Flight International - (01)December 18 - January 07 2013

8/21/2019 Flight International - (01)December 18 - January 07 2013

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FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL

YEAR IN QUESTIONHOW MUCH OF ATOTAL AVIATIONPERSON ARE YOU?FESTIVE QUIZ P42

PACIFIC THREATSTop USAF ofcial soundswarning on relevance ofcurrent UAVs to criticaltheatre of operations 18

DUBAI TO BUYMiddle Easts moversand shakers in businessaviation go shopping ata new-look MEBA 20

PHOTO CONTEST

BREAKING

COVERWe reveal most stunningaviation images of 2012

flightglobal.com

3.20

18 DECEMBER 2012-7 JANUARY 2013


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18 December 2012-7 January 2013 |Flight International|3ightglobal.com

FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL

18 DECEMBER 2012-7 JANUARY 2013VOLUME 182 NUMBER 5371

Boeing,

USAirForce

Boeing outlines green test campaign P11. Sikorsky left as

sole bidder for USAF rescue helicopterP9

FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL

YEARINQUESTIONHOWMUCHOFATOTALAVIATIONPERSONARE YOU?FESTIVEQUIZP42

PACIFICTHREATSTopUSAFofcialsoundswarningonrelevanceofcurrentUAVstocriticaltheatreofoperations 18

DUBAITOBUYMiddleEastsmoversandshakersin businessaviationgoshoppingatanew-lookMEBA 20

PHOTOCONTEST

BREAKING

COVERWerevealmoststunningaviationimagesof2012

3.20

18DECEMBER2012-7 JANUARY2013

NEXT ISSUE FORECASTSIn our 8-14 January 2013 edition, wegather expert views to answer questionslooming large on the years aerospaceagenda. Plus: environment special

Lockhee

dMartin

PIC OF THE WEEKYOUR PHOTOGRAPH HEREDemetrius Vanspranghe, one of the

photographers whose work was shortlistedin our front-cover competition (see P34),took this shot of a Junkers Ju 52/3m atBrussels Air Museum in Belgium. Open agallery in flightglobal.coms AirSpacecommunity for a chance to feature here

Demetriu

sgalleryonightglobal.com/AirSpace

flightglobal.com/imageoftheweek

NEWS

THIS WEEK

8 Airbus plans more seats on A321neo

9 Disappointed Al Baker berates Boeing.Blade-out testing marks key point for

A350 engine

10 Complex avionics delay EC175 debut.Super Hornets may ease Canberras

F-35 worries

11 UK MoD waits until 2015 to place

ight-training contract

AIR TRANSPORT

12 A340 pilots used wrong runway chart.

Eritrean airline ban centres oncertication fears

13 Class war as BA pushes up premiums

14 A330s jammed-vane details emerge

15 Money worries delay Indian 70-seater.

CSeries powerplant certication slidesinto 2013

DEFENCE

16 USAF weighs Jayhawk possibilities.

RNZAF to seek CT-4E, King Air successors

17 Washington to re up future cruisemissile activities.

Typhoon release speeds MBDAs Meteortesting

NEWS FOCUS

18 UAVs irrelevant over Pacic

SPACEFLIGHT

19 Rivals target United Launch Alliances

monopoly

MEBA SHOW REPORT

20

European jet operators club together.Wallan lands Falcons as new model debuts

21

Charter players pledge to ght grey marketscourge

22 Gulfstream reassures G650 customers of2012 delivery.Apps get rms closer to their clients

23 Flohr rejects home comforts as he takes onrest of world.Sabena could handle an A380 completion

BUSINESS

24 ILFC sale hits China button

REGULARS

7 Comment50 Letters

52 Classified

55 Jobs

59 Working Week

55 JOB OF THE WEEKVirgin Atlantic, ightsafety manager, Crawley, West Sussex, UK

COVER STORY34 Crowning imagesThe ace snappers of

Flightglobals AirSpace community set astern challenge when it came to picking awinner in our cover competition. See foryourself as we present the contenders

FEATURES26 REVIEW OF THE YEARHeadline

makersWe select the years highlights,lowlights, near misses and major peoplemoves and bid some fond farewells

42 UNCLE ROGERS FESTIVE QUIZTestyour wits via questions on the yearsnews, plus a round of name-that-aircraft

KeithCampbell

COVER IMAGE

Keith Campbell won our

cover contest with one of

17,000-plus shots he took

at Waddington air show. It

shows a Dutch F-16. Ifyou take enough photos,

you get a few keepers!

he says, too modestly.

See Cover Story P34

I AM GLOBAL

Access the free Interactive Business Aircraft Guide


4/60

ightglobal.com

CONTENTS

Flightglobal reaches up to 1.3 million visitors from 220

countries viewing 7.1 million pages each month

BEHIND THEHEADLINES

For a full list of reader services, editorialand advertising contacts see P51

EDITORIAL

+44 20 8652 [email protected]

DISPLAY ADVERTISING


CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING


RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING


WEBMASTER

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SUBSCRIPTIONS


REPRINTS


FLIGHT DAILY NEWS


THE WEEK ON THE WEB

flightglobal.com

Vote at flightglobal.com/poll

Find all these items at flightglobal.com/wotw

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

24%

CRJ is back in business! CRJ will continue tohave niche appeal

A stay of execution

26%

50%

Total votes: 1,440

This week, Richard Branson is willing to bet 1m that the VirginAtlantic brand will still be around in five years. What do you think?Dead certRoughly 50:50Hed better dust off his chequebook

Last week, we asked what you think Deltas CRJ900 order means.You said:

Deck-handling trials of Northrop Grummans X-47B(below)

featured in a video on defence blog The DEW Line, as did awind-tunnel test of the Embraer KC-390. Israeli air space is

very small and congested,

wrote Arie Egozi on his blog

Ariel View. Commercial

trafc, general aviation, air

force manned aircraft and

unmanned air systemsare

growing in number. The

problems of controlare

obvious. He cited an incident in which pilots of two Israeli

Lockheed Martin F-16sying a training sortie suddenly

spotted a paragliderin front of them at the same low

altitude. Only immediate reaction avoided a fatal accident.This incident... is further proof that something drastichas

to be done to control the ying objects that are not consid-

ered aircraft and therefore are not under the strictregula-

tions of the Israeli civil aviation authority, argued Egozi.

HIGH FLIERSThe top five stories for the week just gone:

1In focus: Flight test of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

2BA to have 469-seat A380s and 214-seat 787-8s3Germanwings takes over nearly 30 Lufthansa A320s

4Pictures:First ying A350 prototype rolls out of assembly line

5USAF to develop new cruise missile

Flightglobaldispatched a team

of eight to a remote airport termi-

nal in Dubai, where our journal-

ists rubbed shoulders with someof the worlds wealthiestaviation

fans. At the Middle East

Business Aviation show held at

the citys new Al Maktoum

International, deep in the desert

exhibitors shared oor space

with check-in desks and duty-free

shopsin the still-to-open building.

It was almost a surrealplace to

hold an event, but once all the

stands, signage, carpets and

aircraft were in place it had the

feel of a bustling air show, says

business aviation editor KateSarsfield (See Show Report P20).

IN THIS ISSUECompanies listedAerosonic ....................................................25AgustaWestland .............................................9AirAsia ...........................................................8Airbus ................................8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15Airbus Military ..............................................10

Air France ..............................................13, 25Alenia Aermacchi .........................................16American Airlines ...................................11, 14Asiana Airlines .............................................13ATR ................................................................8AviancaTaca ...................................................8AVIC.............................................................24Avio .............................................................25BAE Systems .........................................11, 16Bell Helicopter ...............................................9Boeing ...............................8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17Bombardier .............................................8, 15British Airways ........................................13, 25CFM International ........................................24China Southern Airlines ................................13Comac ...................................................15, 24Dassault ................................................17, 25Delta Air Lines ..........................................8, 14Elbit Systems ...............................................25Embraer .......................................................25

Emirates ......................................................13Eritrean Airlines ............................................12Eurocopter ...................................................10Euroghter ...................................................17Europrop International .................................10Finmeccanica ..............................................25General Atomics Aeronautical Systems ........18General Dynamics........................................10General Electric ...........................................25Goodrich ................................................14, 25Hamilton Sundstrand ...................................25Hawker Beechcraft .......................................16IHI Aerospace ..............................................11International Airlines Group ..........................25International Lease Finance .........................24Korea Aerospace Industries ..........................16Korean Air ..............................................13, 14Lockheed Martin ..............................10, 16, 17Lufthansa ....................................................13Malaysia Airlines ..........................................13

MBDA ..........................................................17Mishra Dhatu Nigam ....................................25Mitsubishi ....................................................15MTU .............................................................24Nextant Aerospace .......................................16NH Industries ...............................................16Northrop Grumman ..................................9, 17Orbital Sciences...........................................19Pacic Aerospace.........................................16Pratt & Whitney ................................10, 15, 25Qantas.........................................................13Qatar Airways ...........................................9, 13Raytheon .....................................................17Rolls-Royce ..............................................9, 11Saab ...........................................................17Safran .........................................................25SAS .............................................................24Sikorsky ....................................................9,25Singapore Airlines ....................................8, 13Snecma .......................................................24

Southwest Airlines........................................14SpaceX ........................................................19SriLankan Airlines ........................................12Sukhoi .........................................................15

Tatarstan Airlines ..........................................15Thai Airways .................................................13Tulpar Technik ..............................................15United Technologies .....................................25Vueling Airlines ............................................25Virgin Atlantic .................................................8

4 |Flight International|18 December 2012-7 January 2013

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C O N S E R V A T I O N T H R O U G H A V I A T I O N I N N O V A T I O N

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Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh spent much of their lives promoting anessential balance between developing technologies and the preservation of thenatural environment. They would be pleased to know the Lindbergh Foundation andits Aviation Green Alliance are working to promote technological advances that easeaviations environmental footprint. Join our alliance, Aviation Green, and connect

with the growing number of leading individuals, companies and organizationsworking together for the future of aviationand all of humanity.

