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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 3556.PDF
NEWS ANALYSIS Airbus Industrie president Jean Piersori confirms that the European consortium has "embarked on studies" of a 600- to 800-seat, 13,000km (7,000nm)-range competitor to the Boeing 747. Such an aircraft, he says, could be developed from the A340, but it would enter the market "...certainly not before the end of the century...and then only if the programme makes commercial sense". Pierson says that direct oper ating costs of the aircraft would need to be "significantly better" than the 747 which, he says, "...totally dominates" its market slot. This implies that the new Airbus would have to be pow ered by an increased-bypass- ratio turbofan, such as General Electric's GE90, or the ultra- high-bypass Advanced Ducted Prop engine under development by Pratt & Whitney. The aircraft would almost certainly make use of other new technology aimed at improving long-range efficiency, including, for example, some kind of lift ing-body design where the fuse lage contributes to lift. The art ist's impression released by Air bus appears to show an oval- section fuselage which could have some lifting-body effect. "We've got to think about a wider fuselage," says Airbus technical director Bernard Ziegler, adding: "We get no lift at all from the fuselage today". Coupled with the new en gines, and the reduction in drag made possible by increasing computer authority over aircraft stability, the new Airbus could see a 20-25% improvement in efficiency over current long- range widebody ^^^^^^^^^ designs, accord ing to one in dustry source. Airbus will think long and hard before twice the passenger committing it- • r i self to a Boeing capacity oj the 747 AIRBUS AIMS FOR SLICE OF 747 MARKET The European consortium has mapped out a development path for its A340 four-jet airliner, taking it into Boeing's exclusive 747 territory. Boeing's 747 "domination" could be challenged by a 600- to 800-seat lifting-body A340 derivative ice the "A 747 competitor would have around ttTtiiT A340, which enters service in 1992" attempting to enter a market which has been •••••••••• Boeing's exclu sive domain since it introduced the 747 almost 25 years ago. A 747 competitor, even based on the A340, would be costly to develop, sinc e projected passenger capacity is around twice that of the aircraft that enters service in 1992. In the meantime, the Euro- ^^^^-^^; pean manufac turer is looking at longer-range derivatives of both the A330 twinjet and A340 that would com pete directly with the new long-range Boe ing 777. Just as Boeing sees its 777 twinjet •••••••I growing in range and capacity to match that of the 747-200 —a market McDonnell Douglas may attack with an MD-12 — it is clear that Airbus has mapped out a development path for the A340 that could lead directly to a competitor to the 747. The Airbus A340 has already outgrown the engine which powers it into ^^^^^^^^^ service, the CFM56-5C2, providing 139kN "CFM Will (31,2001b) of thrust. CFM has announced that a 153kN-thrust CFM56-5C4, to engine be certificated in June 1994, will power the A340- 300 Combi. Air bus Industrie, mm/mm meanwhile, ad mits that it will need 180kN-thrust powerplant 1997 for planned growth sions of the A340. he hard put to squeeze 180hN out of an that started life producing 98kN thrust" new by ver- The Snecma/General Electric CFM56 partnership will be hard put to squeeze 180kN out of an engine that started life produc ing 98kN of thrust, however. A ^^^^^^^^ refanned version offering higher bypass ratio is being considered, "...but only if the market is there", says Snecma com mercial engines vice-president Dominique Paris. One industry source says, how ever, that it is __ "extremely un likely" the could successfully be that far. of the A340 begins ' increased take-off CFM56 developed Growth with the 24 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 28 November - 4 December, 1990
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