Aviation International News: Latest News

Bombardier Maritime Patrol Aircraft for UAE Passes Critical Milestone

2009-11-20T17:45:11-05:00

The Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) for the UAE passed its critical design review phase, keeping the program on schedule. The first of two aircraft being converted by Provincial Aerospace Ltd. (PAL) of Canada are to be qualified in the first half of 2011, with service entry slated for later in that year.

PAL and Thales signed the contract for the conversion of two UAE-owned Dash 8 Q300s in late 2008, but the deal was not made public until the IDEX show this February, by which time work was already under way. The deal brought to a close a long-running saga concerning the UAE’s MPA requirements in which Thales and later EADS-CASA had proposals accepted but not continued.

In its third incarnation the MPA requirement began with the UAE choosing the Dash 8 Q300 as the platform, before staging a competition between teams comprising Field Aviation/L-3 and PAL/Thales for the mission conversion. PAL/Thales was ultimately selected.

Thales is leading the mission system integration using its proven Amascos modular maritime surveillance suite. The UAE aircraft will feature the latest Ocean Master 400 360-degree search radar, communications/identification system and TMS2000 acoustics processing from Thales, FLIR Systems' optronics turret, with electronics support measures (ESM) and a self-protection suite provided by Elettronica. The mission suite will be fully integrated on the ground by Thales before the company supports PAL in fitting it in the aircraft.

As well as catering for sensor installations, PAL’s airframe conversion includes adding an air-drop hatch in the lower rear fuselage, air-operable side door, observation windows and an extended-range fuel system. While the UAE’s airplanes will be extremely well-equipped for the MPA mission, they will remain unarmed, leaving the attack mission to other platforms.

The UAE program represents the first time that the Thales Amascos system has been applied to a Dash 8, and this could be offered for other customers. Oman, for instance, has a competition for an MPA. In this case, Thales has proposed a mission system independent of the airframers, as Amascos is applicable to a range of types.

Working closely with the UAE on the MPA aircraft may give Thales a springboard for other related programs. One sensitive area is Sigint, for which Thales has been awarded a research-and-development contract by the French authorities. Known as Matrice, the program is exploring potential technology to provide a follow-on capability to the Transall Gabriel airborne Sigint platform, which is scheduled for retirement around 2017. When matured, this technology could be made available to France’s strategic partners, such as the UAE.

Boeing Markets Yet Another AH-6 Helicopter Derivative

2009-11-20T16:03:49-05:00

The debut of the Boeing AH-6i light attack/reconnaissance helicopter at the Dubai Airshow this month was just the latest iteration in this aircraft’s long and complicated history. The design first flew in the 1960s as the Hughes Model 300. It was adopted by the U.S. Army as the OH-6A and further developed for civilian customers as the Models 500 and 530. McDonnell Douglas then bought Hughes Helicopters and sold versions of the helicopter to the U.S. Special Forces as the AH/MH-6J. When Boeing bought MD, it sold the light helicopter business line to investors. Today, there is a complicated relationship between Boeing and MD Helicopters regarding military versions of the design.

According to Boeing, the original OH-6 and the variant that it offers today have little in common, other than the characteristic shape of the fuselage. “Boeing has brought the AH-6 into the modern world, with a glass cockpit, more power, and more controllability,” said Fred Jernigan, business development manager. “Not everyone can afford the AH-64 and Hellfire missile system, and the AH-6 with the Dagger is a good alternative,” he continued.

Boeing selected the Dagger because it is compatible with the Hellfire. But the latter is still an option on the AH-6i. The helicopter also comes equipped with an L-3 Wescam MX-15Di EO/IR turret; Fadec controls for the Rolls-Royce C30R/3M engine; a lightweight multiple weapons mount; and an advanced glass cockpit that displays Apache III-type software, according to Jernigan. The structure has been beefed up, and the transmission is driven by a six-bladed main rotor and four-bladed tail rotor. The gross takeoff weight is now 4,700 pounds.

Jernigan has identified “about a dozen serious customers worldwide” for the AH-6i. They include operators in the maritime sphere, as well as army, special forces and law enforcement agencies.

‘Complex’ UAE Plan To Buy Rafale Jets Proceeds

2009-11-20T16:10:28-05:00

Although the supply of French Rafale combat jets to the UAE was not finalized at the Dubai Airshow, there were plenty of indications that negotiations are going well. In an unusual departure from custom, the former head of the UAE Air Force gave a detailed interview on the progress of the deal to The National, the main newspaper in Abu Dhabi. General Khalid al Buainnain said, “The brothers at the Air Force are taking their time to make sure that all the operational requirements as well as technical and logistical requirements are met.” Khalid added that the deal was complex, and included a trade-in of the UAE’s Mirage 2000-9 fighters. Meanwhile, AIN has noted that the joint venture company set up by Team Rafale and Khalid’s trading company, Buynama, has a charter to market the Rafale not only to the UAE, but more widely in the region. A brochure produced by DASBAT states that two countries in the Gulf seem likely prospects: Kuwait (which has already formally expressed an interest in the French fighter) and Oman.

UAE Selects Basic Trainer and “Interim” AEW&C Aircraft

2009-11-20T17:34:14-05:00

Breaking with a tradition that has seen major military procurements signed and announced only in Abu Dhabi, the UAE government sealed deals for new training and AEW&C aircraft during the Dubai Airshow this month. Pilatus secured the new basic trainer, an order for 25 PC-21s worth $521 million, to also include several training simulators with all systems and services. Saab received an order for what seems to be an interim AEW&C requirement.

The PC-21s will replace PC-7s as part of a complete revamp of pilot training by the UAE Air Force. Suppliers of ground-based training systems (GBTS), such as Bombardier and KBR, were expecting the UAE to issue a request for proposals, but it now seems that they may have to subcontract via Pilatus. During a presentation at the Air Chiefs Conference in Dubai, UAE Air Force Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Naser Alalawi emphasized that a new GBTS is an integral part of the pilot training revamp. Ibrahim said that the UAE would implement the new training system by 2012, in which case the need to select a GBTS is becoming urgent, according to suppliers who spoke with AIN.

The UAE’s order with Saab for an apparent interim AEW&C requirement is for two EriEye systems using a Saab 340 platform. “The UAE is currently evaluating several options to purchase permanent-solution command and early warning aircraft,” said an official statement. Saab’s order is valued at $223 million.

Indonesia Chooses Russian and Chinese Trainers

2009-11-20T17:34:54-05:00

Recently installed chief of staff of the Indonesian air force vice marshal Imam Safaat outlined a modernization plan for the service’s pilot training while speaking at the ceremony in which he took over from Marshal Subandrio. The Indonesian air force has operated some 20 Hawk Mk 53s and eight OV-10 Broncos for approximately 30 years, and to upgrade the training program they need to be replaced.

According to Imam, the air force has identified the Russian Yakovlev Yak-130 or Chinese Guizhou FTC-2000 (JL-9) Mountain Eagle as the optimum replacement and will soon propose a purchase to the government. In the case of both types, Indonesia could become the first export customer. The air force is also aiming to replace its Northrop F-5E fighters from 2013.

Flight Plan System Failure Causes Widespread Delays

2009-11-19T17:18:49-05:00

Early this morning the FAA’s computerized system for loading flight plans failed, causing widespread traffic delays of up to 90 minutes and some airline flight cancellations. Between approximately 5:15 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. EST the Nadin (national airspace data interchange network) system failed at both its Atlanta and Salt Lake City locations due to a router problem. The failure temporarily meant that FAA automated systems at major regional facilities could not process flight information, causing delays as ATC personnel were forced to input information manually. The Nadin failure stalled the process for entering Notams and weather information into the system. New York-area controllers compensated by increasing aircraft separation to 20 miles. FltPlan.com told AIN that approximately 1,000 of the GA flights it handled this morning were affected. An FAA spokesman told AIN that the system had been restored by 9 a.m. EST, but that it would “take a while to reboot the residual systems.” According to the FAA, “The failure was attributed to a software configuration problem within the FAA telecommunications infrastructure in Salt Lake City. As a result FAA services used primarily for traffic flow and flight planning were unavailable electronically.”

Dassault Results Reveal NetJets Delays, Cancellations

2009-11-19T17:18:45-05:00

Disclosing its financial results for the first three quarters of the year, Dassault on November 12 indicated that the backlog for Falcon business jets is still suffering from cancellations, while deliveries are much less affected. As of September 30, the 2009 order intake was negative, at minus €2 billion (approximately $3 billion), a number that includes Dassault’s civil and military activities. For the third quarter alone, the order intake was minus €900,000 ($1.35 million). Revenues, at €2.29 billion ($3.43 billion) for the period, dropped by 9 percent. Fifty-one Falcons were delivered versus 47 during the first three quarters of 2008. The French manufacturer expects the delivery rate to remain constant in the fourth quarter. Dassault identified the weak dollar as an additional challenge. More recently, said the company, NetJets has issued a new acquisition plan that reschedules Falcon 2000LX and Falcon 7X deliveries until 2014. After that year, the fractional does not want to make firm commitments, which translates into “the cancellation of a significant portion of the orders received,” Dassault revealed. Between 2006 and 2008, NetJets ordered a total of 56 Falcons.

Should Uncle Sam Fund NextGen Avionics?

2009-11-19T17:18:32-05:00

Even though DOT Secretary Ray LaHood told the “Future of U.S. Aviation” forum last week that NextGen is not just an aviation or DOT issue, the Obama administration is sending differing signals about whether it would support a proposal for federal assistance for aircraft equipage. Senior White House economic aide Lawrence Summers and a broad industry coalition are calling for speedy government financial aid, and the group reportedly is supported by high-ranking federal transportation appointees. But the White House Office of Management and Budget seems opposed to anything that would add to the federal deficit. In a letter to the DOT secretary, US Airways chairman and CEO Doug Parker said, “If the cost of deploying NextGen has to be covered by even higher taxes or fees imposed on the airlines, we prefer to live without it at the current time.” The meeting concluded with LaHood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt revealing the formation of a new federal advisory committee that will study every facet of the aviation industry. LaHood promised that the committee will submit a blueprint for change in aviation within one year.

Settlement Reached in 2008 Learjet 60 Crash

2009-11-19T17:18:29-05:00

A settlement has been reached in one of a number of lawsuits stemming from the September 2008 crash of a Learjet 60 in which Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein was injured. According to Los Angeles County Superior Court papers, the widow of pilot James Bland, who died in the Columbia, S.C. crash, will receive $406,250 and his 17-year-old daughter will receive $25,000 a year for the next three years from defendants in the case–Global Executive Aviation, Inter Travel & Services and the Pem Group. In a separate filing, the estate of Adam Goldstein is suing Clay Lacy Aviation, Goodyear Tire, Learjet and Inter Travel & Services and others for wrongful death. The amended suit claims Goldstein was forced to take various drugs for the burns and emotional distress he suffered as a result of the crash. The accident, therefore, was the ultimate cause of the celebrity disc jockey’s death of a drug overdose, the suit alleges. Following the crash, a tire debris trail was found at approximately 2,800 feet down the 8,602-foot runway and the NTSB is eyeing a blown tire as the possible cause of the accident. Both pilots and two other passengers were killed in the accident. Goldstein and punk rocker Travis Barker were injured. Goldstein was found dead in August in his Manhattan apartment. The official cause of death was later determined to be “acute intoxication” from a combination of prescription drugs and cocaine.

Forecast International Hints at Shift in Jet Market

2009-11-19T17:17:08-05:00

In its latest business jet market prediction covering the next 10 years, Forecast International calls for worldwide production of 11,277 business jets worth an estimated $197 billion. According to the report, total production will decline for the next two years to a low of 716 aircraft in 2011 before beginning its rise through the end of the forecast period. While Gulfstream is predicted to take the top position among the OEMs in terms of order value, the report projects the top three bizjet builders in terms of unit production will be Cessna, Embraer and Bombardier, a clear indication that the Brazilian airframer’s rapid rise could be a growing threat to the Wichita manufacturers. “[Embraer is] a very aggressive new player in the bottom half of the market at exactly the moment when the traditional bottom-half players, especially Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft, are under tremendous pressure,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group. “It has the potential to get 15 or 20 percent of the marketplace; starting from zero, that’s pretty impressive.”

TSA Issues NPRM On Repair Station Security

2009-11-18T14:50:07-05:00

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) yesterday released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to strengthen aircraft repair station security. The proposed regulation has been in the works since 2003, when Congress ordered the TSA to develop security requirements for repair facilities within eight months. The deadline passed with no results and Congress gave the TSA another year to comply.

According to the TSA, the intent of the regulation is to establish security requirements for maintenance and repair work conducted on aircraft and aircraft components at domestic and foreign repair stations certified by the FAA.
“This proposed rule supplements FAA requirements that protect aircraft undergoing repairs from terrorist threats,” said Lee Kair, assistant administrator of the agency’s office of security operations. “By enhancing repair station security, this rulemaking guards against the potential threat of an aircraft being destroyed or used as a weapon.”

According to Kair, the increased security protections proposed in the NPRM are designed to build on the “existing, extensive” FAA certification and safety requirements for repair stations. The proposed regulation would require FAA-certified foreign and domestic repair stations to adopt and carry out a standard TSA security program to safeguard the security of a repair station, the repair work conducted and all aircraft and aircraft components at the station. The program will require certified stations to implement strict access controls, provide security awareness training and allow for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspections. One of the contentious issues within the industry is that aircraft repair stations vary widely in size, type of repair work performed, number of employees and proximity to an airport. “I'm afraid of a one-size-fits-all mentality,” one MRO operator told AIN. “There’s a big difference between sitting at a desk in Washington making decisions on how operators should run their business and actually being out here running a business. No one has ever accused the federal government of being too supportive of small business.”

Eric Byer, v-p of government and industry affairs for the National Air Transportation Association, agreed with the concern about a one-size-fits-all policy. Byer told AIN his association is reviewing the NPRM and will provide comprehensive comments. The association will also provide bullet points that member companies can use in submitting their own comments to the TSA.

“At first glance, the devil remains in the details covered by the standard security program [SSP] so we still have much to learn about the NPRM’s impact on the repair station community,” Byer said. “The proposed rule does appear to recognize the breadth of the repair station community so we are hopeful the requirements contained within the SSP recognize those small repair facilities that work on aircraft at general aviation airports or may not even be based at an airport. We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.” The NPRM fulfills the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act’s requirement for the DHS to put forth security regulations for domestic and foreign aircraft repair stations. The public has 60 days to comment on the NPRM once published in the Federal Register.

More Hawker Beechcraft Layoffs

2009-11-18T16:29:09-05:00

The employees of Hawker Beechcraft’s Little Rock operation are facing the company’s next round of layoffs. Hawker Beechcraft employs about 8,000 workers company-wide, including approximately 800 at the Little Rock completion center. The company announced last February it planned to lay off 2,300 employees this year due to the down economy. Last May about 150 workers were released at the facility. Valerie Rodriguez, president of Lodge 463 of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) in Jacksonville, Ark., told AIN that the employees of the Little Rock facility, unlike those of the Salina, Kan. operation, were no longer unionized and hadn’t been for some years. Hawker Beechcraft has not specified how many workers will be released in the current reduction. Earlier this month the company announced it would be closing its Salina, Kan. facility. The timeline for closing that facility has not been announced, although Hawker Beechcraft’s lease ends Feb. 12, 2012.

Stevens To Add Pro Line to Clifford Citation 550/S550

2009-11-18T16:55:14-05:00

Clifford Development and Stevens Aviation have expanded their Clifford Citation 550 and S550 engine conversion partnership. Stevens Aviation will install an optional Rockwell Collins three-display Pro Line 21 IDS that is certified in a dual AHRS (attitude-heading reference system)/turbulence radar configuration. Clifford Development has certified 35 improvements as part of the C550/S550 Williams engine installation STC, including an Ametek digital engine display, the Rockwell Collins three-display Pro Line 21 IDS System, heavy-duty Goodrich brakes and a dual Fadec system. The Williams FJ44-3A engines are thermodynamically rated at 3,000 pounds each (takeoff thrust is flat-rated to 2,820 pounds) versus the original engine’s 2,500-pound rating. According to Clifford, the modification reduces the typical Citation 550/S550’s basic operating weight by 200 pounds while decreasing the original one hour and 37 minute step climb profile to FL430 to 22 minutes. The modification also provides an 18-percent increase in maximum cruise speed and a 59-percent increase in NBAA IFR range with four passengers.

Embraer To Conduct EASA 147 Maintenance Training

2009-11-18T17:04:15-05:00

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified Embraer as a Part 147 maintenance training organization. The approval covers the four E-Jets of the Embraer 170/190 series (170, 175, 190 and 195). KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ regional subsidiary KLM Cityhopper, the first customer for Embraer’s training, began the program last month at its headquarters at Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam. The training is slated to be concluded year-end. “As an EASA Part 147 maintenance training organization we are able to bring added value to our customers in terms of experience and know-how regarding the aircraft we designed,” said Simon Newitt, Embraer director for customer training. According to the company, type-training courses for the E-Jets are available at Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil, and can also be administered at customers’ locations worldwide.

Maintenance Veteran Erickson Named ARSA President

2009-11-18T17:05:12-05:00

Chris Erickson, chief repair station officer and compliance officer at Erickson Air-Crane, has been elected president of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) at the association’s annual board meeting. Erickson assumes the presidency after two years as the association’s senior vice president. Dr. Hans Jürgen-Loss, vice president of quality management at Lufthansa Technik, and Gary Fortner, vice president of quality management at Fortner Engineering, were elected ARSA’s senior vice president and treasurer, respectively, for 2010. Erickson began his aviation career in 1969 and has a diverse background in operating, maintaining and manufacturing helicopters and in working with civil aviation authorities worldwide. He joined Erickson Air-Crane in 1981 and has served in various managerial positions. In 2003 he became the compliance officer and chief repair station officer. In addition to executive leadership, ARSA announced its board of directors for 2009-2010. Joining Erickson, Jürgen-Loss and Fortner will be Ian Cheyne, vice president of Dallas Airmotive; Gary Hudnall, director of maintenance at Jet Center Medford; Gary Jordan, CEO of Jordan Propellers; William Peacher, senior vice president of Nordam; Jim Perdue, vice president of Sonico; and Dave Latimer, vice president of regulatory compliance at Timco.

Cessna Delivers Four; Sees Demand for More

2009-11-17T14:59:42-05:00

As evidence of the continuing demand for new aircraft in the Middle East, Cessna handed over four Citations to four separate customers at the Dubai Air Show. Jordan’s Arab Wings received a Sovereign, while the Egyptian Aviation Academy took delivery of the first of four Mustangs on order. The Algerian government accepted its new XLS+ and Saudi Arabia-based Citation distributor Wallan Aviation took delivery of the first Middle East Citation X to be fitted with elliptical winglets, which boost range by 480 nm with six passengers. Trevor Esling, Cessna’s international sales vice president, told AIN that while sales are relatively slow, there is fresh demand from the region across the entire Citation line and growth is expected over the next five to 10 years. According to Esling, Middle East customers voiced strong demand for the company’s now-shelved long-range Citation Columbus. “The main requirement is to be able to fly Dubai to London nonstop,” he said, noting Cessna will eventually have to fill that niche if it wants to avoid losing customers to rivals offering larger aircraft.

Middle East Falcon Fleet To Grow 50% in Three Years

2009-11-17T14:59:10-05:00

With 50 of its aircraft currently operating in the Middle East, Dassault expects that total to swell by 50 percent over the next three years, according to Alain Aubry, Dassault Falcon’s vice president of sales and marketing. Speaking at the Dubai Air Show, Aubry said the Middle East has accounted for only two order cancellations since the beginning of the economic crisis, far fewer than any other region. Next year, beginning in March, the French airframer is expected to deliver the first three of four long-range 7Xs that Saudi Arabian Airlines ordered at the last Dubai Air Show for use as VIP transports. In January, Saudi Arabia’s National Air Service (NAS) expects to receive its first Falcon 2000LX, with another to follow later in the year. In 2007 NAS placed firm orders for four of the aircraft, along with options for another 16. Based upon its increasing market share, Dassault last year established a parts distribution center in Dubai to serve the region.

NTSB Asks for More Oversight of Public Helo Ops

2009-11-17T14:57:52-05:00

The NTSB has issued another set of recommendations regarding helicopter emergency medical service (EMS) operations, this time highlighting concerns with FAA oversight of public aircraft operators. The recommendations stem from an accident on September 27 last year involving a Maryland State Police Eurocopter AS 365N1 operated as a public medical evacuation. The pilot, two crewmembers and one of two patients were killed when the helicopter hit terrain 3.2 miles north of the Runway 19R threshold at Andrews AFB in Camp Springs, Md. According to the NTSB, the pilot “was hesitant to accept the flight,” due to an 800-foot ceiling and a zero-degree temperature/dew-point spread. “However, despite his misgivings,” the NTSB reported, “the pilot accepted the flight. The pilot remarked that he had just heard a medevac helicopter operated by a private company complete an interhospital transfer flight in the same area, and then said, ‘if they can do it we can do it.’” The NTSB recommended that the FAA seek legislative authority to regulate helicopter EMS operations using government-owned aircraft and that public operators implement flight-risk evaluation programs and formalize dispatch and flight-following procedures.

Bombardier Planning G650 Competitor?

2009-11-17T14:58:22-05:00

Although a spokeswoman confirmed last week that Bombardier has no imminent plans to announce a larger jet to compete with Gulfstream’s G650, CEO Pierre Beaudoin recently indicated that the company might launch a model to compete with the G650, but he did not indicate a timescale. Some believe it could be as soon as the first quarter of next year. Speaking to reporters at a recent briefing at Bombardier headquarters in Montreal, Beaudoin said that the company would definitely position itself to compete with Gulfstream. At the Dubai Air Show this week, Khader Mattar, Bombardier regional v-p of sales for the Middle East and Africa, told AIN, “It is not a brilliant time for new orders, but Bombardier is committed to investing in its aircraft.” A comparison between the Global XRS and Gulfstream G650 shows why Bombardier might be motivated. The XRS, which entered service in 2006, has a maximum range of 6,150 nm with eight passengers and four crew at Mach 0.85. The G650, due to enter service in 2012, will fly 7,000 nm at Mach 0.85 with the same number of passengers and crew and be capable of flying at a maximum operating Mach number of 0.925.

FAA Adds Special Flight Rules for Hudson Transit

2009-11-17T14:57:05-05:00

New FAA regulations take effect on Thursday to separate air traffic in the Hudson River VFR corridor on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. These regulations are a result of the August 8 midair between a Piper Lance and a tour helicopter. Pilots flying through the corridor must fly at no more than 140 knots; turn on anti-collision and position/nav lights; announce their position on specified frequencies; carry current charts and be familiar with them; and report aircraft type, position, direction and altitude at charted mandatory reporting points while flying along the New Jersey shore southbound and along the Manhattan shore flying northbound. Transiting pilots must fly between 1,000 and 1,300 feet, while local traffic will remain below 1,000 feet. According to the FAA, part of the new rule incorporates a 2006 Notam restricting fixed-wing operations in the exclusion zone over the East River (a result of the Oct. 11, 2006, Cory Lidle crash). The FAA is planning seminars for local pilot groups and it has also developed an online training program.

Yemenia opts for A320s to plug its A350 gap

2009-11-16T14:41:00-05:00

Airbus and Yemenia Airlines yesterday morning signed a memorandum of understanding covering 10 Airbus A320s, the first of which the official carrier of Yemen expects to arrive in Sanaa in 2011. On hand for the signing ceremonies, Yemenia board member Saleh Alawaji said the airplanes would replace some of the airline’s aging A310s and fill a gap in capacity while it waits for delivery of the first of 10 A350s by the end of 2015.

Airbus COO for customers John Leahy said he expects the MOU to convert to a firm order relatively quickly– likely within 30 days–and that only considerations involving possible options, product support and some other minor details need final execution. Assuming the deal is firmed up, the value based on approximate list prices would be around $650 million.

Alawaji added that he needs to return to Yemenia’s board, members of which represent the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, for their blessing. Meanwhile, Yemenia has yet to choose an engine for the airplanes. “Our technical teams are working on it,” said Alawaji, “but we expect to make a decision soon.”

Show flying display gives clue to UAE basic trainer selection

2009-11-16T14:38:00-05:00

Following the selection in February of the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master for its advanced trainer and light combat aircraft needs, the United Arab Emirates air force and air defense (AFAD) is focused on its basic trainer requirement to replace the current Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainers. The competitors are the jet-powered Alenia Aermacchi M-311 and the turboprop Pilatus PC-21.

There has yet to be any official announcement from the UAE regarding this requirement, and neither competitor will comment about it. However, AIN understands that a selection has in fact been made, and that official notification will soon be forthcoming. Perhaps a glance at the daily flying display schedule here at Dubai might provide a clue as to what the competition’s outcome might be: the PC-21 is in it; the M-311 is not.

When both the M-346 and the new basic trainer are in service, the UAE AFAD will arguably have the most modern training fleet in the world. Together the types will provide a flexible and cost-effective training solution that is tailored to producing pilots for the latest generation of combat aircraft, such as the F-16 Block 60. The new trainer will take all students, including rotary-wing, from the Grob G115 flight screener/primary trainer through to the advanced stages.

Designed to make significant advances in trainer technology, the turboprop-powered PC-21 can undertake many of the elements of the syllabus that have traditionally required an expensive-to-operate jet trainer. With a low-level speed range of 180 to 320 knots, the PC-21 is docile enough to train students at an early stage of their instruction, but at the same time has high enough performance to allow them to make a near-seamless transition to jets.

Furthermore, the PC-21’s cockpit systems employ the same kind of mission management techniques as would be encountered in front-line aircraft, and allow the in-flight simulation of many scenarios and emergencies. Virtual weapons, electronic warfare and sensor training can be accomplished. However, the system can also be kept simple for early stages of instruction.

Due to this flexibility, the PC-21 can fit nearly anywhere into the overall syllabus, while software can easily be upgraded to add new functions, if they are required. One operator, Switzerland, is already using the PC-21 to train its pilots right through to front-line fighters.

After its showing here in Dubai, the company-owned PC-21 is remaining in the UAE for further demonstrations and an appearance at the Al Ain airshow in January. After that it is going on a Far East tour to include Singapore, which already flies the type, and Australia.

Etihad kicks off next phase of strategic investments

2009-11-16T14:26:58-05:00

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways plans to spend $750 million on its workforce, fleet, in-flight service and planning and resourcing systems to support record-breaking airplane and engine orders placed at the last Farnborough and Paris Air Shows.
“Now we are taking the next steps,” Etihad CEO James Hogan declared here at the show yesterday. “Over the course of this week, we will announce a series of strategic contracts, partnerships and initiatives that will address key strategic elements of our business and allow us to deliver on our long-term plans.”

The contracts and signings will include maintenance, retrofitting, cabin upgrades and component support for aircraft now in the fleet or scheduled for delivery over the coming years. The airline will also announce deals that will see the introduction of new software systems aimed at improving the airline’s flight planning and cabin and flight-crew resourcing.

Meanwhile, under its continuing effort to boost its “Emiratization” program, the airline has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Applied Technology to provide students with opportunities to build careers with Etihad. The MOU covers a range of elements, including development of training schemes and academic curriculums, on-the-job training and joint marketing initiatives.

Other announcements expected this week include a contract with Panasonic to install in-flight entertainment systems on board the airline’s new A330-300s and Boeing 777s, scheduled for delivery from December 2009 and 2011, respectively, and a $200 million contract with International Aero Engines covering overhaul and repair service for 14 narrowbody Airbuses. Etihad expects to realize “significant cost benefits,” especially in terms of lower fuel consumption, reliability and increased flying time between overhauls.

Later this week, Etihad also expects to announce a major contract with Lufthansa Technik to install new BE Aerospace first-class suites in nine A340s currently in service. The work will involve a complete renovation of the cabin, galley areas and a new in-flight entertainment system.

More cabin upgrade work will come under the terms of a contract Etihad planned to announce today involving Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). A 777 program involves replacing and reconfiguring economy class seats and upgrading the in-flight entertainment system. Under the terms of the contract, ADAT will also completely refurbish the A320 cabins to Etihad’s specifications.

Meanwhile, a $250 million component support deal with Switzerland’s SR Technics will give Etihad easy access to more than 3,000 aircraft components at Abu Dhabi and key outstations, reducing Etihad’s reliance on its own costly parts inventory.

In another logistics-related deal, Etihad today plans expects to announce a contract with Lufthansa Systems to introduce a new flight planning system, allowing the airline to cut fuel use by up to 5 percent, reduce emissions and benefit from more efficient flight planning processes.

