Farnborough Airshow News 07-16-14

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WEDNESDAY 7.16.14 Farnborough

Farnborough Airshow News

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Avionics

Innovation

Thales Evolves To Connected Aircraft Coordinating avionics, air traffic control and cabin entertainment with satellite navigation data, Thales’s Avionics 2020 system moves toward what the company calls a “connected aircraft.” Page 16

Safety

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Engines

Industry

Airbus E-Fan Advances Electric Flight Malaysia Airlines 777 Report Due

Airbus Placing Bets on New Power

Piaggio Notches 50-ship EVO Deal

Using a pair of electric motors powered by lithium ion batteries, Airbus’s E-Fan experimental test bed can carry two people aloft for up to an hour. The next step is to build a four seater hybrid. Page 22

The concepts may appear to be science fiction, but Airbus is hoping its “distributed propulsion” concept will yield 10 percent fuel savings and reduce noise emissions at the same time. Page 33

Piaggio landed at Farnborough with its new-design EVO variant of the popular Avanti twin turboprop pusher. The market responded with an impressive order for 50 copies. Page 37

Within the next few weeks, aviation authorities will deliver a report on flight MH370 that will be the first step toward establishing improved aircraft tracking technology. Page 32

E-SCAN UNLEASHED MARK WAGNER

Eurofighter Typhoon operators have gotten one step closer to being equipped with a Euroradar Captor-E AESA radar. For the full story, turn to Page 4.

Britain and France launch UCAV feasibility study

by Chris Pocock In his last act as British Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves le Drian, signed an agreement at the Farnborough Airshow yesterday to launch a two-year co-operative feasibility study for an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) deal is worth £120 million (more than $180 million) for six industry partners: BAE Systems, Dassault Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Safran, Selex and Thales.

The outline plan for the FCAS co-operation was announced by the two countries last January, following a “pre-study” by airframers BAE Systems and Dassault, which was launched in mid-2012. The new study will additionally involve teaming by Rolls-Royce and Safran subsidiary Snecma on the powerplant and by Selex ES and Thales on a multifunction sensor suite and communications.

Continued on page 4 u

Lessors Drive Another $50 Billion Day At Farnborough More orders for the just-launched Airbus A330neo helped deliver another $50 billion day at the Farnborough International Airshow. AirAsiaX topped the sales ledger with a $13.8 billion memorandum of understanding for 50 of the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered A330900neos–it will take delivery of its first aircraft in 2018.

Leasing groups Avolon and CIT Group signed $7.7 billion worth of MoUs that could see each of them take 15 A330neos. CIT also ordered five A321neos.

SMBC Capital spent big in the narrowbody segment of the Airbus portfolio with $11.8 billion worth of firm orders for 110 A320neos and five A320ceos. BOC Aviation, the Singapore-based and Chinese-owned lessor, is to spend around $4.1 billion on 36 A320ceos and seven A320neos.

Boeing also was boosted by a pair of $1.9 billion leasing group orders, each for six 777-300ERs–the first from

Intrepid Aviation and the second from Air Lease Corporation. The latter also reconfirmed an order for 20 737 Max 8s. The U.S. airframer’s biggest deal of Tuesday was valued at $2.5 billion and will see CIT Aerospace take 10 of the new 787-9 Dreamliner. The lessor now holds orders for 20 787s, including 16 of the -9s.

Regional airliner makers also had a busy day here at Farnborough. Embraer did four separate deals for a mix of its new E-Jet E2s and the E175 and E190 (see page 4).

Air Lease Corp signed an agreement to purchase seven more ATR72-600s. Bombardier logged six more Q400 sales (see page 37). CFM International won the largest engine contract of the day with a $2.9 billion agreement for Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet to buy Leap-1A engines for its new fleet of 40 A320neos. Air Lease Corp also selected the same engine for 20 A320neos, as well n as 40 Leap-1Bs for 20 737 Max8s.

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Farnborough

Embraer inks string of E-Jet-E2 orders

Airshow News

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FOUNDED IN 1972 James Holahan, Founding Editor Wilson S. Leach, Managing Director R. RANDALL PADFIELD, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Editor-in-chief – Charles Alcock

by Thierry Dubois Embraer has announced a string of orders this week here at Farnborough Interna­ tional 2014, for a total of 158 regional jets (if all options are exercised). The most prom­ inent one came from Trans States Holdings, the par­ ent company of Trans States Airlines, Compass Airlines and GoJet Airlines, for 50 E175-E2 airliners, plus an option for an additional 50.

Its first E175 is expected to enter service in 2020.

EDITOR – Ian Sheppard

Yesterday, Brazilian lowcost carrier Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras signed a let­ ter of intent for 30 E195-E2s and additional purchase rights for another 20. The firm or­ der, valued at up to $3.1 bil­ lion at list prices, is expected to be inked by the fourth quar­ ter of this year. The deliveries will begin in 2019 and will be spread over four to five years.

Meanwhile Embraer said that Fuji Dream Airlines of Japan has ordered three E175s

Eurofighter lifts wraps on Euroradar Captor-E

by David Donald The Eurofighter Typhoon IPA5 has arrived at Farn­ borough carrying precious car­ go. Beneath the nose radome is the first flight-test exam­ ple of the Euroradar CaptorE WFoR (wide field of regard) electronically-scanned radar.

The sensor was installed only recently and, after a few shake­ down flights, the aircraft was ferried south from BAE Sys­ tems’ airfield at Warton, Lan­ cashire, for the show.

The Eurofighter and Euro­ radar consortia lifted the lid on the Captor-E for the first time yesterday, although the protec­ tive cover over the antenna’s array of transmit/receive mod­ ules (TRMs) remained firmly in place. The program has been funded by industry in advance of a four-nation development contract that is expected before the end of the year.

British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to the e-scan radar here at Farnborough on Mon­ day. Following its appearance at

Eurofighter revealed the Captor-E e-scan radar in a Typhoon for the first time yesterday.

Farnborough, IPA5 will return to the BAE Systems airfields to begin flight trials with the Captor-E. The large TRM array of Captor-E is mounted on a repositioner that allows it to see more than 90 degrees offcenter, greatly expanding tacti­ cal flexibility in the air defense domain. At the same time, the antenna is always tilted away from the center position to keep the aircraft’s frontal radar cross-section low. The advanced gallium arsenide TRMs are sourced from either Euroradar-partner Selex ES in Edinburgh, or the UMS in Ulm, Germany.

Radar 1 Plus Baseline

The radar revealed here is representative of the produc­ tion-standard sensor known as Radar 1 Plus, which has been accepted by the four partner nations as the common base­ line. It offers data link and some electronic attack capabilities, and simultaneous multi-mode operation, as well as signifi­ cantly expanded air-to-air capa­ bility compared to the m-scan radar. Additional functions can be added by individual custom­ ers as they require.

The next aircraft to get an e-scan radar, also pro­ duced using industry funds, is IPA8. This is a current-stan­ dard Tranche 3 aircraft now in final assembly at Manch­ ing in Germany. Tranche 3

Press room managing Editor – R. Randall Padfield PRODUCTION DIRECTOR – Mary E. Mahoney

Yohei Suzuki, Fuji Dream Airlines’ CEO and chairman, is congratulated by Paulo Cesar Silva, president and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

and taken options for an addi­ tional three. The order was already appearing in Embraer’s backlog, in the “undisclosed customer” category. It is valued at $256.8 million at list prices, including options.

Azerbaijan Airlines also has signed a firm order for two Typhoons are built with the necessary provisions to accept the Captor-E, although they are currently supplied with the Captor-M mechanicallyscanned sensor.

The expected four-nation

E190s, which were also listed as an “undisclosed customer” previously. This contract is valued at $95.4 million.

Finally, Embraer announced that Morocco-based Royal Air Maroc is to become a new op­ erator, with four E190s leased from Aldus Aviation. o contract launches the full development program for the Radar 1 Plus standard, with the accent on “production­ izing” the current configura­ tion to achieve a more realistic cost-of-build. p

Britain, France ink UCAV deal uContinued from page 1

The work is due to start this fall, and will be informed by the experience gained by France and the UK with the Neuron and Taranis UCAV demonstrators, respectively.

Hammond, who has just been appointed as UK For­ eign Secretary in a govern­ ment reshuffle, said that an Anglo-French relationship “is essential to how we operate in the future.”

Le Drian said that FCAS “is an historical opportu­ nity for France and the UK to shape and sustain in the long term, a strong, innova­ tive and sovereign combat air­ craft industry.”

The two ministers also signed an MoU for co-opera­ tion to upgrade and refurbish the MBDA Scalp-EG (France) and Storm Shadow (UK) airlaunched cruise missiles.

Hammond told AIN that other countries could “possi­ bly” join the FCAS program lat­ er. “We discussed this from the outset, but agreed that a bilateral partnership was the most prag­ matic way to get things d ­one quickly and effectively.”

In a joint statement Eric Trappier, chairman and CEO

Guillaume Lecompte-Boinet Reuben Johnson Vladimir Karnazov Nick Klenske Neelam Mathews Jennifer Meszaros David Oliver Mark Phelps Chris Pocock

Gregory Polek Isabella Stifani Matt Thurber Aimée Turner David Underwood Paulo Valpolini Alan Warnes James Wynbrandt

production editor – Lysbeth McAleer the production team Mona L. Brown John Manfredo Jane Campbell Erik Nowicki Alena Korenkov Annmarie Yannaco John T. Lewis PhotographerS – David McIntosh; Mark Wagner videoographer – Ian Whelan online editor – Chad Trautvetter LEAD web developer – Mike Giaimo web developer – Evan Williams Digital media designer – Colleen Redmond PRESS ROOM MANAGER & IT Solutions – Mona L. Brown Publisher – Anthony T. Romano associate Publisher – Nancy O’Brien Advertising Sales – north america Melissa Murphy – Midwest +1 830 608 9888 Nancy O’Brien – West +1 530 241 3534 Anthony T. Romano – East/International +1 203 798 2400 Joe Rosone – East/International/Middle East +1 301 834 5251 Victoria Tod – Great Lakes/UK +1 203 798 2400 Advertising Sales – International – Daniel Solnica – Paris marketing manager – Zach O’Brien director of finance & new product/ONLINE development David M. Leach production/MANUFACTURING manageR – Tom Hurley AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER – Jeff Hartford manager of onsite logistics – Philip Scarano III group brand manager – Jennifer Leach English sales/production administrator – Susan Amisson Advertising/sales Secretary STAFF – Patty Hayes; Cindy Nesline Financial Analyst & Human ResourceS Manager – Michele Hubert accounting/Administration manager – Irene L. Flannagan accounting/AdministratiON Staff – Mary Avella; April Hurst

British Secretary of Defence Philip Hammond (right) and his French counterpart Jean-Yves le Drian signed an agreement to launch a two-year study on unmanned combat aircraft.

of Dassault and Ian King, CEO of BAE Systems, said the agreement “provides a joint roadmap for co-opera­ tion between our companies that could ultimately lead to a joint FCAS program in the future.” The two companies are deadly rivals on the cur­ rent-generation Rafale and Typhoon combat aircraft, which an FCAS might replace in the 2030s.

BAE Systems and RollsRoyce briefed here on prog­ ress with the all-British Taranis UCAV demonstrator. A second series of flight tests have been conducted, with the air vehicle in full ‘stealth’ configuration.

For a full report see tomorrow’s Farnborough Airshow News. o

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the editorial team Rick Adams Roger Boudreau Angus Batey Bill Carey David Donald Thierry Dubois Curt Epstein Miroslav Gyurosi Ian Goold

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Embraer tanker/airlifter closes in on first flight

by David Donald Embraer Defense and Security is on course to complete the first prototype of the KC-390 tactical airlifter/tanker in time for it to make its first flight before the end of the year.

At the specially built assembly site at Gavião Pexoto the fuselage of the first aircraft has already been partly painted in the colors of the Brazilian air force, which is the lead customer for the aircraft. The second aircraft is also in final assembly, and is scheduled to fly soon after the first machine.

Brazil has been committed to the KC-390 since 2010, and finalized its order for 28 in May. The first delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2016. Intentions to purchase have been recorded by Argentina (6), Chile (6), Colombia (12), Czech Republic (2) and Portugal (6). The Argentina air force (FAA), the Czech company Aero Vodochody and Portugal’s OGMA are all major industrial

partners in the program.

Embraer forecasts a bright future for the type, which has carved out something of a niche for itself, falling between the short- and long-fuselage versions of the C-130 Hercules.

“We have not designed an aircraft to replace the Hercules,” said Paulo Gastião Silva, v-p KC-390 program. “We have designed an aircraft to meet the needs of the Brazilian air force.”

Nevertheless, the KC-390 inevitably draws comparisons, and Embraer is quick to point out the modern systems that the aircraft incorporates and its performance benefits. The aircraft offers a 1,380-nautical mile range with its standard maximum load of 23 tons, and can self-ferry over 4,640 nautical miles when fitted with two internal tanks. Those tanks can be used to increase patrol endurance for search and rescue missions, one of several tasks intended for the type.

