Farnborough Airshow News 07-14-14

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MONDAY 7.14.14 Farnborough

Farnborough Airshow News

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Engines

UAV Special Report

Aviation Art

ISR Platforms

Air Transport

CFM Leaps into Testing

Market Set to Explode

New Twist on Old Wind Tunnels

Scorpion Lands at Farnborough

MRJ Headed for Finish Line

As preparations for first flights of the CFM Leap 1A turbofan continue, CFM announced an order from American Airlines for 200 engines to power 100 A320neo models. Pages 18, 82

The market for unmanned aircraft systems weighing less than 20 pounds is poised to grow rapidly, but there are many regulatory constraints that need to be addressed. Page 20

Celebrate British aerospace heritage with a visit to the old Royal Aircraft Establishment wind tunnels, which have been converted into a creative audio/ visual experience. Page 49

Textron AirLand’s Scorpion crossed the Atlantic flying the Blue Spruce routes to Scotland, followed by a visit to RIAT in Fairford before joining the Textron static display at FIA14. Page 56

Mitsubishi Aircraft’s MRJ is preparing for launch of flight test activities following delivery of the regional jet’s Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1200G engines in June. Page 83

‘dream-niner’

Boeing barrages Airbus using 787-9 for ammo

by Charles Alcock Debuting its new 787-9 widebody here at the Farnborough International Airshow yesterday, Boeing fired off an aggressive opening salvo against its rival, Airbus. According to the U.S. airframer’s marketing vice president Randy Tinseth, if Airbus goes ahead with its anticipated launch of the re-engined A330neo this week it will prove that its A350 program is a failure.

“The A350-800 has failed, the -1000 has failed and all they have is a one-trick pony with the -900,” Tinseth told reporters. “The A330 was withdrawn 10 years ago because it couldn’t compete with the

[Boeing] 777. The A350 has failed with the same engine [that] Airbus is proposing to use for the A330neo.”

Boeing believes that the extension of its 787 family to include the larger, longer-range -9 and, eventually, -10 models, as well as last year’s launch of the 777X, will allow it to combat the A350, as well as any new version of the A330. “We have raised questions for the competition on what they do with the A330 and the A350-1000, if it keeps failing to sell,” said Tinseth. “They also have to answer the question as to what they are going to do about the A380. We will have the most

capability no matter what they do.”

Air New Zealand took delivery of the first of 10 Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787-9s last Wednesday and eventually it will receive the example on display here at Farnborough, which for now is equipped as a flight test platform. The aircraft completed certification last month with 330-minute ETOPS approval.

The -9 is six meters (almost 20 feet) longer than the -8 and can carry up to 280 passengers (versus 242). Maximum range for the new model is 8,300 nm (compared with 7,750 nm). The -10 model, which is due to enter service in 2018, is another six meters longer, with space for 323 passengers and a range of 7,000 nm. “The -9 is mainly a growth vehicle for airlines that will largely replace the A340 and older 777s,” said Tinseth.

Continued on page 85 u

MARK WAGNER

MARK WAGNER

The appearance of Boeing’s 787-9 upgraded Dreamliner here is serving as fodder for the U.S. company to attack its primary rival, Airbus.

For now, only a model of the F-35 is on display at FIA14.

Farnborough F-35 debut doubtful, but still possible

by Chris Pocock The Lockheed Martin F-35 may yet show up here, but the odds were still against it yesterday, as AIN went to press.

A senior Pentagon official said Thursday that all F-35 engines had been inspected and no faults

Continued on page 85 u

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MARK WAGNER

Here at Farnborough, Bombardier displays the liveries of its CSeries customers. As testing is about to resume following an engine fire, company officials downplayed concern over the reliability of the type’s Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans.

Bombardier retains its trust in P&W

by Gregory Polek programs are supposed to find snags. We’re comfortable it has been found and that Pratt is addressing it.”

Although he confirmed that the engine failure caused manageable damage to the fuselage of the airplane, Arcamone declined to specify the precise source of the engine problem or identify a precise timeframe for the airplane’s return to flight testing. “[Pratt & Whitney] has made a modification; they are validating the modification; so I would leave it up to Pratt to give you the details

of what the modification [entails],” said Arcamone.

“It’s their engine. I won’t speak on their behalf.”

He continued to insist that the incident will not result in

Airshow News

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p-8’s little brother Using elements from the P-8 Poseiden, Boeing developed a “lite” version–this maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA), based on a Challenger 604.

4 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

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MARK WAGNER

As Bombardier readies to resume flying its CSeries CS100 test aircraft in “the coming weeks,” it remains confident in Pratt & Whitney’s ability to deliver on its commercial promises that the airplane’s PW1500G geared turbofans will perform at the level and with the reliability both companies expected.

Speaking with AIN on the eve of the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft CEO Mike Arcamone insisted that he harbors no animosity toward P&W, notwithstanding the disruption the May 29 uncontained failure of one of the GTFs on the CSeries’ first flight test vehicle (FTV1) undeniably caused.

“We only have one partner, and we’ve chosen Pratt,” said Arcamone. “So in partnerships you sometimes get these types of issues but you’ve got to behave as a partner. Pratt is being transparent with us.

It tests our partnership but I can tell you they’ve been very responsive.”

Arcamone noted that CSeries customers have expressed virtually unanimous support for Bombardier’s choice for the CSeries, and that in no way has the engine incident damaged the credibility of the program.

“When we talked to our customers, the feedback was ‘you’re expected to find issues when you’re doing a flight test’,” claimed Arcamone. “Flight test

any change to the plan that calls for certification in the second half of 2015.

The head of one CSeries customer–Russia’s Ilyushin Finance Company (IFC)–told AIN just before the show that fire broke out after oil supply lines had leaked and that he expected the incident to result in further delays to the program. “I think this mishap will cause postponements of aircraft deliveries,” said IFC general manager Alexander Roubtsov. “At this point it is difficult to predict the exact timing. [However], I believe the postponement will be limited to several months.”

Since launching the program in 2008, Bombardier has announced no fewer than four separate delays to the CSeries, the most recent of which shifted expected certification from September 2014 to the second half of 2015, giving the company a six-month window in which to accomplish its goal. Originally expected to gain certification by the end of last year, the CSeries experienced several delays to first flight before finally taking to the air last September. o

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Red Arrows Mark Birthday With Rare Formation

Katsuhiko Tokunaga

The Red Arrows teamed up with four of their European counterparts for this unique formation, flown last Friday over the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford. Britain’s finest are celebrating the Red Arrows’ 50th anniversary this year. They were joined over the Cotswold countryside by the leaders of four other teams appearing at RIAT: the Breitling Jet Team (L-39 Albatros); Italy’s Frecce Tricolore (MB-339); Patrouille de France (Alpha Jet); and Patrouille Suisse (F-5E).

Spectators were admitted to RIAT on a Friday for the first time, for a Red Arrows ‘Pit Day’ where they could get up close and personal with the red-painted Hawk T.1 jets and their pilots. Joining them was HRH The Prince of Wales, who paid a short visit to the flight line. The Reds will also be flying at Farnborough on Friday through Sunday this week, despite a hiccup during their validation here last Wednesday, when one of the jets suffered a bird strike.

The Red Arrows were formed in 1964 and flew their first displays the following year. They flew the diminutive Folland Gnat jet trainer until 1980, when they re-equipped with the BAe Hawks. During that time, 150 pilots have worn the distinctive red flying suits; there have been 21 team leaders. The current ‘Red 1’ is Squadron Leader Jim Turner, a former Jaguar pilot who first flew with the team in 2005-07 and rejoined as the boss in 2012. The team has flown more than 4,600 displays in 55 countries during its history. Supporting the team are about 85 engineers and 30 other RAF personnel. –C.P.

Among the good news for Russian Helicopters, Iraq’s air force has placed an order for the Mi-28NE attack helicopter, produced by Russian Helicopters subsidiary Rostvertol.

Russian helo firm ‘highly innovative’

by Vladimir Karnozov Russian Helicopters is stepping up efforts to strengthen its base of international partners. The move is in part driven by the fact that it can no longer count on Ukrainian engine suppliers Motor-Sich and IvchenkoProgress in the wake of ongoing political tensions.

Alexander Mikheyev, the group’s general manager, said that international airshows, such as Farnborough 2014, present a convenient opportunity to hold meetings and discussions with Russian Helicopters’ European partners, including Turbomeca

and AgustaWestland, that have been deeply involved in various industrial programs on Russian soil.

The group is a holding company uniting all Russian design houses and manufacturing plants specializing in rotorcraft. It reported 2013 revenues of 138.3 billion rubles ($4.1 billion), representing a 10-percent increase over the previous year. This is despite the fact that the 275 deliveries last year were 15 aircraft fewer than in.

Nine different types were shipped to customers in 10 countries.

“Our main goal now is to actualize some new projects whose

foundations have been laid during the past few years,” said Mikheyev. “We consider Rus­sian Helicopters to be a highly innovative company.”

The company said it is not concerned about the threat of economic sanctions by the U.S. and European Union against Russian aerospace firms. “So far the threat of sanctions has not created a real base for would-be disruption of earlier concluded contracts. This applies to state defense orders, civil helicopters and contracts involving military technical cooperation with other countries,”

8 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Mikheyev said. “Our European partners have been following the contractual terms and fulfilling their contractual obligations.

In particular, this applies to the engines supplied by Turbomeca of France and various items from other European vendors.”

The Russian government has developed measures to locate substitutes for imported end-user products and vendor items. The immediate solution for replacing the Ukrainian-made TV3117 turboshaft-series engines is to increase output of the vastly similar VK2500 at Russia’s Klimov company in St. Petersburg.

The smaller AI-450 turboshaft from Ukraine can be replaced with Austrian-built piston and diesel engines.

In the long term, French-built engines are also seen as a solution. Turbomeca’s Arrius 2G1 turboshaft has been selected to power the Kamov Ka-226 and the Ardiden 3G for the Ka-62.

The RTM322 is being considered for the high-speed Russian Advanced Commercial Helicopter (Rachel) and can also be fitted onto the Mi-17/Mi-35.

Italy’s AgustaWestland is seen as a potential strategic partner on light helicopters. “It is not that easy for us to pursue national lightweight rotorcraft programs [on our own], partly because the Mil and Kamov design houses are loaded to capacity with other projects. We [would do well to] turn foreign competitors into partners,” Mikheyev explained.

A company called Helivert is already assembling the AW139 in Russia under a joint venture between Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland.

“We need to keep our traditional market sectors,” Mikheyev continued. “In terms of money, we hold 14 percent of the world’s market share for rotorcraft. Our goal for the next two-to-three years is to increase to 18-to-20 percent and to develop platforms and products that will ride the tide of success. As for lightweight rotorcraft, we need to focus on a union with a global maker.”

Rostvertol Anniversary

On July 1, Russian Helicopters subsidiary Rostvertol marked its 75th anniversary. For the past 58 years, the factory at Rostov-on-Don has been producing a variety of Mil helicopters, including the Mi-35, the Mi-28M and the Mi-26T. The Mi-45M multifunction strike helicopter, along with the earlier Mi-24 version, is in service with the Russian military and also has enjoyed export success. The Mi-28N is a modern attack helicopter and the first overseas order for the Mi-28NE export version has come from the Iraqi air force.

The Mi-26T heavylifter features a glass cockpit that has allowed operators to reduce crew numbers from the usual five to just two. A version offering roundthe-clock capability has been designated as the Mi-26T2. o

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SEE US AT FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW 2014

To mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings this year, the RAF painted on a Eurofighter Typhoon the invasion stripes that were used to distinguish allied aircraft in 1944.

striking moving targets. Using only MMW guidance, “the pilot could launch six against a swarm of static and moving vehicles with only one button-push,” said Martin. “We’ve perfected the algorithms,” he added.

ALAN WARNES

Contracts Awaited

Typhoon achieves multi-role status with Phase 1 enhancements package

by Alan Warnes and Chris Pocock Multi-role functionality has been a long time coming for the Eurofighter Typhoon. But the four-nation industrial consortium building the combat jet says the Phase 1 Enhancements (P1E) package that is now entering service represents a “paradigm shift” in capability.

The commander of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon force, Air Cmdr. Gary Waterfall, said the new package allows the RAF to drop 500-pound Paveway IV “smart” bombs “at the moment of our choosing, on targets of our choosing, with a multitude of fuse settings, impact angles and arrivals.”

Laurie Hilditch, Eurofighter GmbH future capabilities manager, added, “The operator may

want to use all six Paveway IVs during an attack mission–to hit a bomb dump, air traffic control [ATC], hangars and vehicles all in one pass. If the pilot receives a ‘launch acceptable region’ instruction in the cockpit advising him the targets are in range, one bomb could go straight down the chimney of the bomb-dump; the ATC can be hit with another bomb at a certain angle; and the radar taken out with an air burst.”

The P1E package also includes integration of the 2,000-pound EGBU-16 Paveway II bomb, has adjustable fuse settings for the bombs after takeoff and includes functional enhancements to the Litening II laser designator pod. The package

also incorporates a complete revision of the human-machine interface (HMI) for better pilot situational awareness, based on experience gained by the RAF during Operation Unified Protector over Libya in 2011.

The package is being introduced in two stages: P1Ea is now certified and was introduced on Tranche 2 RAF Typhoons in late 2013. Meanwhile, for P1Eb, flight tests have been completed and it will enter service in the next 6 to 12 months.

A separate set of improvements, known as Evolution Package 2 (EP2), was contracted by the four Eurofighter partner nations last October. They include an upgrade to the Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS),

This RAF Typhoon carries Raytheon Paveway IV laser-guided 500-pound bombs, as well as a full suite of air-to-air weapons.

12 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

interoperability updates to the Multifunction and Distribution Systems (MIDS) and modifications to the jet’s current Captor-M radar to allow firing of the MBDA Meteor BeyondVisual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM).

Potent Combination

At a briefing during the ILA Berlin Airshow in May, two former RAF fighter pilots described the potency of the Meteor/Typhoon combination.

Paul Smith, capability manager, Eurofighter, said the jet’s thrustto-weight ratio provides the energy needed to give the Meteor “maximum throw.” Russ Martin, air weapons advisor, MBDA, said the Meteor has “stunning kinematics…unlike other missiles, it doesn’t decelerate after the boost phase. It turns most of its fuel into energy at the target intercept phase. This gives a very large no-escape zone–three times the size of other BVRAAMs,” he claimed. The Eurofighter can carry six Meteors, plus two shortrange infrared-guided AAMs. At the same briefing, Smith and Martin also looked forward to the integration of two more MBDA air-surface weapons on the Eurofighter. The Storm Shadow standoff missile “can penetrate highly defended targets,” said Smith. “The stealth is in the weapon, which minimizes the risk to pilot and aircraft,” he added. “It’s very effective against C3I, airfields, SAMs, bunkers, bridges and industrial targets,” he added.

Martin also described how the Brimstone weapon, with its dual-mode seeker (millimeter wave and semi-active laser), reduces pilot workload while increasing the likelihood of

Despite the promises, the partner nations have not yet given Eurofighter a contract for the integration of the Storm Shadow or Brimstone weapons.

They form part of the proposed Phase 2 Enhancements (P2E) package. More details may emerge during the Farnborough Airshow this week but, in the meantime, the consortium is believed to be using its own money, plus funding from Saudi Arabia, to move forward with the Storm Shadow integration.

The weapon has flown on a Eurofighter in Italy and another Eurofighter has now flown about 18 times from Manching with the equivalent German weapon, the KEPD-350 Taurus.

At the same time, contract award is still under consideration for the E-scan version of the Captor radar, despite Eurofighter’s best efforts to persuade the partner nations that this is essential for the export market. However, one instrumented production aircraft (IPA5) has now received the structural and systems modifications needed for E-Scan radar testing by BAE Systems in the UK. At Manching, meanwhile, Airbus Defence and Space is preparing IPA8 to fly by the end of the year with the necessary modifications.

Meanwhile, the first five Typhoons from the Tranche 3 production order are now flying at BAE’s Warton facility. They have provisions for the E-Scan radar, conformal fuel tanks and other envisaged improvements. But the RAF is in no rush to receive them.

Air Cmdr. Waterfall explained, “These ‘future-proofed’ aircraft may be coming off the production line, but I want to protect them so that we can reach the projected out-of-service date, which is not until 2030.”

There is increasing speculation the RAF Tranche 3s will be flown into storage at RAF Scampton for the time being. o

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Flare dispenser trials culminated in this spectacular full flare jettison test of the Airbus A400M.

Airbus Military gearing up to deliver RAF’s first A400M

by David Donald Airbus Defence and Space Military Aircraft is scheduled to deliver the first of 22 A400M airlifters to the Royal Air Force in September. The delivery of aircraft MSN15 not only will mark the start of operations by a third country, but also represents the introduction of new capabilities as an important step along the type’s development roadmap. To get those capabilities into service has necessitated an intensive flight-trial campaign in the first part of this year.

By mid-June Airbus had delivered two A400Ms to the French air force and one to Turkey. Another four French aircraft and one Turkish are in the process of delivery or the final stages of test and assembly. This first batch of aircraft is cleared for a basic logistic mission (initial operational clearance) that allows the aircraft to perform the strategic airlift mission. French aircraft have already been involved in the French intervention in Mali last December, and have transported helicopters to French Guiana in South America.

With the first British aircraft, MSN15, comes an initial tactical operating capability (also known as SOC1), which allows paratroops to jump from either

ramp or side doors, and permits the use of the RAS/Wedge aerial delivery system. The latter involves loads being delivered from a special frame that allows them to be carried on the rear loading-ramp and dropped through the upper door. With these clearances in place, the A400M can deliver both paratroops and support equipment in a single drop.

Other elements of the initial tactical capability include combat vehicle offloading and an initial clearance for operations from unpaved runways. There are also some systems improvements, and the aircraft have a tactical communications management system. While the RAF is the first to get new-build aircraft in this configuration, the initial batch of French aircraft

from the rear ramp using this method. In May a series of air drops was conducted of up to 12 bundles delivered from the paratroop doors to extend the aircraft’s capabilities yet further.

Other elements of the requirement were cleared last year, including operations from unpaved runways down to a rating of CBR11, performed at Ablitas in Spain, and combat vehicle offloading that was undertaken at Boscombe Down in the UK. The aircraft was also cleared for the use of night-vision goggles and the enhanced-vision system in both low-level and formation flight.

RAF air and ground crew are already preparing for the arrival of the A400M, with pilots currently in training at the Sevilla-based international training center. In May the UK national training center at Brize Norton was officially opened, although the newly built building was available for use as of March. Designed, built and operated by a joint venture between Airbus and Thales, the UK NTC is scheduled to begin ab initio courses for aircrew from next April.

Several elements are already in place and in use, including the computer-based training and CMOS (cockpit maintenance operating system) maintenance trainer. The loadmaster workstation trainer is undergoing final tests, and the first of two full-motion flight simulators has been installed and is awaiting acceptance. A second simulator is due to be installed in 2016, as well as a cargo-hold trainer.

is also likely to be brought up to this standard at an early stage.

In order to clear the aircraft for initial tactical capability the Airbus flight-test team has been extremely busy, particularly with air-drop tests.

Paratroop test campaigns were conducted in January at Zaragoza, Spain, and in April at Fonsorbes, France, and later in Turkey. Further trials leading up to final qualification with a stick of 58 paratroops are due to be completed before the end of next month.

RAS/Wedge tests were undertaken in February and March at Fonsorbes, clearing the A400M to deliver up to 4 metric tons

Further Capability

While the focus of this year’s trials was in clearing the initial tactical capability for the RAF, the test team is pursuing an intensive campaign to move the aircraft to what is termed the “2015 configuration” (SOC1.5), due to be introduced in the middle of next year with MSN32.

Key elements of this standard include initial air-to-air refueling capability, air drop of loads from the rear ramp, combat offload of pallets and the implementation of the full defensive aids subsystem (DASS). Further capabilities to be added after SOC1.5 in 2016 to 2018 are mostly software-driven changes to the flight management system.

In connection with DASS trials, the flare dispenser system was

Airbus A400M MSN4 undertakes trials of the RAS/Wedge air-drop delivery system.

16 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Continued on page 18 u

CFM Leap testing now in full swing

In March, the new Safran Aerospace Composites plant in Rochester, New Hampshire, was inaugurated. Already ramping up production of composites fan blades, it is leading the way as a sister factory is being built in Commercy, France.

Safran (Snecma’s parent company) has partnered with Albany Engineered Composites (Hall 4 Stand G14), a U.S. specialist in 3-D-woven composites based on carbon fibers. In each factory, Albany is in charge of the fiber weaving and resin injection, while Safran takes care of the remaining steps in the process–machining, bonding and inspections.

To fine-tune the production process, Safran and Albany manufactured more than 600 fan blades in 2013. About 30,000 are planned to be produced annually by 2019 for the 1,700 Leaps or so to be produced that year–11 miles of carbon fiber is needed to weave a Leap fan blade.

The CFM56 will be produced until 2019, at least­ –the final year depending on customer demand, Goubet said. o

by Thierry Dubois

Flying Testbeds

By the end of the summer, two Boeing 747 flying test beds will carry a Leap-1A and a Leap-1C, respectively. GE will operate them from Victorville, California. The two engines will first have been fired up on a GE ground test bench in Peebles, Ohio. A fifth engine, a Leap-1A, is due to start crosswind tests in Peebles in the coming weeks. “We are entering the most intense phase of the test plan,” Goubet stressed.

Both the -1A and the -1C are pegged for certification in 2015, immediately before their flights on the A320neo and the C919.

For the -1B, CFM expects certification in 2016, just prior to the first flight of a 737 Max. Meanwhile, the company has created a scale–ranging from 1 to 8–to measure the “manufacturing readiness level,” comparable to the well known “technology readiness level” in research and development. “MRL 6 is the minimum maturity to commit to

production,” Goubet explained.

MRL 8 corresponds to an entry into service.

In addition, stress tests are being organized to simulate a “run-at-rate” production. These tests take place at Snecma, GE and supplier factories. “We’ll be better prepared than ever,” claimed Goubet.

In final assembly, the socalled pulse line, already used for the CFM56, will also be used for the Leap. “The first Leaps will be assembled on fixed stations; transitioning to the pulse line will take 18 to 24 months,” Goubet said. On a pulse line, the engine moves at regular time intervals.

In April, Snecma signed a procurement contract with Mecachrome (Hall 4 Stand C17) for titanium-aluminide (TiAl) blades on the Leap’s low-pressure turbine. Located at Mecachrome’s plant in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, France, the

Airbus gears up to deliver A400M uContinued from page 16

certified in March after a series of tests culminated in a full flare jettison trial. The radar-warning receiver is scheduled to be approved around the end of the year, for MSN21 or 22, and the missile warning system (MWS) thereafter. A series of background recording missions has been flown in conjunction with the MWS clearance campaign.

The Leap-1B, set to power the Boeing 737 Max, ran for the first time in mid-June.

Eleven miles of carbon fiber is needed to weave a single Leap fan blade.

new production line will require an investment of €60 million ($83 million). Volume production is to kick off in 2015, with a sharp ramp-up as soon as 2016, on the way to achieving the planned production rate of one blade every three minutes in 2019.

TiAl is a new-generation material that can withstand very high temperatures (up to 750 degrees Celsius). It will halve the weight of a blade, compared to the nickel-based alloys traditionally used in low-pressure turbines, according to Snecma.

For air-to-air refueling the A400M has begun wet contact trials with a Spanish Hornet receiver, Airbus having finalized the wing pod nacelle strake configuration in April. As a receiver, the A400M has undergone more than 60 contacts with a Transall C160 tanker, and has just embarked on a campaign receiving from an RAF A330 Voyager tanker. This fall the A400M will begin a series of air-drop trials with both gravity drops and parachute-extracted drops from the rear ramp, including

extracted loads of up to 16 ­metric tons.

Since the aircraft’s first flight on Dec. 11, 2009, the Airbus A400M fleet had racked up 6,343 hours in 2,278 flights by the end of May. MSN1 has been retired, and MSN3 is due to be grounded in October.

Although no longer used for tests, it has been retained for a few months to assist with customer training. MSN4 is at the Sevilla-San Pablo site in Spain, while MSNs 2 and 6 are based at Toulouse, France.

18 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

The RAF is due to receive four A400Ms this year. This is the second aircraft (MSN16) in the final stages of assembly in Sevilla-San Pablo, Spain.

DAVID DONALD

By the end of the year, CFM (Outside Exhibit 22) plans to have put together and tested around 20 Leap-1A/ B/C turbofans, in preparation for their first flights next year and in 2016 on their respective application airframes. The Franco-American engine manufacturer is also gearing up for a swift production rampup, planned to reach an annual 1,700 engines by the end of the decade. The Leap will power the Airbus A320neo (Leap1A), the Boeing 737 Max (Leap-1B) and Comac C919 (Leap-1C) narrowbodies.

“We are in an acceleration phase,” executive v-p Cédric Goubet told AIN. On June 13 at Snecma’s Villaroche, France development and production facility, the Leap-1B ran for the first time and reached full takeoff thrust a few days later.

On a neighboring test bench, a Leap-1A was approaching the “triple redline” test, where the fan’s and the high-pressure spool rotation speeds are taken to their maximum, simultaneously with the exhaust gas temperature. The triple redline test is itself a way to get ready for block test and endurance evaluations this fall. “Our tests are on schedule,” Goubet said.

By mid-June Airbus DS had two aircraft in the delivery process (MSNs 10 and 11), with another 13 on the final assembly line at Sevilla-San Pablo.

Among them are the first five for the UK (MSNs 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21), the first aircraft for Germany (MSN18), which is due for delivery in November, and the first for Malaysia (MSN22), which is due for January. Beyond those aircraft another 20 were in various stages of production or assembly, and long-lead items were in procurement for a further nine, taking the total to 52. Airbus plans to deliver 11 this year and 22 or 23 next year.

Currently, 174 aircraft are under contract for the seven European launch nations, plus export customer Malaysia. Airbus is currently responding to eight or nine RFI/RFPs and has set itself a target of signing up at least one more export customer by the end of this year, with the ultimate aim of selling 300 to 400 over the next 30 years. Following a visit to the Middle East last year, during which vehicle loading was demonstrated in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the A400M has recently been on a sales tour to Mexico. The aircraft also appeared at the KADEX show at Astana in Kazakhstan. o

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Market for small UAVs attracts professionals and hobbyists alike Perhaps mindful of the controversy in the U.S. over commercial UAS restrictions, Parrot employees staffing the company’s exhibit said the Bebop is intended for consumer use. But Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux, speaking to reporters a few days earlier at the Small Unmanned Systems Business Expo in San Francisco, California, reportedly said that he envisions architects, real estate agents and filmmakers finding the Bebop useful (see report at Dronelife.com).

One small UAS designed for commercial use out of the box is the eBee, a 1.5pound flying wing developed by senseFly of Cheseaux-Lausanne, Switzerland. Parrot acquired a majority interest in the company, a spinoff of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), in 2012.

The hand-launched and self-landing eBee is constructed of EPP foam and carbon fiber, with detachable wings. It can fly for 45 minutes to a radio-link range of 3 km (1.86 miles), driven by a LiPo battery-powered pusher propeller. The bird-like vehicle comes with a 12 megapixel Canon S110 NIR (near infrared) still camera as standard with various sensor options, each one “electronically integrated” in the aircraft’s autopilot.

The NIR band is “the region where high plant reflectance occurs,” supporting precision agriculture functions such as crop monitoring and calculating yield. SenseFly also advertises the eBee for surveying, mining and environmental management applications, and reports that several U.S. universities and the Ohio Department of Transportation are using it. The Parrot group company provides ground-station software that runs on a tablet computer and post-flight photogrammetry software that processes aerial imagery to 2-D maps and three-dimensional models.

The police in Mesa County, Colorado, are among the U.S. pioneers in

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Consumer electronics manufacturers, former toy and hobby suppliers, research university spinoffs and major aerospace companies are among the entities vying for a share of the simmering commercial market for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) generally weighing less than 20 pounds. They are advancing numerous fixed- and rotary-wing designs, some of which were displayed at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2014 conference in May and others elsewhere. Following is a description of some, although by no means all, of the ­recent showings: Paris-based consumer electronics developer Parrot, exhibiting for the first time at the AUVSI show, introduced its in-development Bebop quadcopter, essentially a

flying 14-megapixel “fish-eye” camera that also records and streams 1080p HD video.

A three-axis image stabilization system fixes the angle of the view whatever the inclination of the aircraft and its movements caused by wind turbulence, Parrot says.

Weighing all of 14 ounces, the ABS-plastic reinforced Bebop can be flown either by an optional, yoke-like “Skycontroller” handset with a mounted tablet computer display or simply by a smartphone or the tablet alone. An HDMI port in the Skycontroller allows the user to plug in multimedia head-mounted displays such as the Oculus Rift, Zeiss Cinemizer, Epson Moverio or Sony Personal Viewer for “first person vision” of what the flying camera sees. With an embedded global navigation satellite system chipset, the Bebop can fly to userdefined waypoints; a “return home” function brings it back to its takeoff point. One limiting factor is that the Bebop’s lithium polymer (LiPo) battery keeps its rotors turning for just 12 minutes.

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Parrot chief engineer Francois Callou displays the company’s new Bebop quadcopter at the Unmanned Systems Conference.

Baptiste Tripard, senseFly business development manager, shows off the company’s eBee flying wing at the Unmanned Systems conference.

20 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

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by Bill Carey

Todd Steiner, Trimble imaging business marketing director, displays the company’s UX5 flying wing.

using small UAS for law enforcement–the county’s public works department plans to begin flying the Trimble UX5 flying wing for aerial surveying. Similar in appearance to the eBee, the UX5, at 5.5 pounds, is heavier and faster, with a more powerful 700 W pusher-propeller motor. The catapult-launched airplane, constructed of EPP foam and carbon frame structure, has a communication and control range of 3.1 miles and 50 minutes’ endurance.

It is a successor to the Gatewing X100 platform that came with Trimble Navigation’s acquisition of the Belgian company Gatewing in 2012.

Branded as an “aerial imaging rover,” the UX5, equipped with the 16.1 megapixel Sony NEX-5R mirrorless APS-C digital camera, provides surveyors and other “geospatial professionals” with photogrammetric data over several square kilometers in less than an hour. The operator programs the aircraft using the Trimble Yuma tablet computer, and it flies overlapping parallel sweeps of a predefined area. Trimble’s Business Center software processes the data to produce geometrically corrected “orthophotos,” contour maps, 3-D digital surface models and other “deliverables.”

Trimble Navigation, based in Sunnyvale, California, started shipping the UX5 for surveyors and mapping professionals in June 2013 and this January incorporated the aircraft within its agricultural product offerings. In combination with the earlier Gatewing model, “hundreds” have been sold in Europe, Canada, China and Latin America, said Todd Steiner, the company’s imaging business marketing director.

PrecisionHawk, with locations in Toronto, Canada; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Noblesville, Indiana, supplies the more conventional Lancaster Mark III, a three-pound, fixed-wing airplane with integrated sensor suite. The company started life in 2010 as WineHawk Labs with Bob Young, co-founder of software company Red Hat, as its first investor. It rebranded itself to PrecisionHawk in May 2013. “The change in company name…reflects a change in focus from

specifically viticulture to broader agriculture, where there is a great need for precise data collection and cost-effective platforms for farmers and surveyors,” it explained at the time.

The Lancaster carries a range of sensors, including high-resolution RGB (red/green/ blue) camera, multispectral, thermal infrared, light detection and ranging (Lidar) and hyperspectral. A water kit comes with a set of floats that enable the plane to take off from a lake surface and fly to a particular site, land and taxi to specific coordinates, collect a water sample and return. As of May, the Lancaster was flying in the U.S. under certificates of authorization (COAs) the Federal Aviation Administration granted to Kansas State, North Carolina State and Texas A&M universities. It was also flying in Canada, and PrecisionHawk reported interest in Australia, Europe and South America.

Bridging the Gap Small UAS developers are bridging the gap between airplanes and helicopters with hybrid air vehicles. Aurora Flight Sciences’ 2.2-pound Skate, which the company supplied to the U.S. military in Afghanistan, is an airfoil-shaped structure with fins and propellers. It is both a fixed-wing and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) platform. “Independently articulating motor pods allow the Skate UAS to rapidly transition between vertical and horizontal flight,” said Manassas, Virginia-based Aurora. “The thrust vectoring provided by the motor pods also enables extreme maneuverability and rapid navigation of congested environments, such as city streets and urban canyons.” Skate either flies autonomously to waypoints or by “fly-the-camera” piloting using a hand controller. It carries electro-optical, infrared, high-definition video and laser illumination pods.

Arcturus UAV of Rohnert Park, California, unveiled the Jump VTOL system

Arcturus UAV

UNMANNED Aircraft & Systems

Arcturus Jump VTOL system

conversion of its T-16 and T-20 fixed-wing aircraft in April, and then announced a larger Jump-25 development at the Unmanned Systems Conference. The system is based on “hybrid quadrotor” technology from Latitude Engineering of Tucson, Arizona, managed in transition by a Cloud Cap Technology Piccolo autopilot.

