Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

Consequently the Dutch Government moved to provide a cash injection of 212m guilders ($A160m) in addition to agreeing to convert some 433m guilders ($A333m) from previous credits to stock and subordinated convertible debt. The move brings Fokker back into the black at a time when both their new aircraft are entering airline service. It is expected that by 1990 Fokker will be fully stabilised due to the large order book accumulated for the Fokker 100 twinjet and a reasonable long-term sales projection against the smaller F50 propjet.

 Iae V2500 Suffers Another Blade Failure:

The International Aero Engines V2500 turbofan which was to power Australian Airline’s ‘deferred’ A320s has run into more development problems.

Continuing compressor problems have been highlighted in recent months with two recent blade failures in the high pressure compressor. Both Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce are working to redesign much of the compressor in an attempt to gain certification for the V2500 to enter airline service aboard the A320 by April of 1989.

There have been no new orders for the eng- ine for nearly a year in light of ongoing development problems that have sapped buyer confidence.

The demise of the IAE Superfan for the A340 and the inability of the V2500 to meet the needs of this long-range airliner have also slowed air-line interest in the new engine. Of greater impact though is the admission that the fuel consumption gap between the V2500 and the competing CFM56-5A1 has slipped from around 14% to only 4%. Speculation continues as to whether or not the consortium of RR, Pratts, Japanese Aero Engines, Aviazione and MTU will abandon the programme as no specific follow-on requirement for the engine exists other than for the A320, the majority of which will be powered by the CFM56.

Additionally, many airlines which have specified the V2500 for their A320s are reported to be re-evaluating their decision. One such carrier is Lufthansa which is to make a firm decision as to whether or not it stays with IAE for its A320s or chooses CFM instead. Lufthansa, like many carriers, already operates CFM56 powered 737s (plus German Cargo DC-8-738) and will also use a variant of this engine on their A340s.

Meanwhile CFM is gearing up for additional CFM56 production. The GE/Snecma partner- ship delivered 550 engines in 1987, is planning on producing 650 this year and some 700 in 1989. Further development work on the CFM56-5A1 for the A320 is also planned to further reduce fuel consumption by another 2. 5%.

GPA Join With Atr in Big Aircraft Purchase:

Guinness Peat Aviation and ATR have signed an agreement to acquire and lease 25 ATR commuter liners.

The $A400m plus deal will see initial aircraft being made available by late 1988 though at this stage it is still uncertain as to the mix of ATR42 and 72 aircraft that are being acquired. GPA Jetprop, the specialist turboprop leasing division of GPA Leasing, also has contracts with Shorts, BAe and Fairchild.

 Rolls-Royce and Allison Sign Memorandum of Understanding:

Rolls-Royce and the Allison Gas Turbine Division of General Motors have signed a memorandum of understanding covering the use of the Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 engine in US military aircraft.

This memorandum of understanding envisages a marketing, development and manufacturing programme shared between Rolls-Royce and Allison. This will expand more than 20 years of successful association on various programmes such as the TF41 and various lift engines. More than 1400 TF41 engines were co-developed and produced by Allison and Rolls-Royce for the A-7 and the engine is still in service with the US military and Hellenic Air Force.

The 535E4 entered service in the Boeing 757 airliner in October, 1984. Fifteen of the twenty Boeing 757 customers to date have specified Rolls-Royce 535 series engines.

 CFM PRODUCE 2000th ENGINE:

CFM International have produced their 2000th CFM56 engine.

The high bypass CFM56 (dubbed the JTB of the eighties!) is standard fit aboard the -300, -400 and -500 marks of Boeing’s hot selling 737 twinjet in addition to the KC-135R, C-135FR, KE-3 tankers. E-3 AWACS and E-6 communications aircraft. Additionally, over 100 McDonnell Douglas DC-8-60 series airliners have been converted to Series 70 specs with the CFM56. The Airbus A320 twinjet and long range A340 will also primarily use developed versions of the CFM56 powerplant.

Current deliveries top 1800 and it is envisaged that by mid 1989, the CFM combine will be producing upwards of 60 engines a month to accommodate anticipated demand.

Dash 7 Production to Be Terminated:

De Havilland Canada have decided to terminate production of their four engined Dash 7 STOL transport during 1988.

DHC are presently completing a final batch of six aircraft which will take total Dash 7 production to 114 units. The type, originally conceived as a very quiet STOL capable competitor for the Fokker F27 and BAe 748, first entered commercial service in 1977 and has largely been noteworthy as a niche aircraft successfully operating in areas where runway. Glideslope or stringent noise requirements demand above average performance.

