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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1397.PDF
Cathay pushes for stretched 777... PAUL LEWIS/SEATTLE CATHAY PACIFIC HAS declined a Boeing request to increase its orders for 777s beyond the current level of 11 to help launch the stretched version of the aircraft. At the same time, however, the Hong Kong airline is press ing the manufacturer to launch the planned stretched derivative as well as produce a heavier variant of the 777-200 A-mar ket aircraft. "Our major interest, after we have accepted the first four 777- 2 00 As into service, is the stretch," says Cathay managing director Rod Eddington. "It is a critical part of the family as we are so dependent on using large aircraft regionally." The first Rolls-Royce Trent 877-powered 777 A-market air craft was rolled out at Boeing's Everett plant on 8 May. Cathay has ordered 11 777s, including four A-market 777s, due for deliver)' between March and August 1996. Cathay plans to convert the remaining seven aircraft on order to the 777 stretch, as a replacement for its Boeing 747- 200s/-300s on high-density shorter- range regional routes. The first delivery is scheduled For May 1998, by which time Cathay assumes that the 10.14m-longer stretch variant will be available. The airline has options on a further 11 aircraft, but says that it does not need any capacity beyond the aircraft already ordered, until after I long Kong's new Chek Lap Kok Airport is opened in late 1997. Other airlines are keen to con vert existing 777 orders and options to the stretch, including Korean Air. Boeing is understood to be working to co-ordinate r* '•*»»%» g"***^ zj£-M** Cathay is Trent 800 launch customer potential orders to launch the air craft. A decision is expected in the "next few months," says Boeing senior vice-president Alan Malally. Aside from the stretched variant, Cathav also ...R-R promises to develop Trent GUY NORRIS/SEATTLE R OLLS-ROYCE HAS de fined a thrust level of 423kN (95,0001b) for the next growth stage of the Trent 800 as the three Boeing 777 engine suppliers prepare for new bat tles over the proposed -300X A- market stretch. R-R Trent director Phil Hopton says: "We have deter mined 95,0001b in consultation u ith Boeing." General Electric is considering a GE90 throttle push or derate from the 467kN version, to 423kN, while Pratt & Whitney is already embarked on a 436kN version of the PVV4000, called the PW4098. R-R says that the higher thrust levels will be achieved with adjustments to the high-pressure and intermediate-pressure tur bines, plus additional changes to increase core flow. "The changes we're talking about are nothing drastic. They'll be material refinements, thermal barriers and cooling air. We'll also grow the annular area to increase flow through the core by about 3%," says Hopton. Early work on the higher- thrust engine, the Trent 895, has already started,"...because we could see that the stretch would happen. R-R expects to kick off a 15-month develop ment programme in mid-1996, culminating in certification in September 1997." Hopton says that further growth beyond 423kN will be possible without any increases to the diameter of the fan, which, at 2.79m, is already the smallest of the three engine choices on the 777. "The fan is big enough for 100,0001b and beyond, while the basic 800 core is capable of 102,0001b of thrust," he says. R- R says that thrust levels of more than 471kN during tests have already been demonstrated. The first Trent-powered 777 is expected to be flown on 26 May, when the initial Cathay Pacific aircraft is due to begin flight tests. A 1,008-cycle extend ed-range twin-engine operations flight-test programme is expect ed to begin on a second Trent- powered 777 around mid- August. This is expected to be completed in late March, two months after certification and delivery of the first aircraft to Cathay Pacific. Initial Trent 800s will be der ated in service to thrusts between 333kN and 374kN, but will be the first 777 engine to be cleared for flight at 400kN. Hopton admits that the Trent's fuel consumption is high er than that of either of its rivals, but he believes that lower installed weight and better per formance-retention will more than compensate. Q wants the A-market aircraft's weight increased to "around 250,000kg" and possibly higher. This would enable the 343-seat aircraft to carry more freight and be operated on longer regional routes now served by the 747- 400, such as I long Kong- Sydney/Melbourne. The A-market aircraft were to have a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 242,680kg. The move has been prompted partly by R-R's decision to raise certification thrust on the Trent 800 to 400kN (90,0001b). Cathay's aircraft have initially been certificated at 342kN, but can be re-certificated at 375kN, or, with some structural modifi cations, 400k\", to give an increased MTOW. "The fuel is there, the thrust is there. All we need is weight capa bility and we'll have an aircraft that will fly longer ranges," says Cathay Pacific engineering direc tor Roland Fairfield. Boeing has tentatively pro posed an MTOW increase of 4,540kg, which would give an extra 490km (265nm) in range. To meet a 247,430kg MTOW, the aircraft would incorporate a series of modifica tions, including reinforced nose and main landing gear, upgrad ed avionics software, changes to the wing leading edge and a revised horizontal stabiliser. G 10 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 17 - 23 May 1995
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