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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0835.PDF
PROPULSION Hartzell will produce UDF blades PIQUA h Production of composite fan blades for General Electric's Unducted Fan engine is to be carried out by Ohio-based Hartzell Propellers. A memorandum of under standing between the two companies was signed late last year, enabling Hartzell to co operate in the design, devel opment, and manufacture of a set of blades for the proof-of- concept engine. The UDF has been running since its initial test last year with propulsor blades manu factured by General Electric. These were of spar-shell-type construction, in which a composite shell surrounds a metal spar attached to the hub. In mid-Febuiary the UDF suffered a propulsor fail ure when the composite element of one of the blades separated from the spar. Outdoor testing restarted with new blades, and the engine is due to be shipped to the Mojave Desert soon to be readied for flight-tests aboard a converted Boeing 727 in July or August. For these tests the UDF will fly with blades manufactured under the agreement with Hartzell. General Electric says it has been working with Hartzell for one and a half years on UDF blades. The propeller manufacturer is geographi cally close to GE, and has a long-standing reputation for composite blade manufacture. This will be an asset in the UDF certification process, which has a number of uncer tainties concerning the defini tion of the blade retention capability of the propulsor. Either the UDF will be allowed to match propeller retention standards, or it will have to meet the criteria set for turbofan blade contain ment, in which case the reten tion standards will be much tougher. Hartzell began develop ment of structural composite propeller blades in 1973. The blades are manufactured from a Kevlar shell surrounding a polyurethane foam core, have unlimited service life approval on several aircraft. i^^^^B; V Pratt & Whitney has run the first production P W4000 turbofan for the A310-300 Production PW4000 runs of 10 per cent of the PW4000 workshare. The latest, Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, was signed up last September. KHI took a 1 per cent share, joining Italy's Fiat (2 per cent), Norway's Kongsberg Vapenfabrik (3 per cent), Belgium's Fabrique National (3 per cent) and South Korea's Samsung Pre cision Industries (1 per cent). The PW4000 is aimed at all the new widebody twins, including the Airbus A330. It is also offered for the McDon nell Douglas MD-11 and all marques of Boeing 747. The engine competes principally with General Electric's CF6-80C2, which has been selected so far to power Thai Airways International's A300-600s, Air India's A310-300s and, recently, Varig's Boeing 767-200ERs. Pratt & Whitney says that the PW4000 will burn up to 7 per cent less fuel than the JT9D-7R4, latest marque in the series, and have substan tially lower maintenance costs. EAST HARTFORD Pratt & Whitney has run the first production PW4000 turbofan on schedule. The engine was assembled in one- third the time needed for its predecessor, the JT9D, because of its simplified design, the company says. The first two production engines will be shipped to Airbus Industrie this summer to take part in the A310/PW4000 certification programme. Certification of the combination is set for April 1987. Federal Aviation Administration certification will follow a month later. The first application for the PW4000 will be aboard the 12 A310-300s ordered by Pan Am in January 1985. The next sale was to Northwest Airlines, for 48 PW4000s to power the Boeing 747-400, marking the launch order for this aircraft. Pratt & Whitney has signed a total of five production agreements with foreign manu facturers, giving them a total Engines compete for drone business LONDON ~ With a potential Royal Navy requirement for a ship- launched target drone in mind, Flight Refuelling is test-flying its Falconet remotely piloted vehicle powered by two competing engines offering improved performance. The existing ground- launched Falconet used by the British Army is powered by a 1801b-thrust Microturbo TRS18-075 turbojet, built under licence in the UK by Ames Industrial. The drone takes off under its own power from a circular runway, or carousel. The naval requirement calls for "zero-length" rocket- assisted launch from a deck-mounted rail. To provide the required extra performance, particularly take-off thrust, two engines are being evaluated: the Ames Industrial TJA24-1 and the Noel Penny Turbines NPT 301-2. The TJA24-1 is an Ames development of the existing Falconet engine, producing 3301b thrust within the same casing. Speeds in excess of 380kt at 83 per cent power have been achieved in flight trials, says Ames. A version producing 4051b thrust within the same casing diameter is under development. The Falconet has exceeded 400kt at low level when powered by the NPT 301-2, says Noel Penny Turbines. The engine produces 3001b thrust, with immediate growth to 3301b available and to 4001b in the longer term. The NPT 301-2 is currently in production for a South Korean application. Claims made by NPT for its engine include lower cost, a fuel consumption 20 per cent better than that of the competition at 1-03 lb/lb/hr to l-061b/lb/hr, and the abil ity to provide 2-5kVA of power. Ames counters that its engine is smaller and lighter, and adds that a 2 • 5kVA high speed alternator is in devel opment for the TJA24-1. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 5 April 1986 37
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