Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

The other winner in the power battle was, of course, Rolls Royce who have been selected to power the 4 747-400s that Qantas has on firm order. This will mark another sales victory for the RB211-525D4D as British Airways and Cathay Pacific have also ordered this engine for their own -400s. Qantas have made it clear though that the engine war is far from over as Rolls Royce will be certificated on the 767 by the time QF begins to exercise its options on the -300 version of that aircraft. Additionally, GE are still in the ball game to supply engines on the 15 optioned 747-400s. It is considered most likely though that Qantas will continue to purchase both engine types in the longer term as it gives the airline additional in-house engineering capability as per its ability to now bid for overseas engine maintenance work on all three high bypass engines instead of just one. Another point worth noting is that as Qantas are now in the GE camp they may in the longer term be more attuned to opting for the MDC MD-11 rather than the Airbus A340 with its CFM56 engines as the MD-11 is primarily a CF6 powered aircraft. It will all certainly be worth watching.

Life-Saving Aviation Device to Be Developed in SA:

An aviation collision avoidance system with the potential to save many lives and earn billions of dollars will be developed in South Australia in a joint venture by Duntech International and the University of Adelaide. It will prevent mid-air collisions by allowing aircraft to detect each other, identify each other’s courses and speeds and establish the likelihood of collision.

Mr John Dunlavy, Managing Director of Suntech International and the inventor of the system, said it was anticipated that the air to air collision avoidance system would be flight tested within two years. The South Australian system is expected to cost between $5,000 and $10,000 compared to an expected $80,000 for a system being proposed by the US Federal Aviation Agency. The development of the system by Duntech International and the University of Adelaide’s Electrical and The Electronic Engineering Department will take place under the National Teaching Company Scheme sponsored by the Department of Industry. Technology and Commerce.

The joint project will allow a suitably qualified researcher to work on the development of the air to air collision avoidance system in collaboration with other experienced researchers from the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department of the University and Duntech International.

Saab Offer Upgrades for SF340:

Saab, on the eve of delivering their 100th SF340, have announced a number of upgrades that have positive implications for local operations of this aircraft.

A more powerful version of the GE CT7, the CT7-9 will offer 1870shp reflecting a 7% increase in thrust as against the standard engine. Saab has also been able to increase max takeoff weight from 27,275lbs to 28,000lb through the use of modified landing gear and brakes while a modification to the flap and stabilizer leading edge will allow the SF340 to operate out of 3,500ft strips. Saab have also introduced improved cabin soundproofing and a new environmental control unit.

In its three years of operation the type has accumulated over 310,000 flight hours with a daily average utilisation of 9 hours. Dispatch reliability is an excellent 99% and to date more than 25 million passengers have flown in the type.

Hawker Pacific Negotiate Sales Agreement With Orenda:

Hawker Pacific has signed a general sales agreement with Orenda, a division of Toronto-based Hawker Siddeley Canada Inc.

In addition to manufacturing its own Orenda turbine engine, the company is a Canadian Government designated manufacturer, repair, overhaul and technical support organisation for GE J79, J85 and F404 engines. It is also a licensed manufacturer and supplier of engine parts to a number of countries.

Under the agreement, Hawker Pacific will be involved in marketing qualified parts kits for GE engines in the South East Asia region and is discussing opportunities for servicing Orenda-manufactured engines in China and Indonesia.

Dornier to Launch New 30 Seat Airliner:

Dornier have released details of their latest aircraft programme. Designated Do. 328, the design will be a pressurised 30 passenger regional airliner that will feature high cruise speeds, low operating costs and near STOL-like field performance.

Initial planning for the 328 dates back to 1983 while Domier has been working on preliminary design aspects of the new aircraft since 1985. Some sixty regional airlines were consulted as to their projected needs in the next decade and Dornier have consequently focused their attention on a 30 seat aircraft with low operating expenses. The 328 will utilise the basic wing design of the current 228 series combined with a three abreast pressurised fuselage with a T-tail.

The 328 will be optimised for an economical cruise speed of 310kts at 25,000ft with a max payload range with reserves of 700nm Most vital to their overall market planning is a takeoff performance of only 3,100ft with full passenger load. Powerplant choice has yet to be made but will be either the GE CT7-9, Garrett TPE331- 14/15 or various marks of the PW100 senes.

First flight is expected in late 1990 for an entry to service by 1993. Price is targeted at US$5m in 1987 dollars and Dornier foresaw a market for 400 such aircraft through till 2005.

Ge Modify the Propfan Engine to Reduce Noise:

General Electric have successfully test flown their ‘Mk2’ version of the UHB propfan development engine aboard an MD-80 testbed.

The new variant features a different blade arrangement which will allow engineers to attain full ICAO Stage III noise compliance. The Primary difference between this second engine and the first is in the number of fan blades. The new demonstrator engine has 10 blades in the front row and 8 in the back row whereas the original demonstrator had 8 blades on each row. Flight testing will continue till November.