Embraer’s bid to enter the miltary airlifter/tanker market is taking shape, with first flight of the KC-390 scheduled for before year end.

Brazil has committed to the new aircraft for its military, and the prototype wears the livery of the host country’s air force.

Load capability for the KC-390 comprises up to seven 463L pallets, or six pallets with 36 troops.

A concentrated payload capability to lift 26 metric tons is possible, and armored vehicles the size of the LAV-25 can be transported without having to remove the turret. In trooping configuration it can admit 80, or 66 paratroops, while in medevac configuration up to 74 litters can be carried, plus medical equipment and attendants.

Rough-field capability is provided for landing on strips with a CBR (California bearing ratio) 4 rating. Among the diverse tasks that the Brazilian air force intends to apply the KC-390 is the resupply of Brazil’s Antarctic scientific mission. o

Tactair Wins Embraer E-Jets E2 Supplier Contract Tactair Fluid Controls (Hall 2 Stand B1) announced here at the Farnborough Airshow a new contract from Embraer and its appointment of an authorized repair provider to service its fluid power and motion control products and systems in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Under the contract with Embraer, Tactair will design and manufacture the hydraulic system valves and hydraulic accumulators for the E-Jets E2 program. A subsidiary of Young & Franklin Inc. of Liverpool, New York, Tactair has a long-standing relationship with Embraer dating back to the EMB 110 Bandeirante. Tactair’s newest standard accumulator product line is designed to meet the requirements of ARP-4379A. Embraer’s E-Jets E2 are scheduled for first deliveries in 2018.

Tactair also announced the appointment of the UK’s AEM Limited as its authorized repair station in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, aimed at improving support for Tactair’s expanding international customer base. –J.W.

Four new CAE contracts set company momentum

by James Wynbrandt

DAVID McINTOSH

ramp chat What better place to reconnect with old friends and colleagues than the static display area of the Farnborough Airshow? Whether it’s old business, or a new deal, this is the place to be.

Turbomeca Developing New Helicopter Engines Turboshaft manufacturer Turbomeca (Hall 4 Stand B12) is here exhibiting two products in its medium-heavy engine range, the Makila 2 (1,800 to 2,100 shp) and the RTM322 (2,100 to 2,600 shp).

A new variant of the Makila, the 2B, is under development to power the upgraded Airbus Helicopters EC225e medium twin. It features a new combustor and high-power turbine blades, thus providing up to 7 percent more power. Certification is planned for 2015.

The RTM322 is certified for both civil and military helicopters. It currently powers the three-engine AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin and MCH101, as well as the twin-engine NH90 and WAH64 Apache.

Meanwhile, Turbomeca is carrying on with the development of the 660-shp Arrius 2B2 Plus for the Airbus Helicopters EC135 T3 light twin. The new variant provides greater hot-and-high performance, with 4 percent more power throughout the flight envelope. Certification is anticipated later this year.

In the 500 shp-class, the Arrius 2R is to power the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X and made its first ground run in April. –T.D.

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

CAE, the Montreal-based training provider, announced on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow winning four defense contracts valued together at approximately $110 million.

The contracts are for a T-6C ground-based training system for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF); a visual system upgrade on German air force Eurofighter simulators; an image generator for a T-501Q simulator ordered by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI); and a KC-135 boom operator weapon systems trainer (BOWST) for an undisclosed international customer.

“We are well positioned across a range of opportunities around the world, involving defence and security forces that increasingly recognize the benefits of simulation-based training,” said Gene Colabatistto, group president, defence and security, CAE (Hall 4 Stand C18d).

The T-6C training contract awarded by the Beechcraft Defense Company LLC, will include two T-6C operational flight trainers (OFTs), computer-based

classroom training systems and courseware customized for RNZAF pilot training. The two CAE-built T-6C OFTs will feature a high-fidelity replica of the T-6C cockpit with a fullyenclosed 270-degree-by-70-degree, field-of-view display driven by the CAE Medallion-6000 ­image generator.

For the upgrade to Germany’s Eurofighter simulators, CAE’s visual system enhancements will include the addition of CAE’s latest generation CAE Medallion-6000 image generator, along with new high-resolution projectors and dome display for the Eurofighter full-mission simulators and Eurofighter cockpit trainers located in Laage, Norvenich, Wittmund and Neuburg, the four main Eurofighter operating bases in Germany.

The Medallion-6000 image generator ordered by KAI is for a T-50IQ supersonic advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft full-mission simulator. It is set for delivery to the Iraqi Air Force under a contract signed late last year. o

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Rolls-Royce upgrades in-service Trent engines

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

Rolls-Royce (Hall 4 Stand H3) is maintaining a continuous effort to improve in-service Trent performance, both for production engines and as retrofits. The newest version of the Trent 1000–the TEN for the Boeing 787-8, -9 and -10–is to be certified next year.

On the Airbus A330, a further upgrade, the Trent 700EP2, is expected to cut fuel burn by another 1 percent when it is available in 2015 or 2016. “Changes include new stators in the intermediatepressure (IP) and high-pressure (HP) compressors, reworked with 3-D aerodynamics,” head of Trent customer marketing Peter Johnston said during a briefing ahead of the Farnborough Airshow. Build modifications improve clearances and sealing. The Trent 700EP had already reduced the fuel burn by 1.1 percent.

Rolls-Royce will offer a 68,000-pound rated Trent 700 for the A330 Regional, optimized for two-hour sectors. Because of its lower thrust, “maintenance costs will be lower but the engine can easily be upgraded,” Johnston said.

The UK-based manufacturer is claiming a 63-percent market share for the Trent 700, powering a fleet of 605 delivered A330s. The current annual delivery rate of the Trent 700 is 185.

The Trent 900EP2 is the new-build standard for the engine that is to power the Airbus A380, Johnston said. He suggested Airbus might hand over an aircraft with mixed engine configurations. An airline would want to have consistent engines on

a given aircraft but one, two or three EP2s is better than zero, Johnston said.

The Trent 900EP2 incorporates some advancements over the Trent 1000 and Trent XWB. “This is the way we want to go in the Trent family,” Johnston said.

Such optimization affects fan bladetip clearance, turbine case cooling and low-pressure turbine sealing. Elliptical leading edges have been integrated to a stator. Engine tests are complete and the new standard is to deliver a 0.8-percent fuel burn reduction on the A380, according to RollsRoyce’s predictions.

The Trent 1000-TEN, which ran for the first time in May, is to power the Boeing 787-8, -9 and -10.

For the Boeing 777, the Trent 800 is being improved as well. The Trent 800EP is now in operation with elliptical leading edges on IP and HP compressor blades. The claimed outcome is a 0.7-percent fuel-burn benefit.

Similar modifications on the Trent 500– for the out-of-production A340-500/600– yield 0.5 percent. The Trent 500EP+ is being offered as a retrofit kit. A support agreement with Lufthansa Technik is “aligning the Trent-powered A340’s Continued on page 12 u

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R-R upgrades in-service Trents uContinued from page 10

operating costs with big twins,” Johnston added.

Asked whether operator feedback is generally consistent with fuel burn predictions, Johnston gave an affirmative

but cautious answer. “We are getting the numbers we were hoping for but it is not easy– are we talking about the same aircraft weight? The same altitude?” he said. At least with the Trent 500EP+, three different sources have given Rolls-Royce homogeneous information on turbine temperatures, compressor efficiencies and fuel flows.

The Trent 1000-TEN ran for the first time late in May. Able to provide up to 78,000 pounds of thrust, it is targeted at the 787-10 but will be used with other members of the 787 family. It will enter into service on the -8 and the -9 from 2016 and the -10 from 2018.

Certification is pegged for late 2015. The main expected benefit is a 3-percent cut in fuel An upgraded Trent 800EP is now in operation on the Boeing 777, providing a claimed 0.7-percent fuel-burn reduction.

burn, compared to the earlier Package B version. Recently completed demonstration tests include advanced seals, disk architecture and advanced fan case dressings.

More Elegant Design

The so-called dressings consist of carbon wraps with weaved-in pipes and wires. This “more elegant” design, as project director Gary Moore put it, translates into a quicker assembly. Weight is reduced thanks to the suppression of brackets, clips and corresponding fixed parts on the metal case, he explained. “Maintainability is improved, too,” Moore added.

Other features of the Trent 1000-TEN include new IP and HP compressors, for more efficiency. The new IP compressor also has more flow capacity to enable more thrust.

The new HP compressor has been proven on the NEWAC demonstrator program and the Trent XWB, Moore said.

Proven on the Trent XWB, too, are lighter and more efficient bladed disks (blisks).

The new HP turbine has an advanced cooling system to enable more thrust and more efficiency. Finally, the HP spool has been fitted with an adaptive cooling system. It reduces fuel burn and helps retaining engine performance.

The Boeing 787’s Trent 1000 is the most recent Trent model in revenue service, and Moore expressed satisfaction, giving favorable numbers. As of early June, no in-flight shutdown had been recorded and reliability stood at 99.98 percent. The Trent 1000 is flying on 51 aircraft.

In September 2013 RollsRoyce received the certification of the Trent 1000 Package C for the 787-9, for which it will be the launch engine. o

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VISIT US AT FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW 2014, CHALET A23 & STATIC DISPLAY

17/06/14 09:48

‘Dual-role’ concept is a ‘go’ for AgustaWestland Among the eight Agusta­ Westland helicopters on display outside Finmeccanica’s pavil­ ion (Static Display L1), half of them illustrate the dual approach to helicopter configuration that AgustaWestland has embraced.

They include the multi-role AW149; the 4.5-ton-class AW169 configured for emergency medical service; a mockup of a military version of the AW169; and the 8-ton-class AW189. In particular, the two versions of the AW169 being shown here handily illus­ trate the results–and benefits–of this dual-approach concept.

Also on display are an AW109 Trekker mockup, which is making its first appearance in Farnborough and is the compa­ ny’s first light, twin-engine heli­ copter with skid landing gear; a naval variant of the AW159; an Italian air force SAR/special

forces variant of the AW101; and an NH Industries naval NH90, in which AgustaWestland is a 32-percent partner.

Since the inception of its 6.4ton AW139, AgustaWestland decided to adopt a dual-role path with all new AgustaWestland machines, specifically using the concept in the most recent AW189, AW149 and AW169. All these models feature a base avi­ onics package that has obtained civil certification, but is capable of integrating the complex systems typically required by a variety of military and paramilitary users.

Avionics Control

To achieve this the com­ pany established its own avion­ ics department, which developed a company-owned digital archi­ tecture and proprietary software design that allows full control over

AgustaWestland is showing this mockup of its AW169M (for Military). The AW169 also comes in a civil version, and the type is next in line to benefit from the manufacturer’s development strategy of working with certification authorities to leverage dual-use rotorcraft.

customization costs and timing.

The technologies and materi­ als adopted in the AW139 and its follow-ons were selected accord­ ing to safety standards that are equal to, if not higher than, mil­ itary requirements. Concepts, such as design-to-tolerance and crashworthiness, have become essential if manufacturers are to

AgustaWestland Chalks Up Orders Finmeccanica company AgustaWestland kicked off the Farnborough Airshow by announcing added “vertical lift” to its order book: • Japan’s Yokohama City Fire Department has ordered a second AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopter to further advance its operational capabilities. The department received its first AW139 last year, and the second is scheduled to enter service in 2015.

• Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has placed an order for a GrandNew light twin and a W-3A Sokol intermediate twin for delivery in 2015, both to be operated by the Uganda Police to perform law enforcement missions across the nation.

• The Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh has ordered two AW139 twins. Scheduled for delivery in late 2015, both helos will be operated by the Bangladesh

Air Force to perform SAR and other utility missions.

• An undisclosed UK buyer has purchased an AW139 for VIP transport missions, the twin featuring a flexible interior seating up to seven passengers and a full icing protection system for maximum all-weather capability.

• Turkey’s Helistar SA will operate three AW119Ke single-engine helicopters along with a same type backup to perform electricity infrastructure aerial monitoring for Teias (Turkish Electricity Transmission Co.). The helicopters have been specially configured to carry out this mission, fitted with an enhanced FLIR and camera integrated with an advanced multiple-display mission console.

AgustaWestland said the AW139 global fleet, currently numbering more than 650 aircraft, has accumulated more than 1 million flight hours in just ten years of operation.

–J.W.

satisfy the stringent civil certifi­ cation requirements of EASA and the FAA. These same standards are now commonly accepted by some military users, who often deploy helicopters in domes­ tic disaster relief and homeland security operations. While oper­ ating costs have always been a key element in the civil mar­ ket, frugality is now becoming increasingly important in gov­ ernmental and military scenar­ ios as budgets shrink.

Military and governmen­ tal entities have shown greater attraction to dual-use products in recent years, thanks to the ability to adopt non-specialized platforms for a wider utilization in parapublic and asymmet­ ric operational scenarios. This reduces costs through dual-use technologies and off-the-shelf materials that minimize cus­ tomization needs and exploit cost-effective approaches in maintenance, which is typical for technologies and designs often found in the civil market.

Dual-Role Success

The Uganda police force ordered a W-3A Sokol (shown here) and a GrandNew from AgustaWestland.