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COMPOSITES

INNOVATION

BENEFITS

REDUCED FUEL

CONSUMPTION

GREATER FATIGUE

RESISTANCE

The model airplanes Burt Rutan played with as a child helped inspire

innovation that transformed the aerospace industry. For his first

aircraft designs, Rutan drew on his experience with the light, plastic-

and-foam models. Though his goal was simplicity and ease of

construction, Rutans creations helped usher in the composites era in

aircraft construction. His radical conceptsfrom the ahead-of-its-time

Beechcraft Starship to the out-of-this-world SpaceShipOnepushed

the conceptual envelope, freeing aviation from the straightjacket of

derivative design. The cumulative environmental impact of Rutans

influence is literally incalculable. But there can be no doubt: the planet

breathes easier thanks to the countless efficiencies he pioneered.

Photo courtesy of Mark Greenberg Photography 2004

Simplicity and efficiency

drive great aircraft design.Its not an accident that the

best designs also are the

most environmentally friendly.

Burt Rutan FOUNDER / CHAIRMAN EMERITUS,

SCALED COMPOSITES

BURT RUTANCOMPOSITES VIRTUOSO


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9 11 April 2013Hamburg Messe, Germany

Organised by: In association with:

The destination forthe aircraft interiorsindustryAircraft Interiors Expo 20139-11 April 2013, Hamburg Messe, Germany

Aircraft Interiors Expo is the unrivalled launchpad for tomorrows designs in cabin interiors,in-flight entertainment, connectivity andpassenger services.

Register your interest to attend at

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7/60

COMMENT


See News Focus P18

When new battlefield technologies emerge, no onewants to be remembered for having failed to grasp

potential applications. Such was the fate of Frenchstrategist Ferdinand Foch, who in 1911 said: Air-planes are interesting toys, but of no military value.

Royal Navy history offers another cautionary exam-ple. In December 1941, battleship HMS Prince of Walesand battlecruiser HMS Repulsewere sunk by ImperialJapanese Navy Betty bombers. Admiral Sir ThomasPhillips, failing to grasp the potential of airpower, ledTask Force Z to disaster while trying to intercept theJapanese fleet north of Malaya without fighter cover.

However, sometimes a technology may fall short ofits touted benefits. When unmanned air vehicles first

started striking at terrorist targets and protecting troopsvia battlefield surveillance, many hailed them as an in-expensive, expendable replacement for manned combataircraft. But while UAVs proved effective in permissivethreat environments over Iraq and Afghanistan, theUSA is shifting its gaze to the Pacific, where the slow-moving machines are considered vulnerable. And,ironically, UAVs require more personnel than mannedaircraft. They are neither inexpensive, nor expendable.

In time, unmanned aircraft may prove able comple-ments to manned combat aircraft but with presenttechnology, they are not the panacea many assumed

them to be a decade ago.

High hopes dashed over the Pacic

Keep tabs on UAV makers

efforts to respond to the

demands of future operating

theatres via our UAVs channel:

flightglobal.com/uav

See Review of the Year P26

RexFeatures

Change resistors

NASA raised our Curiosity on Mars. Airbus plantedits flag in Alabama. A Superjet was lost in Indone-

sia. Richard Branson shook hands with Richard An-derson. Two Chinese-built capsules docked together in space. The world bid farewell to Moon walkerNeil Armstrong.

That was the year 2012 in the aerospace industry.For some, 12 months proved not nearly long enough.

US politicians managed to pull off an election, but atthe time of writing had failed to pass a budget for thefiscal year that began nearly three months ago. Bombar-

dier set a countdown for the first flight of the CSeries,but the clock ran out. Sales of light business jets wouldsurely recover by the fourth quarter; they didnt.

On the other hand, it was a good year for commercialairliners in production. After so many years of embar-rassing delays moving the A380, A400M and 787 out ofthe development phase, Airbus and Boeing polishedthe stain off their reputations by skillfully executingproduction rate increases while continuing to pad his-torically large order backlogs.

But it was a bad year for some commercial airlinersstill on the drawing boards. Boeing knocked the 777X offthe fast-track to authority to offer, while Airbus stumbledover building the wing for the first A350 XWB.

Certain types of deals were harder to make than ever.The US military neglected to add a new aircraft type toits inventory in 2012, a rare feat. Brazil, India, South

Korea and the United Arab Emirates said they would,but were unable to buy new fighters. Germany wasasked to approve a merger between EADS and BAESystems, but blew it up instead.

Meanwhile, others were just trying to keep it to-gether like the international partnership crumblingaround the Lockheed Martin F-35. Hawker Beechcraftdidnt quite succeed, winding down its jet divisionin bankruptcy.

On balance, however, the industry that enters 2013

is the same as the industry that passed into 2012, withmany of the biggest questions left unanswered. What isBoeings 777 strategy? Which new narrowbody enginedo airlines prefer? Can the F-35 survive a domesticspending crisis and a drop in international confidence?How will European industry consolidate?

Alas, the next 12 months offer little hope of clarity,but mark the diary: 2014 already looks set to be a yearof reckoning in the aerospace industry, full of surprisesbad and good.

Next year offers little hope of

clarity, but 2014 is set to be

full of surprises good and bad

For all its dramas, 2012 came and went without the biggest questions in aerospace being

answered. It might be the same story for 2013 but expect a reckoning soon afterwards

The year that wasnt


8/60

THIS WEEK

ightglobal.com8 |Flight International|18 December 2012-7 January 2013

For a round-up of our latest online news,

feature and multimedia content visit

flightglobal.com/wotw

ular A320s at Airbuss Broughtonfacility in the UK, said the carrierwas looking at how to get moreseats into the aircraft.

The carriers A320s are fittedwith 180 seats, the maximumnumber permissible.

AirAsia opted to stay with the

A320, having considered a pro-posed high-density BombardierCSeries, which would have beenconfigured with 160 seats.

As part of its new order, AirAsiais taking options on 50 A321neosas well as 50 more A320neos. Air-Asia will take delivery of its latest36 A320s up to 2016 including22 in 2015 alone while its extra64 A320neos will arrive between2017 and 2021. It already has 200A320neos on order, which will bedelivered during 2016-26.

The carrier will make an en-gine decision on the latest orderin January.

Airbus is examining a possibleA321 fuselage modification

that would aim to increase thepassenger capacity of theA321neo. The modificationwould potentially take theA321neo to 235 seats.

Exit limitations mean the A321

is certificated, under Europeanregulations, to transport a maxi-mum of 220 passengers. But Air-bus executive vice-president forprogrammes Tom Williams says ahigher-capacity version is one ofthe things were studying.

A321s have eight exits, four for-ward of the wing and four aft. Themodification would involve add-ing another pair of doors, in theform of an overwing exit, and mov-ing the position of the third pair.

Williams says the A321neo

would be the target for the pro-posed changes, which wouldallow a 235-seat configurationwithout a change in seat design.

Airbus has sought to increasethe seating on the A320 family byredesigning the galley area to usespace more efficiently, but totalseating has remained constrainedby exit limits.

Williams would not indicatewhether the study was being con-ducted for a specific customer.

But AirAsia chief Tony Fern-

andes, while confirming a neworder for 64 A320neo and 36 reg-

DEVELOPMENTDAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW BROUGHTON

Airbus plans more

seats on A321neoPossible fuselage modication is under consideration by theairframer to raise the variants capacity to 235 passengers

Airbus

Deliveries of AirAsias 264 A320neos will begin in 2016

DELTA AIMS FOR VIRGIN REBIRTHAIRLINESDelta Air Lines is to acquire Singapore Airlines 49%

share in UK operator Virgin Atlantic for $360 million, less than halfthe 600 million ($965 million) gure paid by SIA. The acquisition

includes the formation of a broader transatlantic agreement, com-

prising a metal-neutral joint venture with the carriers sharing costs

and revenues. Virgin chairman Richard Branson will retain his 51%

shareholding in the UK airline. The acquisition and joint venture will

be completed by the end of 2013, Delta says. The tie-up will provide

a combined transatlantic network covering 31 services between the

UK and North America, the majority serving London Heathrow.

