New Projects Aim to Make Airbus No 1

VLCT studies have forecast a market for as many as 400 to 500 aircraft by 2010, half of which would be sold to operators in the Asia Pacific region. Airbus naturally enough has been highly suspicious of its main competitor’s tactics, and would not be surprised if the VLCT programme was designed to stall Airbus participation in this field while Boeing developed its own 500 seat class (three class) aircraft in the form of a heavily modified 747, the -500. Many believe this aircraft would feature a new wing, while the upper deck would be extended back to the tail. A 747-500 would certainly provide Boeing with a relatively inexpensive entry into the 500 seat plus market (although such a big development of the 747 is certainly not going to be cheap by any standards). Boeing is also independently working on its own all new VLA concepts.

Airbus itself is currently studying its own Very Large Aircraft under the designation A3XX. The consortium is unprepared to await the final outcome of the VLCT study, and has begun its own VLA design work. Airbus is placing considerable importance on this top end of the airliner market. Its Global Market Forecasts have predicted that over the next two decades as much as 40% of all funds spent on new airliners will be spent on aircraft of at least 747-400 size. Airbus says that this market is just too large and too important to be left to a single manufacturer, despite the high costs and undoubtedly high risks involved in such a programme.

Initially Airbus and its partners studied a range of VLA configurations almost in competition with each other until late last year. At that time an Integrated Team comprising engineers from the partner companies and Airbus was established to combine independently discovered results and to decide upon an optimum configuration for such an aircraft. By that time two primary configurations had emerged. Airbus engineers had been studying a ‘horizontal’ deck arrangement which would have seated 12 abreast and featured twin vertical tails, while the partner company designs favoured a ‘vertical’ or double deck design.

Airbus and its partners have now settled on the vertical twin deck design as it offers a number of important benefits over the horizontal configuration. The biggest benefit is the significantly lighter structure required for a double deck design, which in turn will allow the use of engines in the thrust class as those used on the A330, rather than the more powerful and thus more expensive big fans found on the 777. These engines are the General Electric CF6-80E1s, Pratt & Whitney PW4168s or Rolls-Royce Trent 700s, producing around 70,000lb (310kN) thrust.

A key design parameter is a range of 7400nm (13,700km) with a full passenger load of between 530 and 570, depending on class arrangements. It would have a maximum takeoff weight of 471 tonnes (over 1,000,000lb). In its current design form the A3XX would be little longer than the 747-400’s 70.67m (231ft 10in) length. To seat 530 in three classes the A3XX would seat nine abreast (3+3+3) on the main deck and seven abreast (2+3+2) on the upper deck in economy class in what Airbus calls “A320 comfort standards.” In “tighter 747 standards” the A3XX would seat 10 abreast on the main deck and eight abreast on the top deck. In a high density single class configuration the A3XX would seat as many as 840 passengers, and the aircraft could find a niche role in markets such as Japan. The A3XX would also share the common A319/320/321 and A330/340 cockpit, and have fly-by-wire flight controls.

The aircraft will also be designed to be easily stretched by 6.5m which would further increase seating out to as many as 1000 passengers in a single class high density arrangement. More typical seating would be for between 630 and 680 passengers in three classes.

The Integrated Team is now refining the A3XX design concept. Later Airbus will present the aircraft to prospective customer airlines in the Asia Pacific, USA and Europe. Before the A3XX or VLCT comes to fruition though, significant commercial and technical challenges lie ahead. The massive costs associated with such a programme cannot be overestimated, and so while it is easy to be sceptical about the possibility of a partnership between Airbus and Boeing, the costs make such a partnership more palatable. The estimated cost of developing such an aircraft range from $US8bn upwards, which either way makes it almost certain that neither Boeing nor Airbus would go such a project entirely alone. Both manufacturers see Japan, with its large technical and financial resources, as a prospective partner in a VLA, while China, Russia and other European countries are all possibilities.

Many industry observers also feel that airlines just cannot afford the high purchase costs of such an aircraft, and that there is not the market demand for such a programme. With a price tag of approximately $US200 to 250m, thus far only British Airways has openly supported the need for a VLA. British Airways is ready to order such an aircraft now, and ideally would like to place it in service in 1998-2000, although this is likely to prove highly optimistic. BA needs about a dozen VLAs, and they would largely be used to get around problems of congestion at Heathrow.

