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Aviation History
1984
1984 - 0029.PDF
V.2500: the oriental angle r Japan's aero-engine business is set to improve dramatically with its participation in the V.2500. Guy Smith reports from Tokyo. THE leaders of the Japanese aero engine companies can justifiably congratulate themselves on achieving a major step forward for their industry. They now have a very firm foot in the door, giving them their first real access to the worldwide commercial aero- jengine market. This ambition has been achieved through the steady deter mination of the three companies, backed by substantial support from the Japanese Government, channelled through the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI). The success of Japanese industry in so many other fields of advanced technology was certain to encourage the aerospace industry to expand its interests. The creation of International Aero Engines (IAE), with its 20 per cent Japanese participation, is but the first stage towards making the Japanese aero-engine compa nies a major power in commercial aviation. As a result of their partnership in IAE, the Japanese companies will not only acquire technology but will also establish a presence in the market. That all their ambitions will not be achieved through the V.2500 engine programme is well appreciated. The same is true of Snecma's ambitions through the CFM56 programme. Neither company gets a share of the respective core, which is at the heart of any gas turbine engine and involves the most expensive and difficult technology. Nevertheless, economic and political pressure has forced the previously exclusive club of Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and General Electric to admit another new member. The days when technical merit, almost alone, deter mined the market share an aero-engine achieved seem to have gone for ever. National participation in the design and manufacture of the engine is of growing importance, even if it cannot be quan tified. Observers watching the recent Boeing 767/Airbus A310 battle in Japan will have noticed that the Japanese Government took no public stance on the relative merits of the two aircraft. But can anyone doubt that the Japanese participation in the Boeing 767 programme was a factor influencing the choice? It is therefore appropriate to record the Japanese participation in the V.2500 engine programme and to examine the management structures and financing behind the Japanese effort. The table below gives the outline statistics for IAE: % capital % work- Board Estimated share members cost share Rolls-Royce 30 Pratt & Whitney 30 JAEC 199 MTU 12-1 Fiat 8 0 30 30 23 11 6 3 3 3. 2 2 ($million) 360 360 239 145 96 The RJ.500 was a joint Rolls-Royce/Japanese Aero-Engines project for an engine to power 150-seaters. Two development engines ran before the V.2500 agreement was forged 100 100 13 1,200 JAEC The Japanese Aero Engine Corporation is a joint company formed to undertake initially the Japanese share of the V.500 engine and possible derivatives. The three member companies are: Ishikawajima Heavy Industries (IHI), Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Its headquarters is located in Tokyo, and its directors are: Chairman T. Ubukata (IHI) Vice-chairman Y. Marayama (MITI) Senior MD I. Iwama (IHI) MD J. Matsuora (KHI) MD Y. Macmiyama (MHI) Auditor H. Aoki (Ministry of Finance) The Board is expected to meet about twice a year, so management of the V.2500 programme share will be through an exec utive committee which will meet fortnightly. The executive committee is the same as the Board, without the Chair man, but it will have four consultants available to assist it. JAEC has a staff of about 30, of which five are engineers. The three member companies will second engineers to JAEC in proportion to their engineering share. These engineers will be paid by JAEC and will owe their prime loyalties to the joint company for the period of their second ment. The number of Japanese engineers will vary with the demands of IAE programmes, but is expected to peak at around 200. All engineers will return to their original companies in due course. The JAEC engineers will be responsible for the main design and development of Japanese IAE components. Detail design of prototype components will be carried out in the partner companies. Engines supplied to JAEC will be made up roughly in the proportions of the individual companies' shares, which are: IHI 60 per cent KHI 25 per cent MHI 15 per cent The location of the engineers and designers will also vary with the demands of the particular components on which they are working, but will certainly include Derby and East Hartford. Language does not appear to be a problem for the Japanese engineers. Those who have worked in Bristol on the RJ.500 programme clearly enjoyed and benefited from the experience. But for Japanese engineers with school- aged children there are major problems of education, which might entail family sepa ration for the period they spend abroad. The highly competitive atmosphere in the Japanese educational system would put a child who had to spend two or three years abroad at a serious disadvantage on his return to Japan. The funding of JAEC is basically simple, but many details have yet to be resolved. The Government has agreed to fund roughly two-thirds of the cost up to full launch of the V.2500, which is now expected in the early part of 1984. Since the RJ.500 programme is considered to be an integral part of the Japanese prepara tory work for the V.2500, the Government is funding two-thirds of the Japanese share of the RJ.500. From full launch until a date approxi mately three years after entry into service, the Government will be funding roughly half the Japanese cost share. The balance of the Japanese costs will be shared by the three partner companies in the ratio of their workshares. The Government contribution will take FLIGHT International, 7 January 1984 29
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