ENGINES PARIS AIR SHOW 2023

speed and performance of traditional turbofans while further increasing fuel efficiency and lowering carbon output. While the single set of variable-pitch fan blades rotate in front, a second set of outlet guide vanes help guide airflow. The result is an open-fan engine with higher fuel efficiency, lower emissions, less noise, and turbofan flight speeds.

In addition to the open-fan design and carbon-fiber composite fan blades, the CFM RISE team is improving the core of the engine, the section that holds the compressor, combustor, turbine, and other components that convert the fuel’s energy into efficient rotary motion. To do this, they’re using a groundbreaking material that has been tested inside both the CFM LEAP and GE9X engines: ceramic matrix composites. These parts, which are lighter, stronger, and more heat-resistant and hot environments. CFM said measures to improve durability in hot and dusty climates would also extend the time on wing in normal ones.

ROLLS-ROYCE

Rolls-Royce has successfully completed the first tests of its UltraFan technology demonstrator. The first tests were conducted using 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current and future aero-engines. UltraFan delivers a 10 per cent efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, which is already the world’s most efficient large aero engine in service. In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from the UltraFan development programme to current Trent engines, providing our customers with even greater availability, reliability and efficiency. In the longer term, UltraFan’s scalable technology from ~25,000110,000lb thrust offers the potential to power new narrowbody and widebody aircraft anticipated in the 2030s.

Rolls-Royce also announced its new small gas turbine that has been specifically developed to power hybrid-electric flight is set to begin testing. The engine is part of a turbogenerator system that is being developed for the Advanced Air Mobility market. This includes electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Aircraft for Urban Air Mobility and Commuter Aircraft applications up to 19 seats. The turbogenerator system will complement the Rolls-Royce Electrical propulsion portfolio by delivering an on-board power source with scalable power offerings between 500kW and 1200kW enabling extended range on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and later, as it becomes available, through hydrogen combustion.

This will open up new, longer routes than electric battery powered aircraft can support as of today. The development of the turbogenerator system is combining Rolls-Royce’s electrical and gas turbine development competencies. The new combustion engine uses recent technology developments to achieve a step change in efficiency of small gas turbines. The turbogenerator can be used in serial or parallel hybrid applications. It is well suited to recharge batteries as well as provide energy to electrical propulsion units directly and therefore enables aircraft to switch between power sources in flight.

Boom Symphony

Boom Announced Significant Overture Program Advances at Paris Air Show including milestones for its Symphony engine. Symphony, Overture’s propulsion system, is optimised for 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Boom shared the engine architecture for Symphony and additional key specifications, and also unveiled a 3D-printed 1/3 scale design model. The engine’s bespoke design is optimised for sustainable supersonic flight and is designed to deliver 25 per cent more time on wing and provide 10 per cent operating cost savings to airline customers. This marks an important step in Symphony’s development since its announcement in December 2022.

damage-tolerant than traditionally manufactured metal parts, helped make the LEAP engine 15 per cent more fuel-efficient than its predecessors.

CFM International is also redesigning some parts of its LEAP engine to improve durability in harsh climates, to be available for retrofit on Airbus and Boeing jets next year. The move is CFM’s response to the analysis of high-pressure turbine blades and turbine nozzles when operating in harsh and

Symphony Technical Specifications

• Two-spool, medium-bypass turbofan engine, no afterburner

• 35,000 lb thrust

• Optimised for 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

• Single-stage 72” fan

• Air-cooled cooled, multi-stage turbine

• Additive manufacturing enables lightweight, low part count, and reduced assembly costs. SP

JOHN HEDLEY (1887-1977)

Lieutenant Makepeace suddenly put the Bristol fighter into an abrupt nosedive. Taken by surprise, Captain Hedley was thrown out of the aircraft due to the negative G effect and began a free fall.

The history of aviation has a wealth of remarkable experiences and strange stories, some barely believable. And military aviation has seen some of the most incredible of these incidents. The lives and achievements of each flying ace, especially, contribute to the rich tapestry of the history of aerial warfare. However, there is often a lack of witnesses, as well as the “fog of war”, that makes it challenging to sift fact from fiction. The story of John Hedley, a First World War British ace, is one that clearly crosses the limits of credulity, yet cannot be discounted.

John Herbert Hedley, was born on July 19, 1887, in Northumberland, England. Hedley joined the British Army in August 1914 and was initially with the Northumberland Fusiliers. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in 1917. Captain Hedley was credited with eleven aerial victories, all while he was with No. 20 Squadron flying the Bristol F.2b, a two-seat British biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft.

A bit of background to the extraordinary incident that gained Hedley the tag of “the luckiest man alive” is necessary. The F.2b was a highly manoeuvrable aircraft with a robust design that was able to hold its own in combat against single-seat fighters. Its crew usually included an observer apart from the lone pilot. While the pilot had a synchronised, fixed, forward-firing .303 inch Vickers machine gun, the observer in the rear cockpit had a .303 inch Lewis Gun. The observer basically functioned as a gunner and kept track of the number of kills scored by the pilot. He could also keep an eye on the very vulnerable rear quarters from where an attacker usually struck. The RFC did not provide its crew with parachutes in those days, thinking it would make them less aggressive if they could bail out easily. Besides, to fire his weapon effectively, the observer had to stand up in the cockpit.

