Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

At the same time as announcing the developed CFM Superfan alternative, Airbus concluded an Ian agreement with General Electric for a 64,000lb thrust version of the CF6-80C2 to power higher gross payload long-range versions of the s of the A330 twinges. CFM I meanwhile have compared the market with their engine being sole source equipment on the new generation 737s plus having gain gained a majority being share of the A320 and now A340 market. The Superfan debacle has greatly damaged IAE’s credibility and with no follow on programme to the present V2500 many industry observers feel that most new A320 customers will probably opt for the CFM engine.

On another front, British Aerospace received UK Government loan funding approval to the value of SA1100m during May to design and build the A330/340 wings. Airbus has also performed additional redesign work on the wing and has added around two metres in overall span, redesigned winglets and additional fuel capacity Airbus now claim 128 commitments from 9 customers including Lufthansa, Air France and Northwest Airlines.

 Qantas Buys New Series 767 Jet:

Qantas has placed a firm order for a Boeing 767-300ER for delivery in August 1988, with options to buy six more. The A$150m investment in the high technology twinjet will include spare engines and all necessary support spares.

The 767-300 will be configured for 251 passengers-22 in business days and 229 in economy class and have an increased cargo capacity of 11. 2 tonnes. It will have an increased range of 4,400 nautical miles with full pax load.

The 767-300 is seven metres longer than the existing 767-200, yet despite being a little heavier and having a greater fuel capacity, it will be more efficient, saving Qantas between 8% and 10% on seat/kilometre costs. The new 767-300 will be used initially on trans-Tasman routes, before being moved onto longer range operations such as Caims to Tokyo and Perth to Tokyo.

Qantas introduced the Boeing 767 onto its international air routes in July 1985. The six currently in the Qantas fleet have proved extremely effective, providing an aircraft for use on routes where passenger traffic does not warrant using a 747 with literally double the passenger capacity of the 767.

The aircraft operates to Tokyo, Manila and Kuala Lumpur and from cities such as Townsville, Adelaide and Darwin, connecting in Singapore with Qantas’ European services and offering both outbound and inbound passengers a wider range of destination.

The 767 has recently been used to link Tasmania more effectively to the Qantas international network with a service between Hobart and Auckland via Melbourne this allows tourists from Japan, the USA, the UK, Thailand and Hong Kong to fly into Tasmania on Qantas services.

Qantas took delivery of a sixth 747-300EUD (Extended Upper Deck) in May and a seventh 767-200 is scheduled for August this year. When the first 767-300ER is delivered, the Qantas fleet will comprise 33 aircraft

Fokker 50 Gains Certification:

The Fokker 50 gained its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Department of the Netherlands on May 15 following 16 months and some 920 fight hours of testing.

The Fokker 50 is due to go into service with launch customer, Ansett, this July and will begin to replace Ansett’s existing F27 fleet over the coming year. To date there have been sales of 43 Fokker 50 propjets with a further 14 on option Meanwhile, another Fokker product Australia-bound is the Fokker 100 twinjet. The test programme on this aircraft is also on track with currently 600 of its 1,100 hours of developmental flying complete as at mid-June. Certification is expected this November with the first of type entering service with Swissair several weeks later. East-West will be the second customer to fly the jet which has to date logged 87 firm orders and 91 options.

Boeing to Launch 737-500:

Boeing has at last launched the smallest version of its highly successful 737 twinjet series and four airlines agreed to order up to 73 of the new 737-500s The 737-500 is designed for lower density. short to medium-range routes. It will be built at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, plant with a rollout planned for May 1989. Following flight testing, first delivery will be in March 1990. Southwest Airlines of Dallas, Braathens SAFE of Olso, Euralair of Paris and an unidentified fourth airline are the launch customers.

All will be powered by CFM56-3-81 engines. These powerplants are from the same CFM56-3 series of engines offered on Boeing’s larger 737-300 and 400 jetliners. The new 737-500 offers about the same passenger capacity as the familiar 737-200 but is equipped with the advanced technology features of the -300 and -400 models. These include high bypass ratio engines for fuel efficiency and low noise, an improved wing design, an advanced flight management system and greater use of weight-saving materials.

