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Week ending August 8, 2000
+++ Boeing 737-900 flies for the first time +++ A340 improvements planned +++ MV-22 Ospey operational evaluation concludes +++ Fairchild Dornier 928JET design released +++ UK quits TRIGAT programme +++ News in brief +++
Boeing 737-900 flies for the first time
Erstflug der Boeing 737-900
On august 3, the largest and newest Boeing Next-Generation 737 jetliner ever made took to the skies over Washington state on its maiden flight. The Boeing 737-900, which is painted in red, white and blue Boeing livery, will be delivered to launch customer Alaska Airlines in April 2001. It rolled down the runway at the Renton Municipal Airport in Renton, Wash., then took off at 10:06 a.m. PDT, flying north over Lake Washington. The airport is located adjacent to the Boeing Commercial Airplanes final assembly plant where Boeing 737s are manufactured. Boeing Capts. Mike Carriker and Mark Feuerstein flew the airplane, west toward the Pacific Ocean, then flew south to Astoria, Ore., and back and forth over Washington State's Olympic Peninsula before landing at Boeing Field in Seattle. During the 2-hour 58-minute flight, Carriker and Feuerstein conducted a series of tests on the airplane's systems and structures. The two were in constant radio contact with a group of flight-test engineers waiting at Boeing Field.The flight-test phase of the 737-900 development program began with the Thursday flight. Over the next several months, this airplane and one other 737-900 flight-test airplane are scheduled to complete an estimated 380 flight-test hours and 120 ground-test hours. The testing must be completed before the 737-900 can be certified by regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe. The 737-900 program was launched in November 1997 with an order for 10 airplanes from Alaska Airlines. Continental Airlines, Royal Dutch Airlines and Korean Airlines also have ordered the airplane.
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A340 improvements planned
Verbesserungen für den Airbus A340
Ensuring that the A340 continues to provide the optimal airline solution for evolving market requirements, an enhanced A340 is being developed to provide still further improvements in standards of comfort, operating efficiency and design range. Some of the features in development for the A340-500/600 will be extended to the A340-300 together with an advanced version of the CFM56-5C4 powerplant. The upgraded powerplant, the CFM56-5C Enhanced, is based on an engine which has already accumulated over 2.4 million hours powering Airbus' best-selling A320 Family aircraft and over six million service hours in total. The quietest in its class, this enhanced engine will offer significant maintenance cost savings, increased reliability and longer life. Availability of the first engines for flight test is slated for autumn 2002 with first aircraft deliveries currently planned following certification in spring 2003. As a further development, Airbus will progressively extend new design features to the A340-300, following their introduction and proving on the A340-500/600 programme. LCD (liquid crystal display) flight-deck displays, fly-by-wire rudder actuation and additional crew rest options are just some of the features identified so far. In addition, new cabin features will complement the already high quality comfort standards of the existing aircraft, providing an even more spacious, comfortable and appealing environment for passengers and crew. Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
MV-22 Ospey operational evaluation concludes
Bell/Boeing Osprey schließt Truppenversuche ab
The MV-22 completed operational evaluation in July at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., after eight months of extensive flight testing to evaluate whether the Osprey will be effective and suitable for operational use. During this time, the Multi-Service Operational Test Team (MOTT), composed of Marine and Air Force pilots, aircrew, maintenance personnel, operations analysts and flight engineers, put the aircraft through rigorous tests in order to evaluate the MV-22's readiness to join the fleet. This squadron of independent testers, lead by Marine Lt. Col. Keith Sweaney, used the low rate initial production aircraft to conduct extensive operationally representative missions from air capable ships, airfields, remote sites, confined areas and major range and test facilities. Since November 1999, when OPEVAL began, tests conducted include self-deployment, land and shipboard operations, amphibious assault missions, over-water operations, night-vision goggle flights, low-level navigation, external loads lifting on single and dual hooks, inflight refueling with a C-130 tanker, aerial delivery of personnel and cargo, austere landings, fast roping, hoist operations and flying multi-aircraft formations from ship to land to evaluate the effectiveness of the troop assault mission. With OPEVAL completed, the low rate initial production aircraft that were used for this critical test phase have now been turned over to VMMT-204, the new MV-22 training squadron. This squadron is located at the Marine Corps Air Station New River, Jacksonville, N.C., and will train both Marine and Air Force Osprey pilots.