AgustaWestland first achieved success with the dual-role con­ cept with the AW139. As of last March, the order book exceeded 770 helicopters with more than 650 delivered. Total flight hours throughout the fleet are now close to one million.

The higher percentage of those aircraft are used in offshore oil operations, but 31 percent of the fleet fill search-and-rescue, military, governmental and law enforcement roles. Many coun­ tries decided to fully rely on the EASA/FAA certification, con­ sidering it redundant to submit to further qualification, except in cases of specific customizations.

The manufacturer hopes to obtain a similar success

MARK WAGNER

by Paulo Valpolini

with its latest development, the AW169, the militarized version of which is on dis­ play here at Farnborough in the form of a mockup. In the AW169’s 4.5-metric-ton cate­ gory, and the AW139’s 6.5-met­ ric-ton class, AgustaWestland addresses the market with mod­ ern products, contrasting with its competition, which relies on ageing designs.

The same applies in the heavier, 8-metric-ton category, where the AW189 is becom­ ing a force to be reckoned with in the civil market, while the AW149 is its military counter­ part. AgustaWestland chose not to use strict duality in this case, developing two different mod­ els. The AW149 is earmarked for military market, while the AW189 went for civil certifica­ tion, in accordance with the lat­ est EASA CS/FAR 29.

Oil & Gas

It is interesting to note that the first design to appear on AgustaWestland screens was the military AW149, around 2006. A few years later, the need for higher payload and greater endurance led to developing the A189, mostly dictated by the oil and gas market, which needed helicopters optimized for reach­ ing drilling platforms located far from the coast. Although dual­ ity is more limited than in the AW139 and AW169 cases, most of the main components are common between the AW149 and the AW189.

Duality, together with the fam­ ily concept, have become a key characteristic of AgustaWestland.

Though it’s not known what new designs are currently on the screens of the company engineers’ computers is not known, it’s a safe bet that future products will likely follow the duality path. o

www.ainonline.com • July 16, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 13

Eastern Air Lines signs MoU for 20 MRJ90 jets

let’s do launch Deals are sealed based on relationships, and relationship-building is what air shows do best. No doubt, good relations had a lot to do with Qatar Airways committing to serving as launch customer for the Airbus A350.

Textron shows a range of special-mission aircraft

by Bill Carey

DAVID McINTOSH

The new Textron Aviation is here at Farnborough (Outdoor Exhibit L2) to show a portfolio of current production aircraft that are available in special mission configurations. The company is displaying a special mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER among other aircraft.

In March, Providence, Rhode Island-based Textron acquired the parent company of Beechcraft for $1.4 billion. It then combined Beechcraft and the former Hawker with its own Cessna Aircraft subsidiary to create Textron Aviation, offering a range of single-engine piston, turboprop and jet aircraft.

All 20 current production aircraft can be configured for different mission profiles, the company said. “With the combination of the Beechcraft and Cessna products within Textron Aviation, we now offer the largest proposition of special mission platforms in the industry,” declared Dan Keady, vice president for special missions.

At Farnborough, Textron Aviation’s display includes a specially modified Beechcraft King Air 350ER, which is operated “out of Northern Europe” and fitted with a mission package for search and rescue, fishery

inspection, pollution monitoring and shipping lane surveillance missions. The company is also featuring on static display a Grand Caravan EX single-engine turboprop, AT-6 light attack turboprop, T-6C Texan trainer and the new Textron AirLand Scorpion light tactical jet.

“There have been a number of factors fueling the special mission business,” said Keady.

“Two key factors include advances in on-board technology, which means aircraft such as our turboprops can be used for missions previously requiring larger, more expensive military aircraft. In addition, more organizations are looking to use their business aircraft for multiple roles, which could include using a King Air for executive or utility transport while having the ability to quickly adapt it to an air ambulance configuration, for example.” o

Textron Aviation wants to get the word out–its special-mission aircraft can fill a variety of roles.

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

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation here on Monday announced a memorandum of understanding for 20 firm MRJ90 regional jets, with purchase rights for an additional 20 of the type, with Eastern Air Lines Group. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2019 and Boeing will support the aircraft.

Eastern Air Lines president and CEO Edward Wegel said the aircraft would be used on routes from the airline’s main base in Miami, Florida, to Latin America and the Caribbean. They will be operated in an 82-seat, twoclass configuration, he added.

Three aspects of the MRJ convinced his company to choose it against its competitors, Wegel explained. These were Mitsubishi quality, the reduced fuel burn brought by the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan and the customer appeal of the cabin. Eastern Air Lines, a startup operator that uses the branding of the historic, but defunct carrier, hopes to start operations in the first quarter of next year with Boeing 737-800s.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi (Chalet D12-13, Outdoor Exhibit 7) has selected Grant County International Airport at Moses Lake, Washington, as its second flight

THIERRY DUBOIS

DAVID McINTOSH

by Thierry Dubois

Eastern Air Lines president and CEO Edward Wegel

test center for the MRJ70/90, with other testing being planned in Japan. Mitsubishi Aircraft has thus signed a letter of intent with flight-testing specialist Aerospace Testing Engineering & Certification (aka AeroTEC). The flight tests are slated to begin at Moses Lake in the fall of 2015. o

Bombardier forecast sees drop in expected deliveries

by Matt Thurber Bombardier’s just-released market forecast shows a significant drop in anticipated deliveries of business and commercial aircraft during the coming 20 years compared to last year’s forecast. The current forecast is for deliveries from 2014 to 2033.

Last year, Bombardier forecast deliveries of 24,000 business jets worth $650 billion from 2013 to 2032. The current forecast is for 22,000 business jets worth $617 billion. These numbers are for aircraft segments in which Bombardier competes with its Learjet, Challenger and Global models.

According to Bombardier, “Business aircraft orders are expected to remain challenging in 2014 across the industry, but projected to improve beginning in 2015.” The company sees demand shifting to emerging markets and thus driving growth of the medium and large jet categories with the most rapid

growth in the large segment. The largest number of jets during the forecast period will be delivered to North American customers, followed by Europe then China.

The forecast sees 950 deliveries in China from 2014 to 2023 and 1,275 from 2024 to 2033.

In the commercial market for 20- to 149-seat jets, Bombardier forecasts demand for 13,100 deliveries worth $658 billion. This is down from last year’s forecast of 16,700 units worth $646 billion. The current forecast breaks the commercial market into 400 aircraft with 20 to 59 seats; 5,600 with 60 to 99 seats; and 7,100 with 100 to 149 seats.

The North American market is expected to account for deliveries of 3,650 aircraft during the forecast period, followed by Greater China with 2,280, Europe 1,840, Asia Pacific 1,400, Latin America 1,100, CIS 830, India 760, Africa 700 and the Middle East 540. o

Thales evolves toward ‘connected aircraft’ Thales’s offer in cockpit, cabin and air traffic control (ATC) electronics is evolving into a comprehensive “connected aircraft” concept. The company (Hall 4 Innovation Zone A21) is studying how flight-deck connectivity can piggyback on the satellite communications equipment installed for the passenger cabin. Here at the Farnborough Airshow for the first time is the Avionics 2020 cockpit demonstrator, featuring cockpit-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC).

Last month, in a deal valued at $399 million, Thales took over in-flight connectivity specialist LiveTV from JetBlue, thus “strengthening Thales’s IFEC [inflight entertainment and connectivity] product and service offering with connectivity as a key driver,” according to the company. Florida-based LiveTV is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Thales USA. LiveTV not only provides live television but also passenger connectivity, such as broadband Internet and Wi-Fi streaming of movies to personal devices. “LiveTV has a nice product for single-aisle aircraft, while so far we were mainly on twin-aisles,” Michel Mathieu, executive v-p and general manager of Thales’s avionics division, said when AIN recently visited the Thales research-and-development facility in Toulouse.

Single-aisle aircraft opening up to IFEC is a factor of growth, in

addition to increased demand for original equipment, he said. “We expect 70 percent of airlines will be offering connectivity in five or six years,” Mathieu said. Once the equipment is installed, renewal cycles are becoming shorter, from seven to five years on average, according to Thales officials.

Thales’s latest IFEC products use the Android operating system.

“It is a follow-on to Linux, which our previous products were using, and you can modify the code,” an expert explained. Building on Android is a way to close the gap with consumer electronics. Therefore, some applications, such as games, can be kept more up-todate. The remote control can be used as a second device–to check emails while watching a movie on the main display, for example.

With a “seat-centric” architecture, Thales claims to have improved IFEC efficiency and speed. “Each screen has a hard drive where a lot of content is stored, notably all the ‘non-latest releases,’ which do not need to be refreshed on a regular basis,” a spokesman said. As a result, downloading content from the server to each seat takes place only from time to time. “It also means that we have eliminated the cumbersome seat boxes, thus saving weight,” he added.

Satcom Link

For satellite communications, Thales is offering a combination

In some tight cockpits, ‘head-worn’ systems may be the best option.

Thales Mulls Head-worn Displays Thales is considering head-worn displays as an alternative to head-up displays in civil helicopters or small business jets, where not enough room is available for a HUD. Two kinds of products may be designed. The first, similar to Google Glass, would provide the pilot with useful information at an affordable price. The second, able to display conformal graphics (such as a virtual runway superimposed on the real one), would be more sophisticated and thus closer to military helmet-mounted displays, such as Thales’s existing TopOwl, seen above. –T.D.

Thales is here exhibiting its Avionics 2020 flight deck demonstrator for the first time at Farnborough.

of L-, Ku- and Ka-band, with increasing bandwidth and price.

Once satcom is installed on the aircraft for the passengers, airlines may want to use it for operational purposes, too. For example, exhaustive maintenance data–to better prepare for possible repairs on the ground– may be exchanged at a high rate for a relatively low cost. Today’s Acars is limited–technologywise, it is comparable to text messaging–and expensive.

With today’s satcom capability, pilots could receive more accurate weather information such as real-time weather charts.

“Thanks to greater anticipation, flying around a thunderstorm may take less time,” explained Christophe Lerat, design authority for Thales’s optimized aircraft operations product line.

The company is also testing turbulence, icing and volcanic ash avoidance for entry into service early next year.

The Link

In Toulouse, Thales has a dedicated laboratory–called The Link–to test data links between ATC and the cockpit. It provides a fully integrated environment with all airspace users represented. Next to the two-seat flight deck, three ATC stations simulate an airport approach, ground control and a TMA (traffic management advisor). Thales claims its experience in both airborne electronics and ATC systems give it an edge.

Long-awaited CPDLC will start very soon with text messages replacing voice clearances, according to Thales specialists. A second phase, in 20172018, will see flight plans being transmitted at regular intervals.

Then, in 2020-2023, so-called 4-D trajectories, which include time constraints at given points in space, will be introduced.

There are two main benefits for data-link communications

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

between pilot and controllers, the specialists emphasized. First, waypoint sequences can be transmitted unambiguously to update the flight plan. Second, workload can be reduced thanks to direct upload of these messages in the flight management system. It starts with enabling ATC to send a text input to the cockpit on proposed changes to the flight plan. The pilot no longer has to spend time listening to the voice command, then inputting the changes in the flight computer. He or she simply has to read the message, check whether they are happy with the changes and accept them. These are then instantly uploaded on the flight computer. Finally, they are relayed back to ATC. Avionics 2020

The CPDLC-capable Avionics 2020 flight deck demonstrator, built on a new man-machine interface that makes the most of touchscreens and neuroscience, seems to enjoy some success with prospective customers. “We are in the final stages of discussions with a potential customer to refine the design,” said Richard Perrot, avionics marketing director. Development may be firmly launched next year for an entry into service in 2020.

On the A350 XWB, “we completed all our development work,” said Philippe Carette, v-p and managing director, commercial avionics. Thales claims to supply 40 percent of the aircraft’s avionics package.

Company engineers support Airbus’s ongoing A350XWB test effort and have heard “good feedback on the maturity of the equipment.” But Thales has essentially turned to the production phase. “We are delivering 16 packages this year,” Carette said.

Daniel Malka, v-p for avionics services, is hoping to see a good take-up for the A350XWB’s

head-up display (HUD) and even demand for retrofit on other Airbus types. Leading the way may be Chinese airlines, as the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is recommending that they install HUDs as a way to compensate for there being a relatively small number of airports in the country equipped with ground-based landing aids. According to the CAAC’s roadmap, 10 percent of the fleet of each airline should fly with HUDs by 2015 and 50 percent in 2020, Malka said.

HUD Times

He noted Airbus’s doctrine– once rather focused on head-down displays–is changing, probably influenced by China’s approach.

Thales’ optional HUD on the A350XWB is available in single or dual configuration. Integrating the HUD into a larger work package has enabled a 33-pound weight reduction and a 150-Watt cut in electric consumption, as a dedicated calculator is no longer required.

Carette emphasized that Airbus has this year awarded Thales for a near-perfect record in ontime deliveries–99.96 percent falling in a time slot that runs from seven days before to one day after the planned date.

On the ATR 42/72-600’s avionics, in service since 2011, Thales is working on a second standard.