Booms fitted with vertical lift motors and rotors are mounted to each wing to provide vertical lift for takeoff and landing. “Vertical lift motors are shut off for winged flight and

Fixed-wing designs have been miniaturized and optimized for remote-controlled missions, but it is multi-rotor helicopters that rule the small UAS roost. Companies are developing and producing numerous rotorcraft designs for applications that include farming, law enforcement and inspection of powerlines, pipelines, flare stacks and even airliners– as announced in May by UK carrier easyJet. At the high end of agricultural applications, perhaps the largest growth market for UAS, motorsport giant Yamaha seeks to reproduce in the U.S. the success it has had in Japan with the 207-pound RMax crop-dusting helicopter.

Also eyeing the market for unmanned aerial farming is Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor with $45 billion in annual sales. The company has placed several of its five-pound Indago quadrotors with farmers in Minnesota, through a relationship it has with agricultural sensor manufacturer FourthWing Sensors of Minneapolis.

FourthWing leases the Indago, its own Vireo hand-launched plane and the Altavian Nova Block III fixed-wing drone, equipped with its dual-band NIR and RGB sensor. The FAA endorsed the use of the UAS in a November 2013 letter, providing they are flown over farmers’ own property, for their personal use, and following Academy of Model Aeronautics guidelines, the companies say. Lockheed Martin also has a relationship with Detroit Aircraft in Michigan to deploy Indagos for “first responder and public utility” missions.

The Indago resulted from Lockheed Martin’s January 2012 acquisition of Procerus Technologies of Orem, Utah. Procerus developed the miniature Kestrel 3.1 autopilot system that controls the quadrotor, containing an integrated GPS/inertial navigation system sensor for geo-location and precise payload control. Soon after its acquisition, Procerus started work on an anticipated U.S. Army requirement for a 4.5-pound, “backpackable” VTOL system and hand controller. “At that point we were mainly focused on the avionics, ‘the guts,’ for the unmanned vehicle industry. We were trying to be the intel inside everyone else’s aircraft,” said Reed Christiansen, Procerus’s VTOL systems engineering manager. “Since Lockheed acquired us, we’ve branched out to provide avionics to Lockheed aircraft and we’re also [developing] complete systems.” As it happened, the Army requirement did not materialize, but the commercial market beckoned.

“Farmers need the data, they need regular

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Multirotor Success

Elevated Horizons Agri6 multicopter

with FIU to gain a COA in order to fly unimpeded throughout their crops there,” Rozier said. “We’re using the drones to fly over and pinpoint certain locations that may be of interest, where this disease may be migrating, and then we have specially trained canine dog teams that go in and sniff out the disease.”

Long Arm of the Law Law enforcement and public safety are other major market focuses for multirotor helicopters. Among its customers, Aeryon Labs of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, supplies its foldable, snap-together Scout quadcopter to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the more robust, 6.2-pound SkyRanger to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Both models completed trials under the Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Oklahoma, and the Scout was distinguished in May as the first UAS to take flight at an FAA-designated test site–the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

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overflights. This provides them with information satellites can’t provide,” Christiansen said. “Satellites fly over, [but] there could be cloud coverage, [so] you don’t have data that day. These can fly under the clouds and they can also be controlled by the farmer so they can get that regular and timely data.”

The Indago has a range of 5 km within line-of-sight and endurance of about 45 minutes with a 6-ounce payload. It is capable of multiple “hot-swappable” payloads and folds into a briefcase. Onboard video and highresolution still photos are recorded to an SD memory card, which the farmer can plug into a computer or send to software company Superior Edge, of which FourthWing is a subsidiary, for analysis.

At a flight demonstration held in advance of the Unmanned Systems conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Ty Rozier exhibited the six-rotor, iPad-controlled Agri6 helicopter. His company, Orlando-based Elevated Horizons, integrates a 12-megapixel Canon camera, modified as a multispectral sensor, to keep down the cost of the system.

Produce giant Dole uses the Agri6 in Costa Rica, and Elevated Horizons is supporting Florida International University in a project to combat laurel wilt disease, which threatens avocado and other crops in the Redland district near Miami. “We’re working

propellers are feathered longitudinally for minimum drag,” Arcturus UAV explained.

“All flight control is fully autonomous. Arcturus Jump enjoys all of the versatility of a quadrotor while retaining the superior range and endurance of a fixed wing.” The conversion is aimed at both military applications and public markets for border protection, aerial mapping and search and rescue.

Shaun Coghlan of Aeryon Labs shows off the SkyRanger quadcopter at Kennedy Space Center.

Launched in May 2013, the SkyRanger has a larger lithium polymer battery than its 2009-vintage predecessor and can fly for 50 minutes, double the Scout’s flight time.

Aeryon emphasizes its ability to remain stable in 40-mph sustained winds with 55-mph gusts. The wind “does rock it, but the way our autopilot system works, it senses that, using the GPS and its wind position to try to maintain its position,” said Shaun Coghlan, Aeryon Labs senior product manager. “It will tilt the system as needed and power the different propellers” to right the aircraft. “If it’s gusting too much then it will start coming home.” Both models feature “hot swappable,” high-resolution EO/IR camera payloads.

Draganfly Innovations of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, began in 1998 as a distributor of remote-control aircraft for the hobby market. A decade later, the company produced its first industrial helicopter, the Draganflyer X6. It is configured with three arms, each having top and bottom rotors. In January 2009, the X6 became the first commercial UAS to receive Transport Canada approval to operate full time in civilian airspace, the company said.

Next came the Draganflyer X8, a quad configuration aircraft with eight top and bottom rotors–the top spinning clockwise, the bottom spinning counterclockwise. “The reason for that configuration was to allow for more lift without making a bigger footprint,” explained Kevin Lauscher, Draganfly Innovations’ lead for police and industrial sales.

The X6 has a payload capacity of 500 grams; the X8 carries twice that.

The X8 with camera and mount weighed nearly nine pounds and had limited endurance of several minutes. As cameras became smaller, Draganfly improved the X8 and extended its range, creating a new model line. “With smaller, better-sensored cameras, we were able to modify the X8’s airframe, remove the bottom four rotors and change the profile of the [remaining] rotors,” Lauscher said. “[We] sped them up, carried a lighter payload and increased our flight time with the payload by almost three times.” An X8 carrying a Canon T2i Rebel camera managed about six to eight minutes

in flight. Fitted with a lighter, 20 megapixel Sony RX100 camera, the new Draganflyer X4-P (professional) and X4-ES (emergency services), which the company introduced in 2012, fly for about 24 minutes.

Draganfly has sold its multirotor commercial helicopters in Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Asia. In Canada, the RCMP and the OPP have used Draganfly models. In the U.S., the aforementioned Mesa County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Department operates the X6 and the X4-ES, as well as the Falcon Hover and the bungeelaunched Falcon fixed-wing UAS, supplied

by Falcon Unmanned of Aurora, Colorado.

The FAA issued a COA to the Grand Forks County, North Dakota, Sheriff’s Department in November 2012 permitting it to operate the Draganflyer X6 in 16 counties in northeastern North Dakota. This March, the FAA granted the department a COA allowing it to use the X4-ES at night, a U.S. first.

The Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department also uses the 5.5-pound Qube quadcopter, the only helicopter in the mainly military small UAS line manufactured by AerVironment of Monrovia, California. The company claims flight endurance of 40 minutes for the tubular aircraft. AeroVironment’s 13.5-pound, fixed-wing Puma AE, granted restricted-category type certification by the FAA in July 2013, flies for 3.5 hours.

Learning from Insects Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), a researchand-development company based in Andover, Massachusetts, exhibited its InstantEye quadrotor at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference outside of Washington, D.C., in April. The rotorcraft weighs less than two pounds fully loaded; on its underside it carries an infrared illuminator that can be used to flood an area from 200 feet off the ground without the aircraft being seen, and three standard cameras–forward, angled and downward–to return imagery to the ground.

Instant­Eye also allows “plug and play” operation with the GoPro Hero3+ camera or FLIR Systems Quark thermal camera, and is being developed to carry a detector package for radiological or nuclear threats.

InstantEye was inspired by biomimetic research of insects, and PSI touts its robustness to operate in gusty wind conditions. A GPS hold mode allows the user to select a tight circle of GPS coordinates where the vehicle will hover. The aircraft operates to about 1 km line-of-sight range; endurance is 30 minutes with a lithium-ion battery strapped to its belly

by Velcro. Aimed at military and law enforcement users, InstantEye was developed with funding from the U.S. Army Research Lab and the Pentagon’s Rapid Reaction Technology Office and Countering Terrorism Technical Support Office.

Some of the smallest and most interesting models on display in Orlando were of

Continued on next page u

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 21

UNMANNED Aircraft & Systems

| SPECIAL REPORT

autonomous and indoor operation by military or special weapons and tactics police units. The quadcopter “can interact, avoid, land and return to operator [and] hold positions using GPS, inertial systems or the sonar.”

The AV Sparrow incorporates two 2-megapixel infrared

cameras and built-in microphone, and can be fitted with nuclear, chemical and biological detection sensors. It can also be used by itself as a surgical-strike explosive. Advertised range is 2 km line of sight, with 30 minutes’ endurance.

BCB International of

The AV Sparrow from Torquing Group.

Cardiff, Wales, a designer and manufacturer of survival and protective equipment, featured the seven-ounce SQ-4 Recon quadcopter. The SQ-4 can be operated either by remote control or autonomously flown using GPS waypoint navigation. It carries a 5-megapixel day/night digital camera and can fly out to 2.5 km with 25 minutes’ endurance. It is ideal for missions including “forward surveillance, damage assessment, coordination, exploration, measurement and observation,” BCB said.

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Welsh design. The AV Sparrow, developed by R&D and rapid prototyping firm Torquing Group of Pembrokeshire, Wales, measures 4.7 inches by 4.7 inches (120 mm by 120 mm) and weighs 3.5 ounces (100 grams). A sonar “bubble” protects it against colliding with objects and supports

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uContinued from preceding page

Grace Dixom, with BCB International of Cardiff, displays the SQ-4 Recon quadcopter in Orlando.

German engineering will also factor in the small UAS marketplace. In March, Multirotor service-drone of Berlin announced the opening of an office in Boulder, Colorado, its first location outside Europe. The manufacturer of industrial-grade multirotor UAS selected Robotic Skies, the fledgling Part 145 repair station network for unmanned aircraft, to be its MRO provider.

Delivery company DHL envisions the md4-1000 quadcopter manufactured by Microdrones of Siegen, German, as a Paketkopter. In December, testers flew the md4-1000 across the River Rhine to deliver parcels from a pharmacy to DHL’s headquarters in Bonn. o Organized by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the annual Unmanned Systems conference is the industry’s largest gathering. This year’s event in Orlando, Florida, attracted more than 7,000 attendees and nearly 600 exhibitors. In past years, the show was heavily military; that has changed as new and legacy exhibitors featured small but sophisticated models aimed at markets including law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, surveying, infrastructure inspection and precision agriculture.

22 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

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UAS ‘detect and avoid’ capability remains top concern for U.S. firms

by Bill Carey U.S. government and industry testers plan to begin data-gathering flights later this year using a system that will address perhaps the biggest technological hurdle to widespread use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)–the ability of a remotely piloted vehicle to “detect and avoid” (DAA) other aircraft. At the same time, a special committee convened by standards organization RTCA is working toward delivering DAA equipment standards by July 2016.

General Atomics, Honeywell, BAE Systems, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA will evaluate a DAA system with “self-separation” functionality using NASA’s Ikhana air vehicle–a General Atomics’ MQ-9 Predator B–during flight tests that are scheduled to begin in November at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, part of Edwards Air Force Base in California. The DAA system architecture combines automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) position reporting and TCAS collision avoidance, which

are both transponder-based “cooperative” technologies requiring other aircraft to be so equipped, and the with General Atomics “due-regard” radar, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) X-band radar that can detect “non-cooperative” aircraft, that is, those without transponders.

The testers also plan to introduce an advanced airborne collision avoidance system-X (ACAS X) algorithm the FAA is studying for unmanned aircraft, known as ACAS Xu, developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Self-separation is the ability of an aircraft to remain “well clear,” or safely separated from other aircraft. Due regard, a term that originated with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), refers to a requirement that military and state-owned aircraft be flown with “due regard for the safety of navigation of civil aircraft” when operating over international waters.

Last November, General Atomics conducted the first flight of a DAA system

Europe’s groundbound projects teach early lessons for UAV ops

by Angus Batey Just as in the U.S. (see story above), there is considerable interest in Europe in developing a solution to the sense-andavoid problem for unmanned aircraft. A number of different programs are running concurrently under different national, international and industrial consortia, and while several have clocked up significant hours of flight test in surrogate or testbed aircraft, none have as yet flown on board an unmanned platform.

The European Defense Agency funds the MIDCAS (mid-air collision avoidance system) project, which began in 2009 and is due to reach completion this year.

The 11-member industrial consortium is drawn from five nations (Sweden, Italy, Germany, Spain and France) and is led by Saab, but detail on progress of the €50 million program is scant.

Selex ES (Outdoor Exhibit 1), which is part of MIDCAS, is also involved in another project in the UK in partnership with the company 2Excel Aviation.

2Excel offers plug-and-play flight-test facilities to industry on board two Piper Navajos from its base at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire.

Over several years, 2Excel has flown the two aircraft on near-collision headings, and has built up an extensive database of information about how far away, and in what conditions, the trained human eye can spot an inbound threat. Then, by linking a number of off-the-shelf EO cameras distributed in forward-facing locations on the airframe, and with an on-board algorithm designed by Selex, subsequent flights have demonstrated that the system is capable of detecting another aircraft on a potential collision course at longer range and earlier than a human pilot. The system, which is called Sense To Avoid, has been demonstrated to the UK’s regulator, the CAA, and to a delegation from the FAA. Further test flights are planned for later this year.

Jetstreaming Ahead Probably the highest profile, and arguably the furthest advanced, European senseand-avoid program has been conducted as part of the UK’s ASTRAEA (autonomous systems technology related airborne evaluation and assessment) program. Although ASTRAEA is not focused solely on senseand-avoid–the industrial, academic and

24 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Industry and government testers plan to demonstrate a detect-and-avoid suite on NASA’s Ikhana air vehicle later this year. The aircraft will be outfitted with an AESA array of General Atomics due-regard radar, right, to detect aircraft without transponders.

on a company-owned Predator B flown from its Gray Butte flight operations facility in Palmdale, California. The system combined a prototype due-regard radar, BAE’s AD/DPX-7 identification friend or foe transponder with ADS-B in reception and Honeywell TPA-100 TCAS processor,

governmental consortium is looking more broadly at technologies and regulations required to facilitate routine flights of UASs in unrestricted civil airspace–the project has tested a sense-and-avoid system extensively.

Electro-optical sensors have been installed on a BAE Systems-owned and -operated twin-turboprop Jetstream aircraft and, using an algorithm developed by Thales, the ASTRAEA sense-and-avoid system has been flown over the Irish Sea. In keeping with the ASTRAEA methodology, though, the flights did not just test the subsystem, but also looked at how an aircraft equipped with it might be integrated into civilian airspace.

The Jetstream had a pilot on board, who operated the aircraft in takeoff, landing and other selected phases of the flight, and was ready to take over in the event of a communications failure or any other emergency situation. But for extensive periods the aircraft was under the control of BAE test pilot Bob Fraser (who also made the first flight of the company’s Taranis UAV last year), who was in a cockpit on the ground.

The flights saw Fraser liaising with air-traffic controllers, including during handovers from one controller to another, and making collision-avoidance maneuvers in much the same way as he would have done had he been on board the aircraft. “The way we’ve been flying over the Irish Sea is that the system will offer to the man on the ground notification of conflict and suggest an avoiding action,” Fraser told delegates to the Royal

working in unison to detect and track cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft.

Honeywell’s sensor fusion algorithm combined data from the multiple sensors into a single track for display in the ground control station, where General Atomics’

Continued on page 28 u

Aeronautical Society’s RPAS Today conference in London last month. “He can either select that or reject it, and if you keep rejecting it, it will get to a minimum closing angle and then take action itself. But it means that if you’re in controlled airspace you can reject the initial action, have a chat with ATC, get clearance for that turn and then accept the turn. So it’s just a matter of which level of airspace you’re in that will dictate what action the pilot on the ground actually takes.”

The ASTRAEA program is currently in its third phase (known as ASTRAEA 3A), which is concentrating on regulatory and certification issues. ASTRAEA’s program director, Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, told the RAeS conference that an application for funding to the UK government’s Aerospace Technology Institute is currently in preparation to facilitate a fourth phase (3B). Under the terms of the ASTRAEA program, half the funding comes from government and the remainder from the industrial partners.

“ASTRAEA 3B will be trying to validate and verify the work we’ve done to date,” Dopping-Hepenstal said. “[3B will be concerned with] continuing the regulation and certification work from 3A, but particularly getting into some significant capability demonstrations and beginning to stretch the points and challenge the use of the technology through a whole series of increasingly challenging flight trials.”

If funding is approved, ASTRAEA 3B is scheduled to run to 2018. n

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UNMANNED Aircraft & Systems

| SPECIAL REPORT

Germany looks to UAV fleet requirements after Heron success

by Chris Pocock German military procurement and logistics system was “too cumbersome,” he claimed.

(That system is currently being reviewed by outside consultants brought in by the new German defense minister, Dr. Ursula von der Layen, in the wake of various procurement failures, including the Euro Hawk HALE SIGINT UAV). The GAF provided the means to transport the system and personnel to Afghanistan, on its Transalls and A310s, respectively.

Auto Return-to-Base The implementation of SAATEG required “a good, trained team plus a robust UAV,” Howe continued. Moreover, he added, “a trustful relationship” between the parties was vital. As an example, he cited the certification of flying hours that the GAF mission commander must provide, before CAS can be paid.

The effective time-on-station may vary, according to weather conditions as well as

UAS ‘detect and avoid’ uContinued from page 24

conflict prediction and display system aids the pilot in maneuvering the aircraft to stay well clear of traffic.

In an interview with AIN, General Atomics executives said self-separation is managed by the pilot on the ground, based on the fused sensor information sent to the ground control station. Track data for collision avoidance, a function of last resort, will be sent both to the ground and directly to the aircraft’s flight computer. The system’s TCAS function and autopilot are coupled.

The pilot will have about three or four seconds to respond to a resolution advisory, or recommended evasive action; otherwise the autopilot will perform the maneuver.

Setting Performance Standards As efforts to introduce unmanned aircraft into the U.S. national airspace system gather steam, RTCA Special Committee 228, an industry and government group established in May 2013, is developing minimum operational performance standards (Mops) for both DAA capability and the communications and control (C2) datalink that UASs will need to safely fly in nonsegregated airspace. Mops describe technical characteristics and test procedures for avionics systems and components, which the FAA may then incorporate into technical

28 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Israeli-built Heron 1 UAVs have been operated for the German air force over Afghanistan via a leaseoperate-maintain contract.

mechanical or system failures. The contract allows CAS to “catch up” on flying hours in the summer, when the weather is better, Howe noted. In the event of a lost link, the UAV was programmed to return to base, “but we often got the link back up,” Howe added.

The GAF required a military type certification of the system. IAI remained the design authority for the airframe, while Rheinmetall certified the software. “Our certification is limited to Afghanistan, but I

standard orders that manufacturers follow to design and build equipment.

SC-228’s initial focus is to develop DAA standards for larger unmanned aircraft equipped to operate in Class-A airspace above 18,000 feet MSL under IFR flight rules, transitioning through lower airspace levels to get there. It expects to produce preliminary Mops for both DAA and C2 systems by next July, with final standards following a year later.

At the Unmanned Systems 2014 conference in Orlando, Florida, in May, Satish Krishnan, General Atomics technical director of special projects, said the company’s internally funded due-regard radar development, started in 2011 with a “breadboard” AESA radar on a manned aircraft, had completed 28 manned and two unmanned flight tests, with 80 hours of flight time.

General Atomics plans to make available preproduction engineering development model radars to customers in the first quarter of 2015. The full DAA suite will be designed to specifications RTCA released in 2016. “We have a good idea of where the industry is in terms of development, and we are the industry leader,” Krishnan told AIN. Other efforts are progressing in the U.S. to develop DAA systems for unmanned aircraft, a capability earlier and alternately known as “sense and avoid.” The U.S. Air Force started a formal acquisition program in October 2012 for what at the time was a Global Hawk-specific technology. In January 2013, the service adopted a new

CHRIS POCOCK

The Heron 1 UAVs that have been providing imagery for the German air force (GAF) over Afghanistan have now clocked more than 18,500 hours in four years. The lease-operate-maintain contract has already been extended twice, and will likely be extended for a further six months, as the German ponders its long-term UAS policy.

The contract is held by Cassidian Airborne Solutions (CAS), a subsidiary of Airbus Defence & Space (Outside Exhibit 1) that was created after Rheinmetall Airborne Systems was acquired by EADS Cassidian in 2013. Rheinmetall signed the deal with the German air force in late October 2009.

The first flight of the first of the three Israelisupplied UAVs followed from Mazar-iSharif only five months later.

The system is designated SAATEG in German, which translates as “System for Image Generation in Theater Depth.” The payload operators are military, but almost everything else is done by CAS, including some flying of the three leased UAVs. CAS is contractually obliged to provide 480 hours of flying per month, and to guarantee 90 percent availability on a 24-hour, 7-daysa-week basis.

In a presentation at the recent ILA Berlin Airshow, CAS program manager Juergen Howe praised Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI, Chalet A29) for its support of the system, including the initial training of pilots, maintainers and the GAF payload operators; depot-level maintenance; and ongoing logistics support. “They really opened the books,” he commented.

Howe said that the GAF declined responsibility for the takeoffs and landings, and his company was not enthusiastic about assuming this task either. “But IAI had no worries...the Heron has a robust automatic takeoff and landing system,” Howe continued. “We soon realized that the first and last 1,000 feet [of flight] is the most critical; we hand over to the Luftwaffe at that point– although they sometimes do takeoffs and landings themselves.”

IAI provides the line-of-sight datalink that is crucial to launch and recovery, while the GAF provides the satcom datalink that controls the UAV during most of the mission, and carries the EO/IR and/or synthetic-aperture radar imagery. The GAF specifies the payload and datalink day-today, and CAS then nominates one of the two ground stations that it provides.

Full operating capability was achieved in late August 2010. Such a speedy introduction was possible only via servicemodel contract, Howe said. “The standard

believe we could operate safely anywhere in the world,” Howe said.

Before it was acquired by Cassidian, Rheinmetall proposed the IAI Super Heron as a follow-on for SAATEG, and this idea has now been endorsed as an “interim solution”

by Airbus D&S, while it tries to persuade the German and other European governments to sponsor development of a new all-European MALE UAS. However, Germany is also considering the GA-ASI Reaper UAS to meet the SAATEG requirement. n

strategy to develop a common airborne sense-and-avoid system (C-ABSAA). Last September, it issued to industry a request for information seeking potential sources to develop a C-ABSAA system “for large remotely piloted aircraft systems including the Predator and Global Hawk.” General Atomics, for one, confirmed that it responded to the solicitation.

The Mitre Corporation joined with NASA Langley Research Center, the University of North Dakota (UND) and Draper Laboratory to test a DAA system using ADS-B as the sensor in 2011. The aim of the Limited Deployment-Cooperative Airspace Project (LD-CAP) was to test a “cooperative autonomous senseand-avoid” system that would work even if a C2 link to the aircraft was interrupted.

Tests involved flying a NASA-Langley Cirrus SR22 single-engine airplane as a “surrogate” UAS, with a safety pilot aboard, to evaluate software maneuver algorithms based on ADS-B detection of nearby aircraft. The project ran some 400 encounters in flight against UND and NASA-flown “intruder” airplanes.

At the Unmanned Systems conference, Al Palmer, director of the UAS Center of Excellence at UND, said the LD-CAP project will be extended, and will likely incorporate Northrop Grumman’s SandShark UAS. The university and Northrop Grumman also signed a cooperative agreement to offer pilot training using the SandShark. n

UNMANNED Aircraft & Systems

| SPECIAL REPORT

The AeroVironment Puma air vehicle is hand launched, weighs 13 pounds (5.9 kg) and has a wingspan of 9.2 feet (2.8 meters). The aircraft’s military acceptance cleared the way for limited approval for commercial ops in the Arctic.

Conoco Phillips has plans to use an Insitu ScanEagle for airborne surveillance of the Chukchi Sea west of Alaska. The first flight was conducted in September.

During the second flight the aircraft suffered an in-flight engine failure and ditched into the water. Flights are expected to resume this summer.

FAA moving slowly on release of rules governing commercial UAS operations

by Bill Carey By the end of this year, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration expects to release a longdelayed draft rule that will begin to establish the conditions under which individuals and companies can fly small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial purposes. But concerns over potential privacy infringements could postpone the release of a final “small UAS” regulation until well into 2016. Routine flights by larger UASs will follow when standards become available to properly equip them for collision avoidance and command and control from the ground.

As it stands, the FAA requires that private entities obtain a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category to operate UASs in civilian, unrestricted airspace. This allows them to conduct research and development of unmanned aircraft, perform market surveys of potential customers and train crew, but not to fly UASs commercially. Public entities, including the U.S. military services, require a certificate of authorization (COA) for operations they conduct outside restricted airspace.

Those limited choices are being relaxed somewhat as a

result of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act which the U.S. Congress passed in 2012. In the case of public entities, the legislation directed the FAA to expedite the COA process and to enter into agreements with individual agencies to simplify their applications.

The FAA extended the length of authorizations from 12 months to 24 months so that agencies do not have to reapply every year. Congress requires it to develop operational and certification standards for regular flights of public UAS no later than Dec. 31, 2015.

The legislation also directed the FAA to allow “government public

Lockheed Martin’s Indago quadcopters are flying missions above farms in Minnesota.

30 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

safety” agencies to fly unmanned aircraft weighing 4.4 pounds or less, as long as the aircraft is flown within line of sight of the operator, less than 400 feet above the ground, during daylight conditions, within Class G uncontrolled airspace and five miles removed from an airport, heliport, seaplane base or spaceport.

For private entities, the way forward is more complicated. The 2012 act compels the FAA to designate permanent areas in remote Arctic airspace “where small unmanned aircraft may operate 24 hours per day for research and commercial purposes,” and to develop a process for approving their use.

Last July, the FAA relied on previous military acceptance of the Insitu ScanEagle and the AeroVironment Puma AE to grant them restricted-category type certification for commercial operations in the Arctic, complying with congressional direction. Energy company ConocoPhillips made the first FAA-approved commercial UAS flight on Sept. 12, 2013, when it launched a ScanEagle from a research vessel in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. The company planned to resume flights this summer.

Commercial Ops Exemptions

Under another provision of the 2012 legislation, the FAA will allow commercial UAS operations by exemption to certification requirements. Section 333 of the act offers an exemption, entitled “Special Rules for Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems,” stating that the Secretary of Transportation can determine “if certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system” before the FAA completes the rulemaking process. Several companies had approached the agency with plans to file for exemptions under Section 333, Jim Williams, manager of the FAA’s UAS Integration Office, said in May. AIN understands that that one of those companies was motorsports manufacturer Yamaha, which is seeking to sell

its 207-pound RMax crop-dusting helicopter in the U.S. The FAA has authorized commercial operation of UASs in other ways. Lockheed Martin has teamed with agricultural sensor supplier FourthWing Sensors of Minnesota to lease several of its Indago quadcopters to farmers in that state, an application the FAA allowed in November 2013 letter, the company said. Indagos must be operated on farmers’ own property, for their personal use, and following Academy of Model Aeronautics guidelines.

But widespread, commercial operation of these craft still awaits the release of the small UAS rule, which will likely cover aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds. The FAA advises that a rulemaking process typically takes 18 months from soliciting comments to producing a final rule–and this one is expected to generate an avalanche of comments from civil liberties organizations, the media and other entities concerned about both privacy and free-speech issues raised by the use of UASs fitted with high-resolution cameras and other sensors.

The FAA originally formed an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) to help it develop a small UAS regulation in 2008, and the ARC delivered its recommendations in April 2009. In earlier pronouncements, FAA executives said they expected the agency to release a draft rule by December 2011.

But the rule became mired during its vetting in the federal bureaucracy, either partly or wholly because of the privacy issue.

Meanwhile, standards organization RTCA, the U.S. counterpart of Eurocae, is developing equipment standards for “detect and avoid” capability and command and control of larger unmanned aircraft. This would enable them to fly safely through lower altitudes to Class A airspace above 18,000 feet, or transition to special use airspace for training purposes. RTCA’s goal is to produce minimum operational performance standards in July 2016. n

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UNMANNED Aircraft & Systems

| SPECIAL REPORT

UK seen as RPAS integration leader

Britain’s regulatory framework allows it to have a more active small-RPAS sector than many other countries. Here, a British Army RPAS Watchkeeper is in the system and cleared to fly, but there are no civilian RPASs in its class–that is, weighing more than 150 kg–operating in the UK.

by Angus Batey Integrating remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) into civilian airspace in Europe is not going to be easy. Official programs are many, work is extensive, detailed and ongoing, but anyone expecting an early resolution is going to be disappointed. This was the picture gleaned from a series of presentations at last month’s RPAS Today: Opportunities and Challenges conference, run by the Royal Aeronautical Society in London.

The Society’s annual RPAS conferences have become an important talking-shop for the burgeoning unmanned air systems community, particularly in the UK, where a forward-leaning regulator and some innovative aircraft operators have given the country a head-start in using RPAS for civilian aerial work.

Britain’s regulatory framework for RPAS operations is provided by a document called CAP 722, published and periodically updated by the Civil Aviation Authority. In essence, CAP 722 mandates anyone seeking to fly an unmanned aircraft weighing less than 20 kilograms for commercial purposes to obtain permission from the regulator. Strict limitations are placed on flights: the aircraft cannot be operated outside the pilot’s line of sight, must go no higher than 400 feet and cannot fly within 500 meters of buildings not under the direct control of the aircraft operator.

Permissions are issued on a case-bycase basis and there is a considerable degree of flexibility. Some cover a named

operator to fly an aircraft type in different locations and on different dates for a period of time, and applications can be made to renew these when they expire; other permissions may restrict operators to a single flight in a single location on a stipulated date and time.

British Lead

The CAA is able to act with a degree of local independence because European regulations, issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), apply only to aircraft of 150 kg mass or greater. This independence has helped give Britain a more active small-RPAS sector than many other countries. According to figures presented at the conference by Mark Swann, the director of the CAA’s safety and airspace regulation group, 318 permissions were issued in 2013, and with 217 issued in the first five months of 2014, this year’s figure is likely to be higher.

The CAA is also able to regulate and authorize flights of RPASs that are over the 150-kg limit and are flown higher than 400 feet and beyond the operator’s visual line of sight, although these have to take place in segregated airspace. Two blocks of RPASready airspace have been created in the UK but they remain largely unused. Swann described the reluctance to take advantage of the airspace provision as “very disappointing…I hope you recognize we’ve pulled out all the stops to make this happen,” he

Remotely piloted aircraft systems could patrol Europe’s borders The European agency tasked with keeping watch over the EU’s external borders, Frontex, is enthusiastic about adopting remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to help them in that job.

But significant challenges–some technical but the majority legal–mean that unmanned aircraft are unlikely to be deployed to help defend EU borders in the near future.

Speaking at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s conference, RPAS Today: Opportunities and Challenges, which took place in London last month, Zdravko Kolev, research officer for aerial, ground and sea surveillance sensors and platforms at Frontex, described the EU agency’s long-standing interest in RPAS, and outlined the obstacles currently preventing adoption of the technology.

“Border-surveillance activities take place in wide areas,” he explained.” [The operational requirement runs] from the open ocean to the Greek archipelago, and from Norway to Greece over land,” he said.

Challenges therefore include detecting and tracking small vessels in the

maritime domain, and individual people transiting unfenced sections of national land borders in remote and/or forested areas. “A range of systems are needed to meet all these surveillance requirements,” Kolev said. “And, of course, another challenge is how integration [of RPAS] can contribute to redress the limitations of current surveillance systems.”

Frontex developed EUROSUR, the information-sharing system used by EU member states to build a situation-awareness picture for border security, and any potential new sensing technology would need to be integrated into that. A series of demonstrations and test flights aimed at assessing the potential for RPAS in a European border-security role have been carried out by industrial entities, under Frontex direction, since 2009. Maritime, littoral and overland scenarios have been addressed, with flights taking place in France, Finland and Greece.

Kolev explained that the longer endurance that RPAS offer compared with manned platforms is a key potential benefit. In a large number of instances,

32 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

told an audience composed primarily of RPAS manufacturers and operators. “[The British Army RPAS] Watchkeeper is in the system and cleared to fly, but there are no civilian systems [weighing more than 150 kg] operating in the UK. I fully expected to have something big and beautiful flying in that airspace we set up by 2011, and it hasn’t happened.”