Finally, the airline plans to announce a deal with workforce management software provider Kronos to automate and optimize planning and management processes for Etihad’s 4,000 cabin and flight crew.

Team Rafale confident of UAE order

2009-11-16T13:44:23-05:00

Officials from Team Rafale are quietly confident that a deal for up to 60 airplanes will be made with the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, they are signing agreements here at the show with local entities that further strengthen the French influence in Emirati education and industry.

Eric Trappier, executive v-p international, Dassault Aviation, confirmed here yesterday that the UAE air force had been offered the “F3 Plus” standard of the Rafale, also known as “the Roadmap.” (See Sunday’s Dubai Airshow News, page 6 and 8). A complete service and support package is also on the table. He also confirmed that the UAE has been offered the more powerful version of the M88 turbofan engine, rated at nine metric tons thrust, which Snecma has proposed but not yet developed because the French air arms do not require it. “It’s up to the UAE to decide whether they want this,” Trappier added.

Trappier said that the UAE did have some specific requirements, which he did not provide. AIN believes that these mostly concern unique weapons configurations. These are not in evidence here, but they were suggested by Dassault in model form at the Paris Air Show in June.

However, one previous plan to add conformal fuel tanks to the jet, with a UAE order in mind, has been dropped. “Our empty weight, our internal fuel carriage, our fuel tank options and our mtow are already the best of any current fighter,” Trappier claimed.

A part or complete exchange of the UAE Mirage 2000-9 fleet does not form part of the current negotiations for the Rafale. If there are any such negotiations, they are apparently taking place at government level. There have been reports that Egypt is interested in taking some of the Mirages, the last of which was delivered to the UAE in 2007.

Dassault Systèmes signed an agreement here in Dubai yesterday with Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (Kustar), which has campuses in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Dassault Systèmes will help train Emiratis in the fields of 3-D visualization and product lifecycle management, in which it is a world leader. Dassault Systèmes is due to sign another agreement today, with local industry.

Thales said here yesterday that its joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based Baynuna Aviation Technology is officially established. According to the venture’s CEO, Khalid Al Bu-Ainnian, the company “aims to extend its services and product lines throughout the region, as well as contributing to building the UAE’s own industrial defense capabilities in advanced avionics systems.” General Khalid is the former chief of the UAE air force. Thales now has five joint ventures in the UAE. Team Rafale already has a separate joint venture with Baynuna–Dasbat Aviation–which promotes the Rafale in the UAE.

Two more joint ventures emerged yesterday with other Team Rafale members, both involving Baynuna. Snecbat Engine Technical Services (with Snecma) will provide logistics support service for the UAE’s M53-P2 engines that currently power the Mirage 2000-9s, and other fleets, while Sagembat Defense has been established with Sagem. It will develop, deliver and support high-technology products, to include smart weapons, which presumably refers to the Aasm family.

DAE selects CFM engines for its A320s

2009-11-16T13:47:34-05:00

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has selected CFM International CFM56-5B engines to power 20 Airbus A320 family aircraft it has on order, in a deal worth around $270 million. The aircraft are due for delivery starting in 2011.

The 20 aircraft are part of an order for 70 A320s that DAE (Chalet 5) placed in July 2008; CFM engines also were selected for the initial 20 of that order. The engine selection for the final 30 is pending. “Now we just have to help them place [the aircraft] so the remaining 30 aircraft become CFMs also,” said GE Aviation president and CEO David Joyce. (CFMI is at Stand W350).

DAE also has 70 Boeing 737NGs on order, all of which will be powered by the CFM56-7Bs, the only engine choice for that aircraft.

Robert Genise, CEO of DAE Aviation Capital, which will be seeking to place the aircraft on lease with airlines around the world, said the company already has 37 aircraft on lease. Three more are to follow this year and six are scheduled so far for 2010. He added that the company has had no problem placing aircraft. “There is no delinquency in our portfolio. We are very pleased about that,” he remarked.
Genise reflected that DAE’s leasing portfolio was “jump-started two years ago using aircraft from GE Capital, and then we did sale and leasebacks with Emirates, our largest customer.”

Joyce said many aircraft in the region are already GE powered. “The 777s and A380s flying in the [Middle East] region are ours. We are very comfortable with our market penetration here,” he said.

More Falcons set to nest in Middle East region

2009-11-16T06:45:32-05:00

By March of next year Dassault is expected to deliver the first of four Falcon 7Xs that Saudi Arabian Airlines ordered at the 2007 Dubai Airshow. Also in Saudi Arabia, the first Falcon 2000LX business jet is to be delivered to National Air Service (NAS) in January for the NetJets Middle East fractional ownership program. According to Alain Aubry, Dassault Falcon’s v-p for sales and marketing, the Middle East has accounted for only two order cancellations–far fewer than other regions–since the beginning of the economic crisis.

However, the contract with NAS is being “restructured.” The second 2000LX thus is now to be handed over “in the middle of next year.” In 2007, NAS ordered four firm aircraft, with 16 options.

Saudi Arabian Airlines plans to use its 7Xs to carry local VIPs, mainly members of the royal family. Another two aircraft are to be delivered next year and the fourth in 2011.

Dassault expects its current fleet of 50 Falcons in the region will grow by “more than 50 percent” in the next three years. Aubry sees the French firm’s market share growing against its competitors, primarily Gulfstream. Dassault’s main Falcon customer bases in the region are Egypt, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

The area saw deliveries of 21 aircraft in the last three years, which, added to the high number of in-transit business jets, is creating demand for more local service support. As a result, last year the company set up a spares parts distribution center in Dubai, with a $1.5 million inventory. Now an agreement is pending with Saudi Arabian Airlines for its maintenance facilities to become an authorized service center (ASC). “They already have the required tools and trained technicians,” Aubry said. Jet Aviation currently operates an ASC in Dubai.

Navy puts next-gen Hawkeye through its paces at Patuxent

2009-11-16T06:34:49-05:00

Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is currently undergoing carrier compatibility tests at the U.S. Navy’s Patuxent River dummy-deck facility in Maryland before its first venture to sea. Initial carrier trials are to begin in the first half of next year, the exact schedule depending on carrier availability. Here at the Dubai Airshow an operational U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeye 2000 from the U.S.S. Nimitz is on display in the static area.

The OEM is scheduled to build 75 E-2Ds to completely replace the Navy’s existing E-2C Hawkeye fleet. The last of 205 new-build E-2Cs was handed over at Northrop Grumman’s St. Augustine plant in September. Northrop has completed two developmental test E-2D models, which to date have racked up 1,250 flight hours between them. It is building three pilot production aircraft.

Flight tests have produced positive results so far, with the aircraft and system exceeding key performance parameters and being well below the threshold for software glitches. One of the developmental test aircraft is focusing on air vehicle tests. As the Delta-version is heavier and more powerful than the Charlie, requalification is required. The second test aircraft is primarily concerned with mission system testing. Its ability to track maneuvering targets has been particularly impressive.

Milestone C approval was passed in June, which led to the authorization for the construction of two low-rate, initial-production (LRIP) aircraft and the purchase of long-lead items. Three of the pilot-production/LRIP aircraft are to undergo the Navy’s operation/evaluation (opeval) process, scheduled for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012. The remaining airplane is to be delivered in September 2010 to VAW-120, the Navy’s Hawkeye training squadron at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, to begin the service’s familiarization with the new variant.

In addition to the aircraft, Northrop Grumman is providing new mission, flight and maintenance training facilities. It has also just broken ground for the facility at Norfolk, and further systems are to be installed at Point Mugu, the California base that serves the Pacific Fleet squadrons. Initial operating capability is planned for 2014, by which time Northrop Grumman hopes to have ramped up to an annual eight-aircraft production rate, albeit with some additional capacity for potential export aircraft.

Even while the E-2D is being prepared for service, a development roadmap is being planned to coincide with programmed maintenance cycles. The first manifestation of this plan is to be the installation of in-flight refueling probes. Northrop Grumman is under contract to test an IFR probe on an E-2C in 2013, having already confirmed that refueling from behind a Super Hornet tanker poses no problems. The upper fuselage structure of the E-2D is the same as that of the E-2C, so once tests are complete the kit can be migrated to the Delta with no obvious issues.

Beyond the IFR probe, the Navy is looking to new mission computers and software common to the E-2C and D, and then further exploitation of the capabilities offered by increasingly wideband IP networks.

Advanced Hawkeye for Export
While initial development efforts are driven by U.S. Navy needs, the Advanced Hawkeye is being actively marketed around the world. The UAE is currently evaluating the type for its AEW requirement, and was the first nation to be granted export authorization. In the UAE, the Advanced Hawkeye is up against two contenders (the Saab 2000 and Boeing 737) that employ fixed electronically scanned antennas, whereas Hawkeye combines “e-scan” with a rotating array.

Jim Culmo, Northrop Grumman’s v-p for AEW and battle management C2 programs, cited the principal advantages of the Advanced Hawkeye’s configuration: “We provide complete 360-degree coverage, with no degradation across the whole sweep. Also, we operate in the UHF band, which has very little interference from the weather or atmosphere, and gives better detection of smaller targets.”

Culmo went on to assert that “the combination of electronic and mechanical scanning blends the strengths of both. Furthermore, the Hawkeye has no compromise in design. The radar is the baseline around which the aircraft is designed, rather than trying to integrate a radar system into a commercial aircraft.”

India is another potential customer and has also received export authorization, while Northrop Grumman is also pitching the E-2D to existing Hawkeye operators. Many of them operate the E-2 from land bases, and the company has done preliminary design work to add fuel capability to a nonfolding, outer-wing panel so mission endurance can be extended to eight hours.

While the Delta represents the new generation, there remains significant life in the E-2C, as evidenced by recent upgrades to the Egyptian and Taiwanese aircraft. When deliveries of the E-2D get under way this may release E-2Cs into the resale and upgrade market.

News Clips from Dubai 2009

2009-11-16T06:41:48-05:00

Emirates Charter Intros Exotic Travel Packages
Empire Aviation Group (EAG) has announced plans for “Lifestyle@Empire,” an extension to the company’s luxury charter operations that will offer travel packages to exotic destinations and experiences. The first packages will focus on global sporting and themed events, providing travel, unique access to the events and other benefits.

Dubai-based EAG (Stand C202) operates 15 business jets under management and plans to add at least another five before the end of the year. This will include the sale and management of two further Hawker 4000s and the addition of other owned aircraft under management contracts. EAG is a Gulf Cooperation Council regional distributor for Hawker Beechcraft, and has exclusivity in the UAE and other countries. The company’s aviation services include aircraft sales, charter, air ambulance aircraft management, financing and insurance.

Saudi Arabia Selects Raytheon Air Traffic Radar
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has awarded Raytheon Co. (Stand E320) a three-year contract for air traffic surveillance nationwide. The contract includes radar systems and supporting infrastructure for en route services and approach control at Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, the Kingdom’s international airports.

Separately, Raytheon and its Dubai-based partner FrontRunner have been awarded a contract to provide comprehensive air traffic management and security packages for Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq. The U.S. group recently completed the installation of its ASR-11 digital airport surveillance radar and its AutoTrac II radar approach control system at Iraq’s Kirkuk air base.

A380 Flies Humanitarian Aid To NGO’s Dubai Hub
An Airbus A380 has arrived for the Dubai Airshow with almost 18,000 pounds of humanitarian aid, consisting of water purification equipment for the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Action Against Hunger. The Airbus Corporate Foundation, which facilitated the delivery, is boosting the NGO’s stocks here at its Dubai logistic hub. According to France-based Action Against Hunger, 2.2 million deaths, mostly among children, could be prevented each year with better access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation.

The Airbus Corporate Foundation was founded in December last year to support humanitarian causes. It acts through goodwill flights and youth development in communities and cooperates with the U.N.’s secretariat of the Convention on Biological Biversity. It started with a budget of approximately $3.7 million.

Rockwell Collins’ First Flight Sim Certified
Rockwell Collins’ (Stand E350) first air transport simulator for the Boeing 737NG has been approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to the top JAR-FSTD A, level-D standard, which takes pilots from zero flight time to the left seat without expensive training in an actual aircraft. The first of two examples of the device ordered by launch customer CTC Aviation has been installed at its Southampton, UK training center. CTC clients include British Airways and EasyJet.

Rockwell has developed an open-core simulation architecture with reusable modules that include scalable software adaptable to multiple training devices. Its creation of a family of full-motion, top-level devices, branded as “Edge” simulators, has been aided by its acquisition of the simulation division of Evans & Sutherland in 2006 and of SEOS displays in 2008.

Libyan airlines chooses CFM power

2009-11-16T06:43:52-05:00

Libyan Airlines on Sunday selected the CFM56-5B engine to provide power for seven A320s it has on firm order, and five more on which it has options. The firm engine order is valued at approximately $95 million and the airline is scheduled to begin taking delivery in mid-2010. “We are pleased to announce the selection of the highly reliable CFM56-5B/3 engines to power this new Airbus A320 order,” said Libyan Airlines CEO Capt. Mohamed Ibsem. “This acquisition is part of a major fleet development plan that will allow Libyan Airlines to expand its market presence in the region while keeping our overall cost of ownership in check.” Ibsem, right, signed the deal with CFM v-p of marketing and sales Claude Poulain here at the Dubai Airshow.

AMES prepares to fill nacelle maintenance niche

2009-11-16T07:13:47-05:00

Nacelle manufacturer Aircelle is here in Dubai celebrating the creation of Aerostructure Middle East Services (AMES), a 50-50 joint venture with maintenance specialist Air France Industries to provide nacelle maintenance. Located in the Jebel Ali free zone, the 107,000-sq-ft facility will be open to Airbus A320s, A330s, A340s and A380s early next year. It also will offer to service Boeing 777s and regional jets, Yves Leclère, executive v-p in charge of the aircraft equipment branch at Safran, Aircelle’s parent company, told AIN.

Groundbreaking for the facility, a $5 million investment, took place on September 15. Completion of the building is planned for December 31. The company expects to employ 30 people by 2013.

A primary objective of the joint venture is to have the capability to repair A380 engine nacelles. “They are the biggest ones in air transport and are made of composites; maintaining them thus requires a proprietary process,” Leclère said. Safran’s business in the region is planned to increase significantly with A380 deliveries. “If you add the landing gear, brakes and wires to the nacelles, Safran has $15 million worth of products on an A380,” he pointed out.

“Middle Eastern customers are keen on passenger comfort and flight punctuality, which should translate, for us, into flawless aftersale services,” Leclère noted. Hence, he envisions a need for onsite presence or immediate reaction from a mobile team. Safran plans soon to announce a major contract to install Messier-Bugatti carbon brakes on several dozen new Boeing 737s for a Middle Eastern carrier. The Middle East is expected to account for 10 percent of Safran’s sales in aircraft equipment by 2014.

Safran’s aircraft equipment branch is continuing with a research-and-technology maturation program–Amperes–on the more-electric aircraft concept. “We want to be ready to support Airbus and Boeing if they develop new narrowbodies around 2015,” he said. The Amperes program thus aims at a full demonstration of an electric landing gear in 2012 or 2013. The landing gear is seen as the most difficult piece of equipment for electric power to replace hydraulics, due to its size and weight.

Happy Design makes your aircraft stand out in a crowd

2009-11-16T07:19:58-05:00

Didier Wolff, owner and sole employee of the Happy Design Studio from Strasbourg, France, is here in Dubai promoting his skills in designing original aircraft liveries and hoping to find his first customers in the region.

“For a long time, refrigerators could be found only in white,” Wolff pointed out to AIN, reasoning that aircraft–especially business jet–owners and operators will want more personalized paint schemes. Only a handful of business jets in the world have such bright-color and/or sophisticated drawings on their exteriors, he said. Also offered are paint schemes for airliners and fighters. “An aircraft can receive a special livery for a given occasion–a first delivery or a joint air force exercise, for example,” he said.

Costs for Happy Design Studio’s (Stand E650) services range from approximately $60,000 to $75,000, Wolff estimated, and can be more expensive depending on the aircraft’s size and scheme complexity. Wolff has an agreement with Aeroconseil, a Toulouse-based engineering company that helps him find the right shop for each paint job.

Horizon Flight on the prowl for opportunities

2009-11-16T07:22:39-05:00

Al Ain-based Horizon International Flight Academy, which has assembled a fleet of nearly 30 aircraft since it was established in 2002, is looking for growth opportunities. General manager Mohammed Al Zaabi told AIN that Horizon established a second training center to north of Dubai with the signing of a contract with the Umm Al Quwain emirate in September 2008 and that it is “open to ideas for new locations in the United Arab Emirates or further afield in the Middle East and Africa.”

Horizon was created by Mubadala Development Co. of Abu Dhabi to supply pilots for UAE civil and military organizations, including its own Etihad Airways subsidiary, and now trains pilots from all over the world, said Al Zaabi. At present, 200 students are enrolled and it has trained around 320 pilots for Etihad since it started.

The firm employs 36 instructors and its fleet consists of 13 Cessna 172s, three Diamond DA42 Twin Stars for twin-engine training, three Robinson R44 and 10 Bell 206 helicopters. It is now able to offer 27,000 hours of flying training per year, said Al Zaabi. It also has three simulators, one based on the Bombardier CRJ for multi-crew training.

In addition, Horizon has received approval to offer a higher diploma curriculum, which if taken in conjunction with studies for an air transport pilot certificate takes two years to complete (compared with the 18 months required for the JAA ATPL). The company also recently has begun training female airline pilots.

UAVs, network-centric ops top talk at air chiefs meeting

2009-11-16T07:25:37-05:00

The movers and shakers of the airpower world were out in force here Saturday for the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference. Organized by the Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis–the UAE-based think tank–the conference featured presentations from nine air force commanders or their deputies.

Gen. Norton Schwarz, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, described the new career field that he has recently approved for the operators and maintainers of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Although the USAF has been flying MQ-1 Predators, MQ-9 Reapers and RQ-4 Global Hawks for years, “we still have a lot of cultural and operational adjustments to make,” he said.

Incidentally, don’t call them UAVs any more, Schwarz advised, “They’re not unmanned. They’re actually very manpower-intensive.” The USAF’s newly approved lexicon is remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). Schwarz did not explain whether this terminology will also be applied to autonomous UAVs, such as the Global Hawk.

Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros, Chief of Staff of the French air force, described the challenges of network-centric operations, which include issues of national sovereignty; classification levels; intelligence- sharing; and technical language. He said NATO’s air command and control system was a good example of what can be achieved, even by such a large coalition.

Then the Italian air force deputy chief, Lt. Gen. Guisetti Bernadis, spoke on the subject of electronic warfare. He defined the subdisciplines of electronic surveillance, electronic defense and electronic attack and the challenges that each face.

Brig. Gen. Ibrahim, deputy commander of the UAE air force and air defense, described the evaluation process that has led to the selection of new basic and advanced training aircraft by the United Arab Emirates. Like other air forces, the UAE is seeking to “download” some pilot training from more expensive to less expensive aircraft.

The primary trainer should take on part of the syllabus previously flown by the advanced trainer, and the latter should be capable of assuming some of the flying that prospective air combat pilots now do in the operational conversion units.
Sir Glenn Torpy, who has just retired from command of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF), spoke about how air power can support the ground forces.

Lessons Learned
There have been many issues along the way, he noted. In the Kosovo campaign (Operation Allied Force, 1999), he said, “We found that we weren’t as good at close air support as we thought.” In Operation Anaconda (Afghanistan, 2001-02) “more lessons were learned.” Now in Afghanistan, air support has significantly improved, he said. But Torpy still had a number of recommendations to pass on concerning cross-service training for airmen and soldiers, the use of dual-mode guidance systems on weapons, the need to task ISR systems properly and then fuse and cross-cue the results, and the role of synthetic training.

Torpy’s successor as the RAF chief, Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton, spoke about interoperability. First, though, he said advocates for airpower must step up and explain themselves more clearly. There are four key roles, he said: control of the air; attack; air mobility; and intelligence/situational awareness. As for his main subject, he gave some practical examples of interoperability, noting that “standards, processes and protocols are the keys.” Dalton said more coordination is needed with regards to the use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Air Marshall Mark Binskin, chief of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), spoke about the role of AEW&C and Air Defense, with particular reference to the Wedgetail system that the RAAF is now accepting from Boeing.

Finally, a Lebanese air force (LAF) official gave a presentation about the “Hueybomber.” This was a belt-and-braces modification of Bell UH-1 helicopters undertaken by the LAF following a terrorist attack and occupation of a large military compound in the north of the country in 2007.

To support the retaking of the compound by Lebanese troops, the Hueys were modified to carry 250- and 400-kg bombs, which were dropped on buildings occupied by the insurgents.

News Clips from Dubai 2009

2009-11-16T11:36:52-05:00

Jet Aviation Joins JSSI’s Network of Mx Providers
Jet Aviation of Basel, Switzerland, has signed a service agreement with Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) to provide maintenance and supply spare parts to JSSI and its clients. Independently owned JSSI provides hourly cost maintenance programs for aircraft engines and airframes. Jet Aviation, which is owned by General Dynamics, will provide JSSI’s service at its facilities in Basel, Geneva, Zurich, Dusseldorf, London Biggin Hill, Dubai and Singapore.

328 Support Services Wins FAA Repair Status
328 Support Services has been awarded U.S. FAA Repair Station status for the Dornier 328JET and 328 turboprop. CEO Dave Jackson said this approval will allow the company “to expand into the U.S. market and offer VIP conversions [there].” Until now the Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany-based company has been able to carry out its VIP conversions of Fairchild Dornier 328s and 328JETs only in Europe but now it reports it is progressing well with its first N-registered, 12-seat VIP conversion for Aviando Services of Miami, Florida, which is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2010. 328 Support Services and Action Aviation, the company’s Middle East distributor, are exhibiting a 328JET of DC Aviation in the static park (Pavilion 10).

Kuwait Pursues Patriot Upgrades
Raytheon has won a $20.5 million foreign military sales contract in support of a planned upgrade for Kuwait’s Patriot air-defense missiles. The contracting agency is the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, and Raytheon will supply parts to enable Patriot Configuration-3 system upgrades. This is the latest Patriot technology, with radar enhancements providing improved detection of small targets in heavy clutter environments, and the ability to better discriminate and identify tactical ballistic missile warheads. Configuration-3 also has expanded remote launch capability, in turn allowing greater area defense coverage.

Airbus’ Offers A320 Dual-role Conversion Kit
Toulouse-based Airbus Corporate Jet Center, an Airbus joint venture with Switzerland-based VIP charter operator Comlux, is offering a kit to turn the forward area of a passenger A320 into a VIP section. The first kit is to be delivered to a Middle Eastern customer in the second quarter of next year. It includes six seats and two variable-height tables. It also features leather upholstery, woolen carpets and special curtains.

Babcock Bids for Middle East Support Roles
Support services group Babcock International is looking to break into the Middle East market with the recent opening of a new regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The UK-based group is a major provider of engineering support services and training to all branches of the British armed forces and sees increasing opportunities to play similar roles in this part of the world. Representing the new Babcock Middle East subsidiary here at the Dubai Airshow are business development manager Michelle Townsend and aerospace division managers Brian Hoskins and Rick Peacock-Edwards. Babcock believes pressure on defense budgets will prompt government to outsource more support services to private-sector vendors. It is competing for a tender to manage defense facilities for the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this year it won a contract to provide flight training for the South African air force.

Gulfjet Restarts, Looks for More Aircraft
Dubai-based business jet operator Gulfjet restarted operations last week after a short absence from the market. The operator, which was started in 2006, has the same aircraft that it started with–two Cessna Citation XLS and a Citation Sovereign (which is in the airshow static park)–but has rebranded and appointed a new CEO, Ian McEwan, who is also chief pilot. “I was brought in six weeks ago to reactivate the AOC, rebrand, set up operations, get the aircraft serviceable again and restart operations,” said McEwan. The company is owned by local banker Hussain Al Meeza. Gulfjet is at the show evaluating its options for adding further aircraft.

P&W gearing up on new engine

2009-11-16T11:39:20-05:00

While focused on delivering geared turbofan (GTF) engines for the new Mitsubishi MRJ and Bombardier C Series, Pratt & Whitney is turning its attention to the wider applications of a technology that offers a 12- to 15-percent improvement in fuel burn by allowing the engine fan and low-pressure turbine to operate at optimum speeds.

Robert Keady, senior v-p sales P&W Commercial Engines & Global Services, told reporters here in Dubai yesterday that the GTF unit (which weighs between 350 and 300 pounds) would be of a different design for applications to larger engines beyond the 30,000-pound top thrust that it has so far tested with its PW6000-based demonstrator engine. “We may change the gearbox and go from a 3:1 to a 4:1 gear ratio,” he admitted.

The present fan drive gear system (FDGS) has a sun gear and five star gears driving the surrounding ring gear giving a two-thirds speed reduction to the fan and allowing the low-pressure (LP) system to run 2.5 times faster.

However, Keady said the area with the most potential sales would be a 20,000- to 30,000-pound-thrust engine for next-gen narrowbodies, although in that market segment P&W currently operates through its International Aero Engines (IAE) joint venture with Rolls-Royce, MTU and Japanese Aero Engines Corp. “When looking down the road we have the opportunity to improve the V[2500] engine but the demands for the future aircraft–30 to 40-percent improvement–are not achievable by the V, so I think the GTF is probably the path to bring that kind of step change.”

Keady also said that beyond entry into service of the GTF on the C Series in 2013, P&W would continue to target fuel burn improvements averaging 1 to 1.5 percent a year, in line with recent trends. “We anticipate that we will continue with improvements in efficiency by continuing to improve bypass ratio from 11 to 12.”

“The other area we would work on is the overall pressure ratio of the core, with higher pressure ratio high-pressure compressor stages, and we would continue to work on advanced materials. But we don’t want to take technology steps that would bring a lack of reliability.” P&W’s tests on the demonstrator core have shown that the gearbox is reliable and runs at 99 percent efficiency. Tests on an Airbus A340-600 saw it being flown “all over the flight envelope,” said Keady, including rejected takeoffs, cold starts, maximum angle of attack and 2.1-g maneuvering.

“Now we have built our first [actual] core and will start testing this year in Canada. We’ll be progressing to full engine testing next year,” he said. Minimizing maintenance cost is a particular priority for the design, said Keady. This includes 25,000 life-limited parts to synchronize maintenance periods and a reduction of 1,500 airfoils over conventional designs.

UAE companies partner on humanitarian cargo effort

2009-11-16T11:45:24-05:00

Maximus Air Cargo announced yesterday that it is joining forces with Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Airports Co. (ADAC) to launch “Care By Air,” a humanitarian effort that will provide cargo space at cost for relief aid to disaster-stricken areas of the world. Supporting members include the United Arab Emirates’ Red Crescent and the United Nations World Food Program, and more are expected to join soon.

According to the program partners, about 30 percent of cargo loading capacity goes unused and if “just 0.0003 percent of this space were to be filled, then five million people in need could be fed for a day.”

Even before yesterday’s signing of a formal agreement to create Care By Air, all of the program partners have long-established humanitarian roots. In fact, one of Maximus’ Ilyushin IL-76TDs, similar to the one on display here in Dubai, carried 25 tons of relief aid–including search teams, relief vehicles and rescue dogs–and 18 tons of urgent support material to Padang, Sumatra, in Indonesia last month after the region was devastated by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake.

Mantis looks forward to Spiral 2 trials

2009-11-16T12:16:40-05:00

Last weekend BAE Systems concluded the first flight trial campaign of its Mantis UAV, the world’s first twin-engine autonomous large UAV. Although the UK Ministry of Defence remains coy about details, AIN understands that the first flight was on October 21, and that the aircraft flew five times. With initial flight trials successfully completed, the Mantis industrial team and the UK Ministry of Defence are discussing what technology and capabilities should be included in the next iteration.

Formally launched on July 14 last year, Mantis is a joint MoD/industry-funded technology demonstration program, with BAE Systems as lead contractor. Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ, GE Aviation, Meggitt and Selex Galileo are also key members of the team. The stated aim of the program is to show the capabilities that are possible with this class of vehicle, and to aid the MoD in the formulation of its future autonomous vehicle requirements. Between the lines, however, it is clear that Mantis could form the basis of an operational vehicle, and the twin-engine configuration is certainly attractive in terms of certification for operations in regular airspace.

For BAE Systems and its partners, Mantis represents an opportunity to employ advanced aircraft systems and construction techniques. It is BAE’s first all-electric aircraft, with no hydraulic systems. Most of the airframe is built from advanced composites produced in a low-cost, low-temperature process, rather than the expensive, high-temperature autoclaves normally used for such materials.

