Honeywell Plugged In is your go to resource for creating optimum home comfort with portable Honeywell products. 100 Photos and videosViewing Tweets won't unblock @HoneywellPlugIn.Continuing his review of maintenance training at the start of the new decade, Robert W. Moorman contrasts the training approaches and philosophies of the main engine OEMs and looks at the tools and innovations now helping AMTs perform their roles. General Electric Aircraft Engines, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce have all updated their training methods and facilities for AMTs, who will work on next-generation engines. GE has spent over $400,000 updating its Customer Technical Education Center (CTEC) near Cincinnati, as well as the engine bay, where floor training on the GEnx-1B and 2B takes place. The GEnx engine, successor to the CF6, is offered on the B787 and B747-8. The GEnx has a thrust range between 53,000lb and 75,000lb. Mechanics attend CTEC for a weeklong line maintenance course.

Each student has their own classroom computer on flushed desks, complete with three-dimensional animated models of the GEnx and other engines. The same information is displayed on a large screen at the front of the class. Instructors show simultaneously on the screen what the student sees on the computer. “This enhances the learning aspect of these complex, high-tech engines,” said Tim Meyers, manager of CTEC. Sixty-percent of training is undertaken in the classroom, the remainder is hands-on training on the shop floor. p80 airfree air purifier reviewLarge plasma television screens near workstations display the engine maintenance manual and training material related to specific maintenance tasks.whirlpool whispure ap51030k hepa air purifier review “There is no longer any paper, it’s all electronic,” Meyers said.honeywell enviracaire air purifier 50250

Students have the option to stay on for an additional week for instruction on engine change, borescope and hot and cold sections. Sixty-percent of CTEC’s students come from outside the US and the center graduates around 4,000 students per year. GE also has a partnership agreement in China with CFM, where 700-800 AMTs are trained each year. CTEC plans to soon open a maintenance training facility in Qatar. The Pratt & Whitney customer training center (P&W CTC) teaches several hundred courses per year to around 4,000 students globally. In recent years P&W has applied instructional systems and designs based on adult learning theories. CTC provides tailored training for specific customers, such is the case for training for the PW6000 and GP7200 engines. CTC employs technology, such as touch screen, virtual navigation of engines in the classroom and having the instructor become more of a guide in the classroom. “The technology allows you to bring the engine to the classroom and classroom to the shop,” said Laura Holmes, general manager of P&W CTC.

Bob Maciorowski, training operations manager, said that CTC is applying discovery learning, whereby a student or team can discover certain aspects of the engine on their own. Competency based training is becoming the norm, and training on green systems on the PW1000 engine and other cleaner engines is coming, he said. CTC launched an online learning management system last year, whereby students can self-register and manage their training programs on-line. CTC has approached regulatory agencies with regards to allowing for level 1, general familiarization training for web-based training. Like other trainers CTC provides on-site training, but has been known to also bring along a full-size actual engine to help the process. P&W sent a GP7200 engine last year in two sections to Dubai to instruct AMTs with Emirates airlines on the A380 powerplant. The East Hartford-based company offers training on its own engines as well as those of its partner. Satellite centers in New Zealand, Norway, and Columbus, Georgia provide training and CTC is working on developing centers in Shanghai and Turkey.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce is training AMTs on its Trent 900 powerplant for the A380, and has developed a curriculum for the Trent 1000, which is offered on the B787. Like other OEMs and their designated trainers, Rolls-Royce training for the Trent 900 and 1000 includes troubleshooting, which helps ensure longer time on-wing, with better on-wing service. Keeping engines on-wing for longer benefits not only the customer, according to Rolls-Royce, but the manufacturer too. Manufacturers typically offer total care packages with the sale of new engines, and on-wing training programs could help to reduce warranty costs for the OEM. Students visit Derby, England for Rolls-Royce’s required eight-day classroom and practical course, which includes software and hardware training aids. Rolls-Royce will offer engine removal and installation training for the Trent 1000 when the first B787 is delivered. Advances in training methodologies and technology have greatly helped in training today’s AMTs. CAE, known for its innovative hardware and software training solutions, recently unveiled a new professional troubleshooting skills (PTS) course for training AMTs for business aircraft.

The instructor-led PTS course enables AMTs to isolate, identify and fix suspected problems faster, thereby reducing repair costs and getting aircraft back into revenue earning service. Rather than apply a “scatter-gun” approach to maintenance, the PTS course helps develop systematic processes and decision-making skills by focusing on the logic of aircraft troubleshooting. Students learn how to determine the cause of the malfunction and the most timely and cost-effective resolution. The troubleshooting course is designed to deliver a variety of faults for multiple aircraft platforms. The PTS simulation software uses multiple monitors to accurately display fault isolation. Troubleshooting exercises use actual electrical, hydraulic and other schematics, which respond as the aircraft would to each troubleshooting procedure. Graphics provide a physical representation of the aircraft or system being examined. “Troubleshooting is a key skill that must be honed,” said Michele Asmar, director of delivery services, pilot and maintenance training solutions.

A few years ago, CAE transferred software of the full flight simulator to the desktop, using a graphical interface to provide personalized training for pilots and mechanics. The result was Simfinity, a virtual maintenance trainer, which combines the cockpit environment with system schematics. It allows students to visualize what is happening and simulate malfunctions. With the importance of expedited turnaround times, the PTS course could provide lasting value for the AMT and his/her employer. The PTS course augments the advances made through Simfinity. CAE also announced recently that it has initiated its first CAE Simfinity-equipped classroom for maintenance training at the Honeywell Aerospace Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. High fidelity, simulation-based multi-screen displays will be used to support technical training across a range of Honeywell-equipped business aircraft platforms. The first five-day course addresses Air Transport Association Level III line maintenance for the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics system.

Elsewhere there are technological advances for AMT training worth noting. Airbus recently validated the ECA Faros Airbus Competence Training (ACT) trainer used in maintenance training for various Airbus aircraft. The ACT trainer or classroom is a package of software linked to achieve a maintenance training operation inside a classroom. The package includes an active pilot software running on a PC; Airbus electronic documentation AirN@v; a virtual aircraft to access simulated equipment; an exercise launcher tool to help conduct specific exercises; and the Airbus courseware, or maintenance crew training manual. Lufthansa Technical Training bought a selection of ACT training devices for use in its worldwide training centers. LTT is the launch customer for the ECA Faros ACT A320. As part of its competency based training program, SR Technics, which is part of the Airbus Maintenance Training Network, has invested in ACT systems for its maintenance training program. This includes the hardware and software to simulate aircraft in the classroom.

“This allows us to get down to the detail of competency based training by coaching and assessing on things such as the use of troubleshooting documentation, ensuring that safety steps are taken and that the application of procedures is done,” said Markus Buergin, vice president of group technical training, SR Technics. FSI has modified its pilot training Matrix Training System to be used as a tool for training AMTs. The purpose of Matrix is to troubleshoot all aircraft systems from the cockpit. FSI transfers the simulator software code to the desktop trainer (DTS), allowing the technician to operate a virtual aircraft on two screens. Students can perform diagnostics for the aircraft using the Matrix software. Alure, a 3-D simulation of the entire aircraft, is another piece of FlightSafety courseware being used to train AMTs. The simulation, which comes from exact designs obtained from the OEM, enables technicians to virtually enter the tight confines of the avionics bay or elsewhere in the aircraft.