ICAO and EASA

Just as British regulators work in a European framework, so Europe’s airspace is subject to international authority. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is preparing for the advent of nonmilitary RPAS flights that go beyond national airspace boundaries, and is in the process of turning its Unmanned Aircraft

people attempting to enter the EU illegally by sea arrive in small boats, which, once near land, they scuttle. “They are simply destroying the boats in order to be rescued,” he explained, “so a normal patrol mission becomes a search-and-rescue mission. So from an operational perspective we need extra hours in the air to support these missions.”

The individual national coastguard, police and security agencies involved in the program have been impressed by the available platforms and the rate at which the technology is improving.

But the present inability to fly RPAS in airspace not closed to other air traffic means that contracts to acquire systems are unlikely to be agreed for the foreseeable future.

Frontex has been in dialog with Eurocontrol, the pan-European air-traffic management organization, with a view to moving forward on airspace-integration issues.

“Eurocontrol representatives highlighted that solutions provided will be of a very high value for the RPAS operator community,” said Kolev. “We have also been told that Eurocontrol is really keen to help us solve these problems. But integration of RPAS into normal airspace remains a challenge.”

–A.B.

Systems Study Group into what will, from November, be called the RPAS Panel. In the ICAO hierarchy, a Study Group is at the bottom of the ladder, while a Panel is several rungs higher; Study Groups also typically number four or five people, and Panels 15 or 20.

The UAS Study Group presently consists of 60 people, and its transition to Panel status reflects the importance ICAO members place on development of regulations in this area. ICAO is planning to publish an RPAS manual early in 2017, with a standards and recommended practices document scheduled for March of the following year. The organization’s aim is to have “all provisions needed to support transparent operation of RPA in all classes of airspace and at aerodromes” in place by 2028. ICAO’s members are states, and the standards documents it produces become national regulations.

While ICAO’s membership is worldwide, the pan-European EASA also has a role to play in developing the continent’s RPAS operating regulations. Earlier this month, the consultation period closed on an EASA document that proposes to amend Annex 2 of ICAO’s founding charter on rules of the air, to the effect that all RPASs of any size would be subject to the same regulations as all other aircraft when flying under ICAO-administered general air traffic rules in Europe.

To add to an already broiling acronym soup, EASA is “quite heavily planning” to use JARUS–the Joint Authorities for the Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems–as its RPAS rulemaking group, according to a presentation given to the conference by Gerry Corbett, the CAA’s Unmanned Air Systems Program lead.

JARUS’s membership is primarily European but also includes the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and equivalents from Brazil and South Africa. “The aim is that the world is pulling together to make sure that we all have common regulations,” Corbett said. n

IFC keeps its faith in modern airliner types

by Vladimir Karnozov Russian leasing group Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC) is looking to sign new deals right across its airliner portfolio. “We come here to see our airline customers,” IFC general manager Alexander Roubtsov told AIN. “We’ve arranged meetings at the show with 12 carriers interested in the CSeries and five airlines considering the Superjet.

We will also host a number of events devoted to the [Bombardier] Q [400] series and the MC-21. Talking to banks is also important. In addition, we are here to visit aircraft manufacturers and engine makers.”

IFC remains profitable after generating an operating surplus of 206 million rubles ($6.1 million) in 2013. The lessor is implementing a newly adopted strategy, placing impetus on modern aircraft types such as the Antonov An-148/158, Bombardier C Series, Irkut MC-21 and Sukhoi Superjet 100.

As part of a plan to phase out older aircraft from its lease portfolio, IFC’s Ilyushin Il-96-400T widebody freighters have been prepared for conversion from their original configuration to a multirole version.

These are to be used by the Russian government. Aeroflot and IFC have agreed to transfer two used Il-96-300s previously operated by the Russian flagcarrier as part of the broader agreement involving Vladivostok Avia. “The agreement has been approved by shareholders of Aeroflot and our company. I hope to finalize the deal shortly,” Roubtsov said.

Work on placing orders for the delayed CSeries program

involves ongoing negotiations with a dozen potential airline customers from Europe, Africa and Asia. Roubtsov said, “Right now, we are in negotiations with Bombardier to clarify delivery dates. In this context, we are also correcting terms of the core deal based on program delays.”

Addressing the recent incident in which, according to IFC, fire broke out after oil supply lines had leaked) with a semi-experimental PW1500G engine on a flight test aircraft, Roubtsov said he hopes that the investigation would not lead to major changes to the engine’s main components. “I think this mishap will cause postponements of aircraft deliveries. At this point, it is difficult to predict the exact timing. I believe the postponement will be limited to several months.”

Shaping Support Programs

Work on the MC-21 focuses on detailing agreements with the manufacturer and meeting with airlines interested in accepting the type on lease. “We need to shape customer support programs that would address all the issues with entry-intoservice, and supplying airline operators all necessary support they need from the manufacturers and engine makers up front. There are some issues still remaining with [engine supplier] Pratt & Whitney,” Roubtsov said. These issues relate to the power-by-hour program. “Much work remains in that area. We are not happy with everything regarding price and the volume of support promised. Having said that, I

Alexander Roubtsov, right, general manager of Russian leasing giant Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC), retains his faith in the most recent developments in modern airliners. Here, he discusses the future of the Bombardier CSeries with Pierre Beaudoin, company president and CEO. Roubtsov said he is hopeful the CSeries delays will not adversely affect upcoming deals that are in the works.

remain optimistic that a mutually acceptable solution can be found at the negotiation table.”

Although IFC has selected the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G as the primary power plant for its MC-21s, the lessor is keeping an eye on the alternative power plant, the PD-14 from ODK, Russia’s United Engine Corporation. Advance payments the lessor previously made as part of the PS-90A2 engine program are to be partly tapped for acquiring the PD-14. “We have decided to use [that credit] as the first payment for the newer engines,” Roubtsov said. At the same time, IFC is urging Irkut to speed up development of the MC-21-400, which seats as many as 250 passengers, and ODK to develop a higher-thrust engine for the aircraft. “There are no next-gen aircraft in this niche. If Irkut develops one, it may become a very interesting asset,” said Roubtsov. “Solvent demand comes from airlines serving tourist and low-cost

electric flight

DAVID McINTOSH

The Airbus E-Fan arrived silently at Farnborough for the show. The two-seat electric airplane is generating a lot of buzz, powered by a pair of motors driven by lithium ion batteries. At present, it can remain aloft for about an hour. A four-seat hybrid version would take off with engine power, and cruise on electric power. The two-seat E-Fan first flew in May.

routes. That’s why IFC is interested in such an airplane. I am talking of a possible Boeing 757-300 replacement.”

The Bombardier Q400 is still considered for assembly under license in Russia by the industrial giant Rostec. IFC and another Russian lessor Avia Capital Service have indicated their intent to order some aircraft, but final agreement is still some way off as the sides have yet to agree on price. “We are searching for compromise solutions that would be acceptable for us and Bombardier,” Roubtsov said.

IFC is ready to place order for the newly-certified Tu204SM should the Russian government approve the setting up a special airline to serve routes between Crimea and Russia.

At last year’s Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, IFC signed for 20 Superjets. “The core contract is signed, but we have yet to complete all the necessary documents related to

manufacturer’s guarantees and after-sales support. These have proved difficult to finalize, but we hope to complete the process during this year’s Farnborough show,” said Roubtsov. o

l-3 sells AIM product line Melbourne, Florida-based Extant Components Group has acquired the AIM line of standby instruments from L-3 Communications Avionics Systems, Extant announced last week. Although it did not reveal the terms of the deal, Extant said it plans to make the AIM product line part of its Symetrics Industries subsidiary, from where it will perform all future manufacturing, repair and customer service and supply spares and related technical support activities.

The AIM instrument product line includes the AIM 205 directional gyro, the AIM 520 two-inch-diameter attitude indicator and the AIM 1100 and AIM 1200 three-inch-diameter attitude indicators. The models offer a variety of lighting and power configurations, as well as tilt angles based on operator and platform requirements.

AIM instruments appear in a wide range of business and general aviation aircraft and operators have fielded more than 25,000 units since the products entered the market in 1957.

Extant calls itself a leader in licensing, obsolescence management and sustainment services for aerospace electronics, avionics and electromechanical products. –G.P.

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 33

GE9X technology is validated, as test program picks up speed

by Charles Alcock The technology stakes are high for the GE9X engine that will power Boeing’s new 777X twinjet, but GE Aviation believes its big bet on the weight savings to be delivered by unprecedented use of composites is about to pay off. The U.S. engine maker, which currently holds orders for some 600 of the engines, is leaving nothing to chance and, with more than two years of technology maturation behind it, the company is now stepping up its test program en route to certification in 2018.

On July 10, GE announced the appointment of three “participants” in the GE9X program: Japan’s IHI Corporation; Safran subsidiaries Snecma and Techspace Aerospace from France and Belgium; and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines. Collectively they will account for around 25 percent of the project.

IHI will be responsible for the design and manufacturing of various components in the low-pressure turbine and the fan mid-shaft. The company is already a GE partner in the CF34, GE90, GEnx and Passport engines.

France-based Snecma will handle the design and manufacturing of the 3D-woven composite forward fan case and the turbine rear frame, as well as supporting GE with the composite fan blades through its CFAN 50/50 joint venture.

Techspace Aero from Belgium is taking on the design and manufacturing of the GE9X low-pressure compressor, as well as manufacturing the fan disk. The company is also a partner in the CF34, GEnx and Passport programs.

MTU is designing and manufacturing the turbine center frame. It already participates in the F110, CF6, GP7200 and GEnx programs.

The new 100,000-pound-thrust turbofan is expected to deliver a 10-percent

reduction in fuel burn compared with the GE90-115B engines on the existing 777-300ER. Also promised is a 5-percent improvement in specific fuel consumption over rival widebody engines by 2020.

GE9X Fan Tests

Having run a compressor test rig earlier this year at the Massa, Italy, facility of GE subsidiary Avio Aero, GE and Boeing have now started testing a one-fifth-scale version of the GE9X fan using an indoor test cell fitted with microphones to measure the acoustic signature of the fan. “We’re running a couple of different configurations of the fan blade and the OVGs [outer guide vans] to understand the mechanics and operability of the fan blades,” explained Bill Millhaem, general manager of the GE90 and GE9X programs.

The GE9X’s composite fan blades are a major part of the equation. GE has been using these for the past 20 years and by 2020 expects to have logged more than 100 million flight hours with them.

GE has reduced the number of fan blades from 22 on the GE90-115B to 16 and these are thinner and 20-percent lighter thanks to the use of a second-generation ceramic matrix composite (CMC). This combined with a wider chord has boosted the performance of the fan. Between the lighter blades and the use of composite case technology developed for the GEnx engine, GE aims to take about 1,000 pounds of weight out of the new engine.

Later this year GE will run tests on a GEnx engine fitted with a full suite of CMC components destined for the GE9X. The engineering team has also started running some tests on the TAPS III twin annular pre-swirl combustor, which is a major contributor to the engine’s improved fuel

GE Engineers Push the Boundaries of Powerplant Efficiency Much of the focus of longer-term research and development work at GE is on improving both the thermal and propulsive efficiency of powerplant, according to Chris Lorance, the company’s chief technologist for commercial engines. Efforts to boost propulsive efficiency have mainly been focused on designing more efficient fans by reducing the numbers of blades and boosting bypass ratio (see main article).

“Thermal efficiency is a key factor [in improved engine performance],” he told AIN. “So we’re working on better cooling flow reduction and mitigating temperatures through cooling, as well as improved aerodynamics through the core. Innovative cooling technology is allowing us to heat air but also achieve good durability for components.”

Meanwhile, GE is continuing to explore the potential of an open rotor engine design through a joint program backed by NASA. “We believe we can run these engines at higher Mach numbers than previously thought,” Lorance said. “Regional narrowbody aircraft would be able to fly nearly as fast as a conventional turbofans and this is probably the most attractive application [for an open rotor engine].”

GE is preparing to conduct further tests to ascertain the overall performance from the design, as well as its acoustic characteristics. Meanwhile, it is also in contact with aviation regulators to ­clarify the terms under which such a powerplant would be certified.

Another technology niche that GE is increasingly probing is the use of hybrid electric powerplants that would allow aircraft to take off with a conventional gas turbine and then cruise on a battery, which would be charged by the turbine engine. –C.A.

34 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

GE’s testing of components for the GE9X engine is gathering pace as it prepares for certification in 2018. Tests included an evaluation of the new turbofan’s compressor at Avio Aero’s facility in Massa, Italy.

burn, as well as to reductions in noise and nitrous oxide emissions.

This is the third generation of the TAPS technology and it features a mixer designed to get more air into the combustor, resulting in an improved temperature profile, lower emissions and greater aerodynamic efficiency. This lean-burn combustor also features in the new Leap-X engines being developed by the CFM International joint venture in which GE is partnered with France’s Snecma.

Around the middle of next year, GE expects to run a full core test that will allow it to complete the long technical maturation process. This will lead into the final design phase ahead of a first full engine test in 2016 and flight test in 2017.

Overall, the technical maturation work for the GE9X will have taken roughly twice the time that was dedicated to the same phase of the GEnx program. “Had we simply taken a GEnx engine and stretched it to 100,000-pounds thrust, we would have got a 5-percent improvement in fuel burn, but Boeing demanded 10 percent so we needed to do more to achieve the additional 5 percent,” explained Milhaem.

Another priority for GE is that the engine achieves a mature level of reliability from initial service entry.

“We took a big bet on composite fan blades and by 2020 we will have logged more than 100 million flight hours with them in total,” said Milhaem during AIN’s visit to GE’s Cincinnati, Ohio, headquarters last month. “It’s been a remarkably durable improvement and this [the GE9X] is a chance for us to take the next big step with a new carbon fiber system and drive some incremental improvements.”

The improved aerodynamic performance of the GE9X blades has resulted in a 27:1 pressure ratio in the new engine’s high-pressure compressor, contributing to an overall 60:1 overall pressure ratio. By comparison the GE90’s

pressure ratio is 19:1 and that of the GEnx is 23:1.

Milhaem explained that increased computing power has allowed the GE team to have a better understanding of how the various engine shapes and components would perform even before they were made.

The 350 hours of compressor tests at Massa yielded better than expected performance. Further adjustments will now be made to the compressor and Milhaem believes that a bit more performance improvement can be achieved.

GE is currently building a new combustor facility in Cincinnati that will allow it to do higher pressure and temperature testing from next January. For the GE9X

GE9X engine

combustor fuel nozzle tips, the company has used a new additive manufacturing process that allows engineers to more quickly and efficiently conduct a trial-anderror approach to perfecting the design.

For the GE9X, the use of CMCs has been extended into the hot section of the engine. “It is about one-third of the weight of metal, has twice the strength and about 20 percent more temperature tolerance, which is a huge margin in this part of the engine,” Milhaem explained.

GE’s Farnborough International Air­ show display (Pavilion P1-5) features a 3-D video depicting the operation of the GE9X. The company’s new pavilion also includes a GEnx engine, and examples of the new composite fuel nozzles and 3-D printing production techniques. o

As Airbus mulled whether to launch a re-engined variant of its successful A330 twin-aisle twinjet, the European manufacturer had begun to call the established model the A330 “ceo” (for current engine option).

Airbus remains coy on A330neo ‘go - no-go’

by Ian Goold in -200 and -300 sub-variants– could see the A350-800, which has lost many orders in recent months, postponed, if not entirely shelved.

Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy recognized in pre-show briefings that there “will be marketing to do” to sell the A330neo: it would match the 787-9’s seating capacity, with similar fuel burn and COC, but with “much lower” capital cost.

having much in common with the RB3039 previously offered for the Boeing 777X (but not expected to enter service before 2021). GE has offered the 787’s GEnX engine, but the U.S. group appears not to have high expectations of being selected for the program.

When could an A330neo come along? A320neo-family senior vice-president Klaus Roewe says Airbus has a recipe for “successful” re-engining programs: “Take a reliable mature ‘platform’ with a wide customer base, add new engine technology, optimize aerodynamics, flight-control laws and weight, minimize weight increase, and cook for four years…” o

AT THE STANDS Emerson’s McGill Manufacturing Company (Hall 3 Stand A11a) is here in Farnborough exhibiting its range of bearings, including ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, needle roller bearings, spherical roller bearings and roller sets.

McGill products are used in commercial and military applications, such as helicopter and turboprop gearboxes, helicopter rotors, generators, hydraulic pumps, engine starters and APUs. McGill said it is designing next-generation bearings with reduced weight, improved reliability and faster delivery.

Emerson is based in St. Louis, Missouri and its McGill subsidiary has an aerospace manufacturing facility in Valparaiso, Indiana. n

Vulcan pride: “live long and prosper” The world’s only airworthy Vulcan, XH558, arrives at Farnborough for this year’s show.

Restored and operated by Vulcan to the Sky Trust, the historic jet is based at the Doncaster/ Sheffield Robin Hood Airport, the former RAF Finningley facility.

DAVID McINTOSH

Prospects for the muchanticipated launch of the Airbus A330neo appeared to be strengthening on the eve of the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow. While the European airframer was officially remaining tight-lipped on plans for the re-engined model, this has done little to dispel Reuters and Bloomberg reports of a launch announcement this week, citing sources close to the program.

In particular, Hawaiian Airlines confirmed that it is actively considering the A330neo as a possible alternative to the A350-800. AirAsia has also been identified as a prospective launch customer for the new twinjet, but it remains to be seen whether the latest iteration of the Neo program will be announced at Airbus’s opening day press conference here in Farnborough this morning.

Last month, Airbus strategy and marketing executive vicepresident Dr. Kiran Rao conceded that a re-engined A330 was “under serious consideration.” But it was “not a done deal” and was “not a decision to rush,” he added, because the original A330 “ceo” (for “current engine option”) was still selling.

Rao said the A330neo was not an exercise to perform because it looked pretty: rather, it was strategically “most important to match the [Boeing 787-9’s] cash operating costs [COC].” Launching it–possibly

He acknowledged that Airbus market forecasts had shown “A330 [sales] falling off,” but pointed out that orders had in fact doubled since the 787 was launched and carriers “rediscovered” the A330. Nevertheless, carriers wanted more, and were asking for “a little of this, a little of that.”

As head of strategy and marketing, Rao claimed that little was required to define an A330neo; beyond engines and aerodynamic enhancements, the cabin could be freshened, but the cockpit is “good for another ten years.” Despite the 787-9’s additional 1,000-nm range, an A330neo could operate 92 percent of the same routes with a

wider seat and much lower capital cost, claimed Leahy.

Throughout June, Airbus officials remained somewhat coy about A330neo launch requirements. Programs executive vice-president Tom Williams said the manufacturer would like to continue producing the A330, which is “a good match” for the A350, but would want a long-term [A330neo] program that would need to be more than five years–equating to at least 600 aircraft at ten per month. Quoting Airbus Group chief executive Tom Enders as seeing potential for “hundreds” of A330neos, Airbus president Fabrice Bregier puts that quantity at “between 200 and 900” with half that number being insufficient for a launch.

Regarding necessary changes to the A330, Rao said the current optimized wing is “very efficient” and could not easily be improved, even with winglets, which would “not do much” to enhance performance. He sees new engines as the principal source of improvement, although there would also “be some aerodynamic clean-ups.”

New, “better” powerplants would contribute to a five-percent weight increase and a higher aircraft price.

A possible exclusive relationship with Rolls-Royce could see the UK manufacturer offer an enhanced Trent XWB-influenced development of the Trent 1000-TEN or launch an initial application of the proposed Advance engine, perhaps

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 35

New CEO is steering ATR toward an even brighter future

by Nick Klenske When taking the helm of a company that already owns a substantial portion of the regional aircraft market, one might be tempted to wonder if there’s anything more to be done. But Patrick de Castelbajac, who was appointed CEO of ATR (Chalet A1-2) at the beginning of June, knows there’s plenty of work left to do.

“When you’re at the top, the challenge is not only to stay at the top, but to find ways to continue to grow,” de Castelbajac told AIN. De Castelbajac follows Filippo Bagnato, whose (second) four-year mandate, according to ATR’s statutes, expired at the end of May.

Considering ATR’s dominance in the market, it’s easy to understand the new CEO’s challenge. Since 2009, ATR has captured more than 40 percent of the global 50- to 90-seat regional aircraft market.

Orders for its ATR-600 series, launched in 2010, have already totaled more than 500 units. The company boasts a recordbreaking backlog, which has doubled in less than four years. At more than 320 and valued at $7.9 billion, the backlog stands as the strongest among all regional aircraft with 90 or fewer seats, ATR claims.

“We’re in the midst of commercial aviation’s most ambitious ramp-up in

MARK WAGNER

The ATR 72-600 on display here at the Farnborough Airshow wears the livery of Brazilian airline Azul .

Ontic sees ‘incredible growth’ in legacy product support

by Thierry Dubois Legacy product support specialist Ontic (BBA Aviation, Hall 1 Stand B13) is here announcing new “extended life solution” contracts, a local stamp of approval for its Singapore maintenance facility and “incredible growth” over the past 12 months, when total annual sales exceeded $30 million.

For its Singapore Seletar maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) workshop, BBA Aviation received CAAS SAR145 approval from the local authorities. The facility is co-located with sister company Dallas Airmotive and is supported by manufacturing and MRO facilities in Chatsworth, California, and Cheltenham, UK. This new certification, along with the existing EASA 145 approval allows, it to support fleets located throughout the Asia Pacific region, the company said. The facility specializes in fuel gauge repairs for the Boeing 777, 737 Classic, 747 and 757, Airbus A320, Fokker F28, F50, F70 and F100, BAe 146, Hawker 800 and BAe Hawk.

With Safran Power Systems, Ontic

has signed two licenses for military and commercial products. They include the gas turbine starter/auxiliary power unit used on the AV-8B Harrier II aircraft and emergency auxiliary pump motors for the 737NG, C-130J and various regional aircraft. These will be transitioned via Ontic’s adoption process from Safran’s Pitstone, UK facility into Ontic’s Cheltenham, UK and Chatsworth, California facilities. Ontic will provide the customers with complete support including production and aftermarket services.

The past 12 months were the most active licensing period in the firm’s 40-year history. The licensed products range from engine components to smoke detectors. “Partnering with OEMs on mature and non-core products help them achieve key strategic objectives in a timely manner and provides assurance to the customers that these products are available for as long as the market requires them,” Gareth Hall, president of Ontic, commented. o

36 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Patrick de Castelbajac

recent years, increasing by over 37 percent in the last two,” de Castelbajac said.

“We are set to deliver 80 aircraft in 2014 and are positioning ourselves to reach 95 in 2015 and 100 by 2016.”

De Castelbajac, who came to ATR from Airbus, where he served as head of contracts negotiations since 2010, noted that one cannot sit on past successes. “I intend to keep ATR powering forward,” he said. “Our recently EASA-certified PW127N engines and enhanced avionics suite are excellent examples of how ATR is doing this.”

The PW127N engines provide a 4.5-percent power increase for maximum take off ratings over the ATR 72-600’s PW127Ms, giving the aircraft better performance in hot and high environments. That means additional airports, particularly those with challenging environments, could open to ATR 72-600 operations.

ATR plans to progressively introduce

the engine this year through 2015, with an Avianca aircraft being the first to come equipped with the upgrade. Operators can also convert from the PW127M up to the new PW127N in the field with only the need for minor hardware modifications.

The turboprop airplane’s enhanced all-glass cockpit also plays a role in opening new airports into which the aircraft can operate. For example, its LPV system means the aircraft can now land without the need for ground equipment, a common situation at many secondary airports.

Both the engines and the avionics combine to lower fuel consumption and increase efficiency, creating what ATR characterizes as a remarkably green turboprop. Although market growth has happened primarily in the Asia-Pacific region and South America, ATR sees an opening in the long-stagnant and regulation-heavy European market.

As a mature market, little room for fleet growth exists in Europe. However, ATR sees fleet renewal opportunities, noting that half of the current fleet of turboprop regional aircraft in Europe consists of models no longer in production.

“The ATR 72-600 is the greenest regional aircraft,” claimed de Castelbajac. “In fact, a flight from Brussels to London via the ATR 72-600 burns less fuel than taking the Eurostar train between the two cities.

“This all exemplifies the ATR philosophy that I have inherited and intend to carry forward,” he added. “As a turboprop manufacturer, ATR is not in the field of speed, we are in the field of economy. And that means continuing to look for ways to increase the ATR’s efficiency and decrease its operating costs.” o

Surrey NanoSystems Unveils “VANTABlack” MATERIAL Surrey NanoSystems (Hall 4 Innovation Zone, Stand A5 & A6) is here in Farnborough unveiling Vantablack, a “super black” material aimed at improving the range and sensitivity of electro-optical imaging and target-acquisition systems.

“Vantablack is a major breakthrough by UK industry in the application of nanotechnology to optical instrumentation; for example, it reduces stray-light, improving the ability of sensitive telescopes to see the faintest stars,” said Ben Jensen, chief technology officer of Surrey NanoSystems, which has patented a low-temperature carbon nanotube growth process.

The manufacture of “super black” carbon nanotube-based materials has tra­ditionally required high temperatures, preventing their direct application to sensitive electronics or materials with relatively low melting points.

The company emphasized its ability to apply Vantablack Surrey NanoSystems’ Vantablack technology has applications in to lightweight, temperature- optical instrumentation. Unlike previous technologies, the material can be applied to lightweight, sensitive structures–a big advantage. sensitive structures, such as aluminum, while absorbing a record 99.96 percent of incident radiation.

“We are now scaling up production to meet the requirements of our first customers in the defense and space sectors and have already delivered our first orders,” Jensen said.

As part of the Vantablack development program, qualification to European Cooperation for Space Standardization was also achieved.

–T.D.

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R-R confident of Trent XWB performance and popularity

by Ian Goold Rolls-Royce is confident that other customers will take the 70 Airbus A350900XWB and -1000XWB production positions released when Emirates Airline canceled its order on June 1, and says demand remains strong for the new twinaisle twinjet, which is powered exclusively by R-R Trent XWB engines. The loss reduced the manufacturer’s orderbook by £2.6 billion (excluding the value of “TotalCare” support contracts), or about 3.5 percent.

Before the decision was announced, R-R (Hall 4 Stand H3/Chalet D3) had put A350XWB orders at 812, including 189 A350-1000s, from 40 customers. The UK engine company also has endured canceled A350-800XWBs, orders for which fell to fewer than 40 earlier this year.

Despite the order disappointments,

R-R stated that it is “very pleased” with demonstrated engine performance.

Production of the 84,000-pound-thrust Trent XWB-84 is established and assembly of the first more-powerful 97,000-poundthrust XWB-97 variant began in June.

XWB-84 manufacture for the initial A350-900 is planned to accelerate from the current two per month to one per day by the end of this decade or the early 2020s, according to Trent XWB marketing head Tim Boddy. He said relatively little time would be required to prepare to run a 73,000- to 79,000-pound-thrust XWB-79 for the A350-800; R-R could fly an example in the middle of next year if initial suggestions of a 2016 entry into service are confirmed. (Airbus has not yet accorded development status to this smallest variant and neither company

New R-R Discs Factory Cuts Production Time in Half Rolls-Royce last month opened its new advanced engine disc manufacturing facility at Washington in the northeast of England. When it is fully operational in 2016, the 194,000-sq-ft (18,000 sq m) factory will have the capacity to make 2,500 fan and turbine discs each year for various Trent engines, including the new Trent XWB that powers the Airbus A350XWB. The new facility represents an investment of approximately $165 million for Rolls-Royce. It ­incorporates several advanced manufacturing techniques including robotics and automation for shot-peen, painting and chemical processing operations, as well as the latest platforms for machining, grinding, broaching and inspection processes.

According to Rolls-Royce, these improvements have reduced the time it takes to make a disc by 50 percent. Some of the new techniques were developed at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Rotherham, UK. –C.A.

R-R claims the Trent XWB’s advanced compressor aerodynamics deliver module weight savings of 15 percent through blisk technology.

includes the model in projected timelines.)

R-R has established dedicated Trent XWB-84 and -97 program teams to translate lessons from testing into engine maturity as suppliers increase production rates and the manufacturer develops service capabilities covering parts, spares and training, designed to “build inherent support,” said Boddy. The Trent XWB97 final design concept was completed last year and R-R expects to begin initial production in six to nine months’ time, ahead of projected 2017 service entry.

Last month, the first two pairs of Trent XWB-84 production units–engine serial numbers (ESNs) 21019/21020 and 21021/21022 were delivered to Toulouse for installation on the initial A350-900s for launch customer Qatar Airways– manufacturer serial numbers (MSNs) 006 and 007, respectively.

Full-spectrum Testing Completed

R-R said it is “really very pleased” with Trent XWB-84 performance during A350-900 testing, with some 1,620 aircraft hours flown during about 430 flights. So-called full-spectrum testing has been completed, including climatic and environmental work in extreme cold, hot, high and humid meteorological conditions in Bolivia, Canada, Martinique, Qatar, Singapore and the U.S., and last month in tropical weather in the United Arab Emirates.

By June, specific powerplant testing had seen 6,700 engine hours/13,200 cycles logged with 14 Trent XWBs in work at six sites in Europe and North America, including simulated altitude work at Edwards AFB in California, initial thermal-endurance exercises in Madrid, Spain, and cold starting in Canada. R-R has another thermal-endurance test to run before service entry late this year, and additional running later as it works to build engine experience.

One example is testing in preparation for extended twin-engine operations (Etops). Airbus is seeking clearance at service entry for A350s to be permitted to Rolls-Royce plans to accelerate production of Trent XWB engines for the Airbus A350 XWB twin-aisle twinjet from the current two per month to one per day by the end of this decade or the early 2020s.

38 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

operate at up to six hours single-engine cruise range from the nearest available airports (up from an earlier plan for 350 minutes’ clearance).

In what Boddy termed the “ground version of Etops,” R-R has completed the first of three “diversion” test cycles run like airline operations on ESN 20011/1, comprising three blocks of 1,000 simulated 30-minute flights to be followed by a maintenance shop visit demonstration. Testing includes on-wing maintenance and inspection routines. Previous plans had included 4,250 such cycles, and Boddy said that by early June 1,465 cycles had been completed.

Planned route-proving flights to the Arabian Gulf will provide an opportunity to complete high-temperature operations, with R-R saying that no engine issues arose during earlier hot and cold tests with A350 MSN002. Using the McKinley climate-testing chamber at Elgin AFB in Florida, Airbus has completed engine runs at 45 degrees C/15 percent humidity and at -40 degrees C/F. R-R said last month that it had begun building the first of a projected series of up to 14 test units of the more powerful Trent XWB-97. The high- and intermediate-pressure compressor (HPC and IPC) assemblies were complete and the manufacturer said, also in June, that most engine modules would be complete in a few weeks. It expects to fly the XWB-97 engine on the Airbus A380 flying testbed in late 2015.

According to R-R, the Trent XWB97’s functional capability is built on the foundation of the XWB-84 and it plans to demonstrate -97 conditions on a baseline engine. Testing is scheduled to include HPC and IPC efficiency and operability, high- and intermediate-pressure turbine efficiency, fan efficiency and flutter, and combustor relight and emissions. o

Columbia PRECISION expands component making capability UK precision engineering group Columbia Precision (Hall 1 Stand B4) has invested approximately $3.4 million in new equipment to expand its capacity to produce specialist components for the aerospace and defense industries. The new plant includes the Mazak Megaturn Nexus 900M and Matsuura MAM72-63V machines. The firm has also acquired the latest Delcam and OneCNC manufacturing software.

The Megaturn equipment will allow Columbia to make rings up to one meter in diameter and components of up to 800 cubic millimeters and weighing up to around 3,000 kg (6,613 pounds). The MAM72-63V is a six-pallet tool that is suited to making unwieldy, complex components. It can perform five-axis machining.

–C.A.

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Galileo prepares two for lift-off

by Aimée Turner This summer will see significant progress in the world’s first civilian-owned and -operated satellite navigation system as Europe prepares to dispatch the first two full-capability

Galileo satellites for lift-off.

Payload preparation for Arianespace’s Soyuz Flight VS09 started in earnest in early May with the arrival in French Guiana of the first two Galileo

full operational capability (FOC) satellites.

After several months of testing in the Netherlands, the twin satellites were placed inside specially designed containers, maintaining

temperature, humidity and air cleanliness within rigid limits in readiness for integration with the Soyuz launch vehicle in the middle of this month.

Scheduled for a dual-passenger launch on August 21, these satellites will join their four Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) counterparts, which were deployed in pairs in October

The first two satellites for the Galileo system will be launched next month from Kourou, French Guiana.

2011 and a year later in 2012.

On Mar. 12, 2013, Galileo’s space and ground infrastructure came together for the very first time to perform the historic first determination of a ground location at ESA’s navigation laboratory at its ESTEC technical center, located in the Netherlands.

Didier Faivre, the European Space Agency director of Galileo, told AIN that the four IOV satellites are critical in helping the ESA demonstrate that the system could deliver precise positioning and timing capabilities.

“Europe has proven with the in-orbit validation campaign that, in terms of performance, we are at a par with the best international systems of navigation in the world,” said Faivre.