Mantis is proceeding on a spiral development path. Funding is being provided in what Andy Wilson, BAE Systems’ business development director for autonomous systems, describes as “bite-sized chunks, to keep within the limits of affordability.” Having flown the Spiral 1 aircraft, which is in a baseline deep-persistent ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance) configuration, the UK MoD is now examining what should form Spiral 2 of the demonstration. “The MoD wants to move quickly,” added Wilson, “but they still have to decide what the next step should be.” Given that the whole project moved from concept to flight in just 19 months, the period between Spiral 2 go-ahead and flight demonstrations is expected to be short thanks to BAE Systems’ rapid engineering capabilities.

In Spiral 1 the Mantis has turreted EO/IR sensors under the nose and central fuselage, but it also has a common radar station. No radar has been specified at present, and there is still debate about what class of sensor should be demonstrated in coming spirals. Further down the line it is expected that Mantis will validate its armed capability, for which six pylons are mounted on the wings for the carriage of weapons. Mantis has two satellite communications links: a primary in the forward fuselage hump and a secondary in the fin-tip fairing.

For its first flight Mantis was powered by two Rolls-Royce 250 turboprops. However, the engine pylons of the vehicle have been designed to cater for varying powerplants. It would be a relatively simple process to re-engine the aircraft with jet propulsion if that was required.

Mantis uses the same ground control infrastructure as BAE Systems’ other principal unmanned project, the smaller Herti. Several Hertis are now flying, and a small initial production batch has been built. The first production machine (and two flight test vehicles) was involved in BAE’s recent flight test campaign in Australia, following taxi trials at Walney Island airfield in the UK.

Herti continues to be demonstrated to the UK MoD, and is believed to have returned to Afghanistan for operational trials, as well as participation in recent multi-national exercises in which it provided time-sensitive ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance). BAE Systems has adopted a new principal sensor for the craft in the form of the FLIR Systems Polytech Cobalt 350 EO/IR turret from Sweden, which provides excellent live target tracking capability, as well as stills imagery. The use of change detection algorithms in the hunt for improvised explosive devices is understood to be one key area of Herti evaluation.

With a standard payload Herti has a 25,000-foot ceiling and a 20-hour endurance. Alternatively, it can mount a four-hour patrol at a 1,000-kilometer radius. As with Mantis, it can fly its missions without any operator intervention, sending back a “heartbeat” by Iridium satellite link to reassure ground control that it is still performing as planned.

Next stop for exhibitors: Singapore Airshow

2009-11-16T12:22:42-05:00

Next stop for many Dubai exhibitors will be the Singapore Airshow, which is now less than three months away–Feb. 2 to 7, 2010. About 90 percent of the 430,000 sq ft of exhibition space has been sold, with more than 800 companies booked. These companies include 62 of the top 100 global aerospace companies such as BAE Systems, Honeywell, Rolls-Royce and HEICO.

The Singapore show, held at the new purpose-built site that opened back in February 2008 for the event’s first staging in its current form, has also attracted several first-time exhibitors, including Germany’s Liebherr Aerospace, B/E Aerospace of the U.S. and Japan’s Mitsubishi Aircraft.

“The inaugural show in 2008 was a great success,” said Singapore Airshow & Events managing director Jimmy Lau. It was attended by more than 43,000 trade attendees from 112 countries including 240 delegations from 61 countries.

“Despite the unprecedented economic slowdown, the Singapore Airshow has proved to be one of the most anticipated international aviation shows and is a must-attend event in the industry’s global calendar,” said Lau. “With more than 85 percent of the 2008 exhibitors returning for our 2010 show, many of whom are coming back in a bigger way, we are heartened by the vote of confidence leading industry players have in our show.”

There will be 18 national pavilions at the 2010 show, two more than in 2008, with the addition of New Zealand and Switzerland. Also associated with the airshow will be events such as the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit and the
Asia Pacific Security Conference. More information is available from www.singaporeairshow.com.

Bizav in MidEast in growth mode, Cessna shows

2009-11-16T12:26:06-05:00

Cessna has provided firm evidence that business aviation in the Middle East is still in growth mode by delivering four of its Citation business jets to customers here at the Dubai Airshow. The U.S. manufacturer also has announced a new product support initiative (see below).

Yesterday, Arab Wings of Jordan took delivery of a new Citation Sovereign, while Egyptian Aviation Academy received the first of four Mustangs it has on order and the Algerian government’s navigation authority ENNA got a new XLS+ model. On Sunday, local Citation distributor Wallan Aviation of Saudi Arabia assumed ownership of a Citation X jet, the first to be fitted with new elliptical winglets.
The winglets can deliver additional range of up to 480 nm carrying six passengers out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The modification costs approximately $600,000, including installation.

According to Cessna’s international sales v-p, Trevor Esling, the Middle East market has not been untouched by the financial crisis but there is still plenty of growth potential. He told AIN the company is finding fresh demand for aircraft right across its Citation product family. “There will be more growth here over the next five to ten years, especially as [Middle Eastern authorities] free up airspace, but at the moment sales are relatively slow,” Esling said.

Most aircraft deals involve financing and Cessna’s parent company Textron recently established a $500 million line of credit through the U.S. Exim Bank. “This means deals can be easily achieved and lack of finance is not a hindrance,” said Esling.

Wallan Aviation chairman Saad Wallan commented that softening economic conditions in the Middle East over the past 12 months have prompted “a lot of people to ask questions and buy smarter.” He noted that many customers want to downsize from larger airplanes to smaller ones, such as the mid-size Citation Sovereign, which is quite popular in the region, but also the Citation XLS and CJ3.

“They are asking questions based on cost of operation and range, and buying aircraft based on the mission. This has been good for us,” he said. Wallan estimated that the charter market in the region has been down about 20 percent, but said general aviation remains important for businesses in the region and he predicted a doubling of activity in three to four years.

That said, Esling did acknowledge that there had been strong demand for Cessna’s now-abandoned Citation Columbus large-cabin, longer-range jet and that this is a product segment that the manufacturer will eventually have to fill if it wants to avoid losing clients to rivals with bigger models than its top-of-the-range Citation X. “The main requirement is to be able to fly Dubai to London nonstop, which the X cannot do,” he said.

Bringing Service and Support Right to the Customer’s Door

Cessna’s on-site customer support has taken a step up with a new offering called Service Direct, said Mark Paolucci, senior v-p customer service in Dubai yesterday. While Cessna’s ground-based mobile-support units and its Air Response Team have been responding to customers’ aircraft-on-the-ground (AOG) calls for sometime, Service Direct will bring scheduled maintenance directly to customers’ facilities.

Gulfstream: bizav market is ‘awakening’

2009-11-16T12:41:03-05:00

Executives from Gulfstream Aerospace were clearly starting to relax about the economic situation at a Dubai Airshow press conference here this week. The business aircraft manufacturer is banking on an upturn to ensure that its two new jets–the G250 and G650–prove real winners. Both aircraft have been rolled out in recent weeks and are being prepared for their first flights and test campaigns ahead of 2011 and 2012 entries into service, respectively.

“In the last 90 days, we’ve seen lots of awakening on the new aircraft sales side as well as on the services side of the business,” said senior v-p sales and marketing Larry Flynn. “In the last two quarters we have seen net positive orders versus cancellations. Large aircraft have definitely been stronger. With midsize the market, it has hit the bottom. There are a lot of white tails and pre-owned [aircraft in the marketplace] that have to clear themselves. [Meanwhile], we are not interested in lowering prices. With the large cabin [aircraft] we are already seeing pricing improvement.

“The market here [in the Middle East] is good, and in China, but larger cabin planes are selling better than mid-cabin,” he continued.

Flynn said that the G250 is “very, very close to first flight.” With the G650 major systems and structural article testing being completed, the G650 prototype can take to the air soon, as well. Orders stand at nine aircraft for the G250 and about 200 for the G650, confirmed Flynn.

With other Gulfstream models Flynn said that there are 80 G150s in service, 218 G200s, 153 G350/450s and 228 G500/ 550s. He was keen to point out that the flagship G650, an all-new design, had stimulated a new top-end segment, which had not impinged on the G550’s territory. “With 200 aircraft sold, right now that’s our market,” he said, responding to a question as to what rival Bombardier might do in response to the G650’s success.

Asked why the G650 has proved so popular Flynn responded, “It is the fastest, farthest, largest. It’s the best. We have created a new market, cutting over an hour off some trips. Customers are getting the string out and looking at city pairs at 6,000 and 7,000 nautical miles and seeing that the aircraft can give them real flexibility, that they don’t have to stop for fuel.” These are the reasons Flynn gave for why its aircraft had “surpassed all our expectations.” He added that Gulfstream is “confident” that the aircraft will be kept below 100,000 pounds mtow, something the company found to be a key customer requirement because “it opens up a lot more airports, [which is] a significant [product] differentiator.”

Although 70 percent of Gulfstreams are U.S.-based and about half of new sales are from U.S. customers, the company has passed 100 sales in the Middle East, out of 1,800 aircraft worldwide. Asian numbers are at similar levels to the Middle East, but the company sees this as a huge opportunity. Having purchased Jet Aviation with its global support network, it is continuing to grow to help secure further international sales.

Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream Product Support, said it is working with Jet Aviation to strengthen its global support presence and take advantage of “synergies.” He predicted that 2010 will see Beijing and São Paolo added to the support network, for example.

Burns also said the company will have the “grand opening” of its new service center in Savannah, Georgia, in early 2010. “We just opened the second phase. It will be able to have 75 aircraft in work at the same time,” he said.

MBDA bets on local tie-up with BMT

2009-11-16T12:42:54-05:00

MBDA’s joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based Baynuna Aviation Technology, dubbed Baynuna MBDA Missile Technologies (BMT), has just been incorporated. It was announced in February as a 49-51 effort between the European missile manufacturer and the local company. The idea is to show the United Arab Emirates there is a full commitment to work with them and transfer some technologies, hopefully helping sales campaigns in the process, according to MBDA export sales v-p Florent Duleux.

“We are now physically settling in the region,” Duleux told AIN. BMT is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and will have facilities near either Abu Dhabi or Al Ain. Khaled Al Bu-Ainain, Baynuna’s CEO also serves as the venture’s CEO.

BMT will take two existing activities– maintenance/logistics and training, as the UAE operates an integrated training range– under its umbrella and develop them. It also may begin manufacturing missile parts in two or three years. In the same time frame, it may set up an assembly line for some of the UAE’s missiles. Finally, local system integration capabilities may be created. “We may have a workforce of about 80 to 100 employees in two or three years,” Duleux added.

He made it clear that MBDA’s (Stand C220) strategy in the region is driven by France’s “excellent” diplomatic relationship with the UAE and other countries. France, the home country of one of MBDA’s three shareholders, has agreed on missile technology transfers.

However, some of the company’s products, such as the air-to-air Meteor, are outside of this framework. Some of the six nations involved in the program would not agree on technology transfers, therefore, BMT will not manufacture Meteor parts nor assemble it. The Meteor can be found on the Rafale fighter, which the UAE may buy.

Baynuna has similar joint ventures with Dassault, Thales and Snecma–all members of the Rafale Team. “We are the link between the UAE’s current Mirage 2000-9 fighters and the Rafale,” an MBDA spokesman told AIN, pointing out that air forces often like to continue using some of their missiles when upgrading from one fighter to another.

Flydubai inks financing & deal for carbon brakes

2009-11-16T12:50:13-05:00

Local low-fare airline Flydubai yesterday inked a pair of aircraft financing deals worth $160 million. Also here at the Dubai Airshow, it signed a contract with Goodrich to supply wheels and carbon brakes for its first 54 Boeing 737s.

The financing covers the first two aircraft Flydubai received this past May and ensures that all six aircraft the budget carrier plans to fly by the end of this year have received permanent financing. Dublin, Ireland’s Macquarie AirFinance will cover one of the airplanes under a five-year medium-term sale and leaseback agreement similar to the deal Flydubai signed earlier in the year with GECAS.

The second deal, with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), marks Flydubai’s first financing from within the UAE. Another five-year contract worth $80 million, the Ijara agreement also marks the first Islamic financing for Flydubai.

“Although we are made up of many nationalities, we are still very much a UAE airline,” stressed Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith at yesterday’s morning press conference.

The contract with Goodrich, meanwhile, will cover Flydubai’s 737-800 deliveries from March next year through 2013. Expected to generate $22 million for Goodrich, the contract specifies the use of the company’s Duracarb carbon material, expected to result in a weight savings of 700 pounds compared with high-capacity steel brakes and 550 pounds for standard capacity steel.

“The produce will increase our brake removal intervals and significantly reduce the weight of the aircraft in service,” said Al Gaith. “We will also enjoy the added benefit of fewer emissions due to the significant weight savings the Goodrich wheels and brakes bring to our Next Generation 737 fleet.”

Owned by the government of Dubai, Flydubai launched operations on June 1 with its first of five Boeing 737-800s. It now operates eight routes, making it one of the fastest growing start-up airlines in the world.

LHT, Oman Air form mx venture

2009-11-16T12:52:34-05:00

Lufthansa Technik (LHT) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Oman Air to create the maintenance specialist’s first joint venture in the Middle East, with plans for building a hangar at Muscat airport. Operations are expected to start in 2012, when the hangar will be able to accommodate two widebody and two narrowbody aircraft. Some 300 technicians are to work there.

The Germany-based MRO group will perform maintenance up to C checks on Airbus A330s and Boeing 737s, as well as Embraer and ATR models for Oman Air and others. Under a separate contract, LHT (Stand A220) will provide 15 C checks on Oman Air 737s starting in January.

For Qatar Airways, LHT is performing A340-600 cabin modifications at its Frankfurt workshops under a contract revealed here yesterday that covers four aircraft. Work has already begun and is pegged to be completed in January, after 5,000 man-hours of work.

At Doha International Airport, the MRO specialist is providing consulting services for the construction of a maintenance hangar. Qatar Airways plans to use it beginning in 2011. The contract was signed with the airport’s steering committee.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways has commissioned LHT to install new first-class cabins in nine Airbus A340s by end of 2010. Yemen-based Felix Airways has signed up for the maintenance of its CF34-3B/-8C engines for the next seven years. In Afghanistan, Safi Airways has added an A340-300 to a four-year agreement covering the MRO company’s Total component support and line maintenance up to A checks in Frankfurt.

LHT also announced the appointment of Ziad Al Hazmi, as its general manager for sales in the Gulf region beginning in January 2010.

Royal Jet remains on flight plan for growth

2009-11-16T12:55:20-05:00

Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet’s diversification and five-year plan have helped maintain its growth during the last year, according to Shane O’Hare, president and CEO. “This has been a good year for Royal Jet. Our business has grown in a declining market, which has increased our market share in the region,” he said at a press conference here yesterday. “Our strategy of diversification, which includes our brokerage service, aircraft management, medical evacuation and FBO, has made significant contribution to our company’s health.”

Royal Jet (Chalet A57/58) is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Stand E118) and Presidential Flight of Abu Dhabi, which is the royal flight service. It is chaired by HE Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, who serves as a minister in the federal cabinet of the United Arab Emirates.

From 2006 to 2008, before the current downturn, the charter market in the Middle East saw an annual increase of some 23 percent, while Royal Jet showed a yearly growth of 25 to 30 percent. For 2009, the company reports an increase in charter bookings of about 15 percent. Its new brokerage firm, Dubai-based Royal Jet Charter Brokerage, began operations at the beginning of this year and is expected to achieve profits in excess of $1 million for the year.

Royal Jet’s current fleet of aircraft includes five Boeing Business Jets, making it the world’s largest BBJ operator, two Gulfstream 300s, Gulfstream GIV-SP, a Learjet 60 and a Challenger 604. The company is refurbishing its BBJs, at a cost of $50 million. “The first of these will be shortly rejoining the fleet,” said O’Hare. “It promises to be probably the most technically advanced BBJ in the world, as far as passengers amenities are concerned.”

O’Hare also announced that Royal Jet will be developing a new maintenance facility in Abu Dhabi. “It will have full MRO capability and will be able to undertake third-party maintenance,” he said. “We expect it to be operational by August 2011.”
For the third year in a row, Royal Jet received the World Travel Award for the World’s Leading –Private Jet Charter. Royal Jet’s fixed-base operations facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport was also voted Best in the Middle East by AIN’s monthly publication, Aviation International News.

Bombardier Adding Regional Aircraft to Depot

2009-11-16T12:58:23-05:00

Bombardier Aerospace announced yesterday that it will offer its commercial aircraft customers in the Middle East ready access to parts through its existing parts depot at Dubai International Airport.

In the coming months Bombardier plans to equip the 2,800-sq-ft facility, which now serves Learjet, Challenger and Global business jet customers, to meet parts requirements for CRJ, Q Series and, eventually, C Series aircraft customers in the region. Operated in conjunction with ExecuJet Aviation Group, Bombardier’s Dubai parts depot was established in 2005 and also serves as an authorized service facility for business aircraft customers.

Aircell Names ExecuJet Local Dealer

2009-11-16T13:00:03-05:00

Airborne communication specialist Aircell has appointed ExecuJet Aviation as its first authorized dealer in the Middle East. ExecuJet operates a business aircraft service facility here at Dubai International Airport and it will be marketing Aircell’s SwiftBroadband solutions for in-flight Internet connections and mobile phones.

ABJ is a right royal success

2009-11-16T13:45:59-05:00

The BAE Systems Avro Business Jet (ABJ), which is based on the venerable BAe146/Avro RJ four-engine regional jet, is making its Dubai Airshow debut this week as BAE’s Asset Management arm vies to build on recent successes.

The company now has three aircraft with the Bahrain Defence Force, two with the Dubai Air Wing and one with the Abu Dhabi Presidential Flight–with a second aircraft (a converted RJ100) due in Abu Dhabi by the end of this year. Its success with Middle East royal flights echoes the success of the three 146 aircraft that are part of the Queens Flight in the UK [now Royal Air Force No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron].

However, BAE also is looking to the corporate and private jet market, and has placed an ABJ with Kuwaiti First Trading and Construction plus one with Casino Rodos of Greece–an aircraft ordered at last year’s Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show. It also announced earlier this month that it had received an ABJ order from the UK’s Gill Group–a BAe 146-200 that Inflite Engineering Services, its London Stansted Airport-based contractor for ABJ completions–will convert to a 46-seat corporate shuttle.

Gill is a construction company owned by CEO Raj Gill. It has a UAE office and recently completed the runway apron area at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
BAE has also announced that Inflight itself is to purchase an ABJ, “for speculative reasons,” said BAE Systems Asset Management v-p business development Stewart Cordner. The aircraft is being delivered “immediately.”

Inflight is teaming with Linley, the London prestige furniture designer owned by the British Queen’s nephew David Linley, to customize ABJs, widening choice for customers, who already have access to the services of UK design consultancy Design Q for interior design.

Separately, BAE Systems Asset Management has also won a remarketing mandate for a Boeing 767-300ER from a UAE company that recently purchased one of its RJ aircraft.

Boeing and Mubadala lay big plans

2009-11-16T14:24:39-05:00

Boeing and Mubadala Development Co. yesterday signed a so-called strategic framework agreement covering “key” areas of collaboration, including such “mutual beneficial areas” as composite manufacturing, engineering, research and development, commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul, military maintenance and sustainment, pilot training and people development.

Mubadala, a business development and investment vehicle of the Abu Dhabi government, called the agreement the start of a long-term mutual commitment to drive forward Abu Dhabi’s plans to become a global aerospace hub. Meanwhile, the deal expands Boeing’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates and enhances its global supply and technology base.

“Mubadala’s strategy is to make Abu Dhabi a global aerospace hub based around manufacturing, MRO, education and training,” said associate director Homaid Al Shemmari. “Our partnership with Boeing is directly aligned to this strategy and will integrate with existing plans, enabling us to develop mutually beneficial opportunities for both parties.

“Building Abu Dhabi’s aerospace industry directly supports our mandate to create a high-tech, knowledge intensive economy, and provide career opportunities for the current and future UAE workforce,” Mubadala’s Al Shemmari concluded.

ACJ MAKES a Perfect 10 for Comlux

2009-11-16T14:28:59-05:00

Aircraft management and charter firm Comlux yesterday placed an order for its tenth Airbus executive jet, making it the largest single operator of the aircraft manufacturer’s bizliners. The $75 million deal signed here at the Dubai show brings Comlux’s total order for ACJs to three, in addition to previous orders for four A318 Elites, two A320 Prestiges and one A330-200 Prestige–a cumulative order value that exceeds $800 million, Airbus said.
So far four of these aircraft have been delivered to Comlux–two A318 Elites and two ACJs. The first A320 Prestige is slated to be handed over in June next year. Its ACJs and Elites are each currently averaging between 60 and 80 revenue flight hours per month, said Comlux president and CEO Richard Gaona.
Celebrating the signing yesterday afternoon (l-r) were Airbus COO for customers John Leahy, Gaona and Airbus Middle East president Habib Fekih. o

Airbus Orders Trickle In at Dubai '09

2009-11-17T06:00:41-05:00

Airbus kept its steadily advancing order train rolling on the third day of the Dubai Airshow with a pair of modest, but nonetheless significant, announcements involving models ranging from the single-aisle A320 to the A380 superjumbo.

The first deal involved a firm order for a pair of high-density A380s from Air Austral of Reunion Island. Plans call for the airplanes to seat 840 passengers in its two floors of 10-abreast seating, making Air Austral the first carrier in the world to opt for an all-economy A380 cabin configuration.

“Air Austral opens a new chapter for A380 operations,” said Airbus COO for customers John Leahy. “It will operate the A380 with the lowest fuel cost and emissions per passenger of any aircraft available today.”

Leahy noted that many 777s and 747s fly with 10-abreast cabin configurations, and that the same layout in the wider A380 will obviously make for a more comfortable travel experience. For Air Austral, the long-haul, high-density airplanes stand to deliver the cheapest seat-mile costs in the business.

“We are convinced that the future of air transport will be lower fares,” said Air Austral president Gerard Etheve. “We needed a low-cost [instrument] for low fares. The A380 is the answer to the problem.”

Air Austral plans to fly the airplanes directly between Paris and St. Denis, La Reunion, starting in 2014. Future applications could involve flights to the Caribbean supported by potential future deliveries. Air Austral has chosen Engine Alliance to power the airplanes with the partnership’s GP7200s.

Airbus’s other commercial announcement on Tuesday morning involved Nepal Airlines, which signed an MOU covering a single A330-200 and an A320. The airline plans to deploy the airplanes on international services to Japan and will for the first time connect Nepal to Europe with direct flights.

Plans call for the two-class A330s to fly on routes to Europe and North Asia and plan an instrumental role in developing Nepal’s tourism industry, particularly as the country prepares for its “Visit Nepal 2011” tourism campaign. The airline plans to deploy the dual-class A320 on regional routes and operate as far as the Middle East and in Southeast Asia.

Nepal Airlines chairman Sugat Ratna Kansakar said that tourism accounts for just 2.3 percent of Nepal’s GDP, making it ripe for development. “The A330 and A320 will open Nepal’s doors to the world,” said Airbus’s Leahy. “Aviation is a lifeline and a key economic driver to the long-term prosperity of a land-locked mountainous country like Nepal.”

Boeing Lands Orders from Two Algerian Airlines

2009-11-17T02:23:43-05:00

Boeing landed separate firm orders from a pair of Algerian airlines today at the Dubai Airshow, for a total of 11 Next Generation 737-800s worth some $825 million at list prices. The orders involved Algiers-based Air Algerie, which signed for seven of the single-aisle jets, and Tasilli Airlines, which signed for four.

Air Algerie’s order increases the size of its Boeing 737NG fleet to 22 airplanes and will deliver higher fuel efficiency and related environmental improvements, the airline’s CEO, Abdelwahid Bouabdallah. “Our purchase of Boeing 737-800s is a natural progression for Air Algerie,” he said. “One advantage is that our pilots and engineers are expertly trained and experienced with the airplane. The 737-800 adds great value to our fleet because it is very high-tech and reliable. Reduced operating and maintenance costs mean our airplanes spend less time on the ground and more time in the air making money.”

Air Algerie ordered its new 737s with Blended Winglets, which, according to Boeing, further reduce fuel burn by approximately 4 percent. A Boeing customer for nearly 40 years, Air Algerie operates a Boeing fleet that includes 10 737-800s, five 737-600s and three 767-300s.

“Air Algerie’s order reflects our company’s solid business partnership of nearly 40 years with the airline and the proven fuel efficiency and reliability of the Next-Generation 737,” said Marty Bentrott, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of sales for the Middle East and Central and South Asia.

Tassili Airlines’ order, meanwhile, marks its first for Boeing airplanes of any kind. A subsidiary of government-owned Sonatrach Petroleum Corporation, Tassili plans to use the 737-800s to transport employees and cargo between large Algerian cities and Sonatrach work sites. Tassili expects to place its 737s into commercial passenger service on domestic and regional routes in the near future.

“Tassili’s selection of the Boeing Next-Generation 737 is a testament to the airplane’s versatility, range and other performance factors,” said Boeing’s Bentrott. “We offered a comprehensive package to support its unique employee-transport needs, including spares, support equipment, ground-handling equipment, tooling and training.”

Boeing holds a delivery backlog of more than 2,100 Next-Generation 737s. Earlier this year, Boeing announced performance enhancements to the Next-Generation 737 that will reduce fuel consumption by 2 percent by 2011 through a combination of airframe and engine improvements.

Civil sales heat up as deals bloom in the desert

2009-11-16T01:23:16-05:00

The cash registers started to ring here at the 2009 Dubai Airshow yesterday with a modest but nonetheless welcome batch of airliner and engine orders. Airbus firmed up a new customer in Ethiopian Airlines, which converted a memorandum of understanding for 12 A350XWBs into a firm $3 billion order. Turbofan manufacturers shared a $2.6 billion batch of powerplant deals, and, combined with a flurry of smaller aircraft and systems deals, this took the tally for the first 24 hours of announced show business close to $7 billion.

The deal signed with Ethiopian Airlines marked the first-ever order for Airbus aircraft by the east African carrier, which also holds orders for the A350’s prime competitor, the Boeing 787. The contract raised the number of firm orders for the A350XWB family to 505 from 32 customers.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said he planned to deploy the A350-900s on order from the airline’s hub in Addis Ababa on long-range routes to Europe, the U.S. and Asia, largely on sectors of between 11 and 12 hours in duration. The 787s, meanwhile, will fly medium-range routes of between seven and eight hours, he added.

From Airbus’ perspective, the signing marked the start of what it hopes will prove a lucrative show during a generally depressed time in the business. “We are very happy to be here today and signing something,” said Airbus CEO Tom Enders.

For his part, Airbus COO for customers John Leahy insisted that the down economy had little to do with the price Ethiopian ultimately paid for the airplane. “We’ve tried for several years to get Ethiopian,” said Leahy,“but this is not a price deal; this is a technology deal.”

Wake said plans call for deliveries to begin in 2017–the date targeted from the beginning of the negotiations–but that the airline might need some earlier slots, depending on competitive circumstances. “We hope this is the beginning of a very long relationship [with Airbus],” said Wake. “We think [the A350] will serve our market very well.”

Leahy added that Airbus has not had to spend much time filling open delivery positions, implying that perhaps finding earlier slots won’t prove so easy for airlines such as Ethiopian, however.

A contract announced Saturday by Rolls-Royce in effect pre-empted the Airbus-Ethiopian signing yesterday. The announcement, which involved a $480 million deal for Trent XWB turbofans to power the 12 Ethiopian Airlines A350s, raised Rolls-Royce’s order total for the new engine type to than 1,000.

Separately, Rolls-Royce has just won an order from Air China to power 20 Airbus A330s with Trent 700 turbofans. The contract, worth $1.5 billion at list prices, includes Rolls-Royce’s long-term TotalCare support. The deal also includes the retrofit of Air China’s existing A330s. Schedules call for deliveries to start in 2011.

In the narrowbody market, International Aero Engines yesterday announced that DAE Capital has chosen the V2500 SelectOne engine to power 20 new aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. Part of a 70-aircraft order the leasing company announced in July last year, the 20 airplanes will require $340 million worth of engines at IAE list prices. DAE expects deliveries to start in 2011.

In another deal involving Airbus single-aisle airliners, CFM International landed a $180 million contract from Tunisair to supply CFM56-5B engines to power 10 A320s on firm order. The airline, which also took options on two additional airplanes, plans to start taking delivery next June.

Finally, Libyan Airlines has become a new CFM International customer with its selection of CFM56-5Bs to power seven A320s on firm order and a further five on option. The value of the firm engine order totals some $95 million at list prices and the airline plans to take delivery by the middle of next year.

