Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

Three sizes of MD90 are planned. Delta have opted for the 150 passenger mixed class MD90-30 (note designation style change from the MD-80 series) while there is also the larger 180 seat MD90-40 and a 114 seat MD90-10. Engine thrust for the -40 is 28,000lb, 25,000lb for the -30 and 22,000lb for the-10. MDC are claiming a 13% and 17% fuel burn reduction respectively on a per seat basis for both the -10 and -30 over their present MD-87 and MD-88 equivalents while range is 2,400nm for both versions, actually a little less than that presently available.

The stretched MD90-40 won’t be officially launched till the first two variants are well into their development programme. Delta is scheduled to receive its first MD90-30 in 1994.

Double Decker Airbus:

Airbus Industrie is examining double decker versions of its forthcoming A330 and A340 airliners in a move similar to that investigated by McDonnell Douglas for the MD-11.

The proposed layout would involve converting the forward belly cargo hold to accommodate 60 economy or 48 business class seats, increasing the seating capacity (in typical mixed class layout) of the A330 to around 385 passengers and the A340 to 345 passengers. A feasibility study is now being carried out and no commitments have so far been made.

 Strikes Hit Production:

Boeing. British Aerospace and Rolls-Royce have been hit by strikes in the closing months of 1989, the Boeing walkout involving 57,000 members of the International Association of Machinists being the first the company has suffered since 1977.

Most production line activity came to a halt at a time when Boeing’s order book has been overflowing and the need to increase production at its greatest. The dispute is primarily over pay, the IAM claiming it is entitled to a larger share of Boeing’s record earnings. This strike ended on November 22, readers are asked to refer to Stop Press for details of how the 48 day strike will affect Qantas’ 747-400 and Australian’s 737-400 deliveries.

British Aerospace’s Chester and Preston facilities have also been hit by strikes, this time over a claim for a 35 hour week. The Chester factory ground to a halt, stopping BAe 125 corporate jet production (including work on the prototype of the latest variant, the 1000) and Airbus A300/310 wing production. Preston’s stoppage halted the manufacture of parts for the A320, Harrier, Tornado, T-45 Goshawk and Boeing 747. Workers at Rolls-Royce’s Hillington factory also struck, cutting off the supply of fan blades to the Derby and Filton plants.

 Remote Control Monitoring:

In what could be an interesting one to watch, the Canadian Electric Association (CEA) is going to evaluate an Israeli built remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) as an alternative to manned aircraft for monitoring power lines across Canada.

The RPV, called Searcher, is capable of carrying different payloads for varying missions but for the purposes of power line monitoring, it will be equipped with a day television camera combined with a thermal imaging system. The camera will be able to pick up physical damage to the lines while the thermal imaging sensor will detect areas of high temperature, an indication of potential problem areas within the line.

A ‘Thank You to Our Many Questionnaire Respondents:

A hearty thanks to the large number of readers who responded to our reader survey which was enclosed with the November issue subscriber copies.

Your comments and suggestions will form the basis of many of the upgrades and new features that we will be now able to introduce as a result of going monthly from this May (refer p5). The linchpin, of course, to being able to implement your ideas is additional space, as a monthly we will now have this extra space and consequently will be able to introduce many of the ideas that you kindly suggested.

A lot of readers also asked whether or not we would ever bring out a library binder for AA. The answer sadly is a solid ‘no’ due to the high cost of running off a relatively limited number and the equally high cost of individual postage. To make it cost efficient, even as a nil profit operation, would have the binders being sold at a price that would make them basically unsalable. A better idea (which we ourselves use) is to go to your local stationer and simply buy plastic vertical magazine storage modules. These sell for about a quarter the cost of a binder and do the job just as well.

 Big Singapore Show:

Asian Aerospace ’90, the largest regular air show in the Pacific/Asian region, looks set to maintain its position if pre-event interest in this year’s show is any indication.

