Airbus Industrie Set To Broaden Market Base With A320 Airliner

Independent studies by various world aviation authorities have identified a potential market for between 2400 and 4700 such aircraft through to the turn of the century. McDonnell Douglas, Airbus Industrie, Rolls Royce and Boeing all concur that there exists an annual market for around 180 new 150-seat airliners from the late eighties to the year 2000. US consultant Merryl Lynch and Pratt & Whitney even go as high as suggesting a need for upwards of 240 aircraft a year in this category.

What Airbus are hoping for is a third of the gigantic market sector. Personally, we feel they are conservative as the identified 150-seat requirement by present Airbus operators calls for more than 1000 airframes alone! With break-even tagged at 600 aircraft and with more than 3400 short/medium range jets already in operation it is not difficult to see Airbus building 32s for many decades to come. One additional point worth noting Is that by 1988, when the first A320 enters commercial service, more than three-quarters of this market will be made up of airframes in excess of fifteen years of age.

Airbus Industrie’s perception of the future makes for interesting reading. They have estimated passenger traffic growth at 5. 6% over the next twenty years, resulting in a virtual tripling of the annual passenger uplift by 2004. These figures are fairly much in line with similar predictions by major international carriers, IA T A and the ICAO. Additionally, they see North American traffic share dropping from a present level of 48% to only 38% at the expense of Latin American and Asian growth markets – something that has been patently obvious to any observer of the growth of our Asian neighbours’ aviation fleets this past decade.

Of note also is the fact that frequency will grow at about half the annual rate of passenger traffic. This will, in time, see many DC-9-30 and 737-200 operators requiring a 150-seater and some present 727 and MD-80 operators looking to larger types (757?) to accommodate the fact that airports can only take so many movements per day before reaching saturation. If one remembers back to the growth days of 1978/79 you will recall the buzzword of the time was ‘airport saturation’, particularly in Europe and the US; that this did not occur was only due to the effects of the rapidly approaching recession. If growth does continue at the present levels then by the time the A320 becomes operational a lot of operators of ageing DC-9-30s and 737-200s will perhaps be looking at a larger replacement aircraft.

At time of writing, there were 51 firm orders and 45 options written against the A320. A launch situation that Airbus proudly point out has never been achieved before by a non-US airliner. Air France have 25 firm with 25 on option. Air Inter has 10 with 10, British Caledonian has 7 firm and 3 on option, next Adria has 5 with 3 and Cyprus Airways has 4 with 4. A very strong launch book by any standard and not surprising when it is considered that between 1955 and 1974 European airframe manufacturers built no less than 742 short/medium range jet liners including 210 BAC 111s, 117 Tridents and 279 Caravelles. This then gives some indication of the total market when it is also considered that the bulk of short/medium range jets in worldwide service today will have been phased out of operation ten years from now.

So much for Airbus industry’s perception of the market, what of the aircraft itself?

In Australian service the A320 would typically accommodate 140 passengers with 20 in first at a 36 in pitch and 120 in economy, at the standard 32 inch pitch. Alternatively the aircraft can have 12 in first and 138 in economy or even uplift 164 passengers at a generous (by international standards) 32 inch pitch in an all-economy configuration. As the A320 has a wider fuselage cross-section than the Boeing 727/737/757 it can accommodate wider seats which in economy provide an additional inch width per passenger. Additionally, Airbus claim 2. 1 cu ft stowage space per passenger which is considerably more than is available in the current generation of medium-haul airliners.

Performance-wise the A320 has designed a level of fuel efficiency unmatched by any competitor. To this end Airbus Industrie claim that the A320 will burn 44% less fuel per seat kilometre than a 727-200in addition to 30% lower direct operating Costs. Additionally, the A320 will require far less maintenance support due to its advanced technology systems and Built In Test Equipment which provides a constant monitoring of all systems aboard the aircraft coupled with a special faultfinding diagnostics computer similar to that used aboard the F-18.

