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Category Archives: Aerospace

PPG Aerospace Coatings Add Character to Cathay Pacific Special Livery

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HONG KONG, March 5, 2014 Coatings by PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) aerospace business create the colorful characters and The Spirit of Hong Kong livery on Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 777-300ER airplane painted to support the Hong Kong: Our Home campaign of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

The livery features a dark green fuselage with silhouettes of the 110 winners in an online contest calling on Hong Kong people to submit creative entries that illustrate the true spirit of the city.

Eight custom colors of DESOTHANE(R) HS/CA 8800 buffable topcoat by PPG Aerospace were applied over DESOPRIME(R) HS/CA 7700 primer and waterborne chromate-free DesoGel EAP-12 conversion coating and adhesion promoter pretreatment. The high-solids formulations of the topcoat and primer result in a lower percentage of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

With an aircraft as visible as The Spirit of Hong Kong, it was important for Cathay Pacific to have confidence that it would be a showpiece as it flies around the world, said Kent Wong, technical services manager, Cathay Pacific. Having worked closely with PPG Aerospace, we knew we could count on their products to perform and on their people to provide the exceptional service we needed.

PPG Aerospace was honored to help Cathay Pacific create the special livery, said Terence Cheng, PPG coatings segment manager, Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific has long been a PPG Aerospace coatings customer, and PPG supplied coatings for the first and second Spirit of Hong Kong liveries as well.

Cheng said the PPG Aerospace application support center in Suzhou, China, worked closely with Cathay Pacific to produce paint samples for color matching as well as the blended coatings. With eight colors needed in a short time period, the PPG Aerospace team at ASC-Suzhou worked quickly to provide the samples and specific size packages of the blended paints.

The aircraft was painted by Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. in Xiamen, Fujian, China.

PPG Aerospace is the aerospace products and services business of PPG Industries. PPG Aerospace PRC-DeSoto is the leading global producer of aerospace sealants, coatings, and packaging and application systems. PPG Aerospace Transparencies is the worlds largest supplier of aircraft windshields, windows and canopies.

About Cathay Pacific Airways

American Roy C. Farrell and Australian Sydney H. de Kantzow founded Cathay Pacific Airways in 1946 as a small freight and passenger carrier. As Hong Kongs home airline, today Cathay Pacific ranks as the worlds 19th largest airline by operating revenue, 14th largest in terms of revenue passenger kilometres and seventh largest in freight tonne kilometres. Serving 182 destinations in 42 countries and territories, Cathay Pacific carried nearly 29 million revenue passengers in 2012. One of Hong Kongs largest employers, Cathay Pacific and its subsidiaries employ 31,600 people worldwide. It is a founding member of the oneworld alliance and a partner of Asia Miles. For more information, visit http://www.cathaypacific.com and follow @cathaypacific on Twitter.

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PPG Aerospace Coatings Add Character to Cathay Pacific Special Livery

Ohio State University, Dept of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering – Engineering Challenges – Video

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Ohio State University, Dept of Mechanical Aerospace Engineering - Engineering Challenges
The mission of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is to educate the future leaders of mechanical, aerospace and nuclear engineering to ge...

By: WebsEdgeEducation

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Ohio State University, Dept of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering - Engineering Challenges - Video

3-D Printing in the Aerospace Industry: How General Electric and United Technologies Are Using This

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If you're following the 3-D printing space, you might know that aerospace companies are gung-ho about 3-D printing technology and are quickly embracing it. While General Electric (NYSE: GE) gets the lion's share of the press, its primary competitor,United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) , and other aerospace companies are also involved, to varying degrees, with 3-D printing technology.

We're going to explore a sampling -- it's by no means complete -- of how General Electric and United Technologies, which both have divisions that produce jet engines, are using or planning to use 3-D printing in their production processes. Both companies, like many large manufacturers, have been using 3-D printing for prototyping for many years.

Why should aerospace investors care? Aerospace companies that more quickly and successfully put to use 3-D printing throughout their operations will likely sport a competitive advantage over their slower-moving or less effective peers because of the considerable cost savings and innovative possibilities that this technology can unleash.

Why the aerospace industry is all-aboard the 3-D printing train (or plane)The aerospace industry is keen for 3-D printing for the same reasons many other industries are -- the technology can save time and costs, and it allows for increased innovation.

The cost savings are driven by a few factors, including less raw material use than in traditional manufacturing. This is because 3-D printing is additive, and builds a component up layer by layer, rather than subtractive like traditional manufacturing, which involves whittling away at a chunk of material -- a process that generates much waste. Increased innovation is made possible because 3-D printing allows for designing and producing some parts that can't be made using traditional manufacturing processes.

