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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 2202.PDF
FUTURE PROJECTS X-tended players Airbus Industrie, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas are all poised to move forward with their X projects. MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES THE LATEST AIRCRAFT models of the big three airliner manufacturers are all now carrying revenue passengers, and the industry is standing by for the next round of new aircraft developments. Airbus Industrie and Boeing are finalising plans for high-capaci ty aircraft, but there are also some interesting lower-capacity developments being proposed. After years of design studies, Airbus Industrie finally announced in April that it is planning to develop a "super-stretch" derivative of the four- engined A340, the -600. The basis of the new developmentis the introduction of a largerwing and considerably more powerful engines. Plans have since emerged for a longer-range A3 40- 300-sized variant with the -600's wing/engines (the -500) and a simple-stretch (the -400) which wouldretaintlieexistingwing/enginesbuthave less range. In April, Airbus signed an exclusive six- month study contract with General Electric for the development of a new or derived engine meeting the A340-600's 227kN (51,0001b) thrust requirements. This thrust has since been increased to 249kN. More details are expected to emerge at the Farnborough air show. The -600's modified wing uses the front and rear spars of the existing A340-200/300's wing, but has a 56m2 (600ft2) increase in area to around 420m2. This is achieved through a 3.5m increase in span to 63.8m, and a greater chord. Wing-tank fuel capacity will also increase by around 25%. The existing winglets are retained. To accommodate the increased chord, a three-frame plug will be inserted in the centre- fuselage section. Airbus is talking about a 20-22 frame stretch to the airframe, which increases overall length to around 75m. This is achieved by inserting fuselage plugs forward and aft, plus the centre fuselage extension incorporated as part of the 54 The Boeing 757-300X will seat around 235passengers in a two-class layout FLIGHT lIHMiBPMMMM^i Boeing could launch the short-fuselage 777'-100X at Farnborough FLIGHT The MD-XX will be a major derivative of the MD-11 wing changes. The A340-600's maximum take off weight will be increased to 3 3 0,000kg, and it is likely that the existing single-unit, twin-wheel centre main landing gear will be replaced by two side-by-side twin wheel units to retain existing pavement-loading levels. The A3 40-600 will carry 375 passengers over distances of 12,950km (7,000nm). The proposed "simple-stretch" A3 40-400 would incorporate a 12 -frame extension, but retain the existing wing and powerplant, enabling it to carry around 340 passengers (three-class) over 11,290km. The A340-300- sized -500 would accommodate around 310 passengers, 15 more than the -300 because of the new wing's modified centre section. The result is an aircraft with a typical range of 15,725km, even more range than that of the smaller -200-sized A340-8000, which can be flown 14,800km. A launch early in 1997 of the re-winged -500/600 models is possible. This would enable service entry to be made in 2 000/2 001, while the A340-400 "simple-stretch" could be available in 1999. Airbus expects that development costs for the A3 40-600 will be "no less than $ 1 billion, for the airframe alone", with the estimated $2 billion engine costs to be paid by the engine manufacturer. While the new A3 40 versions and the A3 XX (see P56) are the most pressing items on Airbus' agenda, it is also evaluating other possible devel opments. Having launched a short-fuselage, longer-range A3 30 derivative, the -200, Airbus is also evaluating a 12 -frame stretch of the A3 3 0, the -400, which would be able to carry 380 pas sengers over distances of almost 7,000km. The proposed A330 "super-stretch", the -600, would use the A340-600's 2 2 -frame stretch, and would be powered by 400kN engines. The con sortium is also evaluating a new-generation A310 variant for regional markets, dubbed FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 28 August - 3 September 1996
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