Paris Air Show Report

Launched the week prior to Paris, the new Airbus Industrie A330 and A340 became of little news value as the identity of the purchasers of the reported 130 aircraft already signed for could not be identified other than the previously named launch customers – Lufthansa, Air France and Northwest. Identified since the show have been ILFC and UTA though it is still clearly early days for the A330/340.

Airbus on the other hand were able to display some hard metal in their A320 which put on a daily flying display that had every heavy jet captain nodding in amazement at what can be done with Fly By Wire technology.

Across the chalet line lies Boeing. The Seattle company did not bring any hardware to the show, not because it did not want to but basically because it is too busy churning out airframes to have enough to spare for an air show. As one philosophical Boeing sales person stated, “If you want to see Boeings, go to the nearest airport!” You can’t argue with that. Boeing did bring their impressive 7J7 cabin mockup which was configured in ǎ first/business/standard economy and charter arrangement. The 7J7 (fully detailed elsewhere in this issue) has certainly grown from being a mere 727 replacement. It is now nearly as wide as the 767, in anyone’s language it is a full twin aisle cabin with a very comfortable six abreast business and a viable seven abreast economy class. From a technical viewpoint the aircraft breaks much new ground while its GE36 UHB engines appear to be settling down to their long test programme better than anyone ever expected when the UDF concept was launched two Farnborough’s ago.

In the meantime though, Boeing continue to sell planes in avalanche proportions. The 737 broke through the long held 727 sales record of 1,831 with the pre-show launch of the 737-500. The new -500 is essentially a -200 airframe, though slightly longer, with derated CFM56 turbofans and the revised avionics, interior and systems of the newer -300 and -400 aircraft. Boeing expect to sell their 2,000th 737 before year’s end and for this aircraft to eventually sell over 3,000 units before it is finally withdrawn from the market.

McDonnell Douglas meanwhile went firm on their MD-91 and MD-92 propfans. Both types will be the first to enter the market with MDC hoping to beat Boeing onto the airways by at least one year. Both aircraft will basically be UHB-powered versions of updated MD-80 airframes. On the surface this may well sound uninspiring to the airline community but the long-term logic is that the MDC propfans will be vastly cheaper to acquire than the all new aircraft such as the 7J7 while additionally retaining a significant degree of commonality to the vast number of MD-80 series aircraft presently in service throughout the world. Ask any DC-9 pilot what he thinks of his aircraft, you will almost always get a very positive, indeed enthusiastic response, MDC wisely don’t wish to rush into abandoning this fine design for meré cosmetics and a higher price tag.

Two other ‘new aircraft’ on an old theme were the Fokker 50 and 100. The 50 first debuted at Farnborough last year and is entering service with Ansett as this issue goes to press. The Fokker 100 twinjet demonstrated its low noise signature and nimble handling in the circuit and is due to enter service locally with East-West next February.

The Soviets brought with them a considerable display of hardware ranging from a new small piston-engined helicopter to examples of their latest space endeavours. A range of models illustrated that they have successfully cloned the Boeing 757 (itself beginning to accelerate in popularity) to produce the Tupolev Tu-204, the BAe ATP to make the Ilyushin Il-114 and another unnumbered Ilyushin propfan that is a dead ringer for the early models of the 7J7! The big four engined II-86 has also at last been given modern high bypass turbofans to become the II-96-300 complete with vastly improved payload/range equations and no doubt quieter airport manners. Most im- pressive though was the spirited flying display put on by the STOL An-74 and the immense An-124 Ruslan, essentially the largest aircraft in the World. Both types were thrown about the sky in a manner more befitting a light sports aircraft and had the entire show attendance on their toes whenever they performed. If there was a vibrant market within this year’s Paris Salon, it was in the rapid-fire world of the regional airliner. Since the emergence of US deregulation, liberalisation in other countries and a new breed of small pressurised airliners, the third level commuter scene has mushroomed. Nowadays the regionals are fully affiliated with major carriers as dual designators with the regional effectively becoming a pseudo arm of the larger carrier.

The big commuter sale of Paris was the order of 16 (+15 optioned) Saab SF340s for US Metro Airlines while additional orders were also logged by Crossair, Netherlines, Air Midwest and TAN of Argentina. Saab are still considering a stretched 44/ 50 seat version of the SF340 but are presently reluctant to proceed ahead with this project as this end of the market is considered to be fairly dead. SF340 production is currently set at 3 per month and this is planned to move to four a month before the end of this year in order to meet demand.

