TAG Fleet Online is First to Streamline Critical Influence Parts Tracking for GE and CFMI Engines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:

Walter Andrushenko

The Aircraft Group

Office: 602-244-1500

wally@theaircraftgroup.com

www.theaircraftgroup.aero

The Aircraft Group’s TAG Fleet Online is First to Streamline Critical Influence Parts Tracking for GE and CFMI Engines

Phoenix, Arizona – January 7, 2013 – The Aircraft Group’s TAG Fleet Online system offers an immediate solution for the management of Critical Influencing Parts and DER repairs for GE and CFMI manufactured engines. Building on its existing GE TRUEngine program contract, TAG Fleet Online, the preeminent aircraft and engine portfolio management product, is now able to automate the identification of unknown PMA parts and DER engine repairs, streamlining the labor-intensive process and automating ongoing engine records management. Recently, GE emphasized the significance of Critical Influencing Parts on GE/CFMI products announcing that the company cannot support, evaluate, or maintain parts that were not manufactured by GE. Verification of critical engine part history is now required placing a tremendous administrative burden on the aviation industry. The Aircraft Group, as a veteran in the aviation industry and specialists in aircraft portfolio management, has an immediate solution with its TAG Fleet Online product.

As a web-based solution, TAG Fleet Online can identify, track, and report an entire historical trail on engine repairs and parts in a matter of minutes, anywhere in the world. “The Aircraft Group has been specializing in aircraft portfolio management for more than 20 years. Providing immediate access to engine parts data is part of our core business so offering more in-depth information instantaneously is a natural progression,” says Walter Andrushenko, president of The Aircraft Group. “We have seen the entire industry moving in this direction and have been preparing for it for some time.” The Aircraft Group sees GE’s request for engine verification extending to other manufacturers in the near future.

As the complexity of propulsion manufacturing has increased, reliability on all parts, LLPs and Critical Influencing Parts, has become more critical. According to GE, the impact of PMA parts and DER repairs may inadvertently cause premature failure in some Life-Limited Parts (LLP). Recognizing this, GE is the first to implement the need to verify and track all Critical Influencing Parts that are, and have been, associated with an LLP during its period of use.

GE has established a comprehensive database identifying the LLPs along with hundreds of critical parts associated with them. Although this database is meant to assist in engine verification, reviewing historical engine repairs and tracking LLPs and all associated Critical Influencing Parts is a monumental task. Just tracing one LLP for an example, a T1 disk, results in 285 associated Critical Parts and that is with a single shop visit. If that extends to additional shop visits and 20 or more LLPs, the task increases exponentially. Standard solutions to complete this task would take weeks or more to complete. With TAG Fleet Online, the project can be completed in a few hours or less per engine.

TAG Fleet Online is able to provide detailed documentation and records management of engine repairs throughout its lifecycle, as well as each of the LLPs and associated Critical parts. Currently, The Aircraft Group is identifying PMA/DER parts and repairs through GE’s TRUEngine program contract. The Aircraft Group is now expanding on this process to filter those findings to match Critical Influencing Parts to their respective LLPs. The Company’s goal is to allow for automated searches that will match any PMA findings to a specific part within an engine followed by ALL previous shop visits creating a complete historical trail for the engine and its integral parts. With TAG Fleet Online a manual task that would take weeks can be done in a matter of hours with more accuracy and ongoing efficiencies.

The Aircraft Group

With more than 20 years in business, The Aircraft Group has revolutionized aircraft/engine portfolio management with its patented product TAG Fleet Online, the only Internet-based aircraft portfolio management system of its kind. Headquartered in Phoenix, The Aircraft Group manages global projects specializing in asset and technical management for the aviation trading community. To date, the Aircraft Group has assisted more than 80 airlines, 65 financial institutions in 35 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.theaircraftgroup.aero.