 A330/340 Commence New Series of Wind Tunnel Tests:

British Aerospace, Aerospatiale and MBB have commenced a new series of wind tunnel tests to further refine the A330/340 definitive wing design.

An equivalent of 3000hrs or over eight years of wind tunnel testing will ultimately lead Airbus to what they consider is the most efficient wing planform possible using current technology and materials. Aspect ratio, or slenderness, is the key to a high lift to drag ratio and in this regard, the new wing excels.

As an example of how much airliner wing design has changed since the sixties, it is worth noting that the A330/340 very high aspect ratio low drag wing will be only two metres shorter than the Boeing 747-200 yet will support an aircraft of less than half the 747s weight with less than half the equivalent wing area. The A330/ 340 aspect ratio is presently 9. 3:1 as against a draggy 6. 9 for the 747 and even 7. 3 for the new MD-11 target. Final evolution of the A330/340 design will unfold over the coming eighteen months with the A340 long-range four-engined airliner due to enter commercial service in 1992 with the A330 twinjet a year later.

 Boeing 727 Rebirth Begins:

With over 1200 727-200 trijets still in worldwide commercial service, half of which are considered relatively young, and still no clear cut 150- seat replacement on offer, it is inevitable that a move to extend the type’s economic life should begin to emerge.

Primary mod available on the 727 is the Valsan re-engining programme which sees the two externally mounted JT8-17s replaced by more powerful and quieter JT8-217 variants from the MD-80 series. For reasons of cost efficiency, and so as to alter the original airframe as little as possible, the centreline engine remains as standard with reduced thrust settings being used on takeoff to reduce noise. This brings the aircraft back to a ICAO Stage 3 noise capability in addition to extending range by around 200nm and reducing overall per sector fuel bum by more than 10%. Sterling Airlines of Denmark have already joined with Valsan to test fly this conversion, while Continental airlines has signed for 30 kits to begin re-equipping its vast 727 fleet so as to extend their useful life.

The second major mod, and one that will no doubt be often undertaken in harmony with the Valsan re-engining programme, is the elimination of the flight engineer’s station and an upgrade of the flight deck to full MD-80-like two-crew standards. Marketed in the US by Page Avjet and Kollsman Avionics, the mod is said to be able to recover the US$2. 3m cost in three to four years through the non use of an FE (with atypical 727 requiring five to seven crews depending upon operator) and the additional revenue available from the installation of an additional four first class seats due to the smal- ler cockpit area. Around 30 days downtime is required which can also coincide with a major maintenance cycle to better amortise airframe productivity.

Some 23 automated systems are installed to replace the FE role and to bring the cockpit environment right up to the latest MD-80/737 two crew standards. Initial FAA certification is planned for July this year.

Wide Bodies Rule:

An IATA sponsored conference in Montreal has confirmed industry feelings that there is now a definitive move away from smaller jet aircraft in favour of larger, long-ranging wide bodies.

Primary reason for the shift in airframe emphasis is simply that many of the world’s major airports are reaching movement saturation that will literally make it mandatory for wide body transports to be used during the ever expanding peak periods. IATA anticipates that international free world air travel will effectively double from 1 billion passengers a year to more than 2 billion by the turn of the century. Additionally, the growth in Asia and the Pacific Rim, including Australasia, will be double that of the traditional North American and European markets though as always the single biggest market will remain the North Atlantic airbridge.

One interesting prediction came from Boeing in that they predict that more than half of all seats delivered between 1994 and 2000 will be in long-range aircraft of more than 300 seats. This obviously augers well for the 767-300, 747, MD-11, A330 and A340 airliners. Airbus themselves predicted that the total jet fleet will increase from today’s 6,236 to more than 9,000 aircraft by the year 2006 with more than three quarters of these aircraft being newly delivered since 1990. Airbus also believe that more than half of the world’s jet fleet in twenty years time will be wide bodies.

IATA meanwhile predicted that between $US250 and $US300 billion will be invested between now and 2000 in new technology airliners. Fuelling this move will be a predicted ban on all Stage 1 and 2 aircraft in the USA which would effectively ground all current 737- 200s, 7278, DC-9-30s, some early model 747s and DC-10s and even hush kitted 7078 and DC-8s before the mid nineties.

While this situation would prove a bonanza for the world’s airframers, it might also prove to be of great financial difficulty for many of today’s highly leveraged carriers who still operate large fleets of these early build types and have insufficient equity to upgrade en masse

RTM322 to Be Developed for Fixed Wing Applications:

Rolls Royce and Turbomeca are to develop a turboshaft version of the RTM322 helicopter engine.

