Commercial Aircraft Sales

Boeing has completed engineering work on converting Boeing 747-300 passenger aircraft to freighters and work on the first conversion could start as early as April next year. There have been certain problems to overcome, notably that of the loss of capacity of one 3m (10ft) pallet due to the -300’s extended upper deck. A solution has been found, but Boeing has declined to say what it is (for commercial reasons). Conversions will be performed by Boeing’s Wichita Modification Centre which has already converted 68 747-100/200s to freighters and has a backlog of nine including three for Cathay Pacific. The 747-300 freighter will offer the same 110,300kg (243,200lb) payload as the -200.

Is Saab offering its new Saab 2000 in kit form? This 1:50 scale Lego model Saab 2000 built for the Legoland theme park in Denmark is made from 1600 individual bricks and was designed using Saab supplied photos and diagrams. (Saab)

Sales

Airbus A319

Swissair has ordered 3 additional A319s. Eurowings has ordered 3 A319s and optioned 3 more. Total A319/A320/A321 sales stand at 1017.

Airbus A320

Swissair has ordered 2 additional A320s. China Aviation Supplies Corp (PRC) has ordered 30 A320s. Northwest (USA) has ordered an additional 20 A320s. Total A319/A320/A321 sales stand at 1017.

Boeing 737

CSA (Czech Republic) has ordered 10 737-500s. Total 737 sales stand at 3300.

A319 Certificated

Airbus Industrie’s smallest airliner, the 124 passenger A319, received European Joint Airworthiness Authorities (JAA) type certification on April 10. The certification initially covers aircraft powered by CFM56-5B engines while the IAE V2500 powered version will be certificated later this year. The first A319 flew in August 1995 and the flight test program has involved two aircraft, 250 flights and more than 500 flying hours. Airbus has 88 firm orders for the A319 from Swissair, Lufthansa, Air Inter Europe, International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) and Air Canada. The first delivery (to Swissair via ILFC) was made shortly after certification.

Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Hercules II successfully completed its first flight on April 5. The 2hr 11min first flight was performed by a stretched C-130J-30 bound for the Royal Air Force. During the flight the C-130J reached an altitude of 10,500ft, tested the opening and closing of its rear ramp and paratroop doors in flight (the crew’s primary means of escape should something go wrong) and spent about 30min flying in formation with a Learjet for air-to-air photography. The first flight was about three months later than previously planned, due in part to late delivery of equipment from suppliers which caused integration problems. US FAA civil certification is now planned for May next year, with some delays to RAF and USAF first deliveries, while the first of 12 C-130J-30s for the RAAF should be delivered close to schedule. (Lockheed Martin)

MDC Lays Foundation in China

McDonnell Douglas is aiming for a brighter future in China, with the recent opening of a spare parts and support centre in Beijing during April signalling a stronger intent to engage the market. At present, McDonnell Douglas has two customer airlines in China, China Eastern (MD-80 and MD-11) and China Northern (MD-80), but the company says it must gain at least another four customers to remain viable in the nation. The pending delivery of the first of 11 MD-90s to China Northern and China Eastern will help consolidate the MDC product in China, a move it hopes will entice other Chinese carriers looking to replace an ageing fleet of more than 40 Tupolev Tu-154s.

Manufacturers Head to Africa

Airbus and Boeing are beating a path to airlines in Africa, where air traffic growth is expected to surpass the world average. The region is forecast to experience 6% growth per annum over the next 20 years, nearly 1% above the world average of 5.1%. Airbus has forecast that the replacement of ageing aircraft and increased frequency will see the region’s fleet size requirements grow from the current 295 aircraft to 650 by 2014. The comments were made by company representatives at the Aviation Africa 96 airshow at Johannesburg.

Boeing Lifts Employment

The ups and downs of employment within the airliner manufacturing industry continues, with Boeing now increasing its workforce by about 8% after a series of cuts in recent years. The additional jobs follow on from previously announced production rate increases (refer p6 5/96 AA). Most of the extra jobs will be in Washington state where the company expects to add about 6700 employees by the end of the year. Some 1900 will be added in Wichita, Kansas and 400 elsewhere. This will increase overall employment to 113,350 by the end of 1996, compared with 105,185 at the start of the year. There will be some reductions elsewhere, however, with the company’s Helicopters Division in Philadelphia losing about 700 workers and its Missile & Space Division at Huntsville, Alabama dropping about 100.

Airbus Australasia

Reflecting Airbus Industrie’s growing recognition of the importance of the South Pacific region, the European manufacturer has established a new commercial region – Australasia – within its organisation. Comprising Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and most of the South Pacific island nations, the Australasian region will be led by the former Vice President Sales Pacific, Phillip Pearce, who is returning to Australia from Beijing where he was Vice President Sales China. The region covered by Airbus Australasia already has Qantas (A300), Ansett (A320), Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (A300) and Air Niugini (A310) on its books.

