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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 2222.PDF
COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT Air Canada has based its long-term fleet plans around the Airbus families, with orders for single-aisle A319s andA320s, and tvidebody A330s andA340s A3XX Airbus knows that it must break Boeing's monopoly of the high-capacity long-range-air liner market to be truly competitive. In the early 1990s, the rival firms studied the joint develop ment of a single, very-large commercial trans port, but they now appear to be set for a head-to-head fight in the market. Airbus has been studying an all-new, double- deck 500-seat-plus airliner under the project name A3XX, while until early in 1997 Boeing seemed set to go with stretched, rewinged derivatives of the 747. In April 1996, Airbus established its Large Aircraft division (AI/L), headed by Jurgen Thomas. With Boeing's now-abandoned plans for a 747-500/600 moving forward, the A3XX seemed to be caught up in the momentum. New engines were proposed by R-R (the Trent 900) and the joint GE-PW alliance (the GP7000) which were suitable for both aircraft. The con sortium has never swayed from its stated inten tion not to launch the aircraft before 1998, however. The A3XX will require engines in the 307- 3 50kN thrust range, and Airbus says that it will offer a choice of engines. The consortium already has an MoU with R-R for the Trent 900 to be offered on the aircraft. The double-deck A3XX project includes the baseline 555-seat (three-class) -100, which has a range of around 14,200km. Engines at thrust ratings of up to 347kN will be required. Airbus is also proposing a stretched deriva tive, the 656-seat -200, with an increased weight and a similar range. An extended range -100R, with the higher MTOW of the -200, has also been proposed. This would be able to carry die -100's passenger load over 16,200km. The basic A3XX-100 will have a MTOW of 540t, while the stretched -200 will weigh 583t. While these three variants are the most clear ly defined so far, Airbus is examining other models, including lighter, short-range models (-100S/-200S), a reduced-capacity 480-seat version, and a combi (-100C) and freighter Model Dimensions Span (m| Length (m) Height |m) wing area (nfl notes A34CW00 Enghes Landing Accomodation Max Fuel gear weights (kg) (litres) Track (m) Seats Take-off Standard Wheeibase (m) Pitch Landing Optional Turn Zero radius (m) Abreast fuel Cabin Operating width empty 4 x 250kN Rolls-Royce Trent 500 (2) turbofan 63.6 74.37 437.4 550 356,000 195.000 9 FAR field lengths take-off ISA sea-level ISA+20-c sea-level ISA 5,000ft ISA +20"c 5,000ft 10,450 landing ISA sea-level ISA+20'c sea-level ISA 5,000ft ISA+20'c 5,000ft Range with 372 pax (threeclass) is 13,960km. (550 max seating is estimated) A3XX-100 Speeds (H» Vno Vmo Vne 4 x 307kN Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofan or 4 x 307kN GE-PW Engine Alliance GP7000 turbofan 79 70.8 24.3 Range with A3XX-200 4 x 347kN 79 77.4 24.3 Range with 555 540,000 - 381,000 - 356,000 - 271,000 a typical threeclass toad of 555 passengers is (machl Mno Mmo Mne 0.85 • Cruise performance Max cruise Long range speed (kt) speed (kt) Max aft At aft (ft) (ft) Max cruise Long range fuel cons fuel cons (kg/h) |kg/h| Paykwd details Max (kg) Range with max p/l (km) Paytoadwfth max fuel (kg) range with max fuel 29,311 85,000 14,150km. A3XX-100R has 343kN engines, 583t MTOW and 16,200km range. Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofan or 4 x 347kN GE-PW Engine Alliance GP70O0 turbofan 656 583,000 - 408,000 - 381,000 - 286,000 a typical threeclass load of 656 passengers is 14,150km. 0.85 95.000 (-1 OOF) variant. The -200 will seat almost 1,000 people in a one-class, high-density layout. A 700-seat-plus (three-class) A3XX-300 has also been mentioned. Airbus is expected to finalise the A3XX's definition by the end of 1998 to enable it to take a basic programme decision in December of the same year. A final design-freeze is scheduled for late 1999, when the industrial go-ahead deci sion will be taken. The first aircraft is expected to have its maid en flight in die fourth quarter of 2002, and enter service 12 months later. The consortium, meanwhile, is seeking part ners to provide up to 40% of the estimated $8- 10 billion needed to develop its first very-high- capacity aircraft. Alenia, Belairbus, Fokker Aviation, Saab and Finavitec have already signed to participate in pre-launch work. Production Airbus has not yet decided on the location for the final-assembly line of the A3XX. The potential size of subassemblies which will be built to produce an aircraft, and the difficulties of moving them between facto ries, means that the whole Airbus production strategy has to be re-examined. The consortium says that several land- and sea-based sites have been evaluated, taking into account the level of investment, optimum assembly flow, lowest cost and means of transportation. 38 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3 - 9 September 1997
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