Newsdesk- Commercial Aviation

For BAe the timing of the veto is particularly disappointing in view of the redundancies it is now implementing at its various factories and also because Washington approved the sale of 12 Fokker 100s to Iran last year. The Fokker has much less US sourced equipment than the 146 but nevertheless contains a reasonable amount including avionics, and engine nacelles and thrust reversers built by Grumman plus AIR- esearch air conditioning, pressurisation, pneumatic and anti-icingsystems and a Garrett APU.

Record Year for Qantas Software Sales:

Qantas achieved record sales of computer software in the 1990/91 financial year, generating revenue exceeding $3. 5 million representing a $1m improvement on last year’s result.

The company has sold its EROS (Enhanced Revenue Optimising System) yield management system to Swissair, which cited its advanced features and the high level of support provided by Qantas as reasons for the purchase.

QIKRES, the company’s user-friendly booking system, was recently sold to Thai Airways International. A prototype has been set up in Sydney with Ansett Australia for several months.

Mike Penfold, Head of Information Technology Industry Affairs, said: “Prospects for

further sales are excellent. Because Qantas is actually using its own products, it makes them easier to sell to other airlines, given the benefit of our practical experience. ”

EROS is a personal computer based system. It enables reservations staff and agents to look at whole itineraries for travellers, highlighting the most beneficial travel combinations and costs for both airlines and customers. QIKRES is used by Qantas worldwide. It

has simplified reservation procedures, reduced training time and allowed better sales techniques and customer service. Previous QIKRES customers include The French SNCF National Railways and American Airlines, the world’s biggest airline, which also acquired US and French distributions rights.

 Fokker Expands Product Line:

Fokker is investigating both higher and lower capacity versions of its F100 regional airliner and is conducting a feasibility study which is due to be completed by the end of the year, at which time a formal launch decision will be made. Dubbed the Fokker 80 and 130 (their approximate seating capacities). the new airliners will give Fokker a range of airliners accommodating 77, 107 and 137 passengers in typical layouts.

As currently proposed, the Fokker 130 features a lengthened fuselage, increased wing span and more powerful engines, while the 80, interestingly, does not have a ‘shrunk’ F100 fuselage but rather a slightly lengthened F28 unit. Shrinking the F100 fuselage would result in unacceptable weight penalties. Both new aircraft would incorporate Fokker 100 technology where appropriate and the company is basing its calculations on suitable versions of the Rolls-Royce Tay being available. The new family of Rolls-Royce/BMW BR700 engines is also being looked at, and Fokker is trying to attract risk sharing partners before going ahead.

The old F28 65-85 passenger airliner has meanwhile received a new lease of life following the decision by French operator TAT to install hushkits on its 22 aircraft so as to meet the latest FAA Stage 3 noise regulations. The F28 is a Stage 2 aircraft which between 1996 and 2002 will be banned from airports in Europe and North America. In fact, importation of additional units into Europe, the USA and Australia is already banned (refer p. 16 Mar 91 AAL The kit will enable the F28 to fly for some 15 years longer than would otherwise be possible.

The hushkit is being developed by TAT in conjunction with Fokker with support from Rolls-Royce, manufacturers of the F28’s Spey engines. A small drag penalty will be imposed by the hushkits, however this will be nullified by the fitting of wingtip vortex diffusers.

Total Airspace and Airport Modeler (Taam) up and Running:

TAAM, developed jointly by the CAA and the Preston Group of Melbourne as a workstation based computer software program designed to perform realistic simulations of airspace and airport operations, is now up and running. It has been developed to assist aviation authorities and airport owners around the world solve airspace and airport congestion problems, and to aid in the planning of sys- tems and facilities. The multicoloured, fully animated model uses three dimensional graphics to depict airspace and airport capacity multiple aircraft ground movements terminal airspace tracking en route airspace operations ATC aerodrome control procedures terminal airspace procedures and airways design and sectorisation TAAM is used for the optimum planning of airport and runway developments and extensions. It also produces statistical out- put on aircraft movements, conflicts, ATC co-ordination actions, aircraft delays and costs using “C” programming language and is designed for use on Sun workstations running the Unix operating system.

 Black Boxes Under Scrutiny:

The fire standards of some types of flight data recorders are being reviewed after the intense heat which accompanied the recent Lauda Air Boeing 767 crash in Thailand. destroyed critical data in that aircraft’s ‘black box”.

