Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

Therefore, Airbus expected to certify a stretched A320 during 1993/94 which would allow sufficient time for testing of the Superfan aboard the A340. Superfan might also be employed upon standard body A320 airliners from that time on, perhaps in derated form. A stretched A320 would feature an extended fuselage accommodating an extra three to four economy seat rows giving the aircraft a capacity slightly above today’s Boeing 727-200 trijet.

Boeing Market Enhances Potential of Newest 737 Jetliner:

Boeing has increased the capability of its new 737-400 twinjet now under development, enabling the aircraft to take off at a higher weight for greater range.

The company has revealed that the 146-seat (mixed class) aircraft is now offered at maximum takeoff weights of up to 150,000 pounds (68,040kg), or 7,500 pounds (3,400kg) more than when the 737 derivative model was announced last June. Landing gear and portions of the airframe structure will be strengthened to accommodate the higher weight. With auxiliary fuel and increased weight capability, the 737-400 can carry a full passenger payload on flights of up to 2,500nm. Previously the range was about 2,170nm.

The change increases the market potential of the aircraft because it can now serve longer-range routes. For example, it will be able to fly nonstop from Washington, DC (Dulles Airport) to Los Angeles with as many as 159 passengers in all tourist seating or at max payload Sydney/Perth under the severest headwind conditions. For the European inclusive tour market, the 737-400 would provide charter seating for 168 passengers on flights from Northern Europe to such vacation destinations as the Canary Islands.

The Europeans Strike back With Massive Airline Orders:

Boeing lost another large US client during October when Northwest Airlines (nee Northwest Orient and now owner of Republic Airlines) placed a massive order for 10 Airbus Industrie A320 twinjets with a further 90 on option. Deliveries will commence during 1990 and as they are made firm orders, the optioned aircraft will be delivered in batches of 15 through the early nineties. This effectively stymies a major potential 7J7 contract from Northwest, one of America’s largest carriers, from Boeing as well as shutting the door on any propfan derivative of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft to that airline.

Barely a month later was the equally important sale of up to one hundred Fokker 100 twinjets to GPA Leasing. It is now expected that Fokker 100 production will now run to a minimum of five airframes a month by 1989 while for its part Airbus have announced that they will increase monthly A320 production from 6. 5 to 8 units by 1991 to cope with demand. European airliner production has certainly now come of age and for the first time in history offers true competition to the excel- lent products from the USA.

Rolls Royce and General Elec Tric Part Company:

In a not totally unexpected move Rolls Royce and General Electric have jointly decided to terminate their engineering agreement. Under the terms of this agreement RR was building parts for the GECF6-80C2while GE was performing a like-wise operation on the RB211-524 in addition to actively promoting the smaller RB211-535 for US sales of the Boeing 757 against Pratt & Whitney’s PW2037.

Primary cause of the amicable termination of the agreement was the August sale of RR RB211-525D4Ds to British Airways for use aboard their future 747-400 fleet. General Electric bid fiercely for this contract which they feel should have been their “territory under the terms of an earlier agreement which tentatively limited the maximum thrust output of Roll’s largest engine to 56,000lb. The newest version of the RB211, the 524D4D, is aimed at the 747- 400 and produces some 58,000lb. This then places it in full frontal competition with GE’s CF6-80C2 which is rated at up to 60,000lb.

Both companies stress however that the terms of their parting are amicable and do not rule out new joint development programmes at some point in the future.

New Australian Airships Company Formed:

A new company, named Australian Airships Ltd, has been formed to develop concepts and marketing agreements for the employment of the airship.

The new Adelaide-based company has been watching with great interest the development of the Bond-owned Airship Industries and plans to act as a go-between on contracting time out to third parties for their own Airship which the company plan to have in operation next year. Set for stock exchange listing later this year Australian Airships believes that the tourism aspects of larger airships in Australia alone could support up to a dozen craft in the long term.

 Twinjets Not to Be Used on Transatlantic Routes:

Four months of running computer simulations have convinced Lufthansa that twinjet flights across the North Atlantic are not viable.

Already Air Canada, El Al and TWA are making transatlantic flights with wide bodied twinjets, and Lufthansa computer simulations showed that there are not likely to be any snags as far as safety standards are concerned. However, twinjet operations could have adverse affects on punctuality and regularity without offering any significant economic gains. The Lufthansa plan now is to concentrate the entire DC-10 fleet on the North Atlantic.

Regulations for operating twin-engine aircraft on long-range routes are so stringent that some flights might have to take off late, or be cancelled altogether. (This could happen in the case of a designated diversion airport being shut down by foul weather. ) When this happens, inconvenience to travellers and costs to the airline involved can be considerable.