A400M closer to first flight, but loses client

2009-11-15T14:17:40-05:00

There was good news and bad news for Europe’s troubled airlifter last week. Airbus Military said the first A400M is now in the hands of the flight-test team and on course for a first flight by the end of the year. And the program gained a strong endorsement from the UK Royal Air Force commander. But South Africa canceled its order for eight aircraft and claimed a refund of $391 million already handed over.

Static tests and engine runups of the first A400M will now be undertaken at Seville, followed by taxi tests, which will culminate in a rejected takeoff at about 120 knots. The telemetry system to relay flight-test data from the aircraft will also be checked on the ground. Scheduled to be at the controls for the taxi tests and the first flight is Ed Strongman, head of A400M flight test; Ignatio Lombow is to be the copilot.

Much to the surprise of Airbus Military, South Africa pulled out after a cabinet meeting was told that the cost of the A400M had soared. The contract was signed in December 2006 and was worth a reported Rand 17 billion ($2.3 billion at today’s exchange rate). Speaking after the cabinet meeting, a government spokesman told local reporters that the cost now is Rand 40 billion ($5.4 billion). “We don’t recognize these figures,” an Airbus spokesperson told AIN.

The South African deal also involved an industrial partnership, which may now be in doubt. Denel Saab Aerostructures was selected to supply front and rear fuselage top shells; wing-fuselage fairings; ribs and spares for the tail fin; and some of the center-wing box structure. Aerosud was slated to supply the wing tips and some internal structure and linings.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency at the Air Chiefs Conference here Saturday, Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton confirmed that the RAF still wants to take 25 A400Ms. But he warned that difficult negotiations with Airbus Military over cost are still to come. “We have got to stand firm and challenge industry,” he was quoted as saying. Dalton said negotiators for the European launch-partner countries are looking at whether savings can be made by reshuffling upfront costs, and by finding more efficient ways to maintain the aircraft in service.

Three Arab nations join the Amraam community

2009-11-15T15:01:26-05:00

Letters of offer and acceptance (LOAs) covering the supply of Raytheon’s AIM-120C-7, the latest version of the proven advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (Amraam), have been signed by three Arab nations: Kuwait, Morocco and Jordan (in order of signing).

Kuwait is purchasing the weapon to equip its KAF-18 Hornet fighters, while Morocco is getting the missiles for the 24 F-16 Block 52s that were recently ordered through FMS channels. Jordan is also to use the Amraam on the F-16.

These deals follow the United Arab Emirates, which has already executed a letter of offer and acceptance with the U.S. for the AIM-120C-7, signing for 224 missiles in February to equip the F-16 Block 60.

The AIM-120C-7 improves on earlier versions by replacing the traditionally rectangular processor circuit boards with circular units, providing additional volume for increased processing.

The guidance system has new algorithms that make turns smoother, saving energy during the missile’s fly-out to give greater range or end-game maneuver capability.
All versions of the Amraam have now notched more than 1.7 million on-wing hours and over 2,400 live firings.

AgustaWestland’s two new helos fly

2009-11-15T13:28:36-05:00

AgustaWestland last week achieved two significant milestones, with the first flights of two new military helicopter designs on consecutive days. First to fly was the AW159 Lynx Wildcat, which lifted off on Thursday at Yeovil in the UK. The aircraft performed “as expected” in general handling checks, according to chief test pilot Donald Maclaine.

It was followed on Friday by the AW149, which flew from the company’s Vergiate factory in Italy. The plant’s chief test pilot, Giuseppe Lo Coco, was at the controls for the 20-minute maiden flight that checked out general handling and basic systems. Coming shortly after the September 28 flight debut of the T129 (the Turkish version of the AW129 attack helicopter), the AW149 and AW159 first flights capped a successful fall for AgustaWestland.

The six-ton AW159 flew “exactly on schedule as we promised in June 2006, when the contract was signed,” said Nick Whitney, v-p for AgustaWestland’s UK government business unit. The manufacturer has signed a “strategic partnering agreement” with the UK Ministry of Defence. The latter has ordered 34 AW159s for the British Royal Army and 28 for the Royal Navy. Two more Lynx Wildcats are to join the flight test program next year.

The first aircraft is planned for delivery in 2011. Full operational status is expected with the British Army in 2014 and the Royal Navy in 2015. For land missions, the Lynx Wildcat roles will include reconnaissance, command and control, force protection and transportation of troop and materiel. For maritime missions, the AW159 will perform anti-surface warfare and force protection roles, defending ships against surface threats. It will serve aboard Type 22/23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers.

The aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight is 13,150 pounds, with the capability to increase to 13,767 pounds; it is powered by two 1,281-shp LHTEC CTS800s. The cockpit features four integrated 10- by 8-inch primary displays. Sensors include a nose-mounted infrared/TV imager with built-in laser designator. The maritime variant has a Selex Galileo 7400E 360-degree active array radar. The Lynx Wildcat also has a missile warning system, radar warning receivers and countermeasures.

This versatile aircraft can be outfitted to carry machine guns, torpedoes, depth charges and both iterations of the future air-to-surface guided weapon (FASGW), for which assessment-phase contracts have been issued. Thales is working on its lightweight multirole missile for the FASGW (Light) requirement, while MBDA is developing FASGW (Heavy), initially basing its design on the legacy Lynx’s existing Sea Skua weapon. FASGW(H) is being jointly developed to answer the French navy’s Anti-Navire Léger requirement for an AS 15TT replacement, to be carried by Panther and NH90 helicopters.

AW149 Is an AW139 Hybrid
AgustaWestland has developed the AW149 from its successful AW139 civil helicopter as a medium utility helicopter in the eight-metric-ton class. The company cites its capacious cabin as a key attribute for such a compact helicopter, enabling it to undertake many roles, including carrying up to 18 troops. It can also be armed with weapons on outrigger pylons.

The prototype that flew last Friday is actually a hybrid based on the AW149’s airframe and avionics, but with the AW139’s dynamic system. A full AW149 prototype is due to fly next year, with the two 2,000-shp General Electric CT7-2E1 turboshafts, new transmission system and Fadec system installed. AgustaWestland is aiming to complete development in 2012 to permit initial operating capability to be achieved in 2014.

An Italian air force search-and-rescue requirement was the spur to AW149 development, but it is also being marketed for export. The first main international sales opportunity for the AW149 is Turkey’s tactical utility helicopter program, which envisions an initial purchase of 69 helicopters for the army, 20 for the police and 20 for civilian fire-fighting duties. Turkish industry would be heavily involved in the program: it already manufactures AW139 fuselages for AgustaWestland, as well as the T129 (AW129) ATAK attack helicopter.

A320 ‘Sharklets’ take a nice bite out of fuel burn

2009-11-15T14:02:27-05:00

Airbus unveiled a much-anticipated advance to its A320 family yesterday when it launched a program to develop new wingtip devices called “Sharklets.” To cost an extra $900,000 installed, the new devices will improve fuel burn on the A320 family by 3.5 percent on “longer” sectors, corresponding to an annual CO2 reduction of some 730 metric tons per aircraft. Airbus COO for customers John Leahy told an afternoon press gathering that the first Sharklets will appear on launch operator Air New Zealand A320s by the end of 2012, followed by the first application on A321s some six months later, then on A319s and, eventually, A318s.

Dr. Kiran Rao, Airbus executive vice president of sales and marketing customer affairs, explained to AIN that although the Sharklets needed strengthening of the airplanes’ wing boxes and will add some 440 pounds, computer modeling will allow Airbus to shed a corresponding amount of weight from both the wing structure and airframe, resulting in no weight penalty.

He further explained that the Sharklets’ differ from conventional winglets in their contour and shape, resulting in an 1,100-pound increase in payload or 110 nm in extra range, to 3,350 nm in an A320, faster time to climb and up to a 2-percent reduction in engine maintenance costs.

Airbus also estimates that the Sharklets will save operators $220,000 worth of fuel per aircraft per year and result in a mtow increase of as much as three metric tons.

Leahy noted that because the Sharklets “are not that easy to retrofit,” Airbus has decided to make them available initially only on new-build airplanes. “We’re looking at what can be done,” he said, adding that Airbus has held talks with Aviation Partners, the company that builds winglets for Boeing’s narrowbodies.

“Some people might ask, ‘What took you so long?’” said Leahy. “Well, we wanted to get it right. Our competitor uses the old standard.”

Air New Zealand plans to use its Sharklet-equipped A320s across its domestic network and, particularly, on longer trans-Tasman sectors. Airline CEO Rob Fyfe said the Sharklets turned the competition for ANZ’s narrowbody tender in favor of Airbus.

Leahy noted that the 3.5-percent improvement in efficiency comes in addition to the 1-percent benefit the current wingtip fences bring.

The Sharklet installation also keeps the A320 family within ICAO Class C (wingspan less than 119 feet) and will result in higher available takeoff weights, notably from obstacle-limited runways. Moreover, where runway performance is not limiting, operators should profit from a reduction in average takeoff thrust (with consequent savings in engine maintenance costs by around 2 percent), while communities benefit from lower takeoff noise.

This latest development represents part of the larger, continuous improvement program for the A320 family, supported by an annual investment of more than $150 million. To this end, Airbus has conducted a thorough campaign over several years to evaluate improved large aerodynamic devices, using not only Airbus’ company-owned A320 test aircraft, but also its advanced computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) simulation-tools. Airbus expects to introduce an all-new narrowbody product around 2024, according to Leahy, although an engine upgrade for the current A320s could become available by the middle of this decade.

Arab Wings takes to the air in UAE

2009-11-15T13:22:46-05:00

The new Gulf Wings UAE operation of Jordanian charter/ management company Arab Wings is up and running as of yesterday when the company received its air operator’s certificate (AOC) from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates.

Here at the Dubai show, Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh, executive president of Arab Wings, praised the GCAA for being “very stringent and strict,” which he said is better for the Middle East’s fast-growing businesss aviation industry.

“The UAE now has more than 250 registered aircraft,” he said, including an increasing number of executive airplanes, “which came out like mushrooms over the last few years.” Ghazaleh also praised the Arab Wings staff for working hard to obtain the AOC within a year.

Arab Wings, which was formed in 1975 and acquired in 2005 by the Royal Jordanian Air Academy, now operates 12 business jets, four of which it owns and eight which it manages. The aircraft operate out of the Jordanian capital Amman and Cairo, Egypt, as well as the new UAE base at Sharjah.

Gulf Wings UAE is starting up with a new Bombardier Challenger 605 under a management contract and is expected to add four more aircraft by year end. The Gulf Wings’ AOC is the second now held by Arab Wings.

Bahrain Holding Company
Last Thursday, its parent company established a holding company in Bahrain, which is 70 percent owned by a group of Saudi Arabian investors and 30 percent by the Royal Jordanian Air Academy. “The first company to be launched by this holding company is Global Wings, which will be a specialized brokerage company for the region,” Abu Ghazaleh said. It will be based in Bahrain and share offices with Arab Wings in Jordan and Gulf Wings in the UAE.

The next step in Arab Wings’ goal of becoming “the largest aircraft services group in the Middle East in the next 24 months” is to establish maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Jordan, possibly in partnership with a European MRO. “We’re looking along the lines of which manufacturer provides us with the biggest fleet,” explained Abu Ghazaleh. “Most of our fleet are Bombardier aircraft, even though we also do operate Cessna and Gulfstream airplanes.”

Arab Wings is also active in the medical evacuation market with clients in countries such as Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Kuwait. It has its own full-time medical director and can quickly equip aircraft with the medical equipment needed for a specific mission.

Signs point to Bombardier response to Gulfstream G650

2009-11-15T12:44:19-05:00

Bombardier is under commercial pressure to launch a new flagship business jet to rival the Gulfstream G650 as the world’s industry descends on what is the key event for the leading large-bizjet-buying region. With its significant range advantage, the G650 looks to be set to beat Bombardier’s leading model–the Global Express XRS– hands down when it enters service in 2012. The Gulfstream airplane has already attracted orders for more than 200 units and is expected to make its first flight before the end of this year.

Eager to react to rumors of an imminent launch, Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin recently indicated that the company may launch a model to counter the G650, but did not indicate a timescale. Some believe it could be as soon as the first quarter of next year, if the company can keep its plans under wraps in Dubai this week. Beaudoin was speaking to reporters at a recent briefing at the company’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada, when he said he was adamant that Bombardier would definitely position itself to compete with Gulfstream.

Speaking to AIN at the Dubai Airshow, Bombardier regional v-p-sales for the Middle East and Africa, Khader Mattar, said, “It is not a brilliant time for new orders, but Bombardier is committed to investing in its aircraft.” While pointing to the new Signature cabin for the Learjet 60, the new Learjet 85 model, the extended-range Learjet 40XR, plus the new Global Vision flight deck for its larger aircraft, he also acknowledged that some customers just want the best. “Everybody wants the best deal, but at the same time they want the best facility and support,” Mattar added.

A comparison between the Global XRS and Gulfstream 650 shows why Bombardier might be concerned. The XRS, which entered service in 2006 and is based on a Global 5000 with additional wing-root fuel tanks, has a maximum range with eight passengers and four crew of 6,150 nm at Mach 0.85. The G650, due to enter service in 2012, is expected to offer a range of 7,000 nm, with the same number of passengers and crew. It is also expected to achieve a maximum operating Mach number of 0.925, which would ease out the Cessna Citation X as the fastest business jet, as well as the fastest operational civil airplane, since the Concorde no longer flies.

Bombardier has brought four aircraft to the Dubai show: an example of the Learjet 60 with the new Signature interior; a Challenger 605; a Challenger 850; and a Global Express. Mattar said its Global 5000 demonstrator is currently engaged elsewhere.

Citation X with winglets lands at Wallan Aviation

2009-11-15T12:42:45-05:00

Here at the Dubai Airshow yesterday, Cessna delivered the first Citation X business jet retrofitted with Winglet Technology’s elliptical winglets to Wallan Aviation of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The modification cuts drag to reduce fuel consumption, while also boosting speed and range–especially when operating from the exceptionally hot conditions that operators face here in the Middle East.

The new Citation X winglets were approved through a supplementary type certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in June and by last month it had been retrofitted on five aircraft. The composite winglets, for which Wichita-based Winglet Technology has also received approval from Transport Canada and Brazil’s ANAC, ensure that the aerodynamic lift distribution across the wingspan is as close as possible to the ideal elliptical distribution.

The winglet retrofit kit also includes the replacement of anti-collision and position lights with LED versions. According to Cessna, plans are under way to offer installation of the winglets on the Citation X at the company’s nine service centers located throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Wallan Aviation, which has a base in Dubai as well as its main Riyadh base, is Cessna’s Authorized Citation Service Center for the Middle East. Chairman Saad Wallan uses his Citation X to travel between diverse business interests in the Middle East, the U.S., Europe and Asia.

News Clips from Dubai 2009

2009-11-15T06:41:30-05:00

Golf Champ Garcia To Visit Hawker Beech Chalet

Professional golfer Sergio Garcia plans to visit Hawker Beechcraft (Chalet A9) at the show this afternoon to talk about his experience operating his Hawker 4000. Garcia, who turned professional in 1999 and plays on the PGA U.S. and European tours, recently traveled aboard his Hawker 4000 to Shanghai for the HSBC Championship and to Hong Kong for the UBS Championship before coming here for this week’s Dubai World Championship.

King Air Conquers the Atlantic

A twin-turboprop Beechcraft King Air 350ER has flown nonstop across the Atlantic from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Bournemouth International Airport in the UK as part of its delivery flight from Wichita, Kansas, hometown of manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft. The route over the ocean was the first nonstop transatlantic flight by the type. The record-setting 350ER is the first of four modified, extended-range King Airs ordered by the UK Ministry of Defence for its new Military Flying Training System. It features a large underbelly radome capable of accommodating a number of different maritime surveillance radars. The model has a range of 2,300 nm and 10 hours’ endurance. The Royal Navy will employ it in the rear-crew training role. Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force has received the tenth King Air B200 for the UK’s military multi-engine pilot training program.

Jet Aviation Accepts Flydubai’s Fifth B737-800

Jet Aviation has conducted full technical acceptance procedures and delivery service on Flydubai’s fifth new Boeing 737-800. The Swiss company completed its first acceptance and delivery project last month. It conducted the full technical new-aircraft procedure in accordance with the procedures and checklists from Flydubai quality assurance, including the mandatory AD 111 required by the local GCAA. Jet Aviation delivered the airplane on time on October 13, at which time Flydubai immediately placed the 737-800 into service. The companies have entered negotiations to allow Jet Aviation to perform the same services on Flydubai’s sixth 737-800, due for delivery from Boeing early next month. The airline’s schedule calls for delivery of another 48 of the Next Generation single-aisle Boeings.

Emirates-CAE Signs Several Training Contracts

Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT), the joint venture training organization formed by Emirates Airline and Canadian simulator manufacturer CAE (Stand E224), has announced new contracts with Jet Aviation, MSC Aviation and Transaero for its tailored pilot training program. Jet Aviation has renewed its existing training contract covering its Gulfstream GIVs, GVs, G550s and Boeing Business Jets. Geneva-based MSC Aviation, the flight operation of Mediterranean Shipping Co., has signed a three-year contract to train its Hawker 800XPi pilots. And Transaero Airlines, Russia’s leading leisure airline, has extended the agreement for training its Boeing 777 pilots. ECFT, located at the Emirates Aviation College campus near Dubai International Airport. It operates 10 full-flight simulators: two Airbus A320/ACJs; an Airbus A330/340; a Boeing 777; two Boeing 737 NG/BBJs; a Gulfstream GIV; a Gulfstream GV/550; a Hawker 800/800XP; and a Bell Helicopter 412.

Chile Chooses CMC for C-130 Cockpit Upgrade

Esterline CMC Electronics announced here at the Dubai show that it has been selected to provide a cockpit avionics upgrade for the Chilean air force’s C-130 Hercules fleet. As prime contractor, the Canadian group will provide its Cockpit 9000 suite to the Fuerza Aérea de Chile, which operates C-130B/Hs with Grupo de Aviación No. 10 at Santiago. CMC is delivering the complete equipment suite with turnkey installation kits and is undertaking all in-country activities, including training and support. Cockpit 9000 can be tailored to customer requirements and can include up to six large multifunction displays. For its part, the Chilean air force is impressed not only by the safety benefits and flexibility offered by the new avionics suite, but also the speed with which aircraft can be modified and returned to operational service.

RAeS on a mission for more members

2009-11-15T06:46:50-05:00

The Royal Aeronautical Society is on a recruitment drive at the Dubai Airshow (Stand W144) looking to build on a membership base that already extends to a local branch here in the United Arab Emirates. The show also marks the swansong for the London-based organization’s chief executive, Keith Mans, who is about to retire and be replaced by former Messier-Dowty CEO Simon Luxmoore.

The UAE branch is one of the society’s most active and offers a full program of lectures and other events as part of its mandate to be a forum for advancing technology and best practice. It has some 60 branches worldwide including in Pakistan and South Africa and a global membership of more than 17,000.

Membership is available in both the professional and corporate partner categories. For corporate partners, the society offers a program of independent accreditation to recognize their qualifications and capabilities. Professional members can follow various personal development programs.

At Dubai ’09, the society is offering preferential membership rates. It is also holding daily prize drawings for the chance to win a complimentary affiliate membership.

Mans has attended the Dubai Airshow several times since he became Royal Aeronautical Society chief executive in 1998. He is about to become chairman of the UK’s Air League, taking over from Sir Brian Burridge, who is to be the group’s president.

“One of the society’s aims is to look beyond the next horizon to new challenges, supported by commercial organizations, while not having them as part of our membership structure,” Mans told AIN. “We have to challenge assumptions and use good objective analysis.”

One way in which the society has challenged established assumptions about aviation was the formation, in 1999, of the Air Travel Greener by Design initiative to confront the challenge posed to the industry by growing calls to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. “This is just as serious a challenge to aviation as those posed in the last century by the problems of payload and weight,” he said. The initiative has seen the society championing contentious ideas that are not necessarily in the interest of individual aerospace firms, such as the notion that to target environmental sustainability airlines should confine themselves to flying routes of no more than 3,000 miles.

The society’s 40 staff members work in conjunction with 2,500 volunteers organizing about 400 lectures annually for some 25,000 people. It also recently has started making the lectures available as audio files on its Web site. It has supported the opening of the National Aerospace Library at Farnborough and since 2003 has distributed almost $5 million in scholarships to aerospace students.

Scrappy F-15 still turns heads

2009-11-15T08:57:49-05:00

The U.S. Air Force F-15 display here is so hot you can see the paint peeling off the aircraft! In fact, although this F-15E Strike Eagle needs sprucing up a tad, its airshow act could hardly be smarter. The display put on by captains Phil “Ritz” Smith (pilot) accompanied by John “Gizmo” Cox in the back seat, is the best that AIN has seen of an F-15. Watch in particular for the scorching inverted departure, the curving knife-edge pass, and the corkscrewing vertical ascent and descent toward the end of the display. Smith and Cox are from the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour-Johnson AFB on the U.S. east coast. However, their aircraft is from the 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, which has a squadron currently deployed to this region.

Boeing continues to tread on eggshells in the Pentagon, in marketing new F-15s internationally. The company has attracted serious flak from the F-35 program office for suggesting that its latest proposal of a “Silent Eagle” can match the Joint Strike Fighter’s very small radar cross section (RCS), at least in frontal aspect. Boeing has responded by noting that the proposal is aimed only at existing F-15 customers who might want to supplement their fleets.

In this region that could include Saudi Arabia. But a Boeing spokesman suggested to AIN that Korea is the main target for the F-15SE. Japan seems another likely prospect.

As well as RCS improvements through coatings and a redesigned V-tail, the F-15SE offers some avionics already found on current production Strike Eagles for Korea and Singapore, such as an AESA radar, plus a new digital electronic warfare system from BAE Systems and stealthy weapons carriage within the conformal fuel tanks. Boeing has committed its own dollars to development and flight-test of the latter, due next year. But the company is seeking a partner to help develop the whole Silent Eagle package–a task that could be complicated by stringent U.S. technology export rules, especially regarding stealth and electronic warfare.

Royal Moroccan Air Force kicks off first T-6C sale

2009-11-15T07:17:48-05:00

In late September the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) became the latest customer for the Hawker Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer and the first for the weapons-capable T-6C. The $37 million Foreign Military Sales contract covers the first installment of a planned 24-aircraft purchase that was first notified to the U.S. Congress through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency in late 2007. Included in the contract are spares provision, ground support equipment and other support services. Morocco joins the U.S., Canada, Greece, Israel and Iraq in ordering the Americanized version of the Pilatus PC-9.

Morocco’s T-6Cs will feature the same FAA-certified CMC Electronics Cockpit 4000 avionics suite as the U.S. Navy’s T-6Bs, including six multifunction displays, hands-on throttle and stick controls, upfront control panel, head-up display, inertial reference unit, radar altimeter and digital recording/ data transfer system. The cockpit incorporates onboard synthetic training functions, such as no-drop bomb scoring, but the T-6C also has underwing hardpoints for live weapons training.

In RMAF service the T-6Cs will replace elderly Beech T-34 Turbo-Mentors and Cessna T-37s in the basic training role, and also download hours from the Alpha Jet advanced jet trainer fleet. Fuel requirements and overall operating costs will be significantly reduced as a result. The T-6C’s modern cockpit systems are particularly suited to training pilots destined for Morocco’s advanced F-16 fleet. The RMAF is acquiring 24 F-16C/D fighters, for which Lockheed Martin additionally received a contract to supply six AAQ-33 Sniper targeting pods in September.

ISAF adopts UK air rules

2009-11-15T07:29:14-05:00

Responding to mounting criticism of civilian casualties caused by air strikes, the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) tightened the rules of engagement (RoE) last July. More recently, senior and squadron commanders from UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) revealed that this move brought the RoEs for the ISAF into line with the strict procedures that have been long established in the British air arm, which is the second-largest contributor of airpower in Afghanistan.

In a statement carefully worded to avoid upsetting his American allies, the senior RAF commander welcomed the July 6 HQ ISAF tactical directive because it established the principle that “if there is doubt, there is no doubt–the weapon is not released. The RAF makes every effort to minimize civilian casualties while protecting coalition forces and enjoys a highly successful track record in both endeavors.” In a briefing attended by AIN, an RAF squadron commander showed video from a Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pod onboard a BAE Harrier GR.9 that depicted a bombing deliberately aborted by the pilot after the weapon was released and heading for the target.

A report by Human Rights Watch last year was critical of the “collateral damage” caused by NATO air power in Afghanistan and suggested that the RoEs employed by U.S. forces were not as rigorous as they should be. Afghan President Hamid Karzai endorsed the criticism. Then a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMA) claimed that one third of all civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the first half of this year were caused by “airstrikes.” U.S. General Stanley McChrystal made the change in the RoEs when he assumed command of the ISAF last June. “Although the majority of incidents are caused by insurgents, the Afghan people hold ISAF to a higher standard,” he wrote. According to subsequent briefings by the ISAF, the changes had an immediate effect in reducing collateral damage, despite an increase in airstrikes during the summer.

The RAF squadron commander said that the RoEs employed by British forces were “incredibly stringent. We don’t ask ourselves, ‘Could I drop?,’ we ask, ‘Should I drop?’”

He described an attack by an RAF Harrier that launched two Raytheon Paveway IV dual-GPS/laser-guided bombs against a senior Taliban commander who had been “positively identified” by Special Forces as the top setter of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the region. They had been tracking him for three weeks. The insurgent was driving a vehicle, which, as it approached a road junction, made an unexpected stop close to an unidentified compound with a half-dozen people standing outside. (see photos, right) The bombs were already on their way, launched with laser guidance at medium altitude at a range of 3.5 miles. The pilot began to drag the cross hairs on his Sniper targeting display away from the vehicle and quickly conferred with the ground commander, who could not positively identify the people as being associated with the insurgent. Making a split-second decision, the pilot “pulled off” the bombs into open ground, where they detonated in an airburst. The people fled the scene, no doubt in shock, but still alive.

“There is extensive legal and operational deliberation before any [air] attack is authorized and throughout its prosecution,” noted the senior RAF commander.

“The majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by suicide bombers and IEDs aimed at pro-Afghan government forces,” he added. He suggested that the Taliban has become skilled in “information operations” in order to discredit coalition forces. He also questioned the methodology used by UNAMA for its report because “it counted all indirect fires (IDF) as ‘airstrikes.’ There was no discrimination between air-delivered weapons and mortars, artillery or rockets.”

McChrystal called for enhanced training of ISAF combat units to apply the new tactical directive. “ISAF must work together with home-station training centers and professional development schools to ensure that units are properly prepared,” he recommended. “The TD stresses the necessity to avoid winning tactical victories while suffering strategic defeats. Commanders must…consider the effects of their actions on the Afghan population at every stage.”

Hardly had these words been written when at least 50 Afghanis were killed in an airstrike called in by German troops against an oil tanker vehicle that had been hijacked. McChrystal made clear his displeasure at the incident because it was not clear whether the people gathered around the tanker were insurgents or civilians, who were merely seeking to siphon fuel from it. The German troops believed that the tanker was being prepared for a suicide attack against their positions, which were nearby.

News Clips from Dubai 2009

2009-11-15T08:51:46-05:00

Aircell Appoints Abu Dhabi Sales Rep
Airborne communications specialist Aircell has announced the appointment of Shoukry Shokralla as its sales and service representative in Abu Dhabi. Shokralla’s responsibilities include supporting existing customers and seeking new ones, as well as providing Tier 1 support services such as assisting in system installation. A multi-engine and instrument-rated pilot, Shokralla has 28 years’ experience in avionics and communications.

Comlux Buys Challenger for Kazakhstan Base
Comlux Management has bolstered its executive charter fleet by ordering a third Bombardier Challenger 605. The new aircraft will be operated by the Swiss-based company’s FlyComlux division in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and will be available for flights both within Asia and into Europe. The Comlux fleet includes three Challenger 605s, two Challenger 850s, two Global 5000s, two Global Expresses and two Global Express XRSs. In addition to its location in Almaty, FlyComlux has operating bases in Zurich and Moscow. The Challenger 605 is equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics and can be fitted with the optional Bombardier enhanced vision system, which is ideal for low-visibility conditions.

RR Trent XWB Engine Sales Top 1,000 Mark
Rolls-Royce has received a $480 million order from Ethiopian Airlines for more than 1,000 Trent XWB engines to power 12 widebody Airbus A350 XWBs the African carrier agreed to buy in July. The aircraft are due to enter service in 2017. Separately, the engine maker has won an order from Air China to power 20 Airbus A330s with Trent 700 turbofans. That contract, worth $1.5 billion at list prices, includes Rolls-Royce’s long-term TotalCare support. As the powerplants to be delivered are an enhanced-performance version with reduced fuel burn, the deal also includes the retrofit of Air China’s existing A330s. Deliveries are of the newly ordered aircraft are to begin in 2011 and will bring the total of Air China’s Trent-powered A330s fleet to 43.

