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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 0959.PDF
HEADLINES Optimistic Boeing rolls out 777 Boeing expects to deliver this year slightly over half the number of aircraft it did in 1992, but believes that the recession may be "close to the bottom of the cycle", says corn- pan) chairman and chief exec utive, Frank Shrontz. Speaking on the eve of the 9 April roll-out of the 777 twin- jet, Shrontz said that Boeing's "best predictions" indicate that around 260 aircraft will be delivered during the year, com pared to 330 in 1993 and 421 in 1992. Although Shrontz adds that a further 7,000 Boeing jobs will go in 1994, on top of 17,000 losses in 1993, the company's "...financial position clearly re mains strong, despite the downward trend on sales and earnings". Sales of $21 billion are predicted for 1994, com pared to $25.4 billion for 1993. Much of the company's opti mism lies in its prediction that world air traffic will grow at an average of just over 5% be tween 1994 and 2010. Al though this is slightly down on the 7% rise predicted histori cally, it will be enough to generate a demand for 11,000 aircraft, worth more than $800 billion, over 17 years. One of the most immediate hopes for better sales in 1994 is the re-equipment programme for Saudi Arabian flag-carrier, Saudia. They're trying to make a decision regarding the split of orders by 1 May," says Shrontz, who adds: "We've made pro posals to Saudia on 737, 777 and 747." Referring to the 777, Shrontz says that the stretch version will be launched "...in the next year or so." He also admits that the programme is "overbudg- eted, but not drastically so", after "...we found that CATIA [the computerised design and manufacturing system used on the 777] wasn't as user-friendly as we hoped". D child at controls' report "absolutely groundless". RAL's Eskuzian denies that any unauthorised person was controlling the aircraft, saying: "The nature of the pilots' inju ries — showing impact with the control columns — indi cate that two pilots were in their seats at the impact, Igor Piskarev in the right seat and Yaroslav Kudrinsky in the left one." The captain, Andrei Da- nilov, was in the cabin at im pact, but Eskuzian points out that it would have been reason able for him to have taken a break. In an interview with the Trud newspaper, however, Es kuzian claims that the pilot's words on the CVR — "...crawl out, get out" — do not imply that the boy to whom they were directed was in a pilot's seat, but may have been orders to him to exit the cockpit. The MAK has confirmed, however, that there were children's v0ices on the CVR. The Trud article also claims that the FDR read-out shows _J™t the aircraft rolled almost inverted and gives a descent-to- impact time of 2min 16s with a load factor peaking at 5g. Sources close to the investiga tion say that the CVR recorded shouted instructions during the descent to the person at the controls about how to arrest the descent.The FDR shows at least two attempts to pull out, during which the aircraft stalled. There is no evidence to sup port some suggestions that in advertent deployment of the aircraft's spoilers might have initiated the sequence. The MoT says: "However dismal for the Russian airline the findings of the Government would be...there is no intention to cover or correct the actual results of the investigation." In an interview with the ITAR- TASS news agency, Eskuzian points out that Russia, as a financial guarantor, would have to pay $75 million from its state resources to the own ers of the leased A310 if it were proved that the crew was guilty of causing the crash. • Europe launches SST research programme BY KIERAN DALY Aerospatiale, British Aero space and Deutsche Aero space have formally launched a joint supersonic-transport (SST) research programme. The move is intended to co ordinate European technical and funding activities and to ensure competitiveness with the aggressive US high-speed transport effort. The three partners have re leased details of a new "com mon-configuration" which will be "taken very seriously in the context of being a research- and-development platform". The effort, called the Euro pean Supersonic Research Pro gramme (ESRP), will include areas such as "materials, aero dynamics, systems and po- werplant integration", but the partners say that "...issues such as work-share are still a long way off". The common-configuration aircraft is described as having "broad characteristics" includ ing a range of 10,000km (5,400nm), 250-passenger, three-class capacity and Mach 2.0 cruise speed. The partners believe that, although they are competing technologically with the NASA- funded $1.5 billion high-speed programme, ultimately only a single, consortium-produced, aircraft will emerge. BAe Airbus project manager for international collaboration Iain Gray says: " [The ESRP] allows better co-ordination in Europe at this stage, but our ultimate ambition is to be a good partner." The partners are aggressively seeking state and European Union funding, and BAe Airbus business-development director Robert Whitfield adds: "If we are to maintain the opportunity for influence [with the USA] and to have a significantly sub stantial share in any future programme, what we are going to need is a research pro gramme reasonably comparable to that of NASA. We believe there is the prospect of a finan cially viable supersonic trans port aircraft." Aerospatiale supersonic- transport research programme manager Elie Khasky says: "If we Europeans do not wish to be mere sub-contractors, then we have to be as good as our American friends to take an equal share in whatever super sonic-transport programme emerges in the coming years." Fewer than 100 technical staff are involved in the ESRP, says Khasky, with a budget of not more than $500-600 million over the next five years. "We're starting this year with $100 million compared with the Americans' budget of $187.2 million which, by the time they finish, may well exceed $1.5 billion," he adds. • Additional reporting by Gilbert Sedbon in Paris. Europe's SST: a vehicle to ensure an equal share of US programme FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 13 - 19 April, 1994 5
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