“We started working on it in 2012, it flew early this year and will be certified this summer, targeting the first customer delivery early in 2015,” Carette said. Thales supplies the entire avionics suite for in-production ATRs. In customer support, Thales is considering expanding its AOG team base in Dubai into a full-service hub. Other hubs are located in Chatellerault, France; Piscataway, New Jersey; and Singapore. Thales commits to deliver a spare part or piece of equipment within 12 hours. o

DAVID McINTOSH

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‘Stable’ Boeing moves into production fast lane

by Gregory Polek Boeing Commercial Airplanes has finally reached a period of stability after several years of struggle with the 787 Dreamliner and a three-year period in which it executed 15 production-rate increases across its product line, according to senior v-p and general manager of airplane programs Pat Shanahan.

During a roundtable meeting with a

group of reporters at Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Washington, just ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, Shanahan emphasized the company’s need to concentrate on airplane reliability, performance and features while changing processes in production systems before the launch of two new airplanes, the 737 Max and 777X.

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

last summer because of the improvements in airplane productivity and reductions in traveled work from factory onto the field, stressed Shanahan. “May was our best month ever on the 787 program for deliv“There are a whole bunch of us who eries,” he said. “So these guys, after going have an inch of scar tissue on our backs, fifteen rounds with Mike Tyson the last so we said on the [737] Max because of few years, are now starting to look over at the 787 experience, ‘let’s be super conser- the 777 guys and say, ‘We can outrun you; vative,’” said Shanahan. “So now we’re we’re just as good as you guys.’” cashing in all of that in terms of schedNotwithstanding the improvements in ule and airplane performance, and on the Everett, Renton still sets the standard for 777X we’ll find kind of that sweet spot so efficiency and serves as a model for how we can get to market as fast as we can, do to increase rates, one of the most diffias many things on the airplane that make cult things to do in aircraft production, sense, but be very risk balanced.” said Shanahan. When the first airplane Boeing plans to strike produced at the 42-per-month that balance in part by “conrate rolled out of the Renton sciously” moving experienced factory in March following an personnel from the 787 proincrease from 38, the entire site gram to the 777X, added Shasaw only 15 parts shortages, nahan. Meanwhile, Everett out of some 400,000 parts and site leader Elizabeth Lund assemblies that Renton accepts will oversee the production for each airplane. system transition.

Across the company, Boe“So when you think about ing’s “big push” now centhe production system, and ters on reducing flow time, people ask, ‘Hey, did you guys allowing for more of what Pat Shanahan, Boeing learn anything from the 787 Shanahan called free capacCommercial Airplanes experience?’ Yeah, we’re verity without substantially senior v-p of programs tically integrated on this; the increasing the factory footfuselage is going to have the same archi- print. “In terms of final assembly tecture as the 777; we’ll make some real square footage, I don’t think we need advancements in how we produce it so it,” he said. “It’s like [the case of] the it’s much higher quality; and on the wing, surge line. When we vacate that, that that’s in house, and by the way it’ll be [frees] a lot of space. And we did right in our backyard.” things like consolidate the 767 line into roughly half the original footprint.”

First Delivery Moved Up Of course, Boeing depends on its supIn preparing for the 737 Max, first pliers to also cut flow time and increase delivery of which Boeing has sched- productivity, but, as Shanahan noted, uled for the third quarter of 2017, the the effort requires teamwork. Boeing, company’s conservatism has already therefore, needs to get involved in helppaid dividends in its ability to remove ing its second-tier suppliers manage some buffer from the schedule, advanc- their own supply chains or help facilitate ing first delivery by some three months. design changes that allow them to derive In fact, Shanahan said the program car- more productivity out of their manufacries the potential to shave off still more turing processes. “Or in the case of some time. On the 777X, Boeing has had of the other advanced manufacturmore time to set its schedules, said Sha- ing work that we’re doing on other pronahan, allowing it to approach devel- grams, we’ll share that with them,” said opment in a more deliberate manner. Shanahan. “If they’re not successful and The company derives still more confi- have to go add capacity the way they’ve dence in the 777X from the Boeing-cen- always done it, then it’s going to have the tered supply chain it employed on the same cost structure.”

Fundamentally, rate increases create the original 777, he added.

On the 787, deliveries must acceler- opportunity for efficiency improvements ate in the second half of this year due, and, ultimately, a healthier cost strucin part, to the fact that a defect found ture, Shanahan explained. “Our philosoin some Mitsubishi-built wings forced phy is, when you invest in rate, you have the delays on more than 40 airplanes. chance to invest in new technology or proAgain, Shanahan expressed confidence cess change,” he said. “The way you achieve that the company will deliver its prom- productivity is not be squeezing things, it’s ised 110 airplanes by the end of the by changing how you do the work.”

Maintaining a constant rate makes year, even as it welcomes 15 new airlines to its 787 customer ranks. “Com- it harder to invest because such investpared to last summer, when we were ments need to produce a relatively juggling [disruptions caused by the] quick return. Conversely, adding capacbattery and some of the service reliabil- ity requires investment anyway, so one ity, this is much more stable,” he said. might as well invest in something new, “It’s just a big lift, so we have to just said Shanahan. “And that speaks to why perform at a higher level but we don’t you want to practice early or kind of have to work harder. Things that we put have in the back room or in your laboin place in terms of processes working, ratories some of these processes, so you don’t experiment while you’re trying to they’re now working.”

Flow times on the 787 line have ramp up production like we did on the o decreased by some 40- to 50 percent since 787,” he concluded.

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Thailand focuses on aerospace interests

by Neelam Mathews

NEELAM MATHEWS

to set up in Thailand, as they look to access the ASEAN market. Frank Moreau, president of Michelin Aircraft Tires, told AIN that Thailand, which represents one of three industrial facilities in the world for the company, will see more investment in the future.

Other aviation companies with significant investments in aerospace include General Electric, Senior Aerospace, Triumph Group, Chromalloy, Ducommun, Aeroworks, Eurocopter, Driessen and Minebea.

As part of its “openness,” there is no offsets policy in the country. “We do not force any company to tie up with a local partner,” said Pattanapanchai.

Along with Thailand’s Board of Investment, Amata Corp., a developer and manager of industrial parks in Southeast Asia already established in Bangkok, Chonburi and Rayong, as well as in Vietnam, has big plans for an aerospace cluster in Thailand, which could include MRO facilities serving airlines such as Thai Airways.

Infrastructure Improvements

Looking to improve infrastructure to encourage export among others, a three-phased plan is planned to extend highways, runways and the Laem Chabang seaport, which is close to industrial parks for manufacturing companies. For instance, 60 kilometers east of Bangkok, Thailand’s largest industrial land developer–Amata Corp.– houses Amata Industrial Park, Chonburi, close to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, and the seaport. It also is home to production bases for tire makers Bridgestone and Triumph Aviation Services Asia.

Chackchai Panichapat, executive director, Amata told AIN the company is hoping to see business move in aerospace: “We see potential in Asian countries just looking at the number of flights at airports.”

He added that if investors are interested, Amata could allot a 100-acre zone for a cluster of aerospace industries.

While he admits Singapore is “far ahead of us in the aerospace industry,” he said, “we also have a good opportunity here.

We hope to see aerospace grow as did the automotive industry here, but much faster.” In addition, he pointed out that “with the law strict against bribery, U.S. and Western countries will find it easy to do business here.”

Leveraging on its solid record of accomplishment in Thailand, Amata has established its first overseas-integrated industrial estate on 700 hectares in Bien Hoa City, Vietnam, the construction of which is to start in 2015. It is also looking at a similar park in Myanmar.

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

NEELAM MATHEWS

In view of its success in nur- our new policy which focuses turing a thriving automobile on aerospace, which will get industry–the ninth largest in the maximum incentives because it world–and as Asia edges toward is technology-based,” said Patbecoming the world’s larg- tanapanchai. She acknowlest growth market for aviation, edged that the political turmoil Thailand’s Board of Investment in Thailand over the past year (BOI) is considering building had caused a backlog of progan aerospace industry starting ress on roughly 200 foreign with Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppli- investment projects worth over ers servicing global OEM sup- $12 billion. She expressed hope ply chains. that the projects would start The ASEAN Economic Com- being cleared soon. munity (AEC) regional ecoStrategic Location nomic integration plan envisions establishment of a single marThailand has made a start ket and production base by 2015. as it serves not only major Thailand already has an $800 aerospace companies in aircraft million aircraft parts market parts production and components thanks in part to the lower cost manufacturing, but also probase in that country. The U.S. vides maintenance, ground-based Commercial Service has fore- infrastructure and supply-chain cast a 5-percent annual growth activities. Recently, the Thailand rate for the sector. The coun- Board of Investment approved try is also looking to expand its $3.7 billion investment projects maintenance, repair and over- which included an aviation trainhaul business both domestically ing school of New York-based and to take advantage of oppor- FlightSafety International Inc. tunities from emerging neigh“Countries investing in Thaiboring countries Myanmar land and the Asean Economic and Laos. This follows a spurt Community [AEC] will realize of growth in the region in both the significance of Thailand’s air travel and aircraft fleet. BOI, strategic location in the region,” for instance, approved the impor- said Praserd Bunchaisuk, Mintation of 119 new aircraft for ister of Industry, last year. Land Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, acquisition, a major problem in Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai many countries, is a nonissue in Lion Air in 2013 alone, and nine Thailand as the state retains the helicopters for the oilfreehold. However, it and-gas sector. does require a license As the country from BOI. looks to elections this Rolls-Royce, which year backed by a starecently announced its ble government, with decision to expand its a prime minister at production base for the helm, there is engine parts in Thaiconfidence that large land, signed a 10-year pending projects will manufacturing agreeAarjin Pattanapanchai, be cleared. ment with Leistritz, a Deputy “We realize infraglobal supplier of comSecretary General, Thailand structure is a must,” ponents for forging Board of Investment said Aarjin Pattanaof compressor blades panchai, deputy secfor V2500, Trent 700, retary general, BOI, before Trent 900 and Trent 1000 engines. commenting on nearby Singa- Rolls also cooperates with Kasetpore’s position. “Singapore does sart University for training and not have a support industry and development of skilled workers. that is where we see our strength. Already, the school’s Aerospace For instance, we are the largest Engineering Department has propolymer producers [for compos- duced more than 450 students. ites in the region],” she said.

Thailand’s incentives have Plans are being formu- been found to be attractive by lated for development of an many investors, leading to a boost aerospace industrial park, she in business overall. They include added. Existing parts industries exemption of import duties on and availability of stainless steel machinery, an eight-year corand aluminium, fabrication, porate income tax exemption, polymer and supply of titanium 100-percent land ownership as will prove strong support to long as the company continues aerospace, she said. “We want to exist and repatriation of earnto promote transfer of technol- ings. The incentives have encourogy and we plan to soon launch aged companies, like Michelin,

As aircraft manufacturers struggle to cut costs to make their global supply chains competitive, Senior Aerospace’s Thailand facility at Amata, which carries out machining of turbine blades for engine-maker Rolls-Royce, has won contracts from Germany’s MTU Aero Engines.

Senior Aerospace has been growing; it recently acquired UK-based Weston, a manufacturer of high-precision components and subassemblies for the commercial aerospace market, which specializes in machining and assembly of aerofoils, aluminum and hard metal structural parts and premium aircraftseat structures. Weston has content on each of the Airbus A320 family, A330, A350 and A380 platforms, both on engines and on aircraft structures.

Close to Ports

Another company leading the march is Triumph Structures. “Location wise we chose this because it is close to port and seaport, and logistics are in place,” said Alex Beysen, the company’s president. Triumph manufactures piece parts that get integrated into composites.

“We feed the assembly lines… we do subassemblies, like paneling, here…we are building machine parts, and later the hinge assemblies will be fitted

into composites for the A330.

It is simple now but will become complex in future. “However, Beysen is clear that “large assembly and major structures are not going to happen [here].”

Technical skills remain an issue in the country, however. “Skilled labor [and getting] engineers is a problem in the highly specialized fields of problem solving and systems,” said Beysen. “We need people who can understand specifications…We are investing in people trained at Thailand University.” With its sprawling facility built for future, Beysen is looking ahead 10 years–and is not overly concerned with the military coup.

He told AIN, “It’s business as usual and a safe environment despite the coup.”

With the facility producing composites as well as machining parts for Boeing and Airbus, Triumph is looking at more autoclaves to optimize production to enable a cost advantage.

The established auto industry is a definite advantage, as “getting people to shift from auto to aerospace in machining is easy, [but] composites is more difficult,” he said. While conscious about neighboring countries also looking at getting into parts manufacture, he is clear: “Singapore is way too expensive. We have no plans to open a subsidiary there.” o

Airbus and its partners hope to see the first light trainer versions of its electrically powered E-Fan aircraft enter service at the end of 2017.

E-Fan advances the case for electrically powered aircraft

by Guillaume Lecompte-Boinet The Airbus-led effort to develop viable electrically powered aircraft was boosted by the first public flight of the first E-Fan aircraft on April 25. The first of the two- and four-seat E-Fan light training aircraft are due to enter service by the end of 2017, but the wider success of the program– which eventually hopes to prove the case for electrically powered regional airliners–is contingent on its developers achieving further technology breakthroughs in

harnessing the new power source.