ExecuJet Pushes for Charter Boost
Dubai-based ExecuJet Middle East (Stand E370) plans to add aircraft over the next few months to boost its charter operation as it celebrates 10 years in the region by offering a 10-percent discount on all scheduled maintenance labor booked or carried out between November 1 and February 1 next year. The company manages a fleet of more than 20 aircraft out of a total ExecuJet worldwide fleet of roughly 120. This year it added a Bombardier Global XRS and a Bombardier Challenger 605.
ExecuJet’s Middle East Maintenance division recently received Artex Level 1 Service Centre Approval, which allows it to carry out emergency locator transmitter reprogramming for aircraft registration changes.

Honeywell To Power the M-346 Master Trainer
Honeywell’s International Turbine Engine Co. (ITEC) is to supply the power for the new Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master advanced trainers chosen by the air force of the United Arab Emirates. More than 100 F124-GA-200 engines are being acquired for the 48-aircraft fleet. The F124 offers exceptional performance: 6,280 pounds thrust for a weight of just 1,150 pounds. It has an integrated engine-monitoring system and numerous systems that operate automatically, including automatic relight after flameout, continuous temperature and speed limiting, automatic start and ignition sequence, and transient fuel scheduling to avoid surging.

EASA Grants Airbus A330 240-Minute ETOPS
The Airbus A330 twinjet has received approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for 240-minute ETOPS (extended-range, twin-engine operations) flights, thus becoming the first aircraft ever to be granted such approval by regulators. It means that A330s flying transoceanic will be able to fly routes planned with a maximum diversion time of 240 minutes. Previously, the maximum had been 180 minutes.

U.S. Navy deploys Fire Scout

2009-11-15T08:54:47-05:00

The Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout, a vertical takeoff unmanned air system (VTUAS), began its first operational deployment with the U.S. Navy last month. Two vehicles are currently embarked on the guided-missile frigate U.S.S. McInerney (FFG 8) for a six-month cruise operating alongside a Sikorsky SH-60B on counter-drug operations in the eastern Pacific. Compatibility trials with the frigate got under way last December.

This cruise is being undertaken in advance of the Navy’s formal operational evaluation (opeval), which is to be undertaken early next year. Opeval will begin with land-based trials before the campaign heads to sea. Also next year, the MQ-8B is due to begin tests aboard the lead ship of Lockheed Martin’s littoral combat ship (LCS) class–the U.S.S. Freedom (LCS 1). Two classes of LCS are being evaluated and they are to be the principal platforms on which the Fire Scout is to be fielded.

Currently, Northrop Grumman has funding from the Navy for 15 Fire Scouts, including two systems-demonstration-and-development (SDD) aircraft. Nominal requirements for the service, based on projected LCS deployment, are 170 units, but the figure could rise if the fielding is widened to other ship classes.

The Navy’s new landing platform dock (LPD) assault vessels represent an obvious application. During its first operational deployment, the lead ship of the class (U.S.S. San Antonio/LPD 17) headed an anti-piracy task force off the African coast. Embarking around six Fire Scouts in the future would provide such a fleet with a powerful surveillance capability, especially if integrated into layered operations with manned platforms and the broad area maritime surveillance UAV.

Modular Payloads
The Navy’s LCS vessels will have a wide-ranging brief, and their MQ-8B Fire Scouts must be similarly versatile to help perform the ship’s varied tasks. Northrop Grumman has designed the Fire Scout with modular “plug-and-play” payload options so it can be rapidly tailored to match mission requirements. These modular capabilities are being added as part of a spiral-development path. The Fire Scout’s air vehicle management system is segregated from that of the payloads, so new sensors can be swapped in and out without any system integration issues.

As a baseline, the MQ-8B for the Navy has a FLIR Systems Brite Star II electro-optical/ infrared turret. The next priority is to add a high-resolution imaging radar. This capability was demonstrated a while ago using a company-owned Fire Scout, and now the Navy is evaluating the Telephonics RDR-1700B and the Selex S&AS PicoSAR. The company-owned P6 instrumented air vehicle is involved in radar trials.

Another key capability for the MQ-8B is the Northrop Grumman Cobra (coastal battlefield reconnaissance and analysis) shallow-water mine detection system. Intended for a primary role of detecting mines in the “surf zone” prior to amphibious assaults, Cobra passed its Milestone C approval for low-rate initial production in April this year. In the future, the airborne laser mine detection system may be miniaturized sufficiently to be carried by the Fire Scout.

In August 2003 the U.S. Army selected the Fire Scout to fulfill its Class IV UAV requirements within the Future Combat System (FCS), and it has ordered eight SDD aircraft. However, the FCS has morphed into a new Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization program. As a consequence, the Army is reviewing its requirements and, although the MQ-8B remains the Class IV UAV within the new program, it could acquire up to 400.

In the meantime, Northrop Grumman has been flying a company Fire Scout (P7) intensely on Army-related trials and demonstrations, including work with the service’s preferred ground control segment. The company is working toward a first flight for an Army variant in 2011.

Interest and Potential
Beyond the two initial customers, Northrop Grumman is exploring numerous opportunities and 18 nations have expressed interest at varying levels. Among them is the UAE, which could be seeking some level of industrial cooperation as the nation looks to broaden its technological base.

The Fire Scout has considerable potential for a variety of other missions, both at sea and on land. Its weapons capability has been demonstrated and the MQ-8B could be armed with a growing range of lightweight munitions. Equipped with lightweight torpedoes, sonobuoys and sonobuoy receiver/relay equipment, it has applications in the antisubmarine warfare arena. Further military roles being explored are intelligence gathering of tactical signals, small-unit resupply transport and triage-kit delivery, among others.

News Clips from Dubai 2009

2009-11-15T12:19:54-05:00

MagEagle UAV To Track Subs
Boeing’s Phantom Works is developing a version of its ScanEagle Compressed Carriage (SECC) unmanned air system that can track submarines using magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment. Known as MagEagle Compressed Carriage (MECC), the UAS is envisioned to operate in conjunction with the company’s P-8 Poseidon maritime patroller.

Last year the U.S. Navy deleted the MAD from its P-8s because acoustic processing had advanced sufficiently to negate the need for a magnetometer, while the deletion of a tail sting saves weight and drag.

MagEagle could be used to restore gaps in ASW coverage created by the deletion of the P-8’s MAD, and also facilitate the Poseidon’s mission. In ASW operations MECCs could be dropped to provide additional target validation, and to track submarines for up to 24 hours. Their use would allow the launch platform to remain at high altitude. The MECC would be recovered at a shore base or aboard a ship.

Pakistan Reportedly Buying J-10s
Reports from Pakistan indicate it has placed an order for the Chinese Chengdu J-10. The $1.4 billion deal for the multirole fighter is said to cover 36 aircraft to equip two squadrons. Ultimately the sale could amount to as many as 150 J-10s, which most likely would be designated FC-20 in Pakistani service.

Details of the supposed agreement are scant, and there is no mention of whether the aircraft would be powered by the Russian-supplied Salut AL-31FN turbofan that has been installed in Chinese production aircraft to date, or the indigenous WS-10A Taihang engine. The latter has undergone a protracted development and appears to be initially aimed at the Shenyang J-11B, a Chinese development of the Su-27 Flanker.

Chengdu is, however, flight-testing a J-10B version with several advanced features. Among them is a stealthy diverter-less inlet and an infrared search-and-track turret, while the angled bulkhead between the forward fuselage and the new, lengthened radome would suggest the intention to install an active electronically scanned antenna radar.

Honeywell Continues T55 Chinook Deal
Honeywell has finalized a $79 million contract to continue supplying T55-GA-714A turboshaft engines and associated fielding kits to the U.S. Army for installation in its Chinook helicopters. The engines are used in both new-build CH-47Fs and by retrofit to CH-47Ds, giving the older aircraft 17 percent more power with a 5-percent reduction in fuel consumption. Honeywell is expected to begin deliveries of engines from this latest contract early next year to Boeing’s CH-47F production line. The Army has the option to continue the contract for two more years.

747-8 Freighter Preps for First Flight
Boeing towed the first 747-8 Freighter out of the factory in Everett, Washington, last week in preparation for first flight, painting and delivery to Cargolux in December next year. Cargolux has delivered two 747-400s to UPS in the expectation of receiving its first 747-8s by now. It has also has committed
to delivering another 747-400 to UPS next year. But major program delays have forced first flight into the first quarter of next year and expected certification into the fourth quarter (see page 26). The freighter is 250 feet 2 inches (76.3 m) long–
18 feet 4 inches longer than the 747-400 Freighter.

The stretch will provide customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared with its predecessor, translating into capacity for four more main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets.

Boeing has secured 105 orders for the 747-8, 78 of which involve orders for the new freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have placed orders for the 747-8 Freighter.

Snecma, BAT team up on engine mx

2009-11-15T12:23:19-05:00

French engine maker Snecma (Stand W420) and Baynuna Aviation Technology (BAT), a Abu Dhabi-based defense company, have formed a joint venture called Snecbat Engine Technologies, which will also be based in Abu Dhabi. Snecbat’s capabilities are to include civil and military engines services. It will focus particularly on the military aspect since the United Arab Emirates has a fleet of Snecma M53-powered Mirage 2000 fighters and is a prospect for the Dassault Rafale, which is fitted with a pair of M88s.

“We want to be ready if the Emirates choose the Rafale,” Snecma chairman and CEO Philippe Petitcolin told AIN. Earlier this year, the other two members of the Rafale team–Dassault and Thales–also created joint ventures with BAT.

The M88 version that would be operated by the UAE air force is not firmly defined. However, to meet its prospect customer’s requirement, Snecma is working on an increased-thrust variant–about 20,000 pounds instead of 16,500 pounds (nine tons instead of 7.5 tons, as currently in service)–partly because of the region’s hot climate. However, this is the only specific modification under consideration, Petitcolin said, adding that all enhancements worked out for the French air force would be incorporated into the UAE’s M88s. For example, beginning in 2011 Snecma will deliver M88s with a reduced cost of ownership.

The Middle East accounts for less than 5 percent of Snecma’s revenues, Petitcolin said. As for civil engines, he pointed out that GE and Snecma have 550 CFM56s in service or on order in the region. “This makes a 75-percent market share in narrowbody aircraft engines,” he said.

With regard to the Silvercrest turbofan, Snecma’s first foray in business aviation, Petitcolin said his company is talking to an airframer that could become its first customer.

No contract has been signed yet, though, so he clarified that the competition is still open.

Snecma and GE’s Leap-X demonstration program is progressing with a goal of making fuel-saving technologies available for the next generation of narrowbodies. “When a customer says, ‘I am ready [to take your engine],’ we draw a line and answer, ‘This is the level of savings we can provide at this stage,” Petitcolin said. For example, if China’s Comac were to request the Leap-X for the C919 to fly in 2014, Snecma and GE might offer a 10- to 12-percent fuel saving over current CFM56s. Snecma wants to complete certification in 2016. It wants to achieve a 16-percent cut in fuel burn with the new engine.

LHT Systems highlights airline ops software

2009-11-15T12:24:42-05:00

Lufthansa Systems is here (Stand A220) promoting its software programs for airline operations such as scheduling, crew management, flight planning, and weight and balance. The Middle East region currently accounts for 10 percent of the company’s sales, a proportion that is increasing, Stefan Auerbach, senior v-p for Europe, Middle East and Africa sales told AIN. A sales announcement is expected here tomorrow.

According to Auerbach, the company holds the top position for operational solutions in the region. “Network management, scheduling and crew planning are especially important to the region’s existing and emerging mega-carriers,” he said. For example, he said, with a 35-percent market share, Lufthansa Systems’ Lido/Flight is the leading flight planning provider in the Middle East.

Lido/Flight also is the most accurate route optimizer, he said, which can afford operators a fuels savings of up to 5 percent. “This number is the result of hundreds of benchmarks,” he explained. LidoFlight can help an airline manage a huge and growing fleet, he added. Auerbach hopes current customers will buy add-ons and eventually use his company’s integrated operations control center, which is the designation for the complete software suite.

Lufthansa Systems’ recent sales include one to low-cost carrier Flydubai, which is the latest operator in the Middle East to have opted for Lido/RouteManual. Egypt Air and Royal Jordanian are Lufthansa Systems’ customers for its Sirax AirFinance Platform, which enables airlines to assess “virtually in real time” the profitability of a flight.

About 20 airlines in the region, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines, use Lufthansa Systems’ products.

Falcon Services takes two more Bell 412s

2009-11-15T13:14:16-05:00

Bell Helicopter delivered two Bell 412EP helicopters to Falcon Aviation Services yesterday, taking the Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi-based operator’s 412 fleet to 10, eight of which were delivered this year.

Falcon’s total fleet now numbers five corporate jets and 21 helicopters. The helicopters primarily serve the offshore oil and gas markets, but they also are used for VIP, corporate charter and tourist flights from dedicated heliports at Dubai Festival City, Dubai Creek and the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi. Falcon Aviation also provided commercial heliport facilities for the recent Formula 1 motor-racing Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

“We have been extremely pleased with the performance of the 412,” said Falcon Aviation CEO Philip Markham. “It is a remarkably reliable helicopter, ideally suited to operations in the region and meshes perfectly with our business requirements.”

The Bell 412 is a development of the Bell 212, and is powered by two PT6T-3D Twin Pac turboshaft engines driving a composite four-blade rotor. According to Bell Helicopter, the 412 “offers the highest dispatch reliability of any twin-engine and is designed with rupture-resistant fuel cells, energy-absorbing crew seats and a resilient fuselage.”

Talon on target for UAE’s Apaches

2009-11-15T13:16:40-05:00

Raytheon has successfully completed a series of firing tests in both hot and cold temperature extremes of the Talon laser-guided rocket for the UAE army’s AH-64D Longbow Apaches. The program, which Raytheon and Emirates Advanced Instruments (EAI) began developing together in May 2008, is moving toward the first airborne firings. Those firings are to be undertaken by a UAE army Apache helicopter here in the Emirates in the first quarter of next year.

The UAE has an initial requirement for 5,000 to 10,000 Talons. Initial batches are to be produced by Raytheon in the U.S. from the middle of next year, but technology will be transferred to EAI so that production can be continued in the UAE. For Raytheon this agreement helps increase the company’s footprint in the region and provides a model for possible future co-development programs. For EAI in particular, and the UAE in general, the deal furthers the drive to widen the technological and industrial capabilities in the Emirates. EAI is to build Talon for overseas customers.

Talon is a low-cost, laser-guidance system that fits on the front of standard 2.75-inch air-launched rockets, which are in widespread use around the world. They are fired from regular rocket launchers with standard laser-designation techniques, such as those used for the Hellfire missile. Thus, the Talon kit turns a standard rocket into a high-precision weapon, without the need for any aircraft or launcher modifications.

While EAI will concentrate on export opportunities, Raytheon is focusing on domestic issues. The Talon uses the common digital, semi-active laser seeker that was matured out of work undertaken for the U.S. Army’s advanced precision kill weapon system that subsequently became a Navy/ Marine Corps program with BAE Systems. However, the U.S. Army requirement for a low-cost, laser-guided rocket remains, and a request for information was issued in August. In the middle of next year the service will hold a “rodeo,” in which the competitors will demonstrate their proposals.

In the meantime, Raytheon is to demonstrate the Talon to the Army in the first week of December, firing the weapon from a seven-round launcher on an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter.

News Clips from Dubai 2009

2009-11-15T13:19:30-05:00

Mubadala Breaks Ground on Airbus Deal
The first two contracts following the November 2008 master-supply agreement between EADS and Mubadala Development Co. have been finalized. They will see Mubadala’s new Strata facility in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, producing composite aileron panels and assembling A330/A340 aileron shipsets beginning in 2011. Strata will become the global sole-source supplier for the aileron components. The 2008 agreement is expected to generate in excess of $1 billion in revenue for Mubadala Aerospace over 10 years, according to Airbus and Mubadala. “[The agreement] has been fundamental to developing several components of our aerospace strategy,” said Homaid Al Shemmari, associate director of Mubadala Aerospace. Mubadala has been tasked by Abu Dhabi’s rulers with establishing the emirate as a global aerospace hub.

Air Arabia Opts for Honeywell APUs
Air Arabia has selected Honeywell Aerospace’s 131-9A auxiliary power unit for its fleet of new Airbus A320s. The Dubai-based low cost carrier signed a deal yesterday valued at up to $36 million and covering all new A320s that it will acquire through 2016. The operator has also chosen to retrofit the 131-9A units to its existing A320 fleet, replacing the APU originally supplied with these aircraft. “By selecting the 131-9A, Air Arabia will reduce on-aircraft maintenance by an estimated 36 percent, a significant reduction in cost of operation,” said Paolo Carmassi (at left in photo), Honeywell Aerospace president for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. The new APU will also deliver a 5-percent reduction in fuel burn.

Austrian Firm Shows Off Flight-planning Software
Flugwerkzeuge Aviation Software offers flight-planning software–Flywize–said to yield reductions in fuel burn and, thus, pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. The Vienna, Austria-based wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise said Flywize devises more-efficient flight paths, which translate into cost and fuel optimization. “The environment and the reduction of greenhouse gases are becoming increasingly important factors to large carriers,” chief marketing officer Christoph Prinz said. United Airlines, Virgin, Air-India, Malaysian Airlines, British Midlands (bmi), Air India and Turkish Airlines are among the company’s 24 customers. Flugwerkzeuge Aviation Software, exhibiting here on Stand P5, is also known as f:wz.

COIN combat wing could be on horizon

2009-11-15T04:33:36-05:00

In late July the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command issued a request for information for what it calls the light attack/armed reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft. The RFI covers the potential procurement of 100 OA-X aircraft optimized for irregular warfare missions, which could see the U.S. Air Force back in the business
of dedicated counterinsurgency (COIN) that it largely left behind in Vietnam. The last major evaluation of this class of aircraft was in 1980s, when the Piper PA-48 Enforcer was examined.

The new LAAR requirement and the idea of a COIN combat wing has arisen out of combat experience in Iraq and Afghan-istan, where the close-air support-dedicated A-10 Warthog has consistently proven itself as one of the most useful assets. The USAF argues that, while the precision guidance capability and connectivity offered by sophisticated multi-role jets are vital when fighting insurgents, the high performance they offer is an expensive luxury. LAAR is an effort to provide the digital “goodies” and combat effectiveness of the fighter in a platform that is vastly cheaper to acquire and operate and that can perform the mission with a fraction of the ground footprint.

LAAR envisions a two-seat aircraft that can operate from austere forward bases, albeit with a 6,000-foot semi-prepared runway. It needs a long endurance and the ability to provide a platform for a range of ISR capabilities and precision guidance of weapons. That entails the integration of a stabilized night-capable multi-sensor turret and the provision of at least four weapons pylons, including the ability to carry rail-launched weapons such as the Hellfire II. A gun capability is also desirable.

As much of its mission will be performed in hostile areas, LAAR needs to be well-protected. Armor for the crew and vital systems is considered essential, as are self-sealing tanks, zero-zero ejection seats and a comprehensive defensive aids suite. LAAR is expected not only to undertake attack and reconnaissance missions, but also to act as a forward-air-control platform. For this it will need a range of communications equipment, including items such as the Rover video downlink and connectivity with the wider air command network. It will also have to work alongside UAVs such as the MQ-9 Reaper.

LAAR Candidates
Under current planning, the first deliveries of LAAR would happen in 2012, with operational fielding the year after. There are a number of possible platforms that could fulfill the mission criteria. Perhaps the most obvious are the AT-6 and Super Tucano, both derivations of proven turboprop trainers.

Hawker Beechcraft announced a teaming with Lockheed Martin Systems Integration (Owego, New York) to bid for LAAR with the AT-6, a structurally strengthened version of the T-6 Texan II trainer. Lockheed Martin’s integrated mission system is essentially similar to that installed in the upgraded A-10C Warthog. The AT-6 offers six-pylon capability for a range of weapons, including laser- and GPS-guided bombs, freefall bombs, rockets and Hellfires. An avionics prototype is already flying with a CMC Electronics digital cockpit, while a second prototype with the intended 1,600-hp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 engine is taking shape.

Using the same engine, Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano is already performing similar tasks to those required and, as it was designed specifically for this
kind of mission, needs no airframe/engine modifications to meet the LAAR requirements.

It has the added bonus of having internally mounted 0.5-inch machine guns. Last year the U.S. Navy leased a Super Tucano for an evaluation of the type’s suitability for the special forces support role under the Imminent Fury program.

The Super Tucano and AT-6 are seen by many analysts as the front-runners for LAAR, but there are other proposals. Boeing is examining the resurrection of the Vietnam-era OV-10 Bronco for the LAAR mission, having inherited the design with its acquisition of Rockwell.

Known as the OV-10(X), the new Bronco could certainly fulfill the LAAR requirements, even if it adhered to much of the original structure and aerodynamics of the OV-10D night- capable Bronco retired by the Marine Corps in 1995. New avionics systems could transform combat capability and the OV-10(X) could even undertake some elements of the light mobility aircraft (LiMA) mission (see box) thanks to its rear-fuselage cargo compartment. Of all the potential candidates, the OV-10(X) offers the best rough-field performance and maneuverability. However, the big drawback is that the type is not in production, which could be problematic given the short timescales envisioned for the program.

Also a candidate for LAAR is the Air Tractor AT-802U, an armed and armored version of the proven agricultural aircraft that was demonstrated at this year’s Paris Air Show. Another OA-X contender is the U.S. Aircraft Corp. A-67 Dragon, a design
similar in appearance to the EMB-312 Tucano. Other possible LAAR platforms include the KAI A-50 and Alenia Aermacchi M-346, both derived from jet trainers and possibly too sophisticated for the intended mission.

While the LAAR/OA-X requirement represents a sizable opportunity in its own right, there is also growing international demand for this type of aircraft, especially in the Middle East. Iraq ordered eight T-6A trainers from Hawker Beechcraft in September, and this could lead to the procurement of up to 36 AT-6Bs for light attack.

A380s proliferating on worldwide routes

2009-11-15T04:34:10-05:00

While it might seem to have been only yesterday that Airbus launched the mighty A380–and scarcely five minutes since the double-deck widebody entered service with Singapore Airlines (SIA)–by the first quarter of 2010 there will be five carriers with almost 30 aircraft flying on many of the world’s most important routes. As of mid-October, the 19 A380-800s already in service had accumulated 75,000 hours during 7,900 flights (equivalent to an average sector time of about 9.5 hours) and carried some 2.5 million passengers–an average of 320 passengers per flight.

Indeed, many Dubai show attendees have traveled here from Asia, Australasia, Europe or North America aboard the four-engine airliner. Anyone who has still has not seen the A380 for themselves should have plenty of opportunity here, with local carrier Emirates Airline taking delivery this month of its sixth aircraft.

According to A380 product marketing director Richard Carcaillet, the so-called very large aircraft (VLA) has generated “clear traffic growth and market share gains,” with some travelers being drawn from competing non-A380 operators. “It also shows load factor increase and evidence of fare policies exploiting the A380 premium or the step-change in efficiency resulting in increased overall revenue.”

As the global network of such services–also provided by Australian flagcarrier Qantas Airways–continues to expand, the manufacturer is claiming it takes an A380 to compete with an A380, since its launch customers are already flying head-to-head use on certain routes. “The proof is clearly evident on the [London-Sydney] “kangaroo” route, where all three launch customers fly it,” said Carcaillet.

SIA’s Rolls-Royce Trent 970-powered A380-841s serve both cities from Singapore, which also provides a stepping stone to London for Qantas, while Emirates also serves the two locations from Dubai. When Emirates introduces flights to Singapore, scheduled for next month, all three customers will serve all three cities. This will permit travelers to fly the A380 on a sort of “behemoth triangle” of routes linking Dubai, Singapore and Sydney, embarking from any of the three points.

Another A380 service Emirates expects to inaugurate in December is that to Korean capital Seoul, which will become the airline’s seventh destination for the VLA after Auckland (via Sydney), Bangkok, London, New York, Sydney and Toronto. Paris A380 flights from Dubai are planned to begin in February next year and should be followed before July by resumption of flights to New York, where service was dropped to provide for the introduction of Bangkok and Toronto flights.

Emirates expects to have 11 A380-861s, powered by Engine Alliance’s GP7270 turbofans, by the end of next March. The airline now operates five and three more are reported to be scheduled for delivery before year-end. A total of four are due next year, with a further five expected in 2011 and at least one in 2012.

Qantas is to receive its fifth and sixth Rolls-Royce Trent 972-powered A380-842s in December after the flight stability of the fifth, scheduled for November delivery, was found to be outside limits. The airline, which has deferred delivery of aircraft numbers seven to 10–from 20 on order–by up to a year because of the global economic situation, said further testing is required.

Later this month, Air France-KLM is to introduce its A380-861s to European transatlantic operations, with the first flight from Paris to New York. The aircraft will be delivered in a three-class configuration, but AF-KLM is considering introducing a “super-economy” section in its cabins. German flagcarrier Lufthansa, which flew its first A380-841 last month, should build up its fleet quickly next year to five aircraft, with another five due to arrive in 2011.

Six months ago, Airbus said it expected to deliver 14 examples this year and in 2010 more than 20, possibly 21, the annual total previously planned for early years of A380 production. At the end of September, Airbus parent EADS chief executive Louis Gallois confirmed the company was in discussions with SIA on possible deferment of an A380 handover from December to January, thus reducing official planned 2009 deliveries to 13. Unofficially, others delivered or scheduled this year have been three for Qantas, four each for SIA and Emirates, and the first two for Air France-KLM.

Despite this SIA hiccup, Airbus appears set to achieve the 21-per-year target production in 2010. Emirates and Lufthansa are earmarked for five each, Singapore four and three A380s each are destined for Qantas and Air France-KLM, with Korean’s initial A380 making up the balance.

In addition, the second flying A380-841–there also were two airframes built for fatigue and static tests–is being outfitted as the first VIP-aircraft conversion for Saudi Arabian customer Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. It is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2010. Maintenance and cabin completions company Lufthansa Technik sees a market for up to five corporate or VIP A380s and has a slot available for one such completion in late 2013.

Here in the Gulf, perhaps confirming Carcaillet’s dictum that it takes an A380 to compete against an A380, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways–both seemingly trying to “out-Dubai Dubai”–are among early A380 operators. Qatar is reported to be in line for its first A380-800 in early 2012, while Etihad’s initial A380-861 is slated for 2013 delivery. Several other airlines have deliveries on their schedules.

SIA has replaced Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 777-300ERs with A380s. Carcaillet said the airline’s London operation demonstrates how the VLA is driving efficiency. “In the [Northern Hemisphere 2007-08] winter, this route was served by 21 B747-400s. Last winter it was served by 14 A380s and seven 777-300ERs,” he said, claiming a 22-percent increase in capacity and a 15-percent reduction in fuel burn per seat.

Emirates replaced 777-300ERs and Airbus A340-500s with A380s. Although Qantas has said the VLA does not directly replace any type, it has retired its last 747-300s and put A380s on 747-400 routes to London and Los Angeles and is expected to extend this move to points such as Hong Kong, San Francisco and, possibly, Frankfurt.

However, on the other side of the coin, Malaysia Airlines reportedly might consider substituting smaller A330s for its six A380s.

Emirates stays the course to grow routes, fleet size

2009-11-15T04:35:04-05:00

Tim Clark is relieved, if only slightly, because the Emirates Airline president sees a less bleak future for the local carrier than he projected a few months ago. Following better-than-expected performance through the middle of this year, Clark believes that in 2010 the airline industry should benefit from increased consumer spending, unless the recession deepens or stock markets decline strongly.

In June, at the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Clark characterized everyday business as a “firefight,” with the Dubai carrier having discounted fares by 30 percent. But three months later, in early September, he said he saw signs of recovery, at least by next summer.

Emirates reportedly has increased fares by more than 20 percent since June, with mid-year passenger traffic growing by a similar proportion over that of 2008. Clark even said he felt “a little bit guilty” for having permitted deep discounting since “clearly the market would have supported higher fares.”’

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that it will be some time before demand recovers fully. Indeed, the airline initiated a major television and online marketing campaign in late September geared to promoting expatriate residency in the emirate.

The airline claims that this approach to marketing is a sign of confidence, but it also could be interpreted as an admission of how bad things have become. “Some may question our launching this massive campaign at a time of economic turmoil around the world, but Emirates is confident there is nothing more important than investing to win new customers,” a spokesman said.