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Fairchild Dornier 928JET design released
Details des 928JET
Fairchild Dornier has released details of the design for the new 100-seat 928JET. "The key to our design of the 928JET is that it is not a simple 'stretch' of the 728JET, but is optimized for economic efficiency at 100 seats," said John Wolf, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Fairchild Dornier. "We have a slightly larger wing than that on the 728JET and a growth engine that is perfect for this size aircraft." The 928JET wingspan is 94 feet, 6 inches with a wing area of 908.5 square feet, compared with the 728JET's 89-foot wingspan and 807 square-foot wing area. The 928JET will use two CF34-10D engines, each with 17,100 pounds of thrust, while the 728JET uses the CF34-8D3 engine with 12,500 pounds of thrust.The 928JET uses the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics system as well as other subsystems also found on the 728JET, including Parker hydraulics, BFGoodrich landing gear and fuel system, Hamilton Sundstrand electrics, and Honeywell's environmental control system and auxiliary power unit. Plans call for the wings and empennage control surfaces to be produced in Spain by CASA.
Fairchild Dornier booked its first order for the 928JET from Bavaria Aircraft Leasing in June. Bavaria holds firm orders for four 928JETs and options for two more. GECAS, one of Fairchild Dornier's 728 customers, holds options that are convertible to 928JETs. The 928JET is scheduled for first flight in late 2003 and entry into service after its flight test and certification program ends in early 2005.
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UK quits TRIGAT programme
Großbritannien steigt bei TRIGAT aus
UK Defence Secretary, Geoffrey Hoon, has informed the UK's partners in the European collaborative Medium Range Anti-Tank Guided Weapon System, MR TRIGAT, that the UK has decided not to proceed with the Industrialisation and Production phase of the programme. The lack of progress since the UK signalled its willingness to proceed with MR TRIGAT last Summer has meant further, and unacceptable, delay and uncertainty in a programme whose In Service Date is already 10 years later than originally planned. We have therefore concluded that the Armed Forces' operational requirement for a modern Anti Tank Weapon is best met by an alternative national programme. We are already investigating an Off The Shelf system for our Light Forces which will perform better than MR TRIGAT and will be delivered more quickly.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN
On August 2, the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has formally accepted the first three of 22 Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules airlifters it has on order. Two of these aircraft will be delivered within the next several weeks to their new operating base at Pisa. Italy is beginning acceptance for what will be Europe's second largest C-130J fleet. The Royal Air Force being mid way through deliveries of its 25 C-130Js. The Italian C-130Js have already been Type Certified, and will begin operational flying as soon as they arrive in Pisa. The Aeronautica Militare Italiana's (AMI--Italian Air Force) 46th Air Brigade aircraft will initially conduct logistic supply, maximum payload, and tactical missions. Full clearance, which will add clearance for paratroop, airdrop, assault landings on unprepared fields, and maximum alternate weights missions, is anticipated before the end of the year.+++
British low-cost airline Go will resume flights on the Munich - Stansted route, only six months after pulling out of the market due to what it called Lufthansa price dumping. It will fly two times a day, instead of the previous four flights. Go protested to the EU, and the competiton authorities in Brussels are still investigating the case. The airline says that it is going to break even in its third year of operations, which began in April. It now has 20 destinations in the UK and Europe.
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China Eastern Airlines has added the A319 to its growing Airbus fleet, taking delivery today of its first such aircraft at the final assembly line in Hamburg. This handover ceremony marks the beginning of the carrier's introduction of ten A319s over the next three years, on lease from GE Capital Aviation Services. The A319 is a new Airbus type for China and it joins a fleet of popular A320s and A321s widely in service on the country's domestic and regional routes. Thanks to their optimal comfort and efficiency, the A320s and A321s have established themselves as the single-aisle aircraft of choice amongst Chinese passengers and operators alike.
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Boeing Airplane Services-Wichita Modification Center has startet work on the first 757 passenger-to-freighter conversion ever undertaken. Boeing is converting 44 757 jetliners to freighter configuration for DHL Worldwide Express. The 20-foot-by-22- foot cargo door surround structure that replaces the fuselage section that was removed was manufactured by Boeing in Renton, Wash. The converted 757 freighters will be capable of carrying 60,000 pounds of cargo and will have a range of more than 2,000 nautical miles. The first 757 freighter will be delivered to DHL during the first quarter of 2001.