The Galileo program is Europe’s initiative for satellite navigation, providing a highly accurate global positioning system under civilian control–which will consist of 30 satellites, along with two control centers in Europe supported by a network of sensor and uplink stations around the world.

The network’s complete operational and ground infrastructure will now be deployed during Galileo’s full operational capability phase, which is managed and funded by the European Commission, with the European Space Agency delegated to design and procure on behalf of Brussels.

Faivre told AIN that four FOC satellites will be launched by the end of this year, and that, depending on production rates, another eight will be added to the constellation next year. “We will still have 22 to launch, so that means we anticipate the constellation will be completed in three to four years’ time,” said Faivre.

The imminent August 21 launch of the first two full-capability satellites will be followed by some weeks of testing and positioning before the satellite can be declared operational. o

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40 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

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During pre-certification testing, the Airbus A350XWB twin-aisle twinjet underwent water ingestion trials on a long military runway at Istres, France, that also is used for high- and maximum-energy rejected takeoff work.

Airbus A350 Flight-test Logbook

A350 crews train for year-end launch

by Ian Goold Airbus has begun airline crew training for its A350XWB customers about six months ahead of the new twin-aisle twinjet’s entry into service, scheduled for late this year, according to chief test pilot Peter Chandler, who flew the aircraft on its maiden flight in June 2013.

He reports that the training syllabus has been developed and that the first A350 pilot course was under way last month, with access to a full flight simulator.

Launch customer Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines have received demonstration flights.

The start of training comes as the European manufacturer is looking forward to obtaining formal airworthiness approval for the design, which contains a much larger proportion of carbon fiber composites in its structure than previous Airbus models. By early June, more than 70 percent of certification documents had been delivered to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), with 100 percent “planned for end of the [northern] summer,” according to A350 program executive vice president Didier Evrard.

He said EASA certification had been launched for the A350 manufacturer’s serial number (MSN) 006, destined to be the first Qatari aircraft, and that the agency has approved the manufacturer’s flight-test plan for extended-range twinengine operations (Etops). That aircraft, MSN007 (the second for Qatar Airways), and the following three were in final assembly last month.

Evrard said these first two production aircraft are being prepared for late-2014 delivery, “and then we will discuss next year as more customers join the club.”

Major assemblies for airframes up to at least MSN039 were under way last month at various partner factories, with the A350 “on track for first delivery by year-end.”

Airbus is planning “a steep industrial ramp-up” that is expected to see production increase from two per month (Rate 2) now to Rate 3 at the end of 2014,

and Rate 5 about 12 months later (as the stretched A350-1000 is introduced).

This will grow steadily to a predicted 10 per month–perhaps within another two years, and certainly by 2020.

Having built the first five A350s, with the initial aircraft spending just eight months in final assembly–“a very efficient use of time”–Evrard expects that this period will fall to about three months when Airbus is in full production mode.

As the build rates increase, Evrard said that one of the most important factors by which to gauge program success will be “industrial and supply chain readiness.”

Others include having a stable design, certification and customer definition on time, and achieving A350-1000 commonality and maturity.

He sees the freezing of A350 “customization,” for which Airbus has established a “cabin ‘configurator’” in its new customer definition center in Hamburg, as a key enabler for ramp-up (see related story on facing page–Ed.). Before this year, A350 cabin interior layouts–so called “head of version contractual definition freezes”–had been agreed to with at least Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair,

Airbus A350 No. 2 hosts a dedicated flight-test engineers’ station located in the center of the economy-class section. The station is linked to each aircraft system, with several fixed and portable computer screens displaying real-time and recorded data.

42 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

LATAM Airlines (the merged South American carriers LAN and TAM), and lessors CIT and ILFC. By year-end, Evrard expects to have agreements with 10 more customers, including Ethiopian Airways, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Thai Airways. They are to be joined next year by Antilles operator Air Caraibes, Asiana, Etihad Airlines, Hawaiian, Lufthansa and TAP Portugal, followed by as many as 17 in 2016.

Supply-chain Improvement

To monitor manufacturing activity and to address any issues arising, Airbus has established a supply-chain improvement plan among its 213 commodity providers, 90 percent of which are under what Airbus terms “standard surveillance and improvement.” A matrix charting supplier capability and capacity against supplier risk exposure shows a few companies at the top end of both categories: 7.5 percent of suppliers are subject to a joint improvement plan with Airbus, while the remaining 2.5 percent are covered by a “development and transformation” program.

An important element of work toward A350 type certification is the completion of major airframe fatigue tests. Evrard said in mid-June that within “a few weeks” Airbus expects to have completed Essai Fatigue (EF, or “fatigue test”) 2, which began in April on an A350 Section15/21 specimen including wingbox and belly fairing.

EF1, initiated last October on Section 11/13 with a dummy nose landing gear, has been completed after 9,823 simulated flights. Also complete, after 4,880 simulated flights beginning in March, is EF3, a test of Section16/19 with stub tailfin and dummy tailplane and tailcone. Testing of the wing under a “composite fatigue spectrum” involving different repetitive cycles has been completed after undergoing the equivalent of one aircraft “life,” or design service goal, and undergoing an ultimate load test. o

By the end of September, Airbus expects to have received European Aviation Safety Agency type certification for the A350 ahead of delivery of the first two aircraft– manufacturer’s serial numbers (MSNs) 006 and 007– to Qatar Airways by the end of the year.

The final flight-test aircraft, MSN005, flew on June 20–a year and six days after the type’s maiden flight.

By then, the initial four aircraft had logged more than 2,000 hours as part of a longer, 2,500-hour flighttest campaign. Flight-testing time has averaged 80 hours per month per aircraft, the highest rate achieved by Airbus on any program, and sometimes exceeded 100 hours, according to head of developmental flight test Patrick du Che, who reports a “significant reduction” in the number of “snags” compared with previous projects.

Du Che attributes this to Airbus having validated and verified aircraft and systems maturity before first flight.

Here is a look at the status of each flight-test aircraft: • MSN001–With a heavy flight-test equipment fit, MSN001 has been used for initial flight handling, natural icing, and powerplant and systems testing.

Logbook (to June 2): first flight June 14, 2013; 192 flights; block hours 856; flight cycles 512.

• MSN003–The second A350 to fly, with similar flight-test instrumentation, MSN003 has been engaged in highaltitude and hot- and cold-weather trials, performance measurement, and powerplant and systems tests.

Logbook (to June 2): first flight Oct. 14, 2013; 160 flights; block hours 695; flight cycles 378.

• MSN002–Equipped with the first A350 passenger interior and mediumlevel test instruments fit, MSN002 has been used in systems testing, in-flight entertainment and hot- and cold-cabin trials and also early long flights.

Logbook (to June 2): first flight Feb. 26, 2014; 27 flights; block hours 155; flight cycles 29.

• MSN004–The lightly instrumented MSN004 was earmarked for external sound-level and lightning-strike tests, development and certification of avionics, and customer flight- and maintenance-crew training.

Logbook (to June 2): first flight Feb. 26, 2014; 60 flights; block hours 199; flight cycles 221.

• MSN005–The final A350 flight-test machine features a full passenger cabin interior fit and light flight-test instrumentation and is being used for cabin operability and training, extended twinengine operations (Etops) approval and route proving. –I.G.

Airbus may limit XWB cabin options As Airbus A350XWB (xtra widebody) customers freeze aircraft interior configuration plans, the European manufacturer hopes to limit cabin furnishing options for the new twin-aisle twinjet in order to keep final-assembly lines flowing as it accelerates production rates during a steep industrial ramp-up.

Working with the A350 supplier-furnished equipment (SFE) catalog, which includes seats, galleys, cabin monuments and other items, 10 A350 customers are expected to establish “head of version contractual definition freezes” this year, according to A350 program executive vice president Didier Evrard.

At least eight such freezes had been agreed to before this year; customers can sample a dedicated customer definition center (CDC) set up by Airbus in 2013 at its assembly plant near Hamburg, Germany. “[The CDC] combines the lessons learned from previous programs and will provide an efficient tool to [support production of] ten A350s/month,” said Airbus head of cabin and cargo Jorg Schuler. He concedes that Airbus needed to tighten up arrangements for SFE selection after completion of early A380 aircraft had been delayed by complicated cabin-configuration arrangements.

premium-economy Celeste cradle seat to offer a “high level of comfort at an efficient pitch.”

Airbus has learned it has to manage the catalog, because final assembly line customization could “delay you by six

months,” according to marketing senior vice president Chris Emerson. A byproduct of the rationalized approach is that used-aircraft residual values may be less unstable if a more-standard cabin layout has been adopted,

reducing the need for large-scale reconfiguration between operators or lessees.

The OEM is emphasizing apparently increased width in the A350’s twin-aisle fuselage–thus boosting a claimed advantage over the competing Boeing 787– and confirms that the twinjet will accommodate high-efficiency 10-abreast seating.

Emerson is at pains to promote the A350’s 221-inch cabin width, which has apparently grown an inch from earlier presentations. Airbus claims 10-abreast seating–not available on previous twin-aisle models–is now possible, with the company boasting a 20-percent greater, six-inch internal advantage over the Boeing 787 cabin. –I.G.

Cabin Configurator

The CDC features a cabin “configurator,” installed in a renovated pre-World War II heritage hangar and able to accommodate two customers simultaneously. It provides a “one-stop shop, where customization can be completed under one roof,” said Schuler.

Customers can test and compare all elements of furnishings and equipment.

The European manufacturer has added Recaro and Sogerma passenger seats to the A350 SFE catalog. Modular Recaro CL3710 economy-class seats are said to offer “maximum living space and comfort” with exceptionally low weight, while Sogerma has optimized its

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 43

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Boeing sees continued strength in 777 program

by Gregory Polek Boeing sees little chance that a phenomenal situation. We it will have to cut production couldn’t have planned it if we of the 777 during the transition wanted to. And we’re certainly to the 777X, notwithstanding not going to try to do that for recent conjecture from analysts Farnborough or Paris or any that a so-called sales “drought” other air show.” since the launch of the program Airbus, conversely, seemed during last year’s Dubai Air likely to generate a lot of Show could portend a period of buzz over sales at this year’s market weakness–and a possi- Farnborough show, judging by bility that it won’t find enough the signals it has sent about a orders to maintain its 8.3-per- healthy sales year in 2014 and month rate into 2020. the comparatively few “I don’t envision orders–roughly 130– that we’re going to it had collected as have difficulty filling of mid-June, opined the capacity that we’re Boeing Commercial producing at through Airplanes vice presthe transition to the ident of marketing 777X,” John Wojick, Randy Tinseth. “If Boeing Commeryou take a look at the cial Airplanes senior other guys, they’ve vice president of talked about how this global sales and maris going to be a good keting, told AIN just John Wojick, senior v-p order year for them,” global sales and marketing before the start of the said Tinseth. “I think Boeing Commercial Farnborough show. they have some plans Airplanes By the third week to announce some of June Boeing (Chalet B6) was orders at the show.” holding firm orders for 283 still Regardless of which company undelivered 777-300ERs, rep- wins the often-contrived airshow resenting roughly three years’ orders contest, Boeing continworth of backlog. “So half of ues to assert that deliveries, more the problem is already solved,” than orders, represent the ultisaid Wojick. “If we continue to mate measure of market success. see demand like we did last year “My objective is to continue to and continue to see this year… keep very full, very solid producthat’s the kind of sales momen- tion going forward,” said Wojick. tum we need to fill that skyline “Getting lots of orders is imporand manage the transition to tant because obviously it gives the 777X.” you confidence that you can fill Apart from the huge 777X that production rate and keep the launch commitments announced production growing. But it’s really in Dubai from three separate all about deliveries and being able customers, Boeing last year col- to make sure that the airplanes lected firm orders for forty-four we’ve sold actually deliver.”

777-300ERs. All told, as of midGeographic Diversity June, Boeing had collected firm orders for 394 airplanes.

Tinseth stressed that the recent delivery lead taken by Airshow Orders Boeing over the last two years Wojick said the company reflects the quality of Boeing’s wouldn’t try to replicate at backlog, as opposed to the size Farnborough the extraordinary advantage Airbus enjoys. Even sales feat it achieved in Dubai, in terms of geographic divernotwithstanding positive sig- sity, neither Tinseth nor Wojick nals from the market of a likely would concede any deficiency breakthrough in the widebody compared with Airbus. category between the time he “We learned a lot in 2001 spoke with AIN in mid-June and about geographic diversity,” said the first day of the show.

Wojick. “We had a tremendous “We had a tremendous concentration in the United Dubai Air Show,” he said. “A States at the time and it hurt us lot of that was associated with very badly when most of our the airlines wanting to make large customers in the United announcements at the Dubai States couldn’t possibly take the Air Show and wanting to close airplanes that they had on order. business [there] real time. That We did some pretty dramatic was just a phenomenal day and things to work through that

Boeing and Air Lease Corporation in late May celebrated the direct delivery of the first of 15 777-300ERs from ALC’s existing order pipeline with the manufacturer. Boeing expected to deliver the second 777-300ER for ALC to British Airways this month.

time… Having a geographically diverse base is very important to us now. We learned that lesson.”

In fact, Boeing managed to maintain production rates through the recession that began in 2008 in the U.S. and spread into Europe largely due to strong demand in Asia– demand the company expects will continue to grow faster than in any other region over the next 20 years. Worldwide, passenger traffic continues to grow at a rate of 6 percent a year.

Even the cargo market has rebounded this year to a level that suggests a 4-percent rate of growth. “We see our customers profitable, we see them managing their business, we see diversity in the market… the market’s in a good place right now,” said Tinseth.

“There’s still work to be done [in cargo]. But we’ve seen now almost a full year of growth in that market. We’re starting to see freighter utilization go up, which means that they’re using their assets more. There’s still a bit of overcapacity in their market; there’s no question about that because we have some issues with some yields and revenue for the airlines but we’re on the right track again.”

A rebound in cargo stands to lighten spirits among 747-8 salespeople, whose undeniable struggles placing the latest version of Boeing’s jumbo jet has bred what most in the company would consider uninformed predictions of a premature demise.

Still, Boeing’s book-to-bill ratio last year nearly reached 1:1, as it sold 17 airplanes to five different customers while producing 18, even in a still weak cargo market, noted Wojick. This year Boeing expects Korean Air and Air China to join Lufthansa on

46 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

its customer list for the passenger version, the Intercontinental. “The more these airplanes get out and compete, I think the better they’ll do,” added Tinseth, who said he expected that Intercontinentals eventually would account for roughly 50 percent of the future orderbook.

Wojick confirmed reports that he has talked to Emirates Airline

about a potential 747-8 order.

“Airbus is talking about re-engining the [A380], and [Emirates CEO] Tim [Clark] is encouraging them,” said Wojick. “And the engine they’re going to re-engine it with is the engine we already have on the 747-8, so we think that airplane provides the sort of fuel efficiency they’re looking for in a re-engined A380.” o

Greater visibility clears M&A deals for takeoff

by Charles Alcock This week’s Farnborough of certainty–over airliner build International Airshow prom- rates is a key factor supporting ises to be another busy one the bullish M&A environment for deal-makers like Michael surrounding airliner manufacRichter, managing director turers and their suppliers.

“The overall health of the [airand head of aerospace and defense with investment bank line] industry is about as strong Lazard. Even compared with as we’ve seen it and so there is the periods around the 2012 very strong visibility on the order books [of airframers],” Farnborough show Richter told AIN. and the 2013 Paris “There is now confiAir Show, he sees risdence that 2014 and ing levels of merg2015 [production] is ers and acquisitions sold out and 2016 looks (M&A) activity in good, with diminished the commercial aerovisibility for 2017 and space sector. He also 2018. This all makes it anticipates some easier for [M&A] buydegree of recovery ers and sellers to come in defense industry to agreement on price.”

M&A activity, reversMichael Richter, For the most part, ing a period of rel- managing director, airliner order backative inactivity in a Lazard logs have held up sector that has been impacted by uncertainty over well, but Emirates Airline sprung an unwelcome surmilitary budgets.

According to Lazard, com- prise when it canceled its order mercial aerospace M&A is being for 70 Airbus A350XWB driven largely by the quest for widebodies. “I don’t think it’s consolidation in the supply clear that this represents a chain and greater certainty over deeper-rooted problem,” said positive build rates for products. Richter in an interview last Continued on next page u Visibility–meaning a high degree

uContinued from preceding page

month. “It seems to be more to do with Emirates not needing as many aircraft as it had ordered earlier. Time will tell, and if there are other cancellations the situation will have to be reviewed.” He added that the continuing squeeze on airline profit margins simply bolsters the case for them to invest in new, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

“Strong [build rate] visibility and order books mean banks are very willing to lend capital [to fund acquisitions],” said Richter. So whereas investors might have previously been able to secure loans of up to around three or four times an acquisition target’s earnings before EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and

amortization), Lazard has lately seen cases where up to seven times this measure has been provided in support of deals.

“Aerospace is one of the few bright spots and there are now few other sectors attracting so much debt capital,” said Richter. At the same time, lenders have loosened the covenant terms under which

capital is provided and this, plus historically low interest rates, has helped to push up purchase prices for strategic acquisitions.

So does any of this M&A activity materially contribute to the overall health of the aerospace and defense industry? “Deep down the OEMs do appreciate what we are doing

here because it reduces the points of failure,” concluded Richter. “They will have more capable, better capitalized suppliers instead of disparate and under-capitalized suppliers, presenting much less risk of a supply chain shock caused by smaller companies not having the capital they need to increase production rates.” o

Pent-up Demand

On the defense side of the industry, Lazard sees strong pent-up demand, balance sheets and cash positions for companies bolstering the case for M&A deals to be consummated. “Overall, it’s hard in the defense sector,” said Richter, “which can’t agree with any level of certainty on what the cash flow will be. But we do now see a slightly greater level of visibility [in terms of production rates] compared with the total cloud cover we’ve had in recently years. Some [M&A] deals are now trickling out.”

According to Richter, much of the M&A activity in the past 12 months has been concentrated on the aerostructures sector, which he described as having “a pivotal position in the supply chain.”

From an investor’s point of view, these tier one-and-ahalf and tier two companies are attractive propositions in part because they build parts specified by the tier-one manufacturers rather than shouldering the principle design risk for programs, said Richter.

In March, Lazard advised Marvin Engineering on the $625 million sale of California-based Aerospace Dynamics International to Precision Castparts. The company makes items such as landing gear beam assemblies for the A350.

Back in June 2013, Lazard also assisted in the $600 million deal that saw Precision Castparts buy fastener manufacturer Permaswage.

Favorable conditions in the debt markets are spurring private equity groups to get more active in aerospace M&A deals. An example of this was Warburg Pincus’s recent purchase of aircraft parts maker Wencor Group.

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The RAF’s Voyager fleet has been cleared for protected air transport operations with the defensive aids suite, allowing the aircraft to operate into theater. Voyager operations to Afghanistan began just before Christmas 2013.

Airbus military offers enhanced A330 MRTT

by David Donald Airbus Defence and Space Military Aircraft (Outside Exhibit 13) has announced that it will begin deliveries of an improved version of the A330 multi-role tanker transport in late 2017. The initial A330 MRTT Enhanced aircraft will be the first of six that were ordered by Singapore earlier this year. Subsequent production aircraft will all be of the new version.

In part, the introduction of the A330 MRTT Enhanced has been forced by changes implemented on the main A330 airliner production line at Toulouse, which is introducing a range of improvements beginning next year. These include structural enhancements, aerodynamic alterations to reduce fuel-burn, and an avionics pack including Power-8 computers and new display screens.

Although conversion of used aircraft to MRTT status is an option, all A330 tankers so far have been produced by conversion of “green” aircraft, and the majority of expected sales would also be of new-build aircraft. As Toulouse production switches to the new version of the airliner, so tanker derivatives will also change. This necessitates some alterations to the existing military modifications to adapt them to the new aircraft configuration.

such as upgrades to the mission and mission planning systems.

The new aircraft will also have the Boom Upgrade 3 software, as detailed below, as well as an improvement to the boom visual system. At the same time, solutions will be adopted for Mode 5 IFF for those nations cleared to move up to this standard, and also for the implementation of ADS-B. The latter is to be mandatory for civil operations by 2019. Some of these upgrades will be available for the initial batch of 28 aircraft that have been ordered by the first four customers.

Airbus DS is approaching the end of the conversion process for those aircraft, 19 of which are now in service. The

UAE has received all three aircraft on order, and is using them to refuel F-16s and A330s from the boom, and Mirage 2000s from the wing pods. Australia has also received all of its five KC-30A aircraft, although two are currently at the main Airbus conversion center at Getafe, Spain, flying in support of the Boom Upgrade 3 program.

Upgrade 3 is primarily a software upgrade that adds a new set of control laws to enable the fly-by-wire boom to be more accurate when refueling large receiver aircraft, which create a powerful bow wake that influences the boom. As well as the new control laws, the upgrade includes a refined interface with revised boom operating control stick and new, simpler displays.

Specified by Australia, the Upgrade 3 is being jointly funded by the customer and Airbus DS. The RAAF’s first aircraft (MRTT 1) is the lead platform for the upgrade, and was joined by the RAAF’s

Introducing Upgrades

While Airbus DS is attending to these necessary changes, it has taken the opportunity to introduce other enhancements,

48 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

Airbus DS is at an advanced stage of selling A330 MRTTs to three more countries. Qatar has selected to buy two pod/boom-equipped aircraft, while India has selected the A330 with Rolls-Royce engines and a pod/FRU tanking configuration. Airbus has finalized negotiations, including offset packages, and has pre-signed the contract. A signature is hoped for before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, France is close to signing for nine aircraft, plus three options, and has already joined the tanker user group that is the main customer/industry forum. France was initially looking at a cargo door option for its MRTTs, and Airbus DS took that study as far as preliminary design review. However, it is now likely that this requirement will be dropped.

Other immediate prospects for the A330 MRTT include Korea, Airbus DS having responded to an RFP last month, and the European Defence Agency. This organization has brought together several interested nations, such as the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain, which may look to pool their individual requirements into one large order to a more attractive price. This could also result in a shared or pooled operational fleet. –D.D.

MRTT 5 in March to support testing. This aircraft acts as the large aircraft receiver during trials. Test flying is now complete, and certification flights began in early June.

Saudi Arabia has received four of its six MRTTs, the most recent in April. The fifth is now in conversion at Getafe and the sixth is being converted

by Iberia. The Spanish airline’s technical division has already converted three A330 MRTTs under contract to Airbus DS, and has another three under contract. The Getafe plant provides three hangars for MRTT conversion, while Iberia adds another two hangars to provide an overflow capacity.

Illustrating the capability offered by the A330 tanker/ transport, the Royal Saudi Air Force recently undertook its first major deployment with the type. Two A330 MRTTs used the aircraft’s boom system to refuel eight F-15 Eagles on a deployment to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a Red Flag exercise. The deployment trail was The RAF is currently providing a Voyager to perform refueling tests with the A400M using the tanker’s fuselage refueling unit. This view is from an earlier test campaign that involved dry contacts only.

undertaken in three legs, stopping at Morón in Spain and McGuire AFB, New Jersey.

As well as boom refueling the F-15 and MRTT, the Saudi aircraft are also cleared to refuel Tornado and Typhoon fighters from the wing pods.

By the end of May the operational A330 MRTT fleet had notched up over 20,000 hours and 6,430 flight cycles. Making up the lion’s share of those figures is the RAF’s Voyager fleet, which has replaced both the VC10 and TriStar in RAF service. The RAF has received nine of its 14 aircraft, one of which is civil registered.

Voyagers have been used intensively since entering service, and have posted impressive aircraft availability rates of around 99 percent. The type is used for regular air transport duties, as well as protected air transport involving the DAS (defensive aids suite).

The type has received a 180-minute ETOPS/METOPS clearance, and in early June the RAF cleared the Voyager for METOPS-AAR (extended-range twin-engine operations on the military aircraft register for air-to-air refueling).

Refueling of Typhoons and Tornados is cleared for the Cobham 905E wing pods, while recently the Cobham 805E fuselage refueling unit (FRU) has been approved for tanking the Hercules C.Mk 4/5. Tests of refueling the Typhoon and Tornado from the FRU have been undertaken, but clearance for the Hercules was considered a greater priority.

At the start of this month trials began of refueling the A400M transport using the FRU. Although initial trials have been flown with this combination, there were no wet contacts. The RAF has provided aircraft FSTA 1 for these clearance trials, which will take place primarily in Spain. o

Artwork sheds new light on vintage wind tunnels

by Ian Sheppard You may not think art and aviation mix–but think again!

Artist Tatiana Ojjeh has, with the support of various sponsors including Farnborough Airport owner TAG Aviation, brought a creative experience to the show in one of the old, vast wind tunnels–situated in the old Royal Aircraft Establishment buildings on the opposite side of the airfield from the Farnborough Airshow site.

Artliner announced in the spring that it planned to use the aircraft research wind tunnels for creative audio and visual experiences, with the opening running from Monday June 9 until the last day of the Farnborough show, Sunday July 25.

The Wind Tunnel Project is a “multi-sensory art exhibition” housed in and around 1917 and 1935 Grade-1 and -2 listed buildings, which are being opened to the public for

the first time in history. Closed since the 1960s, the wind tunnels are two of the most complete examples of early 20th century wind tunnels and flight-testing center technology in the world, used to test aircraft including the world Hawker Hurricane.

According to Artliner, the project is a truly unique art program that celebrates the very best of British aviation heritage, with the aim of leaving behind a lasting legacy in Farnborough.

“The project includes a series of events, including music and performance,” said Ojjeh. “We are hugely appreciative of our superb sponsors, namely, Breitling, Bombardier and Harbert Management…all our sponsors and supporters, including TAG Group…have really bought into the project, which is now set to expose the

The large return duct of the heritage wind tunnel at the former Royal Aircraft Establishment site at TAG Farnborough Airport is being used for evening events, where musical accompaniments take advantage of the cathedral-like acoustics.

significance of the wind tunnels in a unique way.”

AIN enjoyed a preview of the wind tunnels in May, with the vast return duct showing incredible acoustics akin to a cathedral. This has been used over the past few weeks to stage dinners accompanied by musical performances. o

Visiting the Wind Tunnel Project Farnborough Airshow attendees who want to indulge in the creative experience of light and sound that is the Wind Tunnel Project (www.thewind tunnelproject.com), can visit the old tunnel sites during the airshow.

TAG Aviation is providing shuttle buses to the site for visitors this week.

There is parking near the wind tunnels for those who want to make their way there independently. The address is: Buildings Q121 and R52, Hall Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7JP. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children (12 years and under go free), or £5 for concessions–including members of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the FAST (Farnborough Air Sciences Trust) museum, which is located next door–and pensioners over 60. Two-hour guided tours conducted o by a FAST historian are also available for £20 per party.

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‘King Stallion’ is put through its paces before first flight

by Chad Trautvetter Powered ground tests of the Sikorsky CH-53K, the U.S. Marine Corps’ future heavy-lift helicopter, are now well under way at the company’s West Palm Beach, Florida facility in the run-up to first flight later this year. The first ground-test

vehicle (GTV1) started systems testing in late April, about a week before the first flying article was rolled out on May 5.

Operational service of the mostly composite helicopter, which has been dubbed the “King Stallion,” is expected in 2019.

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The company’s steady growth and good financial standing bolster its commitment to its global security mission with reliance on the best traditions of the Russian radio-electronic school of thought.

The Radio-Electronic Technologies Concern was set up in 2009. It comprises 97 subsidiaries throughout Russia.

20/1, b. 1, Goncharnaya str., Moscow 109240 Russian Federation mail@retechn.ru +7 (495) 587-70-70

kret.com

52 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

The CH-53K “King Stallion,” one of the first all-digitally designed helicopters, was assembled inside a 3-D virtual reality lab at Sikorsky’s headquarters before any metal was cut or composites were laid out.

“The rollout of the CH-53K helicopter introduces a new era in Marine Corps aviation,” said Sikorsky president Mick Maurer. “The clean-sheet CH-53K will effectively triple the external load carrying capacity of the CH-53E aircraft–to more than 27,000 pounds, over a mission radius of 110 nautical miles.

“With its 88,000-pound maximum gross weight, powerful new engines, lightweight composite structure, new rotor blades and fly-by-wire flight controls, the CH-53K will have the means to move troops and equipment from ship to shore, and to higher altitude terrain, more quickly and effectively than ever before.”

Three 7,500-shp GE Aviation T408 engines power the helicopter, offering 57-percent more horsepower and 20-percent lower specific fuel consumption than the CH-53E’s GE T64 turboshaft.

To convert the extra engine power into torque and shaft horsepower within a similarly sized main gearbox, Sikorsky developed a new transmission system that transfers that power to the “largest and most technologically advanced” main rotor blade that Sikorsky has ever produced. Measuring 35 feet in span length and almost three feet in chord width, the all-composite blade has 12 percent more surface area than the blade on the CH53E, the King Stallion’s predecessor that was produced in the 1980s.

Thanks to an airframe built from strong, lightweight composite materials, the CH-53K retains the same external footprint as its predecessor–a required specification for the helicopter to fit on

existing U.S. Navy ship elevators–but has a cabin that is 13 inches wider. On the flight deck, a Rockwell Collins digital glass cockpit governs a fly-by-wire flight control system developed by Sikorsky (Hall 1, Chalet 15 and Outdoor Exhibit 3/4), UTC Aerospace Systems, Eaton and BAE Systems.

According to Sikorsky, the CH-53K is one of the first all-digitally designed helicopters. This approach enabled the company to assemble the aircraft inside a 3-D virtual reality lab at its Stratford, Connecticut headquarters before any metal was cut or composites were laid out.

“Our ‘build before you build’ approach allowed our engineers to work ‘inside’ the helicopter,” said Maurer, “to verify assembly designs and correct issues long before discovery and expensive rework on the assembly line.”

Meanwhile, powered ground tests of GTV1 will help to shake out any issues with the CH-53K’s aircraft systems, including rotors, drive, electrical, hydraulic, avionics and flight controls. GTV1 will log some 250 hours of powered ground tests before the CH-53K’s first flight later this year, which will kick off a three-year flight test program.

The ground-test vehicle is bolted to the ground at a remote testing area within Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach facility and will log a total of 900 hours of tests by the end of 2016, after which the airframe will be shipped to Naval Air Station China Lake in California for live weapons testing. There it will be shot with an array or ordinances to see how the airframe holds up. o

Sikorsky S-97 Raider Tests Continue Sikorsky Aircraft powered on its S-97 Raider prototype on May 28 at the company’s development flight center in West Palm Beach, Florida, marking the successful installation of the avionics system and a major step toward completing the assembly of the new light tactical rotorcraft. A contender for the U.S. Army’s armed aerial scout program, the S-97 is a production-ready, “scaledup version of the X2 demonstrator,” with both helicopters having contrarotating rotor blades and a pusher propeller that enables high-speed forward flight, according to Sikorsky vice president of research and engineering Mark Miller.

While the X2 achieved a maximum cruise speed of 253 knots, the target cruise speed of the mostly composite S-97 is 220 knots. At 11,000 pounds mtow, the eight-place S-97 will be approximately twice as heavy as the X2, Miller noted.

The first of two S-97 prototypes is currently being Sikorsky S-97 Raider assembled at the Sikorsky Innovations facility in West Palm Beach. This aircraft is about halfway through the assembly process, with several key components in production and scheduled to be installed in the next few months, Sikorsky said.

Tests of the cockpit multifunction displays and control display unit (CDU) in late May were being followed last month by power-on tests of the remaining avionics, electrical and fly-by-wire flight control systems. Meanwhile, ground tests of the rotor and pusher propeller systems will start this summer, building up to an expected first flight by year-end. Sikorsky plans to demonstrate the helicopter’s capabilities to the U.S. military beginning next year. –C.T.

Esterline CMC shows sims for 9000 and 4000

by Matt Thurber flight bags and enhanced vision system using a CMC SureSight sensor. Night vision imaging system compatibility is also a popular option with Cockpit 9000 upgrades.

Civil Applications

Esterline CMC president Greg Yeldon said he sees momentum building for operators to upgrade for NextGen.

Esterline CMC also brought its NextGen Cockpit 4000 ­technology demonstrator, which it unveiled at the 2012 Farn­ borough Airshow. Cockpit 4000, which incorporates a large-area digital head-up display and now features new software functionality, is designed for the highperformance trainer and ISR/ attack aircraft market.

Air Transat is equipping its Airbus A310-300 fleet with the CMA-9000. The Air Transat FMS includes Future Air Navigation (FANS 1/A) capability as well as Airline Operational Communication and controllerpilot data link communications.

All new Airbus Helicopters Super Pumas are equipped with the CMA-9000 as well as the CMA-5024 GPS landing system. Aircraft equipped with the CMA-5024 can add groundbased augmentation, as the unit is already equipped with a VHF data broadcast receiver.

The Airbus EC645T2 will also feature the CMA-9000 and CMA-5024. Aircraft equipped with precision GPS receivers such as the CMA-5024 offer an

DAVID McINTOSH

The push is on for meeting airborne equipment mandates and requirements for new air traffic control environments, and Esterline CMC Electronics is here displaying avionics that do just that.