With these enhancements, the 737-300, -400 and -500 models make up a new generation family of 737s. They are sized to meet airline requirements for seating capacities ranging from about 110 up to 170. The new -500 version, with a fuselage length of 97 9in (29. 8m) is just 10in (25cm) longer than the -200. It is expected that the -500 will ultimately replace the-200 as Boeing’s offering in the 110 to 130 seat market.

Rolls Shares in Big Demand:

London Stock Exchange share trading in newly privatised Rolls Royce during May was described by Exchange regulars as ‘dynamic’.

Such was the demand for RR script that the overall share offer was oversubscribed by a factor of four. This repeats similar occurrences Saab reports that it now has some 71% of the European 30-40 seat market with 36 SF340s orders from nine carriers. This is the first of a number of SF340s recently ordered by three French regional airlines and is operated by Air France dual designator, Europe Air.

in the UK with BAe and British Airways and overseas with Cathay Pacific as aerospace stocks hit a high in market popularity.

The public, employee, institutional and pensioner funds were unable to receive the total number of RR shares bid for and it is felt that with several successful engine programmes underway that the price of Rolls Royce stock will continue to strengthen in the year ahead.

Australian observers wonder what stock market reaction would be to the flotation of 100% of Australian Airlines, the FAC and 40% of Qantas. Current estimates put their stock market worth at around $Afbn conservatively with sufficient capital being returned to all three Operations to ensure their market capitalisation was enhanced via a lower debt equity ratio than presently exists.

Qc Version of Saab SF340 Launched:

Saab has now available a Quick Change (QC) passenger freighter version of their SF340 commuter airliner.

The first of type has already gone into service with Finnaviation, a Scandinavian regional which operates 37 sectors a day with its 3 SF340s in what is truly a 24-hour-a-day operation. The secret of Finnaviation’s high is its contracts to fly night mail on behalf of the Finnish Post Office, Following the last passenger service of the day, a three-man team descend upon each Saab to remove their airline seats. This is accomplished in under an hour which also includes the fitment of a specially designed roler mat system to accommodate the 24 Cargo containers which each carry 110kg of mail. In all the OC SF340 can uplift 3,600kg of cargo.

Rolls Power for Airbust:

Rolls Royce, now successfully Privatised, has embarked upon a course designed to get its premier RB211-524 engines aboard a wider number of new generation airline transports.

Rolls have already announced their agreement with Boeing to develop the RB211 for the 767 twinjets and are still discussing collaboration with McDonnell Douglas regarding the recently launched MD-11 trijet. Of great interest though to many airline observers are the discussions taking place between RR and Airbus regarding getting the British engine aboard the A330.

Rolls estimates the cost of certification of the RB2111 for the A330 conservatively at around SA100m though with British Airways eyeing this aircraft as a potential Tristar replacement, then Rolls feel they would be well placed to a launch order via the British flag carrier. Certainly, the UK Government has made it clear to BA over the years that new airliner financing is greatly simplified if British-made engines are used.

To compete with higher gross weight growth versions of the 747-400 and the new Airbus and Boeing twinjets, RR are also developing the RB211-700 which will generate between 65,000lb and 68,000lb of thrust and meet head-on the developed versions of existing GE and Pratt & Whitney engines.

Off-Course a Alert System Developed for Airliners:

Japan Air Lines will be the first airline to install a new off- course warning system in a 747. It has been developed by Delco Ltd. , of the United States in cooperation with Boeing at JAL’s request and will be installed in a JAL 747 aircraft due for delivery in in August. The nest new system alerts the cockpit crew If the aircraft strays more than a given distance off course. It is linked to the performance management system (PMS) of the aircraft, which is fundamentally a system calculating the altitude and speed of the aircraft to maintain optimum fuel efficiency and is concerned with vers the aircraft. cal position of the course deviation alert system has been developed as an as an extra capability for the PMS system and works horizontally. Navigation In 747 aircraft is by the inertial navigation system (INS) which is linked to the autopilot, fies the aircraft on a fixed course. If a pilot disengages the INS to fly around turbulence and then fails to INS re-engage the INS side winds may send the aircraft off course.

With the alert sys system, the fight crew will be warmed if the aircraft goes off course more than a given distance. JAL will set a tolerance distance of 15 nautical miles (27km). The device will be fitted to all 56 JAL 747’s in service and it will be standard in all newly ordered JAL aircraft.

 Qalink-a New Force in Simulation Technology:

Qantas, Singer Link and Computer Sciences of Australia have joined forces to provide equipment, training and support for flight simulation in the South West Pacific.

