Newsdesk – Commercial

Rolls-Royce Tay Engine Gets Go ahead:

Rolls-Royce has taken the decision to start the development of a new engine, named the Tay. It is an advanced technology turbofan using high-efficiency components developed in the Company’s advanced engineering and RB211 programme. In particular, it uses extensive experience with high-efficiency wide-chord fan blades. The Tay is based on the proven core of the RB183 engine and has a takeoff thrust of 13,000 lbs.

Rolls-Royce is currently negotiating a launch order for more than 200 Tay engines with Gulfstream Aerospace of the United States for their new model, the Gulfstream G 1V. The order will be worth more than $300 million with spare engines and spare parts at today’s prices. The first engines will be delivered in 1986.

The Tay will also be suitable for the development of the F28 Airliner currently being planned by Fokker, m addition to stretched versions of the Canadair Challenger

Boeing reports 1982 Sales Slump:

Boeing has announced sales of US$9035 million and net earnings of US$292 million, for 1982. The comparable figures for 1981 were sales of US$9788 million and net earnings of US$473 million.

The decrease in earnings was attributable primarily to significantly reduced commercial jet transport deliveries, a continued high level of research, development and engineering expenses related to the 737-300, 757 and 767 programmes, and to lower interest income.

Flying Horses:

Flying bloodstock charters is nothing new but now Australia has its own ambitious livestock charter service using a modified Boeing 727-100 trijet. Bloodstock Air Services hope to be able to carry the bulk of bloodstock, and other animals, into and around Australia. With the establishment of a major animal quarantine station at Cocos Island, the Perth-based operator hopes to carry the bulk of animals entering Australia from this facility. The 727 will be able to carry 27 horses or 40 cattle and will have underfloor accommodation for greyhounds and smaller high-value animals. Bloodstock Air Services commenced operation in mid-February

Masling Open New Facility:

Out of commuter airlines but not aviation are Jack and Tony Masling who are now proudly extolling the virtues of their recently opened specialist aircraft maintenance facility in the NSW rural township of Cootamundra. More than $1 million has been invested in this unique facility which will specialise in the overhaul and calibration of such sensitive equipment as percent indicators, fuel boost pumps and complete fuel control systems. The impressive facility also features a complete magnetic particle testing facility, shot peening capability and a wide range of electrical repatr work for starter generators. Much of the work is also aimed at the specialist non-aviation sector which will help cushion the firm in the occasional slow periods that commercial aviation is known for

A310-300, the Long Range Twin:

Airbus Industrie is predicting strong demand for the latest member of the Airbus family – the A310-300 ‘long range twin’.

This derivative of the A310-200 will be available from 1985 and will offer a 4000 nm/ 7410 km range with a typical mixed class load of 218 passengers.

The A310-300 will have a greater maximum takeoff weight of 149 tonnes/ 328,490 lb compared with the standard 132 tonnes/291,010 lb or the optional 138.6 tonnes/305,560 lb of the A310-200.

Offering extended range with the same payload, the A310-300 will be fitted with a horizontal tail tank allowing the aircraft to carry additional fuel.

The aft tank will be used to trim the aircraft during flight. A300 fight tests have confirmed that significant fuel savings can be made by maintaining the aircraft’s centre of gravity at or near the aft limit. Shifting the centre of gravity towards the rear of the aircraft reduces the negative load on the tail, decreasing drag and wing loading. A combination of the two will give the A310-300 improved cruise/fuel efficiency. Structural changes will reduce weight with composite materials being used while carbon brakes will contribute to weight reduction and improved brake performance.

Initially, the A310-300 is being offered with either General Electric CF6-80A3 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4E engines, both rated at 50,000 lb thrust. These engines are being used on the A310-200.

Strong demand is anticipated among present Airbus customer airlines seeking a longer range capability than is currently available and other airlines seeking to replace narrow body medium to long range aircraft, now rapidly approaching obsolescence, with an advanced, new technology wide body.

Long Range DC-9 Launched:

The Super 83 jetliner, a new extended-range addition to the Super 80 twinjet family, was launched on 31st January by McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

The Super 83 offers a range up to 2950 miles (4750 km) with 155 passengers and their baggage. This is an improvement in range of more than 35 per cent over the Super 80s now in service.

The decision to launch the new model follows an extremely successful year for the Super 80. Forty-eight per cent of the commercial jetliner orders booked worldwide in 1982 were for Super 80s. The Super 83 will be available for service in early 1985.

