Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

To overcome its financial woes, Embraer has already cut its workforce by 3,994 employees (leaving 8,445). It also plans to: keep the CBA-123 Vector program on track and on budget; proceed with the EMB-145 only until April 1991, after which adequate financing will have to be arranged to proceed with the program and have the first production aircraft flying by April 1993; cancel participation at 1991 air shows, including Paris; cancel all non-urgent plant expansion, reduce maintenance, rental, equipment and office goods expenses by about 73%; can- cel overtime work; increase employee participation in food, transportation and life insurance expenses; reduce advertising: and even cancel the 1991 Embraer calender!

 P&W and GE Team Up on Supersonic Civil Engine:

Pratt & Whitney and General Electric Aircraft Engines have formed a joint study team which aims to develop a new supersonic engine for long range, Mach 1. 5 to Mach 3. 5 civil aircraft.

Depending on initial study results, the two companies will divide responsibilities for later phases of the program which will include technology development and validation, system development, engine certification and production. The two companies anticipate that a jointly developed engine could be certified as early as 2005 to provide the basis of a family of engines to serve the market well into the 21st century. Speaking of the new joint development program, Mr Arthur Wegner, President of Pratt & Whitney, said: “We recognise that neither company had the resources to accomplish this project alone. By working together, we will greatly increase the prospect of resolving the enormous technical issues associated with developing a supersonic transport engine. ”

MD-11 Mods to Counter High Fuel Burn:

McDonnell Douglas has been forced to study possible aerodynamic changes to the MD-11 to improve performance and reduce the above predicted fuel burn.

The first stage of modifications includes development of a package of minor airframe mods which will be offered as an option to airlines to reduce specific fuel consumption. The second stage involves more extensive redesigns of sections of the MD-11 wing to boost aerodynamic efficiency and reduce compression drag. The modifications are necessary to improve MD-11 efficiency after the initial testing of the aircraft revealed that both engine options are falling short of predicted fuel consumption guarantees. The PW4460 powered version is about 5% over target while the GE CF6-80C2 powered variant is about 3% over.

Both engine manufacturers are working to improve engine performance, though it seems that airframe design modifications are the most effective way to improve the MD-11’s efficiency. If it is not improved, MDC and the engine manufacturers face compensation payment to airlines to make up for performance shortfalls.

 Chinese Market Offers Huge Potential:

According to Western engine and airframe manufacturers, China’s transport aircraft market offers much potential for boosting sales. Pratt & Whitney and McDonnell Douglas forecast that by the year 2000 there will be a need for about 145 new jet transport aircraft in China, worth about $US11. 5bn. According to the Pratt & Whitney report, China’s airlines flew about 20bn available seat kilometres (ASKS) and 17bn revenue pax km (RPKs) in 1989, with an 85% load factor. Through to the year 2000, average passenger growth in China is expected to be 13%.

Though China’s aircraft industry is outputting a fair percentage of its airliner needs, there remains a huge potential for the supply of Western airliners and modern Western engines to the country. Presumably, this would not only benefit manufacturers, but also the increasingly important leasing companies and maintenance firms.

 Fokker Launching 130:

Fokker is expected to formally launch its 130 seat derivative of the Fokker 100 early next year.

To be known as the Fokker 130, the aircraft is designed to enable Fokker to capture a large share of the 70-130 seat regional jet market, particularly important after the recent Deutsche Aerospace (DASA) announcement that it is to build an 80-130 regional jet, preferably with a “European partnership”. Fokker has a 1996 delivery tar- get for the 130, giving it an advantage over the later predicted delivery of the DASA aircraft, though the DASA regional jet will be a new technology aircraft, rather than one based on a much earlier design. A market of 4,000-5,000 80-130 seat jet airliners is anticipated for the next 25 years.

The DASA/Fokker competition is only complicated by DASA’s current 27% share in the building of the Fokker 100. Meanwhile, Fokker is also expected to announce a 70 seat advanced derivative of the older F28 twinjet, as well as a future stretch of the Fok- ker 50 turboprop to give the aircraft accommodation for up to 66 passengers.

