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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 1938.PDF
Wing changes aid ERJ-170 work PAUL LEWIS/WASHINGTON DC EMBRAER has unveiled fur ther configuration changes to the ERJ-170's main wing to impr ove performance, as the Brazilian regional jet programme prepares to move to the next detailed design and certification phase and the start of fabrication in July. With the completion of prelim inary design review and the joint definition phase (JDP) drawing to a close, Embraer has extended the 72.5m2 (780.4ft2) wing by adding blended winglets and opting for moving double slotted flaps. The locally designed 1 m- high winglets are calculated to generate a 3-5% improvement in the standard ERJ- 170's target 3,334km (l,800nm) range and fuel consumption. The winglets draw on a similar modification made to the SIVAM The new ERJ-170 should be in production by the end of next year airborne early warning version of the smaller EMB-145 jet. "The results from the simulation and flight test of the -145 were better than expected and led us to investig ate the ERJ-170. Initial results are also good, though [the improve ments are] not as big as SIVAM, and JDP is the time to make the change," says Luis Affonso, ERJ- 170/190 programme director. A decision now has to be made between Embraer or wing sub assembly partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries on producing the new composite winglets. The Japanese manufacturer was to have produc ed the original wingtip. Embraer will wait until next year's JDP bef ore deciding on fitting wingtips to the stretched ERJ-190-100/2 00, which will have a larger 90m2 wing. Launch customer Crossair required the 70-seater ERJ-170 to be designed to operate from run way restricted Berne Lugano and London City airports. "Testing has shown that moveable double-slot ted flaps will maximise lift co-effi cient and produce better short field performance," says Affonso. Embraer's on-going airline advi sory board, numbering 2 5 carriers, suggests moving the front right- hand side service door forward. This will create a larger space sep aration from the forward luggage hold door and engine nacelles. The follow-on critical design review runs from late July until September, after which the ERJ- 170's design will be frozen. Emb raer has ordered initial material for its first six pre-series ERJ-170 test aircraft and two static airframes. "Final assembly starts in April/May 2001 with a first flight before the end of the year," says Affonso. 3 Russian air transport body merger could be a'catastrophe' RUSSIA'S aviation regulatory authority, the Federal Service of Air Transport (FSAT), has been disbanded pending re-incorpora tion into the Ministry of Transport. Formerly known as the Federal Aviation Service, the FSAT was set up in 1995 after an audit of Russian civil aviation was conducted by the US Federal Aviation Admin istration at the request of the Russian Government after several serious air accidents. The integration is expected to be completed within three months. The FSAT's budget will be amalgamated with the ministry's budget, with senior FSAT staff expecting this to result in reduced funding. Sources describe the situation as "a reversion to the catastrophe- prone situation of the early 1990s". Until the new structure has been put in place, there is no clear line of responsibility in the regulation of Russia's airlines, air traffic services, overhaul facilities and airports. 3 Taca Peru mounts last-ditch effort to escape Category 2 downgrade TACA PERU'S hopes of flying to Miami as part of a newly unveiled international expansion appear in doubt as Peruvian authorities mount a last-ditch effort to forestall the US Federal Aviation Administration down grading the country's safety rating to Category 2. Aero Continente has already suspended its wet-lease service to Florida in protest at a blocked application by the USA for a dry- lease service. ' The Grupo Taca-backed Peru vian carrier wants to fly from Lima to Miami under a two-stage plan to launch international operations from 18 July. This depends on a report due to be submitted on 10 July which will determine if the USA will uphold Peru's current Category 1 status under the FAAs International Aviation Safety Assessment programme. Taca Peru chairman Daniel Ratti "expects the situation to be resolved" in time for the Novem ber start of its Miami service. In the event that Peru is put into Category 2, as many are expecting, Ratti says the carrier will wet lease an Airbus A319 from Grupo Taca partner Lacsa for the route. Category 2 freezes existing services to the USA and prevents any new services, unless using aircraft wet leased from US operators or coun tries with a Category 1 status. Aero Continente recently dis continued a similar service to Miami using a Boeing 757 wet- leased from Air 2 000 because of US refusal to approve the use of a Boeing 767-200 dry-leased from International Lease Finance. The refusal was in spite of Peru's current Category 1 status and a US-Peru open skies agreement. LanPeru also wants to replace a wet-leased LanChile 767 on the Lima-Miami route with its own flightcrews. "Aero Continente does not believe that this situation is an international safety compliance issue," states the carrier's lawyer Lawrence Wasko in a letter to the US Department of Trans portation, pointing to a favourable audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. "A Peru vian carrier limited to a wet-lease sendee cannot compete economi cally in the same market with an American carrier operating its own aircraft," he adds. Taca Peru plans to initially fly to Santiago, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Panama, Quito, Sao Paulo, San Jose and Mexico using four new A319s leased from Taca. It will add two more jets in November, intro ducing Bogota, La Paz and Santa Cruz in Bolivia services. It current ly operates two Boeing 737-200s domestically from Lima to Cusco and Iquitos. The FAA has just downgraded El Salvador to Category 2, forcing Taca to consider moving its operat ing certificate to Costa Rica (Flight International, 20-26 June, PI 1). • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 June - 3 July 2000 9
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