Newsdesk — Commercial Aviation

Uk Airbus Dithering Has Cost Billions

A report released by the University of the West of England claims the failure of Britain to fully commit itself to the Airbus consortium will cost its aerospace industry £17.5bn ($A37bn) by 2010. The study also warns that further damage will be done to the industry if the British government fails to commit itself to the FLA military transport project, which is now managed by Airbus. Other European governments and aerospace executives have previously warned that a lack of British support for the FLA could endanger British Aerospace’s future as an Airbus partner. Britain was originally to have a 37.5% share of Airbus but withdrew from the consortium in 1969. Upon officially rejoining in 1978, that share had been cut to 20%, BAe becoming responsible for wing design and manufacturing, a specialist role it has maintained since. Britain has recently ordered 25 new generation Lockheed C-130J Hercules transports to replace some of its ageing C-130Ks, leaving the door open for an FLA order for 40 to 50 aircraft.

Fdr Upgrading Needed

Shortcomings in the information provided by the flight data recorders (FDR) in the USAir Boeing 737-300 crash last September and a United 737-200 crash in 1991 have prompted the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to call for an urgent upgrade of the equipment installed in every 737 in US airline service by the end of the year. The FDRs failed to provide vital information about aircraft motion and flight control surface position in both cases, information without which a positive reason for the accidents cannot be established. Both 737s suddenly rolled inverted from relatively low altitude, the -200 while on approach and the -300 while on descent at 6000ft.

The NTSB has also recommended that all US operated airliners have upgraded FDRs installed by 1998. Aircraft manufactured before 1989 have already had their FDRs upgraded to measure 11 rather than six parameters, while those built between 1989 and 1991 have 17 parameter FDRs installed. Since then, FDRs measuring 24 parameters have been installed and it is to this standard that the NTSB wants the 737s and other aircraft upgraded. Even so, they are only required to record control inputs or flight control positions and the NTSB wants both to be recorded.

Atc Training At Tamworth

The Australian Air Academy at Tamworth has won a contract from the Civil Aviation Authority to provide initial training for air traffic controller trainees. The four week initial course will see the trainees receive an introduction to the Australian aviation environment with an emphasis on the role of air traffic control. Subjects to be studied include aeronautical principles, aviation meteorology, navigation, altimetry and air legislation. After completing their time at Tamworth, the students will move on to the CAA’s Air Traffic Control Training Colleges in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Baa Listed On Stock Exchange

British airports operator BAA Plc has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in anticipation of its involvement in the privatisation of Australia’s airports. BAA Australasia will team with the AMP Society and NSW State Superannuation in its bid to gain control of one or more of the profitable major airports with Sydney the prime target. The 49% limit on foreign ownership makes it necessary for overseas bidders such as BAA to team up with local organisations. The total float is expected to be worth $2bn, with Sydney probably accounting for about half of that. By listing on the Australian Stock Exchange, Australians will be able to trade directly in BAA shares. BAA is also looking to expand into the Asian market. It is already involved in the new passenger terminal at Chek Lap Kok (Hong Kong’s new airport currently under construction) and Kuala Lumpur’s new airport (scheduled to open in 1997) and is working on projects in Indonesia, China and the Philippines.

Longer Legs For A340

Airbus is looking at developing a new version of its A340 four engined long range airliner with even more range than is currently available. Based on the existing A340-200, the ‘A340-8000’ will offer a range of 8000nm (14,800km), 800nm (1480km) more than the current aircraft if developed. Extra fuel capacity will be provided under the floor and a more powerful version of the aircraft’s CFM56 engine will be required to cope with an increase in gross weight. A further 500nm (925km) of range could be added by installing even more underfloor fuel but at the expense of a considerable number of the normal 260-280 seats, although first class passengers could have below deck sleeping accommodation made available to help cope with sector times of more than 18 hours. Airbus is also looking at new versions of the A330 widebody twin, one stretched to give it a passenger capacity of over 400 and one shortened to carry about 240 passengers in three classes.

Western Power For Il-86

International Aero Engines (IAE) and the Ilyushin design bureau are examining re-engining the Il-86 four engined widebody transport with V2500 engines in place of the standard NK-86s. Preliminary studies indicate the V2500 would substantially improve the Il-86’s performance and IAE says it would also be better than another Il-86 re-engining plan involving CFM56 engines. The V2500 is also being considered to power a proposed stretched version of the Il-76 freighter.

See The Light

Laser lightshows are proving to be a safety threat to pilots who have reported temporary blindness after being ‘hit’ by lasers. The skies around Las Vegas are the biggest problem with one crew reporting 10 minutes’ vision impairment after being hit by a laser beam which originated 140km away. The aircraft was flying at 31,000 feet at the time. An alert on the problem has been issued by NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System and a committee has been formed to examine it.