Boeing and Airbus are also faced with significant technical challenges before a VLA can become a reality, although it is not expected that these problems would be insurmountable. The scale of the A3XX project is massive. Airbus says that to make the programme viable it needs to be able to offer a reduction in direct operating costs over 15% compared to the 747. The aircraft itself will feature a tail plane the size of the A310’s wing. The main landing gear would weigh as much as 20 tonnes and feature 24 wheels. Other problems needing to be overcome with an aircraft this size are mass of inertia and associated problems with stability and control; wake turbulence; noise; flexibility of such a large structure; and safety, as new aircraft need to meet tougher safety standards, and the problems with evacuating large numbers of people from such a huge aircraft.

While the A3XX is the most ambitious new Airbus project currently on the drawing board, Airbus is also concentrating design efforts into developing its existing product line to offer new derivatives and performance improvements. The current flagship of the Airbus product line, the A340, is the subject of a number of interesting proposals aimed at extending its range. The most realistic of these in the near future has been dubbed the A340-“8000” for its 8000nm (14,825km) range. A development of the A340-200, this long range would be achieved through increasing the thrust rating on the CFM56 engines, increasing the weights and adding an underfloor auxiliary fuel tank. The 8000nm capability would allow flights with a full 260 three class passenger load as long as 17.5 hours connecting a greater number city pairs in Asia, the US and Europe. If developed it could be available from 1997.

Airbus sees the A340-“8000” capable of opening up the trans Pacific market, allowing greater point to point services, and bypassing congested hubs, in much the same way that long range twins have opened up the Atlantic. A development of the A340-“8000” could conceivably allow non stop flights between Australia and Europe for the first time. Configured with a further underfloor fuel tank and seating for 140 high yield first and business class passengers such an aircraft could fly 8500nm (15,750km) or 18.5 hours non stop. It may also be possible to offer below deck beds for first class passengers.

Whether or not a market exists for such an ultra long range aircraft remains to be seen. Certainly there are a number of challenges associated with such long sector lengths, including crew resting, waste disposal and passenger comfort. On the other hand direct services from Europe to Australia would cut down on flight times considerably, which is bound to appeal to business travellers.

More advanced developments of the A340 revolve around the use of more powerful advanced engines. The most ambitious engine proposal is the Advanced Ducted Fan from Pratt & Whitney, which promises a 10% reduction in fuel burn over the current A340 powerplants. A number of less radical advanced turbofans are also being pushed by engine manufacturers, and Airbus hopes to reach a technical choice on a new A340 powerplant by the year’s end, allowing certification of such a powered A340 by the end of the decade. Included among these proposals for a 40,000lb (180kN) thrust class engine are an increased thrust CFM56-5 derivative, and the new, advanced CFMXX from GE and SNECMA; and the proposed RB411 from Rolls-Royce.

While the promised fuel reductions would not be as great as the ADP’s, the new engines would allow a fully loaded A340-300 to fly the same or even further distances than the current A340-200. An A340-200 meanwhile powered by the same engine could have an endurance of 20 hours non stop with a full passenger load, allowing virtually one stop around the world capability. Such A340 versions come under the banner of Phase II, and would have a maximum takeoff weight in the region of 300 tonnes, some 33 tonnes higher than the current A340-300 high gross weight version. This is within the aerodynamic limits of the wing, but it would require strengthening to handle the extra weight.

Using the strengthened wing and higher thrust engines would also allow some interesting heavier A330 developments. Two possible developments have surfaced thus far, including a stretched version weighing an extra 20 tonnes and able to carry an additional 50 passengers. The most ambitious A330 proposal is a development capable of seating as many passengers as a 747 (approximately 400 depending on the class structure) through a fuselage stretch and below deck seating forward of the wing. Such an aircraft would offer direct operating costs far lower than the 747 on short to medium range routes. While such a radical development might not see the light of day, the concept does illustrate the A330’s design potential.

While the above proposals look at increasing the aircraft’s size and trading range for payload, other A330 proposals look at downsizing the aircraft and trading payload for range. A number of proposals are on the cards, including one using the A340-200 fuselage length, which is eight fuselage frames shorter than the A330 and A340-300, and a 17 frame reduction to an A300-600 fuselage length.