To be held in a purpose built exhibition centre at Changi Airport, Singapore, over five days from February 14, the show has attracted manufacturers from the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, France, West Germany, China, New Zealand, Italy, the USSR, Singapore, Indonesia and Brazil, who between them will exhibit more than 50 aircraft. A highlight will be the flying display, first introduced at the last show in 1988.

Seven new national pavilions will boost the size of the show and 74 chalets are available for exhibitors. The increasing importance of Asian Aerospace ’90 is illustrated by the fact that the magazine Air Transport World will host a gala dinner to announce the winner of its prestigious ‘Airline of the Year’ and other awards at the show. This is the first time that event has been held outside the USA.

ASTA Moves:

Aerospace Technologies of Australia (AS TA) has recently completed a contract covering the major overhaul of two British Airways Boeing 747 aircraft at its AS TA Aircraft Services facility at Avalon.

The work involved heavy maintenance and inspection on the aircraft similar to that undertaken on Continental’s 747 fleet. AS TA has Boeing approval to carry out complicated Section 41 overhauls on the 747. This involves major reconstruction of the aircraft’s nose section from the front entry door forwards and includes removal and replacement of fuselage stringers. The entire front section of the aircraft’s interior – including the cockpit floor and avionics – must be removed and refitted in the process.

Qantas,too, has awarded a major contract to AS TA Aircraft Services for maintenance and/or modification work on its 747 fleet. Work on the programme began in November with the installation of provision for in-seat video units for first and business classes and the wiring and installation of the new Honeywell TCAS collision avoidance system which will be fitted to all Qantas aircraft.

Meanwhile, ASTA’s involvement with the Airbus A330/340 programme has reached a milestone with the delivery of its first Floor Support Structure (FSS) to Aerospatiale. This structure, which forms the pressure diaphragm between the passenger cabin and the main landing gear bay, is one of four packages AS TA is designing and manufacturing for Airbus. The other three are the main landing gear doors, the central landing gear doors (A340 only) and the central fixed panels (A330 only). AS TA is a risk sharing subcontractor in the A330/340 FSS programme and has been contracted to design, manufacture and deliver 600 sets. Production rate is one per month at the moment, increasing to seven per month by 1995.

ASTA also officially announced in late November that it was formally withdrawing from the LHX light helicopter project that it had been studying in conjunction with China and Aerospatiale. LHX was being optimised to augment the twin Squirrel to some extent and to primarily be a direct replacement for the Lama and Alouette II helicopters. Dis- cussions had been taking place on LHX between the prospective partners since 1987 though with the Beijing massacre in June, China’s role in the project became unclear. ASTA meanwhile had expressed reservations as to the financial viability of being a partner in the programme at the same time as various aerospace interests in Singapore began lobbying for a share of the project. ASTA’s withdrawl from LHX however does not affect its already substantial collaborative relationship with Aerospatiale and does not preclude the company from building offsets for a future LHX destined for local use.

 Completed Investigations:

The reasons for two recent airline accidents have been released following investigation.

The first is the USAir Boeing 737-400 which crashed into New York’s East River after an aborted takeoff from LaGuardia Air- portlast September. Two passengers died. It has been found that a series of pilot errors constituted the main causes. During the takeoff the rudder trim was in the full left position causing the aircraft to drift left (it is linked to the rudder pedals and nose gear); the inexperienced copilot inadvertently dis- engaged the autothrottle, causing the captain to take manual control of the throttles; the captain failed to call out speeds as the aircraft accelerated down the runway and both pilots failed to follow proper flight procedures (refer Recce this issue).

The other accident was the UTA DC-10 which exploded in flight over Niger in Africa during September. As was suspected, the cause of the crash was a bomb, in this casein the underfloor baggage/cargo hold. Chemi- cal traces of explosives were found and the aircraft, its engines and systems were operating normally until the explosion.

Rolls-Royce, Iptn Sign Engine Agreement:

Further steps towards the establishment of a comprehensive Indonesian aero engine capability were taken during November with the signing in Jakarta of Phase Two of a Memorandum of Understanding between IPTN and Rolls-Royce.

