Aircraft parts stockists

To understand the global aircraft parts market you have to understand the history of commercial aviation, how following deregulation in the USA, governments became involved in the financing of the competition between Boeing and Airbus, spelling the end for MDC and Lockheed as long range commercial jet manufacturers and their MD-80 (not fuel efficient), DC10 (design problems) and L-1011 (could't sell enough numbers to be profitable).

Spare parts procurement, sales and exchange, aero engine procurement, sales and exchange, aircraft rotables exchange, consignment sales of excess inventory, large consignment packages, have all become viable as remaining examples of these aircraft are kept flying in far away corners of the globe.

Aero engine repair & overhaul management is good business because of the number of engine variants used over the years of aviation expansion, the 70s and 80s.

Boeing spares and Airbus spares.

The Boeing-Airbus competition started in earnest in the late 80's. Two developments in the aircraft trade during the years 1976-80 brought Airbus and Boeing into more direct conflict than before. First, contrary to previous belief, the Airbus A300 proved to be flexible enough in its performance that it could be used as a substitute for the Boeing 747 on some routes. Boeing argued that it lost several sales to Airbus when officials of the consortium convinced buyers that penalties incurred by the Airbus A300 shorter range were offset by its better than expected fuel economy. Boeing thus argued for government support for Boeing 747 sales on the grounds that the product had a direct competitor. A far more serious challenge to Boeing appeared as the airplane company was preparing to launch the Boeing 767. The 767 would compete directly with the Airbus A300 but also the consortium's smaller derivative of the A300, the Airbus A310. Indeed, the Airbus A310 matched up almost perfectly with the first generation Boeing 767.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the 767, and its Boeing 757 companion programme, to Boeing. These planes represented a new direction for the company. They were the first all-new airliners that Boeing had designed for about 15 years. The 767 was also unusual for the degree of foreign subcontracting, which amounted to about 30 per cent of the value of the aircraft. The degree of foreign subcontracting has subsequently led to the industry of Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 spares procurement. Boeing had previously concentrated much of the sub-assembly process either under its own control or with American based suppliers; thus the Boeing 767 represented a logistical challenge that the company had no experience with. Finally, the 767 was an expensive project, costing some $2 billion to develop, and Boeing was determined that Airbus would not affect the profitability of the plane. Boeing was particularly concerned that Airbus not be allowed access to Boeing's early customers. The company considered the initial orders for the Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 vital to future sales growth.

For its part, Airbus had decided on the Airbus A310 only after considerable discussion among the partners. By 1978, the Airbus A300 had become a reasonable sales success, although it was still far short of the 350 planes required for break even. The plane had shown itself amenable to modification and several versions, each offering different range and seating capacity, were on offer. Nonetheless, discussions in Toulouse revolved around the possibility of designing a new, smaller aircraft. The rationale was that Airbus, in order to be profitable, would have to offer a family of aircraft. Airlines prefer to minimize the types of aircraft in their fleets in order to control inventory, maintenance, and training costs. That said, the Airbus A310 presented a financial problem to the partners. The A300 had not made any money for the consortium and it was obvious that government launch aid would be required for any new aircraft. This realization led very quickly to consideration of expanding the number of participants in Airbus. Britain was top of the list.

Airbus A310 and aero engine spares.

The A310 is in service with high bypass turbofan engines from both major US manufacturers (General Electric and Pratt & Whitney) fitted on underwing pylons. By design, the engines equipped with engine accessories and system components are indentical for right-hand and left-hand applications. This also applies to the nose cowl, primary nozzle and plug. Fan cowls and fan reverser halves are interchangeable on the same engine position, while pylon and pylon fairings are interchangeable on the same aircraft position.

While the initial A310-200 models were offered with the 48,0001b (213.5kN) thrust Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4E1 and 50,0001b (222.4kN) General Electric CF6-80A3 engines, both the A310-200 and A310-300 were later fitted with the more powerful 53,5001b (238.1kn) CF6-80C2A2 and 52,000lb (231.4kN) PW4152 turbofans. Still more power and improvements were made available from late 1991 with the 59,000lb (262.5kN) CF6-80C2A8 and 56,000lb (249.2kN) PW4156A engines. Imagine the JT9D CF6 and PW engine spares market now!

The CF6-80C2 was a complete re-design of the earlier CF6-50, providing a higher thrust range from 59,000lb (262.5kN) to 61,5001b (273.7kN), and lower specific fuel consumption (SFC) and improved EGT margins. The advanced derivative has a larger fan case with a 93in (2,362mm) diameter fan and blades with better bird strike resistance. A fourth booster stage has been added to the LP compressors, while improvements in the 14-stage HP compressors aerodynamics cut down internal losses. The LP turbine has retained the proven 80A3 flow path, but another rotor stage has been added by introducing an additional 5th stage and aerodynamically shaping the struts of the rear frame to match with increased fan and booster requirements. The engine retains the aluminium/Kevlar fan blade containment shroud and noise suppression panels in the fan cases of the 80A3.

The 56,0001b (249.2kN) thrust Pratt & Whitney JT9D7R4 is more powerful than earlier JT9D engines and features a larger single-stage fan with 40 wide-chord blades (compared to 46 in the -59A), a four-stage LP compressor, improved combustor, single-crystal HP turbine blades, increased diameter LP turbine, and electronic supervisory fuel control.

The third-generation PW4000 series, as well as providing still higher thrust (58,000lb/258.1kN in the PW4158), is distinguished by a seven per cent reduction in SFC and improved maintainability through simplified construction. Other features are a 93in (2,362mm) diameter fan, single-crystal turbine blades, aerodynamically-enhanced aerofoils, 'plug-in' modules, a more efficient Thermatic rotor, and FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control).

The earlier CF6-8OA3 featured an accessory drive gear box mounted externally on the fan case for ready access and a cool environment, but the later CF6-80C2, JT9D-7R4 and PW4000 series introduced a core-mounted gear box for cleaner aerodynamic lines and a more compact nacelle geometry. The three new-technology engines are also notable for a considerable improvement in noise attenuation through the use of composites in the nacelle and engine - with the associated weight savings. Smoke and emission levels have also been lowered. Air for starting the engine is supplied through a pneumatic manifold from an external high-pressure source, the onboard APU, or by cross-feed from the opposite engine.

Reverse thrust is provided by a cascade fan reverser system for each engine, actuated by pneumatic drive motors powered by engine compressor bleed air or pneumatic system air. The system of one engine is completely independent of the opposing engine. The fan reverser consists of translating sleeve blocker doors and fixed cascades, the latter tailored to generate effective retarding forces and to minimise exhaust gas re-injection at lower speeds. In the stowed position, the system forms a passage for the fan stream flow to the exhaust fan; while deployed, it provides reverse thrust, with thrust modulation being accomplished by power setting adjustments. The fan reverser is powered by one drive unit for both reverser halves, fed with air from the 15th stage supply (PW) or the ECS supply (GE). Maximum thrust is permitted down to 60kts IAS. After inadvertent deployment in flight up to 300kts IAS, it is possible to re-stow the thrust reverser below 250kts IAS at 24,500ft (7,500m) altitude.