Application Note: Narrow and Widebody Weighing with AC60-LP™ Scales with Avianca Airlines

Category: Aviation

March 1, 2019

As Avianca grows its fleet, adding new routes and increasing lift capacity, their growing maintenance and weight and balance operations created a need for acquiring additional aircraft platform scales.  With a fleet of narrow and widebody aircraft, the airline required reliable and versatile scales capable of weighing their Airbus and Boeing airframes.

“Avianca has almost a decade of experience with platform scales from several manufacturers.  Our reliability and long-term durability issues with hydraulically-actuated scales, when compared to our Intercomp scales, was a factor when selecting the new system for platform weighing.”  Avianca Aircraft Maintenance 

Having used Intercomp AC30-60™ scales– which incorporate fully-electronic load sensing technology, the airline observed superior uptime and durability when compared to those consisting of hydraulically-actuated scales. This increase in platform scale system availability allowed for weighing and in-servicing aircraft more rapidly with fewer disruptions to maintenance scheduling.  The durability and extended lifetime led to a higher ROI for the fully electronic scales, which hold calibration longer and can be calibrated in a half hour, rather than a half day, per scale.

Following the acquisition of TACA, Avianca needed additional scales and took advantage of advancements in scale technology by selecting Intercomp’s AC60-LP™ low profile platform scales.  With integrated wheels, the scales can be deployed and set up to weigh a widebody aircraft in less than ten minutes, without ever having to lift the scales. Intrinsically safe certification of the scales meets US and International safety codes for weighing in hangars, which addresses fire marshal concerns when fuel and fumes can potentially be present. These internationally recognized certifications are also compliant with airframe with airframe manufacturers’ safety requirements for equipment.  

The system includes a transportation cart which incorporates a ramp for deploying or securing the scales and storage for ramps and spacers. Avianca selected Intercomp’s wireless apps and software to streamline collection of weights and reporting from different locations.
Capable of weighing widebody aircraft such as Avianca’s Airbus A330s, the new Boeing 787s, and the Airbus A320 narrowbody family, the scale system features represent the next generation of aircraft platform scales.
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