Captain Hedley was flying as observer in a sortie over France on January 4, 1918, when near-disaster occurred. The pilot was Lieutenant Reginald “Jimmy” Makepeace, himself an RFC ace credited with 17 victories. The pair encountered German fighters and entered combat. In the harsh manoeuvring that followed, Makepeace suddenly put the Bristol fighter into an abrupt nosedive to escape being hit by machine-gun fire. Taken by surprise, Hedley was thrown out of the aircraft due to the negative G effect and began a free fall. Makepeace continued his rapid descent for several hundred feet. However, when he pulled up, Hedley purportedly saw the aircraft nearby, grabbed its tail, and crawled back into his seat. The pair then landed safely at base.

Hedley had another lucky escape on March 27, 1918, when he as pilot along with an observer in a Bristol F.2b were shot down by a German fighter. Both survived the crash without injuries and were captured. They spent the rest of the war in a German prisoner of war camp, and were repatriated in December 1918. After the war Hedley emigrated to America. Now billed as “the luckiest man alive”, he embarked on a career as an after-dinner speaker, mainly relating his hair-raising experience of January 1918. But could Hedley’s story be true?

There were several recorded instances during World War I of crew exiting their cockpits, both in fixed wing aeroplanes and airships, and surviving to tell the tale. In such cases they usually fell out of the cockpit but were still holding on – or attached to – some part of the plane, and hence could climb back to safety. About Hedley, Legion, Canada’s military history magazine, recently quoted a newspaper story of the period: “Captain Hedley described an experience which he had as an observer. Observers were not strapped in the airplanes and when the pilot caused the machine to dive suddenly, Hedley was thrown forward in the air. He had, however, retained his grasp on the machine gun and when the plane straightened out he was flung back upon the fuselage. He then managed to crawl back into the cockpit.” This is certainly more plausible than Hedley’s more colourful version. Even if Hedley did fall clear of the plane for a brief instant, the speed of descent of both machine and man may have been similar, enabling him to grab a portion of the plane and re-enter the cockpit. In the shock of his experience, he could hardly be expected to accurately assess how far he fell towards the ground before returning to safety.

John Hedley died in Los Angeles on April 1, 1977, at the ripe old age of 90. Jimmy Makepeace, the pilot on that fateful day in 1918 was not so lucky. In May 1918 both Makepeace and his crewman were killed when the wings of their Bristol F.2b fighter suffered structural failure in flight. SP

— JOSEPH NORONHA

Military

DCAS VISIT TO NATIONAL FLIGHT TEST CENTRE, ADA AND HAL

Appointment

PRATT & WHITNEY: HEAD OF INDIA CUSTOMER TRAINING CENTRE

Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, announced the appointment of Ajay Surti as the head of its India Customer Training Centre (ICTC) in Hyderabad. In his new role, Ajay Surti will lead Pratt & Whitney’s ICTC in Hyderabad, focusing on delivery of highquality training to customers and developing new opportunities to provide field support. Ajay brings more than 27 years of experience in the aviation industry, having worked with various airlines and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) over the course of his extensive career. He is also a licensed aircraft engineer for both Airbus and Boeing planes. SP

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) visited National Flight Test Centre, Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Tejas Division to assess the progress of the indigenous combat aircraft projects. During his visit, the Air Marshal flew the Series Production Trainer-01 of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, which is undergoing final developmental test sorties, to get a firsthand feel of its capabilities.

During the visit to the Tejas Division, the HAL team briefed the DCAS on the production status of trainer aircraft and the plan for deliveries of the LCA Mk 1A. The DCAS will also visit the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand Production

Line to assess the production status of the homegrown combat helicopter. The delivery of 10 LCH Limited Series Production aircraft for the IAF is nearing completion and the production of the Series Production aircraft is likely to commence shortly to meet the order of 145 Series Production LCH for the IAF and Indian Army.

Infrastructure

4TH RUNWAY AND ELEVATED TAXIWAY AT DELHI AIRPORT INAUGURATED

IGI Airport, New Delhi has become the first airport in the country to have four runways and becomes the first airport in the country to have an elevated taxiway. Total paved length of the runway is 4.4 km, and can handle wide-body aircraft including A380 & B777. The Dual-way elevated taxiway connects the Northern & Southern airfields and will help reduce taxi distance for aircraft by 7 km and annual CO2 emissions by 55,000 tonnes. Furthermore, four runway operations and the ECT will significantly increase capacity at IGIA – making it capable of handling 1700+ movements. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel inaugurated the new runway and dual-way elevated taxiway. SP

Dac Approves Procurement Of 26 Rafale Marine Aircraft

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), held under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved proposal on July 13, 2023 and granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA). The price and other terms of purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries. Further, integration of Indian designed equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations. SP

Air India Finalises 800 Leap Engine Order And Signs Services Agreement

Air India and CFM International have finalised the order for LEAP engines that will power the airline’s new fleet of 210 Airbus A320neo/A321neos and 190 Boeing 737 MAX family aircraft, which was first announced in February 2023. The companies also signed a multi-year services agreement that will cover the airline’s entire fleet of LEAP engines.

Air India has been a CFM customer since 2002, when the airline began operating Airbus A320ceo aircraft powered by CFM56-5B engines. In 2017, Air India began operating A320neos, becoming the first LEAP-1A powered operator in India. The airline currently has 27 LEAP-1A-powered A320neo family aircraft in its fleet.

“We are delighted to celebrate with CFM a major deal that will play a key role in our future development,” said Campbell Wilson, CEO and Managing Director of Air India.

“This order strengthens our presence in India and commits us to further support Air India’s development with the best CFM standards in terms of reliability, efficiency and customer support,” said Gaël Méheust, President and CEO of CFM International. SP