FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1983
1983 - 0026.PDF
with all mandatory mods including a re- manufactured tailplane, could account for up to another $2 million per aircraft. In other words, $li million for a 150-seat jet with transatlantic range and good for well over 20,000hr or seven years. You couldn't buy a new Twin Otter for that. The cost will be even less if the refit is packaged up with a maintenance programme. Cost of a big cargo door and a heavy floor on a typical modern jet transport can reach $2 million. With really good youthful 707-320Cs going for around $2 million, compared with $1 million for -320Bs, the door/floor mod might be money well spent. THE OPTIONS As the pressures to pro long active life increase, so does the busi ness of the remanufacturers. The used-jet buyer is spoilt for choice, with many vari ations on the basic three options before him. Option One: He can ask a major airline to refit, update, and provide a mainte nance programme. Option Two: He can go to a specialist contract maintenance organisation which is independent of an airline and its hangar priorities. Such companies are surprisingly few in number. In Britain are Aviation Traders Engineering at Stan- sted, Field at East Midlands, and Marshalls at Cambridge. Aviation Traders is now owned by Aer Lingus, but has no priority commitments to the Irish airline's Dublin-maintained fleet. American exam ples are Air Tech, Batch-Air, Cammacorp, Dee Howard (mainly interiors), and World Air Centre. Israel has its Bedek—agreed by all to be one of the most formidable remanufacturers. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering, Haeco, is also in practice independent of its financially re- At Delta's Atlanta Jet Centre the airline's engineering staff gut and "widebody" a DC-8 interior lated Cathay Pacific. Thus option two (contract maintenance organisations) exemplifies the remanufacturer with aero space-industry skills and facilities, extend ing to design and engineering as well as to structural work and component overhaul (including engines and autopilots). Option Three: The manufacturer him self is more willing to remanufacture than he used to be. Lockheed, for example, has been costing the re-engined Boeing 727 with two PW2037S or RB.211-535s, in place of three JT8Ds. Douglas workers, many of whom wonder why the DC-8 line and prepare the leading-edge for its new pylons From the jet surveyor's report "All cabin-soundproofing in dry condi tion. Dessicator bags dispersed throughout. Much white powder ap pearing to be product of corrosion could be dessicant—when removed reveals sound, painted structure . . . "Rather bad chordwise scorelike de pression in under surface of RH wing, between front and rear spars, traversing from outboard tank access panel . . . "Very slight fuel-weeping from LH wing at front spar area forward of beaver tail and midspar spanwise skin butt approx 8ft inboard of No 2 pylon . . . "Many areas of surface corrosion on under-surfaces of LH and RH wings immediately after leading-edge slats can be rubbed off with fingers . . . "All pylon structure appears good—no signs of loose rivets or previous repairs. Average number of loose rivets in en gine cowlings. All steel fastener-heads on under-surfaces of both wings rusty . . . "Many flight and engine control cables show signs of rust, as do many steel fittings on various system components, e.g. leading-edge linkages." 30 FLIGHT International, 1 January 1983
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
