Urgent request for maintenance work on US Marshals aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Group (AMEG) issued an urgent requirement on Friday to establish a contract with a qualified vendor to perform heavy maintenance inspections on aircraft used to transport prisoners.

AMEG performs aircraft maintenance for the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) operation based in Oklahoma City. Managed by the U.S. Marshals Service, JPATS is one of the largest transporters of prisoners in the world – handling about 804 requests every day to move prisoners between judicial districts, correctional institutions and foreign countries.

JPATS transports sentenced prisoners who are in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons as well as to hearings, court appearances and detention facilities. JPATS is the only government-operated, regularly scheduled passenger airline in the nation. JPATS routinely serves approximately 42 domestic and international cities, plus other major cities in the United States on an as-required basis.

JPATS owns two Boeing 737-400 aircraft, N639CS and N640CS. These aircraft are maintained under a Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Program that requires scheduled inspections and maintenance at regular intervals during the life of the aircraft. These inspections, or checks, are required to be performed at specific intervals based on take-offs and landings (cycles) flight hours or monthly requirement. Failure to perform these inspections/maintenance will ground the aircraft until the work is performed.

N639CS and N640CS both have C-CHECKs due Sept. 1 and Oct. 10, respectively. These checks are considered “Heavy maintenance” and therefore outside the capabilities/responsibilities of the AMEG maintenance personnel functions.

C-CHECKs are extensive checks of individual systems and components for serviceability and function. It requires a thorough visual inspection of specified areas, components and systems as well as operational or functional checks. It is a high-level check that involves extensive tooling, test equipment, and special skill levels. C-CHECKs can remove an airplane from service for three to five days.

“AMEG has an urgent requirement to establish a contract with a qualified vendor to purchase maintenance services to accomplish a C-CHECK maintenance inspection for both N639CS and N640CS to keep both aircraft in service,” the FAA said in contract documents released Friday. “The first aircraft, N639CS, runs out of calendar time Sept. 1. The second aircraft, N640CS is scheduled to run out of time by Oct. 10."

Unmanned Aerial Systems services contract at NASA Ames Research Center

NASA's Ames Research Center in California plans to issue a Final Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Aircraft Related Services (ARS) contract.

The purpose of the ARS procurement is to provide services in support of the U.S. Army requirements for aircraft operations and maintenance as well as NASA requirements for Unmanned Aerial Systems at Ames Research Center. This procurement will support research, technical investigations, scientific studies, airworthiness activities, and flight operations.

The ARS requirements support the Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, a division of the Research, Development and Engineering Command/NASA Ames Rotorcraft Division and the Ames Aviation Management Office. This procurement will provide services in the following technical areas: mechanical systems, electrical/electronic systems, instrumentation, hardware fabrication, software, and data systems. The work will be performed primarily at Ames in Moffett Field, Calif.

NASA plans to issue the Final RFP Aug. 31 with contract award on Jan. 25, 2016. “This procurement will be for five years with a one year base period, one two year option and two, one year option periods,” NASA said in contract documents released Friday.

NASA is scheduling an Industry Meeting with the Contracting Officer and Technical Representatives to discuss the procurement and technical requirements during Aug. 10 through Aug. 12, before release of the RFP.

Battery charger failure caused weather satellite to rupture in space

Officials from the U.S. Air Force 50th Space Wing have completed their operations review of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Flight 13 that was permanently shut down Feb. 3, 2015, precipitating a debris-causing event. The review determined there were no actions that could have been taken to prevent the incident. The mission is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on behalf of the U.S. Air Force.

The review into the unexpected loss of this satellite determined a failure of the battery charger as the likely cause. Analysis indicates one of the wiring harnesses lost functionality due to compression over a long period of time in the battery charge assembly. Once the harness was compromised, the exposed wires potentially caused a short in the battery power, leading to an overcharge situation with eventual rupture of the batteries.

Currently, the Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is tracking 147 pieces of debris from this incident ranging from baseball to basketball-sized objects, where the original satellite was about the size of a one-car garage. There are approximately 110 payloads in the same orbital regime as DMSP Flight 13. The JSpOC has had no reportable conjunctions between the DMSP Flight 13 debris and any of these objects.

"In accordance with our ongoing efforts to protect the space domain, the JSpOC will continue to monitor this debris along with all of the items in the space catalog in order to enhance the long-term sustainability, safety and security of the space environment," said Col. John Giles, JSpOC director.

DMSP Flight 13 was originally launched on March 24, 1995. Despite its original four-year design life, Flight 13 provided service for almost two decades and on Aug. 6, 2014 became the first operational DMSP satellite to reach 100,000 revolutions around the Earth.