UPGRADED MIG-29S ARRIVE IN INDIADELIVERYRussias RAC MiG has delivered the rst three of an

eventual 69 upgraded MiG-29UPG ghters to India, as part of a

$900 million contract. A further three air force aircraft are being

modernised in Russia, with the remainder to have new radar andmodern avionics equipment tted by Hindustan Aeronautics.

SOUTH AFRICAN DAKOTA CRASH KILLS 11ACCIDENTSouth Africas air force is investigating the cause of a

Douglas DC-3 Dakota crash, which killed 11 service personnel. The

almost 70-year-old transport came down in the Giant Castle area of

the Drakensberg mountain range in severe weather conditions

while ying between Waterkloof air force base near Pretoria and

Mthatha airport in the Eastern Cape Province on 5 December.

CHINA TO GET SPECIAL MISSION CRJ700 FLEETORDERBombardier has sold seven CRJ700 aircraft to an undis-

closed Chinese customer for $330 million, with the sum includ-

ing ancillary services. The Canadian airframer has provided nodetails about what the type will be used for, or how it will be

equipped, but refers to them as special mission aircraft.

ATR BOLSTERS BACKLOG WITH PAIR OF DEALSPURCHASESTurboprop manufacturer ATR has bolstered its order

book with a pair of commitments for its ATR 72-600 model.

Singapore-based lessor Avation has exercised options for four

ATR 72-600s, to be handed over during 2013 and 2014. The leasing

company has also exercised purchase rights for an additional three

72-600s, which are scheduled to arrive in 2014. Meanwhile, Latin

American airline group AviancaTaca has ordered 15 ATR 72-600s,

with options for a further 15, in a deal valued at almost $700 million.

Deliveries will begin in June 2013, says the Star Alliance carrier.

BOEING X-37B BEGINS SECOND TEST FLIGHTSPACEFLIGHTA US Air Force Boeing X-37B reuseable space plane

was successfully placed into low-Earth orbit on 11 December, follow-

ing its launch on board a United Launch Alliance Saturn V rocket

from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The un-

manned vehicle, one of two examples built, is on its second ight

according to Boeing. The second mission for OTV-1 [Orbital Test

Vehicle-1] demonstrates the vehicle is capable of multiple missions

and affordable access to space, says Paul Rusnock, vice-president

of Boeing government space systems. The US Air Force has own

the X-37B twice before for extended periods of time, but the service

has not revealed the nature of the spacecrafts missions. A second

vehicle, OTV-2, set a record for a reusable space vehicle in June of

this year when it completed a 469-day mission.

BRIEFING

Exit limitations mean

the A321 is

certificated... to

transport a maximum

of 220 passengers

Read Flightglobals update onthe A320neo programme at:flightglobal.com/a320neo


9/60

THIS WEEK


Complex avionics

delay EC175 debut

THIS WEEK P10

Sikorsky appears to be theonly potential contractor

willing to bid for the US AirForces combat rescue helicopter(CRH) requirement.

Sikorsky intends to continuewith its proposal to offer the airforce a proven, affordable com-bat rescue helicopter system toperform the critical mission ofsaving warfighters lives, the

company says.The company is likely to bid a

modified variant of its MH-60Black Hawk special operationsaircraft for the USAF tender. It isalready building Black Hawks aspart of the services operationalloss replacement effort to shoreup an existing fleet of HH-60GPave Hawks a type that will bereplaced by the CRH.

For a time, the USAF had con-sidered placing a sole-source con-tract with Sikorsky, before even-

tually bowing to pressure fromrivals to hold a full contest.

That now seems meaningless,as every other potential contend-er for the USAF contract, whichis capped at $6.84 billion, hasdecided not to bid for the pro-gramme. Many of the contractorsdropped out because of the eval-uation criteria for the bids,which, says Dan Goure, an

analyst at the Lexington Insti-tute, essentially makes this aprice shootout.

Northrop Grumman, whichhad partnered with EuropesAgustaWestland, planned to offera modified version of the lattersAW101 for the requirement. Butthe pair have now backed awayfrom bidding. Weve reachedthis conclusion based on an ex-

tensive evaluation of customerrequirements under the currentRFP, says Northrop.

Boeing, which had won theoriginal combat search and res-cue (CSAR-X) contract in 2006with its CH-47 Chinook, is alsodropping out. While both theBoeing H-47 Chinook and the

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey havewell-documented successes con-ducting search and rescue mis-sions, neither aircraft is competi-tive for this programme as it iscurrently structured, it says.

Bell Helicopter and EADSNorth America have also ruledthemselves out of the contest.

The USAF says that it iscommitted to an open and trans-

parent process in selecting a newhelicopter. To ensure this occurs,we are prohibited from releasinginformation while in the requestfor proposal and selection proc-esses, the service says.

Rolls-Royce is examining theresulting data after perform-

ing the crucial blade-off test forthe Trent XWB powerplant, theengine that will power the Air-bus A350 aircraft family.

Blade-off testing is designed toprove that the powerplant willwithstand the loss of a high-ener-gy fan blade by containing anydebris, preventing damage to thewing or other aircraft structures.

Performed on 29 November, itmarks a major milestone to-wards engine certification, saysthe manufacturer.

The test was flawlessly exe-cuted and the results gathered sofar are very encouraging, althoughit will take some weeks to analyseall data, R-R adds.

Airbus has been using anA380 testbed to conduct airbornetrials with the Trent XWB. Thefirst flying prototype of the A350,a -900 variant, was recentlyrolled from the final assemblyline to a testing facility where itawaits engine installation.

Separately, R-R has flown the

demonstrator engine for the Boe-ing 787-9, a higher-thrust versionof its Trent 1000 powerplant.

The manufacturer says it con-ducted the initial flight with aBoeing 747-200 testbed in Tuc-son, Arizona.

It has also completed a 150hendurance test at the manufac-turers UK facility in Derby, aswell as over-temperature trials.

R-R is upgrading the Trent1000 for the 787-9. The enginewill deliver 74,000lb (329kN) and

feature a new turbine case cool-ing system.

Qatar Airways chief executiveAkbar Al Baker has vented

his frustration about more tech-nical problems blighting hisBoeing 787s after the airlinesthird aircraft suffered an electri-cal issue on its 9 December de-livery flight and had to begrounded for repairs.

The carrier, which operated itsinaugural long-haul 787 service

on 13 December from its Dohabase to London Heathrow, has

received three 787s and it is dueto receive two more before theyear-end.

Speaking at Heathrow follow-ing the flight from Doha, AlBaker described his frustrationabout the latest problem andwarned Boeing that it had toraise its game.

Unfortunately our third 787has the same [generator control

unit] problem that diverted aUnited 787, he said. Fortunate-

ly it was on a delivery flight, butthe aircraft is grounded and I amvery disappointed with Boeing.They have to get their act togethervery fast because we will not ac-cept any more defects with ouraeroplanes because we have wait-ed too long for them.

Qatar is due to receive fivemore 787s during 2013 and willgradually introduce the type

across its network as the fleetexpands.

Disappointed Al Baker berates BoeingDELIVERYMAX KINGSLEY-JONES LONDON

PROCUREMENTDAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC

Sikorsky left as sole bidderfor USAF rescue helicopter

Evaluation criteria accused of creating price shootout deterring rivals from competing

CRH will replace the services HH-60 Pave Hawks

The upgraded Trent 1000

US

AirForce

Rolls-Royce

Follow Flightglobals take on the

global defence industry, go to:

flightglobal.com/dewline

PROPULSION

DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

Blade-out testingmarks key pointfor A350 engine


10/60

THIS WEEK



feature and multimedia content visit


Eurocopter has pushed back cer-tification of its in-development

EC175 medium twin by six months

to summer 2013, after it found theapproval process for the types in-house Helionix avionics suite to bemore demanding and complexthan initially envisioned.

Announced on 12 December,the deferral of the approval proc-ess until mid-2013 means entry-into-service is now pegged forSeptember next year. Certifica-tion was previously planned forlate 2012, with first delivery fol-lowing in the initial quarterof 2013.

The airframer says the certifi-cation process for the proprietaryHelionix avionics system to bedeployed on the EC175 has beenfar more demanding and com-plex than for previous legacy avi-onics systems.

Although Eurocopter has test-ed the system both on ground rigsand its flight-test aircraft, it hasdecided to expand its validationefforts. As a result of these testsit was decided to add two fullsoftware versions to ensure sys-

tem maturity at delivery, addingseveral additional months to the

Airbus Military has completedits critical function and reliabil-ity (F&R) test activity using A400Mdevelopment aircraft Grizzly 5,during which the production-standard transport was flown foran average of 15h per day.

Originally launched in earlyJune but halted for severalmonths because of a now-re-solved fault with Europrop Inter-nationals TP400-D6 turbopropengine, the F&R process accumu-lated a total of 300 flying hours.

Resuming in early November,the work took 26 days and 52flights to complete, with Grizzly 5

flying twice a day, Airbus Militarysays. A further six days were usedto perform routine maintenance.

