Aircraft maintenance
Aircraft maintenance is the performance of tasks required to ensure the continuing
Regulation
The
Major airworthiness regulatory authorities include the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Transport Canada (TC) and Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Aircraft maintenance organization
Scheduled maintenance checks
Aircraft maintenance in civil aviation generally organized using a maintenance checks or blocks which are packages of maintenance tasks that have to be done on an aircraft after a certain amount of time or usage. Packages are constructed by dividing the maintenance tasks into convenient, bite-size chunks to minimize the time the aircraft is out of service, to keep the maintenance workload level, and to maximize the use of maintenance facilities.[4]
Pre-emptive engine change
An engine failure can significantly impact operations and revenue. A programme of calculated pre-emptive engine changes, sometimes referred to as Power by the Hour, provides budget predictability, avoids installing a loan unit during repairs when an aircraft part fails and enrolled aircraft may have a better value and liquidity.
This concept of unscheduled maintenance was initially introduced for aircraft engines to mitigate
In the 1980s,
Maintenance release
At the completion of any maintenance task a person authorized by the national airworthiness authority or delegated organization signs a maintenance release stating that maintenance has been performed in accordance with the applicable airworthiness requirements. A maintenance release is sometimes called a certificate of release to service (CRS).[3]
In the case of a
In some countries The Secretary of State may authorise a maintenance organization to grant the certification privilege to staff on their behalf.
Maintenance personnel
The ICAO defines the licensed or rated role of aircraft maintenance by a technician, engineer or mechanic), allowing that each contracting state may use whichever of these terms it prefers.[12] Although aircraft maintenance technicians, engineers and mechanics all perform essentially the same role, different countries may use these terms in different ways to define their individual levels of qualification and responsibilities.[citation needed]
Most national and international licensing bodies make a division between the roles of carrying out repair and maintenance on the one hand, and certifying the vehicle or subsystem or component as flightworthy, on the other. ICAO requires that the certification privilege be a delegated function of the nation's responsible Secretary of State. The Secretary of State may authorize another organization to grant the certification privilege to staff on their behalf.[12]
In Europe, licensing is governed by
In many other countries, including Australia, Bangla Desh, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, a person directly granted the privilege of certification is a qualified AME (
In the US and elsewhere in the Americas, a person rated for aircraft repair and maintenance is a qualified AMT (
Roles may be further divided up. In Europe aircraft maintenance personnel must comply with Part 66, Certifying Staff, issued by the
- Level 1: General Familiarisation, Unlicensed
- Level 2: Rampand Transit, Category A
- can only certify own work performed for tasks which he/she has received documented training
- Level 3: Line Certifying Staff and Base Maintenance Supporting Staff, Category B1 (electromechanic) and/or B2(Avionics)
- can certify all work performed on an aircraft/engine for which he/she is type rated excluding base maintenance (generally up to and including A-Check)
- Level 4: Base Maintenance Certifying Staff, Category C
- can certify all work performed on an aircraft/engine for which he/she is type rated, but only if it is base maintenance (additional level-3 staff necessary)
- this authorization does not automatically include any level 2 or level 3 license.
Market
Aircraft
The
Airliner MRO should reach $74.3 billion in 2017: 51% ($37.9B)
Over the 2017–2026 decade, the worldwide market should reach over $900 billion, led by 23% in North America, 22% in Western Europe, and 19% in Asia Pacific.[20]
In 2017, of the $70 billion spent by airlines on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), 31% were for engines, 27% for components, 24% for line maintenance, 10% for modifications and 8% for the airframe; 70% were for mature airliners (
In 2018, the commercial aviation industry expended $88 billion for MRO, while military aircraft required $79.6 billion, including field maintenance.[22]
Airliner MRO is forecast to reach $115 billion by 2028, a 4% compound annual growth rate from $77.4 billion in 2018.[23]
Major
For example, Spain's Air Nostrum operates 45 Bombardier CRJs and ATR 72s and its 300-person maintenance department provides line, base maintenance and limited component repair for other airlines 20% of the time.[25]
Engines
The commercial aviation engine MRO market is anticipated by
Over the 2017–2026 decade, the largest markets for
As an aircraft gets older, a greater percentage of its value is represented by its
Engines installed on a new aircraft are discounted by at least 40% while spare engine values closely follow list prices. Accounting for 80% of a shop visit cost, LLP prices escalate to recoup the original discount, until engine availability increase with aircraft teardowns. Between 2001 and 2018 for the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737-800, their
The 777-200ER's
Between 2019 and 2038, 5,200 spare airliner engines will be required with at least half leased.[32]
See also
- Groundcrew
- Line-replaceable unit
- Maintenance Resource Management
- Professional Aviation Maintenance Association
- RAMS
- Shop-replaceable unit
References
- ^ Transport Canada (May 2012). "Canadian Aviation Regulations 2008-1, Part I - General Provisions, Subpart 1 - Interpretation". Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ^ Transport Canada (March 2002). "Canadian Aviation Regulations 2008-1, Part V - Airworthiness, Standard 593 - Airworthiness Directives". Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-92-9249-454-4. Archived from the originalon 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-09-01.