The new engine will essentially become a competitor to the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 series which powers the BAe ATP. ATR42/72, DHC Dash 8 and Embraer Brasilia as well as the GE CT7 which powers the Saab 340 and the Casa/Nurtanio CN235.

Proposed power output will range from 1,600shp to 2,800shp and would be available around the mid nineties to power a wide selection of aircraft in the 30/70 seat category.

Videoprobe 2000 Approved for JT8 Use:

The Welch Allyn Videoprobe 2000 system has won local certification for use with the P&W JT8 engine.

Videoprobes are an engineering depart- ment’s best friend as they can literally examine the innards of a modern jet engine without that engine having to be disassembled. The savings in both time and money are obvious as is also the loss in overall aircraft downtime when minor engine problems have to be inspected in situ away from base.

The Welch Allyn system features a steerable 6mm 2 way articulating videoprobe with a three metre umbilical for maximum ease of set-up. The system does away with the cumbersome eyepiece of former systems while points of interest can be freeze framed and held for further examination by any number of viewers.

The device employs a solid state charge-coupled device imager embedded in the tip of its flexible, small-diameter probe. The video probe can also interface with a computer hard disk system for documentation and storage of data in addition to being able to be recorded onto a VCR tape for further analysis. Sounds like just the thing the RAAF need for their F404s! The Videoprobe is available in Australia from Panametrics.

Ge Win Surprise Jal Engine Order:

Japan Air Lines, a long time buyer of Pratt & Whitney big fan engines has chosen General Electric CF6-80C2 engines to power its fleet of 747-400 transports.

JAL has firm orders against 5 747-400s though in time will acquire several dozen of the type to replace what is the world’s largest single 747 fleet. The win comes as a blow to Pratts who have long powered all of JAL’s heavy jet fleet of 57 747s (sales to date) and 9 767 twinjets.

Qantas recently made a similar decision when opting for the GE CF6 over the PW4000 series turbofan for their Boeing 767-300ER order despite the fact that Qantas had also been a long-time P&W client.

 Boeing Planning to Cease 737-200 Production:

The 20-year life cycle of the 737-200 is set to end next June when the final 737-200 is due to be delivered.

Boeing has decided to cease manufacture of the old technology twinjet as a natural consequence of launching its successor, the 737-500 last May. In all, a total of 119 customers purchased some 1,114-200s over a twenty year history that also saw the production of 19 T-43A nav trainers for the USAF and 14 other special purpose 737-200s for various international government users.

The 737 programme was originally launched in early 1965 by Lufthansa with an order for 737-100s. The -100 though proved to be rapidly superseded by the six foot longer-200 which entered service with launch customer, United, in 1968, two months after the first-100 entered Lufthansa European service. The 737 then sold in relatively small numbers always being overshadowed by the established variants of the Douglas DC-9.

It wasn’t till the introduction of US airline deregulation in 1978, with the emergence of a dramatic need for small twinjets, that the 737 began to take off as a commercial programme. It was also bad news for Douglas who at that time were actively down-phasing their DC-9 activities in favour of the larger 727-like MD-80 family. Basically this left the little Boeing with literally no effective competition and a market that would ultimately write orders against more than a thousand of the -200s and its inevitable successors, the 737-300/400 and 500 over the following decade.

NRA 90 Put On Ice:

De Havilland Canada and Shorts, partners in the new generation 25 seat regional airliner, the NRA 90, have placed the project on ice for at least one year while they establish the market requirements for such an aircraft more fully.

Both companies are reluctant to move ahead till they are assured that the world’s regional airlines really require a commuter in the 25 seat class. Many observers have expressed the belief that if a regional goes beyond 19 seats it would prefer to optimise the cost of a flight attendant over a minimum of 30 seats rather than only 25. DHC have also been hard hit by a strike which paralysed their Dash 8 line for more than a month effectively causing delivery delays of several months and slowing plans to increase production through 1988.

De Havilland Canada are also busy examining the feasibility of stretching the Dash 8 to a -400 variant of some 64-70 seats. This would in effect be a direct competitor to the British Aerospace ATP and Aeritalia/Aerospatiale’s ATR72. DHC claim that with the massive customer base they have already achieved with the basic Dash 8 that they could write off the development cost of the stretched version in a relatively short time through sales to existing customers as their commuter operations required additional growth. Studies are continuing and the company may reserve launch judgement till the Farnborough air show in September. Both the ATP and ATR72 have been relatively slow sellers as have the 50 seat Dash 8-300 and Fokker 50.