Completing the F&R processwas a key requirement as the com-pany works towards securing fullcivil type certification from the Eu-ropean Aviation Safety Agency andinitial operating capability clear-ance from a committee appointedby the continents OCCAR defenceprocurement body. Both mile-stones are being targeted for duringthe first quarter of 2013. The firm

plans to deliver its first productionAtlas, MSN7, to the French airforce by the end of June.

Australia has sent a letter of re-quest (LOR) to the US De-fense Security Cooperation Agen-cy seeking information on costsand availability for a possiblepurchase of 24 additional BoeingF/A-18F Super Hornets.

According to a joint statementfrom Australias defence ministerStephen Smith and defence mater-iel minister Jason Clare, the LOR isthe latest step in a process assess-ing the nations air combat capabil-ity options in the light of delays to

the Lockheed Martin F-35A JointStrike Fighter and the retirement ofthe Royal Australian Air Forces 71F/A-18A/B Hornets.

The sending of this LOR doesnot commit Australia to purchasemore Super Hornets, it says. It isbeing sent so that the Australiangovernment can consider all

ROTORCRAFT DOMINIC PERRY LONDON

Complex avionicsdelay EC175 debutCertication for in-development helicopter is deferred by sixmonths as Eurocopter attempts to achieve system maturity

The first serially produced aircraft has flown its maiden sortie

Eurocopter

The F&R test process accumulated a total of 300 flying hours

Keep up to date with the latest

news from the rotorcraft sector:

flightglobal.com/helicopters

AIRLIFTER CRAIG HOYLE LONDON

A400M hits key test milestonecertification schedule, it says.

Eurocopter says the avionicssystem on the EC175 is the first to

be used by a rotorcraft that will becertificated to standards previous-ly seen only on the Airbus A380.

The two flying prototypes ofthe Pratt & Whitney CanadaPT6C-67E-powered type have sofar accumulated a total of 500hand are now progressing with en-durance trials.

Additionally, the airframerperformed the maiden sortie, last-ing 40min, of the first seriallyproduced EC175 from its Marig-nane production facility in the

south of France during the weekof 3 December.

Eurocopter has also revealedincreased performance for the air-craft, raising its recommendedcruise speed to 150kt (278km/h),an increase of 10kt over the previ-ous figure without affecting pay-load range.

The EC175 has accumulatedalmost 80 orders and commit-ments according to FlightglobalsAscend Online database.

COMBAT AIRCRAFT ELLIS TAYLOR SINGAPORE

Super Hornets may easeCanberras F-35 worries

options in 2013 with the latest costand availability information.

The timing of any decision indi-cates that this may be left for a newgovernment, with elections due in2013. In May, Smith announcedthat Canberra was pushing back theacquisition of an initial 12 F-35Asuntil 2014-2015 to reduce costs,adding that it would launch a transi-tion plan to assess options to ensurethat a gap does not emerge in theRAAFs air combat capability.

Australia received its 24 Super

Hornets between March 2010 andOctober 2011. The aircraft were ac-quired by the previous governmentto cover the gap between the retire-ment of the General DynamicsF-111 fleet and the introduction ofthe F-35A. It may eventually ac-quire as many as 100 of Lockheedsnew stealthy fighters.

Airb

usMilitary


11/60

THIS WEEK


A340 pilots

used wrong

runway chart

AIR TRANSPORT P12

Boeings plans for annual test-flight programmes to evalu-ate environmental technologieswill examine three or four devel-opments using a 787 in late 2013.

The airframer will finalisewhich technologies will be em-ployed early next year, but thecampaign will certainly include ahot-section nozzle made of ce-ramic matrix composites in theaircrafts Rolls-Royce Trent 1000engines, for which ground testingis already under way.

Boeing also wants to evaluatedoors and hatches made of recy-cled carbonfibre. While this willnot involve passenger entrydoors, says director of environ-mental performance Jeanne Yu,the teams aim to test componentsfor both pressurised and unpres-surised parts of the aircraft.

Under a programme, fundedby the US Federal Aviation Ad-ministration and bearing thesomewhat contrived monikerContinuous Lower Emissions,

Energy and Noise (CLEEN), theairframer plans to follow thesetests with advanced wing trials in2014-2015 while optimisedpower systems which could in-volve fuel cells and new engine-airframe integration concepts areon the agenda for 2016-2017.

Boeing designated an Ameri-can Airlines 737-800 as the firstecoDemonstrator platform ear-lier this year.

The UK Ministry of Defence isexpected to place a contract for

the remainder of its Military Fly-ing Training System (MFTS) pro-gramme during 2015, with indus-try partner Ascent Flight Traininghaving issued a request for pro-posals for the requirement.

The new capability will de-liver assets for use in elementary,

basic, multi-engine and fixed-wing rear crew training for the

Royal Air Force, Royal Navy andArmy Air Corps, Ascent said ina notification published on 10December. The MoDs partner forthe MFTS programme adds that itwill manage the procurementprocess to contract a holistictraining service, including thenew aircraft, in 2015.

Potential bidders have been

given up to 90 days to respond tothe document, with Ascent seek-

ing an output-based specifica-tion that includes supplyingaircraft, aircraft-related infra-structure and support to 2030and beyond.

In a statement, Ascent manag-ing director Jim Keeler says: Weare seeking to increase the use ofsynthetic training technologywhile continuing to train key

tasks via live flying to ensure bestvalue for money.

A 50:50 joint venture betweenLockheed Martin and BabcockInternational, Ascent has al-ready overseen the introductionof 28 BAE Systems Hawk T2 ad-vanced jet trainers. These areoperated by the RAFs 4 Sqnfrom the services Valley base onAnglesey.

ENVIRONMENT MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON

Boeing outlines green test campaignSeattle will trial a number of technologies on a Dreamliner in late 2013, including ceramic matrix engine components

Technologies included an on-

board fuel cell, variable-area fannozzle on one engine, adjustabletrailing-edge outboard of theailerons, and navigation equip-ment for more efficient air traf-fic management.

The fuel cell, supplied by Ja-pans IHI Aerospace, was aclosed-loop system, which breaksdown water into oxygen and hy-

drogen, using energy from the

engines, to provide additionalelectricity when excess power isneeded if, for example, all gal-leys are in use.

Its objective is not to providesurplus electricity independentlyfrom the engines, which wouldrequire fuelling with hydrogenbefore departure, but to employregenerative fuel cells for better

RECYCLING

Airframer taps auto giant BMW for carbonfibre know-how

Boeing is to partner with automo-

tive rm BMW to jointly develop

methods of recycling carbonbre

structures.

Both companies have signed a

collaboration agreement covering

joint research on carbonbre recy-

cling as well as sharing material and

manufacturing know-how.

The Munich-based company

plans to introduce two clean-sheet

vehicles in 2013 the electrically-

powered compact i3 model and

hybrid sports car i8 both of which

will feature carbonbre structures.

BMW will produce composite

components for the two cars at its

US plant in Moses Lake, 140mi

(250km) east of Seattle.

However, the nal assembly will

take place at its site in Leipzig,

Germany.

Planning the end-use of carbon-

bre products is especially impor-

tant, says Larry Schneider,

vice-president of product develop-

ment at Boeings commercial aircraft

division. We want to look at ways to

reclaim and reuse those materials

to make new products.

Boeing also wants to benet from

BMWs experience in serial carbon-

bre part fabrication.

onboard energy management,says Yu. Fuel cells could allowthe engines to be optimised toavoid catering for non-criticalpower consumption, she adds,but reducing the size and weightof cells is a challenge.

The variable-area fan nozzlemainly aims to cut noise. Locatedon the back of the nacelle, it ex-pands the fan exit area by about10% for take-off to slow the air-stream while increasing massflow. At altitude, the diameter re-

duces for cruise efficiency.While a key purpose of the

adaptive trailing edge a 1.8m(6ft) control tab outside the ailer-ons, which can be lowered by 60 is to validate simpler actuationdevices, the team also evaluatedlower noise resulting from higherlift capability and the tabs widerimpact on flow fields.

American Airlines provided a 737-800 for use as a flying testbed

UK MoD waits until 2015 to place ight-training contractPROCUREMENT CRAIG HOYLE LONDON

Boeing

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on all the US defence news at



12/60

AIR TRANSPORT


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aircraft proles for the latest news, images

and information on civil and military

programmes at flightglobal.com/profiles

Concern over certificationprocesses led to the blanketban on Eritrean operators duringthe latest revision of the Europe-an Commissions airline blacklist.Eritreas civil aviation authority,ER-CAA, had told the Commis-sion it had yet to resolve a safetyconcern over the certificationprocess leading to the issuance ofan air operators certificate.

This had been one of three sig-nificant problems alongside air-worthiness and air navigation originally highlighted during anICAO audit in November 2010.

The ER-CAA did not submitany information regarding correc-tive actions to address the certifi-

cation issue, nor any informationon operational oversight of Eri-

trean carriers, states formal docu-mentation accompanying theCommissions blacklist revision.

Having declined to attendprevious consultation meetingsto clarify the situation, it adds,the ER-CAA gave a presentationto the European air safety com-mittee on 21 November.