Another third-level manufacturer that has met with boom times, following its acquisition by Boeing, is De Havilland Canada. DHC have written almost 200 orders and options against the Dash 8 and indeed the new Dash 8-300 50 seater looks set to become Boeing’s first project! DHC were talking with enthusiasm about a stretched -400 version of the Dash 8 and although sales in this sector of the market have been fairly slow DHC/Boeing feel that there is sufficient airline interest in the aircraft to warrant the venture.

Big news at last year’s Farnborough was the teaming of Short Brothers and DHC in the future design of a new regional airliner. The fruits of their endeavours were shown to the world at Paris in the form of two new aircraft. Designated NRA-90-A and NRA-90- B, the two are as different as chalk and cheese and are currently being promoted to the marketplace in an attempt to discern which is the most viable. Only then will full development commence on the winning contender. The more familiar aircraft is the NRA-90- A, displaying a standard design of high wing, two tractor turboprops and a T-tail. Indeed it is very reminiscent of a smaller version of the Dash 8-100. On the other hand, NRA-90-B is of revolutionary design, its twin pusher engines drive through two separate gearboxes and are housed inside the empennage to provide power for two contra-rotating propellers mounted in the tail of the aircraft. The high aspect ratio wing is aft-mounted and the design is of a low drag design reminiscent to some extent of the Argentinean/Brazilian CBA-123 development of the Brasilia. Cruise speed of the A is 315kts while the B boasts some 340kts. Both aircraft are configured for 25 seats, are pressurised, have full stand up headroom, a full galley and toilet and would be able to be operated at Direct Operating Costs (DOCs) around 25% less than today’s 19/30 seat pressurised commuters. A firm decision on which design option to pursue is hoped for by year end. Yet another new design in this class came from Dornier. The West German commuter specialist has launched its own 30 seater, designated Dornier 328 (refer Newsdesk). This pressurised airliner features a similar wing to that of the 228 with a new, very slippery, fuselage and a T-tail. The 328 can also operate out of unprepared strips of less than 1000m while still attaining a cruise speed of some 310kts for a range of 700nm with reserves. As always, Dornier have spent a lot of time perfecting the 328 design and are confident that it will be able to offer lower DOCs, higher block speeds, better fuel economy and overall a more flexible airfield performance than the present generation of commuters. Design refinements will continue through 1987 with entry to service slated for 1992.

Meanwhile British Aerospace had reason to smile with an announced order for 5 of the very slow selling, though potentially viable, ATP to Canadian leasing company. Alvine. This end of the market is really dead with very few sales for the Fokker 50, ATR72 or ATP logged in the past year, it appears all the action is in the 19/42 seat region though this is expected to change a little as European deregulation is perceived to have a bigger requirement for the larger aircraft over the long term. The problem here is that in the USA most majors don’t want their regionals flying aircraft larger than, say, 50 seaters as they quite rightly feel that the smaller regional will then begin to actually challenge the major on some of their secondary routes.

While the ATP is still somewhat restrained in terms of its sales book, the little Jetstream goes from strength to strength. Announ- ced at the show was an impressive 10 aircraft order from new Continental dual designator, Presidential. What is really impressive about this order though is that the Frank Lorenzo/Texas Air empire (the free world’s biggest airline – larger than Qantas, BA, Lufthansa and Air France combined!) is about to decide on a common 19 seat feederliner. While the Beech 1900 looks good due to its US origins, the fact that already Presidential have selected the J31 won’t be lost on the boys from Texas Air. J31 annual production is now 60 aircraft and BAe are still talking of a stretch to 27 seats, something that would cost little to achieve and ward off much of the envisaged future competition expected from Embraer, DHC/Shorts and Dornier in the years to come.

Of special interest to Australia was a more powerful version of the J31, designated Super 31 and featuring uprated Garretts of 1020shp that provide up to an 18% power increase in hot and high conditions. Some 400kg of useful payload are added to the maximum takeoff weight while climb to FL25 is reduced by some 6 minutes, again reflecting a decrease in fuel consumption as the aircraft reaches its cruise height sooner. Cruise speed has also been raised by 10kts to 232kts CAS. The Super 31 can carry 19 passengers and their baggage some 700nm with reserves or if preferred operate three consecutive 170nm sectors without refuelling. This version is being considered for purchase by Skywest.

