Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

The shutoff valve will operate if the sensor switch detects the quantity of hydraulic fluid in the reservoir dropping below a preset level and will stop fluid flow through the No3 s 3 system even if all three hydraulic systems were to be affected damage ted by severe damage to the tail section. Adequate hydraulic pressure would thus be preserved to control the aircraft and thus make a safe landing. The modifications were developed after flight simulator tests were carried out with a DC-10 duplicating Sioux City ‘damage All DC-10s will be modified by the middle of 1991.

In another move connected with that crash, the FAA is ordering inspections of all CF6-6 engines as fitted to the DC-10 Series 10. The inspections will take about 40 hours each.

Airbus Boost:

In order to cope with its ever growing orderbook, Airbus Industrie is planning to double its annual production within the next five years.

A total of 201 aircraft are scheduled to come off the Toulouse assembly lines in 1994 comprising 44 A300/310s, 5, 110 A320/321s and 47 A330/340s. By comparison, Airbus production in 1989 will be 101 aircraft (42 A300/310s and 59 A320s) which in itself is almost three times the production level achieved in 1987 when just 38 A300/A310s were manufactured.

It All Helps:

The value of fire blocking cabin materials in airliners has been amply demonstrated by the takeoff crash of a Delta Airlines Boeing 727-200 at Dallas in August last year.

On crashing, the fuselage broke up and a fire began, but of the 108 passengers and crew aboard only 13 died and 57 were injured. Investigations into the crash and the use of previous test data revealed that the fire blocking materials used in the 727 extended the time of survival by at least 90 seconds, sufficient to save an additional 37 lives. The crash was the first survivable one involving fire since the FAA had implemented new rules covering cabin materials.

Regionals Keep Growing:

growth of US regional airlines continues unabated as figures for 1988 reveal.

During that year the number of passengers carried increased by 11% to 35. 2 million and revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) went up by a massive 21% to 9. 7bn. The latter figure represents a quadrupling of the numbers

Centrespread

It only seems like yesterday that you could amble out to KSA and watch the squadrons of Qantas 707s. Time flys though and it is hard to reconcile that even the mighty 747 will soon be entering its 21st year of serving the world’s air transport industry.

Indeed the 707 launched intercontinental air travel like no other aircraft could. Its jet speed, long range and relative economy of operation enabled for the first time the working man to afford overseas travel. Qantas commenced 707 services in July of 1959 and operated the type right up till March 1979. In that 20 year period our national carrier acquired 34 707s including 21 of the very popular long range -3380 version.

In recent years the 707 has actually increased in airline numbers due to the practice of hush kitting its once noisy engines. The type’s long range, good spares availability and relatively low acquisition cost make it an ideal selection for long haul freight and specialist tour operators. Like the DC-3 before it, the 707 will be with us for many decades to come.

achieved since 1978 when the US domestic market was deregulated. A total of 861 regional carriers serve the USA of which the top 50 account for 95% of the business. The largest, Air Wisconsin (a United Express carrier) carried 2. 4 million passengers in 1988 with its fleet of 10 BAe 146s, 14 Fokker F27s and 6 Shorts 360s.

The average stage length for a US regional airline in 1988 was 150nm (for comparison Sydney/Canberra is 128nm), while of the 1,800 strong overall fleet the Fairchild Merlin Metro was the most numerous aircraft with 254 in service, followed by the rapidly increasing BAe Jetstream with 136. Between them, these two 19 seaters provide about 20% of the available seat capacity.

Overhauls in Ireland:

Lufthansa, Swissair and the Irish leasing company Gul ness Peat Aviation (GPA) have announced plans to establish a major airliner overhaul centre at Shannon Airport in the Republic of Ireland.

The centre is scheduled to be opened in 1993 and will initially maintain and overhaul GPA’s Boeing 737 and MD-80 aircraft, thus centralising servicing of these types, a task currently spread over several locations in Europe, North America and the Far East GPA is the world’s largest aircraft leasing company with nearly 200 airliners in service flying for more than 60 operators around the world. It has another 800 aircraft on order (refer p18 July 89 AA). The three companies will share the capital cost of the project with Lufthansa and Swissair providing management and technical personnel

Finger Trouble Sinks 737:

It now appears certain that the late September crash of a near new USAir Boeing 737-400 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport was caused by pilot error.

Acting administrator of the National Transportation Safety Board, Mr James Kohlstad, said that the plane had automatic throttles triggered by pushing a button that accelerated the aircraft to a predetermined speed for takeoff. The copilot inadvertently hit the disengage button and the Captain moved to advance the throttle manually but the plane began to drift to the left forcing a full abort on the rain scaked runway.