“It comes down to the whole CNS/ATM and NextGen upgrading,” said Greg Yeldon, president of Canada-based Esterline CMC. “As all that infrastructure and requirements and mandates continue to approach, there is more momentum in terms of upgrading aircraft and providing the avionics to meet those mandates.”

Here at the Farnborough Airshow, the Esterline CMC booth (Hall 1 Stand B11) features the company’s Cockpit 9000 flight deck in a simulator to show potential customers various upgrade options.

“That’s always one that potential customers get a lot of value out of, flying the cockpit,” said Yeldon. Cockpit 9000 has been retrofitted into legacy Lockheed Martin C-130s operated by 10 countries, bringing modern capabilities and extending the life of the utility turboprop by 30 years. The upgrade replaces the original avionics with six large LCDs and can include other CMC products, such as the CMA-9000 FMS, electronic

A number of new helicopter programs have selected the CMA-9000 FMS and also CMC’s IntegriFlight CMA5024 GPS landing system. Alenia chose the CMA-9000 for an upgrade to its C-27J fleet. “They are not upgrading the entire cockpit,” said Yeldon, “but this is the first step. It’s our civilcertified FMS going in, but it’s also utilizing our military FMS and tactical capabilities. It’s how these things are changing. It’s a great example of doing what they need but having a unique solution to meet their mandate and requirements. We, as a solutions provider, work with the customer to find the solution, and given the portfolio of products that we have, that’s where our sweet spot is.”

the nose knows For passengers, cabin comfort is paramount. But for the absolute best seat in the house, the pointy end is the place to be. That certainly goes for the new Airbus A350, seen here being towed to its parking place.

Esterline CMC’s Cockpit 4000 simulator, top, shows customers the benefits of the suite, aimed at the high-performance trainer and ISR/attack aircraft markets. The Cockpit 9000 simulator, bottom, demonstrates how large aircraft can benefit from upgrades.

enormous advantage to countries without extensive ILS approach ground infrastructure.

“This gives the ability to do precision landings down to precision limits at any airfield at minimal cost,” said Jean-Michel Comtois, Esterline CMC v-p of sales, government and public affairs.

“They just need a local groundbased augmentation system.”

A supplemental type certificate has been issued for installation of the Esterline CMC CMA-1410 PilotView electronic flight bag in Boeing’s 757 and 767 models as part of a program conducted with Air Astana and PMV Engineering. Air Astana is installing the CMA-1410 and PilotView enhanced switching module unit on its 757/767 fleet. The 10.4-inch CMA 1410 is part of a family of CMC EFBs ranging from 8.4 to 12.1 inches, available as standard equipment on a variety of business and commercial aircraft.

Esterline CMC also announced the first purchase order for its Inmarsat SwiftBroadband-

compliant, intermeate-gain satcom antenna, the CMA-2200B, which is launching on Westjet’s 737NG. The antenna is an electronically steerable, phased-array unit and holds FAA and Transport Canada TSO approval.

Show visitors can also learn about Esterline CMC’s virtual training system (VTS), which promises to dramatically lower pilot training costs. “You’re going to see a radical change in training systems for air forces,” said Comtois.

The VTS allows a single aircraft equipped with a special card in its mission computer to fly as if other aircraft are in the air at the same time on the same mission. The pilot’s display and Hotas “see” simulated targets and formation partners.

“There’s no need to launch four airplanes and four pilots,” Comtois said. “Now you can do it with one airplane with a simulated partner and two targets that show on the ‘scope, and practice all the techniques and coordination.” o

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 53

UAC helps consolidate Russian aerospace

by Charles Alcock and Reuben Johnson The successful consolidation of key parts of Russia’s aerospace industry into the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is more evident at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow then at any time since the group’s formation back in February 2006.

In several press briefings in the months ahead of this year’s show, CEO Mikhail Pogosian, who has been at the helm for much of this vital re-ordering of the once scattered Russian design bureaus, research bodies and production facilities, was eager to stress the very tangible ways that the UAC structure has benefitted the industry’s day-to-day operations.

Here in Farnborough, the UAC combined exhibit brings together key subsidiary companies, including Sukhoi, MiG and Irkut. The aim is to project a sense of cohesion that will allow the Russian group to match Western rivals, such as Airbus and Boeing. This process will take more concrete form later this year when the National Aerospace Design Center–encompassing all individual design

Mikhail Pogosian has overseen a fundamental restructuring of Russia’s aerospace industry as CEO of the UAC group.

bureaus–is opened at the Moscow-area Zhukovsky air base later this year.

The first key achievement of the UAC restructuring has been to integrate the various business units and design and research centers into one organization that can achieve far greater operational efficiency than was the case when the subsidiaries

operated in isolation. UAC’s subsidiaries now benefit from a more streamlined management chain that can more effectively implement decisions.

Secondly, the digital design methods that have been used by Sukhoi to develop some of its more recent programs, like the new Superjet 100 airliner, have now been implemented across the major design centers and product lines so that physical, “paper” drawings have almost been eliminated. This makes developing a new aircraft a continuous “design to build” process with no more mock-ups or other modeling required.

Thirdly, there is now the ability to bring all of the resources and personnel talent available across the industry into a single program.

Designs may still carry the “Mikoyan” or “Tupolev” designator, but all current and future design projects will have participation from all of the aircraft development centers that have talents that can be brought to bear.

Lastly, in what is considered to be a major shift away from the Soviet system of aircraft production that has continued to be practiced in Russia for almost a quarter of a century, the network of aircraft and engine overhaul and repair plants that had always belonged to Russia’s defense ministry have been made part of UAC. This change was exercised at Pogosian’s own initiative. “This is almost a revolution, because it gives an absolutely new sense of relations between our aircraft customer and the aerospace industry in that it puts more of the responsibility for after-delivery support on the industry,” he told a recent press briefing.

“There are tangible, positive results to this change in organization,” said Pogosian.

“In 2012, the average aircraft availability rate in the [Russian] air force was 40 percent, but in 2013 when these repair plants were being absorbed into UAC and there was more attention being paid to support issues and processes, the availability rate rose to 50 percent. For 2014 we have a target rate of 60 percent. This

The Su-35S Super Flanker is a key military program for Russia’s UAC.

is one of the major tasks for UAC now.”

Meanwhile, UAC is also stepping up progress with its PAK-DA program to develop a new strategic bomber for the Russian air force. Currently, this program is at the stage where fabrication of some of its components and modules can begin, but there is no finalized design yet. The digital design process allows for an easier creation of print-to-build production documentation and this is speeding up the construction of prototypes. The PAK-DA is slated to fly in 2019 and once in service it will replace three types of aircraft: the Tu-160 Blackjack, the Tu-95 Bear and the Tu-22M3 Backfire.

Su 35S and T-50 PAK-FA on Front Burner

Two of the major programs that are on the front burner for UAC are the Su-35S Super Flanker and the T-50/PAKFA fifth-generation fighter aircraft. Twelve of these aircraft have been delivered to the air force’s 6987th Aviation Base, which is co-located with UAC’s Komsomolsk-onAmur Aviation Production Association (KNAAPO) plant that builds them.

Twelve more Su-35S aircraft will be delivered this year to the air force, the first of which will go to the service’s combat flight training base at Lipetsk and the other 11 to follow next year.

Fourteen more Su-35S models will be delivered in 2015. The aircraft has seen a successful introduction into service and in joint state acceptance flight tests the Su-35S has proved integration with 17 types of airto-air, air-to-ground, and airto-surface munitions.

The T-50 PAK-FA continues to add more flight test

54 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

aircraft to the program, with five prototypes now undergoing validation flights. One more prototype will be delivered for the flight test schedule in 2014 and then two more in 2015. In 2016 the program is scheduled to begin a low rate of deliveries to operational units. One of the prototypes was damaged when it caught fire during a test flight, but the aircraft is expected to be repaired and returned to the program.

The T-50 is scheduled for a series of incremental improvements, such as replacing the NIIP Irbis radar with an AESA model and switching the Saturn 117S turbofan for a new fifth generation engine. According

to Pogosian, these improvements will extend the service life of the T-50, which is expected to remain in production beyond 2050. UAC also is taking the lead in the modernization of several other fighter aircraft in Russian inventory: the MiG-29/35 combat aircraft, the MiG-31 and the Yak-130.

The latter has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the next attack aircraft to be used by the Russian air force in a move that would see the jet trainer reworked as a fighter with new radar and avionics.

Collectively, the UAC group now claims to hold a 15-percent share of the worldwide combat aircraft market. o

UAC Boosted by MiG-29SMT Order Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, a UAC subsidiary, comes to the Farnborough 2014 show boosted by a new Russian order for 16 MiG-29SMT single-seat, multirole fighters due for delivery by the end of 2016. Signing the $495 million order, Russia’s deputy defense minister Yuri Borisov said, “This order will make MiG feel more secure and look to the future with greater hopes…and provide a good starting point for setting up production of newer aircraft, such as the MiG-35.”

Talks on acquiring some 40 MiG-35s for the Russian air force are ongoing.

If that comes to fruition, a production run of about 100 such aircraft can be envisioned. The MiG-35 is a land-based derivative of the MiG-29K/KUB deck fighter, but equipped with the Phazotron-NIIR Zhuk-MAE active phased array radar replacing the mechanically steered Zhuk-ME. The MiG-29SMT differs outwardly from the classic MiG-29 in having two fuel tanks attached to the upper fuselage. Special coatings absorbing radio emissions reduce the aircraft’s effective radar cross-section down to less than one square meter. Older dial instruments gave way to a glass cockpit with state-of-the-art navigation and aiming systems enabling use of precision-guided munitions.

India recently chose to upgrade nearly 70 in-service aircraft to the MiG29UPG standard, which is broadly similar to the SMT. Last year RAC MiG completed work on three Indian aircraft, which involved replacing the older N-019 radar, with its Cassegrain parabolic antenna. This was superceded by the more advanced Zhuk-ME radar with a slotted antenna.

India continues to be MiG’s main export customer. It holds orders for 45 MiG-29K/KUBs. Today, more than half of the contracted aircraft have already been delivered. Several weeks ago, the Indian navy air arm began operating them from the deck of the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier. –C.A.

Superjet partners blend Russian-Western styles A single Superjet 100 “product chalet,” occupied by officials from both Venice-based Superjet International (SJI) and Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) here in Farnborough, reflects a conscious effort by the two companies to more effectively integrate their operations. The joint presence here marks something of a milestone in the evolution of the two companies’ relationship, Superjet International CEO Nazario Cauceglia told AIN during an interview just before the start of the show.

“As you can imagine, at the beginning, any partnership is challenging,” said Cauceglia. “In this case, this is probably the first partnership between Russia and a Western country in commercial aviation. What we are trying to do is put together different cultures, different histories, different rules and so on. And putting together these things is not always easy.

In fact, it was really hard. But I can tell you that as always in our life, you can make a choice. You can look at the past or you can look toward the future. I think we have every reason to be satisfied and to be proud of the progress we have made.”

Still, Cauceglia noted the need for more improvement, as expressed by the mandate by shareholders to integrate the companies’ sales forces to the extent that they report to a single manager. In fact, Cauceglia suggested that SJI and SCAC would announce the organizational change at the show.

The change will not result in a merger of the sales forces, however; the two companies would continue to maintain separate sales territories, explained Cauceglia. SJI will continue to serve as sales representative for the Western hemisphere, including

MARK WAGNER

by Gregory Polek

This Sukhoi Superjet 100 is here at the Farnborough Airshow, in Interjet livery.

Africa, while SCAC maintains responsibility primarily for Russia, the CIS and Asia.

Meanwhile, more evidence of an effort between SJI and SCAC to better collaborate appears in the form of two airplanes on static display, one in the colors of Western launch customer Interjet and the other in the livery of Russia’s UTair. Cauceglia said the display highlights the flexibility of the airplane’s interior.

The Interjet airplane, featuring a cabin conceived by Italian design house Pininfarina, holds 93 seats with a 34-inch pitch, while the UTair airplane, configured in a high-density layout, carries 104 seats with a 30-inch pitch.

Mexico City-based Interjet has now taken delivery of eight

of the 20 airplanes on order, and expects to take another seven by the end of this year. The last five will come by May of next year, said Cauceglia, as the KnAAPO factory in Russia’s Far East speeds production beyond the 40 airplanes it plans for this year.

Next year, the manufacturer expects to produce 50 Superjets, then 60 in 2016.

Of course, SCAC’s well-publicized problems early in its efforts to accelerate production hadn’t escaped Cauceglia’s notice, but the Italian chief executive expressed optimism that new processes in place at Komsomolsk will ensure the manufacturer will meet its production targets for this year and for the years to come.

“Believe me, I’m one of the

Irkut continues civil, military programs

The Russian defense export agency has high hopes of selling the Yak-130 trainer to overseas clients.

by Vladimir Karnazov For UAC subsidiary Irkut, the Farnborough Airshow is a great chance to connect with Western partners and prospective customers for its MC-21 narrowbody airliner development. The group claims that the new design’s composite wing will give it an operating cost advantage even over the new reengined Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737Max airliners.

In an interview last month with Avion Review Magazine, Pogosian said that the MC-21 will feature a higher proportion of Russian-made equipment than the Superjet SJ-100 narrowbody now in production with UAC subsidiary Sukhoi. He said that Russian companies have been

making significant advances in areas such as avionics.

In the same interview with the Spanish-language publication, Pogosian confirmed that UAC has started joint development work with China for a possible new widebody airliner. He predicted that the new design would deliver a 10-percent improvement in operating costs compared with existing rivals.

Meanwhile, Irkut’s main focus continues to be combat aircraft.

This year the company plans to deliver about 20 Su-30SM twinseat, multirole fighters to the Russian air force out of the total order for 60 such aircraft. In 2013, its IAZ main manufacturing site at Irkutsk in Siberia shipped 14.

UAC believes that Irkut’s MC-21 twinjet can challenge the promised operating efficiencies of the new Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies.

These follow the first pair accepted by the customer in 2012, when the corporation resumed fighter deliveries to the Russian defense ministry after a long break.

Based on the customized Indian Su-30MKI fighter, the Su-30SM comes with the latest updated avionics, including a French wideangle, head-up display. Russian test pilots from the Chkalov Main Flight Test Center speak highly of this innovation. However, Russian air force commander Gen. Victor Bondarev recently assured the local media that in future all newbuild fighters going to Irkut’s main customer will come with better, locally-made avionics.

Su-30 export deliveries in 2013-2014 are confined to

people who had the opportunity to see Komsomolsk at the very beginning of the program,” he said. “There was almost nothing…I can tell you this, it is very impressive to see how fast the facility has grown. Fifty aircraft per year means that every 10 days we will have one aircraft exit the final assembly line, which is not bad.

“A lot of effort has been spent on the formation of manpower,” added Cauceglia. “We see the results in terms of the quality of the aircraft.”

Responsible for the interior completions of Western customers’ airplanes, SJI sends personnel to Sukhoi’s Moscow facilities to inspect and accept the “green” airplanes before they get sent to Venice for cabin installations. o

roughly a dozen assembly kits going to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for subsequent assembly into Su-30MKI models. As of early 2013, the number of Su-30MKIs in Indian service or ready for delivery was about 170. An additional contract for 42 aircraft was signed in December 2012. With that, the grand total of Indian orders rose to 272. For a while now, India has been considering reworking its in-service Su-30MKIs into the Super-30s with an active electronically scanned radar replacing the current N-011M Bars with passive e-scan and a number of other improvements.

In addition to fighters, Irkut makes the Yakovlev-130 twinengine weaponized jet trainer.

This fourth-generation aircraft features a re-programmable flight control system that can emulate behavior and handling qualities

of various aircraft types, including fighters, strike aircraft and airlifters. To date, the manufacturer has delivered 45 of Yak130s to the Russian air force.

Export expectations for the Yak-130 are high and Russian state defense export agency Rosoboronexport hopes to sell 250 aircraft. It boasts a relatively modest fly-off price, low maintenance and operational expenses, modern avionics and aiming systems along with the ability to take to the air in a short time, including on a follow-on missions.

The aircraft can fire guided missiles with active radar, TV or thermal imaging heads against ground and sea-going targets.

Bolt-on guidance kits are offered to supplement standard unguided rockets. The Yak-130 aiming system enables the crew to use laser guidance to correct flight trajectories of such rockets. o

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 55

Textron AirLand’s Scorpion tactical jet completed the ambitious trek across the Atlantic, and appears over the the Needles islands off the coast of the Isle of Wight.

The jet performed at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) before arriving at Farnborough.

Textron AirLand Scorpion makes its international debut

by Bill Carey

AT THE STANDS L-3 Mission Integration (Chalet A10-15) has announced the start of the installation phase of the new extended-payload carriage system/multi-mission payload system in its Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA) program. Once complete, L-3’s MMA will be equipped for multi-mission maritime patrol, surveillance, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

The installation is taking place in Canada on a Bombardier Q400, a spokesman said.

It is scheduled for customer demonstrations in mid-2015.

“This latest significant MMA milestone will allow for the extended range of the Q400, inclusive of fuel, multi-INT sensors, additional payloads and the mission system,” said Brent Billingslea, L-3 Mission Integration’s vice president of surveillance systems. n

of the Scorpion’s time in England. On July 8, the jet participated in sorties with a British Royal Air Force pilot on board from the Empire Test Pilots’ School at Boscombe Down.

The Scorpion is a joint venture of Textron (Outdoor Exhibit L2) and AirLand Enterprises, built by Textron’s Cessna Aircraft subsidiary in Wichita and announced at the Air & Space Conference outside of Washington, D.C., in September 2013. Textron AirLand promotes it as an “affordable” intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and strike platform capable of performing “lower-threat” battlefield and homeland security missions. The Swiss air force fighter replacement program is one of the company’s targets, according to media reports.

hours, “but who’s counting?” Anderson quipped. “Our advertised top speed was 450 ktas. Dan has already beat that and hit 455 with a lot of throttle and power left over.” Textron AirLand plans to fly the prototype 300 to 400 hours this year.

Hinson and test pilot Andy Vaughan made the trip to the UK, using Blue Spruce routes to Scotland. Cessna’s N680CS registered prototype, used in the Citation Sovereign+ development, accompanied the flight as a chase plane.

The chase plane served mainly for logistics, carrying four maintainers and luggage with it, Hinson said. “It’s obviously a pretty high priority for us to be at RIAT and Farnborough, and we wouldn’t want to have failed to provision for everything,” he explained. “It simplified logistics to bring your posse with you.”

Upon its return to the U.S., the Scorpion will participate in Vigilant Guard 2014, an emergency preparedness exercise in early August, sponsored by the U.S. Northern Command and National Guard Bureau and hosted by the state of Kansas. “Just eight months after first flight, and we’re already in an exercise,” said Anderson. o

Mostly Composite Construction

The jet has twin canted fins and an unswept wing, and is constructed mostly of composites, with the exception of its landing gear and engine fittings and mounts. It is configured with a tandem cockpit, retractable sensor mounts, an internal weapons bay capable of 3,000 pounds and six wing-mounted hard points for external stores. The jet is powered by twin turbofans generating 8,000 pounds of thrust. Among specifications Textron AirLand lists are a max takeoff weight (mtow) of 21,250 pounds, maximum speed of 450 ktas and a 45,000-foot service ceiling.

The prototype is fitted with Honeywell TFE731 turbofans, but the joint venture designed the Scorpion to accommodate different engine choices. It aims to deliver a production jet with the chosen engine within 18 months of a customer commitment, Anderson said. Genesys Aerosystems of Mineral Wells, Texas–the combination of S-Tec and Chelton Flight Systems–supplies the avionics displays.

Textron AirLand planned to integrate the Thales Visionix helmet-mounted cueing system, a full-color monocle display that fits over a pilot’s right eye.

56 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

DAVID McINTOSH

Textron AirLand’s new Scorpion tactical jet is making its international debut here in the UK. The clean-sheet design attracted curious onlookers last week at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in Fairford, UK, including among them Gen. Mark Welsh, U.S. Air Force chief of staff. This week, the jet can be seen on static display at the Farnborough International Airshow through Thursday.

Crossing the Atlantic was a precocious leap forward for the twinjet, which first took wing on December 12 from McConnell Air Force Base outside of Wichita, Kansas. For its latest milestone, the Scorpion left Wichita on July 1 and landed at RAF Fairford on July 5 via Canada, Greenland, Iceland and a first UK landing in Edinburgh, Scotland, covering some 4,700 nm.

“We had a short delay due to [weather] minimums but got here when we wanted to get here,” Bill Anderson, Textron AirLand president, told AIN during RIAT. “We’re really excited to get in two of the premier international airshows in the world. Pictures don’t do it justice; you’ve got to see the airplane in person.”

Textron AirLand has made good use

While the U.S. Department Defense has not stated a requirement for a light strike jet, Anderson said his company has answered the Pentagon’s call to industry to invest in developing new military capabilities. Textron AirLand contends the Scorpion fills a niche that is not served by jet trainers or light attack turboprops and is well matched to U.S. Air National Guard and foreign military missions.

Anderson said the acquisition cost of the twinjet will be “below $20 million” and cost to operate $3,000 per hour.

“At Textron, we have invested tens of millions of dollars to bring a relevant capability forward to the international market and the U.S. Department of Defense,” he said. “We answered their challenge; we stepped up. We designed a weapons system that we think fits a very credible need in the U.S. inventory.”

With engineering test pilot Dan Hinson and copilot David Sitz manning its tandem cockpit, the jet made its maiden flight two months after its surprise unveiling at the Air & Space Conference, an event the Air Force Association sponsors. As of mid-June, the Scorpion had logged 46 flights and 85.6 total flight

ready, steady, go!

Preparation for the Farnborough International Airshow has been ongoing for months. The final spit-shine touches have been applied with loving care, and now it’s showtime.

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by Alan Warnes Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is showcasing its T129 ATK attack helicopter and its Anka Male UAV here at Farnborough International Airshow for the first time. The burgeoning aerospace giant needs to find export customers soon if TAI is to go some way toward self-sufficiency. It is no surprise then that marketing efforts of the T129 ATAK (tactical reconnaissance and attack helicopter) have been stepped up this year, with the company also displaying it at the Bahrain International Airshow in January and ILA Berlin in May. TAI (Hall 4 Stand H1 and Chalet A32) has two main shareholders–the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TAFF, 54.9 percent) and SSM (the Turk-

the helicopter–which is priced at around $40 million per unit–has been in development.

Under the agreement, Turkey will develop an indigenous mission computer, avionics, weapons systems, self-protection suites and the helmet-mounting cueing systems for a platform based on AgustaWestland’s A129 Mangusta, flown by the Italian Army.

In addition to TAI, other Turkish companies are providing key support. Missile specialist Roketsan is developing weapons, while Aselsan concentrates on software and avionics. The 1,380-shp LHTEC CTS800-4A engine is manufactured in the U.S. The first 30 T129Bs, known as Phase 1 examples, will not have any radar warning receiver

Flight School, with all of the flying training being carried out by the prototype P6.

TAI continues to explore export orders and there are a number of future potential customers in the GCC and CIS. Anka UAV

Developed primarily to overcome potential procurement problems with foreign suppliers, the Anka (Phoenix) UAV, when finally certified, will provide Turkey with a 24-hour surveillance platform that will operate at altitudes of up to 30,000 feet.

were built, with SSM officially accepting the UAV in February 2013. The sensor payload of the Anka-A includes optical and infrared cameras, courtesy of Aselsan’s ASELFLIR 300T, a laser rangefinder and a laser target-designator.

The company signed a contract with SSM in September 2013 for 10 Anka UAVs for the Turkish Air Force. However, several changes to the system were required. “We were expecting to produce and deliver the February 2013 qualified configuration but instead the Turkish Air Force

ALAN WARNES

Turkish firm shows attack helo and UAV

support ATAK early development helicopters (EDH) variants. They are in addition to the 50 the Turkish Army has on order and the single prototype (P6) used for test and development.

“The EDHs are basic helicopters, fitted with a 20-mm gun and unguided rockets. They will not carry laser-guided weapons and the electronic warfare specification is different,” according to TAI’s Integrated Helicopter Systems business development leader Gorkem Bilgi.

A big breakthrough came on June 10, when the first three

Prototype P-6 of Turkish Aerospace Industries’ T129 ATAK tandem two-seat, twin-engine helicopter (above), which is designed for attack and reconnaissance roles, will remain as a test platform with TAI. TAI’s Hurkus, a tandem two-seat, low-wing, single-engine turboprop (left), is being developed as a basic trainer and ground attack aircraft for the Turkish armed forces. The prototype Hurkus, TU-VCH, made its first flight on Aug. 29, 2013, a year after it was rolled out at TAI’s Ankara facility.

ish MoD Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, 45.1 percent). As TAFF is the majority shareholder, the company is treated as a private entity; however, TAI is hoping to go partly public. In 2012 it had hoped to issue an initial public offering (IPO) allowing 20 percent of the company to be sold on the Istanbul stock market. Of the 20 percent, 4 percent was to come from the foundation and the rest from SSM. However, those proposals were abandoned, although they are expected be reviewed at a later date when conditions are right.

Showing Off the Gunship

The five-ton armed T129 is expected to play a big part in Turkey’s ambitious indigenization program as the government bids to cut its defense imports.

Since the SSM signed a $1.2 billion contract in September 2007 with AgustaWestland, avionics specialist Aselsan and TAI for 51 Turkish Land Forces T129s,

or laser warning receiver like the remaining 20 Phase 2 helicopters, although they will be upgraded at a later date. All 50 will boast a full range of locally produced equipment. The latter will include the Aselsan AVCI helmet-integrated cueing system and an advanced targeting system turret, just above the 20-mm gattling-style gun. The targeting system houses a thermal camera, laser range-finder/designator, laser spot-tracker, color TV camera, color spotter camera with a multiple target-tracking capability.

Roketsan is working on the long-range Mizrak-U (formerly known as UMTAS) anti-armor missile and the Cirit laserguided 2.75-inch rockets for the T129B, which will also be armed with stinger missiles.

To speed up the delivery of much needed attack helicopters to the Turkish Army, the company signed an additional contract with AgustaWestland on Nov. 8, 2010, for nine T-129A combat

ALAN WARNES

When certified, TAI’s Anka Male UAV will provide Turkey with a 24-hour surveillance platform that will operate at altitudes up to 30,000 feet.

EDHs were handed over to the Turkish Land Forces based at Guvercinlik. The three are believed to comprise prototype P4 (29804), the first EDH (EDH-1), which began Turkish Army acceptance tests in July 2012; P5 (29805)/EDH-2/ ATAK-1; and EDH-3 (29808)/ ATAK-2. One more is to follow shortly and the last five EDHs are to be delivered by the end of the year, according to TAI. Some 28 TKK pilots and 85 technicians have already been trained on the T-129 at TAI’s

58 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

An agreement signed between Turkey’s SSM and TAI in late December 2004 led to the development and production of the Anka–Turkey’s first medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle.

The initial variant, designated Anka-A, is configured for surveillance missions and performed a 14-minute maiden flight on Dec. 30, 2010, at Sivrihisar Air Base in Eski¸sehir Province. Under the development programmed, five prototypes

asked for many more additional requirements,” Serdar Olez, vice president unmanned aerial systems, told AIN. “Among those the most important was the wideband satellite communication requirement. The satcom will also have a NB [narrowband] redundancy. Some other requirements are: encryption of common lines, new HD EO/IR development [and] industrialization of much previously imported equipment.”

Deliveries are expected to start by mid-2016 and continue for 18 months. There is

a two-year support program in place but TAI is hoping to switch to a performancebased logistical contract in the near future.

In late 2012 TAI started to develop a newer Anka-S version with Aselsan to deploy a synthetic aperture radar (SAR)/ moving target indicator (MTI) and inverse SAR (ISAR) payload on board the Anka, for use as a signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform.

“The flight test for this configuration will soon start and we expect to deliver the aircraft to SSM within the first quarter of 2015,” Olez added.

Development of a proposed armed variant, called the Attack UAV, is also under way.

Turkish Savunma Sanayii I˙cra Komitesi (SSIK–the defense industry executive committee) gave TAI approval on July 17, 2012, to begin feasibility studies into doubling the maximum takeoff weight of the existing air vehicle from 1.5 tons to five to six tons.

Issues arose over the supply of the Thielert Centurion 2S turbo-diesel powerplant in mid-2013, when the German company went bust. Having bought the business, China’s Avic abandoned all military use of the 155-hp rated engine, leaving TAI tasked with finding an alternative.

infrared sensor that would be suitable for the Turkish Coast Guard’s maritime patrols, with the rear seat occupied by a sensor operator.

The Hurkus-A is the civil trainer, which made its first flight on Aug. 29, 2013, one year after being rolled out. Ozcan Ertem, executive vice president, head of aircraft, told AIN in late May,

“The Hurkus-A has flown 50 sorties into the flight-test program. It will be joined by a second flighttest aircraft in August as we push toward EASA/­Turkish CAA certification in 2015.

A contract with SSM for 15 Hurkus-Bs was signed on Dec. 26, 2013. “These are identical to Hurkus-A except it is fitted with military avionics suite with

head-up display and three multifunction displays rather than commercial-off-the-shelf civilian avionics,” Ertem added.

In addition to the 15 HurkusBs, the contract covered conceptual design activities to develop the Hurkus-C new-generation light attack/reconnaissance aircraft. As well as fielding unguided Mk 82/83s and

INS/GPS-guided general-purpose bombs, plans are to arm it with the Roketsan MizrakU long-range anti-tank missile and Cirit 2.75-inch laser-guided missile already arming United Arab Emirates Air Force AT 802U Air Tractors. In doing so, the Hurkus-C will fulfill a closeair-support, reconnaissance and surveillance role in the TSK. o

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Hurkus Trainer

While the Hurkus turboprop trainer aircraft is not at the Farnborough Airshow, it plays a big part in TAI’s future. The type is planned to be a future basic trainer not only for the Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri (TSK– Turkish Armed Forces), but also for export. The prototype is designated the Hurkus-A, a basic civilian version with an analog cockpit that will be certified for sale on the civilian market.

The military production variant will be the Hurkus-B, which will be more advanced with modern integrated military avionics and a mission computer, plus a fighter-style cockpit suitable for training F-16 and F-35 pilots.

The armed version will be designated the Hurkus-C and is to be capable of carrying a 3,300pound (1,496-kg) weapons load.

The TSK is also interested in this variant to support the Army’s attack helicopters. TAI plans to offer a fourth version with a forward-looking

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The Group www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow11.06.14 News 16:4959

example of us taking the risk out of the 777X transition, getting some benefits sooner, having the backup plan of the existing tooling and then rolling into the production system.”

More Automation

Meanwhile, decisions to automate in areas such as wing painting and drilling/riveting with a tool called a Flex Track has helped Boeing lower its final assembly flow time from 48 to 47 days this year. Data on the automated spray method shows a 45-percent reduction in safety accidents, a 63-percent reduction in unit hours and an 80-percent reduction in quality “rework” hours since the company started Final assembly flow rates for the 777 now using the method on all of its stand at 47 days, down from 48 days last 777 wings, noted Lund. year and 87 days in 1997.

Now Boeing (Chalet B6) is preparing to install a set of program by instituting drastic drilling and riveting machines changes. Even in the case of the called FAUB, or “fuselage autolanding gear, it chose to make mated upright build,” currently the change from United Technol- under testing and development ogies to Heroux-Devtek well in at a high-bay space Boeing has advance of the transition to pro- rented in Anacortes, Washingby Gregory Polek duction of the 777X, expected ton. FAUB employs automatto start in 2017. “So there’s ed guided robots designed by Containing risk represents for success” approach to supply 777X was that our partners in no risk to the 777X program, KUKA Robotics to drill and one of the hallmarks of Boe- chain management influenced Japan took a very hard look at which was wholly by design,” fill more than 60,000 fasing’s proven approach to the the negotiations, given that manufacturing processes and said Noble. teners that attach the panels 777 program, and its agree- dual sourcing in those cases what they might be able to do… that comprise the Much of the rements last month with five key likely would have proved cost It would not have been outside sponsibility for con777’s forward and aft Japanese partners to perform prohibitive or simply unavail- the realm of possibility for that sidering and managbody sections. major work on the 777X didn’t able, while a switch in suppli- work to, perhaps, have moved, ing 777 program risk Today, Boeing me­ deviate far from historic form. ers might also have threatened but we never had that conversa- in general falls on vice chanics positioned on tion because it wasn’t necessary.” president and generBut while the consortium of to disrupt the program. both sides of the fuseJapanese companies known as “It would have been really lage perform the task al manager Eliza­ beth New Assembly Process Japan Aircraft Industries won hard to move the wings from by hand, a repetitive Lund who, during a responsibility for essentially the Mitsubishi or move the Spirit and tiring job that That doesn’t mean changes briefing just before the same portion of the 777X air- [AeroSystems] stuff or some of won’t prove necessary in the fu- Farnborough show at places a lot of stress frame–21 percent–that it carries the major body panels out of ture, noted Noble. Major suppli- Boeing’s offices in on their shoulders Elizabeth Lund, on the current version of the Japan,” conceded Boeing Com- er moves on the 777X appear un- Ever­ett, Washington, and hands. The new vice president and 777, Boeing didn’t necessarily mercial Airplanes vice president likely, however. “On the 777X, cited a concept called process will use augeneral manager, Boeing 777 program exhibit a light touch in its nego- of contracts and supplier strat- we’re getting close to seeing de- NAP, or “new assemtomated guided vehitiations with the group of long- egy Bob Noble. “Now, that hav- cisions, and I’m not expecting­ bly process,” as one cles (AGVs) to move ing been said, we have moved anything radical.” time structural suppliers. way build changes in the current the components of FAUB into However, one might won- that kind of structure in the past.

