Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

When compared with the Concorde’s Olympus engines (also developed by Rolls-Royce and Snecma), a mid tandem fan would have significantly improved fuel consumption, and a dramatic decrease in noise pollution, plus a cut in emissions of pollution and oxides of nitrogen.

Apart from a focus on noise and pollution, the study also concentrated on operating economics, basing the study on the rule of thumb that supersonic flight airfares should not be more than 20% higher than standard fares to be cost effective.

As well as RR and Snecma, FiatAvio and MTU Munchen have also been involved in the research programme.

CFM56 Record:

Ansett Australia has set an Asia-Pacific time on the wing’ record for a CFM56 turbofan engine.

The CFM56-3 engine installed on an Ansett Boeing 737-300 logged 16,700 hours and 13,000 cycles between October 1988 and January 1994 before being removed for maintenance. This combination of hours and cycles is believed to be a first, especially for an aircraft operated on short haul flights. Ansett currently operates 30 CFM56 powered 737s and Airbus A320s, with ten A320/321s (also with CFM56) on order for delivery from next year.

 FAA Looks Ahead:

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed a strategic plan for the next five years with some 350 specific actions detailed.

Within that, there are seven key areas on which the FAA is : modernising the transportation system to allow it to cope with increasing de- mand; building the aviation system of the 21st century; increasing system capacity to minimise delays and allow access for all aspects of aviation; improving US industry vitality; maintaining US leadership in international aviation; ensuring aviation is environmentally responsible; and operating the FAA like a business.

The parts associated with ‘US industry vitality’ and ‘maintaining US leadership’ are particularly interesting, especially when the FAA’s primary role as a regulatory rather than entrepreneurial body is taken into account.

One important area which will be tackled this year is the implementation of an action plan dealing with aging aircraft and the issuing of a final rule for the planned Aging Aircraft Safety Act.

Embraer Goes Back to Basics:

During a recent tour to Australia by Embraer Sales Manager, Eduardo Munhos, the Brazilian company affirmed its relationship with Australia as one of its prime customers.

Launching ‘a new face for Embraer’, a new direct channel of communication with the Brazilian facility has been established via Australian agent Aeromil. The previous organisational structure required communication with Embraer US office sales office who was also responsible for the Australasia region.

Part of this new face will also encompass a newly privatised manufacturer, after its stock ‘auction’ during June this year. (Refer separate story).

The float, which is expected to raise between $US600 and $800 million, will be used to ‘normalise’ its financial position and to provide it with the marketing clout required to battle for a place with such prime contenders in the 30 to 50 seat market as Saab, ATR and Canadair. Its escape from government clutches will also allow it to operate more efficiently, Munhos suggested.

The forthcoming arrival of the EMB-145 will provide two regional jets on the market in the 50 seat category, and Embraer claims that the direct operating costs of the 145 will be lower than even its turboprop competitors.

Citing the main advantages of the – 145 as passenger appeal, high perform- ance and operational range flexibility, low operating costs and a proven for- mula from the successful EMB-120 Brasilia, Embraer also hopes to gain an advantage through the new aircraft’s lower acquisition price of around $US13 million, which Embraer claims places it a full $3m below the Canadair RJ and marginally above the Saab 2000 and

every stage of fli Fokker 50. The cost of 80% of the aircraft’s total components have been frozen, helping to maintain a cost advantage over rivals.

Flight West’s recent order for four of the new regional jets (2+2), for deliery from the third quarter in 1996, has seen the type officially launched onto the market in a region that is seen as a growing one for Embraer. From 1993 to 2000, the manufacturer projects that some 17% of its total sales will be from the Asia/Pacific region, excluding China.

The ‘back to basics’ concept of the EMB-145 is a move away from the high tech developments of the CBA-123 Vector, with market research having proven that greater requirements for a low cost orientated aircraft existed bfore the new generation of highly sophisticated small capacity aircraft.

The decision to proceed with the twinjet EMB-145 was also considered timely given the retirement of over 1300 stage II aircraft around the world. The replacement of DC-9s and 737s on regional routes where they provided marginal operations, with high speed aircraft of 50 seat capacity, could see Embraer’s -145 well placed to collect large orders in the longer term.

Embraer is confident that “true jet performance at turboprop costs will be attractive the world over, a fact it hopes to prove when the first aircraft takes to the skies in early 1995. (Julian Green) • ROLLS-ROYCE LOOKS TO ASIA: Like many other aerospace companies, Rolls-Royce is recognising the potential of the Asia-Pacific market for its products, saying that the combination of industrial development and tourism could generate $USiobn worth of business for large turbofan engines such as the Trent over the next 15 years.

Rolls-Royce has already established a strong regional market base in the Asia-Pacific region with Trent variants ordered by five operators in the area for their Boeing and Airbus aircraft. The Rolls-Royce Tay and RB211 engines are already well represented in the region via Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

On the military side, Rolls-Royce sees a market worth around $US1bn for engines to power trainer and light attack aircraft over the same period, mainly for the Adour turbofan which powers the BAe Hawk and is currently being evaluated by Australia, Singapore, India, Brunei and the Philippines. The Hawk has already been ordered by Indonesia and Malaysia.

An often ignored application for aero engines in modified form is that of power generation. An industrial version of the Trent is being developed for this role, while at the moment about a quarter of Singapore’s electricity is generated by Rolls-Royce supplied equipment.

Composites Project Under Way:

A two year research project being undertaken by the Cooperative Re- search Centre for Aerospace Structures (CRC-AS) has been established to dem- onstrate new methods for manufacturing carbon fibre aircraft control surfaces.

The aim of the exercise is to demonstrate manufacturing techniques which do not use composite ‘prepeg’ materials but resin transfer moulding and resin infusion processes which will be used to inject resin into a woven textile ‘preform’. This approach will allow the use of alternative manufacturing processes which weave and stitch carbon fibre and offer improved performance at lower cost.

Half the programme’s $725,000 budget is being provided by the Department of Industry Technology and Regional Development (DITARD) while partners in the CRC-AS are ASTA, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and its Aeronautical Research Laboratory (ARL), Hawker de Havilland, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Sydney, New South Wales and Monash Universities.