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CFM Contracts with The Aircraft Group for Engine Records Verification

CFM Expands TRUEngine Program with Unique Content Assurance Guarantee for Subsequent Buyers

 • Contracts with The Aircraft Group for engine records verification 

WEST CHESTER, Ohio – 10 September 2012 — CFM International has continued to evolve its highly successful TRUEngine program by most recently creating a unique Content Assurance Guarantee (CAG) for subsequent buyers of qualified CFM56 engines.

The CAG was launched in response to customer requests for more assurance of asset value upon the sale of a qualified CFM56 engine. With this guarantee, customers who purchase a qualified CFM56 engine are entitled to a 50 percent credit on replacement parts if, at the first shop visit after transfer of ownership, any parts or repairs found in the engine are not original CFM parts or CFM-authorized repairs.

“We have had great success with the TRUEngine program since we launched it and the CAG is a great example of how customers have worked with us to make the program even better,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. “This guarantee gives customers added peace of mind that, when they purchase a used CFM56 engine qualified for TRUEngine status, it will contain only original CFM parts and repairs. If it doesn't, CFM will help them bring that asset up to TRUEngine standards.”

In addition to launching the CAG, CFM has also contracted with The Aircraft Group to validate submitted engine records as part of the TRUEngine qualification process. To qualify, a customer submits engine serial numbers, along with the required maintenance records to substantiate that the engine content, overhaul practices, and repairs are consistent with CFM recommendations for that engine model. The Aircraft Group will streamline the evaluation process and improve the reliability of information through its proprietary TAG Fleet Online software.

“We like the idea of bringing another expert into the qualification process,” said Ebanga. “Not only does it help us keep pace with demand, but it also brings another level of expertise to the process. The Aircraft Group is highly respected in the industry and brings more than 20 years of engine evaluation experience to the TRUEngine qualification process.”

The TRUEngine designation serves as a method for identifying engines with CFM-approved content and facilitates product support of the engine system. Moreover, industry stakeholders can use the knowledge of engine content to evaluate engine value and re-marketability.

The TRUEngine program has continued to achieve broad-based industry acceptance. Currently, more than 7,300 of the nearly 18,000 CFM56 engines in service have been qualified for the TRUEngine program with nearly 75 operators worldwide.

Experience Counts

With some 100 American aircraft under our belt, TAG has the knowledge, expertise and wherewithal to handle physical inspections, records inspections, bankruptcy records evaluations, pre-purchase inspections, lease returns, ferry flights, aircraft status reviews, updating of specs & disks, litigation, and export C of A's. Contact us today to discuss what can we do for you.

Spotlight on The Aircraft Group Services

One of the key services The Aircraft Group offers is the preparation of basic aircraft specifications, airframe maintenance status and accident/incident reports. If you're looking for a status on an American Airlines 757 or 767, Contact us today!

Navigating the American Bankruptcy

With American Airlines filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 29, 2011, thoughts immediately turn to wading through the records and assets of such a large company. This is where The Aircraft Group (TAG) comes in.

TAG has been involved in every major airline bankruptcy over the past 25 years and we are recognized as being the very best at it. During the Delta filing, The Aircraft Group was able to post and distribute technical data on 184 aircraft, specs and historical information in less than a week, 100% searchable! We have proven time and again that we have the ability to effectively manage, analyze and distribute technical data over the web for thousands of aircraft simultaneously.

Plus, we have worked with American Airline’s maintenance and recordkeeping systems for the past two decades. We are familiar with their processes, procedures and recordkeeping. In fact, we currently are working for several lessors and note holders and already have clearance for access to AA facilities.

Our vast airline expertise and specialized products make us the perfect solution. TAG’s patented products, TAG Fleet Online and DocuSearch, allow users to access aircraft portfolios over the Internet from anywhere in the world. While TAG’s document retrieval software is the only leading document management product designed specifically for aircraft maintenance records and is fully searchable returning documents in seconds given any search parameters.

If help is needed navigating through the AA bankruptcy waters, contact The Aircraft Group for information on our products and services.

