FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2000
2000-1 - 1409.PDF
Qatar orders corporate airliner AIRBUS INDUSTRIE has clinched the first sale of a cor porate-configured airliner to a scheduled airline in what appears to be the opening round of a com petition with the Boeing Business jet (BBJ) to fill an emerging requirement from the high-end, premium travel market. Qatar Airways has ordered one Airbus A319CJ, taken an option on another, and plans to use the air craft on a mix of private charters and scheduled services from Doha to destinations like London and Singapore. The International Aero Engines V2500-powered aircraft will be outfitted with 36 first-class sleeperette seats and a luxurious interior. The Qatar deal takes firm orders for the A319CJ to 26. "There are others after Qatar that will follow this approach," says Airbus Corporate Jetliner presi dent Richard Gaona, who adds that sustained passenger growth of as much as 6% per year and the demand for fast point-to-point travel for executives will push demand for more dedicated corpo rate airliners on scheduled services. "I think there will be other airlines, and maybe here in the USA," Gaona adds. Continuing uncer tainty over the future of Concorde is also stimulating the potential market, which is estimated at 25 in Europe alone, Gaona says. Airbus has also signed a co operation agreement with IAE to supply the 27,000lb-thrust (120kN) V2527M-A5 as the base line A319CJ poweq^lant. To date, 22 of the A319CJs ordered have been IAE-powered. Airbus has also selected Air France Industries as the fifth and final ACJ completion centre alongside Lufthansa Technik, Jet Aviation, Ozark Aircraft Systems and Associated Air Center. Meanwhile, BBJ sales are also accelerating and stand at 71. Boosted by availability of the stretched BBJ 2, Boeing forecasts potential annual sales of between 18 and 24 aircraft per year versus original estimates of around 10. Four of the currently contracted BBJs are the stretched model, though sales of an additional four are being finalised, says Boeing Business Jets president Borge Boeskov. "We see the "big" Boeing com pany being much more excited about business aviation than they were before," says Boeskov, who Airbus Industrie has secured the first sale of a corporate configured airiner adds that "we are certainly looking at expanding the family further with the BBJ 3." The 757-200- based BBJ 3 will have 25% more floor space than the 737-800-based BBJ 2, and will have 13,000km (7,000nm)-plus range. "However, we are taking our time with that, and its not ready to offer yet," he cautions. Boeing Netjets, a joint venture between Boeing and Executive Jet, has also signed a deal with Lufthansa Technik covering the completion of up to 30 BBJs between 2001 and 2008, including aircraft which were previously booked to be completed by delay- prone Raytheon. The first of 10 on firm order is scheduled to enter completion in Hamburg in January, and will be delivered to Netjets "no later than 15 August 2001", says Lufthansa Technik. Downtimes are expected to be five months each, compared with other completions that have taken as much as 18 months in the worst cases, adds Boeing, which holds options for completion of another 20 aircraft from 2003 to 2008. 3 Advanced avionics put the accent on safety SITUATIONAL awareness was the buzzphrase at NBAA as avionics manufacturers showcased advanced display concepts de signed to enhance business avia tion safety. With head-up displays (HUDs) being installed in more business jet cockpits, work is accelerating on enhanced vision systems (EVS) and surface guidance systems (SGS) which exploit the HUD. Gulfstream now expects EVS to be available on the GV in the sec ond quarter of nextyear. The EVS, which combines a Kollsman infra red camera with a Honeywell/BAE Systems Visual Guidance System (VGS) HUD, will be standard on the new GV-SP. Thomson-CSF Sextant expects to certificate its Head-up Flight Display System on the Bombardier Global Express "within weeks" and says the Canadian manufacturer is to devel op an EVS as the next step. BAE Systems Canada is offering the VGS on the Global Express as an aftermarket option, and expects certification in November or December. Flight testing of an infra-red EVS is planned to begin in March, and certification of the resulting EVGS is planned for the third quarter, initially to provide improved situational awareness. Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics, which has installed its Head-up Guidance System on sev eral aircraft, demonstrated SGS technology at NBAA. This provides runway and taxiway guidance cues based on an airport database and datalinked instruc tions from air traffic control. The company plans a ground demonstration in the middle of nextyear, leading to certification of the initial level of SGS capability in late 2002/early 2003. Work is also under way on EVS sensors, with a system expected to emerge within the next three to four years. Universal Avionics, meanwhile, has teamed with Flight Visions, a producer of low-cost military • HUDs, to develop a system for retrofit into smaller Bombardier Learjet and Cessna Citation busi ness jets. The first certification is* set for the end of next year. Universal has also introduced what it calls a "synthetic vision system". This uses a terrain database to generate 3-D moving maps for more realistic head-down flight and navigation displays, designed to improve situational awareness. • California-based Sandel Avionics is developing what it claims is the first Class A terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) computer with an inte grated colour display and plans to have the first units certificated and available by June next year. Sandel chief executive Gerry Block says its $34,000 system pro- rides retrofit solutions for "every thing from King Airs to Boeings". The TAWS combines terrain warning with a 3 ATI colour display, radio magnetic direction indicator and terrain/runway database • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 17 - 23 October 2000 19
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
