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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 0013.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT CFMI/Rybinsk discuss CFM56 JULIAN MOXON/PARIS CFM INTERNATIONAL (CFMI) and Russian engine manufacturer Rybinsk Motors are discussing the setting up of a pro duction line for CFM56-3s, which power Boeing 737-300s. Rybinsk, which already builds some CFM56 components, is said by CFMI president Gerard Laviec to be a "good candidate" for such a move, which he says would be a "...strategic decision aimed at ensuring a strong CFMI presence in Russia". Similar initiatives are under way in China as part of the offset effort on the Airbus/ AVIC/ Singapore Technologies AE316/ AE317 family, although Laviec declines to specify which com panies are involved. Talks about re-engineing the Ily- ushin 11-76 transport with GFM56s are continuing, Laviec says, but he adds that there remain questions about die cost of certification, for which Russia would have to pay. He believes that up to 1,000 new (stretched) and existing aircraft may be suitable for re-engineing, but adds diatTupolev is "still interested" in re-engineing die Tu-154 trijet. Total CFMI sales in 1997 were around Fr4 billion ($675 million). There is a backlog of 3,000 engines, with around 730 produced in 1997, growing to more than 1,000 in 1998 "and for a few years after that". Laviec says that CFMI is "in good shape", particularly as a result of continued improvements in pro duction efficiency. He adds, howev er, that 1997 was "... the first year in our history' that we have not had a new engine in development". Development of the CFM56-7 for the new 737has been completed, while the CFM56-9 "Lite" still awaits an application. The result is that the Snecma/General Electric partner ship has been able to transfer staff formerly employed in research and development to the production side, "...where our resources are most needed", says Laviec. He insists, however, that CFMI is "thinkingof the future", and aim ing to avoid what he calls the "JT8 Syndrome", which saw Pratt & Whitney, with a virtual monopoly on engines for medium-range air liners, failing to maintain its mar ket dominance. The Snecma/General Electric partnershiphas also stressed its aim of retaining leadership in the mar ket to power 100- to 200-seat air craft, which Laviec says will account for around 70% of its sales in the next six or seven years. Re sponding to Pratt & Whitney's aim of developing a new geared-fan engine as a CFM56 competitor (Flight International, 24 December, 1997-6 January), Laviec says: "We shall be very vigilant...we do not intend to lose our lead." He adds: "The emphasis must be placed on further reductions in maintenance and operating costs." Improvements planned for the CFM56 include reducing the number of high-pressure compres sor stages, introducing more advanced materials and further re ductions in noise. CFMI is looking at "all of the possibilities", but Laviec rules out a move to geared fans. "The basic configuration of the CFM56 will remain unchanged," he says. • MD-10 conversions for FedEx remain on track THE McDONNELL Douglas (MDC) DC-10 freighter/up grade programme for FedEx is on schedule, according to die carrier's chairman, Frederick Smith.The project to rework the aircraft, known as the MD-10, has been un affected by Boeing's recent take over of MDC. The two-phase programme, which first involves the freighter conversion, and later the installa tion of a two-crew Honeywell Advanced Common Flightdeck (ACF) "glass cockpit", is being managed by Boeing, which inherit ed die role from MDC. Smith says that he has had assurances from Boeing officials that it is "...firmly committed" to the project. FedEx will have 59 DC-10s con verted - 25 of 36 ex-United Airlines DC-10-10s, and 12 DC-10-lOs and 22 DC-10-30s which it already operates. The remaining 11 ex-United aircraft, along with 17 DC-10s being United's DC-10-10s are set for a new lease of life as MD-10 freighters acquired from American, will be converted ".. .as market forces dic tate", says FedEx. The first of 15 aircraft, which will undergo an interim conversion just to freighter configuration, went into revenue service in November, and a further five are now being worked on. Cargo con versions are being under taken by Dimension Aviation in Goodyear, Alabama, Pemco in Dothan, Alabama, and Aeronavali in Italy. A flight-test aircraft, an in-ser vice DC-10-30, will be upgraded with the ACF in 1998, and testing will begin in late 1998. Certifi cation is expected in May 1999. • NEWS IN BRIEF • US AIRWAYS TAKES APIC US Airways has picked Sund- strand's Auxiliary Power International (APIC) to sup ply its APS 3200 auxiliary power unit for the airline's recent order for up to 400 Airbus A320 family aircraft. • SILENT IN ALASKA Alaska Airlines claims to be the first US carrier to be fully compliant with US Federal Aviation Administration Stage 3 noise requirements, some two years ahead of the year 2000 deadline. Alaska Air has hushkitted its non- pure-Stage-3 aircraft (eight Boeing 737-200s) making it the first major US airline to operate an all-Stage 3 fleet. • COLLINS FOR AMERICAN American Airlines has select ed Rockwell-Collins as the primary avionics supplier for its new fleet of Boeing 737s and 777s. The ten-year agreement, worth $200 mil lion, allows for guaranteed acquisition pricing and pro vides for maintenance and logistics support, and in cludes the GLU-920 multi- mode receiver, traffic-alert collision-avoidance system and WXR-700X forward- looking windshear radar. • TRAINING FAILS TEST The oversight of pilot and flightcrew training by the US Federal Aviation Admini stration must improve, says a US General Accounting Office (GAO) report. It states that accident rates can be reduced by improved pilot training. The study examines the relationship of airline pilots' performance to acci dents, and the FAA's system for controlling standards. Of the 169 major accidents examined between 1983 and 1995, about 30% were caused by inadequate pilot perfor mance, the GAO says, noting that often the pilots' crew- resource management was non-existent or poor. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 January 1998
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