charging technology has greatly advanced. “New generation chargers are more efficient and take less energy off the grid,” he adds. By eliminating idling engines on the ramp, noise pollution can also be reduced. Alternative energy equipment can even contribute to cleaner environments in the areas immediately surrounding an airport. “Less environmental impact is always the first benefit that comes to mind,” says Henry Balensifer, marketing and government relations manager at JBT LEKTRO. “The long term cost savings really is where the most significant benefits are, particularly now.” Alternative Energy in Use Alternative energy GSE is not new to the industry, necessarily. However, these technologies are regularly evolving and becoming increasingly efficient. For example, Crump notes baggage tractors, belt-loaders, smaller pushback tractors and hydrant carts have utilized alternative energy, particularly electric battery power, for years. “Today, we are seeing more of an influx in larger energy consuming GSE, such as pushback tractors and loaders, becoming more common as technology has improved in this segment,” he says. According to Smart-Jewkes, solar power can also be effective in GSE, noting Aviramp developed an electric and solar suite of boarding ramps and bridges to help ground service providers meet pending sustainability mandates. “We believe that electric and solar are gaining a great deal of traction and this would have progressed even further were it not for the COVID-19 global pandemic,” says Smart-Jewkes. In addition to battery-powered equipment, Balensifer notes JBT LEKTRO has also worked with hydrogen fuel cells. But he points to a lack of infrastructure limiting the potential of that power source. “We have hybrid equipment for areas where the charging stations are a mile or more away from the duty station, or for areas with limited power infrastructure,” Balensifer adds. “We have some other new technology in the works that enables airports to use existing infrastructure without putting any additional demand on the systems in place.” According to Rocha, green GSE can be applied across numerous categories of equipment. “Tractors, loaders, 400 Hz ground power units and pre-conditioned air can all utilize alternative energy technologies,” he says. “Battery-powered GSE are more cost effective and scalable,” Nelson adds. Companies like Vestergaard have also found alternative power solutions for equipment like lavatory and water units and deicers. “This past year, we have launched fully electric chassis carrying toilet and water service vehicles, electric towable units and we have launched a hybrid/electric Elephant BETA deicer,” says Barsoe. Industry Adoption When it comes to alternative energy solutions, some equipment can come with higher upfront costs. But Nelson points out that can often be offset by lower operating and maintenance costs and examining the true cost of ownership. Traditionally, a lack of electrical infrastructure to support implementation has slowed adoption of eGSE. However, Crump says this is beginning to change. “The largest barrier is investing in infrastructure, and then losing that contract and not being able to deploy the chargers to where it best suits your operation,” he says. “Having the airports own the chargers helps to change this issue and add flexibility to the situation.” “Electric infrastructure is a major challenge. Simply having enough power to make charging infrastructure possible is a huge challenge,” agrees Barsoe. “Another challenge is the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle compared to filling it with diesel or gasoline.” He adds that having dialogue with the airports and power companies well before changing to electric units and planning sufficient space to charge and park vehicles can help alleviate these potential pain points. “If they are utilizing certain assets that consume large amounts of energy to move from gate to gate, they may not be able to support flights,” Crump says. “PosiCharge assists the airports with the flexibility they need by offering multi-port charging solutions, which can charge up to 16 vehicles at once and share power with existing circuits and other devices at the jet bridge.” Changing the behavior of ground handling personnel, especially when it comes to refueling/charging habits, is also a challenge, according to Rocha. However, with training and time, he says these challenges can be overcome. “Habits can be hard to break and ground handlers are used to certain product types,” points out Smart-Jewkes, adding change management is imperative when an operation implements new technology. Overcoming these challenges can be easy if the only change is the power source and if equipment can be operated similarly to previous models. Continuous Advancements Some ground handlers and service providers may be motivated to adopt green technology through grants. Many airports are striving to achieve carbon accreditation, which could further incentivize switching to alternative powered equipment. “Accreditations like these can act as incentives to help reduce emissions and create a much cleaner and sustainable environment,” Smart-Jewkes says. “Moreover, this is very much on the agenda on a macro level, globally. So, the incentive has been set universally that all industry must strive to be more sustainable and kinder to the environment.” “There are regional incentive programs through