Part of the carrier’s strategy during the recession has been to develop its existing routes while reducing its expansion into new markets. In February, Emirates announced additional flights in 2009 as it prepared to take delivery of 18 aircraft that would increase passenger and cargo capacity by 14 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

“The next year is not going to be an easy ride for the airline industry,” commented Emirates group and airline chairman and chief executive HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum recently. “Emirates has prepared the best we can for the challenges, but we also see it as a time of opportunity. With our significant capacity increase, this will be a year of consolidation for us, with fewer new routes launched.

“We will concentrate on strengthening our presence where there is greater demand. Our new capacity will be deployed where we see growth potential, particularly in Africa and the Middle East,” he added. Those are the carrier’s two strongest markets, with 17 percent and 6 percent growth, respectively, in the preceding 12 months. Last month, Emirates introduced flights from Dubai to Durban, South Africa.

In May, the airline increased frequency on its Los Angeles and San Francisco routes to daily flights, swelling capacity from 1,600 seats to 3,200 a week from Dubai to the U.S. West Coast. It also added flights to Australia.

In Europe, it has increased flights to Athens, Istanbul, Milan and Moscow, and between Cyprus and Malta. Arrival of two Boeing 777F freighters this year also has raised Emirates SkyCargo capacity.

However, it is not only in planning its services that Emirates has proved adaptable; the airline also has adjusted its fleet mix to accommodate changing circumstances, not least the delayed delivery of Airbus A380 very large airliner. As of the end of September, the Emirates fleet comprised 137 widebody aircraft.

However, despite the recent downturn, the carrier is well ahead of its own long-term plans for fleet growth; in 2001, it had projected that by 2010 it would be flying 100 aircraft.

The airline expects to reintroduce the A380 on its New York route in the first half of next year, by which time recovering traffic might have justified Clark’s optimism. Emirates had flown from New York in 2008 before assigning the aircraft its to its Toronto, Canada, and Bangkok, Thailand routes and replacing it with the 777.

Currently, Emirates’s five A380s are operated from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand; Bangkok; London; Sydney, Australia; and Toronto. It is set to begin flights to Seoul, Korea, next month and to Paris next February.

In June, Jean-Luc Grillet, head of Emirates operations in France and the Benelux countries, revealed the schedule for A380 deliveries: two are expected to arrive before year-end, having slipped from August; six are to join the airline next year, followed by five in 2011, 12 in 2012 and 11 in 2013. The remaining 17 from its total order for 58 are to be delivered during 2014-2016. Emirates also reportedly has deferred delivery of up to 10 B777s until after 2010.

At the end of July, the Dubai carrier became the largest 777 airline operator when it accepted its 78th example, leaving a further 28 of the Boeing twinjets still to be delivered. It took delivery of its first 777 in 1996. The Emirates 777 fleet is equipped with a 1,000-channel in-flight information, communication and entertainment system.

In June, Clark expressed doubts about Boeing’s best options in seeking to modify the 777, for which the manufacturer has proposed a larger wing. He said he feels the existing wing is “already very good,” but added, “I’d be thinking seriously about an all-new aircraft.” Observers reportedly believe Boeing needs to update, or replace, the 777 to complement the larger 747-800 until the airframer concludes the market is large enough to accommodate an A380 competitor.

Diminutive Falco UAV is first to carry both video and radar

2009-11-15T04:35:39-05:00

Selex Galileo, which produces the Falco tactical UAV, has recently integrated multiple reconnaissance sensors on the vehicle. With an mtow of only 1,078 pounds, the Falco may be the smallest UAV to carry both video and radar sensors. The Anglo-Italian company manufactures the sensors and the ground control system, as well as the air vehicle and its avionics.

It’s an open secret that Pakistan is the first customer. AIN has learned that five Falco systems have been supplied, each comprising four aircraft and one spare. They have been flying over the “badlands” of northwest Pakistan since early 2008, “looking into caves and terrorist camps,” according to a well-informed source.

Those aircraft carry only an electro-optical/infrared camera, but another Falco is now flying with the Selex Galileo PicoSAR radar added in an extended nose. This newly developed sensor has an active electronically scanned array and was specifically designed for small platforms, including UAVs. It offers three radar imaging modes, plus a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and a Geo-MTI mode. The PicoSAR weighs just under 40 pounds, is fixed-mounted and requires no special aperture on the UAV, yet it has a resolution of just one meter at ranges up to 12.5 miles from the platform on which it is installed. Selex Galileo has already sold demonstration models of the PicoSAR to the UK and Norwegian governments.

The Falco was designed with the redundancy required to meet the draft air- worthiness rules for UAVs devised by the European Air Safety Agency. It became
the first drone to be granted a civil permit to fly in Europe (although still only within segregated airspace). The Falco can be flown in manual or fully automatic modes, including take off and landing. It has been flight-tested in Italy, Bulgaria, the UK and most recently Finland. There, last July, Selex Galileo validated the latest version of its high mobility ground control station (HM-GCS), a truck-mounted system that can be located close to the area of interest and can take control of the UAV in flight. Thus the operating radius of the Falco is easily extended beyond the wideband datalink’s line-of-sight from the main, container-housed GCS. However, the automatic control mode allows the UAV to fly to waypoints beyond the range of the datalink.

The trials in Finland included launches from a pneumatic catapult–supplied by local company Robonic–and automatic landings at full weight. These trials demonstrated that further payloads could be added, including ELINT, according to Selex Galileo. The engine provides 1.2 kW of power to the sensors, which run on a separate power supply from the avionics and allows “plug-and-play.” The sensors are managed by a LAN onboard the UAV.

Three different electro-optical/infrared sensors have already been flown on the Falco: Selex Galileo’s EOST 46 and smaller turrets from FLIR Systems and Tamam. A laser-rangefinder can be added. The maximum payload is 154 pounds.

The Falco has an endurance of more than 14 hours, with one basic payload. It can fly longer if additional fuel is carried on the hardpoints that are attached to the wing sponsons. The best operating height is between 5,000 feet and 10,000 feet, although Selex Galileo quotes a ceiling of nearly 20,000 feet.

According to its makers, the Falco system has been designed for maximum deployability. It can be airlifted by a C-130 transport and 10 people can make it ready to fly within four hours. Only five people are needed for actual operations.

BAE 146 seeks new role in military support

2009-11-15T04:36:20-05:00

With the delay to the Airbus A400M in mind, as well as tight defense budgets, BAE Systems Regional Aircraft’s Asset Management unit is marketing surplus British Aerospace 146-200 and -300 airliners to military customers as low-cost tactical transports under the model name BAe 146M. BAE owns 47 of the four-engine, high-wing jets, many of which are now coming off lease as airlines replace them with new regional jets.

Although the 146 does not have a rear-loading ramp, “it could be a complementary utility aircraft to hard-pressed tactical airlift assets,” according to Andy Whelan, BAE sales director. BAE will soon have two 146s available with side cargo doors, which the company converted speculatively but for which it failed to find takers in the airfreight or express business. They can carry 22,050 to 26,460 pounds of payload.

The 146 already is certified for steep (meaning tactical) approaches into small airfields and can operate from unpaved runways with minimal modifications. Other mods could include additional fuel tanks, and quick-change or combi configurations. Five air forces already operate 146s or the newer RJ version as VIP or staff transports. Another 25 are in service as business jets.

BAE has quoted an “indicative” price of $2.5 million for a passenger 146 and $5 million for a freighter, and says that “innovative commercial terms” are available to governments and defense ministries. The company estimates there currently are more than 1,700 such aircraft in service with nearly 150 air arms worldwide, and many of those are more than 40 years old.

According to BAE, the BAe 146M could also be used by air forces to complement existing fleets of tactical airlifters, such as the C130 Hercules, by taking on a wide variety of nontactical air transport roles and thereby prolonging the fatigue life on aging tactical assets. It claims the BAe 146M has a performance capability that means it also can realistically undertake some of the more challenging air transport support roles, including operations from unpaved runways.

Many of the BAe 146s being offered have yet to reach half life and BAE says that, given typical military usage, the aircraft can be expected to offer reliable service for many years. As pure passenger aircraft, the jets will seat between 80 and 109, while as freighters they will carry between 11 and 12.5 metric tons (up to 27,557 pounds) of cargo. The aircraft is also well suited to multimode roles such as combinations of passenger and freight payloads, paratroop transportation, medical evacuation, forward air refueling and surveillance.

Projected delivery timescales for the 146M are quite short, allowing the aircraft to be put into service relatively quickly to meet current airlift shortfalls. BAE offers a range of modifications, such as additional fuel tanks and LCD flight deck displays.

Mubadala set to exploit Alenia’s composite skills

2009-11-16T01:03:30-05:00

Alenia Aeronautica plans to begin training, early next year, employees of Strata, the new composites aerostructures company formed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co. The Italian group, which has extensive experience with composites manufacturing, has been partnered with Mubadala (Stand C510) in the venture since October, when the sovereign wealth fund signed an agreement with its parent Finmeccanica (Stand C420).

Mubadala is looking to boost Abu Dhabi’s aerospace capabilities and has identified manufacturing composite structural components as a niche sector in which it
can compete. Alenia Aeronautica was contracted to provide technical support and training, and it is also due to transfer some of its own composite aerostructures work to the new Strata factory, where full manufacturing capability is expected to begin in 2011. The work will include manufacturing flap track fairings, ailerons, spoilers and vertical and horizontal stabilizers for the Avions de Transport Regional family of twin turboprops in which Alenia is a 50- percent partner with EADS.

Construction of the 232,500-sq-ft facility started on June 29, a few days after the establishment of Strata, which is 100 percent controlled by Mubadala. Strata employees are to travel to Italy to receive on-the-job training.

Initial production work at Strata’s new facilities are expected start in the last quarter of 2010. In addition to the ATR contract, the new company has secured composite manufacturing work–totaling more than $2 billion–from Airbus and Austrian aerostructures group FACC, with this business totaling more than $2 billion. Initially, Strata is to have a workforce of 500, which should eventually rise to more than 1,000 as the production complex is to be expanded to more than 645,800 sq ft in the future.

According to Alenia Aeronautica CEO Giovanni Bertolone, the alliance with Mubadala as well as Alenia’s success in winning the lead-in fighter trainer contest in the United Arab Emirates with its M346 jet have laid a firm foundation for doing more business here in the Arabian Gulf state.

787 Issues Resolved
Meanwhile, Alenia says it has resolved the technical problems that led to Boeing suspending earlier this year its role in manufacturing fuselage sections for the new 787 widebody airliner. The company said, “We intend to complete the delivery of fuselages up to [aircraft serial numbers] 22 and 23 by early 2010, while during that year we plan to deliver 30 more sets of fuselage sections, which will be produced following the new procedure agreed with Boeing.”

Alenia makes fuselage sections 44 and 46, which have lengths of almost 28 feet and between 32 and 50 feet, respectively. The sections for aircraft Serial Number 22 will be the last ones for which Alenia will need to add composite patches following the discovery last June of microscopic wrinkles in the skin layers. The wrinkles were induced by pressure coming from stringers which, according to Boeing, were being produced outside its specifications.

The solution identified to fix the problem on the fuselages already built and those under construction was to add material in two areas. According to Alenia, this was relatively simple work as those areas were accessible from the outside the airplane. Patches were installed at Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington, on already-delivered fuselage sections, and at Grottaglie in Italy for those under construction.

To integrate the modifications that will be adopted starting with Serial Number 23, the production rate did slow down somewhat in recent months but, according to Alenia Aeronautica, this will not impact the total planned deliveries for the year. Currently, production of the two fuselage sections at Grottaglie takes about six months, but Alenia is looking forward to reducing the manufacturing time to four months by optimizing the final phase of the process which has required quite a lot of manual work.

Dubai says airports will defy downturn

2009-11-15T04:37:28-05:00

Until about a year ago, the Dubai economy laid a fair claim to being the mother of all modern property booms with new skyscrapers appearing on its skyline at a breathtaking rate. However, once ripples from the global financial crisis started to hit Dubai’s shores, it appeared that many of the developments may figuratively have been built on sand without the firm foundation of sustainable demand.

But this negative situation does not apply to Dubai International Airport (DXB) and its new big brother Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC-AMI), insisted Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths last month. The development of the airports is “very much alive and well,” he said at a conference held in Paris by France’s Air & Space Academy.

According to Griffiths, Dubai’s airport traffic throughput is to reach 40.5 million passengers this year–8 percent up on 2008 despite the softening in international air transport demand.

The government-backed company expects an even more impressive growth to continue through 2025, which is why DWC-AMI is being built on a vast scale at Jebel Ali 30 miles from the city center.

Today, passengers can choose from 125 carriers serving 210 destinations from Dubai. Next year, traffic is projected to be 46 million passengers, although that figure is down almost 10 percent on the 51 million forecast two years ago. According to the latest predictions, in 2013 the annual passenger total should reach 61 million. For 2025, the target is 140 million, which means that the 2009 total would have to more than triple over the next 16 years. “We’ll have the world’s busiest [airport] platform [combining DXB and DWC-AMI] probably by 2018,” Griffiths said.

Low-cost carriers are set to be a key driver of this anticipated growth. For example, in October, start-up Flydubai ranked eighth among DXB’s carriers after just six months of operations. “Flydubai eventually plans to carry as many passengers as Emirates [albeit over smaller distances],” Griffiths said. In his view, the low-cost sector remains “very immature” here in the Middle East but has great growth potential.

Cargo traffic is growing, too, increasing by 9 percent last year when it handled 1.8 million metric tons of freight. One new initiative in this sector is Dubai’s “flower hub,” which acts as a distribution point for flowers coming from Thailand, Europe and Africa.

Dubai International now claims to be the fifth busiest airport in the world. “This shows what you can achieve when you have alignment of a government’s will, funding, a strong home-based carrier and a strategic plan toward 2015,” Griffiths emphasized. As a testament of the government will for DXB to succeed, Griffiths mentioned that HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, often drives his own Range Rover to the airport to check that everybody is doing his or her job.

Airports in Dubai are critically important to national growth and development. In fact, they are even seen as an important part of the national identity. “Aviation is big business in Dubai, contributing at least 25 percent of Dubai’s GDP,” said Griffiths. He explained that Dubai Airports’ expansion is demand-led, countering past criticism that some projects in the emirate are driven more by wishful thinking than a sound business plan.

“We can gather all stakeholders–customers, suppliers, authorities, and so forth–in the same room to make decisions quickly,” added Griffiths. “We have none of the bureaucratic hurdles most airports encounter when trying to add capacity.”

Among other competitive advantages, Dubai benefits from a catchment area that includes one third of the world’s population within four hours’ flying time. Griffiths also acknowledged that the cheap workforce coming mainly from the Indian subcontinent has cut construction costs for recent new airport buildings, such as DXB’s Terminal 3 and Concourse 2.

As for dealing with environmental concerns, at the Paris conference Claude Terrazzoni, president of the French airport association, declared with an expression of envy: “You have no environmentalists!” Indeed, DXB faces no night curfew or aircraft movement limit as do some of its rivals in Western democracies.

Although Dubai’s growth has been largely untroubled by environmental concerns or constraints so far, Griffiths pledged that the airport is to become greener. “We are not required by law to take care of the environment, but we do it under pressure from the [outside] world and as a good housekeeping policy,” Griffiths commented.

Using the abundant solar energy seems an obvious course of action. However, passenger traffic peaks at night, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. One idea is to use a solar-energy process to cool large masses of concrete or metal during the day and then using this energy to cool recirculated air at night, avoiding the use of electrically powered air conditioning.

Air Traffic Concerns
Another challenge has been air traffic management. Two other airports in the Gulf region–at Abu Dhabi and Doha–are growing fast. Griffiths told AIN that a lack of adequate cooperation between the air traffic control agencies covering airspace around these airports can restrict the efficient flow of traffic. Moreover, military airspace in the region is kept closed even when not in use. Griffiths said he would like the United Arab Emirates to create, at a federal level, a Eurocontrol-inspired organization to increase air traffic capacity.

Future developments at DXB include improvements in Terminal 1 as well as opening metro stations in Terminals 1 and 3 to connect the airport with Dubai’s new public ground transportation network. A new extension, Concourse 3, is planned to deal with flagcarrier Emirates’ growth and is to be connected to the rest of the airport via high-speed automated people movers. Ninety percent of its gates are to be compatible with the Airbus A380 super-widebody airliner.

As for aircraft operations at DXB, runway use will be optimized. Schedule and slot coordination are to be introduced next March. And, finally, the level of performance-based navigation is planned to be extended to boost capacity.

When complete, the new DWC-AMI gateway is to have five runways and be able to accommodate 120 aircraft movements per hour. Final annual capacity is planned to be 160 million passengers and 12 million metric tons of cargo.

“This will be the first new-generation airport,” Griffiths said. Project planners want the airport to “maximize passenger convenience,” so they have a particular focus on minimizing the extent to which security provisions can undermine the convenience. Technologies such as biometrics, radio frequency identification and backscatter X-ray should make the process more seamless. Also under consideration are “personal rapid transports” that would effectively be individual automated people movers.

The first phase of the vast DWC-AMI complex is scheduled to be operational next June. Between that start date and the following December, approximately one million passengers are expected to pass through the facility. The first terminal is eventually to have an annual capacity of five to seven million passengers, including general aviation travelers. The initial cargo terminal is projected to be able to handle 250,000 to 600,000 tons per year.

The first runway will be 15,000-feet long. Plans call for 64 code-F (A380 compatible) aircraft stands as well as maintenance facilities. On the drawing board also is a dedicated road to link the airport to the region’s largest port in Jebel Ali, and eventually to DXB.

Here at the Dubai show, Dubai Airports is exhibiting in the Emirates Hall at Stand A210.

Rockwell Collins wins Jazeera A320 business

2009-11-15T12:26:11-05:00

Kuwait-based low-fare carrier Jazeera Airways has selected U.S. avionics manufacturer Rockwell Collins (Stand E350) to supply avionics and in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems for 30 Airbus A320s, deliveries of which are set to start in January. The airline already operates 10 Airbus A320s, which are fitted with 165 leather seats in two classes: Jazeera class and Jazeera Plus class.

“This newest contract is a testament to the reliability of Rockwell Collins’ products,” said Stefan Pichler, Jazeera CEO. Jazeera has been a customer of the U.S. group’s avionics and in-flight entertainment systems since it launched services in 2005.
The cockpit avionics suite will include the Collins hazard detection system, traffic collision avoidance system and data-link system. The IFE system will be the company’s dPAVES product.

Saab AEW&C flight trials start

2009-11-15T12:32:47-05:00

The Saab 340 AEW&C aircraft with Erieye radar, which is destined for the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), took to the skies for the first time on Friday, flying from Saab’s Linkoping plant where airborne early warning and control conversion work is undertaken. Thailand has one AEW&C aircraft on order (plus another option), as part of a deal involving Gripen fighters. The Thai aircraft previously flew with the Swedish air force, but is being overhauled and upgraded prior to delivery, which is expected in about a year. In the interim, RTAF personnel will receive training in Sweden.

Saab is also supplying five Erieye-equipped AEW&C platforms, plus supporting ground systems, to the Pakistani air force. They are based on the larger Saab 2000
aircraft, with provision for five airborne operators. The first aircraft for Pakistan began its final series of system tests last month. Among the aspects being validated is the aircraft’s HES-21 self-protection suite. Later this year the aircraft is to go to Pakistan, where trials will held to determine how the platform performs as part of the wider Pakistani air defense network.

The Saab 2000 AEW&C is one of three platforms competing for a United Arab Emirates air force contract. The turboprop twin offers excellent hot-and-high performance, which was a discriminator in Pakistan and may be a factor here in the UAE. Saab claims that it offers excellent radar performance, including a maritime-search function that can spot vessels down to jet-ski size, and is a very cost-effective option. AIN understands that final submissions have been made to the UAE, and a decision is awaited.

Embraer, CEVA now supply bizjet parts in Dubai

2009-11-15T12:39:00-05:00

Embraer yesterday announced that spare parts for its business jets are now available in Dubai through a partnership with the UK’s CEVA Logistics. The latter company’s facility in Jebel Ali provides parts for customers in the Middle East, North Africa and India. Some 3,000 spares for the Legacy and the Lineage are already available to customers and authorized service centers. Next year, Phenom 100 and 300 parts will be available, too.

Colin Steven, vice president for marketing and sales, said the slowdown in business jet sales has been softer in the Middle East. “Fewer last-minute cancellations happened; the market here remains more buoyant than in other regions,” he said. He added that Embraer needed the recently announced Legacy 650 to offer a Dubai-to-London range. Embraer is here with three business jets on the static display–a Phenom 100, a Legacy 600 and a Lineage 1000.

In the UK, Embraer has trained nearly 20 pilots on the Phenom 100 light jet at CAE’s Burgess Hill, UK facility. A CAE-Embraer joint venture there operates a Phenom 100 full flight simulator. It started operations in September, after receiving EASA certification.

The Middle East is a marketplace with “money to spend on business jets,” according to Embraer Middle East executive aviation regional sales director Tony Fitzpatrick. Business aircraft in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates account for half of the 350 units in the Middle East fleet, which has taken 90 business airplanes of all types in the past three years.

The ERJ 135BJ Legacy 600 on display, recently acquired new by the Panamanian government, is to be delivered next month, according to Ricardo Sampaio Fogaca, one of two Embraer captains crewing the aircraft here. Legacy 600s have proved very popular in the Middle East where more than 20 are in service. The Brazilian manufacturer has leased this example for demonstrations that took place in Africa and Europe ahead of the show.

After carrying aerospace journalists from London and Paris to the Jordanian capital Amman for show-related briefings 10 days ago, the 600 flew a client to Johannesburg, South Africa, before making a trip to Nairobi. Following a sales demonstration in Entebbe, Uganda, last week, it flew to Dubai. It may be used for post-show marketing before returning to São Paulo, Brazil, for delivery.

The region’s first Phenom 300, expected to reach the customer last week, was among “quite a few aircraft being delivered to the Middle East,” said Fitzpatrick.

Upgraded RAF Chinooks headed for Afghanistan

2009-11-15T04:38:04-05:00

In September the UK defense ministry announced a contract to upgrade the Royal Air Force’s 46-strong Boeing Chinook support helicopter force. Known as Project Julius, and driven partly by the extraordinary demands of sustained operations in Afghanistan, the program consists of re-engining and a cockpit upgrade.

Since the RAF began its operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in 2006, the Chinooks have been working extremely hard, individual airframes notching up around four times the flight hours of their U.S. Army counterparts in-theater. Each Chinook is typically deployed for 12 months, during which time it will fly some 800 hours. When returned for servicing, each Chinook brings back vast quantities of sand with it, highlighting the maintenance challenges they face.

Operations routinely are challenged by multifaceted threats. The conditions are hot and high, and the Afghan night is one of the darkest flying environments in the world. The terrain is rough and dusty, the latter creating billowing clouds that obscure visibility. Add to that an aggressive and fleeting enemy that fires on the helicopters on a daily basis, and the Chinook operations are fraught with danger.
“Every mission is a near-miss; every landing is a crash-landing,” asserted Group Captain Andy Turner, commander of the UK Chinook force. The perils were highlighted in August, when two of the force were lost.

Engine and Avionics Upgrades
Project Julius covers two separate contracts. The first, for approximately $205 million, re-engines the fleet with Honeywell’s T55-L-714A. Rated at 5,069 hp for contingencies, and 4,168 hp for maximum continuous running, the Dash 714A provides between 16 and 20 percent more power than the existing engines, as well as being more fuel-efficient and having longer maintenance intervals. For the user, that equates to longer missions, reduced servicing requirements, more load capacity and better one-engine inoperable (OEI) performance, particularly at the high altitudes and in the hot summers experienced in Afghanistan.

Preceding the main contract, Vector Aerospace had already re-engined seven Chinooks for Afghan service under an Urgent Operational Requirement, and the aircraft have already demonstrated their improved capability in-theater. One of the helicopters lost in August was a re-engined machine. It was hit in the fin by a rocket-propelled grenade, that caused serious damage and knocking out one engine. The crew kept the aircraft flying, thanks in part to the improved OEI performance of the Dash 714A engine, enabling them to set down away from the hostile area to be picked up safely. The aircraft was subsequently destroyed to prevent it falling into Taliban hands.

Boeing is prime contractor for the second element of the upgrade, a $448 million fleetwide cockpit upgrade. Thales provides the new cockpit elements, which are based on the existing Top Deck hardware. The new cockpit system is aimed at greatly reducing pilot workload, especially in low-light conditions.

The main elements are a fully integrated display system, each pilot having two large color multifunction displays for primary flight, tactical, digital moving map and forward-looking infrared data/imagery. The cockpit is fully compatible with night-vision goggles. New avionics elements include a tailored mission suite, secure communications management and an onboard mission planning system that allows the crew to re-plan in flight.

Thales has devised the new system working closely with aircrew. The system was refined and tested in the company’s Raynes Park laboratory in the UK and will be tested with increasing complexity throughout next year, leading to final trials at Boscombe Down.

The upgrade is essentially a digital bolt-on to an analog aircraft, but has been devised to offer significant growth potential. The architecture provides gateways for the integration of additional digital systems and functions. With a scheduled out-of-service date of 2040, the Chinook fleet may yet undergo another major upgrade to install a digital flight control system. Thales has mapped out a potential fully digital cockpit to accommodate this, with two additional screens showing engine, air vehicle and electronic warfare displays.

Conversions are being performed by Vector Aerospace at its Fleetlands facility as part of the natural cycle of maintenance. The first aircraft has already been delivered and is being prepared to accept the new cockpit. The first upgraded aircraft is to be ready for deployment at the end of 2011, following crew training. The program covering all 46 RAF Chinooks is due for completion in 2014 or 2015.

Further Modifications
While Julius represents a major upgrade to the Chinook’s capability, further modifications are being actively pursued, driven by the demands of current operations. The highest priority is providing a means of countering the very real dangers of “brown-out” conditions. The UK’s low-visibility landing program is examining a range of technologies–infrared, laser, millimeter-wave radar, detailed terrain data and helmet-mounted displays–to aid pilots landing in dangerous conditions.

Hostile small-arms fire indication is another area under study. The Thales Elix-IR missile approach warning system has been refined to the point where it can detect small-arms fire, as well as provide an imaging capability that may aid low-visibility landing. Ultra Electronics is also achieving promising results with its small acoustics-based gunfire detector and is proposing the use of an array on helicopters.

Meanwhile, the fleet is to be expanded by the eventual delivery of the so-called “Boscombe Eight.” These aircraft were ordered as special forces’ Chinook HC.Mk 3s but could not be released for service. In December 2007 a Mk 3 reversion program was initiated to reconfigure the eight aircraft to Mk 2/2A standard, and the first three are to be delivered before the end of the year. The other five are to follow next year, supporting the UK MoD’s campaign to double its lift capability in-theater by next spring, which also involves the deployment of Merlin helicopters.

As well as the Chinook upgrade, and as part of the overall upgrade of the RAF’s support helicopter force, the MoD signed a $352 million contract in September with Eurocopter for a life-extension program covering 28 Puma HC.Mk 1 helicopters. The work is to be undertaken in Romania and involves new avionics, glass cockpit and re-engining with the Turbomeca Makila 1A1. However, the procurement of the Future Medium Helicopter to replace the Puma has been stalled, while a mooted Sea King life extension is now unlikely to proceed.

Arab low-cost carriers challenge majors

2009-11-15T04:38:36-05:00

Continued eastward migration of low-cost carriers (LCCs) from North America and Europe to regions such as the Middle East and Asia arguably has established the credibility of this air transport business model. “As LCCs continue to ‘grow’ their fleets and their geographic footprints across the Middle East and throughout Asia and Africa, it is clear that we are competing on a global platform,” said Adel Ali, chief executive of Sharjah-based LCC Air Arabia.

“Despite extremely challenging conditions facing airlines worldwide, low-cost carriers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with their revived focus on commercial sustainability, are seizing the opportunity to increase their market share. Importantly, this is happening at a time of increased regional competition and rapid deregulation,” he told September’s World Low-Cost Airline congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Consequently, major Arab airlines must adapt to remain competitive with low-cost carriers, concluded business research company Terrapinn, following a recent survey of passenger attitudes in MENA countries. “LCCs are now a viable option for most travelers, with pricing strategies and second hubs blurring the [dividing] lines,” said Matthew Wallhead, general manager at Terrapinn Dubai, organizer of next April’s Aviation Outlook MENA 2010 conference to be held in Cairo, Egypt. “LCCs will put increasing pressure on traditional airlines to look at their operational efficiency and will continue to diversify to compete for market share.”

