Time to stir the pot again I continue to hear moans about the issues we’re about to discuss, so I dusted off and updated this classic prose which will address the purchasing of aftermarket spares (other than new condition). Many of you have shared privately with me that you forwarded links to the older blog to your customers, and this too prompted this update. In this blog we’ll review the following: OVERHAULED vs. REPAIRED or INSPECTED Reliability study Lack of Overhaul instructions for many p...

Leasing activity for aircraft, engines, and major components appears to be on the rise. For example, for engines, the leasing market is now at $14-15 billion, with new leases of $2.5 billion coming on line each year, and an estimate that as much as 50% of spare engines globally are funded by operating leases1. For aircraft, over a third of the world’s airline fleet is now leased2, and is expected to rise to 50% by 20153. Distributors and MRO’s should take notice of these trends because the terms...

Don’t you hate it when you go out shopping for a product, try several stores, and make your purchase, then discover that someone else had the same product for a lower price? The truth is I was likely conditioned to assume that only those stores I tried could offer that product at a price I thought competitive. Perhaps those stores had culled my favor by being the biggest, or what I thought was the only source of the product. Regardless, the seasoned shoppers among you would tell me that my proce...

If you’re like me, you likely read the title as “Automatic” rather than “Autonomic”. On closer examination of the term, I had flashbacks to my youthful days in Biology class. For those physiology aficionados among us, the term “Autonomic Nervous System” will be familiar. The organs of our body, such as the heart, stomach and intestines, are regulated by a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is part of the peripheral nervous system and it controls many or...

Many of you buy and sell avionics parts and/or have Repair Stations/Approved Maintenance Organisations. As such I’d like to share with you the options that exist globally regarding the credentials which avionics technicians may bring to your attention during the hiring process, including the relatively new NCATT (National Center for Aircraft Technician Training) Certification. Before starting, since this article is addressing a global topic, we need to point out that generally, the terms Technic...

Back when the European Union was just forming, I distinctly recall the old days of the toothless JAA (Joint Aviation Authorities), and then in recognition of such tooth lessness, the transition to the more formidable EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency). My earliest impressions of the new EASA were twofold; one, that they were intent on not following anyone’s existing model of how to administrate aviation (read that: we’re not going to follow the FAA’s model), and two, a nearly homogenous aura...

I love reading about facts, figures, and forecasts, or as my military friends would say, F3. I come across quite a few of these and thought you’d enjoy reading them in summary form. Each entry is properly cited. I’ll do these for you once or twice a year. Airbus forecasts nearly 37,400 new aircraft valued at US$5.8 Trillion required over 20 years.1 Fleet will more than double to 48,000 in 20 Years based on traffic growing at 4.4% per year. Growth drivers include private consumption increasing 2....

As promised, here is part II of 2018’s compilation of Facts, Figures, and Forecasts (F3). The source citations are at the very end. Here are the data listings in this order: Here’s a listing of the world’s top defense contractors Level of Chinese aviation expansion revealed by CAAC statistics Number of successful ejections equating to lives saved by Martin Baker Ejection Seats Total MRO demand for ATA chapter 25 is $3.7 Billion for 2018 and 2019 Boeing: 128,500 pilots to be needed in China by 20...

International Airline Technical Pool (IATP) By Roy Resto It was a wintry, snowy, dark night at the airport (I know that sounds cheesy, but hey, it’s fun). Forebodingly, you have only one flight a day there and are minimally staffed and equipped. To your horror the flight skids and overruns the runway while landing. No one’s hurt and the damage to the aircraft appears minimal. After the FAA clears the scene, airport officials turn up the pressure to get the aircraft cleared of the runway, and the...

Like many of you, I enjoy history and staying abreast of current events. From time to time I’ll read something or see a TV report and tell myself, ‘wow, I don’t think that commentator understood the significance of what just happened; a tick mark in history just occurred.’  In this prose I hope to share some events which to some may seem routine or minor, but that nonetheless are significant, understated ‘firsts’, and therefor noteworthy.   ‘Apps’ for Aircraft Operating Systems: For those of y...

Think you know logistics? How would you handle the specialized global logistics needs of a world super power and economic behemoth; their humanitarian, government, and military logistics needs? Those needs are indeed gargantuan in scope, but USTRANSCOM makes it happen 24/7/365, and they make it look routine. Consider the following occurring every day: 3 1,235 railcars loading/enroute/off-loading 170 ships underway plus 38 ships loading or off-loading 190 airlift sorties 70 operational air refu...

MAX, ODAs, BABIES, AND BATHWATER By Roy Resto My spleen seeks comfort in being vented, so this is going to be one of those articles. Regarding Max, let’s be clear; the issue will be fixed, the lessons learned, and the aircraft will return to be the economic best-selling performer it was meant to be. Period. I have always been impressed with our industry’s capacity to get to the root cause of any problem devoid of emotional, political, or institutional influences, for example in accident investig...

Who among us has not experienced that feeling in our lifetime of having missed an early opportunity to get on board with something new? At this very moment that same feeling should be sending out alarms! We are on the cusp of a revolution in air transportation of cargo and passengers. Now is the time for Distributors and MROs to aggressively forge ties with the emerging firebrands of this movement, and to creatively develop new methods to support it while the distribution of spares and performan...

Would you like me to gift-wrap this for you? We wish that packaging of aircraft parts was as easy as adding a satin bow and ribbons to make it look pretty. The fact is that proper packing and preparation for shipment of aircraft parts requires a degree of know-how, and in some cases knowledge of some fairly specialized processes or procedures. Consider some of these topics, applicable as required: HAZMAT marking in accordance with applicable regulations. Posting of certain documents on the out...

Welcome to the initial blog entry for CAVU Café: Royboy’s Prose & Cons. For those not familiar with the acronym, CAVU means Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited. It’s a term endeared in the hearts of aviators, and otherwise means great weather for flying. We hope you’ll enjoy the prose…unless you’re a con.   STOLEN AIRCRAFT PARTS By Roy Resto   “Pssst: hey bud, make ya a deal on a hot toilet seat… Don’t sit on this offer too long…we’re flush with inventory…”   You don’t have to search very har...

We need to have a frank talk about a continuing pattern of injustice and seemingly anti-competitive behavior in the aftermarket. I’ll start. Due to the current covid crisis, and perhaps to the delight of OEMs (herein manufacturers who are Production Approval Holders, PAH, or have Production Organisation Approvals, POA) who in recent years have made major forays into the aftermarket, there are many small independent MROs staggering on the brink of business failure. Aside from covid, are there any...

There is no doubt that the movement of OEMs into the aftermarket in the last 15 years has caused tectonic change in the MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) and Distribution ecosystem. Such evolution is not uncommon, but unfortunately there appears to be ample evidence that more than a few of the OEMs are unfairly leveraging their monopolistic positions to withhold reasonable access to their repair/overhaul manuals (Instructions for Continued Airworthiness) from independent MROs. Independent ...

I do a lot of work with Repair Stations/AMOs (Approved Maintenance Organization). For MROs (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul) which do business internationally, the customer’s national CAA (Civil Aviation Authorities) often require that maintenance performed on aircraft based there be performed by MROs certified to their nation’s regulations. Thus, it is common to see MROs with multiple certifications for all the nations they do business with. Each nation typically charges fees, and requires a de...