state and local utilities to convert to alternative fuel GSE,” adds Nelson, noting his company works with local utilities to acquire any known incentives for customers. Balensifer says that many U.S. states are allocating funds through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) or the Volkswagen emissions scandal settlement to incentivize removing diesels from airport ramps and deploying electric vehicles. “California’s Air Resources Board and a few other states have also put together incentives for off-road emissions reduction programs that would incentivize the industry to use alternative GSE,” he adds. With ongoing interest in alternative energy equipment continuing to grow, GSE manufacturers continue to invest in new solutions. “All our conversations with clients are about sustainability,” Barsoe explains. “Vestergaard has long worked on solutions to reduce the environmental footprint, from reducing the amount of hot fluid needed in a deicing operation to increasing efficiencies in heating of fluids. “And we have now taken that to new levels with our electric solutions,” he continues. “Vestergaard aims to provide a complete range of fossil-free ground support equipment by 2030.” Similarly, ITW GSE’s research and development team has applied customer feedback to inspire new equipment designs. Rocha says these factors have helped the company develop its 400Hz and 28 VDC eGPUs. “We also continue to invest in new sustainable technologies as we see the future on a battery-driven platform,” he says. According to Balensifer, JBT LEKTRO is expending a large portion of its engineering efforts to improve the efficiency of the company’s electric options, in addition to making it easier for this eGSE to be used and maintained. At ACT, the company has developed a line of UL outdoor rated, high efficiency battery chargers to charge electric GSE, utilizing lead acid as well as lithium-ion batteries “ACT Quantum GSE Chargers are designed with Wi-Fi connectivity and can remotely implement energy management programs such as Peak Shaving, which reduces electrical usage during periods of maximum demand for the power utility, and Demand Response, which reduces electrical usage temporarily based on change in the price of power,” says Nelson. ACT can also enroll customers, when applicable, to ACTenergy – a smart grid energy management platform, to reduce strain on the grid and reduce electrical consumption. With changing technology, such as lithium-ion batteries becoming widely available and more cost effective, more markets for eGSE are opening up. “By making Smart-Fast Chargers that allow for optimal fast charging rates, we have been able to lower the cost of battery maintenance and replacement for our customers, lowering the total cost of ownership for our customers,” Crump points out. “Our MVS system allows for internal power sharing amongst multiple charging ports to lower the demand for expensive infrastructure improvements.” PosiCharge can also provide full CAN communication for lithium batteries and the ability to offer a telemetry system that allows customers to track charging events and energy usage. “The benefits to the environment are self-explanatory. So, going green is the way forward and it is better for airports and handlers to be ahead of the curve as we believe it will be expected that the industry moves to more sustainable alternatives anyway,” says Smart-Jewkes. “And we think after the recent pandemic, there will be a moral obligation to try to achieve a much greener airport operation worldwide. “The sooner airports recognize that fact, the sooner they can make headway to embrace greener alternatives and get ahead of the trend.” https://www.aviationpros.com/gse/gse-technology/green-alternative-energy-gse/article/21156090/green-growth Boeing Max ‘high on China’s minds,’ but no clear return date China doesn’t have a clear timetable for when Boeing Co.’s 737 Max can return to service, though it has been holding talks with the company as well as U.S. and European aviation regulators, the head of the country’s civil aviation authority said. Feng Zhenglin, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing that the issue of the grounded Max was “high on our minds” and that there’d been some technical collaboration on the matter with U.S. and European counterparts. Three criteria need to be approved before China allows the Max to fly again, Feng said Thursday. Any change of design needs to approved, pilot training must be comprehensive, and the conclusions of investigations into the two accidents involving the plane need to be clear and improvement measures effective. China was the first major jurisdiction to ground the Max following the second of two crashes that killed a total of 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia. China’s move in March last year sparked a cascade of groundings in other countries even as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said at the time the plane was safe to fly. U.S. congressional investigators concluded in a scathing report last month that failures by Boeing engineers, deception by the company and significant errors in government oversight led to the two fatal crashes. Indonesia’s final report on the Lion Air flight that plunged into the Java Sea in October 2018 found that design flaws, FAA certification, aircraft maintenance and pilots’ actions all played a part. Ethiopia has yet to complete its final report on the March 2019 crash near Addis Ababa that killed all 157 people on board, though a 136-page interim report released earlier this year faulted the plane’s design and pilot training. The Ethiopian government’s chief investigator said last week the goal is to release a final report before the second anniversary of the disaster. The country’s civil aviation authority and Ethiopian Airlines Group will carry out their own safety checks on the model before considering a return. There were nearly 100 Max planes in operation in China prior to the grounding, making it the biggest market for the jet. The Big Three—Air China Ltd., China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co.