Fairchild to Acquire Dornier

In a major realignment of the regional airliner market, Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) and Fairchild are in negotiations which are expected to result in the US manufacturer taking control of DASA subsidiary Dornier. Dornier’s main product is the Dornier 328 30 to 39 seat regional turboprop, sales of which have been sluggish and have contributed to DASA’s poor financial performance in recent times. If the deal goes ahead, DASA will have divested itself of all its regional airliner interests following the recent decision not to continue backing Fokker. Dornier also builds Airbus parts and performs maintenance work. For its part, Fairchild builds the Metro (and corporate Merlin) series of 19 passenger regional turboprops, of which more than 1000 have been delivered to airlines, air cargo operators, corporations, governments and the military over the years. Perhaps ironically, Fairchild was one of the original partners in the successful Saab 340 turboprop but withdrew from the project in 1984, shortly after certification had been achieved. The association of Fairchild with Dornier’s aviation programs will allow the company to offer a family of regional turboprop aircraft with between 19 and 39 seats.

Mini Micro Jet

An aerospace engineering graduate from the University of New South Wales’ School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering has set a new record by building the world’s smallest jet engine. Terry Burton’s achievement is set to receive one of the greatest accolades possible in the modern world – recognition by the Guinness Book of Records. The diameter of the engine’s compressor wheel is just 4cm (1.6in), 1cm less than the previous record holder. Mr Burton built the engine while completing his degree, the aim being to make a new engine to replace a very old one which had been used for many years by the school as a teaching aid. It wasn’t until the project was completed that he realised a new record had been set. Because of a limited budget he had to rely on donated parts and decided to modify for the project a car turbocharger from a Daihatsu Charade. The total cost was about $1000 as opposed to the $25,000 price of buying a new one. Terry Burton shares his birthdate with jet pioneer Sir Frank Whittle, so we suppose there was some inevitability that he would make a name for himself in the same field of endeavour!

China Exhibition

The China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition 96 (Airshow China 96) will be held at Zhuhai Airport, Guangdong on November 5 to 10 this year. It will be the first aviation exhibition in China where flying displays are permitted as well as being the most authoritative yet to be held in the country. It is backed by the Chinese Government and co-sponsored by CAAC, Aviation Industries China, China Aerospace Corporation and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Attendance by Australian companies is encouraged. For details contact Mr Robin Dulfer-Hyams at Southern Star Corporation on (02) 411 7233.

NASA SST Concept

NASA has unveiled a concept for a next generation supersonic transport, defining a preliminary specification for further study as part of its 15 year SST research program. Called the ‘Technical Concept Airplane’ (TCA), the design will never be built as such but will form the basis of future US industry and university efforts to develop technologies for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) program. Aermacchi has successfully completed the first air-to-air refuelling of a jet trainer with its MB-339. During the tests the MB-339 was refuelled by a Tornado with a buddy pod system and by a Boeing 707 T/T tanker, at altitudes from 15,000 to 30,000ft and at speeds of 200 (370) to 300kt (555km/h). The TCA includes a titanium/composite wing structure, hybrid titanium/composite fuselage and four mixed flow turbofan engines of about 50,000lb (220kN) thrust with axisymmetric inlets. There is no retractable nose visor, the forward fuselage is about Boeing 737 width tapering to 757 width, simple wing leading edge devices are specified, spoilers incorporated for high speed roll control, and other control is taken care of by a multirole elevon/aileron and flap system. The TCA is about 100m (330ft) long and its 40m (131ft) span wing is described as a “combined double delta cranked arrow”. A separate tailplane is included. Maximum takeoff weight is around 335,000kg (738,500lb) and the aircraft would carry 310 passengers in three classes over a range of 9200km (5000nm) at Mach 2.4. Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and a combined General Electric/Pratt & Whitney team are involved in the HSCT program.

China Deals Boost Europe

Europe’s aerospace industry has received a major boost following China’s decision to order Airbus A320s and to apparently undertake the development of a new regional jet airliner with Aero International (Regional), the recently established amalgamation of Avro, Jetstream and ATR. The Airbus order is for 30 A320s from China Aviation Supplies (CASC) of which 10 will go to China Southern Airlines which has until now operated an all Boeing jetliner fleet. The remaining 20 A320s will go to other, as yet unspecified Chinese regional carriers. Flag carrier Air China is currently evaluating the A320/321 to meet a requirement for 15 to 20 narrowbody airliners. The Boeing 737-700/800 is also in competition for the order. The Memorandum of Understanding with AI(R) regarding the development of a 100 seat regional jetliner with China and Singapore appears to make the British Aerospace/Aerospatiale/Alenia consortium the favourite for involvement in this project, although at the time of the April signing the final decision had not been made. This was expected as we went to press. It is understood that AI(R) offered to take a 30% stake in the project compared to rival Boeing’s 20%, with the latter also offering a lower technology transfer content.

ASTAAS Suffers From Noise Rules

Struggling maintenance organisation ASTA Aircraft Services (ASTAAS) has been dealt a severe blow by being refused permission by the Department of Transport to work on a Boeing 737-200.