While raw material cost savings aren't a benefit unique to the aerospace industry, they're a bigger factor than in most other industries because aerospace-grade materials, such as titanium, are very pricey.

There is one big factor rather unique to the aerospace industry: weight. Weight is of critical concern for aerospace components, as small reductions in weight lead to huge savings in fuel costs. 3-D printing allows for some components to be constructed in a such a way as to make them considerably lighter than would be possible using traditional manufacturing techniques. Weight, of course, is a factor among automakers, too, but not to the same magnitude.

General Electric: $255 billion market capGeneral Electric's big push into 3-D printing started when it bought Morris Technologies in late 2012. This acquisition gave GE a full-scale 3-D production facility near its aviation division's Ohio headquarters, as Morris was then equipped with 35 3-D printers, mainly comprised of privately held EOS's direct metal laser sintering systems, along with at least one or two of Arcam's (NASDAQOTH: AMAVF) electron beam melting, or EBM, systems.

In mid-2013, General Electric announced it planned to use 3-D printing to produce the fuel nozzles for its new Leap jet-engine, each of which will contain 19 nozzles. This is a huge undertaking, as GE needs to fabricate 85,000 nozzles for the engine orders it has in hand, and expects its annual production to eventually require 45,000 nozzles, according to a Bloomberg article.

The company's massive nozzle production goals would require it to buy at least 60 very pricey 3-D printers, which isn't cost effective. So GE plans to use current technology to ramp up its production while also working with supply chain manufacturers to develop new higher-capacity systems.

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3-D Printing in the Aerospace Industry: How General Electric and United Technologies Are Using This

AIP Aerospace Welcomes The Addition Of Flow Aerospace Systems

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AIP Aerospace, a world-leading provider of aircraft tooling systems and composite parts, welcomes Flow Aerospace Systems to its family. Previously a part of Flow International, Flow Aerospace Systems is the worlds leading provider of equipment for machining large, composite aerostructures, using both waterjet technology and conventional routing.

Located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Flow Aerospace designs and manufactures efficient and advanced turn-key composite machining solutions for the aerospace industry. These composite machining solutions include multi-process machine tools that waterjet cut, drill, route and inspect large composite aerostructures, primarily wing and fuselage skins, for customers such as Boeing, Airbus, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Bombardier, Embraer, and COMAC.

To lead Flow Aerospace into its new home with AIP Aerospace, Simon Kenworthy has been appointed Vice President and General Manager. With more than 23 years experience in the waterjet industry, 14 of which have been spent exclusively in aerospace applications, Simon brings with him expertise in engineering, operations, project management, and sales and marketing.

Flow Aerospace will be an ideal fit within our existing customer base and aerostructure tooling business, stated Brian Williams, CEO of AIP Aerospace. Were happy to welcome the leading industry experts at Flow Aerospace and expand our service offering.

About AIP Aerospace

AIP Aerospace is one of the largest independent aerospace tooling group providers and suppliers of high temperature composite parts, critical components, aircraft structures, transparencies, and coating technologies. Our strategically aligned Tooling Group and Aerostructures and composites companies harness the unrivaled expertise of our dedicated industry professionals and state-of-the-art facilities across the US. Visitwww.aipaerospace.comfor more information.

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AIP Aerospace Welcomes The Addition Of Flow Aerospace Systems

Ball Aerospace-built GMI Instrument Begins Operations Onboard NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Satellite

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The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager started to spin at its normal rate today and collect science data on Earth's rain and snowfall.

Launched aboard NASA's GPM Core Observatory on February 27, GMI's electronics have been turned on and all seven launch restraints released, deploying the instrument. GMI, a multi-channel, conical-scanning microwave radiometer built for NASA, began spinning today collecting the first science data of the mission. The GMI will complete several additional check-out procedures during the commissioning process.

"GMI is on the way to setting a new standard for data accuracy that will provide more timely, detailed information forecasters need to track extreme weather events," said Ball Aerospace President Rob Strain. "Using GMI's data, the world's scientists will have a more accurate picture of the world's precipitation dataset."

The Ball Aerospace-built instrument will deliver more frequent and higher quality data collection than currently available. The eight-foot tall GMI radiometer rotates at 32 revolutions per minute and uses four extremely stable calibration points on each revolution to calibrate the data it scans. The instrument minimizes solar intrusion for added accuracy and features higher frequency channels to measure smaller particles of precipitation such as light rain and snow.