A preferred configuration at this stage is a fuselage reduction in the order of 14 frames, which would reduce seating capacity to 240 in three classes, but offering similar long range performance to the Boeing 767-300ER (which has a range of up to 6000nm/11,100km). Because of the reduction in seating, DOCs of such an aircraft would naturally be higher, and it’s unclear at this stage whether they would be significantly better than the A340-200, which can operate without ETOPS restrictions. Another potential problem is the A330’s 60m wingspan, which is significantly longer than the A300 and A310s’ wings, which could prohibit it from operating into some smaller capacity airports.

The oldest members of the Airbus product line, the A300 and A310 are the least likely to undergo major modifications in the near future. At the moment Airbus promotes the two as the most efficient and successful types in their class. Slotting in between the A321 and A330, there is little need to stretch or shorten the A300 and A310, and thus the only new development in this field is likely to be a replacement aircraft. But even this is a considerable time away. At the moment the cost of developing an all new aircraft family in this category would be such that the aircraft would have to offer considerable savings in maintenance and fuel burn to make it economically feasible. Current new technologies could significantly improve the A300/310’s performance, but not to a cost effective level.

Airbus says it will need a combination of a number of new technologies (as was the case with the A320) before it can develop a cost effective replacement for the A300 and A310 line. Such an aircraft may be similar to what Airbus calls its E2 concept. E2 stands for energy efficiency and environmental compatibility. This is a concept study and incorporates a number of advanced features such as a triple lifting surface, extended laminar flow over the wing, fuselage and empennage, high aspect ratio wing, advanced wing tip devices with active load alleviation and flutter control, advanced materials, all electric systems and ultra high bypass engines. While it may be some considerable time yet for such an aircraft to become a reality, if indeed it does at all, the E2 concept does illustrate that a number of new technology advances are possible, and that airliner design has not plateaued.

At the bottom end of the Airbus family future developments currently being studied are looking at extended range Growth developments of the A319 and A321. The A319 could easily be adapted for increased range, as it features the structure originally designed for the heavier A320. Airbus has settled on a base maximum weight for the A319 of 64 tonnes, while an optional 68 tonne version suits transcontinental US operations. A further increase in weight and fuel could significantly improve range performance further. Airbus is also studying a corporate or government transport version of the A319. Such an aircraft would use the A319 Growth’s higher weights with an auxiliary underfloor fuel tank. Configured to seat 30, it could operate transatlantic and non stop Europe/Middle East routes.

The decision to make the A321 a minimum change stretch based on the A320, which has meant that the A321 has, according to Airbus, lower DOCs than any other narrowbody airliner, but at the price of less range than the A320 and A319. Airbus is now looking at an A321 Growth version which would have a US transcontinental full pax range. This could be achieved through minor structural modifications and a “throttle push” on the existing engines.

Having established a complete civilian product line, Airbus is now actively studying military developments of existing aircraft and may even take over leadership of the troubled Euroflag Future Large Aircraft transport programme. All such proposals are in the infant stages, but the FLA could conceivably extend Airbus’ customer base considerably. Given the problems with work share being experienced with the multinational Eurofighter programme at the moment, there exists a growing push to hand development of the FLA to a professional organisation like Airbus, steering clear of the many problems that have contributed to cost increases and time delays to the Eurofighter programme. If such a programme did go ahead it would be unique not only for being Airbus’ first military programme, but also because the FLA current design configuration sees it powered with turboprop engines. It must be stressed however that any such plans are in their infancy.

Another interesting possibility being studied is military developments of the A300-600ST Super Transporter, (which in fact is under development on behalf of Airbus by the SATIC consortium). The German army for instance has expressed interest in the A300-600ST, which has been nicknamed Beluga, as it can for example carry two CH-53 helicopters without any disassembly. SATIC hopes to make a decision in the coming months on whether or not to market the ST to commercial and military customers.

A third military possibility are developments based on current Airbus aircraft. Proposals, both past and current, have looked at developments of the A340 and A310. Already the A310 is in service with the Canadian Armed Forces, the German Luftwaffe and Thai Air Force where it is used as a strategic freighter and VIP transport. Airbus is now studying using the A310 as the basis of a new military strategic freighter that could also be equipped for air-to-air refuelling.

Sadly the days of new and exciting airliner developments making the headlines every few years have well and truly passed, and new gains in performance and economy are increasingly hard fought for. However, Airbus is keen to further develop and expand its already comprehensive model line up, and hence its market share, with the enormous A3XX, and sensible developments of existing aircraft. The future for airliners still looks very bright.