Climax Utilities second-quarter sales jump 314 percent

Driven by an increase in players on the game ProEconomica, Climax Utilities sales shot up 314 percent to $8,700 virtual dollars in the second quarter ended June 30.

The top line included sales from April which reached $5,000, the company's highest sales month since opening in November 2014.

“Across the board, our products grew in sales and increased profits,” said Brothel, president and CEO of Climax Utilities. “At this rate we see sales reaching over $22,000 virtual dollars at the end of the year.”

2015 first quarter sales: $2100.22 virtual dollars

2015 second quarters sales: $8704.78 virtual dollars

Climax Utilities is a virtual electricity and water company created on ProEconomia, a strategy game in which players have the possibility to convert virtual currency into real money. It is one of the few business games where you are rewarded for your daily activity.

Other developments;

-Out of 2,588 U.S. players on ProEconomia, Climax Utilities' CEO Brothel is ranked 73.

-Out of 353 virtual Shop companies on ProEconomia, Climax Utilities is ranked 41.

FAA grants Houston Airport System space Launch Site License

The Houston Airport System has been granted a Launch Site License from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that enables Ellington Airport to establish itself as a launch site for Reusable Launch Vehicles, making it the 10th commercial spaceport in the United States.

Nearly two years after Houston City Council members gave their overwhelming support for the project, the FAA's formal approval opens the door for plans that could see Ellington Airport become a focal point for aerospace operations, such as the launching of micro satellites, astronaut training, zero gravity experimentation, spacecraft manufacturing and a host of other potential activities.

Situated near the Gulf of Mexico, and featuring more than 400 acres of land readily available for development, Ellington Airport is tailor-made for the requirements associated with an operating licensed Spaceport.

Lack of training contributed to 2014 seaplane accident in Canada

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada on Tuesday released its investigation report into the loss of control and subsequent collision with water and fatality involving a Cessna 185E at Taylor Lake, Ontario, Canada.

On May 24, 2014, a privately-registered Cessna 185E, equipped with amphibious floats, departed the Guelph Airpark for a flight to Taylor Lake, Ontario. The pilot was the sole occupant of the aircraft. While conducting a glassy-water landing, the pilot lost control and the aircraft cartwheeled and sank. The aircraft fuselage was damaged by impact forces and the pilot's door could not be opened. The pilot survived the impact but was not able to escape the submerged aircraft before drowning.

The investigation found that the right float contacted the water first, dug in, and resulted in a loss of control and the aircraft cartwheeling. With respect to contributing factors, the investigation determined that the number of hours the pilot had flown in recent years had decreased, and the pilot was likely less proficient than in earlier years. This would make the glassy-water landing more difficult. Glassy-water conditions are considered to present the most difficulty for landing a seaplane, regardless of experience. The mirror effect created by glassy-water conditions affects depth perception making it difficult for pilots to determine the aircraft's height above the water.

The investigation also found that the pilot did not have emergency egress training. Although not required by regulation, egress training has been shown to improve the chances of exiting a submerged aircraft following a survivable accident.

Boeing, Embraer collaborate to test environment-focused aviation technologies

U.S.-based Boeing and Brazil's Embraer S.A. announced Tuesday that they intend to collaborate to test environment-focused technologies through the ecoDemonstrator Program in a joint effort to improve aviation's environmental performance. This expands ongoing cooperation between two of the world's largest airplane manufacturers.

Frederico Curado, president and CEO of Embraer, and Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Brazil-U.S. Business Summit organized by the Brazil-U.S. Business Council.

Boeing launched its ecoDemonstrator Program in 2011 to accelerate testing and use of new technologies that can reduce fuel use, carbon emissions and noise. The company has so far tested more than 50 technologies with a Next-Generation 737-800, 787 Dreamliner and, currently, a 757. Through their collaboration, Boeing and Embraer are planning to conduct ecoDemonstrator tests with an Embraer airplane in 2016. 

The ecoDemonstrator cooperation between Boeing and Embraer advances a relationship that began in 2012 when the manufacturers announced they would cooperate in ways that create value for both companies and their customers. Since then, the manufacturers have worked together to improve runway safety and support Embraer's KC-390 defense aircraft program.

In addition, in 2015, Boeing and Embraer opened a joint biofuel research center in São José dos Campos, Brazil, to perform biofuel research and coordinate research with Brazilian universities and other institutions. Boeing has worked with suppliers, airlines and government agencies on previous ecoDemonstrator flight tests. Those technologies include a new winglet and "bug-phobic" wing coatings that can improve aerodynamic efficiency, software applications that can improve in-flight efficiency and new types of sustainable aviation biofuel.