JT8 Sets New Record:

For the first time in history a family of jet engines has flown more than 300 million hours. Pratt & Whitney’s JTBD turbofan engine set this historic mark during July when it flew for the equivalent of 34,225 years of jet travel. Just for the record, a JTB-powered aircraft takes off around the world every 5 seconds. The engine now powers some 4. 400 jetliners and is the primary power-plant aboard the Boeing 727 and 737 in addition to the Douglas DC-9 and MD-80 series. Over 350 operators worldwide record some 17. 000 departures each day uplifting a million passengers a day. The JTB was the primary domestic powerplant in Australia up till recent times and ironically will probably not even be represented locally following the sale of the last DC-9s and 727s over the next few years.

Sydney Airships Draw Resident Flak:

The Sydney-based Airships Pacific Skyships have been drawing flak from Sydney residents who have been complaining of the Airships relatively high, and prolonged, noise footprint.

To overcome this the Skyships have been fitted with a revolutionary new Australian-developed muffler system which operates on the principle of matching two identical sound waves to cancel themselves out. At time of going to press initial trials were progressing satisfactorily. The Skyships have also been active over Brisbane and the Gold Coast through late winter and their acceptance as sightseeing craft above Sydney has been proven viable with all flights sold out to date.

 Australia’s Tnt Transport Group to Buy 72 British Aerospace Jet Freight Aircraft:

The Australian-based TNT Transport Group is to buy up to 72 four-engined jet freight aircraft from British Aerospace, in a deal worth $US1. 5 billion. Under the agreement, TNT will take delivery of every BAe146QT ‘Quiet Trader’ aircraft planned for production in Britain over the next five years.

TNT anticipates that a substantial number of the 72 aircraft will be used to cover the planned expansion of its worldwide overnight freighter network. The balance of the 146QTs will be available for onward sale or lease through Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) under a joint agreement with British Aerospace. First deliveries to onward customers can be made in 1988.

TNT is the world’s largest diversified transportation group and currently operates in 80 countries. In addition, TNT, along with News International Corporation, jointly owns Ansett Transport Industries Limited, which operates airlines in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Hong Kong.

Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) is a subsidiary of the Ansett Transport Industries Group specialising in the leasing sale and purchase of aircraft and related equipment. With the resources of Ansett Airlines, it is able to offer operations and engineering support, technical training and assistance in systems and service development.

Through its close links with Ansett, TNT will be able to offer considerable expertise in further developing the 146 to embrace other cargo and convertible’ passenger/cargo versions of the aircraft. The agreement with TNT includes both the BAe 1460T and the larger 146-300-QT which becomes available in 1989.

This RB211 Is Grounded!

Australians are no doubt used to seeing the Rolls Royce RB211 powering the bulk of Qantas’ fleet of 747 jets.

Australia can now also lay claim to the largest ground based turbofan in the region. Situated on the North Rankin A offshore platform, the RB211 is being used in a process which strips the condensate out of the gas before it is piped ashore through an underwater pipeline some 134km long. North Rankin stands in 125m of water some 1500km north of Perth and is one of the largest offshore platforms on the North West Shelf.

McDonnell Douglas Defines Its Propfan Programme:

McDonnell Douglas further clarified its propfan development programme at the recent Paris Air Show.

Essentially the manufacturer will launch into the new propulsion technology using variants of its existing MD-80 series airframe before developing an all new aircraft later in the next decade.

First of the new aircraft would be the MD-91X, this aircraft would use a basic MD-80 fuselage shortened even less than the existing turbofan MD-87. The MD-91X would have 97 seats in a typical mixed class arrangement and up to 110 seats in an all-economy configuration. It would compete head on with the Fokker 100, the BAe 146-200 and -300 and the recently launched Boeing 737-500. The 91X would be ready for airline service by 1991.

The second aircraft would be the MD-82X which would be essentially the current MD-80 with its 150 seats stretched slightly to allow accommodation of the two aft pushers. This aircraft would enter service in 1992. Essentially this would be what Delta refers to as the MD-88. The MD-88 is a standard MD-80 series with upgraded avionics and the capability to be retrofitted with UHB propfan-type engines at a later date. Delta when ordering the 88 stated that its aircraft would most certainly be converted as soon as the technology was available to do so.

The third aircraft is the MD-94X. This will be an all-new UHB model seating between 160 and 180 passengers, will feature state-of-the-art avionics and will be operational by 1994. In practical terms it will be MDC’s challenge to the Boeing 7J7 (Updated elsewhere in this issue) which is due to enter service during 1992.

McDonnell Douglas’ plan revolves around offering cost effective derivatives utilising the most practical aspects of the new UHB techno- logy (ie; low fuel burn) without a necessarily high price tag. They have successfully done this with the MD-80 series and could well enter the 1990s airliner market with the most fuel efficient and least expensive to acquire aircraft in their respective classes as a result of this strategy.