TAG Fleet Online Version 3

TAG Fleet Online Version 3 is currently in BETA testing phase and will be made available in late November.

Here are some of the most important features of our new and improved system where we have taken into consideration what we have learned during many years of experience in the industry.

• Redesigned user interface that improves ease of use combined with a set of new tools that dramatically speed up research, maintenance and administration tasks.

1. Aircraft Portfolio
1.1 Ability to see a snapshot of the documents based on serial number just by looking at the spec-sheet of the Aircraft*
1.2 Lockdown Aircraft (aircraft information becomes read-only) **

2. User Management
2.1 Simplified user management interface with hierarchical permissions assignment.
Users with ability to create other users can only transfer permissions assigned to them.
In other words, you have a more granular level of control to restrict access to sensitive information of all your assets.

3. Engine Portfolio
3.1 This new module allows clients to manage stand-alone engines as separate entities.
3.2 Lockdown Engine (Same as 1.2 but in regards to stand-alone engines)

4. Document Archive
4.1 You can search across hundreds of thousands of documents using our patented index and storage search engine and get results in a matter of seconds.
No need for special indexes or constraints just accurate results.
4.2 Ability to run searches within multiple aircraft or engines.
4.3 Save your search results!
Let’s suppose you’re in the middle of something browsing hundreds of documents for one aircraft or engine. You can save your search results and go back to them later.


• Compatible with all modern browsers (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari)

• Developed using cutting edge technology that ensures reliability, scalability, security and performance.

• 100% compatible with the previous version. All existing aircraft and engine portfolio information for current clients is available in the new system.

*Subject to availability of the documents
**Requires users with special permissions to lock/unlock and view

New FAR Coming Soon

A new development aircraft owners should be aware of is a new FAR expected to become effective in early 2011. Designated as FAR 121.1115 it will effectively establish a life limit on airframes. To protect against widespread fatigue damage, once the threshold is reached, the subject aircraft will either have to be permanently removed from service or undergo extensive structural modifications. In the case of the 757, the limit, called a Limit of Validity (LOV), is 50,000 flight cycles and comes into effect 60 months after publication of the FAR. The LOV will vary from model to model. The Aircraft Group can help you ascertain the specifics for your aircraft.

Aircraft Re-Registration and Renewal

On October 1, 2010 the FAA's Rule for Re-Registration and Renewal of Aircraft Registration became effective. This new regulation mandates that each registered owner re-register their aircraft every 3 years. Missing the window may result in aircraft grounding.

Aircraft owners must re-register their aircraft during filing windows detailed in the Final Rule but not less than 6 months before expiration of the certificate. Owners who do not file within the filing window will not be able to file online and will have to submit the 8050-1A paper form to the FAA. Failure to file within the filing window may risk having their current certificate expires before their re-registration has been processed which could lead to the grounding of the aircraft.

Failure to comply with the new FAA rule will result in cancellation of the aircraft registration and loss of the registration number. This grounds the aircraft, can affect insurance coverage, if the aircraft is leased or financed could violate the terms and conditions of the financing or lease agreements, and the lost registration numbers will be unavailable for assignment for a period of five years.

Although seemingly straight forward, administration of the registration renewal process can be complicated by leasing or titles held in a trust, in each case potentially resulting in unwanted grounding. As a result, The Aircraft Group has implemented a program to manage these tasks on behalf of owners. Please call us for details

No Paper...No Plane!

When an airline leases aircraft, the documentation is as significant as the equipment. Financial and maintenance records tell the complete story of an aircraft’s condition, airworthiness, history and more. As an aircraft changes hands, the documentation must follow. Without this documentation, a plane is grounded.

In Spring 2009, on behalf of a client, The Aircraft Group delivered two leased aircraft to SkyEurope Airlines, based in Slovakia. SkyEurope was building its fleet to open more routes and expand its operations. The airline went on to lease several more aircraft from other financial institutions. The planes were to be flown throughout Europe for this commercial carrier but a few months later it was obvious that SkyEurope was in financial trouble. In September 2009, the airline declared bankruptcy and ceased operations. All the planes were grounded.

