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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 1860.PDF
PARIS REPORT Cost will delay UDF says Airbus "If people are prepared to buy 150-seeiter aircraft at $70 million apiece ... I guess that, yes, it could be done", says Airbus Industrie senior vice- president flight and technical Bernard Ziegler, talking about the consortium's competitors' promise to fly passengers in a UDF-powered airliner by 1992. "People are going to the moon", Ziegler continues, "I see no reason why they cannot achieve a flying propfan in 1992—if the money is there. The present rate of spending is $50 million a year, which is nothing. At this rate the programme could take about ten years". Ziegler does not believe that the spending rate necessary to achieve UDF certification on a civil airliner by 1992 will be available unless military money enters the picture, and it has not yet done so. Ziegler describes what he believes UDF research and development has achieved so far: "All we have in hand is assurance that the concept is not stupid, but that's all. Anything else is still to be done". What are the problems to overcome, according to Airbus? Ziegler: "Most probably the major problem to be solved is lifetime of the blades. As far as I know no-one can ensure that they will last more than 200 flights". General Electric replies that it expects no trou ble in assuring 30,000 flight cycles. "Next I would put the prob lem of blade containment", Ziegler continues, then fatigue noise, high frequency noise, and most probably for the contrarotating system a prob lem of de-icing, and I cannot clearly see how it will be solved. There may be a solu tion, but nothing is yet proven". Ziegler continues in a more general vein: "Development has yet to ensure that such an aircraft would reach the target weight at an acceptable price; that the degree of complexity will keep maintenance cost at a level acceptable to an Rotary newcomers Kamov 's coaxial Ka-32, above, made its first appearance in the West. As the Ka-27 (Nato code name Helix), this compact helicopter is used for shipborne anti-submarine, ouer-the-horizon targeting, and resupply missions. Civil versions operate from Soviet icebreakers. Paris 1987 should see the Agusta/Westland EH. 101 flying. Paris 1985, however, is graced by a full-scale mockup, below, of Agusta's utility version of this triple-turbine helicopter, which so dominates the exhibition halls that everyone has been using it as a landmark airline. All that is to be sorted out". Ziegler does not believe that five years is long enough to define all the answers, followed by a two-year period for testing and certification of a totally new engine/airframe combination. Boeing's v-p product devel opment James Johnson would accept only one UDF problem area, and then only when pushed for comment; that is the pitch-control mechanism, because pitch range is greater on a propfan/UDF than on a conventional propeller. GB, however, says that the pitch mechanism is simplicity itself; and replying to blade containment problem allegations it points out that tip speeds are no faster than those of conventional propellers. 737-300 Efis Boeing has accelerated the introduction of a glass cockpit into the 737-300 following a request from Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), which hopes to buy 12 of the type for delivery beginning in 1986. 757 ER order Boeing's first customer for the extended-range 757, the 757-200ER, will be Royal Brunei Airlines. A $175 million purchase agreement was announced at Le Bourget for three 757-200s powered by RB.211-535E4s. The aircraft will enable Royal Brunei to begin one-stop services to Europe. Delivery is scheduled for June and July 1986. 16 Hughes counts cost of winning Hughes Aircraft confirms that it has won the eight-radar Nato southern flank air- defence contest, but indicates that it might not bid for the 48-radar, $500-million FAA radar replacement pro gramme unless guaranteed a development contract that would cover its costs. The S-band Hughes Hadr air defence radar selected by Nato was developed as a private venture. Systems have been sold to Germany (four), Norway (four), Malaysia (one), and now Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey (eight plus six options). The L-band FAA radar would also be developed as a private venture from an existing naval point- defence system. The FAA requirement will not be released until early next year, but Hughes does not believe that any exist ing L-band three-dimensional radar will meet the specifica tions without some modi fication. General Electric is to bid its FPS-117 radar, as oper ated by the US Air Force. Marconi has teamed with Raytheon to bid its Martello, as bought by Nato and Oman. Westinghouse, like Hughes, will offer a new radar, the W-2000. The FAA contract will be fixed-price, including any development required. De pending on the exact specifi cation and the degree of development risk it implies. Hughes may elect not to bid its L-band radar. This is the result of Hughes' unhappy experience with fixed-price development of the AIM-120 Amraam advanced medium- range air-to-air missile, a programme which will cost the company at least $200 million of its own money. Should Hughes decide to bid, then its system will be derived from its L-band IPD/TAS shipborne radar, although essentially only the signal processing will be reused. The new radar will be solid-state, with transistor amplifiers replacing the trav elling wave tube transmitter to give fail-soft capability for unattended operation. FLIGHT International, 8 June 1985 '
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