IATA Forecasts Rough Ride Ahead for International Carriers:

IATA estimates that losses on international services by its member airlines through 1983 will exceed $US2.2 billion or around 10% more than the losses of 1982. This, it Is claimed by IATA Director General Knut Hammarskjold, could lead to many airlines having a negative net worth by the end of 1983. At the end of 1980, IATA members had a combined debt/equity ratio of 56:44. Continued lowering of yields, excess capacity, accelerating interest rates and the arrival of new equipment ordered during the seventies resulted in this figure slipping to 74:26 by the end of 1982. By December this year many carriers will have virtually run out of collateral and will be literally worthless as their debt burden and accumulated losses exceed the net worth or value of their resources.

IATA estimates that member airlines will have to invest around $US150 billion in net jet equipment by 1990 in order to remain operationally viable. High fuel costs and the coming aircraft noise bans will necessitate that new aircraft must be purchased if a carrier wishes to remain in operation. More than a quarter of the present international fleet alone will be surplus once strict noise bans become effective during the mid-eighties. Primary problem areas are seen as stagnant markets with little or no traffic growth, continuing high fuel costs, though these have stabilised in recent months, gross overcapacity, low yield due to illegal discounting, high interest rates which have trebled between 1979 and 1981 alone, and finally that many countries, particularly in Africa (though our own DofA could put its hand up for this one) have refused transference of payments made to international carriers in that nation blocking around $US600million in 1982 alone. It is universally estimated that the international carriers will not see growth return till the recession begins to ease, something that makes 1983 a year all operators will want to forget.

McDonnell Douglas Offer DC-9 Series Replacement:

McDonnell Douglas is close to launching a derivative of the established and hot-selling Super 80 Designated the Super 90, this 100/120 seat aircraft would basically be a shortened version of the Super 80. Being of similar dimensions to the Sanes 40, the Super 90 would feature the advanced technology avionics and systems of the Super 80 and would be powered by either the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217A or the CFM56-3. Range would be in the 1500 nm class and field performance would be significantly improved over that of the Series 30 model. McDonnell Douglas is looking at marketing the Super 80 and the Super 90 as a team offering the dual benefits of crew commonality, maintenance commonality and attractive operating economics in relation to current operators of 737, 727 and older DC-9 aircraft. MDC are also planning future growth versions of the Super 80, including the Super 83 which will be certificated for a gross takeoff weight of 160,000lb allowing operation out to 2500 nm. This aircraft would be particularly popular with inclusive tour operators, particularly in Europe, and could in many cases offer alternatives to 707 and DC-8 aircraft.

New KSA ATC Procedures an Overdue Boon to Airlines:

Use of revised ATC procedures introduced in December 1982 at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport have assisted in speeding traffic into that port. Aircraft now can use several departure points along the two runways thereby eliminating the long queues that regularly form at the end of each runway. Aircraft can now also employ simultaneous operation of both runways where their operations would not conflict. This has resulted in a slight easing of congestion at KSA in peak times and eliminates some of the long waiting periods experienced by aircraft awaiting access to a departure runway. As this change though has been virtually employed at the simple insistence of the Minister we question why the simple, logical and quite necessary changes weren’t introduced years ago.

Pratts Announce JT9 Successor:

Pratt & Whitney have verified their intention to remain the number one producer of commercial jet powerplants with the announce­ment of the PW4000 range, destined to replace the JT9 which powers the bulk of the world’s 747 fleet. The PW4000 will burn around 7% less fuel than the JT9D-7R4, the latest in a long line of JT9 growth versions. Utilising much of the new technologies pioneered on the PW2037 engine for the Boeing 757 and eventual MD-100, the PW4000 will run from 48,000 lb through to 60,000 lb thrust classing it alongside Electric’s CF6-80C2 for eventual propulsion of Airbus lndustrie’s TA9 and Boeing’s 747-300. Pratt & Whitney are planning on having the PW4000 certified in late 1986, one year after the GE CF6-80C is certified for commercial airliner use.

Must Read:

A book that has the enthusiastic backing of senior executives of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, yet is about them, would seem rare indeed. John Newhouse has written just such a book and it is excellent in every detail Entitled ‘The Sporty Game’, Newhouse’s book examines the philosophy of the major aircraft manufacturers, their backgrounds and that of their senior executives, their successes and their failures. The 230-page book is a must-read for every student of commercial aviation and is available for $29.00 post paid from Aviation Books, P.O. Box 155, Willoughby 2068. Don’t miss it!