Although The Aircraft Group couldn’t predict the future when it delivered the aircraft to SkyEurope, the firm knew from its years of experience that keeping all aircraft documentation on a centralized server would ensure document integrity and offer more flexibility for transferring the aircraft in the future, if necessary. In the case with SkyEurope, repossession of the two aircraft that The Aircraft Group supplied was as easy as arranging for a crew to fly the aircraft out of the country. Unfortunately, the other aircraft Lessors were not as fortunate.

Several others of SkyEurope’s Lessors are now burdened with the additional task of researching and recreating the necessary documentation history. Without SkyEurope’s staff on hand, the costly task is left for a hired team to go onsite and reassemble the documentation. Oftentimes there are 200,000 to 400,000 documents per aircraft making research and recreation a herculean effort. Making matters worse, the aircraft are sitting idle and incurring storage fees while not producing any revenue.

The Aircraft Group created the optimum system for SkyEurope by supplying the planes and providing secure access to all necessary documentation. This allowed SkyEurope personnel to operate maintenance checks, airworthiness records, flight histories and more while the original hard copy documents remained with the Lessor. Not only was this convenient during operations giving instantaneous access to any document, it allowed for immediate removal of the aircraft when SkyEurope became insolvent, saving everyone time, money and aggravation.

“Technology now offers us incredible flexibility and convenience while still providing security. Unfortunately, many companies do not take advantage of automation on the front-end and end up paying dearly for it on the back-end. We see this scenario time and time again and are hoping that in the future online recordkeeping will be as commonplace as it is in other industries,” commented Walter Andrushenko, president of The Aircraft Group.

Good Recordkeeping Makes a Strong Case

In November 2009 the courts resolved a return condition dispute between U.S. Bank National Association and Southwest Airlines. At the center of this dispute was the provision of the lease that permitted the lessee to substitute engines and parts with those of “equivalent value and utility,” a common clause in agreements in the ‘80s and ‘90s. At question were three Boeing aircraft leased to Southwest Airlines by U.S. Bank National Association. The argument centered on the interpretation of ‘value and utility’ and whether the modifications to the aircraft were inferior and ultimately devalued the aircraft upon return. Key to the case was the aircraft records as well as an overall knowledge of aircraft maintenance and operations. The Aircraft Group was able to assist in both these areas.

The Aircraft Group had the original records on the Boeing aircraft and was able to supply accurate and detailed documentation on the condition of the plane from the beginning of the lease to its return. These records were important to determine if the replacement parts were inferior to their originals. In addition, The Aircraft Group personnel were brought in as expert witnesses due to their extensive knowledge in aircraft operations and maintenance. Their knowledge of what is customary and what is not was significant to the case. Ultimately, the court found in favor of U.S. Bank National Association.

This case proved pivotal in how lessors and lessees interpret aircraft maintenance clauses going forward. Quality recordkeeping is necessary in ensuring that the equipment is maintained properly and replacement parts are appropriate throughout the life of the aircraft.

If you’d like to learn more about this case you’ll find a comprehensive article at http://www.vedderprice.com/docs/pub/23fcc1e6-b861-4462-b70f-fd60a505ccb1_document.pdf

How to Accurately Compare Electronic Document Storage

There seems to be no debate over the advantages of electronic document storage. Over the past 10 years technology has made quantum improvements in capturing hardcopy data and combining it with electronic data into one cohesive system…or has it.

Oftentimes at The Aircraft Group we see how a system that was meant to improve efficiencies does little more than create an electronic version of the same antiquated system that existed originally. The main reason is the lack of understanding of how the documents are captured, stored and retrieved. In many cases, more emphasis is placed on capturing the documents with little thought given to the search and retrieval methodology that will be used ongoing.