Initially, the A320 will have a maximum takeoff weight of 66 tonnes for a maximum range with 140 passengers and two tonnes of freight of 1750 nm. This will be increased during 1989 to the -200 model which will feature a centre section fuel cell capable to allowing maximum payload operations out to 2600 nautical miles. Obviously this will be the version of primary interest to Australia as non-stop Sydney year round operations regardless of prevailing conditions is certainly a mandatory requirement for both TAA and Ansett. A range capability out past two and a half thousand nautical miles also brings into play a wide number of new non-stop sectors such as Perth/Townsville, Perth/Brisbane, Melbourne/Darwin etc. , in addition to a wide variety of regional offshore charter style sectors that may be politically viable a decade from now. Another vital point is that the A320 will have better field performance than either the DC-9-30 and 727-200 allowing gross payload operations out of traditionally marginal fields such as Canberra, Port Hedland and Alice Springs even in the peak of summer.

Airbus Industrie see cargo as being an important revenue earner for their customers, a policy mirrored in the excellent underfloor LD3 capability of the A300 and A31O wide bodies. The A320obviouslycannot tote a full sized LD3 so Airbus did the next best thing and configured the underfloor cargo compartments to accept a cut-down LD3 which retains the basic LD3 base allowing it to be interlined from domestic to international operations. Fast turnarounds are vital to the effective revenue generation of an efficient carrier, particularly in the hub and spoke environment of the eighties. The A320 has been designed to turn around under maximum load factor conditions in 30 minutes. Anoptionalsystem has even been developed using standard Boeing-style 59 inch triple seats (rather than the wider 62 inch triples previously described) to increase the aisle width sufficiently to allow speedier passenger movement within the aircraft. On a typical day’s short-haul operation this could add significant capacity to a fleet of ten A320s as per aircraft turnaround time can be reduced to as low as 25 minutes without eating into the all-important schedules lack.

Structurally the A320 will make great use of composites and the new aeronautical wonder alloy – aluminium lithium or Al-Li. Airbus will use Al-Li throughout the primary airframe structure effecting a 10% weight saving compared with the use of conventional aerospace aluminiums of the past. Use of composites results in an effective weight reduction of between 20% and 25% compared with metallic components. During the past three years, Airbus designers have been able to reduce the A320 dry weight by almost a tonne through the use of the new generation of materials. Typical composite structures include nacelles and pylons, flaps, slats, ailerons and spoilers, entire horizontal and vertical tail planes but not the empennage, radome, floor panels and various accessories and panels. Carbon brakes will also be employed which not only save weight but prolong the Time Between Overhaul (TBO) of the brake units by a factor of three while a new APU will burn around a third less fuel per hour.

As we went to press there was still no word on possible Australian industry participation in the A320project. Negotiations have been underway on this complex subject now for nearly four years and it is generally reported that Australia would need an investment of around $50 million to acquire a 2% workload share in the overall programme. This would bring us in as a subcontractor to British Aerospace who have a 27% share in the programme (Aerospatiale have 36%, Deutsch Airbus/MBB have 31% and CASA have 6%) with our efforts primarily being involved in supplying wing ribs as British Aerospace’s speciality in the partnership lies in wing design and manufacture.

The most exciting part of the A320 is what Airbus appropriately, and very proudly, calls the ’21st Century’. Flight deck. And that it is! Gone are the traditional control columns and a myriad of analog gauges, as is the flight engineer and his sideways-facing panel. The A320 breaks completely new ground in the method of airliner control through the use of side stick controllers, referred to as mini sticks, combined with computers and fly-by-wire electrically signalled control inputs. The elevators, ailerons and spoilers are all electrically signalled while the rudder retains a conventional mechanical system. Flaps, slats and the speed brakes are also electrically signalled. In all, this saves around 600 kg in weight, reduces maintenance man-hours by around 40% and also speeds up transition training time by at least a third. The secret of the latter is that through the use of three primary flight computers and two back up systems, control of an A320 can never exceed the performance envelope. Similar to the low-speed control technology used in the F-18, the A320 can never stall through human error, or for that matter reach VNE or overspend. while flaps and gear are extended. Pull full back on the mini stick and the aircraft will climb till airspeed sufficiently degrades to warn the computers to initiate speed compensation, the nose will fractionally drop while maximum power is automatically applied ensuring that the aircraft does not depart the speed envelope. In the event of this occurring the crew would also be informed instantly via their ECAM displays that an abnormal situation was developing. It doesn’t take much of a memory to recall the number of fatal accidents in recent decades that systems of this intelligence could have averted had they existed. Hopefully the net result in future generations of airliners will be to eradicate the possibility of human error in as many ways as possible.