With a group of partner companies from France’s Aquitaine region, Airbus, Daher Socata and Aero Composites Saintonge (ACS) have committed almost $68 million to develop the initial E-Fan 2.0 and 4.0 models.

The consortium plans to build a 16,146-sq-ft (1,500 sq m) factory for the new family at Mérignac near Bordeaux, and it hopes to achieve full production by the fall of 2017.

The first E-Fan flight involved a 15-minute sortie by a two-seat 2.0 model. “It flies just like a piston-powered aircraft, except that you have to constantly manage the [electrical] power consumption,” explained test pilot Didier Esteyne. He has been closely involved with ACS in the development of the first prototype. The certification program for the new aircraft will involve around 50 flight test hours.

In the first instance, Airbus’s goal is to enter the market for light training aircraft to be used for preparing ab initio pilots. “There will be around 650,000 new pilots undergoing training in the next 20 years,” predicted Jean Botti, the Airbus Group’s director of technology and innovation.

The European airframer aims to win around 10 percent of the market for flying-school fleets, which it believes will account for at least 21,000 new aircraft over the next two decades. According to Airbus’s E-Fan program director, Emmanuel Joubert, the Mérignac factory will be capable of an annual production rate of between 50 and 80 aircraft. The facility is also serving as a testbed for advanced production techniques such as automatic riveting and augmented reality to ensure that the finished product reflects

every detail of the digital design.

The main responsibility for taking the E-Fan 2.0 and 4.0 into production rests with Daher-Socata, with the partners eager to capitalize on its experience in producing the TB20 piston single. Stéphane Mayer, CEO of Daher’s aerospace and defense division, said that between 15 and 20 of his employees will be working on this project over the next three years.

But there are some fundamental technology issues that will still have to be resolved if electrically powered aircraft are to have viable, wider applications. While electrically powered engines are far quieter and around 20 to 30 percent less expensive than conventional aircraft powerplant, their batteries are very heavy.

The batteries for the four-seat E-Fan 4.0 weigh 286 pounds (130 kg). Roughly speaking, it takes a battery weighing around 30 kg (66 pounds) to generate power equivalent to that produced from just 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of conventional jet fuel.

On the other hand, the power yield from electric motors is far more efficient than that of conventional aircraft engines. With an electric motor about 90 percent of watts generated are usable for propulsion. For typical piston engines, this ratio falls to around 20 to 25 percent.

“We are going to work on making the batteries lighter and more efficient, mainly with Saft [the battery specialist],” said Botti. For example, there are plans to replace the current Lithium-ion batteries on the E-Fan aircraft with Lithium-air or sodium batteries.

The partners also are working on improving the Fadec engine control for the aircraft’s electrical propulsion unit. o

Microturbo eAPU ready for service

More work will be required on battery technology to make the E-Fan technology viable for wider aviation uses.

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

Safran subsidiary Microturbo’s new e-APU60 auxiliary power unit received certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration last month. It achieved European approval in May last year.

The APU, which has already been selected for the AgustaWestland AW189 helicopter, is designed to “meet the demands of new-generation more-electric aircraft,” according to Microturbo (Hall 4 Stand A7). In addition to ground starting the main engines, supplying power to the electrical systems and providing air conditioning for the AW189, the e-APU60 can re- Microturbo’s e-APU has now been approved by the U.S. FAA. start the engines in flight and provides an additional source of power required to cover all electrical needs throughout the flight envelope.

According to Microturbo, the e-APU60 delivers significant reductions in noise and emissions compared with conventional APUs. The company believes it will also be selected for use with fixed-wing business aircraft.

–C.A.

Turbomeca forges Russian alliance with production offer Driven by the ambition to become world’s third largest turboshaft engine manufacturer after General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, France’s Turbomeca is pressing to establish a Russian partnership to develop and coproduce a new 3,000-shp engine based on the existing RTM322 powerplant and using the new Tech3000 core.

From Turbomeca’s perspective, the key to the planned alliance is that the new engine would be selected to power the proposed high-speed Russian Advanced Commercial Helicopter (Rachel) being developed by Russian Helicopters. The French company already has a memorandum of understanding for a possible cooperation with Russia’s United Engine Corp. (Russian acronym ODK), but the airframer itself has yet to resolve its powerplant plans for Rachel.

Turbomeca is well positioned in the 500- to 2,000-shp market segment, but it needs a strategic partner to compete with its North American rivals for more powerful turboshaft requirements. Last year Turbomeca lost Rolls-Royce as partner

and codeveloper of the RTM322 engine, which had been codeveloped and produced for the NH-90, Merlin and UK’s Apache aircraft.

“We are ready to assemble engines on the Russian soil, together with ODK,” Turbomeca president and CEO Olivier Andreas told AIN. “But if we are not selected on the Rachel, it will be another story.”

Possible Compromise

However, if Russia accepts the offer of a codeveloped engine it will probably involve some compromise since the choice would impact the plans that Russian engine maker Klimov has to develop the TV7-117V turboshaft as a successor to its aging TV3-117/VK2500 family, which has seen long service with a succession of Mil and Kamov rotorcraft.

According to Turbomeca, the advantages of the proposed RTM322/Tech3000 engine are that it offers a significant improvement in power-to-weight ratio as well as the prospect of achieving certification by the European Aviation Safety

Vladimir Karnozov

by Vladimir Karnozov

Turbomeca’s Ardiden 3G turboshaft engine has been chosen to power the Kamov Ka-62 helicopter; it is due to complete European certification in mid-2015.

Agency (EASA). The French company is also seeking to convince its prospective Russian partners of the benefits of connecting with its existing client base of some 2,500 operators across 155 countries, plus 50 repair and maintenance facilities, 90 field service representatives and 12 training centers.

“Our offer [to Russian Helicopters] was very well received,” Andreas said.

Negotiations are still ongoing over the Rachel program. Andreas believes the French company is better placed to do business with Russian than with its North American rivals. General Electric and Pratt & Whitney have not

succeeded in their previous attempts to partner with Russia’s engine manufacturers Saturn and Perm, respectively. The RTM322 is not constrained

by U.S. export control restrictions now that Turbomeca has replaced several U.S.-made parts.

Turbomeca’s sister company Snecma (part of the Safran group) has an established partnership with Saturn to develop the PowerJet SaM146 engine for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner.

Meanwhile, it’s Ardiden 3G turboshaft, scheduled for EASA certification in mid-2015, has been selected for the new Kamov 62 helicopter. o

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CTT To Humidify Irkut Mc-21 Twinjet Family

Timing not right for ATR 90-seater plans

by Thierry Dubois Designing a new aircraft in the 90-seat class is no longer a priority, ATR CEO Patrick de Castelbajac explained at the Farnborough International Airshow. “It was something my predecessor was very keen on, as were probably 95 percent of our employees and a number of our customers,” he stated. However, he pointed out that major shareholder Airbus Group believes “the timing is not now” for such an ambitious project.

The main priority is rather to ensure production runs smoothly at a higher rate. Second, customer support needs to be further strengthened, de Castelbajac said.

Third, “We’ve got amazing platforms and are working to make them even better,” he explained.

The ATR CEO mentioned enhanced avionics and improved engines, but mainly focused on the cabin. For the ATR 72,

he hinted to a number of seats higher than 72, probably in the 76- to-78 region, but not as high as 86, as the rival Bombardier Q400 has recently been offering. “We want to increase the

number of passengers without degrading comfort too much,” de Castelbajac asserted. He does not expect to hear any customer replying, “No, thank you,” if offered a higher capacity. o

Sweden’s CTT Systems, which makes non-condensation systems for commercial aircraft, announced on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow that JSC PDC Teploobmennik (JS PDC) has selected CTT to provide the cockpit humidification system for the Irkut MC-21 aircraft family. CTT’s Flight Deck Humidifier will be standard equipment on all MC-21 aircraft.

CTT’s humidification products provide the cabin with a relative humidity of about 20 percent, compared to the 3 to 5 percent in un-humidified cabins, thereby reducing problems associated with dry air, such as fatigue, dry skin and the spread of viral diseases, according to the company. Certification of –J.W. the MC-21 is currently scheduled for 2017.

ATR Wins Lessor Deal ATR and lessor Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) yesterday signed a $1.55 billion contract for 75 ATR 42-600s, 25 of which are firm and 50 options. Deliveries will take place between 2015 and 2020. With more than 200 ATRs ordered (including options), NAC is now ATR’s largest customer.

This latest announcement brings ATR’s total sales so far this year to a record 144 firm and 112 optioned, and 90 percent of the latter are expected to be converted eventually. The firm orders comprise 119 ATR 72-600s and 25 ATR 42-600s and are valued at $3.45 billion. Since the beginning of the year, two cancellations have been recorded, which de Castelbajac deemed typical.

Asked whether a second final assembly line would be built, adding to the existing one in Toulouse, he said this couold become a viable situation, if sales continue at the same pace. –T.D.

THIERRY DUBOIS

Patrick de Castelbajac, ATR CEO

www.ainonline.com • July 16, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 25

Exelis wins supplier approval for Boeing composite parts

by Gregory Polek to produce monolithic, carbon-fiber struts or integrate metallic fittings with carbon fiber during the automated manufacturing process. As a result, the STaR products weigh less and achieve the same strength requirements compared with other composite production methods.

The composite hardware also provides a much higher strength-to-weight ratio versus traditional metallic parts.

New Pod

Here at the Farnborough International Airshow, Exelis is also emphasizing its strengths in electronic warfare (EW).

For instance, the company has developed an advanced capability pod that acts as an airborne jammer, generating electronics countermeasures against radio-frequency threats.

Business development vice president Andy Dunn explained that fitting electronic warfare systems into pods has enabled it to upgrade older aircraft, such as some F-16s that do not have the room to carry internal systems. Exelis is increasingly focusing on reducing the size, weight and power needs of EW systems so that they can be used for smaller platforms.

Another trend is to allow platforms to become more multi-functional with equipment that can be reprogrammed for alternative missions. “For instance, this could involve adapting a transmitter that transmits jamming signals into a receiver that can be used as an intelligence gatherer,” Dunn said. o

MARK WAGNER

Exelis (Chalet C4A) has received processor qualification designation from Boeing for its composite design and manufacturing center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The qualification, achieved after a technical review against six Boeing specifications (BAC5578 and BAC5317-1 through -5), designates Exelis as an approved supplier of advanced, composite-structures to the Boeing supply chain.

To achieve this qualification, Exelis demonstrated its process controls and manufacturing capability for advanced, composite parts at varied temperatures during autoclave cures. The effort also included qualifying several pieces of equipment critical in the manufacturing process, including material-pattern cutters, optical-laser templates and autoclaves. Exelis completed the qualification process in less than a year.

Exelis has identified aerostructures as one of four strategic, growth platforms for the company. In fact, the company has just licensed patented, manufacturing technology from Belgium-based Bodair to produce various composite struts, tubes and rods for commercial and military aircraft.

The U.S. company plans to use the new technology to produce a variety of composite components under the STaR product line, including floor-beam and wing-box struts, control rods and torque tubes. The technology allows for rapid development and reconfiguration of product design and offers the capability

‘positive rate, gear up’ The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet looks like it’s achieving a “positive rate” of climb, even when it’s sitting still on the ramp. The twin-engine fighter’s performances in the aerial displays at Farnborough thrill the crowds, and rattle the windows.

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

UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) works with multiple OEMs and places a strong emphasis on supporting them and their clients through its customer response center.

UTAS team supports OEMs with ‘voice of the customer’

by Gregory Polek UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS, Hall 3AS6-7) comes to Farnborough with a series of commercial success stories, led by news of a new long-term maintenance agreement with Airbus.

Under the deal, UTAS becomes a primary maintenance service provider for Airbus’ Flight Hour Services (FHS) and component repair support. The contract covers UTC Aerospace Systems components on all Airbus platforms.

Airbus will send FHS-covered components requiring repair to UTC Aerospace Systems’ global network of maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities. The scope of products covered under the agreement includes air-management systems, electric systems, sensors, evacuation slides, seating, cargo, lighting systems, actuation systems, propellers, landing gear systems, fire systems and engine components.

In addition to MRO services, UTAS will provide technical services and support at various UTC Aerospace Systems MRO sites. The company operates 60 such sites around the world.

In another Airbus-related development, UTAS (also exhibiting at Farnborough in Outdoor Exhibit Areas 3 & 4) received FAA supplemental type certification for its new tablet-based electronic flight bag (EFB) on the Airbus A320 series. The system allows tablet devices, such as an iPad, to display important flight information.

News of EFB certification on Airbus narrowbodies came as UTAS’ aerostructures business on Sunday celebrated delivery its 10,000th set of inlet and fan cowls for a Next Generation 737 to Boeing. Delivered from their final assembly site at UTAS Aerostructures in Foley, Alabama, the nacelle components will be installed on a CFM56-7 engine. The Aerostructures business began producing inlet and fan cowls for the 737 in 1995.