While the ER-CAA told thecommittee it considered the certi-fication issue addressed, this didnot convince the committees rep-resentatives. In view of the air

safety committee they failed toadequately demonstrate they hadtaken comprehensive action to

address all aspects of the signifi-cant safety concern, the docu-mentation states.

They were also unable to pro-vide clarity on the oversight ar-rangements associated with theaircraft listed on AOCs issued by

Eritrea which include wet-leasedaircraft from foreign air carriers.

It says, as a consequence, these

aircraft are listed on several AOCs,which does not comply with in-

ternational safety standards.Eritrean Airlines told the com-

mittee it operates two AirbusA320s on services to Rome undera wet-lease arrangement. But thecarrier did not satisfy the commit-tees demand for clarity on over-sight and control of its operations.

While the Commission ac-knowledges the efforts to addressEritreas safety deficiencies, it saysthe Eritrean authorities are not yetable to enforce safety standards onthe countrys airlines.

Investigations into an unusualdeparture by a SriLankan Air-lines Airbus A340-300 at LondonHeathrow have again underlinedconcerns over take-off perform-ance calculations.

The departure generated con-sternation after the aircraft wasphotographed climbing out of theairport at a relatively low heighton 5 February.

Its crew had expected a full-length take-off, but instead accept-ed an invitation to depart from theSB7 intersection about 3,000ft(915m) along runway 09R.

The pilots did not, however,have a regulated take-off weightchart for the intersection depar-ture, so the captain used a differ-ent airport chart with a similarrunway length.

Data derived from a chartfor a different runway may not becorrect because obstacles affect-ing the runway in use are not con-sidered, says the UK Air Acci-dents Investigation Branch.

Although the crew discussed afull-thrust take-off they opted in-

stead for a flexible take-off, a pro-cedure that enables using only

the necessary thrust to becomeairborne. The calculation in-

volves assuming a higher air tem-perature the flexible tempera-ture as a limiting element.

The crew calculated the take-off speeds and flexible tempera-ture and entered the data into theA340s multifunction control anddisplay unit. But this data wasnot separately recorded, and theinquiry was unable to verify theperformance calculation.

SriLankans pilots have an al-ternative if specific take-off chartsare not available. They can use

quick-reference tables to deter-mine take-off performance. Butthe AAIB points out that thesewould have required the pilots toconduct a full-thrust take-off be-cause of the obstacles on the run-way 09R departure path.

Although the flexible tempera-ture used was not recorded thecaptain recalled low to mid-30s the inquiry found the maximumto be 38C.

It determined that the take-offrun required for the jet was

2,268m. The distance availablewas 2,854m and the A340 be-

came airborne after some

2,650m. A relief captain, whowas present in the cockpit dur-ing take-off, had noticed the ac-celeration was slow and suggest-ed applying full thrust, butneither of the operating pilotsclaimed to have heard this.

While the investigators statethat it is probable that the flexi-ble thrust used was sufficient, themethod used by the crew to ob-tain the performance data wasnot in accordance with the air-line training.

Flight-data recorder informa-tion was overwritten before it

could be analysed. However, the

AAIB points out that the take-offdata would not have been re-corded anyway, and is recom-mending that such informationbe retained.

Completeness of the investi-gation was restricted by the lackof this essential data, it says.This problem could apply toany future investigation wherethe calculated take-off data maybe of interest.

SriLankan Airlines, it adds,has told its pilots that take-off

must not commence without rel-evant data.

Eritrean airline ban centres on certication fearsSAFETYDAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

INVESTIGATIONDAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

A340 pilots used wrong runway chartSriLankan Airlines aircraft was captured departing London Heathrow airport at a relatively low height after slow take-off

criminalgalleryonightglobal.com/AirSpace

SriLankan has issued revised procedures to its pilots

The EC says Eritrean

authorities are notyet able to enforce

safety standards on

the countrys airlines

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safety at our dedicated channel:

flightglobal.com/safety


13/60

AIR TRANSPORT


Details emerge ofA330 jammed-vaneincident

AIR TRANSPORT P14

CONFIGURATION DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

Class war as BA pushes up premiumsUK carrier takes bolder stance than European rivals on A380 with among the lowest number of economy seats in market

British Airways configurationfor its Airbus A380s illus-trates a heavy weighting towardspremium passengers, with almostthe lowest levels of economy seat-ing selected by operators of thetype. Its double-deck aircraft willhave a four-class layout with 469seats, comprising 212 on theupper deck and 257 on the lower.

The A380s will have 14 first-class seats and 44 business-classseats on the main deck, plus 199seats in the economy cabin, while

the upper deck will have 53 busi-ness-class, 55 premium-economyand 104 economy seats.

This will result in only 303economy-class seats in the A380,only two more than Korean Air,which has the lowest figure foreconomy accommodation.

However, BAs combined first-and business-class sections willhave 111 seats, higher than anycurrent operator and second onlyto the 114 indicated by JapansSkymark Airlines whose pre-

mium section will not have afirst-class cabin. Weve reallythought hard about it, says BA.Weve made sure we fit a spreadof seats over various cabins thatwe know were going to be able tofill. We dont want to be in theposition of removing seats. Its a

very expensive job that takes a lotof downtime.

BAs emphasis on the premiumcabin of the A380 is bolder thanthat of European competitors AirFrance and Lufthansa, but bothhave opted to shift their A380 con-figuration balance towards thehigher end of the fare spectrum.

Air France has carved out a 38-seat premium-economy sectionfrom the economy cabin, reduc-

ing the overall A380 capacityfrom 538 seats to 516.

Lufthansa, which has 106 seatsin first and business, also intendsto upgrade economy seats as partof its planned introduction ofpremium-economy across itslong-haul fleet. It has yet to con-

firm the effect on the layout of itsA380s, which have 526 seats, butinsists the premium cabin capac-ity will not be reduced. BAs A380configuration will already in-clude a 55-seat premium-econo-my cabin on the upper deck.

THREE CLASSES

Asian carriers have typicallyopted to retain a three-class layout.Singapore Airlines reconfigured

its later A380s but skipped premi-um-economy in favour of increas-ing the business-class cabin. It hasfitted 26 additional business-classseats, taking the types overall seat-ing down from 471 to 409.

This low-density configurationis similar to that on Korean Airs407-seat A380s, which accommo-date only 301 economy passen-gers. The other 106 seats are givenover to premium cabins, with nopremium-economy section.

Malaysia Airlines had consid-

ered a premium-economy sectionbut opted instead for greater busi-ness-class capacity. Earlier thisyear, the carrier indicated itthought selling a business-classcabin would be easier. Thai Air-ways and China Southern Air-lines, among newer operators ofthe type, have also chosen to fit athree-class configuration. KoreasAsiana Airlines has yet to dis-close its A380 seating plans.

Qantas stands alone in havingreduced the premium offering on

its A380s, cutting back the busi-ness-class cabin by eight seats to

fit nearly 40 more economy seats.Emirates fitted additional

economy seats to some A380s,without cutting the premiumcabin, as it filled space madeavailable by removal of a crewrest area. This took capacity to517 seats the same figure citedby Qatar Airways for its A380fleet. Qatar Airways has givenfew other details of its intendedconfiguration, beyond suggesting

a 42-seat business cabin. Emir-ates A380s have 76 business-class and 14 first-class seats.

BA will introduce its first A380in July, with two more deliveredin August and October. It willalso take delivery of its first Boe-ing 787-8 in May, and revealed itwill fit 214 seats in the twinjet.

There will be no first-classcabin in the 787-8s, but the typewill feature a three-class layoutwith 35 business seats, 25 premi-um-economy and 154 economy

seats. Four 787s will be deliveredto the carrier next year.

Twelve A380s are on order forthe airline as well as 24 787s, ofwhich eight will be -8s. BA hasyet to disclose the planned layoutof the 16 larger 787-9s. Theycould have three- or four-cabinconfigurations, it says. BA hasyet to identify the routes onwhich the jets will be deployed.The initial destinations will beunveiled in spring 2013.

Airbus

BAs combined first- and business-class sections will have 111 seats, higher than any current operator

A380 SEATING CONFIGURATIONS

Customer First BusinessPremiumeconomy

Economy Total

Air France (1) 9 80 - 449 538

Air France (2) 9 80 38 389 516

British Airways 14 97 55 303 469

China Southern 8 70 - 428 506

Emirates (1) 14 76 - 399 489

Emirates (2) 14 76 - 427 517

Korean Air 12 94 - 301 407

Lufthansa 8 98 - 420 526

Malaysia Airlines 8 66 - 420 494

Qantas (1) 14 72 32 332 450

Qantas (2) 14 64 35 371 484

Singapore Airlines (1) 12 60 - 399 471

Singapore Airlines (2) 12 86 - 311 409

Skymark Airlines - 114 280 - 394

Thai Airways 12 60 - 435 507

NOTES: Other preliminary congurations include Air Austral (about 840), Qatar Airways (517),Transaero (about 700). SOURCE: Customer data

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14/60

AIR TRANSPORT


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SAFETYDAVID LEARMOUNT LONDON

A330s jammed-vane details emergeAirbus reviews resistance of sensors to icing after incident which led to urgent drafting of emergency countermeasures

More detail has emergedabout the nature of theevent that sparked the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency to issuean emergency airworthiness di-rective requiring airlines to pre-pare their Airbus A330 and A340pilots to cope with the effects ofstuck angle-of-attack vanes.

