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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 1333.PDF
g^^^^M^^^^^^^^^^^^M^^^ ^^i^&^^^^^i^^iiii&i ArAyenAelA:A*;«j;|ry je~ PW305s will give BAe's 125 transcontinental speed and range range business jet Sabreliner, which has been talk ing to P&WC about engining the Sabreliner 85, a stretched version of the Sabreliner 80. First, the company has to tie up a joint-venture partner on the aircraft. "We're actively looking for a partner," Sabreliner tells Flight. P&WC, its PW305 team mate MTU, and the Garrett/ General Electric CFE738 part nership have each sunk around $500 million into 5,0001b- thrust-class turbofans aimed specifically at a perceived market for medium-sized cor porate aircraft having trans continental range. Only P&WC claims firm sales to date. Anderson says that he is "confident" about the market for Mach 0-8 transcontinental business jets. The PW305, he says "enables a business aircraft to have performance, range, and speed comparable with that of an airliner for two-thirds the cost of the larger corporate aircraft" such as the Gulfstream IV or Falcon 900. He thinks the market will sustain sales of at least 100 aircraft a year. P&WC began flight-testing the PW305 last week on the company's testbed Boeing 720—the same aircraft recently used to test the IAE V2500 turbofan. The programme will last about two months. To avoid airframe interference, the PW305 is mounted near the nose of the aircraft, on the right- hand side. NEWS IN BRIEF I An Egyptian Air Force Oass- ri Alpha i was :>cee»entiy shot down by ar< Iraqi Army SHfiace-to-air missile while practising its display routine for the Iraq Anns Exhibition at Baghdr- two pilots cjecte-i safely. Iraq 0 »C! FfCtti missiles, as well as Soviet- •'••'••, • sets. • MD I 10 A $1 -3 b-llion for 20 McDom MD-82s, ; J;S on 20 more, has taken orders for the MD-80 family beyond 1,000 aircraft. Production of the UC-9, on which the MD-80 is based, ended after 976 aircraft. • Bombardier ahead thern Ireland Secretary Tom King extended a planned US trip to visit Montreal on May 2 to meet with the management of Bombardier, fuellin lation that the Canadian comp<n, is £ Lake over 5tat.e-owrss.-d Ahem Broth ers (Flight, i week).. • jiiaviga+Iitsiy egnenctcieiai. rhe l!SA and the Soviet ;•:; : .. c co operate on the application of their respective giobsl satellite navigation systems to inter- oaticvwl civil aviation, 'The US global jwsiijceiiiig system and the Soviet global orbiting navigation satellite systems hold the key to the Inter national Civil Avia Organisation's plarn air navigation system. D No radio ban An outright ban on carrying portable radios, computers, and tape players on airliners is being considered, but is unlikely, says US trans- portation secretary Sam Skin ner. The review follows the Pan Am 747 explosion over Lockerbie late last year. Douglas offers V2500, keeps propfans by John Bailey in Los Angeles McDonnell Douglas and Inter national Aero Engines have formally agreed to test airline interest in V2500-powered MD-90s, although Douglas is continuing to offer propfan engines for the aircraft. The two companies last week signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to test the market for a conventionally powered MD-80 derivative, and said the aircraft could be formally launched later this year if there was "sufficient interest". The V2500 turbofan would be offered on two versions, the 114-seat MD-91V and the 165-seat MD-92V, one of which could be available by late 1993 or early 1994, almost a year ahead of a propfan- powered MD-90. Douglas revealed it was reconsidering the V2500 as an alternative to propfans nearly two months ago Flight, March 18). An earlier design study had rejected a V2500-powered MD- 90 because the projected fuel savings could not match those of propfan engines. Two ultra- high-bypass (UHB) engines are currently under development: the Pratt & Whitney/Allison 578DX, which is being flight- tested on an MD-80 at Edwards AFB, California, and the General Electric GE36, which was demonstrated on the MD-80 testbed last year. To date, Douglas has not received a single firm order for propfan-powered MD-90s, despite projected fuel savings of around 40 per cent compared with the low-bypass Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofans which power the MD-80 series. Boeing shelved its propfan- powered 7J7 airliners last year, after deciding that the low price of oil did not justify the cost and technology risks involved. Boeing's own Current Market Outlook forecasts that the price of oil is likely to remain rela tively stable in the near future, ruling out prospects for propfan sales (Flight, March 4). Douglas confirms that a deci sion to offer the V2500 engine would mean the end of propfan development, at least for the foreseeable future. "Our intent is to select one engine and go with it," the company says, adding: "We are not with drawing the UHB in favour of the V25O0. We are merely test ing the waters with another potential version of the aero plane at this time. Depending on what the airlines tell us about either or both of these configurations, a decision will be made downstream." IAE has already announced its intention to develop an uprated 28,0001b-thrust version of the V2500, the V2500-A5, which would probably be certi ficated by mid-1992 Flight, April 29). The new engine, which would have 3,0001b more thrust than the current V2500-A1, is intended primar ily for the stretched A3 20-300, but would also be suitable for the MD-90 series. The engine would weigh the same as the -Al, and have the same-sized fan, but would have a 7 to 9 per cent increase in core airflow and a slightly reduced bypass ratio. Douglas is anxious to launch an updated variant of the MD- 80 series, even though sales of the DC-9 derivative remain buoyant. The new aircraft would have a modified tail structure regardless of which engine is chosen. V2500 turbofan or 578DX propfan power will keep P&W on the MD-90 *"i«! ;«Oi!>-<', aisasa-Ararfa F?.~ti • .r '• *WffSfo«r'»»* L^*i|^^^S FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 13 May 1989 3
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