A Sample Feature From Aviation News

Paris 2009 c'est magnifique

Every two years the French aerospace industry plays host to the world’s aviation and space manufacturers and provides a venue for governments, agencies and a wide range of related organisations. This year was special – the 100th anniversary of bringing together the best, the finest, the boldest and the most innovative in all aspects of flight and flying.

Above: Renowned for thundery showers, torrential rain or blistering heat, this year’s Paris Air Show was mild in comparison with many, which is not what can be said for the mood of an industry in the grip of a storm made elsewhere. (Photos, Aviation News, unless stated otherwise)

Show review

Celebrating the first century of aviation business close to where the world’s first aeronautical exposition was held was always going to be special. As the 48th International Paris Air Show, the event can trace its origin to 1909 but today the event is a showcase for GIFAS (Groupement des Industries Francaises Aéronautique et Spatiales), a trade organisation with 260 members representing the 134,000 people employed in the French aerospace industry. In 2008, revenues of ?37.1bn were divided by 71% to civil and 29% to military sales, with orders valued at ?48.6bn split 81% from civil customers and 19% from military customers. About 76% of revenue comes from exports, Europe accounting for the biggest share at 43.1% and the US at 30.5%, with Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East contributing the rest.

As expected, this year’s Paris Air Show was another record breaker, with more than 2,000 exhibitors from 48 countries across six halls covering 592,000ft2 including first-time entrants Australia, Libya, Lithuania, Mexico and Tunisia. In addition there was 1.4mft2 of chalet space and a further 2.1mft2 of static displays. The number of aircraft exhibited was slightly down on 2007 and this was expected, given the economic situation and the decision by the US government to play down participation in both the static display and the flying programme. In fact, although the flying displays on the trade days were impressive they were also processional and repetitive, made interesting due to good weather (on all but the Monday) and a general sense of theatre that pervaded this centenary celebration punctuated by more than the usual historic aircraft. For all the obvious reasons the public days (Friday-Sunday inclusive) were visually the most exciting although a daily change in the displays on trade days kept interest alive – the appearance of the Breitling Super Constellation providing more than a whiff of nostalgia!

As if to seize the mood of the industry, the show started in a downpour, got progressively better by the end of the trade week that ran from Monday June 15 to Thursday June 18 and lapsed into funfair mode on the three public days, June 19-21. The general mood of the show was depressed with only traces of optimism shrouding concern that the economic downturn has not yet bottomed out, that there are commercial areas still in steep decline and that there are consequences not yet feeding through. The manufacturers were putting on a brave face but Airbus and Boeing speak with corporate voices and are not yet facing reality – at least to their executive peers in the market. Working to the principle that a transformation is an opportunity rather than a disaster, Embraer, ATR and Bombardier see areas to exploit and mirror the attitude of new players in the commercial scene such as Sukhoi with their regional entrant, the Superjet. But the worst has yet to come and no one is openly optimistic.

Above: There were three ways of getting around: by ‘petit’ train, only a little quicker than walking, on foot, or – if you are really part of the in-crowd – by corporate buggy.

News and views

In the search for ‘green credentials’, Airbus is considering a new fuel sourced from 100% feedstock, perhaps algae, by way of hydrogenated vegetable oils rather than the Fischer-Tropsch method, which first converts a gas to a liquid before hydrocracking takes place. Under the new method, oxygen is taken from the oils which produces more hydrogen for hydrocracking that breaks down the carbon.

Boeing is making a bid for market leadership in the UAV market with a challenge to big-name players Northrop Grumman and General Atomics. With a diminishing market share in the military aircraft category, Boeing’s new Unmanned Airborne Systems Division is challenged to generate $1bn in revenue within the next five years. At the core of Boeing’s programme is the ScanEagle, which it acquired when it bought Insitu in 2008, and the Phantom Ray evolution of the X-45 first developed for the US Navy. Northrop Grumman’s comment when asked what they thought of Boeing’s market share bid: ‘We’re already there!’ 

CAE is digging deeper into the Middle East market with sale of two simulators and a support package to Bahrain’s government investment house Mumtalakat, the owner of Gulf Air. The package features the TrposT-6000 visual system and serves requirements for the A330/340 and the A320. Bahrain aims to become a world-class pilot and flight training centre and is investing heavily in facilities and support equipment.

GE Aviation and NASA are to begin testing counter rotating fan-blade systems this summer using wind tunnels at the Glenn Research Center. The emphasis is not on engine technology but on fan geometry and aerodynamics of configurations. Initial evaluation will be made of the GE36 engine fitted to the Boeing 727s and MD-80s to set a baseline against which new designs can be tested.
Greece has indicated that it will delay requests for proposals on an advanced jet trainer replacement for its 40 Rockwell T-2 Buckeyes. When asked about the potential decision, Greek officials indicated that due to mandatory budgets cuts it would not come before late 2010.

Above: Dassault made a special showing of its experimental nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle, presented in model form in one of the halls and in full size mockup outside in the static park. Below: A Schiebel Camcopter gave a star performance, the first unmanned vehicle to participate in a major air show and with live pictures of people taking pictures! See Aviation News, June 2009, page 6. (Photo, David Willis)

For the rest of this article please see the August 2009 issue.