Boeing, of course, would 777 will translate into less risk on position, including work stands, der how Boeing’s “partnering “The great part about the rather not introduce risk into the the 777X. The new process, she fuselages and the robotic arms said, involves the 777 empennage, that will drill and insert fastenbuilt at Boeing’s plant in Freder- ers. The robots, positioned inside and outside the fuselage, ickson, Washington.

“Instead of building the parts not only drill the holes but act like we do today, with our big as a bucking bar and perform monument tooling, we’re con- ­dynamic riveting.

“We believe that we can verting the build to a 787 line, which is a little bit more like a cut our flow by more than horizontal build line except the half,” said Lund. “We believe empennage pieces are vertical,” we’ll see a 50-percent reducsaid Lund. “It’s much more use tion in safety incidents, quality of robotics; it’s a streamlined improvements as well as flow tool where your empennage reduction. At least those are moves down line and we get sig- our targets.” nificant produceability benefits Boeing plans to locate FAUB and it continues our cost-reduc- in a new building at Everett, tion activities. We needed to do allowing it to free more space that for the 777X anyway. for the 777X. Lund said Boeing “Otherwise,” she contin- hasn’t set a firm “cutover” comued, “we would have had to mitment but, if testing goes well duplicate 100 percent of the in Anacortes, FAUB could start Now under testing and development in Anacortes, Washington, Boeing’s new FAUB (fuselage automated upright build) will employ tooling…It’s sort of another operation next year. o automated guided robots designed by KUKA Robotics to attach panels that comprise the 777’s forward and aft body sections.

Boeing and partners are fine-tuning potential production risks on 777

60 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

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Snecma probes labyrinth of open-rotor concept

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has taken delivery of its first Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered Airbus A380, becoming the eleventh operator of the type.

It has ordered six, configured for 495 passengers in a three-class layout.

by Thierry Dubois As preparations continue for running a full open-rotor engine demonstrator in 2016 under Europe’s Clean Sky research effort, French engine maker Snecma (Hall 4 Stand B12) sees the program’s participants reaching a consensus as whether or not to proceed in the 2017-to-2019 time frame. Clean Sky, which also involves Airbus, Rolls-Royce and French research center Onera, has provided a relatively unexpected discussion platform, thus facilitating a general agreement.

The benefit of an open rotor is that it enables an increase in the optimum bypass ratio. On a ducted turbofan, beyond a certain fan diameter, the engine’s weight and drag become too much of a penalty, with the fuel burn they require superseding the benefit of the higher bypass ratio. Snecma research engineers estimate that for an ultra-high bypass ratio (more than 15), an open rotor can be 10 percent better than a ducted turbofan.

According to Vincent Garnier, Snecma director for product strategy and markets, the demonstrator program that is part of Clean Sky has three goals: to evaluate and validate the architecture; to push the science and technology of all the main components of the propulsion system; and to build a team of partners.

Emphasizing that open-rotor architecture offers only one option, Garnier said it presents the greatest potential for fuelburn reduction but is also the most difficult to bring to fruition. Progress in materials will be one of the three keys, along with architecture innovation and high-fidelity modeling, he added. He deems the open rotor “a challenging concept but without showstoppers” because he considers that noise and certification issues are being addressed successfully.

In materials, while the first 3-D-woven carbon fibers will enter service in 2016 on CFM Leap fan blades, Snecma is already working on the second generation. Both the fibers and the matrix (applied using the resin transfer molding process) will offer improved performance. The pattern will be less uniform so it adapts to local needs inside the part. “With its full potential, this combination of technologies will help designing an engine with ultrahigh propulsive efficiency,” Garnier said.

In addition, Snecma is currently testing ceramic-matrix composites (CMC) for the lowpressure turbine. “CMC airfoils weigh 70 percent less than conventional airfoils and have excellent damage tolerance,” said Garnier. He emphasized that lighter airfoils yield, in turn, a lighter disk overall. With

Airbus, airlines find A380 a ‘profitable performer’

by Ian Goold It might seem only a year or two since Airbus launched the A380 and just months since the mighty, double-deck behemoth entered service, but the European manufacturer has delivered more than 130 since operations began, almost six years ago, in October 2007. The aircraft, which typically accommodate

about 500 passengers (depending upon customers’ cabin configurations), have an average daily use of more than 13 hours, says Airbus. Of the 324 examples that had been ordered by late June, the backlog of 192 includes 20 booked this year.

Scheduled to appear at this week’s Farnborough Airshow

its CMC technology, Snecma is aiming at the Leap but the material will then be available for future engine designs.

high-fidelity modeling, if we could not introduce radically different engines, there would be something wrong,” he said.

Airframe-engine integration represents another criterion in the decision to go ahead, prompting Onera to invest in new wind-tunnel equipment to test an open-rotor engine and its accompanying fuselage section.

Researchers have been testing one-fifth-scale open-rotor propellers since 2010, but outside an aircraft environment.

Garnier said engine makers will either green-light or reject a new architecture in a more collaborative process than has been used in the past. For example, airframe surfaces that block sound waves can cut noise, making airframer participation crucial. “The industry has done little work on engine and aircraft architectures over the past 40 years,” he pointed out.

Noise, often cited as the main problem of an open rotor, now presents “a controlled risk,” he said. With modern technologies, it would match that of a CFM Leap, Garnier claimed, adding that foreseeable progress should keep open-rotor noise within future certification limits. In addition, he said, designers will consider “psychoacoustics,” which study those transient noises most unpleasant to human ears. Onera plans

High-fidelity Modeling

Advancement in modeling will play a vital role. “Highfidelity modeling is on the way and will give our engineers a lot more room for creativity,” Garnier said. Today, modeling the aerodynamics of a conventional propeller cannot go further than one rotation. “With

A mockup of an open-rotor engine has been tested in an Onera wind tunnel since 2010; a full demonstrator is due to run in 2016.

62 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

is the first A380 for Qatar Airways–a rare airline exhibitor that is unashamedly conspicuous (Chalet C28). In fact, it planned to have Airbus show at least three aircraft wearing its distinctive grey-and-maroon livery (the A380, an A350-900– the fourth flight-test aircraft– and an A320, and for Boeing to present a fourth, a 787-8) here at the show.

Like some early operators, the Gulf-based airline has seen completion of its initial A380 delayed by problems with buyerfurnished cabin equipment. For to simulate open-rotor noise by next year.

A weak point of the open rotor is it may be less suited to long-haul aircraft. The bypass ratio is an important parameter for climb, which is a shorter flight phase, in proportion, on an intercontinental flight. Also, an open rotor is a heavy engine (due to its diameter) and weight directly translates into fuel burn. All this makes this kind of turbine engine more attractive for medium-haul aircraft, as opposed to long-haul. Therefore, one could see a differentiation in aircraft architectures between short/medium- and long-haul, Garnier suggested.

Other options include various intermediate solutions between a conventionally ducted turbofan and the open rotor. One is a variablepitch fan. All are envisioned to enter service in around 2030; in the interim, Snecma plans on continuing improvement of the Leap’s fuel performance.

CFM56 upgrades have introduced fuel-burn improvements of 0.5 to 1 percent per year and Garnier said he expects to see a similar curve for the Leap. o

instance, much of the customized 517-seat, first-, businessand economy-class interior was configured by Qatar Airways’ in-house designers.

Future Operators

New A380 operators this year are British Airways and South Korea’s Asiana. Also expected to be operating the model by yearend are Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, Qatar and possibly Japanese carrier Skymark.

Airbus is keen to quote operators’ experiences with A380 economics and profitability. Chief operating officer-­customers John Leahy said streamlining service could increase revenue yield and fleet flexibility. For example, on its London-Los Angeles route British Airways (BA) has replaced three daily Boeing 777 flights with a pair of A380 flights. This has resulted in 19 percent lower trip costs, 5 percent more premium seats, 7 percent fewer non-premium seats, and 1 percent fewer seats overall, while releasing a valuable pair of slots at each airport.

Leahy quoted Emirates Airline president Tim Clark as saying the A380 is the UAE

operator’s most popular aircraft and is “very profitable.”

At the end of this year, Emirates expects to follow BA’s example by replacing Boeing 777300ERs with A380s on routes from Dubai to Houston and San Francisco to offer additional cargo and passenger capacity.

According to Airbus strategy and marketing executive vice president Dr. Kiran Rao, on Paris-New York flights, Air France-KLM has noted savings of 18 percent total cash operating costs per week and 17 percent cash operating cost passenger savings after using 538-seat A380s to replace fourengine A340-300s and 777200ERs, respectively.

The replaced aircraft each are configured for about 271 passengers and the move is said to save the operator over $13 million in cash operating costs annually.

The airline cost savings come as the manufacturer reports that incremental innovation on the A380 has reduced fuel burn: a 1-percent gain has arisen from optimization of wing twist, while improved efficiency has come from the GE/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance

GP7200 and Rolls-Royce Trent 900 powerplants, according to programs executive vice president Tom Williams. A reduction in aircraft weight also has been accompanied by maximum takeoff weights increased to around 575,000 kg (about 1,265,000 pounds) that endow the aircraft with an additional eight tons (17,600 pounds) of payload or 500 miles increased range.

HIgh-efficiency Cabin

Airbus is promoting a “highefficiency” 11-abreast cabin configuration as a result of optimizing space between window seats and cabin sidewall panels while retaining current aisle widths. The manufacturer also had considered raising the floor slightly to take better advantage of the fuselage at the widest point for main deck passengers, but this proposal introduced “all sorts of technical and certification issues,” said Williams.

The company is not currently planning a re-engined A380, or “neo” variant, said Leahy, who nevertheless confirmed that Emirates has encouraged Airbus to consider such a development. So

“we will [look at it],” he said.

In April, Clark told The Wall Street Journal that his airline could buy even more A380s if a larger model was offered. He is looking for an overall double-digit efficiency gain, with as much as 9 percent expected to come from new powerplants.

Of the 50 extra aircraft ordered by Emirates at last November’s Dubai Airshow, the first 25 would have the airline’s established GP7200 engine preference, he said, with the balance and any additional units being candidates for alternative propulsion–such as an application of the new Rolls-Royce Advance design that could be available in the early 2020s. For Airbus, Williams said there is “no rush,” given the size of the order backlog: “We’d have to be convinced we could do something [worthwhile].”

Nor is Airbus openly discussing a longer-cabin model. Asked about a possible stretched A380900 variant, Williams said early deliveries of the current -800 had offered “perhaps too comfortable [a] layout,” which now provided an opportunity for streamlining. He reported that

some customers are reconsidering their use of “existing real estate,” which would be optimized before Airbus would revisit the topic in the future.

Airport Visibility

Even without stretched or re-engined variants, the current A380 is becoming increasingly visible at the world’s principal hubs. Indeed, many Farnborough airshow delegates will have arrived in UK by A380 at London Heathrow Airport, which is the most popular airport for “non-local” (or nonbased) A380 flights, with almost 80 inbound flights per week (plus another 20 by local based operator British Airways).

In total A380 movements, Heathrow is second only to Dubai, home of the largest based fleet and accounting for 21 percent of all flights. London Gatwick has started to see Emirates A380 operations, too.

Next come Singapore, ParisCharles de Gaulle and Frankfurt. Eight of the world’s 11 largest airports host local A380 carriers: only New York-JFK, Los Angeles International and Hong Kong do not. o

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 63

The first Boeing 787-8 destined for the Netherlands’ Arke Air left Everett, Washington, en route to Amsterdam on June 4. The world 787-8 fleet now operates at a 98.5-percent dispatch reliability rate.

Fast pace of B787-8 fixes incites operator resistance

by Gregory Polek Resistant to grounding their 300 flights per day and some Boeing 787-8s for a even a short 1,600 revenue flight hours. The time, several operators have fleet has now registered just indefinitely deferred addressing over 100,000 revenue deparfixes to some of the airplanes’ tures and more than 500,000 last remaining glitches, present- flight hours. Referring to the ing the manufacturer with an current 98.5-percent reliabil“issue” as it marches toward ity rate, Whittington noted that its target dispatch reliability the 787 has reached a point rate of 99.6 percent. “pretty consistent” Now seeing a threewith other mediummonth rolling average sized twin-engine airof roughly 98.5 perplanes such as the 767 cent, Boeing expects and Airbus A330. to reach its bench“I think we’ll be mark–established by well entrenched with the world’s 777 fleet– the rest of the medium by the second quarter twins by the end of the of next year, accordyear, and then headed ing to Boeing 787 to the 777 benchmark Bob Whittington, vice president and in the second quarter Boeing 787 v-p and chief project engineer chief project engineer next year,” said WhitBob Whittington. tington. “Right now Speaking to reporters dur- we’re about a percentage point ing a series of briefings the behind [the 777].” company held in the Seattle He named spoiler control area just before the start of the units and brakes as the top two Farnborough show, Whittington delay drivers and nuisance mescontinued, “The issue right now sages as the third. in a lot of ways is that we’re putWhile different operators ting out fixes faster than the fleet have experienced somewhat can consume them…The airlines varied degrees of reliability, are reluctant to bring the air- Whittington said the current planes down more than an over- 98.5-percent rate has become night to put these fixes into them spread more consistently because they love the fuel burn; across the world fleet of more the passengers love the airplane; than 150 airplanes. “I will tell [the airlines] don’t want to pull you it’s been a little mixed in the airplanes out of service. our implementation,” he noted.

“So we’ve got a little bit of “We see some airlines that do a lag between our releasing the a very good job of being preparts and our service bulletins pared for the airplane, and to the incorporation time of we’re doing a better job. getting them on the airplanes.”

“Because of our learnings, Whittington noted that some we think we understand how customers fly their 787s for an best to get the airline ready to average of 18 hours a day, leav- go…what they need at their ops ing only six hours a day to fuel stations and how can we supand board the airplanes and port them.” As a result, he said, perform any maintenance.

Boeing has seen new operators fly their first 100 days in revBusy Fleet, Now Reliable enue service without a delay.

By mid-June Boeing had 19 Others, of course, haven’t expecustomers for the 787, and the rienced the same level of succompany plans to add another cess, largely due to the varying 15 this year alone as it deliv- degrees of sophistication of ers a targeted 110 airplanes, their engineering departments. said Whittington. Boeing cus- “There are less and more tomers today operate roughly sophisticated airlines, and it

certainly does make a difference,” Whittington conceded.

Meanwhile, in-flight experience, regardless of airline, has proved more than satisfactory, said Whittington. The fleet has delivered its promise of a 20-percent fuel burn improvement per seat over the 767 and A330, and in some cases has reached 22 percent, mainly on long-haul flights. In cases in which the 787 replaces an A340, the fuel burn per seat improvement has reached 26 percent, according to Boeing analysis.

The airplane stands to save even more fuel due to the FAA’s recent approval of ETOPS missions beyond 180 minutes.

Whittington explained that the certification allows for as much as 330-minute ETOPS, depending on the amount of Halon with which an operator chooses to equip its airplane. “An airline can choose to add Halon for 240 [minutes] or they can add Halon at 330,” he explained. “But the airplane is certified for up to 330 minutes ETOPS.” Although that an airline

can benefit from 330-minute ETOPS on very few routes, few airlines will actually choose to carry enough Halon to operate to that standard, said Whittington, who explained that an operator needs to fly for a year with 180-minutes ETOPS approval before airworthiness authorities will allow them to graduate to 240 minutes, then another year before they can dispatch at 330 minutes. Carrying extra Halon also adds weight.

Shorter Distances, Less Fuel

But on a route from Santiago to Auckland, for example, carrying that extra Halon could pay huge dividends in terms of the ability to fly more directly between the two points. Under 180-minute ETOPS, the route stretches some 8,200 nm. Flying that route with an Airbus A340 burns about 200,000 pounds of fuel, said Whittington. By switching to a 787 operating under 330-minute ETOPS, an operator would save 56,000 pounds of fuel, according to Boeing’s calculations. On a 240-minute ETOPS route, it would save roughly almost 40,000 pounds.

Increased ETOPS can also save money by allowing airlines to avoid flights over countries that charge high ATC fees, explained Whittington. “But you can see it makes a big difference in fuel burn and CO2 emissions and all those things that go along with those kind of routes,” he

said. “And now that the 777 and the 787 both have the 330-minute ETOPS capacity, you’ve got airlines that can…change planes depending on their densities...”

For example, United Airlines has announced a Los Angeles to Melbourne route on which it plans to alternate between a 787 and a 777 depending on how load factors change between different times of the year.

Plug and Play

Whittington said the 7879, certified by the FAA and EASA in mid-June and destined for entry into service with Air New Zealand this summer, will “come out of the box” with 330-minute ETOPS capability.

The airplane will also weigh “well below” its original specification. “The -9 was below spec weight and stable, and that’s huge for us, because on the -8 we had weights bouncing around on it quite a bit, and from an engineering perspective it’s very much an early identifier that your configuration’s not stable.”

Whittington highlighted Boeing’s ability to extract weight from the wing in the -9 and changed its stiffness, resulting in better aerodynamics. “We pushed the aerodynamic center outboard a little bit and we wound up with some benefits and the airplane was actually flying better than we calculated,” he concluded. o

787 Production Stable As Boeing Prepares For Changes Lessons learned from early missteps associated with the Boeing Dreamliner’s production system have helped cut unit costs on the 787-8 by some 15 percent over the past year and generate a 10-percent flow reduction since December, according to Boeing 787 vice president and deputy general manager Kim Pastega. Now building eight airplanes a month at is main plant in Everett, Washington, and two at its new factory in Charleston, South Carolina, Boeing has also seen a unit cost improvement of 30 percent in the recently certified 787-9 over the first six airplanes built.

Although as of mid-June it delivered only 38 airplanes this year, Boeing expects a gradual acceleration of deliveries during the last six months of the year will allow it to meet its target of 110 airplanes. Much of the reason for the imbalance stemmed from the discovery by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of some hairline cracks inside the carbon fiber wings it builds for the 787, which forced Boeing in early March to perform inspection and repairs on up to 43 airplanes, delaying some deliveries by several weeks.

“As we were ramping up we weren’t quite at 10 per month at the beginning of the year, so we have some of that,” noted Pastega. “We now have all the MHI [wing] repair behind us, so we’re now just delivering those airplanes that were [built] a little bit earlier, and then we’ll be accelerating through the Dash 9.”

Pastega explained that over the course of the last year Boeing started implementing some structural changes to the factory in Everett to help prepare it for a total production rate of 14 airplanes a month by the end of the decade. Most

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notably, perhaps, the company has already added a fifth position to the line and split its structures build area into two parts. Now mechanics perform wing-to-body join in what Boeing calls position 1A and circular joins in position 1B. “It’s done a couple of things; it has allowed us to work concurrently on our critical path in our major structures areas,” said Pastega. “In any airplane assembly, getting through your major structural joins–be it wings or be it the circular joins–is the bottleneck of the factory. So being efficient there is really a key to long term efficient production.”

The separation of jobs has also accelerated learning among the mechanics, said Pastega, allowing not only for the increase to 10 airplanes a month early this year, but for the team performing the circular joins to demonstrate a 20-percent improvement over the time it takes to maintain the current rate.

Since reaching the 10-per-month rate, added Pastega, Boeing has seen 787s leave the final assembly factory at a level of completeness comparable to that of a typical 777– evidence of the stability Boeing has sought ahead of implementation of some of the so-called lean principles it now applies to the 737 and 777.

Meanwhile, as the company prepares for more changes in the transition to the 777X, it will abandon an area near the 787 line where it now engages in 777 aft fuselage production, leaving that space open for 787 parts now located on the surge line. Once complete, that process will result in seven positions on a single line, as Boeing eliminates the surge line “over the next couple of years.” –G.P.

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Fast-jet training ascends in the UK

by Chris Pocock Fast-jet pilot training in the UK has been thoroughly modernized, thanks to the introduction of new simulators, courseware and the BAE Systems Hawk T2 trainer. Ascent, the contractor that is taking over the UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS), says the new set-up is “affordable, and demonstrably good value for money.”

Still, there are grumblings from those opposed to the commercial provision of British military flying training, on either philosophical or practical grounds.

Ascent is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin (Chalet D10/OE8) and Babcock, the

British engineering and facilities services company. It won the 25-year public-private partnership MFTS contract in 2008, and immediately placed orders with CAE for two Hawk T2 simulators. Ascent based itself in Bristol, next to No. 22 Training Group, Royal Air Force (RAF).

The two entities worked together to completely redesign the service’s advanced jet training. The new Hawks–28 of them– are provided by a direct contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to BAE Systems (OE11–FIVE).

The first four students to take the new course at No. 4 Flying Training School (FTS), RAF Valley,

graduated in June 2013. Another 10 have followed from two more courses since then.

During a visit to RAF Valley last year, AIN was shown the new facilities that Ascent has provided. A two-story building houses the two full simulators (which are linked), plus “electronic classrooms” containing six flight training devices (FTDs) and 10 desktop training stations (DTTs). The brief/debrief facilities and mission-planning aids are also thoroughly modern. All flight manuals are electronic. The shiny, black-painted new Hawks are kept in a new hangar that adjoins the new “schoolhouse.”

Equally important, though, has been the “root-and-branch” overhaul of the syllabus. Taking advantage of the new Hawk’s glass cockpit, which provides sensor and missile simulation, the new course downloads a significant portion of fastjet training from the RAF’s Operational Conversion Units (OCUs) to No. 4 FTS. “Real savings can be achieved here, since the cost per flying hour of a Typhoon combat jet is 10 times that of the Hawk T2,” said Al Shinner, the Ascent station manager at Valley.

Further cost savings have been achieved by shifting the proportion of hours flown versus simulated. It’s now about 120 hours each on a course that lasts 49 weeks. The ratio of air to simulated hours

varies according to the phase of the course. Instrument flying is 80 percent simulated, whereas air-to-air combat is 90 percent flown.

The Hawk T2 comes with HOTAS controls, GPWS, radar altimeter, datalink and Fadec, while it can simulate other combat aircraft systems such as missiles, radar, radar warning receiver and chaff/flare dispensers. The aircraft can be air-refueled and has provision for night-vision goggles (NVGs), although this capability has not yet been taken up in the training at Valley. Adversary combat training can be practiced in two-ship Hawk training sorties. “Through the datalink, we can simulate radars, so one aircraft can be a Flanker one day, and a Fulcrum the next day,” Shinner explained. Likewise, simulated threats, such as SAM firings, can be generated, either during the mission planning, or while airborne.

PHOTOS: CHRIS POCOCK (EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED)

Failure Rate Drops

A Hawk T2 of No. 4 FTS returns to the ramp at RAF Valley after a training sortie. They are RAF property, unlike the ground training facilities, which belong to Ascent, the UK military flight-training contractor.

The aircraft are maintained by employees of UK engineering firm Babcock working under a subcontract from BAE Systems, which signed an availability-based contract with the MoD.

Shinner said that since the new course was introduced, the “airborne failure rate” has dropped dramatically to “less than 0.5 percent.” This is the measure of whether a student met the training objective for that particular sortie.

To emphasize the “downloading” strategy, Shinner described the final training flight of the course. During this, a Paveway IV “smart bomb” attacks a time-sensitive target.

The sortie is opposed by enemy interceptors that are countered

by AMRAAM firings. The pilot must fly low-level into the target area and interact with a friendly AWACS. “It’s at least as realistic as an OCU sortie. I think we’ve

A Look at The Other MFTS Programs

The Hawk T2 has replaced the Hawk T1 as the RAF’s advanced jet trainer. It has a modern glass cockpit that can be variously configured. Combat aircraft attributes, such as radar and missiles, can be “emulated” so students learn how to fly and fight before moving on to the Operational Conversation Unit.

Advanced Jet Training at RAF Valley was the first “training service package” to be signed by Ascent–the contractor that is taking over the UK Military Flying Training System–with the UK’s Ministry of Defence. Another to train the Royal Navy’s rear aircrew (“observers”) followed. It was implemented in 2011-12 at RAF Barkston Heath on the MoD’s pre-existing contract-provided Grob 115E elementary trainers, and at RNAS Culdrose, where four King Air 350ER twin turboprops acquired by Ascent are based.

Five more packages were due to be signed by Ascent, covering elementary flying training (EFT); basic flying training (BFT); multiengine pilot training (MEPT); rotary-wing training (RWT); and RAF rear crew training (RCT2). But they were delayed by various reviews and the uncertainty over numbers to be trained caused by the downsizing of the RAF. It was eventually decided that Ascent would seek one provider of fixed-wing aircraft for the EFT, BFT and MEPT requirements. It also would seek providers of new helicopters for RWT. Lockheed Martin would evaluate proposals for ground training equipment and courseware. Babcock would manage competitions for the training infrastructure.

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Three bids for the fixed-wing aircraft provision were submitted: • A BAE Systems/Babcock/Gama/Pilatus team recommended keeping the Grob 115E for the EFT, plus Pilatus PC-21s for BFT and Cessna Citation Mustangs for the MEPT; • An EADS Cassidian/CAE/Cobham team proposed the Grob G120TP and the Beechcraft T-6C for EFT and BFT; • Elbit Systems and KBR teamed as the Affinity Group also recommended the G120TP plus the T-6C for EFT and BFT, plus the Embraer Phenom 100 for MEPT. A reliable source told AIN that only the Affinity Group bid was found to be compliant. Paul Livingston, managing director, Ascent, told AIN that “a revise-and-confirm RFP has been issued. Announcement of a preferred bidder is expected in the third quarter of 2014.”

On the previously released schedule, the new EFTs and MEPTs were due to be delivered from 2017, with the new BFTs to follow as of 2018.

The way forward for rotary-wing training has now been agreed.

Ascent was due to issue an RFP for new helicopters this month. It also has begun the process of acquiring new aircraft for RAF rearcrew training, for service from mid-2016. –C.P.

A two-ship Hawk air-to-air combat training sortie is replayed on one of the debriefing screens. The system records the HUD and all three MFDs on each Hawk T2 sortie for subsequent replay.

One of the six flight training devices (FTDs). These “mini-simulators” provided by Lockheed Martin can display the front or rear cockpit of the Hawk (for example, the student or instructor position); they can also be linked together.

Ascent’s station manager at Valley, Al Shinner, adjusts one of the desktop trainers (DTTs). These have a dock for laptops, so that students can download simulations for study at their leisure.

are on or ahead of schedule.”

In fact, Ascent provides only the ground instructors at Valley, while the RAF continues to provide the QFIs. Shinner noted last year that there are ongoing discussions about Ascent taking over that responsibility. “As a partnering program, we are always looking at ways of working more closely and helping each other where we can,” Livingston told AIN recently. The RAF’s Central Flying School (CFS) sets the standards and accredits each of the Ascent instructors, Shinner noted.

Privatized provision (or “contractorization”) of defense services has inevitably been controversial in the UK. With respect to the MFTS, one online critic spoke of “the little things that would be impossible to capture in a contract, but which are the glue that holds the system together.”

The government’s position is that without such contracts it could not afford to update defense capability. “MFTS will deliver improved value for money with about £1 billion saved over the life of the program,” said Sir Barry Thornton, former head of No. 22 Training Group in the RAF, who subsequently joined Ascent as managing director (he resigned in 2012). “It is the only way we will get the training system modernized,” he added. o

MOD CROWN COPYRIGHT

doubled the standard of student that graduates here,” he said.

The new system holds a “Secret” clearance so that this specific type of weapons instruction can be conducted. But the core course at No. 4 FTS is classified “UK Restricted,” with only “generic” weapons simulated. This will allow the RAF and Ascent to take in students from foreign air forces, if that is required in the future for defense diplomacy or revenue reasons. In fact, there is spare capacity at No. 4 FTS that was not originally anticipated. After Ascent began work on the contract, the RAF combat jet fleet was cut in the 2010 defense review. The RAF now requires only 30 to 35 new fast-jet pilots per year. Shinner said visitors to No. 4 FTS from U.S., European and Middle East air forces had been “most interested” in the new regime at Valley.

Like many of Ascent’s 120 employees, Shinner is ex-RAF. The former qualified flying and weapons instructor (QFI) and Tornado pilot said the company aims “to retain the RAF quality and ethos.”

Earlier this year, there was some discussion on a UK online forum for pilots, claiming that training courses at Valley had been temporarily halted. The online posts spoke of “poor morale” and “insufficient qualified instructors.” Two applicants for employment as instructors at Ascent complained that the salaries offered were insufficient. “Those interviewed were expected to fund their employment from their service pension,” one of them claimed.

In response, Ascent managing director Paul Livingston told AIN: “A ‘reset plan’ was enacted to put a full cadre of RAF QFIs in No. 4 FTS with the right mix of postgraduate qualifications. Since then, training has resumed and all courses

The view inside one of the two CAE full mission simulators. These are not designed to provide full-motion, but the pilot seat does “nudge” and “roll” and therefore can be “quite sick-making,” according to Ascent.

The control position for one of the full mission simulators. Air-to-air refueling of a Hawk T2 from one of the RAF’s new Voyager tankers is being simulated.

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 67

MARK WAGNER

Pilatus has already sold two full years of production for its new PC-24 jet, which is due to enter service in early 2017. The PC-24’s large 4-foot 3-inch high, 4-foot 1-inch wide cargo door can accommodate standard-size pallets.

Pilatus ready to roll out strong-selling PC-24

by Charles Alcock Pilatus is to roll out the first example of its PC-24 business jet on August 1, just over a year after launching the model in May 2013. The aircraft is expected to make its first flight by yearend en route to European and U.S. certification in early 2017.

Swiss precision characterizes not only the technical development of the aircraft, but also the sales and marketing strategy. By the end of May’s European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva, the Stans, Switzerland-based company temporarily suspended new bookings with 84 firm orders logged–accounting for all projected delivery positions between early 2017 and the end of 2019.

As the program progresses, Pilatus executives plan to reopen the order book

to fill delivery slots beginning in 2020.

All orders are backed by binding contracts and nonrefundable deposits.

Pilatus (Chalet A23) has priced the new model at $8.9 million (in 2017 economic values), billing it as constituting a versatile new category in the business aviation marketplace. It claims the aircraft combines the flexibility of a turboprop with the cabin size of a midsized jet and the performance of a light jet.

The aircraft’s primary fuselage and wing structure is made from aluminum.

Flat-floor Cabin

The flat-floor cabin seats six to eight passengers. Range with four passengers is 1,950 nm (NBAA IFR reserves, 100-nm alternate) and high-speed cruise speed is 425 ktas at FL300. The PC-24’s

cabin dimensions are superior to those of Cessna’s midsized Citation XLS+ in most key respects, namely: 67 inches wide versus 66 inches; 23 feet long versus 18.5 feet; 501-cubic-foot volume versus 461 cubic feet. Cabin height is seven inches shorter than the XLS+, but this is due to the Citation’s dropped floor.

The PC-24 can seat up to 10 passengers in commuter configuration. In an executive format, the cabin features an externally serviced lavatory in either fore or aft positions, with an optional galley available.

Extra versatility comes from the PC-24’s large cargo door. With dimensions of 4 feet 3 inches high and 4 feet 1 inch wide, it can accommodate standard-size cargo pallets. Seats can be quickly removed to increase the size of the baggage compartment from 51 cubic

The new PC-24, with its flatfloor cabin that seats six to eight passengers, combines the cabin volume of a midsized jet with the versatile performance of a light jet.

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feet to 90 cubic feet (large enough to carry a full-sized motorcycle).

Another key factor is its ability to operate from short and unprepared runways (2,690-foot balanced field length at max takeoff weight). Intended for Part 23 certification, the mainly-aluminum PC-24 can be flown by one pilot.

Two Williams International FJ44-4A engines will help the aircraft climb to its maximum altitude of 45,000 feet in less than 30 minutes. Maximum takeoff weight is 17,650 pounds and maximum payload is 2,500 pounds.

Key to the PC-24’s short-field performance is a unique design feature of its two 3,435-pound-thrust Williams engines.

An additional 5 percent power is available via a new automatic thrust reserve feature, according to Williams International.

The turbofans also employ Williams’ Exact passive thrust-vectoring nozzle technology, which uses the Coanda effect to provide a three-degree “vectored” thrust during high-power operations.

An anti-ice and noise-suppressing inlet is supplied by Williams, as is an integral pre-cooler “to condition engine bleed air and reduce drag losses.” The PC-24 doesn’t need an APU because the FJ44s use Williams’s quiet power mode to provide ground power efficiently and with little noise. The engine has a 5,000-hour TBO and hot-section interval of 2,500 hours.