The mini stick has been evaluated by 48 pilots from 12 airlines and 5 regulatory authorities including the FAA and CAA. The very first non-Airbus pilot to evaluate the mini stick was Captain Len Heard, TAA’s Director of Flight Operations, who sums up the experience as ‘excellent, absolutely excellent. ‘ According to pilots who have evaluated the concept aboard Airbus’ development A300, it is light to operate though positive and allows much more freedom of movement by the crew in what is essentially a confined environment. Airbus have gone one better and have configured their A320 cockpit to have fold-out work tables immediately below the two primary CRTs. Any pilot who has had to balance a meal tray, notes or manual on his lap or precariously situated atop the pedestal would readily appreciate the benefits to be had by getting rid of what is rapidly becoming an archaic device – the control column.

The A320 cockpit is based around six 18 cm square CRTs. Immediately ahead of the pilot/s is a Primary Flight Director (see diagrams) which provides such data as airspeed, flight level, heading, ADI function, climb/descent rates etc. Alongside the PFD is the Navigational Display which can overlay route track on a colour weather radar in addition to providing a total navigational update in real time via the FMS and nav systems. Centrally mounted in a vertical array on the pedestal between the pilots are the ECAM CRTs which present relevant engine data, fuel status, system performance status etc. , while the lower CRT is available for diagnostics display and various back up monitoring of warning systems etc. If any one CRT fails then the relevant image can be transferred as required, allowing a high degree of backup as the aircraft could be safely flown with half its CRTs inoperative in an emergency. Information is generated by three display management computers and two flight warning computers, all of which are self-monitored as is the FMS and nav systems by the built in test equipment.

The A320 works on the ‘dark cockpit’ system. Most systems are activated by coloured push buttons. Green lights indicate normal operation of activated systems, blue lights indicate normal operation of systems used intermittently while white lights signify an abnormal operation. Red is a serious failure while amber indicates a failure for which action may be delayed. Typically, in the event of a red light activation, the crew would request more data on their spare (lower) ECAM, if it was, for instance, a redundant fuel transfer pump, that system would be identified and displayed in plan form with an alternative system analysis indicating ways of overcoming the problem and which back-up pumps to employ to effect required fuel transfer etc. All in all, a very impressive operation and one that is not only designed to make aviation safer but less demanding on the flight crew.

One of the primary causes for the protracted gestation period of the A320 was the delay in obtaining a suitable powerplant. Back in 1981/82 the existing versions of the Snecma/General Electric CFM56 engine were not sufficiently powerful to provide the performance required for the several 150-seat projects mooted at the time. Rolls Royce were progressing with their RJ500, though even this looked a long way off in terms of becoming a ‘real’ engine. Months slipped into years and the RJ500, or at least some of its technology, has now emerged in the International Aero Engine’s V2500. IAE is a consortium (like Airbus)comprising Rolls Royce (30%), Pratt & Whitney (30%), Japanese Aero Engine Corporation (23%), MTU (11%) and Fiat with 6%.

The V2500 will be in the 23/24,000 lb thrust class and is claimed by IAE officials to be up to 10% more fuel efficient than any comparable engine. The certification target is late 1987 which in essence could make it available for even the first batch of A320s off the production line.

Launch power however is being supplied by the CFM56-4, a high by-pass turbofan which will develop 23,700 lb thrust and will attain certification by late 1986. CFM point out that by the time the first A320 enters service in March 1988, the CFM family of engines will have exceeded 12 million operational flight hours. Presently the CFM56 is used aboard the KC-135R and DC-8-70 Series (CFM56-2) and the Boeing 737-300 (CFM56-3); the engine is performing admirably in service and is one of the quietest engines in commercial service.

Ironically, if Boeing choose to launch a challenge against the A320, their most cost-effective steed would be a 737-400 which itself would also be powered by the CFM56-4. While the V2500 may be a little more fuel efficient in the long term, CFM points out that their engine will have a greater maturity factor and be less expensive to acquire and maintain than the new V2500. The engine battle will certainly be an interesting one!

Airbus have come a long way in less than a decade, their latest offspring is indeed a worthy product of European technology.