The first agreement was signed in 1987 and was designed to study areas in which Rolls-Royce could participate in the long-term development of high technology industries in Indonesia. Under the terms of the previous agreement, IPTN personnel have been trained on the repair and overhaul of Dart engines, and spare parts and tooling have been supplied to IPTN which is now set up to start Dart repair and overhaul.

In addition Rolls-Royce has assisted in setting up an engine testbed and has agreed a programme of training of IPTN personnel in machining advanced gas turbines aimed at enhancing the Indonesian company’s engine component manufacturing capability. When the facility is fully operational, Rolls-Royce will explore the possibility of repair and overhaul on other engines including the Adour, Spey and Tay at IPTN.

New Airport for Hong Kong:

Despite its sovereignty reverting to the People’s Republic of China in 1997, that is the year in which it is planned to open a new air and sea port in Hong Kong.

Costing $US16bn, the complex will be situated on Chep Lap Kok island to the west of Hong Kong island and will feature two parallel runways. A six lane highway and railway will link the airport to Hong Kong via a tunnel under the western harbour.

Unlike the existing Kai Tak Airport with its single runway and difficult approach over mountains and densely populated areas, the new airport will not be subject to noise curfews and will remain open 24 hours a day. The project is the largest in Hong Kong’s history.

Sad Centrespread:

Our centrespread subject for the November edition, Qantas’ 707-338 VH-EAJ, unfortunately is the subject of a tale with a sad end. Renamed ‘Pearl of Africa’ and registered as 5X-UBC, the ex-Qantas 707 in the colours of Uganda Airlines crashed whilst attempting to land in bad weather at Rome airport on the 17th October 1988.

Quieter 737s:

Pratt & Whitney and US noise abatement hardware specialist Nor- dam have announced a preliminary agreement to develop, manufacture and market a “hushkit’ to reduce the noise of the JT8D turbofan engines installed in the Boeing 737-200.

The programme will reduce the 737-200’s sound levels to comply with the FAA’s Stage 3 requirements and will allow the type to operate into the next century. The design of the system should be completed by May 1990 and certification is scheduled to be achieved in late 1991. Approximately 1,000 737-200s are in service and the partners see a potential market for 900 kits. Pratt & Whitney will act as the project’s technical director with Nordam holding the Supplemental Type Certificate and related Parts Manufacturing Authority. Boeing will provide technical support.

 Airbus Guppy:

The four Super Guppy outsize cargo aircraft used by Airbus Indus- trie to carry components and partial assemblies from the UK and Germany to Toulouse will now be operated and maintained by the manufacturer.

Up until now, the UTA subsidiary Aero- maritime has been responsible for the operation, flying the fleet for around 3,200 hours per annum. Airbus will need additional transport capacity from 1993 to cope with higher production rates and the introduction of the A330/340 to the line. It has access to at least one more Boeing KC-97 airframe on which the Guppy is based but is also considering surface transport for parts of the smaller A320 and forthcoming A321 models.

Sydney Airspace Review:

With a view to improving the flow of air traffic in and around Sydney, several reviews of the situation have recently been underway.

The first improvements are likely to result from recommendations made by a Civil Aviation Authority team which visited the USA early in 1989 (refer p21 Sept 89 AA). The team made 15 recommendations of which three are expected to be acted upon quickly. They are the wider use of simultaneous runway operations, increased crosswind criteria allowing more than one runway to be nominated for use more often and a reduction in the number of Standard Instrument Departures from Sydney. Other reviews of operations at Sydney Airport dealing with the adequacy of facilities, traffic management, the efficiency of the air traffic control system and other related matters are also being carried out.

The Cost of Training:

Qantas is investing $123m in training during the 1989/90 financial year, nearly 50% more than the previous year and a massive 140% increase over 1987/88. The introduction of the Boeing 747-400 accounts for much of the increase, bringing with it the need for addi- tional training of engineering, technical and cabin crew. A large part of the training cost results from the need to bring in additional staff to cover for others who are undertaking training programmes. In 1988/89 198,763 employee-days were spent on training: the 1989/90 figure is expected to reach nearly 319,000 employee-days.