One major carrier heeding the low-cost trend is Dubai’s Emirates Airline, whose “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” strategy has been to set up FlyDubai, its own low-cost carrier operation. FlyDubai chief executive Gaith Al Gaith advocates open skies as a policy that is “vitally needed in the Middle East to help airlines grow.” He said overflight restrictions in the region and visa requirements that differ between countries are inhibiting the growth of the fledgling LCC sector.

Walter Prenzler, chief executive of Riyadh-based Nas Air, Saudi Arabia’s first low-cost carrier, echoed Al Gaith’s call for liberalization with a specific example. “A key route [to be deregulated] would be to Cairo, but the authorities have a policy that does not allow LCCs into the Egyptian capital. We have to change that policy or find a way around it,” he stated.

Though still resisted in some Arab airline circles, there is nevertheless creeping deregulation, as seen in last month’s agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Serbia, under which the emirates have designated Air Arabia and FlyDubai, among others, to serve the market. Likewise, Jazeera Airways should benefit from similar October deals between Kuwait and seven broadly European countries.

Prenzler believes long-established state-owned Arab flag-carriers need to compete more directly with low-cost carriers if they are to retain passengers’ loyalty. “Airlines are under immense pressure from some customers and are losing their traditional business clientele as customers become more price-sensitive,” he said.

But the Nas Air executive also recognized the magnitude of change required. “It all depends on the passenger and the culture. Many of the legacy carriers are more suited to the long-haul, connecting-traffic market,” he said. “Focusing on regional traffic using aircraft suited for the purpose is the logical step.”

According to the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA), the MENA and Gulf low-cost carriers markets have spawned six new operators in six countries in six years. “Commencing with the launch of Air Arabia [in Sharjah and subsequently in Egypt] in 2003, the model has started to bloom, with five more LCCs joining Air Arabia over the past four years,” the private research company said.

Together, Air Arabia, Bahrain Air, FlyDubai, Jazeera Airways, Nas Air and Sama account for about 7 percent of total intraregional airline seats, and a smaller 6 percent of seats going to points outside the region, according to CAPA. An indication of the popularity of low-cost carriers and their ability to stimulate markets is the fact that all six such Arab operators serve Jordanian capital Amman to the tune of 80 flights a week.

Their regional share will increase to 12 percent by 2015, according to Japanese investment bank Nomura Securities. The low-cost carriers’ current share has fallen slightly since last year because many larger Arab operators have increased short-range activity following reduced long-range market demand since the onset of recession. CAPA analysts believe this pause will prove temporary in the face of aggressive fleet and network expansion by the new airlines: Middle East low-cost carriers have quickly developed a fleet of 44 aircraft: 38 narrowbodies and six regional jets. Between them they have around 150 narrowbodies plus a few regional jets on order.

Nomura said it expects more airlines to enter the budget market, attracted by high passenger growth and yields on selected routes. Waiting in the wings, although perhaps not truly an LCC, is Alwafeer Air, Saudi Arabia’s first airline for Hajj pilgrims, which was granted a license in October and could start flying this month. Saudi Arabian Airlines was the kingdom’s sole carrier until 2007 when Nas Air and Sama were established.

Meanwhile, normal market evolution is starting to take place. Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways, which expects Arab low-cost carriers to rationalize, was last month looking for acquisition targets as it prepared to post a likely full-year profit for 2009. “There will be some consolidation in the Middle East, especially in low-cost airlines,” said chief executive Stefan Pichler. “We are keeping our eyes open.”

Paradoxically, Arab low-cost carriers are beginning to acquire service frills. Jazeera is launching business-class fares under plans to boost premium traffic. The first A320 four-seat rows will have the center position of each triple-seat unit dedicated to providing workspace. Business-class travelers will get complimentary lounge access, onboard food and a generous 60-kg (132-pound) baggage allowance.

Air Arabia Set To Expand

2009-11-15T04:39:25-05:00

Publicly owned Air Arabia, the region’s largest low-cost carrier, operates 16 Airbus A320s, has ordered another 44 and plans to open a third operating hub in Alexandria, Egypt, in early 2010, perhaps at the beginning of the northern summer season in late March. The new hub completes Air Arabia’s coverage of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, making it a truly pan-Arab airline, according to chief executive Adel Ali, who believes each hub could support 25 aircraft with other planned hubs requiring a further 100 aircraft over the next five years.

As with its original base at Sharjah and its second hub at Casablanca, Morocco, opened in April this year, the low-cost carrier intends to start service at Alexandria with two aircraft before adding more as routes expand to points in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. It will trade as Air Arabia Egypt under a $50 million joint venture with Egyptian tourism company Travco. Increased Turkish services from Sharjah are being considered, but Nepalese venture FlyYeti was suspended in mid-2008 after six months of operations because of political instability and operational considerations.

Jazeera Airways Returns to Profitability

2009-11-15T04:39:59-05:00

Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways expects to make a profit this year, even though it reported a $7.6 million first-half loss. “We are going to be profitable for the full year,” said chief executive Stefan Pichler, who joined the airline in June from a position as chief commercial officer at Virgin Blue. The low-cost carrier plans to open a second hub in 2010, having dropped routes to Beirut, Delhi, Mumbai, Salalah and Sanaa this year.
“Our strategy is to become a multi-hub, multi-market operator,” said Pichler. He believes the wider Middle East market is undersupplied and offers better growth potential. Jazeera flies 10 Airbus A320s and has ordered 30 more for delivery through 2014.

Pichler pointed out that while the Arabian Gulf states account for just 28 percent of the entire population of the middle East, its major airlines–Qatar, Etihad ad Emirates–supply 80 percent of seats in this market. Carriers from other Middle East states provide only 20 percent of seats despite having most of the population.

Dubai Air Show still grows, defying economic gravity

2009-11-15T00:45:31-05:00

The 2009 Dubai Airshow will seek to buck the aerospace industry’s downward trend when it opens its doors this morning. But it seems highly unlikely that this will manifest itself in announcements of significant new aircraft orders, even though Middle East airlines are themselves outperforming the stagnant traffic levels in other parts of the world.

The staggering $155 billion sales tally at Dubai 2007 set a new record for airshows worldwide. Airlines surveyed by AIN on the eve of this week’s event played down expectations of anything close to this volume of business being announced at this year’s show.

Just yesterday afternoon Qatar Airways– which in recent years has been one of the last of the big spenders in the airliner market– canceled its airshow press conference, which had been scheduled for tomorrow morning. And although Airbus has booked no fewer than eight of the 40 allotted press conference slots, it has refused to give any indication of possible new order announcements. Boeing claims not to stockpile orders to announce on the airshow circuit.

Exhibitor numbers for this year’s show will definitely be up–rising by almost 5 percent from the 2007 total of 850 companies–to include 890 firms from 47 countries. While acknowledging that some previous exhibitors have downsized their exhibits, or even canceled them in a bid to cut costs, show organizer Fairs & Exhibitions has taken bookings from no fewer than 150 new companies from 20 countries that have taken the chance to make debuts at the Dubai show.

Much of the growth has been accommodated by the new, 75,000-sq-ft Emirates Hall here at the Dubai Airport Expo site. Six more chalets have also been added.

There is plenty of interest in the lineup of some 130 aircraft booked to appear here. Making their full international debuts are the Chinese AVIC L-15 jet trainer and Boeing’s new AH-6i attack helicopter, which has just made its first flight. Other high-profile participants include the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, the Dassault Rafale, the Boeing F-15E, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the no-longer-so-novel but still-impressive Airbus A380. The strong military presence at this eleventh Dubai show reflects the fact that defense spending by Middle East states is anything but suppressed.

Last week Emirates Airline chairman HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum confirmed that the Dubai-based operator will still take its full order of 58 A380s. In a bid to make up for time lost through production delays at Airbus, the carrier is now negotiating to take delivery slots abandoned by other airlines as a result of the downturn. Contrary to incorrect reports in the local press, these would not be new additional aircraft orders.

Commenting on the widespread perception that Dubai’s economic boom has come to an end and that this could spell trouble for the precocious emirate’s show, Sheikh Ahmed told a pre-show press conference: “We have proved to the world and to those who had doubts that the Dubai show will go on.”

Wedgetail woes may be over for Boeing

2009-11-14T11:21:25-05:00

Boeing is making the long-delayed delivery of the Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) via the Dubai Airshow this week. The first of the six 737-based aircraft has arrived for display at the static park, where invited visitors will be able to go onboard. The fourth aircraft for the RAAF is also flying to Australia this month, in time for a handover ceremony “down under” on November 24.

RAAF chief Air Marshall Mark Binskin told AIN here yesterday that the official acceptance would take place early next year and that he hoped to achieve initial operating capability (IOC) late next year. He said Boeing subcontractor BAE Systems is still working hard to develop and deliver the Wedgetail’s electronic support measures (ESM), “but we don’t need the ESM to start training our aircrews.”

As for the unique multirole electronically scanned array (MESA) surveillance radar, supplied by Northrop Grumman, Binskin said an independent analysis commissioned by the Australian government from MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory concluded that its design is sound and the development path is valid. “We’re confident that it will get there,” he added.

Binskin told the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference (DIAC) here yesterday that it had taken nine years to reach this stage of the Wedgetail program. Australia was the launch customer for what became a troubled program, on which Boeing has taken successive financial writeoffs. Boeing has also taken orders for the Wedgetail from Turkey and Korea, each of which has signed for four.

Tim Norgart, Boeing’s director of business development for ASW and ISR systems, told AIN that an exercise in Australia last spring in which RAAF crews flew the Wedgetail “was a turning point for them. The aircraft did very well.” It flew six sorties and controlled multiple engagements by RAAF fighters. The radar’s maritime surveillance modes were also demonstrated during Exercise Arnhem Thunder.

Binskin described seven basic requirements for Australia’s new AEW&C platform. These were the flexibility to control a spectrum of missions from humanitarian relief to high-end warfighting; interoperability, especially with U.S. and NATO forces; (quick) responsiveness; global deployment capability with two weeks of self-contained operations before the arrival of logistics support; versatility, meaning that the system must perform equally well in the air defense and maritime surveillance roles, and that it must be able to import and fuse data from offboard sources; persistence, meaning that it must be air-refuelable to increase the time on station; and survivability, through the electronic warfare self-protection system combined with an ability to quickly fly out of harm’s way. “The new platform gives us all that,” he told the conference.

At the end of his presentation, Binskin fielded a question about the Wedgetail delays from Maj. Gen. Mohd bin Swaidan, commander of the air force of the United Arab Emirates. “I’ll talk to you offline about that,” the RAAF chief told his counterpart. The UAE has been evaluating three AEW&C aircraft: the Wedgetail; the Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye; and the Saab Erieye system on a Saab 2000 platform.

With the Australian delivery hurdle about to be surmounted, Boeing is sounding increasingly confident about the Wedgetail program. “It’s the next generation in AEW–a great capability for a big market,” Norgart told AIN. “And the platform is the 737, which is the world’s most reliable jet,” he added.

ATR wins 30 aircraft deal from Indonesia’s Wings Air

2009-11-14T10:27:20-05:00

Lion Air subsidiary Wings Air of Indonesia today announced the signing of a contract for the purchase of 15 ATR 72-500s, as well as options covering another 15 of ATR’s new 72-600 series turboprops. The value of the order, originally revealed in November last year as a memorandum of understanding covering 10 ATR 72-500s plus options for 10 more ATR 72-500/600s, now amounts to some $600 million.

Configured with high-density, 72-seat cabins, the new airplanes will form the first fleet of ATR 72-500s in Indonesia and make Wings Air the largest ATR operator in the country. Schedules call for delivery of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M-powered turboprops between 2009 and 2011.

The entry into service of the aircraft will help Wings Air consolidate its leading position in a rapidly developing domestic market to develop feeder routes to serve Lion Air’s mainline jet network. Wings Air also plans to serve local communities that have historically suffered from a shortage of regular airline service. Meanwhile, Wings Air’s ATR 72-500s will replace MD-80 and Boeing 737-300/400 equipment and increase frequencies on existing routes operated with Lion Air’s 737-900ERs.

“The dependable support organization of ATR in Southeast Asia coupled with the success of its aircraft in our region are two major factors in our decision to introduce them in Indonesia,” said Rusdi Kirana, chairman of Wings Air and CEO of Lion Air.

“With the signature of this new contract, Wings Air will become one of our largest clients in Southeast Asia, a region that has been particularly fruitful for ATR in the last years, where some 70 ATRs are being operated daily,” added ATR CEO Stéphane Mayer.

Lion Air ranks as Indonesia’s largest private carrier and operates the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 737-900ERs. Established in 2002, Wings Air serves predominately regional and rural routes, and acts as a primary feeder for Lion Air’s mainline network. (See page 12 for an update on the new ATR 600 series of aircraft. –Ed.)

China’s new L-15 trainer arrives on the world stage

2009-11-14T10:20:51-05:00

Appearing for the first time outside China, the L-15 Falcon is at Dubai to promote its capabilities here in a region that offers significant market potential for advanced trainers. At the same time, the resurgent AVIC organization is highlighting its ability to provide total training solutions for modern air arms.

Developed by the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group (HAIG), based in Nanchang in Jiangxi province, the L-15 was first shown in full-scale mockup form at the 2004 Zhuhai airshow. The first prototype flew at HAIG’s Qingyunpu airfield on March 13, 2006. It was to be powered by the planned Russian Ivchenko Progress/Salut/MotorSich AI-222-25 turbofan, but delays with this engine meant that it took to the air powered by two Lotarev/PSLM DV-2 engines. AI-222s were fitted to the second flying prototype (03) when it made its first flight on May 10, 2008. On June 8 this year the third aircraft (05) flew, and it is this machine that is on display here.

Hongdu developed the L-15 with some assistance from Yakovlev, and the aircraft bears a superficial resemblance to the Yakovlev Yak-130 and Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346. The design’s large leading-edge extensions and tall fin give good angle-of-attack capability, a valuable feature for instructing pilots destined for maneuverable fighters. Four underwing pylons and wingtip missile rails provide the L-15 with an impressive weapons capability for either training or a light combat role. It has a modern glass cockpit, HOTAS controls and a quadruple redundant flight control system.

There are two configurations being developed, the first being the advanced jet trainer (AJT) with non-afterburning engines represented here at Dubai. A lead-in fighter trainer version is shortly to begin flight test, fitted with afterburning AI-222-25F engines to give a top speed of Mach 1.4.

Development of the L-15 was initiated in response to a Chinese requirement for a modern trainer to match the air force’s new generation of fighters, such as the Chengdu J-10 and Sukhoi Su-30. For this requirement it is in contention with the Guizhou JL-9, a cheaper, less advanced and more readily available alternative based on a JJ-7 (two-seat MiG-21 derivative) airframe, but with a redesigned forward fuselage.

However, the L-15’s more modern approach is seen as having greater export potential, particularly when seen as part of a wider training package. Hongdu also builds the K-8/JL-8 basic jet trainer and produces a range of ground training aids from full simulators to computer-based tools. For export, the company is offering combinations of its products, from stand-alone equipment packages to those designed to take students from the beginning of their flying instruction right through to advanced weapons and tactical operations.

NetJets ME launches F2000LX program

2009-11-14T10:13:16-05:00

Fractional ownership of private aircraft seems to be a struggling business model in North America and Europe but it’s alive and well in this part of the world, according to NetJets Middle East (NJME). The company, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s National Air Service and is affiliated to U.S.-based NetJets Inc. through a licensing agreement, says that it has not been hit by the marked dip in demand that is afflicting fractional ownership operators in the West.

Here at the Dubai Airshow, NJME (Chalet B8) is launching an ownership program for the new Dassault Falcon 2000LX jet and is also relaunching its card program for its Hawker Beechcraft aircraft. The company will take delivery of its first 2000LX in a few weeks time.

“We don’t appear to be affected in the same way as in the States and in Europe,” said Graeme Deary, NJME’s new executive director for business development. “We’re still very buoyant and still bringing new customers on board. A number of clients have reduced their flying, but very few people have actually left the program.” He said the company achieved positive growth in customers this year.

In the U.S., however, NetJets Inc. has seen Richard Santulli, its chairman, CEO and founder, resign following a dismal second-quarter financial report, and has reported third-quarter losses of $471 million (with losses for the first nine months totally $1.2 billion). The company also has announced that it will furlough up to 495 pilots from its North American fractional operations. Most furloughs, which will take effect on January 15, will come from NetJets Aviation, but a “small number” will also come from NetJets International, the division that flies Gulfstreams. Said current NetJets chairman and CEO David Sokol, “This difficult decision resulted from a comprehensive analysis of current and projected flight demand.” Further downsizing of NetJets aircraft in the U.S. in the fourth quarter is expected.

Deary was involved in the launch of NetJets Europe back in 1996 before launching rival fractional ownership provider European Business Jets, which went into administration last October. He credits NJME’s operational diversity as an important factor in its weathering of the financial storm. “We are adapting to what the customer requires,” he said. “We offer our JetCard in 25-hour increments, can lease fractional shares for one to five years–depending on what the customer requires, and provide aircraft management, charter management and on-demand charter. There is a significant minority [of successful individuals in the region] who will need an aircraft for shorter periods.”

Here in Dubai, NJME, which celebrates 10 years in service this year, is signing two agreements with Aviation Link of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Deary said. The first is a memorandum of understanding for NJME to manage a Gulfstream G550, which Aviation Link expects to take delivery of in January; and the second is for Aviation Link’s purchase of a one-sixteenth share in one of NJME’s Hawker jets.

The NJME fleet comprises 17 fractional aircraft: a mix of Hawker 750s/800XPs,
Falcon 2000s/2000EXs and Gulfstream GIV-SPs/G450s. The company also has three business jets under management agreements, which are operated under a separate part of the organization called Aircraft Management Services. These managed aircraft are chartered to both NJME and outside customers. NJME’s affiliation with NetJets, for which it pays a licensing fee, entitles its customers to interchange opportunities with the U.S. and European NetJets fleets.

Acquisitions help boost ISR business for Goodrich

2009-11-14T07:25:06-05:00

Goodrich ISR Systems has been on the acquisition trail and some of the resulting technology is on display here at the Dubai Airshow (Stand W360). Best known for the DB-110 aerial sensor it has sold to six countries, the Goodrich unit is now marketing additional aerial sensors after buying Recon/Optical Inc. (ROI) last year. More recently, Goodrich ISR Systems bought Cloud Cap Technology, maker of stabilized gimbals for the small aerial cameras commonly found on UAVs.

During its long history, the U.S. based Recon/Optical supplied more than 3,000 airborne tactical reconnaissance cameras to U.S. and foreign air forces, and for more than 40 years it was owned by the Bourns Corp., a diversified family-owned business. According to ROI veteran Rich Zacaroli, Bourns was moving in a different strategic direction, which prompted the sale of ROI’s core business. “We have brought to Goodrich our strong capability in low-medium altitude aerial sensors and our newly developed focus on persistent surveillance,” he told AIN. Zacaroli is now general manager of Goodrich ISR Systems–Barrington (the former ROI headquarters, located in a suburb of Chicago).

ROI’s best-known recent products are the CA-260/261 high-resolution digital framing cameras and the CA-270/295 series, which added an infrared capability to make the sensors dual-band. It has sold about 90 of them to the U.S. Air Force (for F-16s), the U.S. Navy (for the SHAred Reconnaissance Pod [SHARP] on F-18s) and to export customers such as Denmark, Japan and Sweden (for the Gripen). These sensors use the electronic on-chip forward motion compensation focal plane array technology that was developed by ROI over the past two decades. The CA-270 accounts for most sales of dual-band cameras; it is optimized for operation up to 20,000 feet, whereas the CA-295 is a long-range oblique photography (LOROP) system optimized for operation at medium-high altitudes.

Meanwhile, Goodrich continues to market its DB-110, which is another dual-band LOROP sensor, but with longer focal lengths than the CA-295. The DB-110 is a smaller brother to the senior year electro-optical reconnaissance system (SYERS), developed by Goodrich for the U.S. Air Force U-2. It was first sold to the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) as the RAPTOR (ReconAissance Pod for the TORnado strike aircraft), and to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for carriage by P-3s.

Repackaged into a smaller pod, the DB-110 has also been sold to four air forces for their F-16s. Greece, Morocco and Poland are confirmed customers, but Goodrich will not confirm reports that Pakistan is another. Here at Dubai, Goodrich is hoping for further interest from the air forces of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have each stated a requirement for a podded sensor to add to their fast jets.

Goodrich Barrington’s most recent development was the CA-247, designed for persistent, wide-area surveillance at night, thanks to a very large infrared focal plane array. It is part of the Angel Fire system that was sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps when it perceived a lack of 24/7 reconnaissance assets that could be dedicated for use by tactical commanders in Iraq. The gimbal-mounted sensor will be deployed in support of U.S. forces early next year on King Air A90 platforms. Contractors, including Barrington, will provide the operation and the systems support.

The Angel Fire sensor provides a much higher resolution, geo-rectified image with proper archival recall and with up to 13 times the area coverage compared with the video imagery typically provided by a UAV. This makes the task of change detection much easier–a valuable asset in the counter-IED effort, for instance.

Are the dedicated aerial sensors for combat jets offered by Goodrich/ROI and by competitors such as BAE Systems, El-Op and Thales being supplanted by the new-generation targeting pods? Much has been made of the “nontraditional ISR” (NTISR) capability of the ATFLIR, Litening and Sniper pods. Over Afghanistan, imagery is being downlinked from these pods to ROVER terminals so that ground troops can get a “pilot’s-eye view” of potential targets.

Goodrich and ROI officials told AIN that the NTISR can provide valuable tactical functions, including battle damage assessment, but it cannot substitute for the high-resolution, geo-referenced area coverage provided by the DB-110, CA-270 and so forth that can be integrated with imagery from other sensors and archived for recall by the wider intelligence community.

Visitors to the Goodrich stand here at Dubai can view the latest exploitation and dissemination systems provided by the company’s Malvern, UK facility. They have been heavily developed in recent years from the RAPTOR ground station originally sold to the RAF.

Zacaroli sees a promising future for Goodrich ISR Systems “in civilian and homeland security markets as our product becomes more accessible, particularly through Windows-based laptop applications.” He also expects to do more business on “smaller, lighter platforms.” To this end, another acquisition by Goodrich is playing a part. In 2006, it bought Sensors Unlimited Inc., a specialist in small, short-range infrared imaging cameras that can fit on mini-UAVs.

Embraer E-Jets fit in at many Arab airlines

2009-11-14T07:25:23-05:00

Embraer sees Arab operators of its 64- to 114-seat E170/175 and E190/195 regional jets (E-Jets) as providing a good example of what it views as the “right-sizing” of passenger services. By matching capacity to demand such carriers can enhance yield through increased flight frequency rather than continuing possibly marginal operations with larger single-aisle aircraft such as Airbus A320s, Boeing 737-500s and McDonnell Douglas MD-90s.

According to the Brazilian airframer, 78 percent of all E-Jet flights in Middle East and Africa are right-sized, compared with a global average of 53 percent. A further 14 percent are being operating to new markets that would not support larger aircraft, compared with 17 percent worldwide. The remaining 8 percent of E-Jets flights are serving natural market growth, said Jose Luis Molina, Embraer’s airline market vice president for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Globally, increasing demand drives almost 25 percent of E-Jet flights, he added.

Molina conceded that use of larger aircraft generates lower seat costs, but he pointed out the seductiveness of arguments used to justify providing higher capacity. “Focusing on cost-per-seat is dangerous because empty seats are expensive and you cannot fly empty [however cheaper that would appear to be],” he said. In Embraer’s view, intraregional frequencies in the Arab market need to be improved, since 55 percent of flights do not offer same-day returns. For example, Etihad Airways operates an A320 daily round-trip between Abu Dhabi and Jordanian capital Amman, while on the Kuwait City-Jeddah, Saudi Arabia route three operators–low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways (A320) and flagcarriers Kuwait Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines (MD-90)–provide only single afternoon/evening flights, according to Embraer.

Four Arab airlines have placed orders for almost 50 E-Jets that operate a network of more than 160 routes crisscrossing the Middle East, Gulf and eastern North Africa areas and reaching into southern Europe. Apart from right-sizing, Embraer said other E-Jet routes in the region are low-risk, frequency-building, long, thin operations.

EgyptAir Express is an example of right-sizing. Its E170s provide 10 daily round-trips between Cairo and the popular tourist destination of Sharm el-Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Since the airline introduced the E170 two years ago, it has increased frequency by right-sizing capacity to Luxor, another domestic tourist route.

Previously operated three times a day (twice in early morning and once in the late evening), the route now sports three additional E-Jet flights, with another E170 providing the late evening service and a narrowbody flight at midnight. In addition, EgyptAir Express has replaced three single-aisle daily flights on the Cairo-Hurghada route with three E170 flights and two by larger single-aisle models, showing how the smaller aircraft have complemented existing equipment as a market has expanded.

On the 25 remaining EgyptAir Express routes, Embraer claims the 12 E170s provide greater comfort and exceed passenger expectations (compared with similar-size turboprop equipment) and allow the airline to explore new intraregional markets.

Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Nasair has used its six E190/E195s to open new routes that can be developed for subsequent operation with A320s, according to Embraer. A subsidiary of Riyadh-based National Air Services, Nasair flies 25 routes with the aircraft, which also are used to provide “adequate” capacity in mid-sized markets and to permit aggressive growth. It has a further four E-Jets on order.

Royal Jordanian Airlines flies its two E175s and five E195s on almost 50 routes, including four very long routes from Amman: to Muscat in the extreme east of the Arabian peninsula (3 hours 20 minutes), to Aden in Yemen (3 hours 25 minutes), to Kiev (3 hours 30 minutes), and most distant to Tunis in western North Africa (3 hours 54 minutes).

A major carrier, Royal Jordanian introduced E-Jets three years ago to support its strategy of feeding long-haul flights through the Amman hub. The aircraft also have been used to open new routes and increase frequency on existing routes. In September, the E175s recorded average daily use of 8:55 hours, with the E195s close behind at 7:34 hours each.

Embraer said Saudi Arabian Airlines has returned some loss-making routes to profit by employing E170s on those previously served by much larger A320s and MD-90s. It has operated E-Jets since 2005 on more than 60 routes throughout the Arabian Peninsula.

It has been particularly successful in right-sizing its fights and then increasing frequencies in growing markets. For example, on the Riyadh-Nejran route, Saudi Arabian initially used E170s to introduce a middle-of-the-day flight and to replace one of two MD-90 flights with two flights before replacing the remaining MD-90 and then introducing a sixth daily E170 operation.

In addition, there are two E-Jet customers in sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya Airways operates three Embraer 170s, while Linhas Aereas de Mocambique in Mozambique has ordered two E190s.

Embraer claims good performance among its customers’ fleets in the region: during summer 2008 E-Jet operators in the Middle East recorded a 99.11-percent scheduled reliability compared with the global E-Jet figure of 98.95 percent. During early 2009, Royal Jordanian achieved perfect 100-percent reliability with its E170s during the February-July period.

The manufacturer supports the aircraft in the region through spare-parts holdings in Amman, Cairo and Riyadh and Jeddah. It also offers a full-flight simulator for crew training in Jeddah.

In the first half of next year, Embraer expects to decide where to locate a planned spares warehouse for the region that also will accommodate some equipment currently held at its European warehouse in Paris. Short-listed sites reportedly include Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha and Dubai.

CTT zonal system dries insulation, prevents corrosion, cuts fuel burn

2009-11-14T07:25:42-05:00

For parched Dubai 2009 visitors here in the desert it is hard to imagine that excessive humidity could be an issue. But no matter what the local outside environment, it can soon become a problem inside an aircraft full of people, not only in terms of passenger and crew comfort, but also in terms of the amount of fuel burned in carrying the excess payload of water generated by condensation.

Each person on board an aircraft produces about 3.5 ounces of water per flight hour, so 400 passengers riding on an airliner for 10 hours could produce just over 109 U.S. gallons of water.

In September, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) acknowledged this dilemma when it included the Zonal Drying system developed by Sweden’s CTT Systems in its latest Technology Road Map report on methods for carriers to reduce fuel consumption. IATA listed Zonal Drying as one of 21 available technologies that it recommends its members to retrofit and said that this step alone could result in a 1-percent reduction in the amount of fuel burned. This is a significant endorsement at a time when airlines are facing both spiraling costs and the prospect of having to account for their carbon emissions through Europe’s new emissions trading scheme.

According to CTT (Stand W473), the elimination of unwanted humidity can also protect an airline’s bottom line by avoiding corrosion of the airframe and aircraft parts that can result in costly maintenance. This in turn can protect the asset values of a fleet.