At The Aircraft Group we perform dozens of lease returns annually from all parts of the world. While many of the systems being employed today are good for archiving, retrieval is oftentimes cumbersome and intuitive search capabilities are lacking. Many systems in use by major US carriers today can search only through limited indexed fields, tail number, date work was accomplished, the station, etc. but cannot retrieve data contained within check packages. The result is considerable extra effort when the time comes to assemble FAR 91.417, 91.419 records at lease return or other needs outside of the designated search criteria. These tasks and more become just as labor intensive as they were originally!

The key is in identifying a system that can truly search through all documents and packages rather than only indexed fields. Over the years the Aircraft Group has learned that the only way to effectively compare prospective systems is to provide a sample with un-sanitized data, have it converted to the proposed product, and actually test it with your familiar data. For example, let’s say you need data on a certain stabilizer servo and all you have is a unit serial number but don’t know the aircraft it is installed on. Does the system find the servo? How long did it take? Can it search across multiple tail numbers or even fleet types? Were you taken to the exact page or did you have to scroll through sections of records packages? With The Aircraft Group’s DocuSearch, just select the fleet, enter the serial number and the results will be displayed immediately without the need for additional manual searching.

Damage Tolerance Assessment (DTA) is Easy for TAG Online Customers

As you know, the FAA has mandated that Damage Tolerance Assessment (DTA) be conducted on all repairs to primary structure. The problem is, since many of these repairs were not classified as major in the past, there was no need to maintain a separate record when documents were captured and classified. Therefore, to find the data, you have two primary choices, open up and physically inspect the airplane or check the records.

Customers using TAG Fleet Online are having no problems with the government mandate. Since The Aircraft Group’s DocuSearch provides search capabilities by any criteria rather than select fields, recovering repair documents takes only seconds. There is no need to manually search packages and review maintenance documents individually. What a savings in time and money!

TAG Can Take the Sting Out of Bankruptcy Cases

The reality for all industries today is the news of bankruptcies. Companies do not plan to fail but it does happen and what we see at The Aircraft Group is that one company’s demise can have a ripple effect for years to come. We have worked through virtually all major bankruptcies over the last two decades, from Midway through United and Delta, and we are now lending our expertise to enterprises in the USA and abroad. Probably the biggest impact that we see in aviation bankruptcies is that debtors suffer major reductions in staff and other resources—when they are needed most—and primary tasks slip, namely returning assets to creditors. As a result, the immediate burden of preserving aircraft assets in airworthy and marketable condition invariably falls upon the aircraft owner.

Also of paramount importance is the analysis and preparation of Claims for the Courts; a process requiring long hours scrutinizing detailed technical documents to ensure that a comprehensive claim is prepared and filed within court imposed deadlines. So as creditors scramble to determine asset values, whether declining values have evaporated to the point of forfeiture, or from the debtor’s perspective, which assets will be added to the portfolio, the condition of the asset is often unknown or not fully considered.

What is needed most in times like these is a keen understanding of the requirements and in creating efficiencies that can expedite the entire process. The Aircraft Group is offering many companies aircraft condition insight and exceptional document management that is proving to be invaluable in these bankruptcy situations. Since many companies do not have this knowledge in-house, turning to a consulting firm such as TAG can actually save time and money by expediting the entire process.

Keeping it In-House May Not Be the Best Way

Many times we hear prospective clients that want us to quote a system for in-house document and maintenance portfolio management. The primary concerns are always security and ongoing support. Although these concerns are natural, they are truly limiting the potential of a robust document storage system.

By having your aircraft asset and maintenance portfolio management system online, you can take full advantage of the power of a global system while maintaining exceptional security. Your documents are maintained in real-time from anywhere in the world, you can provide on-demand access where and when it is needed, you can process requests in seconds worldwide, and you have access to the latest software improvements as they are offered. All of this means quicker processing of exporting or importing, acquisitions, lease returns and more. Due diligence and maintenance tracking can be done in a fraction of the time that it would take for someone to research the information, copy the data and send it to the parties involved. You don’t lose control of data, you actually gain more control and are able to fully exploit the power of a global system.