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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 1183.PDF
Their late delivery may have delayed its first flight, but Soloviev's turbofans are performing well on the Tu-204 Tupolev Tu-204 beats fuel target Flight tests of the Soviet Union's Tupolev Tu-204 medium-haul airliner indicate that it will be more fuel-efficient than anticipated by several percentage points. In an interview with Flight, Tupolev deputy chief commer cial aircraft designer Lev Lanovski says that fuel-burn of the 214-seater's two Soloviev PS-90A high-bypass turbofans is between 3 and 4 per cent lower than estimated, at around 0-58kg/kg-thrust/hr. This bonus extends the type's range, currently specified in Tupolev sales literature at 2,500km with a 20-tonne payload, or 4,600km with a 13-tonne payload. Lanovski says that Tu-204 flutter and stability and control tests were "completely satis factory," and that performance and handling is "excellent." The Tu-204 is the Soviet Union's second fly-by-wire airliner after the Ilyushin 11-96-300, which flew a few months ahead of the Tupolev airliner last year, but is the first without mechanical backup flight control systems, accord ing to Lanovski. Instead, it features analogue electrical backups to the three digital fly- by-wire channels. The fly-by-wire system, used from the first flight, has given no problems in coping with the relaxed levels of longitudinal stability generated in flight by pumping fuel to the rear of the aircraft, Lanovski adds. A second aircraft is to join the flight-test programme within the next two months, and there are to be two static-test aircraft. Aeroflot is expected to acquire between 500 arid 600 Tu-204s to replace early-model Tu-154 airliners, though the latest Tu-154M variant remains in production and will continue in service. Operating costs will be "substantially" lower than those of aircraft the Tu-204 will replace, Lanovski says. Tupolev is studying an extended-range variant of the Tu-204 capable of flying 6,800km with the same passenger load, perhaps in mixed seating layouts, and a version with new and more fuel- efficient turbofans with bypass ratios of around 18:1. Bar codes improve baggage security by Ian Dormer in Amsterdam Computerised bar coding for airline passengers, hand baggage, and hold baggage will avoid the need to disembark passengers to identify their luggage and isolate a stray unaccompanied item, claims Donprint Airline System. Two European airlines are studying Donprint's system to put individual bar codes on airline passenger tickets and bags to increase security and improve efficiency. Scotland-based Donprint claims to offer the first fully integrated airline ticket and baggage identification system. Passengers, hand baggage, and hold baggage can be computer tracked throughout the entire embarkation and disembarka tion process. A passenger's ticket has a unique bar code, which stays with him throughout the jour ney, and which is on all of his baggage. Running a laser scan ner across the bar code on baggage before putting it into the hold feeds information into a computer, revealing where in the hold the bag is, to whom it belongs, and its destination. Discrepancies between the bags checked in, passengers boarding, and baggage loaded can be identified when the bar code is scanned at each stage in the process. If a discrepancy occurs the computer can locate the piece of luggage in the aircraft's holds. If an aircraft has been delayed en route and a transit pas senger's baggage needs to be speedily removed to make the onward connection, the com puter can again locate the pieces, according to Donprint managing director Ray Kirk. Most baggage losses occur with transit passengers, he adds. All tracking is in real time. "You not only know where a piece of luggage is, but when it is in a particular place." Donprint chairman Des Donohoe believes that a trial system will be working with an airline within three months. He claims that the system will pay for itself within a year: a small airline could buy the system for about £300,000 and yet save up to £1-5 million a year. The system can be based on personal computers or integrated into a computer reservation system such as Amadeus or Galileo. Three major areas of saving highlighted by Kirk are in lost baggage, ticket fraud, and advanced cash flow. The Inter national Air Transport Associ ation estimates that lost baggage costs the industry about £800 million a year. A further £800 million is lost through ticket fraud, which a hologram on the Donprint tickets helps reduce. The cost of delays in ticket payments owing to slow communication of ticket sales and usage information is also estimated at £80 million to £90 million a day. The computer ised system helps reduce this figure, Donprint claims. Donprint says that its system is both cheaper to operate and more effective than current alternatives, including the magnetic-strip technology interesting some airlines. Complete success of the system requires airports and airlines to work together, but Kirk believes once the joint benefits are realised, this will not be a problem. Bar codes progress from bean tins to baggage tags FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 29 April 1989 25
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