The Lauda Air data recorder had in effect melted, even though it met requirements. Two types of recorder are in use, the familiar magnetic spooled tape type and the more recent solid state designs. As this issue goes to press, the latter type was being introduced to Australian passenger aircraft. The general standards of flight data recorders were reviewed in the USA only earlier this year and in 1989 in Europe. The Lauda Air accident has provoked a further review.

The latest standards require recorders to be able to withstand fire for 30 minutes, the same as before but with different testing standards including being subjected to not only high temperatures but also concentrated heat from flames. They must also be able to withstand 3,400 ‘g’ (three timesmore than before), remain undamaged underwater for 30 days at a depth of 6,000m and withstand immersion in kerosine and corrosive hydraulic, fire extinguisher and toilet flushing fluids.

Flight data recorders consist of two devices, one to record the aircraft’s performance and flight parameters and the other to record cockpit and radio communications. In the case of the Lauda Air crash, only the latter was recoverable.

 New Regional Jets to Be Based on A320 Technology:

It has been confirmed that the new Deutsche Aerospace (Aerospatiale/Alenia regional jet will incorporate many technological features of the Airbus A320.

Both DASA (the driving force behind the project) and Aerospatiale are Airbus Industrie partners, while Aerospatiale and Alenia are partners in the successful ATR consortium; with this experience, it is not surprising that

1991/92 Register Now Available

Have you ever seen an aircraft at your local airport and wondered what model it was or who owned it, or maybe you would like to know who owns all the Piper Warriors for a particular business venture or where all the Tiger Moths are for a historical project.

The only readily available publication to detail all this information has now been published. The Australian Aviation 1991/92 Civil Aircraft Register detailing the registration, type, serial number and owner of all aircraft on the register is now available by mail order only.

Almost twelve months’ work has gone into the best Australian civil register ever produced and it is a must for companies and individuals in the industry, private and commercial pilots, historians and anyone with even the slightest interest in aviation.

The book can be kept up to date using the regular register update section of Australian Aviation and is available from AustAirData, PO Box 1142, Toombul, Qld 4012 at a cost of $9. 95 including postage within Australia, add $5. 00 for overseas airmail.

the three member consortium will use Airbus technology and aim for the regional jet airliner market. The new DAA 92 and DÁA 122 will both feature A320 type fly-by-wire con- trols and cockpit, and will use similar com- posite construction as the A320, and possibly more. DASA subsidiary MBB is currently researching the possibility of an all composite wing for the new regional jetliner, which will seat five abreast in the 80-130 seat class. The initial 90 seat DAA 92 is planned for first deliveries in 1996, and will feature a length of 28. 5m (93ft 6in), wingspan 30. 4m (99ft 9in), height 10. 3m (19ft 1in) and MTOW 42,290kg (93,250lb). It will be followed about two years later by the stretched DAA 122 which will feature a 34. 6m (113ft 6in) length and 49,740kg (109,670lb) MTOW. The consortium is confident that its aircraft will be well able to compete with such aircraft as the Fokker 100 and 130, BAe 146-NRA, Boeing 737-300 and -500, MDC MD-80 (including the recently announced MD-95) and even the Airbus A319, which is essentially a shortened version of the highly successful A320. The aircraft is most likely to be assembled at Munich, and the Lufthansa consortium DLT is being targeted as a launch customer.

Big Russian:

Soviet design bureaux Antonov and Ilyushin are jointly studying the possible development of a 550 seat airliner for Aeroflot.

Provisionally designated the II-96-550, the new aircraft was revealed publicly at the recent Paris Air Show as basically a twin deck variant of the existing II-96 but with a fuselage cross section similar to the Antonov An-124 Ruslan. In its maximum passenger configuration the Il-96-550 will carry 190 pax on the upper deck and 360 on the lower, although a more typical load would be 512 passengers, for which the design range is quoted as 4,300nm (8,000km). Though this appears highly optimistic as it is well in excess of the capabilities of the much lighter -96-300.

Antonov will be responsible for the design of the fuselage and the proposed power- plant for the aircraft is four Kuznetzov NK-92/93 contra-rotating ducted propfans each producing about 38,000lb thrust in their Initial form. Prototype engines are already running and the powerplant is intended to be installed in other future Ilyushin projects.

Radar Analysis and Test System (Rats) Attracting Overseas Interest:

RATS, an Australian developed software package designed to enhance the efficiency and safety of airways operations is beginning to attract overseas interest with a Chinese delegation recently visiting Canberra to review both this and the TAAM system (refer item elsewhere). RATS was developed for the CAAby an Australian company, Adacel Pty Ltd, to analyse radar data and equipment and runs on a standard personal computer.