Referring to his copilot’s performance earlier that day, the Captain stated that “the copilot’s performance suggested that he was obviously new”. According to the NTSB it was the copilot’s first operational day on a 737-400 since completing flight training.

MD Service Programme:

In the wake of growing concerns about the safety of older airliners and in a move similar to that recently announced by Boeing (refer Newsdesk last issue), McDonnell Douglas has announced a service programme that will ensure the continued airworthiness of older DC-8, DC-9, DC-10 and MD-80 airliners.

The programme has been developed after a 13 month joint industry-government study which calls for the repair, modification or replacement of key structural components in these aircraft. Twenty two such actions will be required for older MD-80s, 33 by the DC-10 and 52 each by the DC-8 and DC-9. The estimated cost to operators will range from SUS74,000 per aircraft for the DC-10 to $US490,000 for DC-98

New Combi Rules:

Complying with an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued following the crash of a South African Airways Boeing 747 Combi will prove to be an expensive exercise for airlines operating such types.

The AD in part requires all Combi airliners (both narrow and wide-bodied) which carry both freight and passengers on the same deck to have more space between the cargo containers to better facilitate fire fighting accessibility, the provision of smoke or fire detection systems in the cargo compartment, a high capacity compartment fire extinguishing system, provision of flame and smoke resistant cargo compartment lining, two way communic ation between the cockpit, the fire fighter’s duty station and the cargo compartment, provision of a cargo compartment temperature indication system, the training of individuals to fight a cargo compartment fire and improved pre takeoff checks of the compartment.

The AD calls for the implementation of the above within three years and will cost approximately SUS800,000 per narrowbody and $US2. 2m per widebody.

747-400F Launched:

Air France has become the launch customer for the all freight Boeing 747-400F with an order for five aircraft worth $US600m Deliveries will begin in August 1993 and the -400Fs will join 10 747-200F’s currently operated by the airline. The aircraft will be powered by 57,900b thrust General Electric CF6-80C2 engines. The order takes the 747-400 order- book to 217 and Air France’s total of Boeing airliners over the years to 157. Other operators currently evaluating the 747-400F include Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and UTA

Ignorance Is Bliss:

In a possibly predictable display of stupidity, the Libyan Government has refused to allow representatives of either McDonnell Douglas or other US organisations into the country to assist in the investigations into the crash of a Korean Air DC-10 near Tripoli Airport last July.

Bad visibility and or engine failure are possible causes of the accident, although one of the most important organisations who should be directly involved in the investigation-the manufacturer-has been kept in the dark by being denied both direct access and information resulting from Libya’s own investigation. So much for a responsible attitude to air safety.

More Cfm56s:

In order to keep up with demand, CFM International is preparing to increase production of its CFM56 turbofan engine to 1,200 per annum by 1992, almost double the current level In its first year of production (1981) CFM built 32 engines with 716 planned for manufacture this year and 800 in 1990. More than 6,500 CFM560 worth over $US20bn have been ordered for installation on Boeing 737s, Airbus A320s, DC-8 Super 70s and Boeing KC-135R tankers.

Future versions will be fitted to the forthcoming Airbus A321 and A340 while the engine is offered in numerous variants producing between 20,000 and 34,000lb thrust

Shorts to Become Major Participant in Regional Jet Programme:

Under the t first co-operative design and manufacturing agreement between Canadair and Short Brothers, the Northern Ire land aerospace company will design, build tooling for and manufacture major structural components of the Canadair Regional Jet. Shorts will design and manufacture the centre section fuselage, the fore and aft fuselage extension plugs and the wing flaps, ailerons, spoilers and inboard spoilers. The agreement calls for an initial batch of 50 chipsets, with the first to be delivered to Canadair’s Montreal assembly plant in July of 1990.

MD-11 Ready:

By the time this issue of AA is a fortnight old, the first McDonnell Douglas MD-11 trijet widebody airliner should have made its maiden fight from the company’s Long Beach facility.

The first fight will follow two weeks of ground vibration and taxying tests. Of the four test and development MD-11s, the first aircraft will be powered by General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, the second will be similarly powered, the third by Pratt & Whitney PW4360s and the fourth by Rolls-Royce Trent.

The second and fourth aircraft will be used for testing and certification of the MD-11’s new Honeywell digital avionics. A stretched model is planned for launching next year while the presstime orderbook stood at 98 firm with 217 on option Better late than never dept. . . a very important anniversary slipped our attention recently when we failed to notice that September 11 marked the 50th anniversary of RAAF Dakota operations. First based at Canberra with No. 8 Squadron, the venerable Gooney Bird stil soldiers on in RAAF very wearing the proud colours of the Edinburgh-based Aircraft Research & Development Unit.