Airport Development and Employment:

The Commonwealth Government has accelerated its $ 840 million aviation capital works programme to provide a boost to employment, the Minister for Aviation, Wal Fife, said recently.

‘The programme, which is already underway, will be at its peak in 1984 and the Government estimates that at that time it will involve work directly and indirectly for more than 8000 people,’ Mr Fife said.

‘Our airport development programme is the biggest and most ambitious in Australia’s aviation history,’ Mr Fife said. Announced in the 1982/83 Budget was a total airports and airways development programme of about $580 million over the next four years.

Since then the Government has taken decisions to proceed with the development at Darwin Airport and to provide a close-spaced parallel runway at Sydney, together estimated to cost $260 million. The acceleration of the aviation capital works programme is expected to mean additional employment opportunities for 5000 people over this four-year period. About 2500 of these will be directly employed as a result of the aviation programme and the remainder will be in jobs associated with the projects. Hawkeye would be able to transit cruise at 125 kts faster than the propeller-driven aircraft providing a larger area of mission sweep in addition to being able to provide better radar coverage from a typical operating ceiling of 43,000 ft as against only 29,000 ft for current Hawkeyes. Approach speed would also be reduced to only 65 kts. The Hercules could be powered by either up-rated versions of the TF34 or the CFM56-3 which is set to power the Boeing 737-300 and the proposed McDonnell DouglasSuper90. USB has been extensively test-flown on the specially modified NASA Buffalo and was employed in the Boeing YC-14 AMST USAF transport programme.

US Aerospace Industry Declines:

The US, which produces two-thirds of free world aerospace products, has seen a 6.7% decline in sales for 1982 as against the previous year. This reflects a drop of 40% m civil sales including a 50% drop in General Aviation production. The overall figure was saved by a substantial increase in military production. The projected sales forecast for 1983 is a total aerospace production of $99 billion with total employment rising to 1,185,000 by year end.

Delta Orders 33737-200 Jetliners:

Delta Air Lines, 1n a major fleet decision, has announced it will acquire 33 new Boeing advanced 737-200s with deliveries from October 1983 through the end of 1984.

Delta becomes the 110th customer for the short-to-medium range twinjet.

This is the first order of 737s by Delta, a Boeing customer since 1967. The airline placed the largest aircraft order in history on November 12, 1980, when it announced an order for 60 Boeing 757s worth about US$3 billion. Delta earlier purchased twin-aisle 767s and is now taking delivery of these.

Fuel Savings Near 20% Promised With New Engine Technology:

Initial testing of General Electric’s E3 high by-pass engine is showing fuel savings of 13.5% with future potential for 20% savings once development has been completed by 1985. The E3 (Energy Efficient Engine) programme is primarily sponsored by NASA with minor financial backing from participants GE and Pratt & Whitney. GE is using the CF6-50C as its baseline engine while Pratts has opted for the JT9D-7A. Despite the lower fuel flow and increased thrust the GE engine is substantially simpler than the CF6-50C. The high-pressure compressor for example achieves a pressure ratio of 23:1 in ten stages as against 16:1 in sixteen stages. This leads to a shorter, smaller overall engine and hopefully enhanced economy of operation. Much of the technology already proved in the E3 programme is being incorporated in current build engines while both GE and Pratts hope to be able to field all new E3-based engines for the 1990s.

China Increases Boeing Fleet:

CAAC, the civil air transport carrier for the People’s Republic of China has signed with Boeing for ten 737-200 twin-jets and two 747s, including an SP. CAAC has been a Boeing customer since September 1972 when the carrier purchased ten 707 long-range jets. In 1978 the PRC acquired three 747SP aircraft to augment the 707s in CAAC’s international route network which took in North America, Africa, Asia and Europe. The ten 737s will be fitted with 129 seats and will be routinely operated from airports as high as 11,600 feet, such as Lhasa in Tibet.

Can You Help?

The Department of Aviation 1s seeking information for a written history of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport which will also form part of the Master Plan for the airport.

The Department would like to hear from people who have newspaper clippings, photographs, reminiscences and anecdotes about the airport, from the time of the first flight at the airport, in 1919, to the present. The history will cover the development of the airport and its service to the community. Any material lent to the Department will be treated with care and returned promptly to the owners. If used in the written history appropriate acknowledgement of its source will be made.

Because work on the Master Plan is scheduled to begin in the near future, the Department would like to acquire the historical material as soon as possible. Information may be sent to:

Jennifer Gall
Cl- Public Relations Office
Department of Aviation
59 Goulburn Street
Sydney 2000.