As an A330 was climbingthrough FL113 (11,300ft, 3,500m)at about 250kt (463km/h) indi-cated airspeed, with the outsideair temperature at -12C (10F),

the angle-of-attack vanes becamestuck at an indication of 5.

Airbus says it has yet to deter-mine whether this was icing-related or some other fault, butthe former appears likely becausethe unit, manufactured byGoodrich, became unstuck duringthe descent.

The pilots had no direct indica-tion of the stuck vanes and contin-ued to climb toward cruise alti-tude. But at FL310, as the Machnumber increased, the effect of the

stuck vanes showed itself throughthe activation of the alpha protstall-protection system, whichpitched the nose down. Effective-ly, the combination of high Mach

David Learmount comments onoperational and safety issues atflightglobal.com/learmount

MODIFICATION STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Carriers instructed to fit automatic 737 pitot heating to cut risk of ice problem

US airlines will be required to t

modern-variant Boeing 737s with

automated air data sensor heating

systems under a new airworthiness

directive. The hardware change isbeing initiated after three instances

in 2002-2003 of pilots failing to

manually activate air data sensor

heating systems on 737-800s.

Air data sensors, which include

pitot tubes, can provide incorrect or

misleading information to the pilots if

partially or fully blocked by ice. The

automated heating system will elimi-

nate the risk of a loss of control if

the pilot neglects to manually activate

the 737s air data de-icing system.

More than 1,000 737s are affect-

ed by the directive, which the USFederal Aviation Administration has

approved 10 months after proposing

the change. Carriers operating

737NGs will have 24 months to com-

plete the changes, which the FAA esti-

mates will cost $17,300 per aircraft about $18 million eet-wide. It in-

creased this estimate after several

carriers complained the original gure

was too low. Seven carriers, including

Korean Air, Delta Air Lines, American

Airlines and Southwest Airlines, com-

plained about the 24-month time-frame for compliance, but failed to

persuade the FAA to extend the period

to at least 30 months, despite argu-

ments the timing of the rule will re-

quire modications outside the heavy

maintenance cycle.

Cockpit crew representatives alsorequested the proposal should in-

clude an alerting system for pilots. But

while the FAA agreed pilots should

receive a warning if the heating sys-

tem does not automatically activate, it

rejects revising the directive because

the current instrument panel congu-

ration would already provide an alert.

We have determined that the

existing ightcrew alerting for pitot

heat malfunctions provides ade-

quate ightcrew alerting for pitot

heat malfunctions whether the

system is manually or automaticallyactivated, it adds.

Rob

EdgcumbePhotographygalleryonightglobal.com/AirSpace

Delta and others pressed for more time to make the changes

number and a falsely indicated 5angle of attack misled the A330sflight-control system into con-cluding the aircraft was ap-proaching a high-altitude stall, soit took automatic action to reducethe angle of attack.

At all times during the flight,says Airbus, the indicated air-speed was reading correctly, butthe stall-protection system de-pends on angle-of-attack readings.

The crew levelled the aircraftand turned off all three air data ref-

erence units. This action took theaircraft out of normal flight lawinto alternate, which de-activatedthe stall-protection system. Thepilots then reviewed the situationand decided to divert. During de-scent, Airbus notes, the angle-of-attack vanes became operational.

When the event occurred, Air-bus notified its customers, via anall operators telex, as well asEASA under the mandatory oc-currence reporting system. How-ever, there has been no call for a

formal incident investigation.After consultation with Airbus,

EASA issued an emergency air-worthiness directive requiring air-lines to amend A330 and A340

flight manuals to include a drill forpilots to adopt if this situation oc-curs. This procedure largely re-flects the actions of the incidentcrew: level out taking account ofsafety altitude maintain the sameairspeed, and trip out two of thethree air data units to achieve alter-nate flight-control law and disen-gage the angle-of-attack protection.

Airbus has praised the A330pilots systems knowledge andairmanship. During the remain-der of the flight to the diversionairport, which was uneventful,

Airbus notes the pilots kept aclose eye on their attitude, powerand airspeed relationship, be-cause neither the artificial hori-zon nor the airspeed indicatorwas affected by the angle-of-at-tack sensor problem.

Airbus says this is the onlyknown occurrence of this type,but it is reviewing the design of

its heated sensors and their resist-ance to icing.

No other instance of the problem has been noted by the airframer

Airbus


15/60

AIR TRANSPORT


Oslo threatens

NH90 order

cancellation

DEFENCE P16

Financing considerations arecontinuing to delay the for-mal launch of Indias regionaltransport aircraft programme.

National Aerospace Laborato-ries hoped to be granted clearanceto issue an expression of interestbefore Indias fiscal year ends on31 March 2013. But NAL acting

director Shyam Chetty believesthis is unlikely to happen untilafter that date.

There are a lot of policy issuesthat need to be ironed out to dothis, especially since it will in-volve a large amount of money,says Chetty. It will take sometime before we get clearance.

NAL has held discussions withdomestic and international aero-space players on how to imple-ment the programme.

Industry has said under what

conditions they would be willingto participate, says Chetty.

Weve taken all their input andawait government clearance torelease an expression of interest.When this is released, we can getformal inputs from industry andstart the programme.

Initially there was great reluc-tance from the government to en-

list international partners to sharerisks. But the large degree of in-

ternational content and participa-tion on indigenous aircraftprojects such as the Comac C919,Mitsubishi Regional Jet and theSukhoi Superjet 100 have high-lighted the important role inter-national collaboration can play.

The government is still grap-

pling, however, with how to di-vide costs and share risks with

the private sector.How do we finance a pro-

gramme with large public sectorfunding, but larger private sectorparticipation? asks Chetty. Itsnot an easy job to get money intothis programme in a transparentand acceptable manner for all.

While the regional aircraft is

envisaged as having 70-90 seats,developers have yet to decidewhether it should be turbofan orturboprop-powered. NAL leanstoward a turboprop, noting ad-vances in technology and citingthe average 500nm (925km) sec-tors for which it is intended.

Turboprop designs would alsooffer suitability for military oper-ations, such as maritime patrolfor Indias coastguard, whileChetty suggests a military variantcould have a rear ramp. NAL fore-

casts overall demand for up to500 of the type in India.

Developers are leaning towards a flexible turboprop configuration

AIRFRAMES GREG WALDRON BENGALURU

Money worries delay Indian 70-seaterUnresolved issues relating to nance and partnership deals hold up launch of indigenous regional transport programme

CSeries powerplant certication slides into 2013PROPULSION STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Certification for the Pratt &Whitney PW1524G gearedturbofan is set for early 2013.

The engine manufacturers up-dated timing indicates a delayfrom December certification forthe engine that both powers theBombardier CSeries aircraft fam-ily and ushers in P&Ws new classof turbofans, featuring fuel-savingreduction gears between the low-

APPROVALTOM ZAITSEV OTTAWA

Russian authorities appear close to clearing CRJ900

Russian authorities indicateBombardier is nearing long-sought

type certication from the state for

its CRJ900 regional jet.

Absence of domestic certication

for the twinjet obstructed a plan by

Tatarstan Airlines, in 2007, to ac-

quire six of the type. The CRJ900 is

a potential competitor to the Sukhoi

Superjet 100. But speaking at an

aerospace industry event in Ottawa,

Russian deputy minister of econom-ic development Dmitry Sazhin said:

Im glad to inform that the process

of the CRJ900 certication is near-

ing successful completion.

He adds that CIS airworthiness

authority ARMAK has resolved the

remaining issues after the airframer

submitted all of the required materi-

als pertaining to the approval proce-

dure. We may expect it to nalise

before 2013, he says, pointing outthat ARMAK has already awarded a

type certicate for the Bombardier

Q400, while Russian maintenance

specialist Tulpar Technik has gained

approval to provide technical support

for Bombardiers entire product line.

About 100 smaller Bombardier

jets, including CRJ200s and busi-

ness jets, are in service with several

Russian carriers.

pressure turbine and inlet fan.We are very close to PW1500G

certification, P&W says. We arefinishing up the last few remain-ing tests over the coming weeksand we expect certification earlynext year.

The PW1524G entered flighttests in January and by mid-yearhad accumulated 200h on a Boe-ing 747 testbed and about 1,000h

of further testing on the ground.Engine certification was origi-

nally timed for late 2012 to sup-port Bombardiers plan to com-plete first flight of the CSeriesbefore 2013 but this was pushedback in November.

Bombardier executives notedthe timing of engine certificationwas a factor in the decision. ButP&W said in November that certi-

fication of the powerplant re-mained on track for December.

