From the President of BELAC LLCBELAC has surpassed a two-year milestone for delivery of Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) High Pressure Turbine blades on the KC-10 Contractor Logistics Support program. Chromalloy, as engine program manager on the Northrop Grumman team, is responsible for overhaul and repair of CF6-50C2 engines that power the KC-10 fleet of 59 refueling aircraft. Implemented in early 2010, the U.S. Air Force KC-10 contract was the first military program to grant blanket approval for installation of FAA-approved PMA parts during engine maintenance. To date BELAC has delivered more than 3,750 High Pressure Turbine blades to the program. How does BELAC provide value to the Air Force? In addition to equipment that performs flawlessly in the engine, BELAC has delivered more than $20 million in cost savings to the Air Force - all through the use of alternative High Pressure Turbine blades. Over the life of the program - a six-year service contract with additional potential incentive years - the U.S. Air Force may capture savings up to $70 million through the use of PMA blades. Fundamentally motivated to increase repair yields, Chromalloy delivers significant additional cost savings through use of Designated Engineering Representative (DER) repairs and proprietary technologies. In this era of austerity in defense spending, BELAC increasingly is delivering savings to the Air Force. And we stand ready to deliver the same level of savings and performance to your engine programs. Chong Yi Upcoming
September 20-21, 2012 |
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BELAC blades provide operators with reduced cost of ownership
"The cost of a brand new BELAC High Pressure Turbine blade offers operators a reduced cost of ownership due to lower cost of acquisition and better yields than OEM blades," said Rob Church, Director, Sales & Marketing. "That includes our CF6-80C2, PW4000 and other HPT products." Using a unique reengineering design approach, BELAC utilizes state-of-the-art techniques to duplicate and improve upon high cost repair parts for the airline industry, through its Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) equipment. More than 60,000 BELAC High Pressure Turbine blades are in use by airlines in 23 countries around the world as well as the U.S. military - with a total of more than 400 million flight hours. "In addition to using BELAC blades for scrap replacement operators are trading used OEM blades to BELAC for BELAC's new PMA blades at a minimal cost," he added. "Not only do they receive the reliability and performance benefits of new blades - they also do not have to wait for the repair lead times of overhauled blades." BELAC's New for Used sales program allows operators and maintenance, repair and overhaul centers to exchange used, as removed, High Pressure Turbine blades for new BELAC blades. "Proceeds from the removed blades offset the cost of new BELAC PMA replacement blades," Church said. BELAC blades come with full warranty. |
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No findings reported during BELAC FAA inspector audit
"The audit can range anywhere from six to 18 months based on the criticality of the parts manufactured and a facility's quality history," said Dennis Piotrowski, Vice President, Quality. No audit findings or observations were made. |
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As more air carriers increasingly look to the surplus parts market for lower-cost engine equipment to overhaul, BELAC LLC offers an alternative that delivers substantial savings.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Orlando Manufacturing Inspection District Office completed a scheduled Principal Inspector Audit at BELAC earlier this year. The audit covered manufacturing and special processes, material receiving, handling and storage, supplier control, organizational management and nonconforming material. 
Question: After how many flight hours do High Pressure Turbine blades need replacement? I presume that it is mandated by the FAA?