More business on Boeing narrowbodies for UTAS takes the form of a new deal to supply wheels and carbon brakes for all models of the Boeing 737 MAX. Under the contract, UTAS will provide the equipment through its Landing Systems facility in Troy, Ohio. The carbon brakes use proprietary Duracarb carbon heat sink material already in service on more than 3,100 aircraft. UTAS claims the product provides a 35-percent brake life advantage over competitive products.

Mil Upgrades

In the military realm, UTAS announced a new contract with the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the entire fleet of SYERS-2 imaging sensors to the latest SYERS2C variant.

The upgrade to the SYERS-2C configuration features the latest in multispectral technology and increases the spectral resolution and image interpretability beyond that of the baseline system, which already provides the longest range on the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS), further extending the NIIRS range of the U.S. Department of Defense’s airborne intelligence surveillance reconnaissance inventory.

UTAS works with multiple OEMs and focuses on keeping them satisfied with its performance. Gail Baker, the group’s vice president for aerospace customers and business development, told AIN that this process begins with its “voice of the customer” program through which UTAS works with manufacturers to define what their needs are in terms of equipment.

To ensure that performance stays on track, Baker’s team uses scorecards that ask the OEMs to rate UTAS’s contributions in areas such as on-time delivery. In situations where the customer’s needs are not being met, UTAS can assign a specialist team to correct any problems. o

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Raytheon’s 200-pounder prepped for F-15E, F-35

by David Donald Raytheon is in the final stages of preparing the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) for a system verification review to be undertaken within the coming weeks in advance of the U.S. government’s Milestone C review. If the review is passed successfully, a decision to enter the low-rate initial production (LRIP) phase is expected.

Weighing just over 200 pounds, the SDB II has pop-out wings to give it a healthy standoff glide range, and a tri-mode seeker featuring semi-active laser (SAL), millimeter wave radar (MMW) and uncooled, imaging infrared (IIR) guidance. The weapon incorporates a dualband UHF/Link 16 data link and is fully network-enabled, allowing it to be handed off to

other platforms in flight, and is capable of in-flight re-targeting.

The radar seeker can act as an altimeter to give selectable airburst capability, while the warhead combines the properties of a traditional blast/fragmentation warhead with a shaped charge.

Three Modes of Complexity

Advantages of the SDB II, compared with earlier such weapons, include its ability to attack moving targets and its enhanced performance in adverse weather. The weapon can be used in three primary modes of increasing complexity.

In the co-ordinate attack mode it uses GPS to guide to a point designated by latitude/longitude co-ordinates. In the laserilluminated mode it functions as

heavenly hampshire Cloud-dappled skies and pleasantly moderate temperatures have dominated the weather for the first days of this year’s Farnborough Airshow. The attractive weather is a bonus for air show attendees.

a typical laser-guided weapon, able to target points designated from a number of sources.

In the normal attack mode the weapon uses fused MMW and IIR guidance data. The weapon is given some information from the aircraft’s weapon system prior to launch, and then flies by GPS/inertial guidance to the general target area.

The MMW radar is used to find target-like objects, this sensor being particularly useful in penetrating clouds and smoke. As the weapon nears the target, the IIR sensor is brought into play to further refine targeting. The missile has built-in algorithms to classify the target type, such as wheeled or tracked vehicles, and also to prioritize the target that it attacks.

SDB II entered the engineering manufacturing development phase in August 2010, and that is scheduled to continue until 2017. LRIP weapons will be fielded first on the U.S. Air Force’s Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, which has been used for a number of tests that have verified the weapon’s capability against moving targets. The majority of EMD flight trials have already been completed, with only a few fully guided tests left to be accomplished during this month.

In addition to the F-15E, the SDB II is considered a priority for the Lockheed Martin F-35B/C for the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy, although it would also be applicable to the Air Force’s F-35A. Fit-checks were completed early last year to verify that the Joint Strike Fighter could carry four SDB IIs in each weapons bay alongside an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile.

Above: Four GBU-53/B SDB IIs can be fitted into each internal bay of the F-35 alongside an Amraam. Below: Illustrating the weapon’s suitability for a range of tactical platforms, the SDB II has been test-flown aboard an F-16.

SDB II is planned for inclusion in the Block 4A iteration of the F-35, which is scheduled to achieve initial operating capability around 2021. Raytheon (Chalet C7-9, OE9) and the JSF team are shortly to begin pit-drop tests from the F-35’s bay before increasingly complex air-drop tests. These begin with jettison test vehicles to verify safe separation, control test vehicles with initial guidance package and finally guided test vehicles with full guidance systems and telemetry equipment.

In terms of the F-35 itself, some

integration is required in the operational flight program software.

Although the F-15E and F-35 are the main priorities for SDB II, the weapon is also applicable to many other U.S. tactical aircraft, including the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper.

Raytheon has received approval to offer the weapon for export to certain partner nations, and it has received considerable interest. To support this campaign the SDB II has been fit-checked on the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Boeing F/A-18. o

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty–part of the Safran Group the jet, which Airbus had logged by the end of Febru(Hall 4 Innovation Zone Stand A7), which is providing the ary, include 31 A350s for Japan Airlines Co., Ltd (JAL), landing gear for the Airbus A350–has signed a contract with options for an additional 25 of the medium capacwith Japan’s Kobe Steel to supply the French company ity, long-range jets. Deliveries to JAL are expected to with titanium forgings for the main landing gear of the begin in 2019.

–J.W. Airbus A350 XWB. The parts will be manufactured by Kobe Steel and its group company, Japan Aeroforge, a joint venture Kobe Steel established with Hitachi Metals and several minor shareholders. Japan Aeroforge’s 50,000-ton hydraulic forging press is one of the largest in the world. Through the agreement with Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, Kobe Steel will be Japan’s first supplier of large titanium forged parts.

The A350 XWB, the in-development Airbus twinjet, is expected to enter service in Q4 of this year. The 824 orders for Kobe Steel will supply the titanium for the A350 main gear.

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

MARK PHELPS

DAVID McINTOSH

Kobe Steel Forges A350 Gear Win

40

Farnborough Hall 4, Stand H4

CAE recently delivered to the U.S. Navy three tactical operational flight trainers for the Sikorsky MH-60R helicopter.

40 is the number of stocking locations Aviall operates around the world.

CAE’s integrated approach to training proves its worth

No other aviation parts provider has more parts in more places than Aviall.

Aviall Delivers.

by Charles Alcock The new CAE Multi-Purpose Training Center in Brunei is close to going fully operational, following the European Aviation Safety Agency’s level-D certification of its CAE 3000 Series fullflight simulator for the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter last month. The facility is the result of CAE’s efforts to deliver an integrated array of training solutions in a more cost-effective manner.

The center, located in Rimba, is a joint venture between CAE (Hall 4 Stand C17C19; Chalet B30) and the Brunei government and is already providing training for S-92 helicopters operated in support of Brunei Shell Petroleum’s oil and gas exploration and production. It will also be offering safety and mission readiness training for the S-70i Black Hawk military helicopter and Pilatus PC-7 trainer.

CAE is also helping the Brunei authorities to set up a center of excellence for emergency and crisis management to support disaster readiness throughout Southeast Asia. This facility is networked to the simulators so they can be used to prepare for missions such as search and rescue.

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Tactical Flight Trainers

During June, three of CAE’s new tactical operational flight trainers (TOFTs) for the U.S. Navy’s Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters entered service with the U.S. Navy at the Naval Air Stations in Jacksonville and Mayport, and at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The units are fixedbased simulators used to train pilots, co-pilots and sensor operators in the complete range of MH-60R missions.

CAE also recently delivered another TOFT unit to the Naval Air Station in Atsugi, Japan. This simulator can be reconfigured as a training platform for either the MH-60R or -60S helicopters.

The new equipment will be ready for use later this summer.

According to CAE Defense and Security president Gene Colabatistto, continuing reductions in military spending have spurred demand for using simulationand modeling-based training to keep aircrews ready for their missions. “This is a special time,” he told AIN. “It isn’t just the usual budget [reduction] drill because

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6/16/14 11:11 AM

the [training] requirements and contingencies keep increasing. For large defense organizations in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada and elsewhere, modeling and simulation is a way out of the predicament. It’s a bright spot in an otherwise dark defense environment but it has attracted a lot of competition.”

Colabatistto said that while the cost of operating a tactical military aircraft for training purposes could be around $20,000 per hour, an equivalent hour in a simulator costs just $2,000. “And if there is a long-term commitment to using more simulator-based training, it reduces the need for larger fleets as about 20 percent of some fleets are dedicated to training missions. So there’s a double benefit here,” he added. “They can role-play multiple scenarios in a short amount of time.”

Training for Complexity

In Colabatistto’s view, the MH-60R simulators are a prime example of meeting demand to train for complex missions more efficiently. “It’s not just about training pilots to fly or to check their currency and proficiency,” he said. “It’s about training for different missions, such as antisubmarine warfare where the helicopter has to work as part of a larger system [including fixed-wing aircraft and warships].” Similarly, CAE’s simulator for the P-8 aircraft provides training not only for cockpit crews but also for crews operating other equipment onboard.

CAE is now focusing on new defense sector opportunities such as providing training infrastructure to support the needs of forces due to start operating Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter. While the manufacturer provides the baseline training package, Colabatistto does see prospects for responding to partner nations’ needs for tailored training solutions.

Also on the company’s radar screen are new training requirements for Embraer’s new KC-390 military transport and new lead-in fighter trainers such as the Alenia MB339 and the BAE Systems Hawk.

In the field of unmanned aerial systems, CAE is allied with General Atomics in developing training infrastructure for the Predator family. o

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Aircraft tracking plans coming soon

Northern corridor

by John Sheridan In less than two months from now, the Aircraft Tracking Task Force (AATF), set up in May under the auspices of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is due present an interim report widely regarded by the industry as a key first step to avoid a repeat of a situation that continues to baffle and gravely concern the industry, namely: how on earth could a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 completely vanish on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The AATF, under the leadership of Kevin Hyatt, IATA’s senior vice president for safety and flight operations, consists of specialists recruited from the ranks of ICAO, airlines, flight safety organizations, aircraft manufacturers, air navigation service providers, pilots, air traffic controllers, air traffic management experts and flighttracking and service providers.

Hyatt made it clear from the outset that the objective of his planned team of specialists will not be to select a candidate system to meet the requirement;

priorities, since it is tasked with presenting its initial results in less than two months. Consequently, said IATA director general Tony Tyler, “We will come out with draft options in September and present them to ICAO. They would then be presented when our board meets in December.” Following that, a final Concept of Operations (Conops) will be delivered to the ICAO High Level Safety Conference in Montreal next February.

Performance-based Solutions

The Conops that will be presented to ICAO will be exactly that: a concept of operations and not a fixed technical specification describing a mandated end system that must be adopted by all aircraft, large and small, operating locally or worldwide. According to one ICAO official, while the final standard adopted by ICAO will define what an acceptable system must be able to achieve in given circumstances, it will be expressed in performancebased terms appropriate to the user’s operational application.

ICAO’s exact timetable for releasing a formal standard is unclear,

clientele, including strict audits in several cases. The unaccountable loss of the Malaysian 777 in March, less than five years later, has brought about even tighter scrutiny of airline equipage, training and usage, AIN learned.

Consequently, while the airline insurance industry is following the ATTF activity closely, airline operators also stated at the initial ICAO special meeting that they would voluntarily adopt new technologies or procedures that are seen as enhancing their overall safety plans, whether or not those seem likely to be recognized in the future ICAO standards. “Typically, a global standard can take two or three years to put in place,” said Nancy Graham, director of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau. “This will expedite that process because we will have learned a lot of lessons from the voluntary path.”

Coming Safety Technologies

Although the 2009 Air France accident was attributed to incorrect handling while the pilots attempted to regain control after an unusual upset, the fact that it took almost two years to recover the flight data and

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 involved 25 countries and covered an area spanning a million square miles. In the wake of the disappearance, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport released a report that recommends equipping airliners for real-time flight tracking.

rather, the team’s goal will be to clearly establish true operational requirements from among the many different approaches that have been proposed since the aircraft’s disappearance. And, as Hyatt pointed out, the options are unlikely to be “one size fits all,” because of the variety of specific issues that could arise across the aviation industry under such unpredictable circumstances.

That alone presents the team with a tight schedule for its interim report, which must include some thoughtful assessments of the various stakeholder

but it is not expected for at least several months following the February safety conference.

That does not, however, mean that aircraft operators will wait until the ICAO standard is published. Sources in the aviation insurance industry advise AIN that the loss of Air France Flight 447 in June 2009 had already triggered shareholder concerns about the impact of that event upon what was then regarded as one of the safest investments in the transportation sector, and which in turn had created closer scrutiny of the safety practices of their airline

cockpit voice recorders from the deep ocean bed showed clearly that their designed alerting and recording periods were inadequate for protracted searches.

Since the Air France loss, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has been developing extensions in the operating times of aircraft underwater locating devices (ULDs) and cockpit voice recorders (CVRs).