—are all Max customers, along with about 10 other carriers in the country. Europe’s top aviation regulator said last week the plane is safe enough to fly again before the end of this year. Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, said China had participated in some of the Max reviews but hadn’t been involved in flight testing. “I honestly don’t know where they are” with their evaluation, Ky said. The FAA’s chief Steve Dickson flew the Max in September and said the controls were “very comfortable,” but the review process by the FAA—Boeing’s main certification body—isn’t yet complete and it hasn’t commented on when it might return. While many of the world’s aviation markets are languishing as the coronavirus continues to restrict air travel, China has recovered to around pre-pandemic levels in terms of domestic traffic, so demand for aircraft is relatively healthy. https://ajot.com/news/boeing-max-ahigh-on-chinaas-mindsa-but-no-clear-return-date What We Can Learn from Others in Aircraft Refueling Aircraft refueling is, essentially, “the same job world-over,” right? Well, maybe not exactly. When traveling from country to country, and even more so between continents, it is surprising just how different regional fueling activities can be. What is "so right" for one fueling location is strangely "so wrong" for the next, and the more our team of fueling experts travels the world, the more obvious these global differences become. Cla-Val Company has a network of offices worldwide, with its global headquarters in the USA and European headquarters in Switzerland. Regional differences between products in several of our business platforms is understood and to be expected. In aviation ground fueling, it could be assumed that the practice of safely fueling an aircraft would be the same, either at LAX in Los Angeles or GVA in Geneva, for example. However, it may be surprising to find a number of differences. These can be quite varied and go beyond configurations of fueling nozzles or regional preferences. There are differing global operating policies to consider, subtle nuances in terms of refueling equipment design, operator ergonomics required by federal/state legislation. Probably the biggest difference though is one of the industry culture. So, can our European and American counterparts learn any lessons from each other? The world of aviation fueling standards is primarily governed by the Joint Inspection Group (JIG) and Airlines for America (A4A). The JIG is historically more focused on Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), while A4A helps to create policies specifically for the US airline industry. While these two organizations work together, and in recent years, huge efforts and large strides have been taken to create truly “global standards” through harmonization, there are inevitably still some differences between policies worldwide. This means that in some cases, manufacturers will produce a product more suited for the USA, with a very different product required for the exact same task in Europe. As an example, consider a pit valve and the pilot requirements. The JIG insists on dual air lanyard pilots. They also were the early adopters of the breakaway couplers (EI 1583 3rd Edition). This was only adopted by A4A in 2017 and with enforcement by the end of 2022. The safe refueling of aircraft is a very skilled job and in Europe many refueling operators and service technicians have made this their lifetime career. Might we suggest that these are the very individuals, with so many years’ experience firmly behind them, who are the real experts in our field of ground refueling equipment? Over the years, this has helped to promote an almost "nurture nature" culture. The very specialist type of refueling equipment we provide is regularly serviced and nurtured throughout the lifetime of the product. As a contrast, refueling professionals are far more transient in the USA, and while the job is no less skilled, refueling operating companies are to be commended for still maintaining such high levels of competence within their fueling teams while maybe not seeing the longevity of personnel in their teams. This European culture also translates into the health and safety mindset. This has produced many user-driven innovations over the years. Drag rings on fueling nozzles to prevent them from damage and thus prolonging their life. Hydrant coupler lifting devices, commonly known as CLADs, to help relieve fueling operators from continually lifting by hand heavy and fuel laden couplers on and off hydrant pit valves. The now mandated use, within EMEA and for new hydrant systems, of dual air lanyard pilots on hydrant valves. All these are beneficial to the safety of our industry