The PC-24 avionics suite consists of a Honeywell Primus Apex flight deck, which for this platform is branded as the Pilatus Advanced Cockpit Environment.

The most basic version includes four 12-inch displays, Honeywell SmartView synthetic vision, Tcas II, inertial reference system, Waas LPV approaches and graphical flight planning on the moving map.

The cockpit will also feature the integrated navigation data service (INDS) data manager for the Apple iPad. The INDS, developed by Jeppesen and Honeywell, simplifies the Honeywell Apex database update process, allowing wireless updates through the iPad. An Aspen Avionics CG100P Connected Panel device is part of the INDS system, and this is the equipment’s first application in a business aircraft. o

A350-1000 taking shape

by Ian Goold Airbus A350-1000 manufacturing is under way, with Airbus reporting last month the laying up of the first carbon fiber elements, to be followed in the coming weeks by the first cutting of metal parts, according to program executive vice president Didier Evrard. Establishment of systems-installation design maturity is said to be “on plan,” while work continues on the variant’s structural design phase, which will permit the start of engineering drawing. Structural design maturity “incorporating all requirements” also was completed by mid-June.

The first stretched variant of the A350XWB is likely to appear after 60 to 70 examples of the A350-900 have been built. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that there is “a lot to do; nothing [is taken for] granted, nothing a given.”

Evrard said the first A350-1000 tooling has been installed in partner factories in preparation for initial manufacture of subassemblies, which is scheduled to begin during the fourth quarter of this year. Examples include tooling for aft- and forward-fuselage side shell molds; center wingbox front, lower, rear and upper panels; pylon composite spars; and machining of landing-gear side-stay forgings.

The A350-1000 is already benefiting

from the manufacturer’s experience with the A350-900–a “successful platform”– with flight- and static-test data being continuously analyzed for its potential contribution to the -1000’s design optimization and structure. Evrard specifically cited two examples claimed to represent latest innovations: carbon-fiberreinforced polymer door surrounds and engine-pylon composite spars.

Because Airbus needs to shorten the new variant’s overall testing time (relative to that for the initial model), it is making more extensive use of simulation, said Evrard. The manufacturer developed many benches to perform ground tests on both the A380 and A350-900 before first flight, but on the A350-1000 it has always planned to move from bench testing toward more simulation.

The program executive said hydraulics systems testing with the A350 iron-bird rig and simulated negative-g wing-bending (to check flight-control kinematics under wing deflection) has been performed “much faster.” Also, on the structures side, time has been saved through use of the digital mockup (as on the A350-900) and interface-enriched generalized finite element method (IGFEM) integrated modeling. Airbus demonstrated ground

Embraer take the wraps off E2 cabin design Embraer is unveiling its cabin interior for the -E2 version of its established regional-jet series, which are marketed generically as E-Jets, here at the Farnborough Airshow this week. Maintaining the same four-abreast fuselage cross section, the -E2 models are principally re-engined variants of the E175, 190 and 195 powered by Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans–the PW1700G on the E175 and the larger PW1900G on the heavier E190 and E195.

The PW1700G is similar to the PW1200G being developed

for Japan’s Mitsubishi MRJ, while the PW1900G is close to the PW1500G approved for the Bombardier C Series. Further E2 changes are high-aspectratio wings with increased span and raked tips, longer landing gear to accommodate fatter under-wing engine nacelles, Honeywell Epic 2 avionics and Moog digital flying controls.

The stretched E175-E2 and E195-E2 match the range of the equivalent E1 models, but the E190-E2 sports a range increased by 450 nm.

The large overhead bins in Embraer’s E2 regional jet can accommodate one small roller-bag per traveler, potentially reducing passengers’ checked baggage by as much as a third.

Airbus is moving toward assembly of the first A350-1000, the longest of the new aircraft family, which is due to enter service with launch customer Cathay Pacific in mid-2017.

vibration test by simulation, while highlift configuration optimization in flight test again was simulated.

Airbus strategy and marketing executive vice president Dr. Kiran Rao claims that on long haul routes the A350-1000 will have cash operating cost (COC) per seat some 25 percent lower than that of the Boeing 777-300ER, which is expected to be replaced in production after the end of the decade by the Boeing 777-9X and -10X. Compared to the 777-9X, Rao estimates a 5-percent COC-per-seat benefit and 15-percent COC-per-trip advantage (assuming a two-class cabin layout over 4,000 nm, fuel price of $3 per U.S. gallon, and with the A350-1000 and (10-abreast) 777-9X configured for 369 passengers and 405 passengers, respectively).

Embraer believes the volume of passengers’ checked baggage could be reduced by as much as a third following its introduction of larger overhead bins designed to accommodate one small roller-bag per traveler.

Ahead of the public unveiling at Farnborough, the manufacturer displayed an E2 cabin mockup at its Fort Lauderdale marketing center in Florida.

Paolo Cesar de Souza e Silva, Embraer Commercial Aviation president and chief executive, confirms that the Brazilian company does not want to compete against Airbus and Boeing in the mainstream 150-seat market. It aims instead to enable operators to “right size” their equipment to match local market capacity and timetable requirements.

The manufacturer chose deliberately to re-engine and develop its current family rather than build a new 130- to 150seat design but, nevertheless, in a high-density single-class configuration, the planned E195-E2 can be laid out for up to 144 passengers–competing directly against standard Airbus A319/ A320s and Boeing 737-700s.

Silva said Embraer (Chalet A25/OE 6) is talking to “a good number” of airlines but, with a firm-order backlog covering 400 aircraft, he declined

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Rao claimed that the “heavier” 777-9X has required a longer wing to recover aerodynamic efficiency, which in turn had to be offset by seating passengers 10 abreast, but he is “sure [the -9X] will have a noise issue.”

He argues that 15 to 20 of the additional 30 to 40 seats in a -9X (compared to a current 777) are required to cover the cost of its higher weight, leaving only the balance for extra profitability.

The first engine run of the A3501000’s Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 was “imminent” last month and may have been completed before this week’s show.

The powerplant is scheduled to fly on a testbed next year, with Airbus aiming to fly the A350-1000 by mid- to late 2016 ahead of service entry in the second half of the following year. o

to indicate how much additional E-Jet/E2 production is accounted for by memoranda of understanding, letters of intent or other “soft” bookings. Asked about the E190-E2, which Embraer cited as a “new market developer,” Silva identified opportunities in Latin America, specifically naming Brazil as the third largest market with “a lot of room to grow” as more airports are built.

Right Sizing

China also is a “huge” market in which the E190/195E2 could be used to open new routes or “right size” markets. The E190/195 series also could be used to address lowcost carriers’ longer routes in Asia, where many markets are too small for larger aircraft, but Embraer is not ready to address that demand, the official said.

In North America, Silva sees continuing demand for current Embraer models to be satisfied before the E2 series becomes available. Citing “a huge need” to replace 50-passenger regional jets and older 70-seat aircraft in the U.S., he suggested that “another 300 aircraft” such as the E175 might be needed in the period up to 2018-2019.

During this year, a good one

for Embraer commercial aircraft bookings, the Brazilian manufacturer took E175 orders from American Airlines and United Continental, and from SkyWest for both E175s and E175-E2s.

On the E-Jet family’s potential for use in air cargo operations, Paolo said Embraer has “no firm plans” to address the market; it has launched market assessments, but has made no decision.

Advent of the evolved E2s has overtaken plans for an E190/195 improvement package after the style of that developed for the smaller E175. The market for an improved aircraft] has been “so dynamic,” according to Silva, that Embraer moved directly on to the E2, for which the E190 sub-variant is to be the first to enter service. A performance improvement package would not have come along before 2016, by which time E190-E2 availability would be only two years away.

The E2 offers a limited amount of production commonality principally because the fuselage cross section is unchanged. However, the new wing and landing gear means there will be some new tooling. Silva described as a “big challenge” a more than two-year transition period during which production of current E-Jet and new E2 variants will overlap. –I.G.

Counter-stealth technology flourishes in eastern Europe

by Chris Pocock European companies, especially in the East, are continuing to refine passive ground-based technologies with the potential to detect stealth aircraft. The best known of these is the detection and correlation of emissions from aircraft– such as from radars, radar altimeters and other navigation devices–using ESM/ ELINT techniques, sometimes known as passive emitter tracking (PET).

Various techniques are used to calculate the position of the target, such as triangulation, interferometry and TDOA

(time difference of arrival). In recent years, detection has become possible by capturing and analyzing the signal fluctuations caused by an aircraft as it flies through the fields of civilian radio, television and mobile phone transmitters. The latter technique uses Doppler-shift processing together with bi-static range and angle-ofarrival measurements. It is usually known as passive coherent location (PCL), but is sometimes referred to as “passive radar.”

The accuracy of both PET and PCL systems has improved progressively thanks to

PHOTOS: Myroslav Gyurosi

The Ramona and follow-on Tamara passive detection systems were deployed

by Warsaw Pact countries on mobile vehicles.

Gunica is a truck-mounted system designed by Polish company PIT.

Silent Guard is a van-based PCL system from ERA, with self-contained operator workstation.

the increase in processing power.

Czech company ERA has inherited and refined the PET and TDOA technology that was developed in the former Czechoslovakia and exported from there to East Germany, North Korea, Syria and the Soviet Union. The PRP-1 Kopac system of 1963 was followed in turn by the KRTP-81 Ramona in 1979 and the KRTP-86 Tamara in 1987 (later upgraded to KRTP-91 version).

In 2009, ERA created the VERA-NG passive emitter tracking system with a lighter, more compact antenna unit. Last May, the NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) signed a contract with ERA for two VERA-NG mobile systems, after previous demonstrations during NATO exercises.

ERA’s latest PCL technology demonstrator is called Silent Guard. This design exploits commercial terrestrial radio broadcasting signals in the 88- to 108-MHz band (up to eight FM channels

per sensor). The system has 360-degree coverage in azimuth. ERA claims a range of up to 150 km depending on antenna type and target RCS. Silent Guard operates in a completely covert mode, and has a redundant architecture. The system has very low power consumption because there are no rotating parts in the antenna unit. For this reason, the maintenance cost is also very low.

This is the latest version of the Kolchuga system designed by the Topaz company in Ukraine.

Airbus D&S Refines Passive Radar, Explores Civil Use

Airbus D&S

At the recent ILA Berlin Airshow, Airbus Defence and you can’t jam it,” he said. “There’s no turning & Space reported progress with the passive radar radar antenna, so we spend 100 percent time-on[alternatively, passive coherent location (PCL)] sys- target, with an update rate of 0.5 seconds instead of tem that predecessor company Cassidian had been six seconds,” he continued. “Moreover, there is no developing since 2006. Frank Bernhardt, proj- need to secure frequency allocation and approval ect manager, said that the company from governments,” he added. has “worked closely” with two armed The UK CAA is interested in the forces on tests of the system. One of potential for passive radar to release them is Germany. Airbus D&S has also precious bandwidth for other uses, gained a study contract with the UK Bernhardt said. The new contract Civil Aviation Authority to explore the will also explore how the system ATC applications of passive radar. could be placed in built-up areas Bernhardt reported that a second without creating emissions, unlike a sensor van was added to the system radar system. last year, thus providing more ellipAccording to Airbus D&S, sevsoids and improving accuracy. The eral cost-effective passive-radar sensystem has been adapted to work with sors using a number of emitters could DAB+ signals, with DVB-T2 to come. broaden the basis for detection of air“I believe we are still the only ones to craft approaching an airport. Plachave fused three bands,” he added. The ing several such sensors intelligently The Airbus D&S passive system can process eight FM transmit- radar system is deployed could also eliminate the problem of ters, plus one each of DAB+ and DVB-T. on one or more vans. confusing echoes and interference Airbus D&S claims a detection range of Signal processing is from the increasing number of wind done onboard, and the up to 200 km (FM) for larger aircraft, farms that are afflicting conventional combined 3-D air picture and an accuracy of 10 m (DAB/DVB-T). is then transmitted by ATC radars, the company added.

The recent test used two light aircraft ASTERIX data link.

Interestingly, since the system needs and a Learjet 35 as targets. no cooperation from aircraft tranThe attractions of passive radar are many, sponders, it might have provided clues to the fate of according to Bernhardt. “You don’t know where it Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, had it been deployed is, you don’t know how many [detectors] there are in the relevant area. – C.P.

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Czech company ERA has been promoting the benefits of its VERA-NG mobile passive-emitter tracking system.

Pole Position

Polish company PIT has also developed the work done on both ESM/ ELINT and TDOA systems in that country during the Warsaw Pact era. The company offers the SRS-25S Gunica system, which operates from 0.5 to 18.0 GHz. Also in Poland, The Institute of Electronic Systems of the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland developed and tested a PCL technology demonstrator called PaRaDe (Passive Radar Demonstrator) in 2009-12. The PaRaDe technology demonstrator can do real-time processing of FM signals and offline processing of DVB-T, GSM and Wi-Fi signals. The development team claimed a tracking range of 750 km. PaRaDe uses a three-meter diameter antenna array, which is located on an eight-meter high mast.

Another Polish company, Bumar Elektronika, is working on a totally new design for a mobile passive surveillance system, which will combine PCL and TDOA technologies in one chassis. That will be the first system of this kind in the world.

One of the best-known passive systems is the Kolchuga, built by Ukrainian company Topaz. It is a long-range mobile system that receives and triangulates ESM/ ELINT data. It can detect and identify pulse and continuous wave emitters from 135 MHz all the way to 18 GHz. Detection range is up to 600 km, and tracking range up to 200 km. In the standard version, three antenna-carrying vehicles are deployed in line, and can cover a 120-degree arc. The newest Kolchuga-3K system adds a fourth vehicle and array to provide 36-degree coverage with a detection range of 450 km. Both versions can simultaneously track up to 200 targets.

Turning to emitting radar systems, the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries also specialized in VHF-band systems, which are more likely to detect stealth aircraft because of their larger wavelength. VHF radar development continues today in the Belarus, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ukraine, and includes the use of active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs). o

UK adapts to new military safety arm

by Chris Pocock The UK’s new military air safety regime has contributed to the delayed entry into British service of some new platforms, such as the Airbus A330MRTT Voyager tanker, the Thales Watchkeeper UAS and the L-3 Integrated Systems Airseeker (the UK version of the USAF’s RC-135 Rivet Joint SIGINT aircraft). As a result, some UK aerospace industry managers have expressed dissatisfaction with the Military Aviation Authority (MAA), in off-therecord comments to this editor and others. But the senior Royal Air Force officers that currently lead the MAA are unapologetic about the increased scrutiny that they have imposed.

In his first media interview since becoming director general of the MAA, Air Marshal Dick Garwood told AIN earlier this year, “The Haddon-Cave review called for an independent regulator that fosters continual improvement in safety culture, regulation and practice.”

The Hon. Mr. Justice Haddon-Cave QC is the senior judge who led an independent inquiry into the crash of an RAF Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft in 2006. He found a fundamental failure of leadership, culture and priorities, and a dilution of responsibility and accountability. Among other failings, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) had outsourced the Nimrod safety case to the manufacturer, the QC noted.

The MAA was established in early 2010 to put things right. It employs 250 people, 70 who filled new posts created as a result of the Haddon-Cave review (the remainder filled safety positions transferred from elsewhere in the MoD).

Garwood and his staff still

take their marching orders from that review. For instance, “it’s not acceptable for industry to have sole intellectual ownership of airworthiness, for aircraft on the military register,” MAA technical director Air Vice-Marshal Martin Clark told AIN. Implementing Haddon-Cave’s recommendations has not “always been without short-term challenges to the DE&S (Defence Equipment and Support), frontline commands and the defense industry but the long-term result is that Defence will operate more safely and understand the risks that it takes much better,” commented Garwood.

DE&S is the MoD’s procurement agency. To outsiders, the relationship between it and the MAA has sometimes seemed dysfunctional. But during the procurement process, the DE&S must submit evidence to the MAA to enable the latter to issue either a military type certificate (MTC), an approved design change certificate (ADCC) or a statement of type design assurance (STDA). Once that is done, the DE&S proceeds to the point where it is ready to recommend the release to service (RTS). The MAA then audits this work.

“We mark their homework,” AM Garwood said. Finally, the DE&S sends the case to the relevant RTS Authority in the RAF, Army or Royal Navy, which makes the final judgment.

This doesn’t sound like the optimum process. Garwood told AIN that the UK Defence Secretary at the time did not accept Haddon-Cave’s recommendation that the MAA assume responsibility for issuing RTS for new or modified aircraft or systems.

The MAA is keen to explain why an aircraft that is already certified by civilian authorities

A Voyager tanker refuels a Typhoon and a Tornado. The entry into RAF service of this version of the Airbus A330MRTT was delayed while the MAA sought additional assurance to that provided by the aircraft’s existing civil certifications.

must undergo further scrutiny before it is approved for use by the UK military. The introduction of the Beechcraft King Air 350ER (to train the Royal Navy’s rear crew) and the Airbus A330MRTT were both delayed as the MAA sought additional assurance. In the latter case, this was despite Airbus Military having obtained from the civil certification authorities, two supplemental type certificates (STCs) covering the military modifications to the basic A330 airliner.

“We don’t repeat work that has already been done [by the civil authority],” Garwood claimed. But according to one source close to Airbus Military, the MAA initially proposed to do just that, by ignoring the A330MRTT’s two STCs. Garwood told AIN that those STCs “did not cover the full extent of the military modifications or their operation.”

The operating environment for a military aircraft is very different, the MAA notes.

(The table, on page 76, lists the differences.­) Further, the civil certification of an aircraft is a one-time event, whereas a military aircraft may be introduced in a phased manner, from initial

The Watchkeeper remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) eventually received a statement of type design assurance (STDA) from the MAA. It is still uncertain whether it will ever receive a full type certificate.

Air Marshall Richard (Dick) Garwood has been director general of the Military Aviation Authority (MAA) since May 2013. He is a former RAF fighter pilot with combat experience during the First Gulf War.

Air Vice Marshall Martin Clark is a qualified engineer who has served tours on RAF Victor, Nimrod and Tornado squadrons. He joined the MAA in June 2011.

to full operating capability. Nevertheless, the MAA says its certification process is “heavily based” on EASA regulations.

Garwood told AIN that he had consulted with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on this matter.

“We’ve got better with experience,” admitted Garwood, with reference to civil versus military certification. AVM Clark also conceded that there had been an “evolution” in the way that the MAA approaches this issue. Nevertheless, he added, “we do require the project teams [at the DE&S] to understand and ‘own’ what has previously been accomplished.”

standard. “We didn’t make this stuff up,” noted Garwood.

But most aircraft–such as the King Air and the A330–aren’t designed to 00-970. AVM Clark admitted that this had been “a source of friction.” He added, “It must be understood how a new aircraft type ‘sits alongside’ the standard. Make the argument, we’ve said!” The MAA has now begun work to further update and harmonize the standard with other codes.

The Watchkeeper remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) posed a unique set of problems.

Regulators worldwide are wrestling with how to certify and regulate RPASs or UAVs. The MAA has a small multi-disciplinary team examining whether current UK regulations are appropriate for RPASs. The Watchkeeper’s entry into service with the British Army was delayed three years, partly because of the MAA’s concerns, especially over the aircraft’s software. Two years ago,

Design Standards

Defence Aircraft Design Standard 00-970 is at issue here.

It has a long lineage, and benefits from 95 years’ of UK experience in operating military aircraft. It has been adopted by some other nations. All UK military aircraft are supposed to comply with this

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Continued on page 76 u

Safety arm delays acquisitions

What They Say, About the MAA “We’ve asked some difficult questions. That’s why we were created.”

uContinued from page 74

–Air Vice-Marshal Martin Clark

“The RAF is running scared of prosecution and the civil servants of being fired.”

–UK aerospace industry leader BOB ARCHER

a military officer with knowledge of the matter told AIN that Thales had not been able to obtain basic airworthiness data from Elbit Systems, the Israeli designer of the UAV. Thales declined to comment. The MAA eventually granted an STDA for the system last October. “We may eventually know enough to issue a type certificate,” commented AVM Clark.

The RAF’s acquisition of 50-year-old airframes for SIGINT brought a different challenge to the MAA (and the DE&S). Three KC-135 tanker aircraft are being converted to the same RC-135 Rivet Joint configuration that is already flying with the USAF. L-3 Integrated Systems is the contractor, having gained huge experience in the overhaul, care and maintenance of the RJ fleet over many years at its Greenville, Texas facility. Called the Airseeker by the RAF, the aircraft are being acquired via the U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) process and the USAF’s Big Safari acquisition program office, which manages the RJ fleet.

In its latest annual report, dated last August but not released to the public until April, the MAA notes that the MoD was aware about potential aging aircraft concerns before the Airseeker buy was confirmed. From U.S. sources, AIN became aware of mounting frustration at Big Safari, as the DE&S sought type design assurance and an audit trail for the airframes. Repeated questions were sent from the UK, and proprietary information was sought from Boeing.

One particular area of interest was the aircraft’s fuel system, since the Nimrod crash was caused by a fuel fire.

Meanwhile, progress in converting the first aircraft was running ahead of schedule, and the U.S. side sought to make delivery six months early. The first Airseeker duly arrived at RAF Waddington last November, but did not fly again until

The first RAF Airseeker SIGINT aircraft arriving at RAF Waddington last November. It did not fly again until May this year.

Certification of this converted 50-year old aircraft has proved a challenge for the MAA and the DE&S.

May, as the DE&S continued to examine the safety case.

The DE&S had engaged QinetiQ to do an “independent technical evaluation” (ITE) of the aircraft. The privatized former MoD-owned company has worked for the DE&S on some other acquisitions. The U.S. found this ironic, since QinetiQ was severely criticized by Haddon-Cave for its performance in a safety review of the Nimrod.

A senior UK aerospace industry manager told AIN, “QinetiQ gets paid by the number of questions it asks–there’s no incentive to get the job done.”

“QinetiQ is often, but not always, employed by the DE&S,” noted AVM Clark. “The more we see the procurement team and the designers doing ITE, the less assurance we may do ourselves,” he added.

“We had problems articulating our own processes over the Airseeker,” AM Garwood admitted. “The Americans won’t go back and retrospectively check the whole design life of an aircraft that’s been in their inventory for 50 years. There’s lots of complex work to do. We are looking at an alternative airworthiness strategy,” he told AIN last January.

The MAA recently told AIN that as a result of the “alternative approach” to certification, it has provided advice to the RTS Authority (for example, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff) to enable RAF crews to begin flying the Airseeker.

The MAA is now evaluating the safety of two major platforms that will soon enter RAF service–the A400M airlifter and the F-35 stealth fighter. The A400M has already achieved

Military vs Civil Ops – According to the MAA Military

Civil

Hazardous envelope is normal

Safe envelope is the preferred mode

Deployable maintainers

More mature and static maintainers

Aircrew lead, manage and plan

Aircrew only fly

Maintenance locations may move, and may be threatened

Maintenance locations are predictable and safe

Passengers may be armed, and may leave during the flight

Passengers are screened and scheduled

EASA civil certification and entered service with the French air force. AVM Clark said the MAA is “reasonably confident” that it will be able to issue a military type certificate for the A400M in due course.

The Authority recently issued an STDA to support the initial operating capability (IOC) configuration of the aircraft. “The F-35 is really challenging, but the (DE&S) procurement team is ‘in the right place,’” he added.

Harmonized Requirements

In the future, an MAA initiative should help pan-European programs like the A400M. The authority is taking a leading role in a forum that aims to harmonize requirements within Europe for military airworthiness. The European Defence Agency (EDA) is supporting the effort. But although the forum is basing the requirements framework on EASA regulations, there is no intention to create a pan-European regulatory agency for military aircraft, according to Clark, the MAA’s technical director. “Regulation will remain a national responsibility,” he told AIN. The certification of new military aircraft is only one of the MAA’s responsibilities. It also audits the operational military flying community; the contractors who fly military aircraft either for test purposes, or under the various contracts that the MoD has let for the privatized provision of services; and maintenance facilities. It is the keeper of the rulebooks for flying and air traffic management, including airfield operation. It approves training organizations, and also holds its own training courses.

It also conducts the military air accident investigations. It may be licensing aviation technicians in the future.

Garwood emphasized the independence of the MAA. “I report directly to the permanent undersecretary at the MoD, but I have access to the Defence Secretary (for example, the senior defense minister).

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I’m independent of the service chiefs,” he added.

The main responsibility for complying with the military air safety regime lies with “operating duty holders” (ODHs) at two-star level. This was another HaddonCave recommendation–that those “holding risk” be clearly identified. These risk holders are personally liable in the event of an accident. The DH chain is not the same as the UK military command chain, Garwood noted.

This deliberately provides “tension” in the system, he explained.

“Haddon-Cave wanted leadership, accountability and simplicity; for example, ‘who ‘owns’ this machine?’” he added.

“There’s no Crown immunity,” Garwood confirmed. But, he said, if a duty-holder feels he cannot hold a particular risk, he can “elevate” it to a higher level– for example, the “senior duty holders” who are the four-star chiefs of the three British armed services. But even they can pass on specified risks. In the annual report, the MAA suggests that the Defence Secretary will likely have “to release DE&S from compliance with the Military Air Certification Process” with respect to the Airseeker.

Collision Risk

The MAA describes the risk of mid-air collision as “the highest operating risk.” It was highlighted by the fatal collision of two of the RAF’s Tornado combat aircraft in July 2012. Even though the out-of-service date for the Tornado is only five years away, a collision warning system is being procured for the jet.

“I have given a pledge to the Commander of Joint Operations that our work will not be a hindrance to operational freedoms,” AM Garwood told AIN. The MAA’s mission statement requires it “to enhance the delivery of operational capability.”

It’s a difficult balancing act, of course. The desired philosophy is demonstrated in an acronym favored by the MAA, which says that air safety risks should be driven “as low as reasonably

“I don’t see a culture of ‘running scared.’ Our commanders are comfortable with the clarity, and they are empowered to make the right decisions that impact on their people.”

–Air Marshal Dick Garwood

“Actually, I found the MAA’s review process to be intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking.”

–an RAF Air Commodore responsible for delivering a major operational capability

“It’s hard to measure an air safety culture, but it’s definitely improved– I see that as I get out and about.”

–Air Marshal Dick Garwood

practical” (ALARP). In recent times, the ODHs have temporarily grounded six British military aircraft types to reassess the risk to air safety.

Rewriting Regs

The MAA has been rewriting all the military air safety regulations to make them “concise, unambiguous and readily accessible.” They were previously of “byzantine complexity,” according to Haddon-Cave. AVM Clark told AIN that the exercise had, to date, been essentially a “repackaging exercise... only five percent of the regulations are new.” Now the MAA is reviewing the regulations “to make them better,” he added.

There is broad agreement that they already read much better than before, Clark claimed.

In the annual report, the MAA warned that “the lack of suitable qualified and experienced personnel...is a strategic risk to a self-sustaining safety system and culture.” It painted a rather alarming picture of “air safety being undermined by work that is left incomplete; safety modification work not being progressed; poor supervision; latent risks that remain unqualified, and inappropriate normalization of low standards and behaviors.”

There is a well-advertised shortage of qualified personnel at the DE&S, but the MAA says the problem extends “across all disciplines and commands.” o

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The continued boost in the oil and gas industry is driving the need for offshore helicopters, such as this Sikorsky S-92, and advanced simulators to train the flight crews.

Offshore-oil market drives helo training biz

by Rick Adams Irrespective of political turmoil in land-based energy supplier regions, oil and gas exploration and production is rising, especially offshore where drilling technology advances have made extraction more efficient. This is driving demand for helicopters and simulators.

Investment bank Barclays expects a 6-percent increase in spending this year, and forecasts that there will be 25 percent more “deepwater” rigs (operating at ocean depths of more than 1,500 meters) by 2016. Hotspots include the North Sea between Scotland and Norway, the Tupi and Guara reserves west of Brazil, the South China Sea, West Africa near Nigeria, Canada’s Atlantic provinces and the Gulf of Mexico, where production had fallen for four years after the BP disaster but is now increasing at a rate of 150,000 barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

James West, Barclays oil services and drilling analyst, said, “A lot of the growth in global oil production over the next 10 to 20 years is expected to come from deepwater.”

All that drilling requires technicians, who must be shuttled to and from the

rigs by helicopter. So ferry services such as Bristow, CHC and Era Helicopters are adding to their fleets as fast as manufacturers can produce new rotorcraft for them. Bristow Group alone is procuring 47 new helicopters at an investment of more than U.S.$1 billion, more in one year than in the previous 30 months combined, according to Jonathan Baliff, who moves from chief financial officer to CEO at the end of July. CHC has ordered 33 new helicopters; Era is acquiring 20 more. Overall, Barclays predicts the oil and gas industry will require 300 new helicopters between now and the end of the decade.

Simulator manufacturers are tracking right behind this boom, deploying new flight simulation training devices (FSTDs) adjacent to the operating bases of the helicopter operators. “For the most part, the oil and gas community requires helicopter operators who provide them services to adopt not only simulation training but also safety management system programs, prudent regulations and improved avionics to reduce accidents,” said Steve Phillips, v-p communications for FlightSafety International.

CAE Sikorsky S-76

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“The challenge the industry faces is how to show many other operators the benefits of these same training and safety programs,” he added.

Training Centers

In June, the first high-end training center for Africa was announced by Calverton Helicopters and Canada’s CAE (Hall 4, C17-19; Chalet B30). The Lagos, Nigeria facility is planned to open in mid2015 with a capacity for six simulators.

It will initially include a CAE 3000 series AgustaWestland AW139 FSTD, designed to address current EASA/FAA level-D regulations as well as the proposed new Type V category in ICAO’s “Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulation Devices, Volume II–Helicopters,” published in 2012 and pending adoption by national aviation authorities.

The largest AW139 operator in subSaharan Africa, Calverton has been sending pilots to training sites in the Middle East, Europe, North and South America.

FlightSafety is making its first foray into the Middle East market, a Sikorsky S-92 level-D/Type V FSTD for the Infinity Support Services (ISS) Aviation

Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ISS is an aviation-focused business of Alpha Star Aviation Services. Training is scheduled to commence in February for both civil and military pilots with the Saudi Ministry of Interior as the primary client.

Atypical of their past business model, FlightSafety will operate the $267 million facility for ISS for the first two years.

Abu Dhabi Aviation has signed a contract to build an eight-bay helicopter training facility in Khalifah City.

Airbus Helicopters (Outdoor Exhibit 13; formerly Eurocopter) will offer simulator-based EC175 pilot training beginning this summer at its Helisim training facility in Marignane, France, near Marseille. The level-D FSTD features Airbus Helicopters’ new Helionix avionics suite and was built by Spain’s Indra. Airbus also plans a level-D EC175 FFS by 2016 at a location to be identified in North America, citing the rotorcraft’s introduction in the Gulf of Mexico.

AgustaWestland (Outdoor Exhibit 1) and CAE, through their Rotorsim joint venture, are developing an AW189 simulator for deployment in Aberdeen, Scotland, by mid-2015 to support Bristow and other North Sea operators. The first AW189 level-D FSTD, certified recently, is training crews at Agusta’s A. Marchetti Training Academy in Sesto Calende, Italy. Doha-based Gulf Helicopters has ordered a HeliStar level-C AW189 FSTD to support its fleet and will become an AgustaWestland authorized training center and regional hub.

Expanding Global Network

“We are adopting a regional strategy to make training available as close as possible to our customer’s operations,” said Agusta spokesman, Roberto Caprarella. The Finmeccanica company is also expanding its global network with AW109 training in Zurich, Switzerland, and an AW139 levelD FSTD in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, supporting Brunei Shell and other customers.

In Stavanger, Norway, Thales is planning a new helicopter training center, scheduled for the second half of 2015.

Airbus and CAE are collaborating on an EC225 simulator to be deployed in southern Norway as well. Also, together

Continued on page 80 u

FlightSafety Bell 430

08 -10 DECEMBER 2014 DUBAI WORLD CENTRAL, UAE

BUSINESS AVIATION IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND www.meba.aero

ORGANISED ON BEHALF OF:

Airline pilot groups flags up concerns over simulator-heavy MPL training

by Roger Boudreau The number of training programs preparing flight crews for the new multi-crew pilot license (MPL) continues to multiply. Before year-end, there will likely be 30 or more active MPL programs around the world with well over 3,000 cadets in the pipeline.

The MPL is intended as a competency-based training license focused on preparing new pilots to become airline first officers. Guidance for the MPL was published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2006.

The new Etihad Flight College in Abu Dhabi plans to offer MPL for United Arab Emirates nationals. Japan Air Lines is claiming the first MPL program in Japan through an arrangement with CAE Oxford Aviation Academy (Hall 4 Stand C17), which is the training

provider’s sixth airline partnership. Lufthansa Flight Training (the largest MPL school so far with 1,326 students) recently added training for All Nippon Airways Boeing 777 pilots with courses in Germany, the U.S. and Japan. FlightSafety International has been providing training and support for the core and basic MPL phases for several years at its academy in Vero Beach, Florida.