The current 30-day ULD sonar location signal-transmitting period will extend to 90 days, while the CVR will record for 20 hours, versus two hours with

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

Last radar contact

Transponder turned off

Satellite location 24,000 miles above sea level

Southern corridor

Data from satellite network operator Inmarsat provided the basis for the Malaysian government’s determination that Flight 370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

current units. In addition, nextgeneration ULDs planned for release in 2019 will emit pulses at 8.8 kHz for greater penetration/reception range versus the current higher, but shorterrange, 37.5-kHz pulses.

There seems little doubt within the avionics industry that the loss of all means of communications with Malaysian Flight 370 can no longer be attributed to a series of unrelated, coincidental avionics failures. An ATTF member suggested to AIN that as part of the ATTF investigation the avionics architectures of all air transport aircraft are to be analyzed for vulnerabilities that would allow unauthorized access for disabling by skilled or unskilled people. Detection of such attempted activity would trigger automatic transmission of alerts to the flight crew and to company dispatchers.

UK-based Inmarsat, which provides satellite communication services to 11,000 airliners, responded to the ATTF’s survey of manufacturers that it would offer a free tracking service to aircraft on oceanic routes. This would be a key enabler, since one of the limitations of satellite tracking until now has been its high cost to airlines.

Several working papers describing various tracking proposals were offered at the initial ICAO special meeting in May. An interesting paper from the Russian State Research Institute of Aviation Systems described two alternatives: one covered an Institute-developed theoretical global concept, while the other offered a strong endorsement of the NavCanada/Iridium consortium’s Aireon project which, besides providing worldwide voice and data communications, plans to place space-based equivalents of the FAA’s current ADS-B ground stations on board Iridium Next’s 66

crosslinked earth-orbiting satellites. Aireon is intended to cover the world, pole to pole, by 2020 and the satellite-based ADS-B stations would provide seamless all-altitude surveillance, with little or no modification to ADS-B units installed in aircraft.

Tracking Costs

Unquestionably, the need for an independent aircraft global tracking solution can no longer be regarded by the airline industry–and particularly by its customers–as “nice to have, if you can afford it.” It has now become an imperative, despite the fact that the unexplained loss of Malaysian Flight 370 can be described statistically only as a totally improbable event in the history of mankind’s safest form of travel. But the traveling public wants none of that. Reaching one’s destination under safe and troublefree circumstances is their only acceptable criterion.

Yet the airline industry operates along a knife-edge of profitability in what many see as a troubling world, where unexpected operating-cost fluctuations can bankrupt smaller or less well funded air carriers. On the introduction of new or updated tracking requirements, IATA’s Taylor observed, “We must find a way of doing it that doesn’t add significantly to cost. Margins are very thin in the business.”

While safety cannot be traded for economic benefit, the ATTF team members will, over the next several months, face many challenging decisions. o

Airbus placing bets on new thrust concepts

by Thierry Dubois percent over projected technology improvements in 2035. “Dispensing with the classical separation of airframe and propulsion systems could open up new synergies and facilitate significant efficiency gains,” the organization said.

In another effort to distribute thrust, Airbus Group Innovations and Rolls-Royce, with Cranfield university as a partner, are jointly engaged in the Distributed Electrical Aerospace Propulsion (DEAP) project, which is co-funded by the UK’s Technology strategy Board. The first iteration of what the outcome could be is the E-Thrust or E-Airbus.

It could enter into service in the 2030-2050 timeframe, as a 100seat regional aircraft.

Distributed Propulsion

Rolls-Royce expects distributed hybrid propulsion will dramatically cut noise and fuel burn. “Distributed” here means a greater number of fans replace the usual two bigger, heavier turbofans. For example, the E-Airbus may have six electric fans.

They will be distributed along the wingspan in clusters of three.

The bypass ratio (or its equivalent number for such a system) is expected to be more than 20.

An additional efficiency gain appears possible if the boundary layer is ingested and accelerated by the fans, under the aforementioned “re-energizing” scheme.

One gas power unit (in short, a turbofan connected to a

The Quadcruiser, above, features four rotors for lift, and a pusher propeller.

The E-Airbus concept, right, could have as many as six electrically powered fans.

generator) will provide the electric power for the six fans and to re-charge the energy storage.

The serial hybrid architecture offers the possibility to improve overall efficiency by allowing the separate optimization of the thermal efficiency of the gas power unit (producing electrical power) and the propulsive efficiency of the fans (producing thrust).

As the gas power unit is optimized for cruise, additional power for take-off will be provided electrically. In the cruise phase, the gas power unit will provide the cruise power and the power to recharge the batteries. During the first part of the descent, the E-Airbus will be a glider and the gas power unit will be switched off. Then, the fans will start windmilling, producing electricity, too.

For the landing phase, the gas power unit is re-started to provide for redundancy.

The storage system’s energy density is expected in the order of 1,000 Wh/kg (Watt hours per kilogram). This will more than double today’s best performance. For the megaWatt range power levels

required, Airbus and Rolls-Royce are counting on superconductivity.

Unmanned Quadcruiser

In unmanned aircraft, too, Airbus is endeavoring to organize power differently. The Quadcruiser uses the popular four-rotor architecture and adds wings and a pusher propeller. The four-rotor architecture, commonly used in small unmanned rotorcraft, is paradoxically simpler than a design with a main rotor and a tailrotor. First, the aircraft gets rid of complex transmission gear. Second, the rotors have a fixed pitch, as control can be performed through differential speed variations. Third, the architecture is well suited to electric power, as each motor can be co-located with its rotor.

DAVID McINTOSH

The Bauhaus Luftfahrt aerospace think-tank in May unveiled a concept for a “propulsive fuselage” aircraft, opening a new possibility for fuel burn reduction. It is part of a European Union-funded project in cooperation with a number of research centers, as well as MTU Aero Engines and Airbus Group Innovations (Outdoor Exhibit 13).

The latter company is also studying a hybrid-power regional airliner with Rolls-Royce (Hall 4 Stand H3). Meanwhile, it is flying a hybrid-lift quadcopter demonstrator for unmanned military and civil missions, the Quadcruiser.

The Bauhaus Luftfahrt idea is to fully integrate a special engine design into the aircraft’s tapered aft fuselage. The latter is encircled by a so-called “fuselage fan.”

The accompanying gas turbine is located in the tail cone.

The main advantage of this “distributed” propulsion architecture (distributed meaning, in this case, that the thrust is spread around the fuselage) is the effective ingestion of the boundary layer. It is thus “re-energized,” as its decelerated airflow in close proximity to the fuselage is re-accelerated. In doing so, the “fuselage fan” compensates for a significant percentage of the fuselage’s viscous drag, the Bauhaus said.

Therefore, the two conventional engines producing the largest part of the overall thrust could be scaled down. It would enable fuel savings of up to 10

‘future tanker’ is now Formerly known as the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft, the Airbus-330-based “Voyager” took over air-to-air refuelling for RAF Number 10 Squadron, starting in July 2011. With a full fuel load, the tanker still has enough space for 291 personnel. The entire cargo hold is also available.

The Quadcruiser has two flight modes–rotary-wing for maneuverability and fixed-wing for speed and efficiency. During transition to the fixed-wing aircraft mode, the pusher propeller accelerates the aircraft until its wings provide sufficient lift. Subsequently, the lift motors are stopped and their propellers adjusted to a low-drag position. Before landing, the aircraft transitions back to the quadcopter mode using its four lift motors, enabling a vertical landing.

Battery Powered

A proof-of-concept Quadcruiser made its fist flight at the Grabenstetten special airfield near Stuttgart, Germany, in December 2013. Further testing took place at the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Manching.

The Quadcruiser aircraft now in flight test is capable of up to 50 minutes of horizontal flight in the fixed-wing aircraft mode.

According to Airbus, the 20-pound demonstrator vehicle represents a baseline for incremental developments. First flight of a 20-55-pound class Quadcruiser is envisioned for 2015, followed by a 330-880-pound class version in 2018-2019. The Quadcruiser project team includes light aircraft and UAV specialist Steinbeis Flugzeug und Leichtbau GmbH, which built the first demonstrator aircraft. It features five 1.1 kw motors and a total 185 Wh stored in the batteries.

Airbus sees potential applications in long-range missions as well as in urban environments. These could be surveillance and reconnaissance flights for the military and police, boarder patrols and fire brigades on the civil side. o

www.ainonline.com • July 16, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 33

Bombardier unveiling a Q400 combi variant Canada’s Bombardier unveiled a cargo-passenger variant of its Q400 in Farnborough on Tuesday, adding one more choice to a growing list of configurations for the versatile turboprop.

Available in various arrangements, the combi version offers up to 8,200 pounds of cargo capacity and as much as 1,150 cubic feet of volume. Using Class C cargo compartments, the so-called high-cargo version can hold 50 passengers at a 32-inch seat pitch. Bombardier claims it has entered “advanced” discussions with a number of potential Q400 combi customers.

Meanwhile, the Q400’s sales total increased to 499 on Tuesday with a firm order for a single airplane from Horizon Air of the U.S. Horizon and Bombardier also confirmed they have signed a five-year maintenance agreement, under which the manufacturer will perform heavy maintenance on Horizon Air’s Q400s at the

manufacturer’s service center in Tucson, Arizona.

Separately, Abu Dhabi’s Falcon Aviation Services has signed a letter of intent covering five Q400 airliners, supplementing an order for two of the highspeed turboprops announced in February and another in April.

Falcon Air Services and Bombardier also signed a memorandum of understanding under which they agreed to collaborate in addressing the need for “multiple, high-quality aircraft solutions” that meet international standards in Africa and the Middle East.

Finally, Bombardier revealed the identity of the customer for two more Q400s, the sale of which it announced on April 23, as Abu Dhabi Aviation.

The largest helicopter operator in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi Aviation now flies one Q400, a single Q300 and two Q200s supporting offshore oil, engineering and construction activities. o

MARK WAGNER

by Gregory Polek

uk’s only 24/7 hems provider chooses an aw169 Adrian Bell, left, CEO of Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust, selected an AgustaWestland AW169 rotorcraft for his 24/7 Helicopter EMS services. He closed the deal with Daniele Romiti, CEO of AgustaWestland.

Cobham Looks To The Future In The Innovation Zone Perhaps best known for its inflight refueling heritage, technology group Cobham offers a wide portfolio of aviation-related products and services. One field in which the company specializes is communications, and it is presenting three of its latest systems in the Farnborough Airshow’s Innovation Zone (Hall 4/IZ Stand A2).

Two satellite communications systems on show comprise the Aviator 200S, which combines cabin connectivity and cockpit services through a single Inmarsat SwiftBroadband channel. The system includes a low-drag, high-performance radome with ThinKom antenna for inflight entertainment systems.

A third communications system is the Solo7 nano video transmitter, which can stream video imagery in highdefinition from small air vehicles such as the increasingly popular quad- and octo-rotor UAVs. Another system on display is Cobham’s Telemax all-hazards robot, Nano7, which has been designed to operate in confined spaces to inspect and handle potential hazards. Nano7 is equipped with a manipulator arm with automatic tool exchange for various tasks.

Cobham apprentices and graduates are on hand to discuss the features and capabilities of these systems and will also host students from schools and universities during Friday’s Futures Day. As well as advising those who are considering careers in the wider aerospace industry, they will outline the benefits of the company’s graduate and apprenticeship schemes.

–D.D.

Singapore show expands, focusing on current trends

Formula One Lights Up future Engineers Team leader Vicky Waterfield and Charlie Flynn represent six British high school students who will be exhibiting their design work during the public days here at the Farnborough Airshow. Team Colossus (Hall 4A Innovation Zone Stand D6), comprised of 15and 16-year-old students from Robert May School in Odiham, near Farnborough, is England’s winner of the worldwide Formula One (F1) in Schools program, the world’s largest STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) competition, involving more than 20 million students in 40 countries.

The challenge involves designing a small F1 car. The group is also seeking support and sponsorship from the industry as the team members prepare for F1 in Schools World Finals in Abu Dhabi this November, taking place during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The winning team earns a trophy and scholarships.

–J.W.

The next Singapore Airshow in 2016 will be expanded in several key areas of growing interest to the wider aerospace and defense industries. The new Training & Simulation Zone, first introduced at the February 2014 show, is expected to almost double in size to include military exhibitors. Show organizer Experia Events (Chalet B18) is also planning a new dedicated Business Aviation Zone and an Aerospace Emerging Technologies Zone.

“The show needs to be bigger and better,” said Experia’s new managing director Leck Chet Lam. “We want to stay relevant to the industry and we need to focus on its multi-faceted developments such as new trends in training and 3-D production techniques.”

The show expects to boost its attendee base from the 45,000

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

who came to the 2012 event (from 125 different countries).

Around 30 percent of these visitors came from southeast Asia (excluding Singapore itself).

There were 26 percent from the rest of the Asia Pacific region, 20 percent from the Americas, 19 percent from Europe and 5 percent from the Middle East and Africa.

Among the 2014 exhibitors the presence of Chinese companies almost doubled compared with the 2012 show. There was also a special pavilion for Hong Kongbased exhibitors for the first time.

