Farnborough Report

It was generally agreed by all present that it would have been an ideal PR coup for a USAF F-117 to at least have transited Farnborough, something that would have gained international news coverage and would have also been a morale booster for the US industry which, in particular, has adopted an unusually low key presence at international airshows in recent years. Other US aircraft that could have revved up the US presence and done a lot to improve their aerospace standing in terms of prestige were the Boeing/Bell V-22 Tilt Rotor, NASA X-29 forward swept wing research aircraft, the MDC MD-11 (three of which were nearby at Marshalls of Cambridge having their American Airlines interiors fitted}, Boeing 737-500, MDC F-15E Strike Eagle (again relevant and topical) and even an RAF E-3D AWACS.

Not low key in the slightest though was the again fantastic performance put on by the Soviet Union. That the USSR would become a major international air show participant is something that could not have even been remotely envisaged just a few short years ago. This year they came with two MiG-29 Fulcrums, two Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers and the giant six engined An-225 Mriya (Dream), the world’s largest aircraft with a max takeoff weight of 600,000kg! If that perchance sounds mind boggling then the beast’s agility once airborne is just as remarkable. Like its smaller brother, the An-124 Ruslan, the Mriya is extremely manoeuvrable and flies an amazingly tight low level display for such a massive aircraft.

In the fast jet category the highlight of this year’s Farnborough display by the Soviets was the MiG-29 Fulcrum’s ability to now perform the flip up Cobra manoeuvre originally pioneered by Victor Pugachev in the Su-27 Flanker at last year’s Paris Salon. The smaller Fulcrum though, without the assistance of fly-bywire controls, is not quite as crisp in its execution of this remarkable manoeuvre which for the record is still well beyond the practical bounds of any western combat aircraft. The remarkable Flanker meanwhile put on a display that was even more impressive than normal. Perhaps the rivalry between the Mikoyan and Sukhoi bureaus, in light of Soviet defence spending cuts, is beginning to nurture a spirit of competition between these two camps that is reminiscent of the air show duels between GD (F-16) and MDC (F-18) in the early to mid eighties. Interesting times indeed!

Also interesting was the fact that the two Flankers had flown non stop from Moscow to Farnborough (a distance equivalent from Sydney to Perth) on internal fuel while the smaller Fulcrums completed the same mission with the aid of four external fuel tanks. A very impressive performance indeed, specially consid ering that for many decades Soviet aircraft, like the MiG-21 and Su-7 family, were noted for their short legs. How times have changed.

In a lighter moment one of military aviation’s best known analysts privately suggested that the Flanker airframe combined with western avionics and radar/weaponry could well be the basis of a future joint US/Soviet program. Such suggestions at Farnborough 90 though were looked upon as perhaps optimistic glimpses of the future, though the thoughts of an APG-70 radar equipped Flanker using a full western avionics suite combined with Amraam, Asraam and the Hughes Phoenix missile is something that is daunting to say the least.

On a more realistic level it was interesting to note that Pratt & Whitney are having serious discussions with both Ilyushin and Tupolev on providing their PW2037 class turbofan for use aboard the 11-96 and Tu-204 airliners. The 11-96 is virtually a look alike of what Airbus lndustrie’s A340 will be, a 300 pax four engine wide body. The problem with the Soviet airliner though is that its four 35,280Ib thrust Soloviev D-90As burn too much fuel, something that restricts the aircraft’s long term international sales ambitions whilst not allowing the payload/range profile it requires. The same can be said for the smaller 757 like Tu-204 which, despite a similar thrust rating to its sister from Seattle, has about half the relative payload/range capability. At present the Tu-204 twinjet uses the same D-90As as the larger 11-96. Also looking to achieve a market share in Russia is CFM with their uprated versions of the CFM56 for what would be a re-engining program for the 11-86, a slightly smaller, less sophisticated version of the 11-96. Whilst Aeroflot appears to be generally happy with Soviet airframes, it appears they are less enamoured with the capabilities of the country’s engine manufacturers compared with what is now on offer, and available, from the West.