At the same time, the atmosphere inside aircraft cabins and cockpits can actually have too little humidity, which can have a debilitating effect on those on board, worsening both immediate fatigue and the lingering effects of jet lag for passengers and crew. In a building on the ground the relative humidity would normally be between 50 and 60 percent, but in an aircraft at 33,000 feet this would drop to 5 to 15 percent because the outside air is extremely dry at that altitude and about half of the air inside is drawn in through the engines. To deal with this dilemma, CTT’s Cair system can be installed to work in tandem with the Zonal Drying system to ensure that the right level of humidity is maintained where it is needed in the aircraft, without generating excess condensation where it is unwelcome.

According to CTT vice president for sales and marketing Ulf Liljenberg, airlines in the Middle East, especially those keen to improve flying conditions for first- and business-class passengers, have shown strong interest in the Cair system. Similarly, Cair has also been selected for installation in more than 30 larger VIP aircraft. The need to create humidity is actually greater in aircraft cabins with relatively few passengers because there are fewer people to generate natural moisture.

The Zonal Drying system, consisting of a fan, a heater and a rotor, takes air from the aircraft atmosphere, removes the moisture from it and then blows it into the gap between the cabin and the aircraft skin. This creates a barrier of dry air which in turn dries out the aircraft’s insulation blankets that would otherwise be saturated with condensation.

At the same time, the relative humidity of the air coming into contact with cold surfaces is lowered, reducing condensation. Depending on the aircraft type, the Zonal Drying unit is installed either in the crown area at the top of the fuselage or beneath the cabin floor.

The Cair system works in tandem with CTT Zonal Drying system, using one or more humidifiers connected to a water supply. The humidifiers include a pad of fiberglass with specially designed, moistened air channels. When dry air passes through the moist surface of the pad the water evaporates and the air is humidified as it cools. The size of the pad is determined by the volume of airflow to be humidified, and by regulating the water supply and the temperature of the air as it reaches the pad, the system can run automatically. Minerals and other water contaminants are trapped in the pad. According to CTT, the risk of spreading bacteria through the system is minimal because the water evaporates as it transfers into the air and so cannot carry bacteria.

For aircraft cabins, the humidifier is installed in air supply ducts leading to the area to be humidified. CTT can also provide separate humidifiers to serve the cockpit and crew rest areas.

The Zonal Drying system is to be standard equipment on Boeing’s new 787, with two units to be installed in each of the new widebodies. Aircraft crew rest compartments will have humidifiers, and they can be an option in the cockpit. Zonal Drying is already available as buyer-furnished equipment on the new generation of 737 single-aisle airliners.

Last year, Airbus decided to offer both the Zonal Drying and Cair systems as optional supplier-furnished equipment (SFE) for the new A350. Crew humidifiers are already optional SFE for the larger A380.

Through supplemental type certificates, CTT either can now or will be able to
retrofit the equipment throughout the A320/330/340 family and on 747s, 777s, 757s and 767s. Liljenberg told AIN that the company would like to be selected to provide its technology as standard equipment on both Airbus and Boeing next generation single-aisle airliners. He said that even in the depressed conditions now facing the air transport sector, operators are interested in discussing Zonal Drying in particular, recognizing the way it could improve their balance sheets.

Qatar throws down gauntlet to ME rivals

2009-11-14T07:26:10-05:00

Qatar Airways (Stand C130) is again at the Dubai Airshow on Emirates Airlines’ home turf evidently to remind its rival that it can’t have this prosperous territory all to itself. Along with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, the Doha-based carrier has adopted a very high profile as it seeks to take a share of the market to provide long-haul connecting service through its Gulf hub. As Emirates has proved, the combination of geographic location and the long-haul ranges of today’s large jetliners means travelers can fly nearly anywhere via the Gulf.

With Emirates having placed the largest-ever order for new aircraft at the Dubai show two years ago, Qatar has responded with its own headline news, ordering large numbers of Airbus A320s and A350s and Boeing 777s and 787s. The aircraft are needed to enable the airline to fulfill a long-term plan to provide enormous numbers of passengers into and out of the region.

“Qatar Airways has a long-term vision and strategy,” said chief executive Akbar Al Baker at June’s Paris show, where he booked 20 more A320s and converted options on four. “There is a downturn in the economy, but Qatar has weathered these challenges well. We are focused on what we want to achieve. Passenger numbers are right on target, and if we deploy our capacity correctly with correct frequencies, there is still demand.”

The Qatar CEO has been keen to maintain the yield, or income, generated by each seat. “If we have a 60-percent load factor, we will not try to dilute [fares] to get 100 percent because once you do that to unacceptable levels to get passengers you hurt the yield and increase the cost because with every extra passenger you burn more fuel and need more catering.”

But in an apparent contradiction, Qatar’s A340-600 first-class lounges have been eliminated and the cabins reconfigured to allow installation of 44 economy-class seats, raising capacity to 310. Al Baker explained the airline has a plan to make “expenditure more efficient [through a] cost-cutting drive that will not impact our product, and [introducing] systems to improve employee productivity.”

Having started with only four aircraft when the Qatari government took a half share in a previously private operation in 1997, Al Baker has overseen developments that will see the current 70-aircraft fleet exceed 110 by 2013, by which time Doha’s new airport is scheduled to open. This year new-aircraft deliveries have been running at one a month and they are expected to continue at that rate for the next few years.

Two months ago, the carrier reported having obtained $700 million in funding for four new 777s. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Europe agreed to a $350 million, 12-year finance-lease arrangement covering delivery of a 777-300ER in September and a 777-200LR this month.

A second deal of the same value supports two other 777s. Last year, the same banks provided $500 million to finance new equipment.

In July, Qatar Airways agreed to revised delivery schedules for the first of its 30 ordered 787s. Previously delayed from mid-2010 to early 2013 by production problems, the 787 arrivals might have clashed with those of the A350s, but the Boeings now are to begin to join the airline in late 2011.

Al Baker had resorted to megaphone diplomacy at the Paris Air Show a month earlier, threatening to cancel the order if undisclosed “issues” were not resolved. After that, he said “a letter of termination” was avoided by a “very proactive” response from the manufacturer.

The airline has also said it will not accept initial-production 787s, which are expected to be overweight and subject to restricted performance. Despite his expressed concern about late-delivered 787s, Al Baker also suspects the A350 deliveries, which are to begin in late 2013, could slip by up to six months. Qatar Airways’ A380s should arrive in Doha in 2012, after the carrier requested a deferral to match the opening date of the new airport, but Al Baker said earlier delivery slots are available because of other deferrals.

At the end of October, Al Baker confirmed the airline was “very interested” in acquiring smaller aircraft in the form of Bombardier’s new C Series jets, but maintained that the Canadian manufacturer needs to address unspecified “commercial issues” before Qatar could place orders. In addition, the operator has three Bombardier Challenger business jets, which are available for charter.

Qatar Airways growth is attributed to meeting demand. “Our expansion, though occurring rapidly, is very calculated and measured,” said Al Baker. “We will not enter into situations that do not make economic sense. We are very conscious of the current global economy and are using our strong financial position to explore opportunities where other airlines may not have the financial strength to compete.”

Executive Charter Offered on Challengers

2009-11-14T07:26:26-05:00

In mid-2009, Qatar Airways received two 4,000-nmi-range Bombardier Challenger 605s and a Challenger 300 for new charter subsidiary Qatar Executive. The airline wants a piece of what it believes is still rising demand for on-demand, private charter services.

“Despite the current global economic climate, there remains a strong need to travel to face-to-face business meetings in the shortest possible time,” said Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker. “Whether flying from Doha to Bahrain for a breakfast meeting and back, or continuing to Dubai for lunch and further to Abu Dhabi for an early evening meeting before returning to Doha for dinner, the corporate jet makes this possible.”

Qatar Executive, which benefits from the airline’s experience in having run Qatar’s Amiri Flight, will allow corporate and private travelers to book an aircraft as little as four hours before departure and check in 10 minutes before takeoff.

“Forecast growth in the Middle East corporate market is expected to be 15 to 20 percent [a year] until 2012, so there is a clear opportunity for [us] to capitalize on this trend,” said Al Baker. The airline quotes Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) figures showing that the Middle East corporate market has grown at an average annual rate of 13 percent since 2000, with the region’s business jet fleet more than doubling in size from 200 to 450 during 2000-08. According to CAPA, the market is estimated to be worth $500- to $700 million a year. Individual wealth in the Gulf region is expected to grow by over 50 percent during 2008-12, up from $2.1 trillion to around $3.8 trillion, according to international management consultancy Oliver Wyman.

Al Baker said more aircraft will be introduced “in the not-too-distant future,” but he declined to be more precise. “We will want to be not too big, but it will depend on how successful we are in our business plan.”

First BBJ outfitted by Jet Av with designer cabin interior

2009-11-14T10:35:07-05:00

Jet Aviation Basel has delivered the first of three Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) with Andrew Winch Designs cabin interiors to an undisclosed customer. London-based Andrew Winch has been a specialist in the VIP aircraft and yacht interiors since 1996. The aircraft is the first BBJ to be outfitted at the company’s new widebody hangar, which was completed in May 2008.

The cabin interior includes a full-size bedroom, executive lounge, dining area, lounge, full galley and master lavatory with shower and hardwood floor. According to Jet Aviation, the BBJ also has an in-flight audio/video-on-demand system with capacity for 300 DVDs that can be watched independently on eight flat-screen displays positioned at various points. In addition, the aircraft is equipped with satellite communications allowing high-speed wireless Internet access throughout the cabin. The two companies started work on the cabin interior project in 2007.

Jet Aviation also announced that its Dubai division has received GCAA maintenance approval for the Hawker 4000 and FAA maintenance approval for the Bombardier Global Express. The company said the first service appointment for each type of aircraft has already been received.

Michael Rucker, senior v-p and general manager of Jet Aviation Dubai, said, “Due to increased customer demand, we have expanded our services and can now better support the first UAE Hawker 4000 operator, as well as Global Express operators that demand MRO services from us. With the addition of these aircraft types we have extended out ‘under-one-roof’ service offering and [have also expanded] our capability significantly.”

The Dubai maintenance facility, which was established in May 2005, is an authorized service center for the Boeing 737NG and the BBJ, plus Gulfstream, Dassault Falcon and other Hawker Beechcraft aircraft types, as well as being an approved repair station for the Embraer Legacy.

In other company news, Jet Aviation announced its EMEA & Asia aircraft management division has received Continued Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) approval for aircraft registered in Bermuda. CAMO will be mandatory beginning next year for all Bermuda and Cayman Islands-registered aircraft.

Jet Aviation said it offers “a full package of aircraft management services to Bermuda-registered aircraft, including documentation and certification and all billing and annual review scheduling.”

In addition, it offers CAMO Plus and airworthiness reviews for all EASA-registered aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 5.7 metric tons, for which EASA CAMO approvals became mandatory in September 2008. Only CAMO-approved organizations can issue the new annual airworthiness review certificates (ARCs) in EASA states (EU member states plus Iceland, Norway
and Switzerland).

787’s maintenance team makes the most of delays

2009-11-14T07:26:47-05:00

While no one at Boeing would dare admit to any level of satisfaction with the two-and-a-half years of delays to the 787-8, the program’s chief mechanic, Justin Hale, might be one of the few people within the company who can say it has helped make his job easier.

“Certifying a maintenance program and getting all of the data transmitted to the FAA, transmitted to the industry steering committee, analyzed and settling on certifiable intervals is always a challenge when you’re putting a new type into service. And you always feel rushed to get that done,” said Hale. “And the nature of this industry is if you don’t feel like you have enough time to analyze something thoroughly, then you err way on the side of caution.”

When the 787-8’s maintenance steering committee–consisting of 26 airlines, 12 suppliers and representatives from eight regulators from around the globe–first submitted the then-final data for certification in the fall of 2007, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) wouldn’t accept 400 of the 760 maintenance intervals the group recommended. After 62 weeks of meetings over the span of three years, in fact, the agencies rejected most of its recommendations for insufficient data.

“If the airplane had been on time we likely would have certified the maintenance program right there with shorter intervals for those 400 tasks,” Hale told AIN. Of course, much of the caution exhibited by the regulators lay with the fact that no in-service history existed for such a radical new design–distinguished by nearly exclusive use of composite materials in the fuselage and a so-called “more electric” systems architecture. As things stood, the group had already considered its recommendations highly conservative. To Hale’s disappointment, the FAA, in particular, wanted more analysis before it would accept most of the proposed intervals.

As the program continued to confront delays, however, Hale and his team could revisit the recommendations, resubmit data with more robust analysis, provide more data to the FAA, EASA and the steering committee and ultimately gain approval for all 400 of the original intervals on Dec. 16, 2008. “I don’t believe that there’s a single interval that we ended up pulling back from our recommendations with all that analysis,” said Hale. “That never would have happened if we didn’t have that additional time.”

Now working with his maintenance operations team primarily on the 787’s next iteration–the -9–Hale said the company will use the next variant as a “weight-reduction block point,” meaning they’ll need to ensure that any weight-reduction efforts don’t compromise the maintenance guarantees set by Boeing.

Low Maintenance Costs Guaranteed
For the first time in its storied history Boeing will guarantee to every customer that an airplane will cost a given amount less to maintain than the airplane it replaces. In this case, the OEM guarantees at least a 30-percent reduction in cost compared with the 767-300ER, said Hale. “That number varies from customer to customer and gets tweaked a little based on their operational profile, but I don’t recall seeing a number lower than 30 percent,” he said. Those numbers also don’t include any separate guarantees issued for the engines, which, of course, contribute significantly to the overall maintenance burden.

Boeing expects to meet its own commitments primarily by eliminating and lengthening maintenance intervals, the most obvious involving its mostly composite airframe. The move away from aluminum, said Hale, means the time between some of the same structural checks will increase from, for example, six years in a 767 to 12 years in a 787. “So right out of the gate you’ve cut your structural maintenance burden in half,” he said.

Meanwhile, the 787’s composite and titanium floor structure eliminates the chronic corrosion that aluminum floors routinely show. “We have actually been able to show to the satisfaction of the regulators that the in-service performance of the 777 floor, which also is carbon fiber, has been so outstanding that we no longer have a directed, specific inspection at any point in the life of the airplane, where we have to go in and look at the floor,” said Hale. Rather, 787 operators will get credit for a floor inspection while performing so-called “enhanced zonal” checks covering wiring or brackets, for example. In an aluminum airplane, such as a 767, explained Hale, the majority of the floor needs to undergo inspection every six years, while areas more prone to corrosion get checked every three years.

Although composites fatigue, they do so in a manner and at a level that “basically moves fatigue out of the area of consideration,” said Hale. “It’s not even an issue at the kinds of loads we put into the airplane.” Rather, engineers base sizing of composite structures on the likelihood of accidental damage such as a bird strike, for example, or a wayward jetway.

Boeing believes the 787 will require 54 percent fewer scheduled maintenance hours than the 767 needs over the course of 20 years. Not all of that benefit comes from the use of composites, however. Equally fundamental changes to systems accounts for much of the reduced burden as well. Most notably, perhaps, a move away from hydraulic and pneumatic systems to electric systems with fewer moving parts stand to drop life-cycle costs dramatically, said Hale.

For example, rather than using hot air blown out through a series of ducts onto the leading edge of the wing, the 787’s electrical anti-ice system uses a kind of heating blanket sandwiched between the wing slats and the erosion shield on the front of the slats. While a failure in a pneumatic system generally means an entire wing loses its anti-ice capability, the fact that the 787’s electrical system controls a series of heat zones on the wing’s leading edge means that more often only a small portion of the system will fail.

“In the 787–and really we see this in a lot of areas in electric systems, including brakes and the wing anti-ice systems–when there are failures, they happen in a very compartmentalized and limited fashion because, for example, each slat on the 787 is divided into six electrically heated zones and the most common failure mode is just to lose one sixth of one slat, which the airplane is indifferent to in terms of icing.”

Electric Brakes Less Complex
Meanwhile, benefits derived from the switch to electric brakes include reduced mechanical complexity and the elimination of potential delays associated with leaking hydraulic fluid, for example. Designed to incorporate four independent brake actuators per wheel, the modular system will allow operators to dispatch with one actuator per wheel not working. Another potential benefit includes the electric system’s automatic wear-monitoring function. With a typical hydraulic system, the operator must turn on hydraulic power, send a mechanic into the flight deck to step on the brakes while another mechanic examines a pin at the wheels that shows how much wear has occurred. The 787’s electronic monitoring eliminates that need, although the FAA still hasn’t yet certified the system. “We need a little bit more experience with the system before the FAA will allow us to use that in lieu of physically going down and looking at the brakes, but that’s a good example of eliminating a maintenance item,” said Hale.

“And we’ve got numerous areas where, for example, previously we would have to test a valve operation in the wing anti-ice system functionally; we would have to apply pneumatic power, electric power and hydraulic power on the airplane, and actuate a valve to verify the functionality of a system that’s difficult or impossible to monitor automatically. Now the vast majority of those checks have been automated. They’re completely transparent to the flight crew and if there is a failure we’re detecting it so much sooner than we would on a conventional airplane. We don’t even have to make the pilot aware of it in most cases.”

Of course, the “more-electric” architecture comes with a price–namely, need for a liquid cooling system that itself can need maintenance. The cooling system applies generally to all the high-power electronics on the airplane–essentially all the power conditioning elements, explained Hale. Electrical power entering the airplane from the generators needs conversion into different kinds of power for use by different systems. That level of power conversion for some of the larger loads, such as cabin air compressors and hydraulic motor pumps, generates excessive heat. The cooling system, which essentially pumps fluid through those components, consists of a heat exchanger in the ram-air circuit of the airplane and a pair of redundant pumping systems. Scheduled maintenance consists essentially of replacement of the fluid, while failures of any of the pumps or other components of the system could require unscheduled repairs.

“The way you allow maintenance to go into an airplane is that you have to prove that it’s a positive trade in some other way,” said Hale. “So you’re getting a net benefit somewhere…The good news about the liquid cooling system is that it’s largely transparent to the pilots and even to the mechanics.

So, for example, if you were to change a component in the system–let’s say a large transformer rectifier unit–you can literally change the box the same way you would change an avionics box. It simply slides out of the rack and a new box slides in and all of the liquid connections are integrated into that removal and installation procedure.”

On-Board Maintenance System
The benefits of “transparency” perhaps most plainly reveal themselves in the 787’s on-board maintenance system, largely derived from that used on the 777 but expanded in scope by some 40 percent, said Hale. That expansion of capability encompasses not only faults that require immediate attention, but more of what Hale called “economic-level” faults, which if addressed sooner rather than later can mean the difference between performing a straightforward overnight task and taking an airplane out of service.

Meanwhile, Boeing has integrated its on-board maintenance system with its support information, including items such as the airplane maintenance manual, the airplane fault isolation manual, the structural repair manual, pilot and maintenance logbooks and parts information. With such integration, a mechanic can use a wireless laptop to trace faults, initiate functional tests, access the maintenance manual, load data and essentially have access to all the information and capability he or she needs to compete a particular task.

Hale cited as an example a flashing “generator-on” light but no generator failure. In such a case, the problem could reside with the switch, the light in the switch or perhaps with a loose wire. Of course, the pilot would have to log the problem in his pilot report, which on the 787 gets performed electronically. “The electronic logbook is integrated with the electronic flight bag, so the pilot can actually pull up an image of the flight deck, indicate the area where he saw the problem and link his pilot report with the things that the onboard maintenance system is noticing,” said Hale.

That capability, he explained, proves particularly critical because when a mechanic gets handed a pilot report–historically a hand-scratched piece of paper–often he or she doesn’t get enough information to troubleshoot the problem.

But by linking what the airplane itself knows with what the pilot saw, the system connects two key components. Finally, because of the integration of the support information with the onboard maintenance system, the mechanic can use the laptop computer to link directly from that fault to the fault isolation manual.

From the laptop, the mechanic can initiate functional tests, access the airplane maintenance manual to refer to a particular procedure and load data. “Every piece of support information and every piece of airplane information has been consolidated and made available on this single device, which can be taken outside the airplane, taken right to where the work is being performed,” noted Hale.

“Having worked in the field as a mechanic I know that you’re always running from one place to another, either to the airplane to reference something that the airplane can tell you or back to the library to look up a new procedure that’s been cross-referenced out of the fault isolation manual,” he said. “And you end up doing a lot of jumping around to different locations and different information sources to get all the pieces of a puzzle before you can come to a conclusion to fix an airplane. Our goal was to consolidate all that information into one resource.”

In fact, the 787 maintenance laptop also is capable of controlling circuit breakers, running airplane system tests, rigging flight controls, installing software parts to the airplane and performing many other functions, all remotely via a wireless connection to the aircraft.

Of course, Boeing’s wider goal centers on delivering an airplane that can save its operators time and money, and Hale’s team appears to have done its part and more. Unfortunately, the many delays to first flight have led some of its customers to question to what extent Boeing can, in fact, deliver on its promises. Time will tell for sure when the airplane finally does enter service. Until then, Hale can talk only about the 787-8’s potential and continue work on the -9 while the airlines wait– patiently in some cases, not so patiently in others–for all the technological wizardry to pay dividends.

Boeing battles to keep 747-8 program on track

2009-11-14T07:27:04-05:00

Boeing Commercial Airplanes faced fresh questions over its ability to stick to program timelines again last month. No more than six weeks after 747-8 Intercontinental program head Mo Yahyavi had confidently predicted that the new widebody would enter service as planned, the company announced that it would take a pre-tax charge against third-quarter results of approximately $1 billion “due to increased production costs and the difficult market conditions” associated with the program.

In fact, rather than flying three prototypes of the model’s cargo version by the end of this year, as Yahyavi had predicted in an interview with AIN in late August, the company now says it won’t fly the first airplane until early next year. Schedules now call for first delivery in the fourth quarter of next year, rather than the third, as last anticipated, although first delivery of the passenger version remains slated for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Notwithstanding Boeing’s official explanation, the October 6 announcement left many wondering what had changed in the month and a half since Yahyavi issued glowing reviews of the program’s progress. “At the time we really thought we were on track,” said a Boeing spokesman. “It’s just that once you get into production…you find out about late engineering issues.”

In fact, what CEO James McNerney termed lack of engineering maturity and insufficient engineering resources prompted Boeing to delay the program by six to nine months last November. But like a cancer that has gone into temporary remission, the same dysfunction didn’t fully display its ravages until the middle of this year’s third quarter, once actual production began on the first airplane.

“When we began assembling the first 747-8 Freighter in the third quarter, we encountered significantly more rework and disruption than we expected, both in our Everett factory and our supplier factories,” said the chief executive during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “The root cause is something we talked about in the past. The engineering on this program was late to mature, and that was compounded by the limited availability of engineering resources.”

Earlier in the month a Boeing spokesman added yet another dimension to the explanation when he revealed that “build-up of tolerances between structure designed with older tools and the new design tools caused fit-up issues that have been discovered and are being resolved in the final assembly process.”

In fact, almost two months earlier Yahyavi talked of design changes that proved more radical than originally expected, a factor that relates directly to the “fit-up” issues. “I think when the program started the size of the changes was much smaller than it ended up being,” he said. “We ended up deciding to push the envelope and get better performance out of the airplanes, so we decided to go with a new wing design, and that was not originally in the plan.”

Unfortunate Timing
Meanwhile, McNerney’s revelation that the shortage of engineering resources that led to the program’s first delay also played a part in this latest hiccup clearly meant that the 747-8 continued to pay a price for the 787’s failures. However, McNerney wouldn’t concede that Boeing suffered from an engineering shortage per se, but rather from unfortunate timing.

“I think that the experience we had on the [7]47-8…was more a result of both the [7]87 and the [7]47 reaching their engineering peaks at about the same time even though we originally planned to have the peaks be complementary rather than overlap,” said McNerney. “Because of the delay on the [7]87, that didn’t work out, so our manpower planning was confronted with a different reality than anticipated…It’s more of an issue of reality getting in the way of planning quite frankly, and we’ve got to fix that too; we’ve got to be better at managing surge capacity because things do not always go as planned.”

As of last month, the 747-8 team in Everett, Washington, had assembled more than 90 percent of first Freighter version, said McNerney, and more than 80 percent of the second prototype. “Lessons learned on the assembly of Airplane 1 are being applied to Airplane 3, and the initial join and integration has improved noticeably, with assembly now about 75 percent complete,” he said. McNerney added, “We are operating with better discipline on the 747-8 Intercontinental, the passenger model, where development is progressing well.” By late last month engineers had released 75 percent of the Intercontinental’s drawings, he said.

In fact, it seems clear now that the 747-8’s problems never really involved the Intercontinental’s engineering. In late August, the 747-8 team had delivered 100 percent of the Intercontinental’s drawing releases on time for 35 straight weeks, placing that project a month and a half ahead of schedule, said the program leader. By the third week in October, that record had risen to 42 weeks in a row, according to a Boeing spokesman. “This is unheard of,” said Yahyavi. “This is a very, very rigorous, yet well-disciplined process that we follow and it gets everybody involved and engaged…and so we are at a point where we have completed our critical design review on the Intercontinental basically three weeks ahead of plan.”

By last month Boeing had begun work on the program’s eighth airframe and, according to McNerney, plans for first flight of the first prototype remained on schedule for early next year. The company still plans a nine-month flight test program, culminating with entry into service with launch customer Cargolux during next year’s fourth quarter.

New Wing, New Engine
Based on the supercritical airfoil design used on the 787, the 747-8’s new wings feature simpler, double-slotted flaps, composite spoilers, ailerons and lower rudder, raked wingtips and fly-by-wire control features. Boeing expects the combination of the new wing and the sole-source General Electric GEnx engines adapted for
the 747-8 will allow the new freighter to carry 23 more tons– up to 154–than the standard 747-400F or fly up to 1,400 nm farther–4,390 nm–in lower cargo density environments.

It will also offer 16 percent more revenue cargo volume, allowing it to hold seven more standard containers, meet QC2 noise requirements for takeoff and landing and conserve ton-mile costs at a rate of 16 percent. Next year Boeing plans to use its second flight-test airplane to perform nautical air miles (NAMS) tests to determine exactly how far the airplane will fly per pound of fuel.

By the start of October the 747-8 freighter had drawn firm orders for 78 units from the likes of Cargolux, Korean Air, Emirates, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Guggenheim, Atlas Air Cargo, Nippon Cargo, Cathay Pacific and Volga Dnepr.

Confident of Intercontinental
The Intercontinental, meanwhile, had still drawn just a single firm airline order for 20 examples from Lufthansa and seven VIP variants–mainly from Middle East customers. But Yahyavi dismissed any notion that Boeing’s decision to use a common-sized airframe in the passenger and cargo versions rather than pursue the original plan to build a slightly shorter, longer-range Intercontinental had hurt the airplane’s prospects.

Yahyavi insisted that it remains only a matter of time before the orders start flowing for the 467-seat Intercontinental, which, according to Boeing’s calculations, will offer 13-percent lower seat costs and 28-percent more cargo volume than today’s 747-400. “We are actively involved with several customers on the Intercontinental airplane,” said Yahyavi, who, while not inclined to identify specific candidates, did confirm that Emirates Airline hadn’t joined the list at the time.

“Actually I think the sizing of the aircraft is perfect,” he noted. “Like I said, it’s a niche market. There’s nothing out there that can carry 400 to 500 passengers with an 8,000-nautical-mile range. This is the right airplane, the right product; there are lots of airlines that need these. We have done our homework, and based on that decided to launch this program. I know that when the market is back everything is going to go better than is happening now as far as orders.”

Although Yahyavi expressed full confidence that the Intercontinental can complete its flight-test program in nine months, Boeing had established a similar time frame for the Freighter–on which, he admitted, “we are going to have, let’s say, challenges…and we’re gong to be very busy on it. But for the Intercontinental the majority of the structures are going to remain the same.”

Meanwhile, both versions will benefit from an effort to shave 3,500 pounds from the 970,000-pound maximum gross weight airframe. Boeing had identified and approved specific targeted items and began implementing the program late this past summer, according to a company spokes- man. “This is like any development program; your first article airplanes are slightly heavier than you want them to be,” conceded Yahyavi. “At this point we are working with our suppliers. For example, one of our suppliers– [GE subsidiary] Middle River, which makes our thrust reversers– is coming up with some really good ideas for weight reduction and we are working with them to apply those.” One of those ideas involved switching from a steel to an aluminum ring. Asked about possible changes to materials used in other parts of the 747-8 to lighten the structure, Yahyavi confirmed, “There are a few of those examples going on right now.”