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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 0448.PDF
produce less noise than is typical of others in service. Lufthansa says that the sound pressure level in the cabin will be "easily the lowest in our fleet, and in some cases half that of other modern aircraft". Another air-conditioning innovation, which was requested by Lufthansa and applied to all A340s, has been to split the system into six temperature-independent sections lengthwise within the cabin. This should end the suffering of those who freeze when the system adjusts automati cally for the heat produced when food is served to the first- and business-class cabins. On Lufthansa aircraft, individual section temperatures can be adjusted by the purser, but normally the system is entirely controlled by software. During route proving, it became clear that the ride comfort of the A340 was good. Lufthansa was pleased to note, for example, that during one flight over the Arizona desert, when the aircraft was hit by moderate clear-air turbulence, the cabin crew were able to continue service when normally they would have been forced to stop. Lufthansa spent $5 million on cabin comforts, including its in-flight entertain ment system. Both first and business-class passengers are provided with 12-channel personal video systems, which fold out of the seat arm. In economy, travellers have eight channels of compact-disc sound to choose from. There is also, says Lufthansa, a higher standard of seating throughout than on its other long-range aircraft. For the first time on a widebody, the airline is limiting seats to just six- abreast in business class, "...which is comparable to what first-class passengers had a few years ago". NO MECHANICAL FAILURES Apart from a few early problems with the air-conditioning system, the route-proving trials were virtually problem-free. There were no mechanical failures to systems, airframe or engines on the two A340s which were used and no major black boxes needed changing. Lufthansa's air craft, an A340-200 (Air France flew a -300) was fitted with 3t of test equipment in the rear of the fuselage, which was monitored throughout the trials by engineers who found that, with so little to do, they had time to enjoy the on-board amenities. One route-proving result was the dis covery, with some relief, that the unex pected 1.5° nose-down attitude of the A340 on the ground (caused by a nose- gear leg which settled too short) did not, after all, interfere with ground-handling operations. Lufthansa tested the loading of pallets and containers at several loca tions without difficulty. The airline also looked carefully at potential problems with the increased height of the rear doors (greater than that of a 747), again finding that access stairs could reach the sills even in relatively poorly-equipped locations. So Airbus is under less pressure to produce a new nosewheel leg, and for the time being the A340 keeps its characteristic shoulders- down look on the ground. During the trials, the Lufthansa aircraft undertook 40 flights, lasting a total of 141h, 25min. Almost 100,000km (54,000nm) were flown, the longest leg being the non-stop Frankfurt-Honolulu flight, covering 12,300km in 15h 20min. Air France carried out 29 flights for a total of 140h 45min, its longest leg being Singapore-Paris (11,500km), covered in 14h 30min. During flight-tests, an A340- 200 with a 27t payload completed a record flight from Toulouse to Perth, Australia, flying the route in 16h 22min and arriving with almost four hours of fuel left. Lufthansa A340 project chief Werner Sholtz is adamant that the A340 meets its guaranteed range of 12,800km with a full load of passengers on a standard day. He says there was a "great deal of confusion" about the difference between the nominal performance figures supplied by Airbus, which were those initially given to the airlines, and the guarantee figures. "There was always some doubt about whether the aircraft could achieve some of the nomi- nals at the beginning of its life", says Sholz. "But it certainly meets all of its guarantees." Lufthansa is still considering the use of the range-improving "riblets" under de velopment by Airbus, as well as other future aerodynamic improvements. But their incorporation will, adds Sholz, "...be a matter of negotiation between Airbus and Lufthansa". The longest route which will initially be flown by Lufthansa is the 10,000km Frankfurt-Sao Paulo leg, so range is not at present an issue. Fuel burn is more likely to be the stimulant, al though with the A340 burning about 30% less fuel than a similarly loaded McDon nell Douglas DC-10, and world fuel prices still low, Lufthansa is not, at present, looking for further improvements. The airline says that it is "extremely pleased" with the performance of the A340. Airbus' latest flight-test figures in dicate that low-speed performance is "much better" than predicted, and that, as a result, maximum take-off weight can be increased by up to 3.5t (to 257t) for the same thrust. The addition of nacelle strakes has also helped reduce A340-300 approach speed by about 8kt (15km/h). Introduction of all of the initial batch of 15 A340s ordered by Lufthansa will be completed by the end of 1994, with up to ten aircraft in service by the end of this year. The A340 will replace DC-10-30s and 747-200s, which will be phased out and sold. On some North Atlantic routes it will also replace the A310-300, which, although capable, "...is not built for such ranges", and suffers a payload restriction. The A340-300's ability to be flown fully-loaded to the US West Coast means, says Scholz, that it is "ideal for flights to North America". The longer-range -200 (of which Lufthansa is buying six) will be used for South America, and possibly Africa, where the routes are longer and passenger demand is lower. MAXIMUM COMPETITION Lufthansa intends to introduce the A340 on routes where it sees the maximum competition. "We're confident that we'll see a major benefit from using the A340," says Scholz. On some routes, it will replace the 747 Combi, which has a similar passenger capacity. "We've de cided to handle cargo separately," says Scholz, "which will make our cargo agents happier and allow us to concentrate on passenger services." Lufthansa's Combis will be converted to full cargo configura tion by Israel Aircraft Industries. Lufthansa plans a second daily A340 route to New York, adding Kennedy to La Guardia, in August. Daily flights to Boston and Atlanta begin in September and to Washington DC and Sao Paulo in October. By the end of 1993, Air France will be operating nine of a total of 19 A340s on order by virtue of the seven originally ordered under its own name, the seven which UTA had ordered (UTA is now owned by Air France) and five on lease from Sabena, the Belgian carrier in which Air France has a 35% holding. Air France will introduce its first two A340s in late March, replacing 747s on the Paris- Washington DC service four times a week and becoming a daily service as more aircraft are delivered. A twice-weekly Paris-Mexico service will follow, along with a five-times weekly Paris-Houston-Mexico City flight. During August, Paris will be linked to Buenos Aires-Santiago, and Recife-Sao Paulo. Later in the year, Montreal and Miami will join the list. Pilot comment about the A340 has been very positive, noting the aircraft's strong cockpit similarity to the A320, and find ing the bigger aircraft just as easy to fly. With the same fly-by-wire flight-control philosophy now applying to four of its aircraft (A320, A321, A330 and A340), the concept has done as much as anything to give Airbus its high-technology image. Airlines (such as Lufthansa) owning both the A320 and A340 will also be able to benefit from minimal cross-crew quali fication training requirements. Only ten days will be needed to train for the A340 (four theoretical, six simulation), with an extra four days line flying on instruction. "This compares with two or three months on other types," says Scholz. CI FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 10 - 16 March, 1993 33
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