Engines, of course, are the driver of every aircraft program, have always been and will be in the future. To this end GE proudly brought along a full sized mock up of their massive GE90 90,000lb+ thrust class fan that is optimised principally for the eventual Boeing 777. The reason it is not an option on the rival Airbus A330 is that it simply cannot fit beneath the wings of the already large twinjet. The GE90 of course is aimed at the very large twin market, such as the 777 and possibly stretched versions of Airbus’ A330 though for the time being it, like its paper launch aircraft, the 777, await the moment of ink upon firm contract before becoming anything more than merely just another great idea.

Other civil news included the interesting purchase of Boeing Canada by the Franco/Italian team of ATR. Boeing Canada of course is better known to real aviation people as De Havilland Canada, a company that in recent years has had particular success with their Dash 8 propjets in Australia and indeed worldwide with orders and options for morethan 330. What makes this corporate marriage intriguing is that ATR already produce aircraft that are direct competitors to the products from Downsview. In practical terms, how can one company buy out its direct rival and honestly keep it going? Of course. Talking logic here as applied to both the Italians and the French, so maybe they will live with their major competitor being under their direct control. Only time will tell.

What is certain though is that the Dash- 8-400 64 seat high speed (350kts cruise) propjet will now be scuttled whilst perhaps some ATR subcontracting will go to Canada in the hope of attaining greater market penetration for ATR in that continent. This though is hardly necessary as ATR already have won a sizeable proportion of the US market with their 42 seat ATR42 and 64 seat ATR72 twins in addition to announcing a mega order from American Eagle for up to 100 ATRs just prior to the show. ATR total orders and options now exceed 500 units, something of which the consortium should be justifiably pleased.

The other battle hotting up was that of the regional jets, a generic name originally coined by Canadair and now the province of a number of manufacturers who, despite their initial very public misgivings of the viability of these small passenger jets, are now all happily boarding the inevitable bandwagon to ensure that they too don’t miss any future sales opportunities that this new class of airliner may proffer.

BAe have already launched a family of 146 based RJs, using the improved LF500 series Textron Lycoming turbofan, EFIS cockpit and an overall aerodynamic and interior tidy up for the 146 that will improve its reliability and fuel efficiency. If any operator though realistically opts for a 70 seat RJ70 (which is still basically a thinking man’s 146-100!) then it will be the first time that any airline has purchased a variant of an existing fuselage size with less seats than was originally available. Whether their RJ family make it to metal or remain merely as air show gimmicks fortunately for BAe something that isn’t really all that important, as sales of their traditional 146 airliners go from strength to strength with several more worthwhile orders announced at and just prior to the show.

Canadair meanwhile responded eagerly to the challenges from Hatfield with a -200 version of their RJ and a strong rebuke (using Avmark data) for the claimed economics of the BAe RJs. The stretched Challenger RJ will be a 70 passenger stretch of the present -100 aircraft using uprated 11,500lb thrust class GE CF34 turbofans with a 65,000lb gross weight and a Mach . 80 cruise speed for a maximum range of 1,500nm. Incidentally, Canadair have also moved to simplify their RJ model identification by adding the now industry standard ER (Extended Range) on both its -100 (standard 50 pax fuselage) and -200 versions to signify the increased M TOW limits of those versions. Field performance of the -200 is also quite reasonable with 5,400ft being quoted for landing and 5,700ft for takeoff in ISA conditions at M TOW. The aim of Canadair, of course, is to build upon the airline base that they are now beginning to develop via their -100 RJ and to offer an eventual successor to the F28 before too many other manufacturers wade ·into this long neglected corner of the market.

TheUprated CF34 engine, yet to be officially launched as a project by GE, but obviously high on the agenda of future things to do as their military engine production begins to evaporate, will also be employed on the standard fuselage Challenger corporate jet to provide a significant improvement in range and field performance. This, of course, is all good news for Shorts of Northern Ireland, who, with the cessation of the 360 program, is to share handsomely in workload between the various Challenger models.

So much for this year’s Farnborough, an unusually flat presentation in terms of major announcements and new types being presented, yet as always a very pleasant experience in Hamp shire’s delightful late summer weather. T here are simply worse places to be and again full credit goes to the SBAC who year after year manage this ever increasingly larger show in a professional, helpful and efficient manner unequalled by their cross channel competition.

Farnborough 92 should be a more exciting story aviation wise, as it w_ill hopefully mark the public debut of the Airbus A340, possibly even the. A330, the USAF Advanced Tactical Fighter, the European Fighter Aircraft, Saab 2000, Embraer 145 and a number of other interesting types.