However, a global airline pilots’ union is expressing reservations that the more than 1,000 MPL graduates to date have not received adequate training. On June 17, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), through its human performance committee, issued a 10-page position paper, which argued that, “Even in well-managed MPL

training programs, several key areas of pilot professional development need increased focus and improvement. Specifically, they are: basic flying skills, airmanship, CRM [cockpit resource management] and ATC [air traffic control] situational awareness.” IFALPA said its conclusions are based on feedback from member airline pilots, “many with considerable first-hand experience flying with MPL graduates.”

IFALPA’s primary concern is that the competency-based MPL program “relies significantly more on simulator time, less on flight time,” compared with traditional commercial pilot license (CPL) training.

“While simulators are adequate for most skill development, they are inadequate for providing real-world exposure or building

Offshore market drives training biz uContinued from page 78

with its Norwegian representative, Østnes, Airbus intends to install an AS350 helicopter FFS. Sikorsky and FlightSafety International opened a new learning center at Aircontact Aviation’s facility at the Stavanger Airport in Sola last September.

In Asia, Airbus introduced the first full-flight simulator in Japan, a level-C device for the light twin-engine EC135 P2+ aircraft. There are nearly 80 EC135s operating in Japan, according to Stephane Ginoux, president of Airbus Helicopters Japan.

Frasca International has announced a dual-qualified Robinson R44/D300 level-5 flight training device for Sichuan Xilin Feng Teng General Aviation Co. in Guanghan City, China. SXFT Textron TRU FFS X

Frasca Airbus Helicopters AS350

provides both ab initio and advanced helicopter training.

Bell Helicopter has signed a memorandum of understanding with Suilian General Aviation to develop authorized pilot training for the Bell 206B and Bell 407 models.

CAE has a new S76C++ simulator in Zhuhai, China, at its joint venture with China Southern Airlines and is planning an S-92 FSTD. It will also deploy an S-92 in Rimba, Brunei, as part of a broader government-militarycommercial training complex.

In South America, Flight­ Safety will install a level-D S-92 simulator in São Paulo, Brazil, this year. CAE and joint venture partner Lider Aviaçao are in process of installing an S-92 device, also in São Paulo, and last year launched an S76C++ FSTD. North of the Gulf of Mexico, Frasca will deliver a 407 GX

full-flight device to the Bell Training Academy in Alliance, Texas.

FlightSafety has been fielding a slew of simulators at its helicopter training centers in Palm Beach, Florida; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas–including models for the AW139, S-76D, S-92 (with new Vital 1100 visual system and Crewview glass mirror display), EC135 (Garmin avionics suite), EC145 and a night- vision-goggle (NVG)-capable Bell 212/412EP. In Shreveport, Louisiana, FlightSafety installed a level-7 AS350 FTD with NVG at Metro Aviation’s center.

The first flight simulator for Bell Helicopter’s new 525 Relentless is being developed by TRU Simulation + Training, Textron Aviation’s amalgam of Opinicus, Mechtronix and AAI. The simulator deal was originally signed with Opinicus pre-acquisition. o

80 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

CAE is one of several training providers that has developed programs for the new competency-based multi-crew pilot license targeted at an expected 3,000 candidates.

the situational awareness and experience necessary for sound judgment and decision making,” said the pilot union group.

However, countering this viewpoint, Mitch Fox, air navigation bureau chief with ICAO’s flight operations section, told a recent pilot training conference, “Comments we received from the approved training organizations, the airlines and the captains who were actually involved in the initial operating experience indicated they are very pleased with the performance of the MPL graduates. Programs are getting good results. Pass rates coming out of line training are on the order of 99 percent. That’s really incredible for a brand-new license.”

Fox acknowledged that a December “proof-of-concept” MPL symposium, which drew 300 attendees, exposed some areas for improvement, including program oversight by regulators, air traffic control communications and guidance on instructor competencies. “We need to continue a rigorous application of the MPL concept, joining with industry partners, continuing to gather and analyze data,” Fox said.

In fact, IFALPA agrees that some MPL programs are very effective. “However, none are perfect. IFALPA has drawn on its resources to highlight aspects that may need improvement,” said Mike Jackson, IFALPA’s technical liaison to ICAO. Well Established Now

According to Dieter Harms, a consultant with the International Air Transport Association and a former CEO of Lufthansa Flight Training who was involved in establishing MPL, the new license is now well established. He said that IATA’s Guidance Material and Best Practices for MPL Implementation publication will be updated by the end of 2014 and is expected to be co-branded with ICAO and IFALPA. The Global MPL Course Tracker database that Harms maintains for IATA reflects the

wide variations in the metrics of the 25 MPL programs activated to date, including aircraft flight time, simulator hours and course length. With the exception of the 36-month course offered by Sweden’s Lund University School of Aviation (LUSA), which also grants a university degree, all the MPL curricula run 14 to 24 months prior to an airline’s initial operating experience.

The controversial aircraft cockpit time requirements for MPL programs range from a low of 61.5 hours for AeronautX and its Austrian airline partner Niki to 112 hours for the program that Boeing subsidiary Alteon developed for China Eastern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. Typical MPL flight hours are between 80 and 100, including solo time. Flight simulation training devices occupy two to three times as many hours as aircraft for MPL students, from a low of 148.5 hours (Lufthansa Flight Training for All Nippon Airways) to a high of 239 hours (CAE for AirAsia). Total hours in aircraft and synthetic training devices fluctuate in a fairly narrow range from 240 to 325 hours.

One of the most controversial debates involves the number of required takeoffs and landings in the aircraft type the new pilots will be flying.

The ICAO recommendation is 12, but it allows for an exception of as few as six. Almost all MPL programs target 12, though CAFUC’s requirement is 20. Harms suggested a better metric for a competency-based program might be “three consecutive competent landings.”

The number of sectors a new MPL pilot must fly during initial operating experience also varies widely by airline, from as few as 40 by LUSA to as many as 200 for CAFUC graduates flying in China.

Even some of those involved in promoting MPL admit that a few programs have been little more than traditional training packages dressed up as MPL, but without being truly competency-driven. o

Crane lands dual pacts for its power converters

MARK WAGNER

by Gregory Polek

brother boeings Boeing is represented here at Farnborough on the civil and military side, with its 787-9 Dreamliner (background) and a pair of F/A-18Fs. The two Super Hornets arrived after a visit to Denmark, which is one of the Lockheed Martin F-35 partner nations that has yet to formally commit to the Lightning II.

UK Stifles Official Russian Presence At Farnborough The British government has sought to exclude Russian officials from this year’s Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) by refusing to issue its usual special invitations for the country’s official delegation. According to the Russian embassy in London, some Russian business visitors have been denied UK visas, preventing them from traveling to this week’s show.

The moves come in the wake of escalating European Union sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s alleged military interference in Ukraine. Over the weekend, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed that it has taken “clear action” to remove Russia from the list of countries eligible to use Open General Export Licenses in an effort to discourage Russian attendance at FIA 2014. An official at the FCO told AIN that their officials will not escort any foreign representatives as government guests around the airshow’s Russian Pavilion.

A spokesperson for show organizer Farnborough International Limited (FIL) told AIN that none of the 67 Russian companies on the exhibitor list have pulled out of the show as a result of the actions. However, the Russian embassy in the UK has complained that the British government has denied visas not only to government officials, but also to technical personnel needed to support Russian companies’ exhibits.

While the FCO insisted that the British government plays no role in deciding which companies get invited to the show, the government ultimately determines through the visa process which individuals can or cannot enter the country.

Wide Impact In a statement, the Russian embassy expressed regret that “a greater part” of the Russian delegation due to visit the show won’t attend, including

officials from Russia’s Ministry of Trade, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos), the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) and “dozens” of Russian companies. The embassy has sent what it called “an urgent note” to the FCO asking for an explanation for its actions.

“This is not the first case when Russian delegates fail to take part in an international event in Britain,” the Russian embassy said in a statement.

“This summer Russian private companies have been unable to fully participate in the Infosecurity Europe 2014 [event] and incurred financial losses as a consequence (stand lease, participation fee, hotel booking and air tickets).”

The embassy added that Britain denied visas to a number of Russian exhibitors at Natural and Organic Products Europe earlier this year and a “large number” of Russian authors couldn’t present their books at the London Book Fair for the same reason.

FIL confirmed that it has not extended its usual invitations to Russian officials and that the visa process has presented some obstacles to Russian exhibitors. “The Farnborough International Airshow has a total of 67 Russian companies exhibiting civil and commercial products. We are aware that some personnel have not yet received confirmation of visa applications and have assisted where we can with the appropriate support,” FIL said in a statement.

“Current political sensitivities mean it is not always appropriate for us to invite official delegations from every country to FIA 2014 and as such there will be no officially programmed civil or military delegations from Russia this show. However, the Farnborough International Airshow is a truly international event for the aerospace community with representation from some 39 exhibiting countries.”

–G.P.

Crane Aerospace & Electronics has received a pair of new contracts to supply power conversion products. In the first of two deals announced here on the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) signed with Crane to use Interpoint power converters for the Mars 2020 mission. The California-based company plans to use a variety of space dc-dc converters and filters including Crane’s SMRT product, which features a builtin EMI filter, independent outputs and adjustable output voltage.

The previous Mars rovers, Opportunity, Spirit and Curiosity, have all used Interpoint space dc-dc converters. Interpoint converters feature a variety of screening options up to MIL-PRF-38534 Class K and various radiation hardness assurance (RHA) options up to RHA R, 100krad(Si) at both high and low dose rates.

Crane (Hall 4 Stand F14), which is based in Washington State, also announced a deal to supply the auto-transformer rectifier unit (ATRU) for the Rockwell Collins horizontal stabilizer control unit (HSCU) supplied to Embraer.

The airframer plans to use the HSCU on the Embraer E-Jet E2 series scheduled for entry into service in 2018. The crane product is an ac-dc multi-pulse ATRI with power factor correction. The ATRU converts 115VAC, 400Hz, three-phase input power to +/- 135Vdc, providing conversion efficiency of more than 95 percent at a continuous load of 1.5kW. Other recent commercial successes at Crane involved its SmartStem wireless tire pressure and brake temperature monitoring systems. Its tire pressure system for Bombardier CRJs, Challenger midsize business jets and Global large business jets received a European Aviation Safety Agency supplemental type certificate, while Boeing has chosen an integrated tire pressure and break temperature system for all models of the new 737 Max. The European approval adds to Crane’s growing list of certifications for its tire pressure sensors, including those used

in virtually all Cessna Citation models, the Dassault Falcon 50, and Bombardier Learjet 40/50 and 60. SmartStem has also won approvals for the Boeing 737NG, 747-400, 777 and 787, as well as Bombardier Q-Series turboprops.

“We dive deep into highly technical niche markets, producing highly-engineered, flight critical hardware,” Crane Aerospace president Brendan Curran told AIN. “We do things that absolutely have to work and have to work every time.”

Almost 35 percent of Crane’s workforce consists of engineers and the company invests around 9 to 10 percent of its annual revenues in research and development.

The 737 Max tire and brake monitoring system is integrated as part of the new narrowbody’s overall airplane health monitoring system. Crane also provides specialist equipment such as indication and proximity sensors for engine fan cowls.

For Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan it has developed a fuel flow transmitter and for the Airbus A320 it provides the landing gear control unit. o

Denroy Plastics gets Typhoon deal Northern Ireland-based Denroy Plastics (Hall 1 Stand B16) has won a new contract to supply plastic components to the multi-national Eurofighter Typhoon program.

The undisclosed contract adds further components to the ones already supplied by the company, which now provides 180 separate parts for the Typhoon. The contract announcement was accompanied by a visit from RAF Typhoon pilots to Denroy’s Balloo Road plant in Bangor.

Denroy Plastics recently achieved SC21 (21st century supply chain) status from ADS and has become one of Northern Ireland’s most successful companies. It has been molding plastic parts since 1972.

Parent Denroy Group’s wide range of products includes everything from advanced aerospace parts to the Denman hairbrush. –D.D.

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 81

New EVOlved Avanti alights at Farnborough

Piaggio Aero’s Avanti EVO prototype lands at Farnborough. The aircraft has been used for tests and certification of the aerodynamic and systems modifications, but does not have the production EVO’s new-look cabin.

Among the debutantes at this year’s Farnborough Airshow is the Piaggio Aero Avanti EVO, the third generation of this eyecatching twin-turboprop business aircraft. The program was first revealed in May at the EBACE convention in Geneva, but the Avanti EVO’s appearance here is its first public outing at a major airshow.

The aircraft on display here (Outdoor Exhibit 2) is the experimental flight test vehicle, which began flight trials of the EVO’s modifications in spring 2013.

These include a redesigned forward wing, redesigned engine nacelles and five-bladed scimitar propellers. Most noticeable,

however, are the drag-reducing winglets that began flight trials last fall. These changes have generated significant performance benefits over the current production model, such as a 3-percent faster climb to the 41,000-foot ceiling and a 17-percent range increase to 1,470 nm on the standard fuel tankage. The EVO offers a 402-knot top speed and can operate from runways of around 3,000 feet in length.

The Avanti EVO can be flown by one or two pilots, who benefit from a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite with a tablet-based electronic flight bag. The EVO features a new landing gear with carbon

DAVID McINTOSH

by David Donald

brakes and digital steering.

Avanti EVO is also more friendly to the environment, offering a 3-percent cut in emissions, enabling it to operate at roughly half the CO2 emissions

CFM seals 200-engine deal with American Airlines

Embraer is displaying a full-size mockup of the passenger cabin of its new E-Jet E2 airliner family for the first time in public here at the Farnborough Airshow. Visitors can view the mockup at the Embraer static display (Outdoor Exhibit 6).

During an exclusive showing for reporters on Sunday, Embraer executives said the new cabin is at an advanced stage in its design, after recommendations of an advisory board, which evaluated a previous mockup last fall, were considered. The manufacturer hopes to solicit comments on the design from customers during the airshow.

“The E1s are the benchmark in terms of cabin space and comfort in this market and we wanted to maintain that leadership,” Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer Commercial Aviation chief operating officer, said of the refreshed, roomier E2 cabin. Affonso is pictured below (right) with Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, president and CEO of Embraer.

Embraer contracted the London design firm Priestmangoode to jointly develop the cabin design. For more on the Embraer E2, see page 70.

–B.C.

July 2011 and American will begin taking delivery of the aircraft in 2017.

Jean-Paul Ebanga, CFM president and CEO, likened the number of engines American has on order (430, comprising Leaps and CFM56s) to the entire CFM fleet in India. American already had orders for Leap-1B engines to power 100 Boeing 737 Max airliners.

The latest sales announcement brings the Leap backlog to 6,970 engines, representing seven years of production. According to a company forecast, 45,000 single-aisle aircraft engines are needed over the 2013-2032

82 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

DAVID McINTOSH

THIERRY DUBOIS

Jean-Paul Ebanga

period. CFM is on the three aircraft that will account for an estimated 90 percent of single-aisle orders over that time–double-sourced (with Pratt & Whitney) on the A320neo and singlesourced on the 737 Max and Comac C919–Ebanga asserted.

Meanwhile, CFMI executive v-p Allen Paxson gave details of the upcoming flight tests on two modified Boeing 747s (see story page 18). The Leap-1C will be the first to fly, as Comac has delivered the corresponding pylon on time. The -1C’s and -1A’s turbomachinery are the same.

On a 747 flying testbed aircraft, the engine is mounted in the number 2 position. In the cockpit, the pilot is in the left seat, while the crewmember in the right seat is responsible for test engine control. The third crewmember is a flight engineer and the cabin is filled with monitoring stations for the test engineers.

CFM (Outdoor Exhibit 22) recently received awards from all three aircraft manufacturers for which it is building engines. Airbus named the company its Best Performer–Propulsion for 2013; Boeing named CFM its Propulsion Supplier of the Year; and Comac awarded CFM its Performance Excellence Gold Award. o

a complete makeover with Iacobucci HF seats and a cabin interior designed by Poltrona Frau.

Improved cabin air-conditioning and lightning further enhance the passenger experience. o

Embraer Pulls Wraps Off E2 Cabin Mockup

by Thierry Dubois Engine manufacturer CFM International announced yesterday here at Farnborough International 2014 that American Airlines has selected its Leap1A turbofan engine to power 100 Airbus A320neos. At list price, CFM values the engine order at $2.6 billion. The aircraft order was originally announced in

of comparable jets. Thanks to the new propellers external noise is reduced by 68 percent compared to the current Avanti II, while internal noise levels are cut by 20 percent. The EVO’s cabin has had

GKN To Develop Composite Rudder, Elevator For Bombardier’s Global 7000/8000 GKN Aerospace (Chalet G1-3) has been selected by Bombardier to design, develop and supply the composite integrated rudder and elevator for the new Global 7000 and Global 8000 ultra long-range business jets. These composite structures will be developed and manufactured at the company’s Cowes facility on the Isle of Wight in the UK. Deliveries to Bombardier’s Belfast factory will start in 2014 and will continue until 2026. The multi-million dollar contract adds to already significant GKN Aerospace work packages on these aircraft, as the company was already in charge of cockpit and cabin windows as well as composite winglets and ailerons.

–T.D.

MRJ finish line appears to be in sight

by James Wynbrandt The past few years have not been easy for Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, the company’s product marketing director Noriyoshi Saito indicated yesterday here at the Farnborough International Airshow. The Japanese manufacturer is nevertheless proudly displaying a cabin mockup of its long delayed Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ).

“Working inside the company, we know the announced schedule, and every day we saw the gap [between the schedule and progress] getting bigger and bigger, and of course, that’s frustrating,” said Saito. “One day we said the aircraft is going to be ready in 2012 and we start talking about delivering the aircraft in that time frame, and the next day we have to say different things.”

In fact the company announced three major program delays during development, but with last month’s delivery and installation of the first Pratt & Whitney Pure Power PWG1200G engines on the first test MRJ (the aircraft is launch platform for P&W’s new Geared Turbofans) the finish line appears in sight.

“Any flight attendant can transfer to this aircraft with no problem.

Regional carriers are not really looking for any fancy things.

They’re really cost conscious.”

Mitsubishi says the MRJ will

provide lower costs and increased passenger satisfaction. Four variants, based on two fuselage lengths, are planned. Although the model features the tallest and widest cabin in its class, the cabin

cross-section is smaller than the Embraer regional jet, as cargo is carried in a rear compartment, rather than under the cabin floor. The overhead bins (said to be the largest in category) will speed boarding, and an onboard wheelchair will make the lavatory wheelchair accessible. Airshow attendees can get an eye-popping preview with the mockup

Mitsubishi has on display here (Outdoor Exhibit E7).

“Since we don’t have an actual airplane, this is one of the approaches to convince people how you feel when you become a passenger of this aircraft,” Saito said. A more detailed article about the MRJ cabin will appear in Farnborough Airshow News later this week. o

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“We can say with confidence, currently the development is progressing very well, and at this point we actually have an aircraft that’s in the airplane shape, so that’s a lot different from the previous three delay announcements,” Saito said. First flight is scheduled for next year, with deliveries to launch customer All Nippon Airways set for 2017.

Other program changes that may have raised eyebrows appear in a different light when viewed from Mitsubishi’s perspective. The aircraft was initially planned to be built around a composite wing box, a logical plan as the company builds the composite wing boxes for Boeing’s 777 Dreamliner. But careful analysis revealed the weight savings on the much smaller wingbox for an RJ yielded little benefit, while making construction “more complicated and more expensive.” than the conventional aluminum box the company settled on, Saito said. Additionally, the company realized many regional jet operators aren’t equipped to maintain composite airframes, as a major carrier would be. While there is much new about the MRJ, Mitsubishi has strived to keep it old school in many ways.

“Basically it’s very conventional and easy to use,” Saito said.

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S E E U S AT C H A L E T C 4 The World’s Sixth Sense www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 83

Revitalized Twin Otter expands sales backlog

Air Seychelles will take delivery of this brightly liveried Twin Otter from Viking Air. Since restarting production, Viking has seen a sales bonanza.

The Series 400 Twin Otter on display in the Viking Air outdoor exhibit (OE26) is here at the Farnborough Airshow for a very special reason. Tomorrow morning Viking Air plans to celebrate the delivery of this and another aircraft, with their brightly colored liveries, to Air Seychelles.

Other recent Series 400 Twin Otter deliveries have seen the 50th example delivered since Viking Air returned the utility twin turboprop back into production.

MASwings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, was the recipient of the 50th new Twin Otter; it has now taken delivery of five of its order for six. Other recent deliveries include three aircraft of an order for five to Global Aerospace Logistics of Abu Dhabi; four of an order of 11 in a mix of configurations (including landplane, amphibious floats and wheels/skis) to Moscow-based

Vityaz Avia; two deliveries in 2014 for the Peruvian air force, which now operates seven Series 400s; and a third Twin Otter to the Vietnam navy, which has an order for six in amphibious configuration with standard passenger, VIP and utility seating convertible interiors.

In the UK, Montrose Global signed a purchase proposal for five Series 400s. Montrose plans to offer the Twin Otters to airlines in a variety of configurations on an operating lease basis. Deliveries are planned to begin next year.

“Market acceptance for the aircraft has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Viking director of sales Richard Libby, “with worldwide demand bolstering Viking’s production backlog, now stretching into 2016.”

To help train the growing cadre of Twin Otter pilots,

MARK WAGNER

by Matt Thurber

Pacific Sky Aviation and Viking Air contracted with Textron’s newly formed TRU Simulation + Training to build a level D, fullflight simulator for the Twin Otter. The simulator will be the first to feature a seaplane configuration, according to Pacific Sky, and will be available for pilot training in 2016.

The simulator will be housed at Pacific Sky’s new training facility, being built next to the Viking Air headquarters in Victoria, British Columbia. TRU Simulation is a combination of two simulator companies purchased by Textron–Mechtronix (which is

While the initial Gripen NG technology demonstrator is a two-seater, Brazil is the first nation to have specified an operational need for that configuration. Under an MoU with Saab, Embraer would jointly develop a two-seat version.

Embraer takes on key roles in Brazil’s Gripen NG buy

by David Donald Some seven months after Brazil’s selection of the Saab Gripen NG in December 2013 to fulfill the country’s F-X2 new fighter requirement, Embraer and Saab announced on Friday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to partner in delivering the program for the Brazilian air force.

Under the terms of the MoU, Embraer (Chalet A25) is to undertake a number of important roles in the F-X2 program. As well as its own work packages, Embraer will coordinate all development and production activities in Brazil, as well as participate

in system development and integration, flight tests, final assembly and delivery. The agreement would also allow Brazil’s Gripen fleet to be fully supported locally, and opens the source codes necessary for local integration of weapons and other systems.

For Saab (Chalet C33-35) the agreement represents an opportunity to gain a heavyweight partner in the development of the Gripen, notably the two-seat Gripen F for which the Swedish air force has no current requirement. Embraer and Saab will be jointly responsible for the development of this

version. The two companies are also discussing joint opportunities for promotion and marketing of the Gripen NG family.

Contract negotiations have yet to be finalized for the F-X2 Gripen deal, but they are expected to conclude around the end of this year. Brazil has a nominal requirement for 36 Gripen NGs, comprising 24 to 28 single-seat Gripen Es and eight to 12 two-seaters, although that overall figure could rise. The initial requirement calls for service-entry in 2018.

In the interim Brazil is expected to lease 10 JAS 39C/D Gripens, including six to be in service by 2016 to provide air cover during the Olympic Games. Brazilian pilots are scheduled to begin training in Sweden next year in advance of this leasing arrangement. o

84 Farnborough Airshow News • July 14, 2014 • www.ainonline.com

building the Twin Otter simulator) and Opinicus–and includes part of Textron’s AAI Logistics & Technical Services.

Features of the Twin Otter simulator will include the ability to practice takeoffs, landings and docking operations in various sea states and water conditions. To make water operations more realistic, the visual system will incorporate additional projection devices so pilots can view water conditions prior to landing and also look backwards from the cockpit during docking.

“This simulator will break new ground in the industry as it

will extend this advanced technology into a seaplane training application, something that has never been done before,” according to Pacific Sky CEO Michael Coughlin.

Here at Farnborough, Viking Air also announced the appointment of Bob Crowe Aircraft Sales, based at Cranfield Airport north of London, as the exclusive UK sales representative for the Twin Otter Series 400 and Guardian 400. The sales company has extensive experience with the Twin Otter as well as special missions aircraft and government procurement expertise, according to Viking. o

Japan Reveals Stealth DEMONSTRATOR Japan’s Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) has released images and footage of the ATD-X (advanced technology demonstrator-experimental), following the appearance of a privately taken blurred image a few weeks ago.

Made public this weekend, the new images were taken on May 14 and show the aircraft being moved out of the paint shop, resplendent in TRDI’s house colors and bearing the serial 51-0001. In April, Japan’s defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, told journalists that the ATD-X is scheduled to fly this year.

The ATD-X program, led by Mitsubishi, aims to develop a stealthy fighter demonstrator that could lead to a larger operational fighter, possibly to be designated F-3. The design has been under development for some time, with a full-scale mock-up being tested in a radar cross section chamber in France as long ago as 2005, followed by flight trials with a radio-controlled model.

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries has developed a new afterburning turbofan, the XF5-1, to power the ATD-X. Other TRDI research development projects that are most likely associated with the ATD-X/F-3 include networked integrated fire control systems, study of airflow in and around internal weapon bays, and missile/ directed energy work.

–D.D.

Japan’s ATD-X demonstrator, seen above, could lead to an operational stealth fighter.

Citation X+ is on hand, after transatlantic dash The X+ received FAA certification on June 26. Compared to the original Citation X, the X+ has a 15-inch longer fuselage, winglets, Cessna’s Clairity cabin management and entertainment system, new Garmin G5000 avionics with autothrottles, redesigned seats, dual-zone temperature control and more powerful 7,034-pound-thrust Rolls-Royce AE3007C2 turbofans. With a maximum speed of Mach 0.935 and range of 3,408 nm, the stretched X+ can carry up to 12 passengers.

After takeoff from Presque Isle, the X+, weighing about 500 pounds under maximum takeoff weigh, climbed directly to FL450. According to Esping, the original X would have had to stop the initial climb at FL430.

The new X+ could have climbed

to FL470 an hour after takeoff for a maximum-range trip, but Esping wanted speed during this flight. “We accelerated to Mach 0.86,” he said, slightly faster than the 0.84 to 0.85 achievable in the X. After reaching 30W longitude, the X+ was able to accelerate to Mach 0.88.

While the X+ doesn’t handle any differently that its predecessor, Esping said, he appreciated the autothrottles during the overwater leg, which maintain a constant Mach number with no need to fiddle with the throttles to follow an efficient profile. Esping said he also enjoys flying with the Garmin G5000 flight deck. “The displays are wonderful,” he said,

and he finds it easy to control the avionics using the Garmin touchscreens, two for each pilot.

Shortt enjoyed the comfort of the redesigned seats and also the X+’s Wi-Fi, which worked during the entire flight thanks to the Aircell Axxess SwiftBroadband satcom system.

Although certification of the X+ occurred slightly later

than planned, Ernest said “I feel good about where deliveries are. It does help to have certification.” The added 15 inches of fuselage length “changes everything,” he said. “It’s got fantastic comfort and speed.”

After the Farnborough Airshow, the X+ will fly company trips around Europe then depart for the U.S. o

were due to land and be based at Fairford, from where one aircraft would fly to Farnborough to display. uContinued from page 1 Despite the absence of the found. But the organization jets, U.S. government and indusresponsible for the four F-35B try officials pressed ahead with STOVL versions that are sup- planned briefings and meetings posed to make the transatlantic at RIAT and here. But British Defence Secretary Philip Hamtrip did not lift the grounding.

“Additional work is required mond postponed the signing in order to understand and miti- of a contract for 14 F-35Bs for gate air show unique risks,” noted the UK’s first squadron, which a memo from the head of Navair, was due to be inked at RIAT last Friday. which was obFrank Kendall, the tained by Reuters.

Pentagon’s top acqui“The enterprise sition official, will is working night lead a media briefand day to return ing here this morning, F-35s to flight. where he will joined Safety is paraby Marillyn Hewson, mount and we’re president and CEO continuing the efof Lockheed Martin, fort to debut in the UK,” a spokes- Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of and officials from the man for the F-35 the F-35 Joint Program Office. F-35 partner nations.

Hammond is due joint program office (JPO) told AIN yesterday here tomorrow, with or without evening. It seems that in order to his signing pen. save face, officials may go ahead Unit Cost Concerns with the deployment, even if the stealth jet can only perform here Unit cost reduction is a key later this week. It has already theme of the briefings, after missed a flyover of the naming low-rate initial production airceremony for the UK’s new air- craft proved to be much more craft carrier on July 4 and three expensive than expected. A new displays at the Royal Interna- cost-reduction initiative was tional Air Tattoo (RIAT) at announced last week that will RAF Fairford this past weekend. see Lockheed Martin, Northrop An unprecedented number Grumman and BAE Systems of foreign air chiefs are attend- spend up to $170 million in ing RIAT and Farnborough, no affordability measures, such as doubt eager to see the fifth-gen- changing materials. The goal eration fighter. The four F-35Bs is to reduce the unit recurring

flyway cost of an F-35 (including the engine) to $80 million by 2019. Industry will get their investment back only if accrued savings are actually proved.

“Affordability worries me most,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, who is the head of the F-35 JPO. Speaking at RIAT last Thursday, he floated the concept of “block buys” to drive cost down further. To date, F-35s have been acquired yearby-year, and that is still the current plan for full-rate production.

But Bogdan called for both the U.S. and foreign air arms that are buying F-35s to commit to what is essentially the multi-year procurement (MYP) model.

“It does no good when [they] move airplanes to the right.

We want to incentivize them [so] they get a better price, and industry has certainty,” Bogdan said. He also revealed the government’s own cost reduction initiative. “I will invest tens of millions of dollars in determining whether parts should be redesigned for better reliability and maintenance. We must do that now, before we are building 150 airplanes a year,” he said.

The JPO chief also declared his goal to reduce operations and maintenance costs by 30 percent by the early 2020s.

“We’ve achieved 9 percent to date,” he added.

“I’m pretty satisfied with progress,” Bogdan said. “This program has had a tragic past.

But get over it!” o

Boeing questions Airbus strategy uContinued from page 1

The 787-9 program is currently supported by 409 firm orders from 26 customers and Boeing also holds 132 orders for the -10 from six customers.

Firm orders for the original -8 model now total 490 (with 46 airlines).

To date, 163 examples of the 787-8 have been delivered to 21 operators. Over the past two years Boeing has increased production rates to 10 per month but this is projected to climb to 12 per month by 2016 and 14 by the end of this decade.

According to Boeing, the 787 is delivering a 15-percent overall reduction in operating costs compared with other aircraft currently in its market segment.

The company also highlighted a 30-percent reduction in airframe maintenance costs, a 20- to 25-percent reduction in emissions and a 60-percent smaller noise footprint.

As of the end of June, the 7878s in service had logged 492,100 hours on 110,200 flights and carried 20,550,000 passengers.

Boeing is now integrating the -9 model into its production system so that both models can be produced in tandem. It has not given a delivery schedule for new type.

Meanwhile certification work for the 787-9 powered by GE Aviation’s GEnx engine is continuing.

Here at the Farnborough show, the new Boeing is being shown in both the static display and in an impressive daily flying routine. The aircraft was flown in from Seattle last week by 787 chief model pilot Captain Randy Neville and engineering model pilot Captain Mike Bryan. o

CHRIS POCOCK

MARK WAGNER

F-35 F’boro debut remains in doubt

The advanced cockpit of Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner includes electronic flight bag (EFB) technology as well as four oversize front panel displays.

Textron Aviation celebrated the arrival here at Farnborough of its latest achievement, the upgraded and enlarged Citation X+ business jet. Textron senior v-p of sales and marketing Kriya Shortt shows off the new, larger cabin.

MATT THURBER

Textron Aviation’s flagship Cessna Citation X+, currently the fastest civil aircraft, landed yesterday at TAG Farnborough Airport after a short flight from Paris Le Bourget. On Friday, the X+ crossed the Atlantic, flying 2,788 nm from Presque Isle, Maine, to Paris in five hours 33 minutes, averaging 502 knots groundspeed and burning 10,600 pounds of fuel.

This was the X+’s first trans-Atlantic crossing, and the flight was crewed by Textron Aviation chief pilot John Esping and senior demonstration pilot Mike Walton. Scott Ernest, Textron Aviation president and CEO, Kriya Shortt, senior v-p sales and marketing, and Brad Thress, senior v-p customer service, were the only passengers.

DAVID McINTOSH

by Matt Thurber

www.ainonline.com • July 14, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 85

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Originally designed to protect ships from airbreathing threats such as airplanes, today’s SM-3 defends large geographic areas and populations against diverse and evolving threats – from errant satellites to ballistic missiles. With more than 26 direct-hit intercepts, it is the most proven “upper tier” ballistic missile defence interceptor in existence, deployed around the world to keep the US and its allies safe, with precision and performance that’s anything but standard.

From Operation Burnt Frost to today’s evolving needs, Raytheon partners with customers to enable success.

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