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A Sample Feature From Aviation News Pre Paris NewsBreaking stories on the eve of the 46th salon.
Above: The CSeries concept is predicted on a 15% improvement in engine efficiency over existing designs but without an all-new powerplant the project faces an uncertain future. (Photo, Bombardier). CSeries gets investment green light Some C$1,16bn in official government investment has been committed to Bombardier’s new CSeries family of 110 – 130 seat airliners. With C$400m and CS350m coming from the Canadian Federal Government and Quebec Provincial Government respectively, a firm decision has now been taken for forward fuselage manufacture and final assembly to be undertaken at Bombardier’s Montreal Mirabel facility. A further C$415m has been allocated to the programme by the UK government and this will ensure that wing, engine nacelle and composite empennage production takes place at the company’s Shorts factory in Belfast. The shine of these investments has however been rather dulled by news that the two main projected engine suppliers, CFMI and IAE, have both withdrawn from involvement in the programme at this stage. It is thought that both consider Bombardier’s market forecast to be too optimistic while CFMI is concerned about the timescale of the CSeries in relation to its own schedule for the development of a new generation engine to succeed the CFM56. However, Pratt and Whitney is still investigating possible engine solutions for the project although it is unwilling to develop an all-new design and is only considering developments of existing powerplants. Bombardier nevertheless remains upbeat. Such is its confidence that it has already dedicated 200 personnel to the programme on detailed design work. It is firmly convinced that, with the 100-150 seat airliner market now served by either stretched regional aircraft or smaller models of medium range designs, the need for a new aircraft specifically tailored for this capacity range is paramount. This thinking has been further corroborated by an independent SABRE Airline Solutions' assessment confirming Bombardier's forecast of a market for 3,000 aircraft in the 100-150 seat category by 2030. SABRE further concluded that the CSeries would account for some 44% of the market while AeroMontreal, the operator of the city’s airports, has also added a strong measure of confidence by earmarking some 5mft2 of land adjacent to Bombardier’s Mirabel plant for the new production facilities that will be required. Leading the Paris presence of Pratt and Whitney Canada (PWC) will be the PW600 series of ultra-light jet engines that have been selected for use on the Eclipse 500 and Cessna Citation Mustang. Fourteen of the Eclipse's 900lb thrust PW610 engines have accumulated around 1,000 flying hours – including more than 50 hours on the Eclipse itself – while eight 1,300lb thrust PW615s for the Mustang have completed 200 hours of flying on the PW Boeing 720 test-bed. PWC’s other major new development – the PW980A – will be hidden in the vastness of the Airbus A380 as the APU back-up for pneumatic and electrical power. Some 2100 hours and 2,900 cycles have now been achieved and three units have been installed on A380 flight test aircraft. Final certification is expected by July 2005.
Above: Bombardier is still developing its RJ Series of aircraft and has recently announced a three-family range specifically aimed at the corporate shuttle market. (Photo, Bombardier). CAE’s Paris exhibit will also highlight the key role it is playing in the A380 programme. This saw its installation of the first full-flight A380 simulator at Airbus’s Toulouse flight-test centre in April 2005. Although the company has been running two development systems at the Airbus headquarters for some time, it has never delivered an operational simulator so far in advance of an aircraft`s entry into service. Its early availability will enable launch airlines to ease the usual pressure of training time associated with the introduction of a brand new design and allow the smooth development of training schedules. CAE has so far won five A380 simulator orders with two placed by Airbus, two by Emirates and one by Qantas. The considerable progress made with Canada’s Bell Helicopter Textron Modular Affordable Product Line (MAPL) programme for a new family of five to eight seat commercial helicopters will be a strong Paris Show feature. The first of the iteration, the Bell 429, will be a risk reduction platform resembling the Model 427 and incorporating at least ten MAPL technologies. The company is not being specific about these at the moment but it has revealed that it is dropping the use of a tail rotor fenestron in response to customer demand and because it displays potential inefficiencies at high altitude. First flight of the 429 is expected in the spring of 2006 with certification in mid-2007. The rest of the range – the 351/381/382 – will be all-new designs and phased into production over the next 12 years. Clearly demonstrating the wide breadth of Quebecan aerospace expertise will be CMC Electronics. With a pedigree stretching back to Marconi's first transatlantic radio transmission in 1901, the company will display a fully-working Lynx HeliHawk HUD/nav attack system alongside its advanced electronic ‘Cockpit 4000’ integrated glass cockpit concept for combat training. This will be demonstrated in the Raytheon T-6B and Aermacchi M311.
Above: Seen on its May 5 maiden flight at the start of a 15 month, 1,200hr flight test programme is Dassault’s new 7X ultra long-range executive jet. Its registration, F-WFBW, appropriately reflects its status as the world’s first fly-by-wire business jet. Below: Just eight days after the 7X flew, another new member of the Dassault Biz-Jet family, the 900DX, also took to the air for the first time. (Photos, Dassault).
For the rest of this feature please see the July 2005 issue. |