- ^ Hessburg, Jack (April 2000). "What's This 'A' Check, 'C' Check Stuff?". www.aviationpros.com. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
- ^ William Garvey (Nov 3, 2017). "How Hourly Maintenance Provides Shelter From Explosive Surprises". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ "Rolls-Royce celebrates 50th anniversary of Power-by-the-Hour" (Press release). Rolls-Royce. 30 October 2012.
- ^ "'Power by the Hour': Can Paying Only for Performance Redefine How Products Are Sold and Serviced?". Knowledge at Wharton. Feb 21, 2007.
- ^ GE Aviation. "GE Engine Services Introduces CF34 Maintenance Cost Per Hour Program". Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ Pratt & Whitney. "ESP™ Maintenance Program". Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Jet Support Services, Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012.
- ^ "Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs)Part V - Standard 571 - Maintenance". Transport Canada. 2010-12-01. 571.10 Maintenance Release.
- ^ a b ICAO; Doc 7300, Convention on International Civil Aviation (also referred to as the Chicago Convention), 18th Edn. (2018), Annex 1, Chapter 4: Licenses and Ratings for Personnel Other than Flight Crew Members.
- ^ Part-66<, CAA, 2022. (retrieved 5 August 2022)
- ^ Licensing for aircraft maintenance engineers (AME), Transport Canada, 2022.
- ^ Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, Sunsea Aviation Services Ltd. (retrieved 5 August 2022)
- ^ Become an Aviation Mechanic, FAA, 2022. (retrieved 5 August 2022)
- ^ Designees, Federal Aviation Administration, 2021.
- ^ Kevin Michaels (April 28, 2016). "MRO Industry Outlook" (PDF). ICF International.
- ^ "2017 MRO Market Share by Category". Aviation Week Network. July 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Top 10 Engine MRO Demand: 2017–26". Aviation Week Network. August 16, 2017.
- ^ Kevin Michaels (January 16, 2018). "Opinion: OEMs Focus On Mature Aircraft For Aftermarket Growth". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ Lee Ann Shay (January 2, 2018). "Commercial Spending Will Lead MRO Field In 2018". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Comparing civil, helicopter, business aviation and military MRO forecasts for 2018.
- ^ Aaron Chong (January 26, 2018). "Global MRO spend to reach $115 billion by 2028 - Wyman". FlightGlobal.
- ^ Jon Hemmerdinger (April 25, 2018). "Airframers set out on differing aftermarket paths". FlightGlobal.
- ^ Henry Canaday (March 12, 2018). "Outsourcing Versus In-Sourcing For Small Fleets". Aviation Week Network - MRO.
- ^ Alex Derber (December 18, 2018). "2019 Outlook For Airframe Heavy Maintenance". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ^ James Pozzi (Nov 24, 2017). "Life In The Old Dogs Yet". Aviation Week Network.
- ^ "Engine MRO Demand - Top 5 Engine OEM: 2018–22". MRO Network. Aviation Week Network. May 30, 2018.
- ^ Alex Derber (Oct 16, 2017). "Keeping An Eye On Engine Values". Aviation Week network.
- ^ Ernest S. Arvai (January 19, 2018). "The Meaningless Game of List Prices". AirInsight.
- ^ David Griffin (21 June 2018). "Analysis: The influence of engines on aircraft values". FlightGlobal.
- ^ Alex Derber (Oct 22, 2018). "Engine Leasing In Rude Health". Aviation Week Intelligence Network.
External links
- Lindsay Bjerregaard, Lee Ann Shay (Oct 11, 2017). "A Day In American's Line Operations At Chicago O'Hare". Aviation Week network.
- James Pozzi (Oct 17, 2017). "Inside Iberia's Engine Shop". Aviation Week network.
- James Pozzi (Nov 4, 2017). "A Look Around Lufthansa Technik Sofia's Expanded Facility". Aviation Week network.
- Lindsay Bjerregaard (Nov 13, 2017). "On The Ground At JetBlue's JFK Hangar". Aviation Week network.
- GE Aviation. Maintenance Minute.
Maintenance Minute videos are produced by GE Aviation's training team to help the aircraft maintainer with everyday engine maintenance tasks.