The PW1524G is the first in aseries of four new models featur-ing the geared drive system, in-cluding the PW1100G for the Air-bus A320neo, PW1200G for theMitsubishi Regional Jet and thePW1400G for the Irkut MS-21.

P&W planned to certificate thePW1200G first to support MRJ firstflight in the second quarter of2012, but that timetable was de-layed more than a year.

In September, P&W said enginecertification for the PW1200G was

postponed from end-year 2012 tomid-year 2013.

At the time, P&W said the delayto the MRJ engine certification wasnecessary so the company couldfocus resources on completing en-gine certification for the CSeriesby December.

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16/60

DEFENCE


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defencenewsletter

The US Air Force has startedsearching for options to up-

grade or replace its 20-year-oldfleet of about 178 Hawker Beech-craft T-1A Jayhawks, which areused mostly as advanced trainingjets for airlift and tanker pilots.

Assigned to the services Air

Education and Training Command(AETC), the Hawker 400-derived

T-1A is young compared with theair forces 50-year-old fleet of morethan 450 Northrop T-38C Talons,which serve as lead-in trainers forfighter and bomber pilots.However, the Jayhawk derivesfrom the commercial market,where newer models offer greater

fuel efficiency and lower mainte-nance cost.

The USAF wants to study op-tions that include upgrades tothe current platform, acquiring areplacement platform or other op-tions not yet identified, theAETC says.

Hawker Beechcraft and Nex-tant Aerospace have launched a

major upgrade programme for theHawker 400, which adds new en-gines, replacement avionics andwinglets. Nextant has already de-livered the 400XT, while HawkerBeechcrafts programme has beendelayed for nearly a year.

The AETC is also consideringacquiring very light jets as anotheroption to replace the T-1A. A mar-ket survey released in Novemberasks industry to provide data aboutthe performance and cost of jets inthe very light category weighing

below 4,540kg (10,000lb).Market surveys are a very early

step in a process that sometimesleads to a funded acquisition pro-gramme, but also signal the airforces informal interest in mak-ing a fleet change.

Its simply an attempt to dis-cover what technology industryhas to offer that could save money

while maintaining our perform-ance and capability standards fortraining, the AETC says.

The T-1A fleet study comes asthe command continues to pur-sue a requirement to replace itsT-38s by the end of the decade.Candidates include the AleniaAermacchi M-346-derived T-100,BAE Systems Hawk T2, a Boeingclean-sheet design and the Lock-heed Martin/Korea AerospaceIndustries T-50.

USAirForce

The service mostly uses T-1As to train its airlift and tanker pilots

STUDYSTEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

USAF weighs Jayhawk possibilitiesServices Air Education and Training Command to also consider replacing Hawker 400 derivative, or buying very light jets

ROTORCRAFT DOMINIC PERRY OSLO

Oslo threatens order cancellation asNH90 delays leave naval eet short

Oslo has again warned NH In-dustries (NHI) that it must re-solve Norwegian concerns overthe performance and capability ofthe NH90 naval helicopter, or facethe cancellation of its order.

Deputy defence minister Erikwre Thorshaug insists Oslo willcontinue to hold [NHI] to ac-count as delays to the pro-gramme have left it without heli-copters deployed on some of theRoyal Norwegian Navys frigatesfollowing the retirement of some

of its aged Westland Lynx.Norway has a commitment for

14 NH90s dating from 2001. Deliv-eries should have been completedin 2008, but it has so far received asolitary aircraft, with a second dueto be handed over imminently.We are focused on the productthats delivered, says Thorshaug.They should have the capabilitiesthat are in the contract and we will

continue to be a customer that

holds the [manufacturer] responsi-ble to deliver what is agreed. Weare focused that the NH90s we takedelivery of should meet the opera-tional standards we want.

Although its contract with NHIincludes possible financial penal-ties should the consortium fail tomeet targets, Thorshaug warnsthat should be the least of its con-cerns. If they fail to deliver, what

is at stake is not fines or penalties

but the whole contract. Theyneed to deliver, and that has beencommunicated to NH Industries.We are talking about months inthat respect.

Norway has already indicateda willingness to investigate alter-natives to the NH90, with theSikorsky MH-60R Seahawk themost likely candidate. NHI wasunavailable for comment.

TRAINING

RNZAF to seekCT-4E, King Airsuccessors

Norwegiandefenceministry

Norway has received only one of the 14 NH90s it ordered in 2001

New Zealand is to issue a re-quest for tender for a new

military pilot training capability,to replace its Pacific AerospaceCT-4E and Beechcraft King AirB200 aircraft.

We have invested in a moderngeneration of new and upgradedaircraft and helicopters, says de-fence minister Jonathan Coleman.The tools to develop the flyingstandards of our trainee pilots arealso required. The tender being of-

fered is to supply a new perma-nent pilot training capability in-cluding aircraft [leased or owned],a simulator package, and a main-tenance and support package.

The service lives of the RoyalNew Zealand Air Forces 13CT-4E primary trainers is due toend in 2018, while a lease deal forfour King Air advanced trainers isto expire in the same year.

Keep track of news from the

defence aviation sector at

flightglobal.com/defence


17/60

DEFENCE


UAVs irrelevant

over Pacic

NEWS FOCUS P18

DELIVERIES

Russia gets first Su-30SM fightersRussias air force has received its rst two Sukhoi Su-30SM multi-

role ghters, with the pair having been delivered to the services test

and evaluation centre at Akhtubinsk from Irkutsk in late November.

Moscow signed a production order in March 2012 to acquire 30 of

the new model, with deliveries due to be completed by 2015.

Separately, the fourth prototype of Sukhois developmental

PAK-FA/T-50 ghter made a 40min ight debut from the KnAAPO

aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on 12 December. The com-

panys test eet of the type has now completed more than 200

ights since January 2010.

Four manufacturers are to beawarded sole-source con-

tracts to develop technology for anew Long Range Standoff (LRSO)cruise missile programme for theUS Air Force. The deals will beplaced with Boeing, Lockheed

Martin, Northrop Grumman andRaytheon. These firm fixed-pricecontracts will procure trade stud-ies in support of the Long RangeStandoff programme in prepara-tion for the technology develop-ment phase, a contract solicita-tion notice says. The governmentintends to solicit, negotiate andaward to the contractors listedabove using other than full andopen competition procedures.

Responses to the tender aresought by 20 December, with a

new missile expected to replacethe USAFs ageing and dwindlingarsenal of nuclear and conven-tionally armed Boeing AGM-86air launched cruise missiles,along with Raytheons stealthyAGM-129. It could be carried bytypes including the Boeing B-1Band B-52H and Northrops B-2.

The solicitation is further evi-dence that the air force is seriousabout fielding the next generationlong-range strike family of sys-

tems, which will likely includestandoff cruise missiles capableof penetrating contested air-space, says Mark Gunzinger, ananalyst at the Center for Strategicand Budgetary Assessments.

As integrated air defence sys-

tems are becoming more lethal, itis more difficult for existingweapons to penetrate hostile ter-ritory. The LRSO must be muchstealthier and far more resistantto countermeasures than theweapons it will replace, and alsooffer longer range, the potential tocarry a variety of different pay-loads and potentially at greaterspeed, says Dan Goure, an analystat the Lexington Institute. A new-generation design also might beable to loiter over an area or be as-

signed to a new target in-flight.Gunzinger says the programme

could potentially lead to a jointdevelopmental effort with the USNavy to also replace the lattersRaytheon Tomahawk land-attackmissiles. But while Goure be-lieves the potential exists for theservices to jointly develop such aweapon, he argues that the USAFmay not be willing to accept thesize compromises that mightcome with naval launch.

TECHNOLOGYDAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC

Washington to fireup future cruisemissile activitiesFour US contractors to receive development contracts linkedto air forces planned pursuit of long-range standoff weapon

For commentary on the latest

global defence news, go to


AEurofighter combat aircrafthas released an MBDA Me-

teor beyond visual-range air-to-airmissile for the first time, with themilestone having been achievedover a UK test range.

Performed by a BAE Systemstest pilot using the UKs TyphoonInstrumented Production Aircraft1, the 4 December event includedejecting a telemetry-equipped test

round from a rear-fuselage mis-sile station over the Qinetiq firingrange off Aberporth, west Wales.

The missile motor was fired,providing data that will allow themissile launch envelope to be ex-panded, says Eurofighter. Theweapon is powered by a scramjetrocket developed by MBDA Ger-many subsidiary Bayern-Chemie.

Being integrated as part of afuture enhancements programmefor the Eurofighter, Meteor is de-

signed to be a European succes-sor to the Raytheon AIM-120AMRAAM which currently armsthe type.

Meteor is scheduled to enteroperational use with Swedish airforce Saab Gripen fighters in2014-2015, before also beingfielded by the Eurofighters of Ger-many, Italy, Spain and the UK,and Frances Dassault Rafales

from later this decade.A series of 21 development

and test firings have previouslybeen performed using a Gripentestbed and a Panavia Tornado F3trials aircraft.

MBDA was expected to deliverits first production missiles underthe six-nation programme beforethe end of 2012.