Uk Queries A340 Certification

The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has queried the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) about alleged shortcomings in the Airbus A340’s fuel and flight management systems. The AAIB has asked the JAA whether it was aware of these problems when it awarded the A340 certification. The AAIB’s move follows investigations into incidents involving a Virgin Atlantic A340 which suffered fuel misreadings and two flight-management-guidance envelope computer (FMGEC) software problems during a flight between Tokyo and London Heathrow in September last year. The aircraft landed safely after a fuel emergency had been declared.

Airbus has already addressed both issues with the installation of five extra fuel sensors in each inner tank while the FMGEC problems have been largely solved. The first involves the autopilot sometimes turning the aircraft the wrong way from a heading of 180 degrees, while the other concerns loss of the pilots’ moving map displays, something which has also occurred on the A320 from time to time.

Awa Wins Dme Contract

AWA Defence Industries has been awarded a $4m contract by the Civil Aviation Authority to supply 28 International Distance Measuring Equipment (DME-N) beacons. The contract is part of the CAA’s DME Transition Project which will see the replacement of the Australian Domestic DME (DME-A) equipment at all 107 sites in Australia by the end of the year. This will bring Australia’s DME network in line with the rest of the world. Deliveries of the new units begins this month and the contract will be completed by September.

Airbus Predicts Strong Growth

Airbus Industrie’s latest Global Market Forecast predicts a demand for 15,000 new jetliners over the next 20 years (excluding the CIS) to cope with an average annual passenger growth rate of 5.1% and to replace older aircraft. Of that 15,000 aircraft, some 1600 have already been ordered, leaving a potential market for 13,400 airliners between now and the end of 2014. These represent an estimated $USD1000bn in revenue, although Airbus suggests that up to 15% of the market may be filled by used airliners. Replacing about 80% of the current fleet will account for just under half of the new aircraft ordered.

Airbus estimates that the market will be split evenly between narrowbody and widebody airliners with an average size of 246 seats, with an average of 142 seats in the narrowbodies and 355 in the widebodies. Overall, Airbus estimates the capacity of the world passenger fleet will more than double over the next 20 years from the current 1.6 million seats to 4 million: with the proportion of widebodies increasing from 28% today to 46%. Airbus also sees a market for 800 very high capacity airliners (over 500 seats). Airbus’ individual market passenger traffic estimates range from an average growth rate of 3.7% per annum in the US domestic market to 7% in the Asia-Pacific region and 10% in China, the latter starting from a low base.

Asta Jobs To Go

Following a loss of $61m in the 1993/94 financial year, Aerospace Technologies of Australia has announced that 200 workers will be sacked from the company’s ASTA Aircraft Services (ASTAAS) aircraft maintenance division and the remaining 600 have been forced to take a week’s leave. The move comes in the face of the planned privatisation of ASTA and results from heavy losses caused by intense competition and the resulting depleted order book. The Federal Government wants Qantas to assume control of ASTAAS, options including the airline either buying into the operation or entering into a long term management deal. Other contenders are Hawker de Havilland and E Systems. Though ASTA presently loses money, much as a reflection of the state of the international aerospace industry than anything, it is asset rich with a wide array of state-of-the-art high tech equipment and engineering expertise.

Indonesian Airports Expansion

In marked contrast to our own government’s attitude to airports, the Indonesian Government is planning to extend the runways and upgrade the facilities at 60 small airports in the mainly eastern part of the country to enable them to accept the forthcoming N-250 70 seat regional turboprop and boost tourism. The N-250, to be built by Indonesia’s IPTN requires a 1500m runway to operate from. Most of the runways in Indonesia’s eastern region are less than 1000m long. High priority is being placed on extending 40 airports in order to improve air transport between the eastern islands, many of which have substantial tourism potential which are presently hampered by inadequate regional airline services.

Sas Launches 737-600

Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) has selected the new generation Boeing 737-600 to fill its need for a 100 seat airliner. The contract for 35 aircraft (plus 35 options) represents the launch order for the -600 and marks a significant change for SAS, which has traditionally been a McDonnell Douglas customer. The 737-600 won the SAS order against competition from the yet to be launched McDonnell Douglas MD-95, the Airbus A319, Fokker 100 and Avro RJ100. To be powered by CFM56-7 engines, SAS’s 737s will replace DC-9-41s and Fokker F28s. They will be fitted with convertible seats which will allow the aircraft to be reconfigured from five abreast to six abreast seating, giving a capacity of between 95 and 128 passengers. Deliveries will begin in 1998 and enter SAS service at the rate of one per month.

The order is a big blow to McDonnell Douglas, which was hoping SAS would be the launch customer for the MD-95. Two major factors apparently influenced the decision: the generous financial terms offered by Boeing (other manufacturers felt that to undercut would have meant losing money on the deal) and the fact that the MD-95 is still a paper aeroplane and at least three to four years away from certification. SAS says it might have considered the MD-95 if other customers had been “prepared to line up”.