A future competitor to the Jetstream is the Argentinean/ Brazilian CBA-123. This aircraft was launched last year by Embraer as the EMB-123 and is a 19 seater using the basic, though shortened, pressurised Brasilia fuselage, a new tail and rear mounted pushers along with a new wing. The aircraft is being designed for a max cruise of 350kts with a max payload range out to at least 700nm. The team currently quote some four letters of intent on 26 aircraft and are confident that the new aircraft will become as successful as the Bandeirante (nearly 500 orders) and the Brasilia (just over 200 orders and options to date). First flight is planned to coincide with Embraer’s 20th anniversary, August 19, 1989, and certification is planned for 1991 with deliveries thereafter. The Brazilian government is underwriting the programme with some $A150m in development funds as is Argentina- what a tragedy Australia can’t think in this far-sighted manner! On the military front things were much as they were at Farn- borough. Both Rafale and the BAe EAP were put through their paces and their developed flight envelopes showed them to be very agile fighters indeed. Almost as agile as the stunning performance put on each day by the GD F-16C with its very powerful GE F110 turbofan. Many within the US military establishment wonder aloud why the Europeans are going to so much effort (argument) and money to simply reinvent the wheel, claiming with some justification that the developed versions of the F-16 and F-18 can perform the projected EFA role at a far lower cost. The reasons for EFA (European Fighter Aircraft) and Rafale of course transcend logic and are entangled in that very important and super heated area called national identity and capability. It is certainly right for Europe to develop its own high tech fighters, only they must really get truly united and have something that is honestly better than that which already freely exists in the Western inventory.

While the daily F-16C performance gave many cause to think, the occasional performance by a lone RCAF F-18A also proved that the Hornet is no slouch though I must say that the flight routine did not appear to match the aggressiveness of some RAAF demonstrations that this writer has witnessed. With all the US military hardware in Europe it is a tragedy that such types as the F-15C, C-5B, EF-111, F-14 and E-2C are not even on static display as a US flag waving exercise.

Also present were two old foes, albeit under different colours. China brought their Mig-21 clone, the two seat combat proficiency trainer designated as the FT-7 and their MiG-19 develop- ment, the Nanchang A-5. From the other comer came Israel Aircraft Industries’ very potent Super Phantom. This is the first of the reworked F-4s and is certainly a portent of the future. The IAI Super Phantom exchanges its old-generation GE J79 turbojets, complete with exorbitant fuel consumption and the world’s most visible smoke trails for two advanced Pratt & Whitney PW1120 turbojets. The PW1120 is essentially an improved version of the F100 and at around 20,000lb thrust gives the Super Phantom a significant performance boost. Additional work revolves around new avionics, fire control system, radar and some general systems reworking for enhanced reliability. The aircraft’s handling display was more than impressive and certainly serves to take this beautiful warhorse well into the 21st century.

The engine war seemed turned down a few notches also. International Aero Engines were busy reassuring everybody that there was life after Superfan. That embarrassment aside, the IAE members regrouped and announced that Pratt & Whitney would take over group leadership from Rolls Royce. The IAE V2500, slated for the A320, is proceeding to plan and IAE were quick to issue a barrow load of press releases supporting the concept that the high pressure compressor problems had indeed been finally cured. It is felt though that the V2500 won’t be able to generate sufficient thrust to power the A340 and in this situation, it would appear that most new A320 buyers will opt for the CFM56 which obviously has a better long-term future as essentially the V2500 now has no follow-on airframe after the A320.

On the propfan side, General Electric are noticeably pleased with the ground and in-flight testing of their GE36 Unducted Fan engine, more commonly referred to as an Ultra High Bypass engine. UHB testing took place through 86/87 on a 727-100 test bed on behalf of Boeing for their 7J7 project and met or exceeded all targeted parameters. Principally, vibration was lower than expected while noise was also well within ICAO Stage 3 levels. Indeed, the propfan sounds very much like a P-51 Mustang. something that is certainly worth hearing! Flight testing continues through this year aboard an MDC MD-80 of a more refined version of the GE36 with further performance improvements expected as the programme advances. As an example of what the future holds, the early version UHB aboard the 727-100 test bed burnt 49% less fuel at cruise than the JT8s fitted to that aircraft as standard. MDC will also be flight testing the Pratt & Whitney/ Allison 578-DX UHB engine later this year. This engine is actually a geared propfan employing counter rotating blades, test of this engine will continue through 1988 as unlike Boeing, MDC have yet to decide on an engine choice for their own propfan MD-80 variants.

Australia was represented with our own combined stand and chalet. Principal exhibitors were obviously Hawker de Havilland, British Aerospace Australia and Qantas while Thruster were the only company to actually bring an aircraft. This in itself says a lot about the present Australian aircraft manufacturing situation as the diminutive Thruster (apart from the Transavia Skyfarmer, the world’s most under-marketed aircraft!) is about the only indigenous locally designed and built aircraft we have.

