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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 2008.PDF
continuation of the so-called "Inter- nationalisation" of airliner manufacture. They also have to be seen against unprecedented arguments between the Europeans and the United States about subsidies for the research, development, and launch of new civil projects. These arguments, which seemed to gain strength at the time of the A320 roll-out in March, continue to rumble on. They are of the sort which, even with the wisdom of a judge ment from Solomon, can never be resolved. It could well be that, if some Airbus parts were built in the USA, the matter would reduce in importance. Whether the present high level of activity will continue is a matter of debate. There are some indications that the volume of orders has fallen back somewhat—especially when it is remembered that the spate of A330/A340 and MD-11 commitments are for aircraft for deliv ery some 3-5 years hence. Certainly the special ist companies buying aircraft for operating lease will not be so active next year, and there are signs of more orders for widebodies and fewer for standard-bodied twin-jets. This is partly in response to worries about ATC and runway congestion. A significant proportion of the present work load is in response to a series of blockbusting orders from airlines and lease companies placed over the last few years, and most of these were one-offs which will not be repeated. This means that some slowing of the pace of orders is likely. Nevertheless, large commit ments for aircraft in the 150-200-seat category are expected shortly from Texas Air and Amer ican Airlines. These, when combined with re orders and the conversion of options, are likely to mean that the present level of optimism and workload will—barring some unforeseen politi cal or economic upset—continue for several more years. Airbus Industrie Avenue Lucien Servanty, BP No 33, 31700 Blagnac, France ® 033 61 93 33 33 „**^AITO 530526F Quite apart from clocking up sales for some 130 A330/A340s, Airbus increased sales of both the A300/A310 and the A320 at much greater rates in 1986-87 than it did in 1985-86. It added 52 A300/A310s to its orderbook, compared with 22 in the previous year, and no fewer than 153 A320s, compared with 44. Among the new customers were the important leasing compa nies GPA, through GPA-Airbus A320, and ILFC. Despite these valuable increases, the most important event in the year since the last survey was the full-scale, formal launch of the new A330/A340 project on June 5. The chal lenge is now to certificate on schedule the long- range A340 in May 1992 and the medium- to long-range A330 in spring 1993. By all measures it proved to be a high-profile year for the European partners as they rolled out, and then flew, the A320 with a great deal of panache. They also had to counter US alle gations of unfair competition, while at the same time clarifying their attitude towards co operation with the US industry to an inquisitive press. Finally, Airbus salesmen were left with the unenviable task of explaining to potential customers the rise and fall of the IAE Superfan. There appear to be a number of issues which have been raised within these discussions with the US companies, given that both the A330/ A340 and MD-11 have gone ahead and the "merging" of these two projects is no longer on the agenda. The current discussions with a number of US companies centre on subcon- Flight testing of the A320 has found no major problems tracting, final assembly, and co-operation on developing a stretched, and possibly re-engined, version of the A320. Talks have been held with Rockwell, Lockheed-Georgia, and McDonnell Douglas. The latter has been able to discuss co-operation on smaller aircraft including the proposed propfan/unducted fan-powered MD-91X and MD-92X. Perhaps surprisingly, the European partner government most concerned to see that the possibility of co-operation with the USA is dispassionately explored has been that of Germany. Apart from maintaining the momentum of sales, Airbus has to tackle the question of plan ning for very high rates of production in the early 1990s. In recent months the organisation has been rolling three aircraft a month off the production line. By 1990 it needs to be building four widebodies and eight A320s, and by 1992 it is possible that it will be building four to five A330/A340s and up to 14 A320s per month. The investment in planning, organising, and imple menting this build-up is probably now a higher priority than worrying about the launch of the next project, a stretched A320, or the long-term objective of building a 100-120-seater. Having stirred up the controversy over unfair competition by its keen pricing of the 100 A320s ordered and optioned by Northwest, and by pricing the A340 some $15 million—$20 million below the MD-11, Airbus has now got to be careful that the whole matter does not get out of hand. It has to recoup all of its investment at a time when the US dollar is at an historic low, and when the airlines are insisting on an unprece dented level of manufacturer participation in sales finance A300. After a hard-fought battle with Boeing, the major commitment from American Airlines for widebodied twins, announced in March, was split between the A300-600R (25) and the 767-300ER (15). This operating lease deal was important for a number of reasons, not least for the freedom it gives American to return the aircraft with minimum notice. For Airbus, the other important feature is that it launched the A300-600R complete with the e.g. management system and tailplane fuel tank pioneered by the A310-300. American Airlines' -600Rs will be delivered between April 1988 and June 1989. Both American and the second -600R customer, Emirates, chose the CF6-80C2 engine. Apart from the American deal, orders for the A300 series were slow, reflecting the greater interest of the market in the smaller, longer- range A310. The basic prototype A300B1 flew in October 1972 and was followed by the initial production B2 and the heavier, longer-range B4. The A300-600 was a further development using technology from the A310. It incorporates the A310 rear fuselage, increasing passenger capac ity by 18 seats with very little increase in overall length, the new two-crew cockpit, and the lighter, smaller A310 tailplane. Empty weight and drag were cut from B4 levels despite an increase in payload and range. Airbus Industrie claims that a series of improvements to the wing—re-cambered trailing edge, deletion of the outer aileron, use of electrically-signalled spoilers in roll, deletion of the slat fence, a reshaped pylon and the use of A310 nacelles—bring it close to the aero dynamic standard of the A310 wing. The A300-600 with its latest-technology GE CF6-80C2 or P&W JT9D-7R4H engines was therefore a major advance over the early A300s. It is now available with the new PW4000. The -600s now being delivered have drag-reducing wing-tip fences, carbon brakes, and the so- called "New World" cockpit of the long-range A310-300. The recently launched A300-600R is a further upgrade, with higher weights, more thrust, and the A310's fuel system. It will make its maiden flight in November this year. Programme Status: Total orders, 310. Deliv ered, 280. Production rate for A300-600/A310 will reach four per month by the end of 1988. A310. The majority of orders placed during the year for the A310 were for the extended-range A310-300. The largest was from Wardair in January, for 12 powered by the CF6-80C2. Most of the others were small "top-up" or small but significant orders from new customer airlines such as Emirates (2), TAP-Air Portugal (3), and Air Niugini (1). Another important event during the year was the certification and entry into service with Pan Am of the first Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered A310-300 in June. The A310-300 is the first production airliner with a tailplane trim-tank, and is also the first to use carbonfibre reinforced plastic for a major structural element, in this case the fin, in series production. The tailplane is supplied by Casa and the composite fin by MBB. Airbus began flight testing a new optional additional centre tank on the -300 in August. It occupies the space of two LD-3 containers in the front of the rear cargo hold, and increases range by some 400 n.m. (750km). Although this tank is already in service on the A300-600, Wardair is the first A310-300 customer to have it. The A310-200 was certificated in March 1983 and was the first major derivative of the A300. This model, optimised as a short-haul type, was quickly followed by the extended-range A310-300, launched in March 1983 with an order from Swissair, and flown for the first time in July 1985. The A310 has a new wing of reduced size, a shorter fuselage, a two-crew cockpit, and more advanced digital systems, but retains the basic eight-abreast twin-aisle fuselage cross-section of the A300. It contrasts in many ways with its principal competitor, the Boeing 767, which was initially designed for longer ranges and has a larger wing and a rather smaller-diameter fuselage offering a seven-abreast layout in normal economy. Because of an extensive weight-saving programme, the A310-3O0 has an empty weight very similar to that of the A310-200 despite 18 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 10 October 1987
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