BAESystems

The work involved a BAE Systems test pilot flying a Eurofighter

WEAPONSCRAIG HOYLE LONDON

Typhoon release speedsMBDAs Meteor testing

UnitedAircraft


18/60


For free access to Flightglobals Defence

e-newsletter visit flightglobal.com/

defencenewsletter

Unmanned air vehicle typeswhich are currently being op-

erated by the US Air Force wouldbe irrelevant for use in the Pacifictheatre of operations, accordingto a top service official.

During the past 10 years, theUSAF has built up a still growingfleet of slow moving but persist-ent General Atomics Aeronauti-cal Systems MQ-1 Predator and

MQ-9 Reaper unmanned air sys-tems. While those aircraft haveprovided US ground forces withunprecedented situational aware-ness in Iraq and Afghanistan, theyare too vulnerable to be used in ahigh-threat environment.

We are now shifting to a thea-tre where there is an adversaryout there who is going to have avote on whether I have that star-ing eye over the battlefield 24[hours a day], seven [days aweek], 365 [days a year], and Im

pretty certain they are not goingto allow that to happen, saysGen Mike Hostage, commanderof the USAFs Air Combat Com-mand. The fleet Ive built up and Im still being prodded tobuild up too is not relevant inthat new theatre.

NEW WARFARE

Hostage says the air force willhave to adjust its force structureto meet the demands of the Pacif-ic theatre. But, he emphasises, it

has no intention of backing awayfrom the capability that un-manned aircraft bring and thenew style of warfare that theyenable. Instead, the service willhave to adjust its perspective onwhats realistic in this new thea-tre, he told a Center for Strategicand International Studies (CSIS)forum in Washington DC on 30November.

Some level of equipmentdrawdown is all but inevitable, asthe USAF will not need to main-

tain 65 combat air patrols unlessthere are major ground combat

operations under way, says DanGoure, an analyst at the Lexing-

ton Institute. They are inevitablygoing to have to park some ofthose [UAVs], just because of themanpower requirements, hesays. However, this could free upthe resources needed to build anew intelligence, surveillanceand reconnaissance (ISR) plat-form to tackle the emerging anti-access/area-denial challengesemerging around the globe.

Goure says such a platformshould be unmanned and de-signed for flexibility to conduct

ISR, electronic attack and cyber-warfare missions. Unmanned air-craft have certain advantages, asno pilot is placed in harms wayand the platforms offer a muchgreater endurance than mannedaircraft. They dont whine abouthaving to go to the bathroom, theydont get tired, so I can put themover a target for 30h and cycle thecrews out of the crew station,Hostage says.

But such machines are notcheap. They are not expendable,

they are very expensive, Hostagesays. Moreover, unmanned aircraft

do not have the awareness oftheir manned counterparts. Whilethe sensor suite on a UAS can takea very detailed look at a very small

area, its operators have no aware-ness of anything outside the sodastraw view provided by the air-crafts cameras.

There are things that the UAVcan do that people cant do,manned aircraft cant do. Princi-pally thats endurance, Hostagesays. But we have not createdthe ability to have the same levelof awareness, the same level ofability of decision-making on aplatform, the same level of effec-tiveness as a manned platform.

In the future, Hostage believesunmanned aircraft will eventually

have the same level of awarenessas manned aircraft.

With virtual reality technology,it might be possible to fully im-merse a pilot into the battlefieldenvironment to the point wherehe or she cannot tell the differ-ence. I fully believe well getthere some day, Hostage says.But I dont have that technicalcapability today.

While it is technically possibleto make an autonomous un-manned aircraft that could go andfly combat missions, Hostagesays, such technology will not be

ready to use in the near future.I can build a platform and I

can give it autonomous capabili-ty, and tell it go into this area andkill anything that moves, butwere not morally or culturallyready to do things like that be-cause were not able to makethem smart enough to determinebetween the adversary and some-body that looks like they are anadversary, but maybe they arentquite, he says.

NEWS FOCUS

The USAFs MQ-9 Reaper offers persistence, but cannot match the situational awareness of manned systems

Current assets being used in Afghanistan too vulnerable for high-threat environment, warns Air Combat Command boss

UAVs irrelevant over PacificUNMANNED SYSTEMS DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC

For more about unmanned air

vehicle operations, visit

flightglobal.com/uav

GeneralAtomicsAeronauticalSystems

We are shifting to a

theatre where thereis an adversary who is

going to have a vote

on whether I have

that staring eyeGEN MIKE HOSTAGECommander, Air Combat Command


19/60


Wallan lands

Falcons as new

model makes debut

SHOW REPORT P20

SPACEFLIGHT

COMPETITION ZACH ROSENBERG WASHINGTON DC

Rivals target ULAs launch monopolyUS government moves to revamp the way it purchases rockets, opening up the market to new spaceight operators

The US Air Force, which pur-chases space launches on be-half of the entire US government,is dramatically changing the wayit buys rockets after years of risingcosts. A memo from Departmentof Defense acquisition chief FrankKendall supports two approachesto purchasing space launches inan affordable way: pursuing ablock buy of 36 cores from in-cumbent provider United LaunchAlliance (ULA), and opening 14launches to competitive bids.

ULA markets, builds andlaunches the Delta IV and Atlas V collectively known as evolvedexpendable launch vehicles(EELVs) which have, since theirdevelopment in the late 1990s,held a firm monopoly on largegovernment launches.

SINGLE ENTITY

The EELV programme was meantto develop two competinglaunch vehicles, constructed byBoeing and Lockheed Martin,

with the expectation that a bur-geoning commercial marketwould ensure plenty of demandfor both and reduce launch costsfor the US government.

For a number of reasons theexpected market never material-ised, and the two US-based com-panies found they could notcompete with Russian and Euro-pean rivals.

To preserve an important ca-pability, US regulators allowedthe companies to merge into a

single entity ULA so bothlaunch vehicles would remain inproduction.

While ULA has lofted the occa-sional commercial satellite, forpractical purposes its sole custom-er is the US government. BecauseWashington wants to and inmany cases, because of the sensi-tive nature of the payloads whichare often deemed crucial to na-tional security, has to use USlaunchers, for many payloadsthere was simply no alternative.

While ULA has never had alaunch failure, the price of its

products has risen exponentially,

and with the US government inthe midst of a serious budgetcrunch, acquisition officials arebecoming increasingly frustrated.

The rise of privately ownedupstarts SpaceX and Orbital Sci-ences could dramatically changethe situation.

Elon Musk, SpaceXs mercu-rial president and chief technol-ogy officer, has been unre-strained in his criticism of ULA.Likewise, ULA has been publiclysniping at SpaceX.

The USAF awards launchcontracts on a rolling five-year

basis, with the latest round of an-

nouncements imminent.SpaceX has been striving to

find a way into the new contract.In October 2011, the relevantagencies the USAF, NASA andthe National Reconnaissance Of-fice released qualifying criteriafor inclusion in the contract,starting small but unlocking in-creasingly valuable payloads asa launch vehicle demonstratedreduced risk.

Under the criteria, vehicleswith a minimum of three con-

secutive successful launches arequalified to carry payloads at the

low end of the spectrum.SpaceXs Falcon 9 has accrued

four successes or three and onepartial the latest, a 10 August ISSsupply run for NASA, lost one ofits nine engines early in the flight;the supply capsule made it upsuccessfully but a small second-ary, a prototype communicationssatellite, did not.

Orbital Sciences has anotherlikely future contender, theAntares, scheduled to make itsfirst flight in early 2013. The ve-

hicle is ready but the Wallops Is-land, Virginia launch pad is notyet complete.

INEFFICIENT METHOD

Previous five-year contracts haveawarded all launches to ULA ona one-by-one basis, an inefficientmethod given the inevitable out-come. This time, with the newfocus on cost, ULA has proposeda block buy, whereby the USgovernment commits ahead oftime to buy a certain number of

rocket cores. The heaviest pay-loads require a Delta IV Heavy,which has three cores; all otherseach use a single core.

Meanwhile, the USAF is seek-ing the best of both worlds. The27 November memo from Kend-all authorises the service to beginnegotiations for 50 cores, ofwhich 36 would come from ULA.The other 14 would be open forcompetition from whoever quali-fies and, indeed, SpaceX hasclaimed a contract to launch four

cores DSCOVER, a satellite thatwill monitor the Sun for solarflares, and Space Test Program-2,which will launch on a three-coreFalcon Heavy.

Those numbers may yetchange. Under the PentagonsByzantine rules, Kendalls memoonly grants authorisation to ne-gotiate but will likely conformclosely. At long last, real compe-tition is emerging in the US gov-ernment launch market.

For commentary on spaceight

news, visit our Hyperbola blog

at flightglobal.com/hyperbola

SpaceX

SpaceX hopes to offer its Falcon 9 launch vehicle


20/60

SHOWREPORT



feature and multi-media content visit


The Middle East Business Aviation show took place lastweek in unusual environs the still-to-open passengerterminal at Dubais new Al Maktoum International

airport. The interim location the next event in 201

Flight International - (01)December 18 - January 07 2013

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