Qalink, the name of the new business venture, is already seeking commercial and military contracts worth about $A100 million. The venture will broaden Australia’s technological capabilities and benefit the economy through increased involvement in the Australian industry. Qalink will draw on the specific expertise and experience of three companies.

Singer Link (more properly the Link Flight Simulation Division of the Singer Company) is the world’s oldest and biggest simulator manufacturer. It designs, makes and supports simulators not only for training military and commercial pilots, but also for crews of oil tankers, operators of nuclear power stations and astronauts for all the US space programmes. Singer Link has supplied is of the 20 flight simulators now in Australia.

Computer Sciences of Australia (CSA) is an Australian-owned company specialising in computer software engineering and support. It has worked on a number of high-technology defence projects covering avionics, navigation, sensor and weapon systems and including simulation of a RAN destroyer bridge and train-fighter pilots. Qantas, meanwhile, has been operating flight simulators for more than 30 years. The ing equipment for F-18 1 the airline has six simulators to train crews for Boe- ing 747 and 767 aircraft and supports a RAAF Boeing 707 simulator installed in the Flight Centre at the Qantas Jet Base in General Manager Operations of Qantas, Captain Alan Terrell, said: “Initially we will be seeking contracts with the Australian Department of Defence in support of its simulation requirements. We also will be looking closely at commercial requirements, not only in Australia but elsewhere in the Pacific Basin. ”

McDonnell Douglas Still Pursuing European Connections:

McDonnell Douglas is still actively pursuing a long-term linkage with the European aerospace manufacturing community particularly Airbus.

Though it is now apparent that neither MDC with their hot-selling MD-11 nor Airbus with the A340 will get together for a mutual partnership on these programmes, it is mooted that an MD-11 follow-won, the MD-12, may emerge as a joint US/Airbus programme around the mid nineties.

The MD-12 would be based on the MD-11 trijet and would be powered by the latest Pratt & Whitney, General Electric and Rolls Royce high bypass turbofans producing up to 70,000 thrust. The MD-12 would be designed in both medium and long-range versions and would be optimised as a direct competitor to the so far unchallenged Boeing 747. Design of the MD-12 would entail a considerable fuselage stretch, a new wing and widespread use of lightweight materials through all levels of the basic structure.

Higher Thrust CFM56-3 Engine Receives Airworthiness Certia. Cate:

The CFM56-3C engine, which will power the new Boeing 737-400, has received joint US and French airworthiness certification, a major step toward entry of the engine into service in October 1988.

Engines for the 737-400 flight test aircraft are scheduled for delivery in October 1987, with aircraft flight testing scheduled to start in March 1988. Aircraft certification is scheduled for September 1988.

The CFM56-3C, rated at 23,500lbs thrust, is the latest version of the CFM56-3 engine, which is currently powering more than 200 Boeing 737-300s in airline service. The earlier versions of the CFM56-3 are rated at 20,000 to 22,000lbs thrust. CFM56 engines are produced by CFM International, a joint company of General Electric, USA, and SNECMA of Fr ance.

Aviation Law Association Meeting:

This year’s annual meeting of the Aviation Law Association will be held at Jupiter’s on the Gold Coast on the 22nd and 23rd October. As usual, a wide range of aviation law and insurance papers will be tabled while the venue alone is enough reason to want to sample the northern spring. Those interested may contact Mrt Ir Michael Kenny on (07) 221 4250 for further details

MD-80 PROPFAN TEST BED FLIES:

A modified McDonnell Douglas MD-80 equipped with an advanced GE Unducted Fan (UDF) engine made its first flight on May 19.

The fight was the first test of a UDF engine mounted on an aircraft that can use this type of engine in commercial operation. The fight also represents a major step in a McDonnell Douglas programme aimed at bringing the new technology into service by the early 1990’s.

The special engine features two large fans that rotate in opposite directions to propel the aircraft at regular jetliner speeds while using about half the fuel required by today’s transports. The advanced fan systems move up to 60 times more air than passes through the jet engine that drives them. The air literally bypasses the jet core as the Ultra-High Bypass (UHB) system does more work with less fuel.

UHB engines offer a potential reduction in fuel consumption of 25% from that predicted for the most advanced turbofan engines now in development and 40% to 50% below aircraft currently flying.