Newsdesk — Commercial Aviation

Russian Industry Woes

Russia’s commercial aviation industry continues to experience steadily worsening fortunes with not one aircraft sold to the domestic market in the first half of 1996. Plans were in place to build 61 airliners this year, comprising nine Il-96-300s, 14 Tu-204s, 20 Tu-154Ms, five Il-62s, eight Yak-42s and five An-38s. A similar number was scheduled for manufacture in 1997 but these figures appear optimistic following the dearth of orders this year and an only slightly better 1995 in which nine Tu-154Ms were sold. Of the more than 300 Russian commercial operators, it is thought that only 10 are realistic chances to buy new aircraft and then in tiny numbers.

Bombardier officially rolled out the Canadair Global Express ultra long range high speed business jet on August 26. The Mach 0.88, 6500nm (12,040km) range Global Express was due to make its first flight during September, kicking off an 18 month flight test program which will be based at Bombardier’s flight test centre in Wichita, Kansas. The elaborate roll out ceremony at Bombardier’s Downsview, Toronto plant was attended by 2100 guests and featured a 45 piece orchestra and 1000 person choir. (Bombardier)

The situation reflects the reality predicted by many Western commentators after the breakup of the old Soviet Union. Russian industry assumed it would be able to transition from mainly military aircraft to civil production with relative ease, but despite these hopes and entering into various (and short lived) agreements with western engine and avionics manufacturers, nothing has happened. Few western operators would be prepared to take the chance of buying Russian airliners even at very low prices because of a lack of product support which results from the old, self contained and inwards looking culture of the Soviet Union that will probably take a generation to completely change. If Yakovlev’s bid for the Fokker product line is successful it will be interesting to see how many new customers can be attracted and if many of those who have so far unfulfilled orders will cancel their contracts.

Br710 Approved

The BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 turbofan engine has received approval by the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and received its Type Certificate from Germany’s certification authority, the LBA. US certification should be achieved by the time these words are read. Initially rated at 14,750lb (65.6kN) thrust the BR710 powers the Gulfstream V and Bombardier Global Express long range corporate jets and will be fitted to the BAe Nimrod 2000 upgrade for the RAF. Certification of the engine follows a five year development program with 5000 engine running hours including a 10 month flight test program on the Gulfstream V starting in November last year. First flight in the Global Express is imminent and the GV is scheduled to enter service by the end of this year. Planned developed versions of the basic engine include the 18,500lb (82.3kN) thrust BR715 for the MD-95-35 airliner, while the engine is capable of eventually producing up to 22,000lb (97.9kN) thrust.

Hdh Delivers New Generation 737 Ailerons

Hawker de Havilland has handed over to Boeing the first shipset of composite ailerons for the new generation 737-600/700/800 family of airliners at the company’s Bankstown facility. HdH began building ailerons for the 737 in 1982 when their construction was changed from metal to composite materials and since then has delivered over 1800 shipsets. HdH participated in the development of the new ailerons from the beginning of 1994 by having a team of engineers resident in Seattle as part of Boeing’s Design Build Team. HdH is an industrial participant in the Co-operative Research Centre Aerospace Structures (CRC-AS) which has developed an innovative one-shot co-cured aileron tab incorporated into the aileron structure. Current contracts will see HdH making 737 ailerons well into the next century.