GMI is an essential part of an international satellite mission that will capture next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours. The GPM Core Observatory will deliver unprecedented 3-D views of hurricanes and snowstorms and contribute to monitoring and forecasting weather events such as droughts, floods and landslides.

GMI is one example of Ball's long support of the country's weather and climate monitoring efforts. The GPM constellation includes the Ball Aerospace-built Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite which launched in 2011 and the first Joint Polar Satellite System, currently in development at Ball, both of which will enable faster, more accurate weather forecasting. GPM, along with these two satellites, will significantly enhance our nation's ability to prepare for severe weather events.

GMI's design is based on successful microwave sensors built previously by Ball Aerospace, including the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C), the GEOSAT Follow-On (GFO-2) and the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS).

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. For more information, visit http://www.ballaerospace.com/.

Ball Corporation (BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2013 sales of $8.5 billion. For more information, visit http://www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

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Ball Aerospace-built GMI Instrument Begins Operations Onboard NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Satellite

NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Agency Launch GPM Satellite #NASA #JAXA – Video

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NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Agency Launch GPM Satellite #NASA #JAXA
From the Tanegashima Space Center near the southernmost tip of Japan, NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched a joint mission to s...

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NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Agency Launch GPM Satellite #NASA #JAXA - Video

MARA To Establish Asia Aerospace City In Subang

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Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said Edubizpark is an educational and business park conceptualised by MARA to provide a platform for seamless interaction between academic institutions and industry players, part of MARA's strategy to prepare industry-ready human capital.

The AAC is designed as a smart city comprising a range of integrated facilities such as offices, cutting-edge research and development facilities, academic campuses, a convention centre and residential space.

"This project could take up opportunities in the international aerospace industry as Airbus has launched its 'Power 8' programme to strengthen the supply chain all over the world," he said at the launch of Menara MARA in Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with MARA's 48th anniversary Monday night.

It is estimated that up to 40 per cent of passenger aircraft sales will be in Asia by 2020, Mohd Shafie said, adding that European Aerospace Defence and Space (EADS) plans to invest up to US$250 million (RM800 million) in Malaysia by 2020.

He said this industry will generate 10,000 engineering positions worth RM1.5 billion for engineering services, excluding maintenance, repairs and overhaul and others.

Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and Mohd Shafie witnessed the signing of an agreement between Pelaburan MARA Bhd and Atkins Global (Atkins) for the development of the AAC in Subang Jaya.

United Kingdom-based Atkins Global is one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultants, and as lead consultant and master planner will assist in undertaking the design and planning in relation to the strategic development of the aerospace centre.

Pelaburan MARA will take a lead role as the master developer for the AAC, which is to be a key aerospace centre and envisioned to be a premier edubizpark for engineering services relating to the aerospace industry.

The AAC will be built around several key design principles incorporating the latest thinking in urban planning and green technology.

Pelaburan MARA Group Chief Executive Officer, Nazim Rahman said this partnership will be a major milestone towards making Malaysia a leading aerospace hub in the region.

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MARA To Establish Asia Aerospace City In Subang

Academic Background: aerospace, electrical and software engineers in EO data exploitation – Video

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Academic Background: aerospace, electrical and software engineers in EO data exploitation
Maurice Borgeaud explains why multi-talented people like himself are wanted for the exploitation of Earth Observation data.

By: European Space Agency, ESA

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Academic Background: aerospace, electrical and software engineers in EO data exploitation - Video

Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services Grows MRO Business

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Sun, Mar 02, 2014

Vector Aerospace, a provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, says that its subsidiary, Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services North America (HS-NA), one of the worlds leading providers of helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul offers a full range of AS350, AS355 and EC130B4 capabilities.

Vector HS-NA is an Airbus Helicopter approved maintenance and repair centre and offers a full 12-year major inspection service. Capabilities include composite repair including polycarbonate canopy and glass fiber, structures repair including floor and aft structural assembly, tailboom repairs and assembly, and upper, lower and vertical stabilizers. HS-NA has full component overhaul capabilities, Arriel 1/Arriel 2 engine MRO, and a lease and exchange pool.

HS-NAs Airbus Helicopter MRO capability spans over 20 years, and we continue to grow our business in this area by offering custom fleet MRO agreements to provide complete engine, airframe and component overhaul on the AS350 and EC130 platforms, states Chris McDowell, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at HS-NA.

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Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services Grows MRO Business


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