FlightSafety International (FSI) has named Sikorsky Helitech of Brisbane, Australia, an approved maintenance training center to provide training for Pratt & Whitney Canada engines in Australasia. FSI will provide training courseware, a graphical flight simulator and other training aids. Sikorsky Helitech instructors will be FlightSafety trained and qualified and will begin with an initial offering of 16 courses per year for Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B, PT6C, PT6T and PW206/207 series engines. Courses for the new 1,000-shp PW210 will be available in the fourth quarter. Mike Lee, director of maintenance training business development, told AIN, “This is our first third-party operator and [the arrangement] is unique for us at this point. The instructors at Helitech are certifying as FSI instructors and will be listed under all our authorities. Helitech has really great facilities and instructors, so it made sense to work a cooperative deal with them as opposed to building our own facility. They are familiar with the market and have had P&W training in the past. This paradigm is possible for the future and opportunities will be evaluated as they arise.”

Also Noted…

SkyBooks, an affiliate of Bell Helicopter, has issued release 4.5.1.1 of its electronic record-keeping program. COO John Willis III told AIN the latest release significantly upgrades existing document functionality and ease of use. The new document vault resides within the program and automatically archives attached documents to a structured file program, providing document search functionality and allowing quick document previews. Users can upload 3GB of records at a time and customize new folders, as well as cut, paste and organize documents to meet their specific needs.

Jet Support Serviceshas signed a letter of intent with Prime Fraction Club to enroll its fleet of engines onto a JSSI hourly-cost maintenance program. Prime Fraction Club recently launched the first fractional aircraft service based in Brazil with a fleet of Embraer Phenom 100s and 300s as well as an Agusta A109 helicopter. JSSI has agreed to provide Prime Fraction Club with hourly-cost maintenance programs for all three engine types to simplify the budgeting process and lower maintenance costs.

GE Aviation and Cathay Pacific Airways have reached a 15-year OnPoint solution agreement for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the airline’s GE90-115B engines that power its 18 Boeing 777-300ERs. “Cathay Pacific Airways has been operating GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-300ERs for almost four years,” said Paul McElhinney, president and CEO of GE Aviation’s service operation. “The OnPoint solution agreement will ensure the airline receives the highest quality maintenance and OEM material to keep its engines in top operating condition for many years to come.”

StandardAero has named Robert Lummus to the position of vice president and general manager of StandardAero Business Aviation’s Los Angeles International Airport facility. Lummus had been serving as the facility’s vice president and general manager in an acting capacity since April. Lummus’s top priority will be on customer satisfaction and service quality. Lummus’s operational oversight will focus on all of the site’s maintenance, repair and overhaul services and maintaining FAA, EASA and other governing agency authorizations and certifications. Previously he served as the facility’s director of operations.

Gulfstream Aerospace named Mike Quaid  operations manager for the company’s newly formed Western U.S. field service region. In his new position, Quaid supervises six field service representatives (FSR) -- three in California, one in Washington, one in Colorado and another in Mexico. Most recently, Quaid was a senior regional FSR based in Southern California, a position he held since 2002. Before that, Quaid was a regional sales manager for the Gulfstream and General Dynamics Aviation Services maintenance facilities, selling services for the full line of Gulfstream products.