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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 1242.PDF
TECHNICAL: AIR TRANSPORT P&W-powered MD-11 speeds up testing McDonnell Douglas is accel erating its MD-11 certifica tion test effort to start deliveries to airlines this year. The third flight-test aircraft has undergone normal production checks and engine runs at McDonnell Doug las's Long Beach plant. It was expected to fly for the first time late last weekend to join the other MD-11 test aircraft at the company's test centre in Yuma, Airzona. Certification tests began on 17 April. The latest MD-11 differs from the first two in using Pratt & Whitney PW4460 instead of General Electric CF6-80C2 en gines. Five prototypes will be used for certification. The GE-powered lead aircraft has flown more than 140h since its maiden flight in January. Project pilot John Miller and his crew are continuing to test performance and handling in the cruise, climb and descent and at extreme centre-of-gravity positions. The second aircraft has logged more than 96h since 1 March. Pilot Tom Melody and his crew are performing air-loads testing and avionics development, including the automatic landing, braking and cockpit voice-warn ing systems. The two MD-lls have reached up to Mach 0.945 and 39,000ft (11,900m). Ten McDonnell Douglas pilots have qualified to fly the MD-11. • 1LYUSHIN DISPLAYS IL-114 COCKPIT The Ilyushin 11-114 cockpit has five-tube electronic flight instrumentation. The displays are lOAcm tall with the central display for engine information and three others for primary flight and navigation displays. The 60- passenger regional airliner, now in /light test, is the smallest Soviet commercial aircraft with a glass cockpit. Embraer's fast commuter will benefit from airport congestion Embraer sees EMB.145 options grow BY MIKE GAINES IN SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS Embraer has commitments for 296 EMB.145 regional jets from 19 operators in 12 coun tries and expects to sign up cus tomers to take the options past the 400 mark. Embraer sees a potential market for the EMB.145 as 500 to the year 2000, not counting possible sales in the emerging Eastern European market. "Future airport congestion will lead to a swing away from the hub-spoke concept. As a result there will be a good future for fast commuter aircraft in any class of seat capacity for hub bypass operations," says the company. Embraer is seeking an external finance for the 145. Company president Osiras da Silva says: "We are trying to arrange a more creative way to finance this pro gramme to avoid high future costs. We are very close to concluding agreements with sev eral international banks to fi nance the 145 at their own risk. "There is a lot of Brazilian debt Aeritalia joins A321 programme Aeritalia is to design and pro- xVduce the front-fuselage plug of the Airbus Industrie A3 21 (stretched A320) under a con tract signed last week. The work could be worth up to $100 mil lion over tenlO years and marks Aeritalia's first direct involve ment in an Airbus programme. Aeritalia will assemble the 4m- diameter, 4.3m-long plugs at its Naples factory, delivering com peted assemblies to Aero spatiale's Saint-Nazaire factory for final assembly. The first plug will be mated at Saint-Nazaire early in 1992. The contract, signed in Naples on 21 April by Aeritalia chief executive officer Fausto Cereti and Airbus managing director Jean Pierson, gives the Italian firm manufacture of about 2% of the A321 airframe. Aeritalia, now an associate to Airbus but not a partner, has supplied tailcones for A300s and A310s since 1982 under subcontract. The Airbus partners had pre viously bid for work adapting the A320 into the new aircraft, and British Aerospace won rear fu selage plug manufacture. • and the new Government is look ing favourably at methods of converting Brazilian debt to investment in Brazil, and this method does just that. It must be clear that these banks are not investing in Embraer but in the 145 programme alone. We don't want to raise the company's equity too much as it does not give a favourable return to the shareholders. The investment is based on the 145's success, not Embraer overall." • Embraer EMB. 145 options taken AeroChasqui Aeromar Aliadriatica Air Littoral Britair Business Express Comair DAT Express Airways MoraiseRios Nortjet Northwest Ontario Express Quaembra Sofinel Skywest Tempelhof Wernitz Westair 10 3 2 5 5 20 60 10 15 2 2 45 16 2 4 20 5 10 20 14 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2-8 May 1990
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