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Fairchild Dornier has rolled-out of the first of 20 Alpha Jets destined for Thailand at the German Air Force Base Fürstenfeldbruck at a ceremony that included more than 200 guests. The airplanes, ordered last August from German Air Force inventory, are presently being overhauled by Fairchild Dornier and will be put back into commission. They have an average of only 2,000 flying hours. Included in the contract are the delivery of test equipment and tools, a spare parts package, and the training of Thai pilots and technical personnel in Germany. The transfer to Thailand of the first five airplanes is planned for the end of September 2000. Additional lots of five airplanes each will be delivered in March, May, and August of 2001.
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Gulfstream Aerospace has announced that the Gulfstream V, the world's first ultra-long-range business jet, set another world speed record on a flight from New York to Los Angeles - breaking the previous record heldby the Citation X. On Monday, July 3, 2000, the fully outfitted Gulfstream V departed Teterboro Airport carrying eight passengers and three crew. The aircraft cruised up to a speed of Mach .88 before landing with NBAA IFR reserves at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, California, completing the 2,219 nautical mile flight in four hours, 34 minutes -breaking the previous record by almost 15 minutes.
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Honeywell has said that its Aerospace business has announced at the Farnborough Airshow in England a number of significant customer agreements having a combined value of nearly $2.3 billion based on catalog prices. The agreements cover Honeywell supplying a variety of avionics, engines, wheels and brakes and service products to airlines and airframe builders around the world. The largest agreement, valued at $2 billion over its 30-year life, was for Honeywell's F124 turbofan engine that will power Aermacchi's next generation advanced trainer.
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Ibis Aerospace has announced that its new, multi-mission propjet, the Ae270, has successfully flown for the first time. Witnessed by a large gallery of employees, suppliers, and government officials the large-cabin, single-engine turboprop took to the beautiful clear skies over Aero Vodochody's manufacturing facility located outside Prague in the Czech Republic. At the controls were Aero test pilots, Vladimir Kvarda and Petr Sindelar. During the 20-minute initial flight the crew climbed the aircraft to an altitude of 4,000 feet and established a speed of 110 knots as approved. A series of tests on the airplane's engine, controls, and systems was then performed. After a successful flight and smooth landing the impressive new aircraft rolled to a stop in front of the cheering crowd. Commenting on the significance of the first flight, Ibis General Manager Milos Valis stated, "This first flight officially approves the continuation of the Ae270's flight-test and type certification program. Congratulations to all of our dedicated employees for their many hours of diligent effort to date and special thanks to our many suppliers for their support and cooperation to bring the Ibis Ae270 to this major milestone in its development program."
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Allied air power dealt the decisive blow to President Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian forces, according to the general in charge of analyzing NATO's victory over the former Republic of Yugoslavia. With his initial report published and the pending release of a 10,000 page one-year study, Brig. Gen. John D.W. Corley, director of studies and analysis for Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, called Operation Allied Force an unqualified success; a clear victory for NATO. "But there was still room for improvement," he said. "What's marvelous here is the willingness for this service to go forward and make an assessment of itself. This was a complex overall study," Corley said. "We wanted to take an honest look at what had and had not been done right during this air war. "No such data was available following Desert Storm. The archives created for OAF are a historic first," he said. "We probably approached 100 gigabytes of information. If we tried to lay out the pieces of paper, they would literally be miles and miles in length.
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CAE announced that its Commercial Simulation and Training Division has received new orders from 6 customers with a total combined value of over $85 million. The contracts include four Full Flight Simulators (FFS). All four simulators are to be built to FAA Level D specifications and will be fitted with CAE's state of the art MAXVUE visual system. The orders include contracts from three new customers RyanAir, WestJet, and Embraer.The contracts also include two new aircraft types for CAE: a convertible Raytheon Hawker 800/800XP business jet Full Flight Simulator (FFS) and a Sikorsky S-76C Plus helicopter FFS, both for GE-Capital Simuflite. These two simulators will be fitted with CAE's new generation MAXVUE Infiniti visual system.
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The Patriot PAC-3 Missile system achieved another success during a flight test Friday, July 28, at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The missile successfully intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile surrogate target. The system performed satisfactorily and the cruise missile target was tracked and destroyed in accordance with the test plan. This was the second successful intercept of a surrogate cruise missile by the PAC-3 system in less than a week. The PAC-3 Missile is a high velocity, hit-to-kill missile and is the next generation PATRIOT missile being developed to provide increased defense capability against advanced tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and hostile aircraft. The PAC-3 Missile uses kinetic energy to destroy its ballistic missile targets and employs a fragmenting warhead called a lethality enhancer against air breathing targets. The PAC-3 Missile successfully completed six missions prior to this flight test.
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