New Wing for MD-12X:

McDonnell Douglas has designed a new wing for the planned MD-12X transport which, company executives claim, has been designed to improve overall aerodynamic efficiency by at least 9% compared to the wing of the MD-11. The MD-12X, a stretched version of the MD-11, was expected to be launched this year with a modified MD-11 wing, but a review by MDC designers led to the decision to incorporate a new wing design into the project. The new wing design, which is 28ft longer with a 29% greater area than that of the MD-11, will not only improve aerodynamic efficiency by the stated 9%, it will also allow future growth of the design.

Two derivatives of the MD-12 are already being contemplated, one of these being the MD-12XSTR growth version which will be a stretch of the MD-12X of at least 15ft to allow the aircraft to carry 400-450 passengers in a three class configuration. Beyond that is the MD-12XX derivative which is envisaged as being able to carry up to 550 passengers, some of whom will be positioned in a lower deck forward of the wing.

The decision to redesign the MD-12X wing delayed the official start of the project until mid 1991, leading to speculation that the MD-12X may in fact be formally launched at the 1991 Paris Airshow. Negotiations are presently being held with potential risk sharing partners in the project.

Allison Gma 3007 Growth Engine Planned:

Allison Gas Turbine has announced plans to develop an 8,000lb thrust variant of its GMA 3007 turbofan engine.

The growth engine is scheduled for certification in the last quarter of 1994 with production planned to commence in 1995. It is targeted to meet the high altitude, high Australian Aviation would like to wish all our readers a very merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy 1991. Your valued support through the past year has been most appreciated by our small team and we look forward to being of service to you in the years ahead.

speed requirements of large business jets and 60-70 passenger regional jets. Growth power is achieved through a turbine temperature increase. Several materials will be changed in order to retain the GMA 3007 margins and reliability required for an airliner engine. The turbine inlet temperature will be below the qualification temperature of the T406 core engine-on which the GMA 3007 series is based-which powers the Bell V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

Meanwhile, the GMA 3007 itself is selling quite well, the engine having been chosen to power the recently announced Cessna Cita- tion X. This is the first application of the engine in the business aircraft market. The GMA 3007 engine is also to power the Embraer EMB-145 45 seat regional jet, while a turboprop version of the T406, the GMA 2100, has been selected to power the Saab 2000 and Indonesia’s IPTN N-250.

Jal Plans Investment in Lockheed Subsidiary:

Japan Airlines and Lockheed Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which they will discuss JAL’s investment in the Lock- heed Commercial Aircraft Center (LCAC), a subsidiary of Lockheed Corp.

LCAC was formed by Lockheed in 1989 to undertake modifications to Boeing 747s. It is based at Norton Air Force Base (scheduled to be decommissioned as a military base in 1994) under a joint usage agreement with the USAF. At present two 48,000sq ft hangar bays capable of accommodating 747 sized aircraft are being used by LCAC; two more will be taken over when the USAF departs, The facilities are presently being modified to meet commercial maintenance specifications and should be operational in the first quarter of 1991.

JAL is interested in buying into LCAC because it anticipates that there will shortly be a significant number of 7478 requiring modifications. The facilities may also interest JAL because of its standing as the airline with the world’s biggest 747 fleet, currently totalling 65 with a further 35 747-4008 already on firm order and 34 on option.

Iata Predicts Traffic Slowdown:

The International Air Transport Association (ATA) has predicted that scheduled international traffic growth will reduce each year from 1990 to 1994.

The forecast confirms industry speculation that international passenger traffic will continue to increase but at slower rates. while airline costs rise at a faster rate and yields drop. Overall traffic growth is expected to be about 8% during 1990, but this figure will drop successively with growth being 6. 9% during 1991, 6. 6% in 1992 and 6. 5% in 1993/94. As expected, the Far East market should experience the fastest growth rate with an annual average of 9. 9% in north east Asia up until 1994, and 8. 8% in south east Asia. North American traffic is expected to grow at a rate of 6. 8% and Europe 6. 2%.

The IATA report reveals that international scheduled passenger traffic was 212 million in 1989, up 6. 8% from 1988. Financial results from total system net profits was $600m (down from $2. 5bn in 1988), which is just 0. 4% of revenue (down from 2% in 1988).