but are yet to be fully adopted worldwide. When flying into Europe, it is commonplace to see a wide variety of “refuelers” and “hydrant vehicles” driving around the airport aprons, diligently servicing and pumping fuel into every aircraft before it departs. Some airports can have more than 100 fueling vehicles for this task alone, such are the fueling demands of the modern-day aviation industry, pre-COVID era. In the USA, at most major airports, static hydrant carts are located at every fueling stand awaiting the arrival of the aircraft before the fueling process begins. The two strategies could not be more different. On one hand, we have a very expensive fleet of trucks traveling the airport roadways, visiting every aircraft before it departs on its next journey, with all the running and maintenance expense that this truck fleet brings. In contrast, the smaller and very much lower cost, fueling carts found the in USA will be a permanent fixture at airport parking positions – a clever concept perhaps? Certainly, when you consider the reduced running and maintenance cost this solution offers, not to mention the environmental advantages and reduced carbon footprint that this concept of fueling practice helps to promote. In the post-COVID era, could it be that this fueling cart technology might become more appealing to the European fueling companies as new equipment and maintenance budgets are hard hit in this most ravaged of sectors, international aviation. In truth, the refueling of aircraft is done so with what would be, by today’s standards, largely antiquated technology. In fact, the modern-day technologies we know and are so used to in our everyday lives have only really been introduced into vehicle designs in the last decade. As we move away from pen and paper technology, to more touchscreens and cloud-based activities, why should fueling products be any different? The next evolutions and technologies in our field are already upon us, such as Cla-Val’s Ground Fueling E-Manual App, Cla-Val Link2 Asset Management Systems and our future ground fueling product, Smart Technologies. However, a slight word of caution at this point. Not every region of the world will be ready to embrace new technologies at the same time and so the pace of worldwide introduction is to be carefully considered. New technology requires training and maintenance and in some parts of the world, tried and tested 20th century type technology has proven to be reliable and still works. Financing for upgrades and technical education for training may be limited, which means there will always be a need for a more manual system is some areas. While strides have been made in the harmonization of standards, there is still quite a few places that the EMEA marketplace and the North American marketplace can learn from each other regarding equipment, operator ergonomics and technology. Richard Hooton, Cla-Val ground fueling market manager – EMEA, brings more than 25 years of experience in the aviation industry, working closely with the industry's leading brands within the ground fueling and fuel filtration market sectors. He has a proficient knowledge and understanding of aircraft ground refueling equipment and aviation fuel filtration systems with proven sales experience and success internationally, now helping to drive the Cla-Val sales and marketing strategy within the EMEA aviation sector. https://www.aviationpros.com/gse/fueling-equipment-accessories/article/21155801/what-we-can-learn-from-others-in-aircraft-refueling American Airlines retires its last Airbus A330, goes all-Boeing for wide-body jets The changes to American Airlines fleet continue as the coronavirus pandemic resets flying. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier has retired its 15 Airbus A330-200s, officially making it an all-Boeing wide-body operator of 777s and 787s, American said Thursday. The A330s have been in long-term storage since May. The move brings the number of jets retired by American to 114 during the pandemic. Gone are its Airbus A330s — both the -200s and -300s — Boeing 757s and 767s and Embraer E190s, as well as the Bombardier CRJ200s flown by its regional affiliates. “We now only have for aircraft types in our mainline fleet,” said American chief financial officer Derek Kerr during a quarterly earnings call on Thursday. “The operating efficiencies on the crew, maintenance and schedule are permanent.” Kerr added that the aircraft retirements “accelerated” the airline’s long-term fleet plans. American’s mainline operations now consist of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 family narrow-bodies and 777 and 787 family wide-bodies. In a report Thursday, Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth estimated that American has removed roughly 10% of the seats it flew in 2019 with the A330 retirements. Delta Air Lines has removed roughly 22% of 2019 seats and United Airlines none having not officially retired any jets. American is due to take delivery of around 39 new mainline jets in 2021 after reaching an agreement with Boeing to defer up to eight 737 MAX deliveries. The new planes include 16 A321neos, 10 737 MAX 8s and 13 787s. All of the new aircraft have financing commitments in place, Kerr said. The fleet changes come as American posted a $2.4 billion net loss in the third quarter. The critical cash burn measure — or how much it loses on a daily basis — averaged $44 million a