Commercial Aircraft Sales

Rolls-Royce and Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) have announced the formation of a joint venture aeroengine company. The joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Xian Aero Engine Company will begin by making the latest design of components for Rolls-Royce engines. A new factory will be built at Xian for the enterprise and it will be the single source supplier for the casting and machining of some engine components. The facility will become operational in 1998 and will eventually employ 600 people. It will cast and machine nozzle guide vanes and turbine blades for the Tay, RB211-535E4 and BMW Rolls-Royce BR710/715 family.

V2500 Powered A319 Flies

The first Airbus A319 powered by IAE V2524 engines recorded a successful first flight from Toulouse on May 22. The flight marks the beginning of a 200 hour test program which should lead to certification of the IAE V2524 powered A319 variant by the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) at the end of 1996. The first A319 — with CFM56-5B engines — was flown in August 1995 and certification with that engine was achieved last April with Swissair already putting the aircraft into service on European routes. The A319 is the smallest of Airbus’ airliner products, typically carrying 124 passengers in two classes over a range of 3000nm (5560km). The maiden flight of the V2524 powered A319 covered the full range of speeds and configurations the aircraft will encounter in normal flight, including a minimum speed of 100kt (185km/h) and a maximum of Mach 0.82. The maximum cruising altitude of 39,000ft (11,890m) was also reached.

Boeing Establishes New Regional Jet Links

As reported elsewhere in this Newsdesk, Boeing is no longer involved with China in the development of a 100 seat regional jetliner but has wasted no time in establishing alternative links to develop a similar aircraft. China has selected Europe’s Aero International (Regional) consortium as its partner in that project and Boeing has joined forces with Japan Aircraft Development (JADC) and Canada’s Bombardier to launch a series of studies into developing a competitor for the Sino-European aircraft. Boeing is reported to be conducting several parallel studies into the possible development of derivative or completely new regional jetliners. One is an international collaborative project involving Bombardier and JADC and others include developing a cheaper, 100 seat version of the existing Boeing 737 family. The JADC/Bombardier idea already has some intercompany connections as Mitsubishi developed a new supercritical wing for the Bombardier Global Express and has contributed to the design of the de Havilland Dash 8-400. Boeing briefly owned the former de Havilland Canada company before selling it to Bombardier in 1992. The whole future 100 seat regional jetliner scene continues to be confused with several international collaborative programs planned but nothing as yet committed to firm development. Even China’s AE-100 project is currently subject to a scrambling for shareholding. At the moment, Aviation Industries of China (AVIC), Aero International (Regional) and Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAE) are the likely players, but a South Korean consortium led by Samsung also wants to get involved. Talks between China and South Korea stalled late last year when the Koreans insisted on having a production line in their own country. Now a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between China, Europe and Singapore, the Koreans are in danger of being left out completely.

30 Seat Rj Market Studied

The operating economics of small commercial jet aircraft has always been an inhibiting factor to their development, leaving the lower end of the market exclusively the domain of turboprops over the years. Until recently, anything under about 65 seats has been considered too small for jet propulsion but the downward trend has already begun with the appearance of the 50 seat Canadair RJ and Embraer EMB-145. Now, engine manufacturers AlliedSignal and General Electric are studying the economic feasibility of even smaller regional jetliners of between 30 and 45 seats. AlliedSignal is working with several manufacturers on the market potential of a 30 seat regional jet, while GE is looking at a slightly larger aircraft in the 35 to 45 seat class. The trick, according to AlliedSignal, is to be able to combine the economics of a turboprop with the mission flexibility (suitability for longer routes) of a jet. AlliedSignal claims the acquisition and operating costs of its 7000lb (31.14kN) LF507 engine (as used on the Avro RJ) are competitive with those of a turboprop, while GE is certain it is only a matter of time before a small regional jet appears.

Radiation Alert

The US FAA has warned that long flights at high altitudes and latitudes will expose flight crews to possibly excessive doses of ionising radiation. The FAA says that such flights expose crews to 30 to 65 microsieverts of radiation, or the equivalent of up to three chest X-rays. This exposure is 70 to 140 times higher than on the ground and has the potential over a 30 year period of increasing the risk of cancer very slightly, by 0.5%. The FAA limits aircrew to 20,000 microsieverts a year, in line with international standards. Of potentially greater risk is aircrews’ exposure to a very dry cabin environment, constant time zone changes, long hours and interrupted sleep patterns.

Precision Approach The Key To Safe Landings

In what the US Flight Safety Foundation believes is the first attempt to quantify the benefits of precision approaches, research into 132 aircraft accidents between 1984 and 1993 has shown that precision approaches provide safety benefits up to five times greater than non precision approaches. In a study commissioned by the Dutch government, the Flight Safety Foundation found that 65% of the accidents involved instrument meteorological conditions, that 43% occurred in rain conditions and 42% during fog. 65% of these accidents also occurred at night and twilight. The report’s findings were highlighted by the recent crash of a US Air Force CT-43A (737) VIP aircraft in Croatia during April, in which the removal of sophisticated approach guidance equipment by retreating Serbian forces contributed to the aircraft hitting high ground just three kilometres from the runway during an instrument approach in bad weather. In some areas of eastern Europe, the risk factor of non precision approaches can be up to eight times greater, according to the report.

Avalon 97 Nears

Preparations are well advanced for next February’s Australian International Airshow and Aerospace Expo at Avalon. Next year Airshows Downunder expects more than 400 exhibitors from at least 30 countries. A number of major companies including Boeing, Westland, Rockwell Australia, Hawker Pacific, Rolls-Royce, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed Martin, Ilyushin and Antonov have indicated their willingness to attend. The Aerospace Expo will be further bolstered by strong British industry representations as part of the ‘New Images — Britain and Australia in the Twenty First Century’ program. Already three conferences have been planned to run in connection with the airshow — Wings over Water organised by Australian Customs and Coastwatch; Airports 97 run by the Institute of Engineers; and the International Aerospace Conference 97. The public days will feature six hour flying displays, while over 500 aircraft are expected to be on static display.

Collins Aust Satcom Maintenance

The Rockwell Collins Avionics Sales and Service Centre at Tullamarine, Melbourne was recently appointed to provide ongoing maintenance and support to the world’s first airborne six channel voice and data satellite communication system, SATCOM 906. In March this year the Rockwell Collins Avionics Service Centre at Tullamarine installed two test stations with automatic testing equipment worth over $1.5 million. The process involved the rewiring of both stations to conform to Australian power outputs, complete calibrations of the test benches and the installation of a GPS receiver. The larger of the two stations has been designed to automatically test the SDU 906 (Satcom Data Unit) series of equipment. Its capabilities also include the fully automatic testing of all other 700 and 900 series equipment such as HF, UHF, ILS, ADF and more.