The official delegation programs have always been a strength of the Singapore show, and especially the delegations from Asia Pacific countries. In 2014, there were 274 delegations

MARK WAGNER

DAVID McINTOSH

by Charles Alcock

Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Singapore Airshow organizer Experia Events, is expanding the scope of the show ahead of its next staging in 2016.

from 76 countries, including toplevel defense officials.

According to Experia, its most recent survey of exhibitors showed high approval ratings for the way the show is organized. “We are still working to improve every aspect of the air show experience so that things such as getting passes is more seemless and it is a more holistic experience that adds value,” Leck told AIN. –C.A.

F-35’s Farnborough debut: everything’s here but the jet Nine heavy hitters from the Lockheed Martin F-35 program fronted Tuesday’s media briefing here at Farnborough. But even three senior Pentagon officials, one Air Force general and five industry chiefs could not conjure the actual hardware– although the good news at the show yesterday was that the F-35 was given clearance to fly with “a restricted flight envelope.”

The four F-35Bs slated to fly to the UK had been grounded at NAS Patuxent River after a June 23 engine fire at Eglin AFB in Florida. With respect to the chances of an F-35 still making it to the show, Lockheed Martin stated yesterday that “no final decision has been made at this time.”

“We understand what happened, now we’re trying to figure out why,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 program office here Tuesday. He said that borescope inspections of all 98 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines already delivered to the F-35 program had revealed nothing that would indicate a recurrence of the excessive rubbing of the inner cowl by the integral bladed rotor (IBR) in the third stage of the fan, that caused the failure in the F-35A. “Some blades are designed to rub, but this was more severe, leading to excessive temperatures, microcracking, and high-cycle fatigue, causing that part of the engine to come apart,” he explained.

A disappointed Frank Kendall, DoD under-secretary for acquisition, took comfort from the knowledge that “it’s not a systemic design problem.” He was still hopeful that the F-35 would appear here later this week. Bogdan said the impact of the grounding was “minor,” since scheduled maintenance and upgrades to the F-35 fleet had been brought forward.

Kendall said that more foreign sales of the F-35 were being negotiated. Israel, Japan and Korea have already joined the seven overseas nations that formed the original international partnership with the U.S. Some of those nations have

since reduced their planned buys, Kendall admitted. “But they’re all still in–and there’s a good reason for that,” he added, citing the well-rehearsed advantages of fifth-generation combat aircraft.

These include stealth, of course– something you don’t hear much about in the F-35 program, despite all the government, congressional and media scrutiny.

“There’s a reason for that,” Bogdan told AIN. “The aircraft is meeting or exceeding the low-observability requirements.

The services are happy–and that includes the maintainability aspects of stealth.”

Kendall said the program was now meeting its cost projections, year by year.

“It’s been a continuous learning experience. The problem in any sole-source procurement is incentivizing [the contractors],” he said. He cited the new so-called “Blueprint for Affordability” agreement with industry that was announced last week, and detailed in the Monday edition of AIN’s Farnborough Airshow News.

Bogdan said that the unit flyaway cost has come down 60 percent since the first low-rate initial production (LRIP) lot.

The F-35As procured in the latest LRIP lot are costing $112 million, and the goal of achieving $80-85 million per unit by 2019, in then-year dollars, is achievable.

Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin, said that ramping up the production rate would further lower the unit cost.

But Kendall had potentially bad news for Hewson. Asked by AIN about sustainment costs for the F-35, the Pentagon’s chief buyer said he planned to inject significant competition into an area that accounts for 50 percent of the total cost of becoming an F-35 operator. “We’re aiming for performance-based logistics (PBL),” he said. “We’re going to get the logistics system in place first. Then we’ll put it out to competition. We’re looking for innovative solutions, and the international partners can help provide them.” o

The U.S. has completed borescope inspections on all 98 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines associated with the F-35 program, and found no evidence there would be a recurrence of the problem that grounded the fleet.

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

DAVID McINTOSH

by Chris Pocock

texan ii tigershark Textron Aviation hopes to put some teeth into its newly acquired Beechcraft T6 Texan II program. The turboprop trainer can also double as a low-cost ground-attack platform.

GE division uses Six Sigma to help drive airline efficiency

by Charles Alcock GE Aviation’s Flight Efficiency Services division is using big data techniques to help airlines to improve their profit margins with a particular focus on reducing fuel burn. “Fuel accounts for 40 percent of airline costs with around $215 billion spent on this each year,” said general manager Giovanni Spitale. “GE thinks that if machines can talk to each other using the industrial internet [a term coined by GE] we can make better sense of that [fuel consumption].”

Essentially, GE’s view is that operators know perfectly well what they need to be doing to save fuel, but they sometimes struggle to do these things systematically.

By combining its knowledge of Six Sigma best practice management with data science, the company is demonstrating to operators exactly how the most worthwhile savings can be achieved.

“For example, take single-engine taxiing. Everyone knows you should do that but what is hard is quantifying the amount of fuel that can be saved that way,” said Spitale. “Another example is the cost associated with carrying fuel in tanks that doesn’t need to be there. Our philosophy is that rather than having separate analytics tools we have a macro information set that can spot deviations in fuel burn on a day-to-day basis, or even looking at different times of the day.”

AirAsia has been using Flight Efficiency Services to handle flight data analytics and fuel management for its fleet of Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft. The techniques are saving AirAsia more than one percent of its annual fuel bill, equating to about 550 pounds of fuel on a one-hour flight. GE’s data dashboard integrates flight data with operational, weather, trajectory correction, navigation and terrain data, allowing airlines to tactically manage their daily operations.

Here at the Farnborough Airshow the company announced on Tuesday that it had signed a contract with SpiceJet Airlines of India for the support of its fleet of 52 aircraft–Boeing 737s and Bombardier

Q400s. With India having some of the highest fuel pricing in the world, the contract will help the airline to realize “substantial savings,” said Alan Caslavka, GE’s president of avionics and digital systems.

GE’s data dashboard presents airlines with comprehensive information that helps them operate more efficiently.

GE (Chalet P1-5) is also involved in a joint venture business with Accenture called Taleris that has developed software and processes to help airlines deal with disruptions to their operations. For instance, Taleris might help resolve a situation where aircraft, crew and passengers have to be rerouted. Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is the launch customer for this service. o

AT THE STANDS Plexus Corp. of Neenah, Wisconsin, is here (Hall 3 Stand B26) exhibiting for the first time and promoting its electronics design, manufacturing and aftermarket services. “We don’t design our own products, we design as a service,” Dan Lewis, v-p for the aerospace, defense and security market sector, told AIN. He said Plexus offers assistance throughout a product lifecycle, from design and prototype to customer support. The company has eight factories in the U.S., Romania, Malaysia, China and the UK and holds an FAR 145 maintenance approval. Lewis said Plexus has more than 20 customers in aerospace and defense. v

Bravia Capital signs deal for 50 Piaggio Avanti EVOs

by David Donald changes will be certified by Piaggio under its “Design Organization” privileges. Piaggio Aero is hopeful of achieving FAA approval in time for the aircraft to make its debut at the NBAA convention in October.

Piaggio Aero has announced the first major order for its Avanti EVO, the prototype of which is making its airshow debut here at Farnborough.

Hong Kong-based Bravia Capital has signed an order for 10 aircraft with options for another 40. Deliveries are planned to begin in the first quarter of next year. The aircraft will operate in the U.S., primarily in what Bravia CEO Bharat Bhisé described as the “up to three hour” market sector.

Although Piaggio Aero had been flight-testing the Avanti EVO since the spring of 2013, the company formally launched the new version of the twinturboprop pusher at the EBACE show in May. Three orders were already in the bag. The first aircraft was bought by an existing Avanti II customer in India, while the third is to be delivered to a U.S. customer.

Regarding certification of the EVO, “The major design changes will be certified with EASA and then, if necessary, validated by FAA under the bilateral agreement, with the exception of community noise reduction that will be certified directly and separately by both authorities,” reported Carlo Logli, CEO of Piaggio Aero. Modifications were submitted for certification as “Design Changes” to the current type. Minor

MARK WAGNER

Sparkle Roll Jet Takes Delivery of Avanti II Extended Range Sparkle Roll Jet chairman Ji Zingzhuo (left) celebrated delivery here at Farnborough of the first P.180 Avanti II Extended Range twin-turboprop with Carlo Logli, CEO of Piaggio Aero.

SR Jet was formed by Sparkle Roll Aviation Investment, a subsidiary of Sparkle Roll Investment Holdings of China. The company ordered 10 Avanti IIs at the 2013 NBAA show.

It plans to use the twin-turboprop pushers for a “business commuter flight service” in China “and to be a transitional provider between civil and business aviation.”

The Extended Range Avanti II adds a permanent additional fuel tank in a portion of the closet in the lavatory. The fuel capacity is increased to 3,226 pounds from 2,826 pounds, increasing range to 1,720 nautical miles. –M.T.

AT THE STANDS GE (Chalet P1-5) here on Monday announced that Air Lease Corporation has selected the GEnx-1B engine to power 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The list price for the engine order is valued at more than $1.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Emirates signed a 12-year agreement with GE for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the GE9X engines that will power its 150 Boeing 777X aircraft. The OnPoint solution agreement is valued at more than $13 billion over the life of the contract. v

DAVID McINTOSH

Avanti Branches Out

Above: Bravia Capital CEO Bharat Bhisé, left, has placed an order for 10 Piaggio Aero Avanti EVOs with options for another 40. Congratulating his customer is Piaggio Aero CEO Carlo Logli.

Right: In other news, ConnectJets, led by founder and general manager Gabriella Somerville, has been appointed the exclusive Avanti dealer in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Ireland.

Avanti product range through investment. In May, the Abu Dhabi company increased its stake to 98.05 percent. Starting in September, all manufacturing and assembly of the Avanti aircraft will be concentrated at the Piaggio Aero factory at Villanova d’Albenga. o

DAVID McINTOSH

Piaggio Aero has also been developing new military models, such as the P1HH HammerHead unmanned ISR platform on display here at Farnborough, and a manned, multirole patrol aircraft (MPA), which is being co-developed with Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investment (ADASI). A proof-of-concept P1HH first flew last November, and a full prototype is due to fly imminently.

To equip these versions Piaggio chose “the best suppliers in their specific sectors,” said Logli. Saab was selected as the MPA systems supplier after an international evaluation process, and Selex got the nod for the P1HH’s remote flight control and navigation systems, as well as the SkySTAR mission system.

Logli explained that, “having two different suppliers allows us to gain experience with two different operational systems.” It also gives Piaggio access to two different support networks.

Both aircraft take advantage of development synergies, Logli said, such as the extended wing developed for the MPA that was later installed on the HammerHead UAS. The wing is one element in advancing the manned aircraft as a surveillance platform.

Logli added, “For coastal, maritime and offshore security missions, the MPA will fly at 41,000 feet with a range of 3,300 nautical miles [more than 10 hours of endurance] at a cruise speed of 350 knots. It will feature a high performance search radar and EO/IR sensors suite integrated into a mission management system. The first version, dedicated to maritime patrol, is currently in its development phase and we expect the first flight of the prototype in 2015.”

Since buying into Piaggio Aero in 2006, Mubadala has re-energized the

KRET group offers avionics for Russian copters, airliners

by Vladimir Karnozov Riding on a wave of military business, electronics group KRET, a subsidiary of Russian Technologies, plans to expand its presence in the global market for civilian avionics and systems by offering avionics packages for the Kamov Ka226T and Mil Mi-171A2 helicopters and the Tupolev Tu-204SM and Irkut MC-21 narrow-body jetliners.

Deliveries of KRET-outfitted Ka226Ts are expected to begin to launch customer GazpromAvia and the Mi171A2 is entering production. The avionics package for the Tu-204SM is already flying on two operable prototypes. A more advanced avionics suite is being bench-tested for the MC-21.

A first-time exhibitor at the Farnborough International Airshow, KRET was formed in 2009 and now includes nearly 100 enterprises specializing in electronic warfare, avionics, friend-or-foe systems and measuring equipment. Last year, its revenues amounted to 77.3 billion rubles ($2.25 billion), of which 70 percent were military. KRET’s order backlog reportedly exceeds 25 billion rubles.

“Our previous avionics solutions used to be based on military standards, and hence we were not able to compete [with Western companies] when the Superjet project commenced,” said Andrei Tyulin.

KRET deputy general manager. “Now, our newer systems feature open architecture and algorithms; they comply with the international standards. We are going to certify them with ARMAK, EASA and FAA so that we will have a global product able to sell worldwide.”

KRET general manager Nikolai Kolesov said the group works on 42 systems for the MC-21. “Our goal is to certify [the systems] this year, so as to commence production of deliverable sets in 2015.” Many of these systems are parts of “a predominantly Russian integrated avionics suite” for the aforementioned jetliner, with 90 percent of software and 47 percent of hardware being of local origin.

Another KRET member, Tikhomiriov’s NIIP, continues flight-tests of the N-036 active electronically scanned phased array radar on Sukhoi PAKFA (T-50) fifth generation fighter. o

www.ainonline.com • July 16, 2014 • Farnborough Airshow News 37

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