day during the three months ending in September. The airline’s daily losses are far higher than those at its competitors. Southwest Airlines achieved a burn of just $16 million a day, Delta Air Lines $24 million and United Airlines $21 million in the third quarter. However, each airline calculates the burn rate differently making direct comparisons difficult. American hopes to reduce daily cash burn to $25 million to $30 million in the fourth quarter that ends in December. https://thepointsguy.com/news/american-airlines-retires-airbus-a330s/ Air Belgium Sends Half Of Its A340 Fleet Into Long Term Storage Brussels-headquartered Air Belgium yesterday sent half of its Airbus A340 fleet into long-term storage in southern France. Air Belgium decided that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a decline in passenger numbers, that the two A340s were superfluous to its current needs. The 12.5-year-old Air Belgium A340-300 registration number OO-ABD took off from Air Belgium’s hub at Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) headed for Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport (LDE) in southern France yesterday. According to the Belgium aviation website Aviation24.be, the aircraft will be joined by sister aircraft OO-ABE and that the two planes would remain in France over the winter. The planes are not needed When asked why the planes were being parked for the winter, a spokesperson for Air Belgium said, “Given the reduced demand and current operational restrictions due to COVID-19, we have logically decided to differ maintenance and checks and temporarily park and store two aircraft for the winter.” Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport is home to Tarbes Advanced Recycling & Maintenance Aircraft Company (TARMAC), a specialist in the long-term storage and recycling of aircraft. TARMAC also operates out of Teruel Airport (TEV) in Spain, where they can store up to 400 planes. On TARMAC’s website, it says they offer the following services: The biggest aircraft storage capacity in Europe Aircraft & Engine maintenance provider (MRO) dedicated to your needs The world most innovative company in Aircraft & Engine recycling Surinam Airways wet-leases from Air Belgium The two remaining Airbus A340 aircraft OO-ABE and OO-ABB, are currently wet-leased by Surinam Airways on flights between Paramaribo and Amsterdam. Surinam Airways acquired a Boeing 777-200ER from Singapore Airlines last December to put on the Paramaribo to Amsterdam route but overlooked ETOPS certification problems. Four-engine aircraft like the Airbus A340 is certified to fly the 4,700-mile route, but twin-engine planes like the Boeing triple seven are not. Paramaribo to Amsterdam is directly over the Atlantic Ocean, a long way from a diversion point. This means that the triple seven would have to hug the United States and Greenland until ETOPS is given, adding around three hours to the flight time. The two Air Belgium Airbus A340s are also wet-leased by shipping companies to transport workers between Bergen, Norway, Cape Town, South Africa, and other destinations. Air Belgium has canceled Caribbean flights Air Belgium had planned to resume scheduled flights over the winter to the French-speaking Caribbean nations of Guadeloupe and Martinique. These plans and the launch of a new route to Mauritius have all been put on hold due to COVID-19. All four of Air Belgium’s Airbus A340s are leased from Airbus Finance and have a combined age of 12.9 years. Since Air Belgium came into existence in 2016, it has not had much luck operating as a regular airline but has, like in the case of Surinam Airways, been successful in using its planes for other airlines. Perhaps and especially now given current conditions wet-lease and cargo operations could be the way forward. https://simpleflying.com/air-belgium-sends-half-of-its-a340-fleet-into-long-term-storage/ SpaceX Postpones Starlink Launch CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. — Those who were hoping to see Thursday's SpaceX launch of 60 Starlink satellites will have to wait after the private company postponed the takeoff. In a tweet, SpaceX stated that the reason behind the standing down of the launch was to have more time for "mission assurance work." There is a tentative backup liftoff date for this launch set at 11:53 a.m. EDT, Friday, October 23, from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, according to SpaceX's website. But SpaceX has not officially announced a new date for the launch. This launch was initially scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but SpaceX pushed it back to Thursday at 12:14 p.m. EDT. The 45th Weather Squadron gave Thursday's launch a 50 percent chance of favorable weather. The Starlink satellites aboard the Falcon 9 will add to the more than 700 already in space to soon form a large orbital, broadband network to provide service to underserved areas around the planet. This is the 15th Starlink mission. Following the Falcon 9 rocket’s stage separation, SpaceX will attempt to land the rocket’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship that is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The Falcon 9’s first stage has been used in two other missions: The GPS satellite mission back in June and another Starklink mission last month. https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/space/2020/10/22/spacex-starlink-launch Curt Lewis