And so another Paris ended, not with a bang but more a collective sigh. It was ironic that the major launches of the year, the A330/340 and the Baby Boeing came prior to the Salon while one of the larger orders of the year, TNT’s impressive buy of 72 146 freighters, came a week after the show gates had finally closed. Oh well, onto Singapore and Asian Aerospace and some warm January sunshine. See you there.

The 21st Century Comes to Seat Back Video!

From an airline point of view probably one of the biggest highlights of this year’s Paris Air Show was ironically also one of its smallest. Seat back video is coming to commercial aviation and not before long either.

Any reader who has experienced the mind-numbing 24 to 36 hour haul from Australia to Europe or to an east coast North American port will testify willingly that even the slightest traveller’s aid will be appreciated by all who regularly travel these air routes. Watching a movie is a very convenient way of wiling away a few hours and shortening an otherwise long sector. At other times the movie, which you may have truly wanted to watch, will be shown at a time when your body clock is working overtime at getting you to cloud nine. And experience tells you that it is smarter to slumber than sit through the movie bleary-eyed. What then usually happens though is that you awake, eyes blazing and mind racing, about an hour after the movie has finished, in a totally darkened cabin and with another three hours left of flight time till the next stop.

The other scenario is where there are four or five movies listed, three of which you most definitely don’t want to watch or have seen before (usually on the previous flight!). What happens? You guessed it, the movie you definitely don’t want to watch is the one designated for your zone and as the plane is full (aren’t they always?) you have to either endure it or read or go to sleep. If you are seated next to a Morgan Fairchild clone then this may be a godsend but in the real world fate usually takes a more sadistic path.

So what about the back video?

We can principally thank the folks at Seattle for pioneering this latest passenger benefit. Boeing, in defining the very advanced design concepts of the 7J7 (Updated elsewhere in this edition) focused on every aspect of airline and passenger preference. With this philosophy in mind, Boeing held discussions during 1986 with a number of specialist Japanese electronics firms aimed at developing an economical television entertainment unit that could be mounted on the seat back. This would eliminate the requirement for a large pull down screen and overhead projector and would consequently allow passengers the option of watching the programme of their choice at the time they wished.

To further enhance this concept both Sony and the Boeing Electronic Company went about designing a seat/floor interface that did away with the previous need for connectors and wires to link the armrest audio/video unit to the aircraft’s power supply. In this way seats aboard the 7J7 (and no doubt competing aircraft of the era) will be able to be moved at will without the need to re-establish audio and power needs. The lightweight transmission lines run beneath the carpet and interface with each seat via the standard design metal seat track unit. This then allows fitment of a colour LCD television screen at the top of the seat back. Additionally, this panel is able to make allowances for viewer height and whether the seat in front of you is reclined or upright. The test versions in the 7J7 mockup at Paris were of 3″ in diameter and though this does not sound much it was totally acceptable while production units will be one inch wider. Sony displayed a slightly larger model (see pictures) which also accommodated a number of gimmicky video games though the larger screen was less clear and seemed to offer no great advantage over the smaller unit. Both models will be available for service within a year and the good news is that they are also retrofittable to most existing long haul seats.

The great advantages of this system are obvious. As outlined above, not everything on a 24 hour flight happens when you particularly want 11 to. As the new units can carry up to 1 o video and 12 audio channels you may have a situation where you can watch the movie of your choice from a selection of up to half a dozen, at a time when it is convenient to you. Additionally, some of the present audio channels can be backed with video. Music lends itself perfectly to video so rather than just listening to Whitney Houston you can actually her live. Another benefit would be the running of ten or fifteen minute travelogues on ports in the airline’s network, or for that matter your next port of call, including a quick visual rundown on how to escape the theconfusion of the airport, get a cab or coach and survive to the city centre, wallet intact. Special children’s shows are just another possibility while if a carrier is going to be carrying a large special interest group then a quick check of the video library might get some extra tapes loaded that will have special appeal to that group. What a simple way to get your passengers to realise that you try harder than your competition! The possibilities are endless and all of them are far better than that which is enjoyed now via the screen at the front of your cabin, which I might say is usually partially blocked by the large head immediately in front of you!

Boeing representatives hope that the system will become operational during 1988 and mentioned that Northwest may be the first to use them aboard their domestic US 757 services. Qantas is also actively evaluating the systems and no doubt will usher them aboard their new 747-400s which begin to enter service around April of 1989. It is anticipated !hat initially only first and business class would get the units though inevitably it is felt, that just like better quality headsets, they will eventually filter down into economy.

From a consumer’s point of view we can only suggest that the airlines operating on the long haul Australian routes need to evaluate this new technology carefully for the carrier with it first will certainly have an edge over their competitors in the high yield full fare sector.