Lufthansa is now market leader in North Atlantic airfreight business and will be deploying 7478 and DC-10s to meet demand.

British Airways to Make First Microwave Landings:

A British Airways Boeing 757 will be the first civil airliner in Britain to use a Microwave Landing System (MLS), the precision landing approach aid of the future.

Commencing in November British Airways, in collaboration with the CAA and Boeing began operational trials of MLS at London’s Heathrow Airport. One of British Airways Boe- ing 7578 (G-BIKK) flying the airline’s Super Shuttle routes has been specially fitted for the trials with an airborne MLS landing system.

At Heathrow, the ground-based MLS equipment will be installed on Runway 28 Right and used for comparative trials with the existing Instrument Landing System (ILS) to provide operational experience and technical data.

By international agreement, MLS will replace existing ILS during the next decade to become the sole internationally accepted precision landing system by the end of the century. The eventual main advantage of MLS is that it has a wider coverage than ILS permitting a variety of aircraft approach paths to be flown, including curved approaches. This will permit more efficient use of air space and can ease noise levels in the vicinity of airports. MLS will also enable a precision landing system to be installed at many airports that for terrain reasons cannot be fitted with an ILS.

The Heathrow MLS trials are expected to continue for about six months. The data obtained will be used to plan Heathrow’s comprehensive MLS systems which are expected to become operational in about ten years’ time.

Pratts to Uprate PW2037 Engine:

Pratt & Whitney are developing an uprated version of their 37,000lb thrust PW2037 high bypass turbofan. The uprated engine will be rated out to 41,000lb thrust and will enable the company to accommodate any further growth versions of the Boeing 757 twinjet.

The basic PW2037 series is also destined to power USAF McDonnell Douglas C-17 tactical transport aircraft which is planned to enter service during the early nineties.

De Havilland Canada Roll Out 7,000th Aircraft:

The 7,000th aeroplane produced by de Havilland Canada was handed over to its new owner in October.

The Dash 8 will enter the fleet of Horizon Air, a Seattle-based regional airline. This will be the fifth Dash 8 in the Horizon fleet. The airline or- dered 10 Dash 8s plus 10 options in August of 1985.

Since 1928, de Havilland Canada has contributed substantially to world aviation. Established as a sales arm for its English parent, DHC began operations selling and assembling Moth airplanes shipped from the parent factory in Hatfield, England. By the late 1930s a full scale production facility was in operation at the Downsview, Ontario site, manufacturing Tiger Moths under licence.

During the Second World War, DHC-built Mosquitos earned the company worldwide recognition for their performance and agility. Following the war years, de Havilland Canada embarked on a programme that would see DHC designed and built aircraft flying in more than 90 countries around the world.

The first all-Canadian de Havilland product was the DHC-1 Chipmunk, which celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier last year. The trainer and aerobatics performer was adopted by air forces around the world and is still a favourite among aerobatic pilots and flying enthusiasts. While only 217 Chipmunks were built at de Havilland Canada, more than 1,000 were manufactured under licence in England and Portugal. In Australia, Chipmunks are highly valued and sell for up to $40,000.

But the aircraft that followed the versatile trainer really set the tone for de Havilland Canada aeroplanes. The go-anywhere bush planes, the flying trucks’ and the sleek new regional airliners have all been unique in their capabilities and outstanding in their performance.

The DHC-2 Beaver provided operators with unheard-of versatility and the DHC-3 Otter furthered the tradition. The Caribou and Buffalo added new dimensions to military and avil transport with their exceptional STOL capabilities and large payloads. The Twin Otter, in addition to being an unparalleled utility aircraft, helped usher in the modern era of regional airlines.

The Dash 7 is the world’s quietest airliner and has such exceptional STOL performance that it is the only 50-passenger aeroplane that will be allowed to operate at the new London City (Docklands) STOL port with no performance restrictions.

More recently regional carriers around the world have embraced the Dash 8. More than 30 airlines, military services, government agencies and corporate operators have placed orders and options totalling 180.

For the 36/40 passenger Dash 8 Series 100, there are 50 aircraft now in service, with 67 orders and 36 options. The stretched 50/56 passenger Dash 8 Series 300, scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 1988, has 23 orders and 12 options.

Don’t Forget Paris:

The air show event for 1987 will of course be, the ever-popular Paris Salon. Don’t forget though that there has been a significant date change from previous years. This year the Salon will open, on press day, on the 11th June and will run right through to its conclusion on June 21. This is essentially a fortnight later than usual.