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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0102.PDF
J~AL>UU?Z New Airbus is formed, but official launch must wait JULIAN MOXON/PARIS CHRIS JASPER/LONDON THE CREATION of the Airbus Integrated Company took place as planned on 1 January, although remaining legal formali ties mean that the company will not be officially launched until around mid-February. The legal issues relate to gaining new regulatory approvals to allow for the integration of programmes, engineering and manufacturing functions into transnational organ isations. Airbus says the company is nevertheless "up and running", and that the legal changes will be retroactive to 1 January. Agreed last June by the two shareholders, EADS and BAE Systems, the company - expected to be known simply as "Airbus" - will consolidate all Airbus Industrie resources and know-how into a single entity with its head quarters at Toulouse. According to Gustav Humbert, chief operating officer of the new company, efficiency savings will amount to €350 million ($308 million) annually by 2004. He says savings will come from eliminating transnational lines of command, aligning production processes, creating a single management team and grouping procurement activi ties to "bring die power of a large organisation to bear on suppliers". The Airbus company will employ around 41,000 people and work widi 1,500 suppliers. Humbert says there will be "no brutal restructuring", and the present system of producing main aircraft segments in centres of competence will be retained "because it has already led to an efficient production setup". The proportion of work outsourced to suppliers will be increased from 45 % to "at least 52 % ", however, in an effort to reduce the impact on Airbus itself of the boom-bust nature of die cyclical aircraft market. Widi die industrial launch of die A3 80 complete, Airbus has also shaken up its programme manage ment team. Jurgen Thomas, previ ously senior vice-president (VP) large aircraft division, becomes special advisor to die company's chief executive, Noel Forgeard. He is replaced as A3 80 supremo by Frenchman Charles Champion, currently senior VP single aisle programmes, and a former manag ing director of die Airbus Military Company, who becomes senior vice-president A3 80 programme. Champion is succeeded as A3 20 family chief by German Gerhard Puttfarcken, who was previously A3XX programme chief at DASA Airbus. A five- strong team in charge of the integration, organisation and development of die new Airbus company is due to be announced widiin die next mondi. • New cure found for CF6-50 problems OPERATORS OF General Electric CF6-50 engines are expected to be given new options to meet a forthcoming US Federal Aviation Administration airwor thiness directive (AD) which will call for corrective actions to the engine's low pressure turbine (LPT) nozzle locks. The value of General Electric stock fell nearly 9% in a few hours earlier this mondi amid news reports about problems with the engine, which powers nearly 2,000 airliners worldwide. The AD, which has been expect ed since a string of uncontained failures struck Continental Airlines-operated DC-10s last year, is due within 60 days. The turbine break-ups were traced to failures of the second stage LPT nozzle lock studs which were forced through die casing by the gas exhaust. The first draft AD called for the replacement of the original lock mechanism with nozzle locks based on die design of die -80C2. This, however, requires a full LPT tear- down and die AD is now expected to also include at least two new options to provide operators widi an interim solution diat will pro vide several years' worth of opera tional compliance without the need to remove the engine. The options include replacing the locks widi new ones of die orig inal design. GE points out that die problems are caused by a "time and temperature" phenomenon, and should not dierefore recur before the redesigned locks are fitted as a long term solution. The other shorter term option is for operators to drill holes into the LPT case and insert bolts through the holes. In an apparently unrelated event, the US National Transport ation Safety Board has recom mended the FAA issue emergency ADs covering the inspection of high pressure turbine (HPT) stage one discs. This follows the uncon tained failure of a CF6 engine on a US Airways Boeing 767 in September. The recommendation calls for immediate disc inspections of recently maintained HPT mod ules, and for operators to review maintenance procedures. • WGFcomms contract is awarded to Boeing BOEING HAS been awarded a $106.3 million development contract from the US Air Force and Army for a six- satellite high capac ity Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (VVGF) communications network. The contract could eventually be wordi up to $ 1.3 billion. Boeing will lead an industry team comprising Harris, ITT Industries Logicon and SAIC, to develop the system which is designed to be a bridge between the USAF Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) and an Advanced Wideband Satel lite system, which will be opera tional in 2008. WGF will augment DSCS super high frequency wide band communications and global broadcast services using direct broadcast satellite technology. The first launch of a Boeing 702- model WGF is due in 2 004. • forme l formali dia 8 . y 2 004. He says from eliminatin ties th with di % ", i JSF demonstrator gets lift fan LOCKHEED MARTIN has installed the Rolls-Royce shaft- driven lift fan assembly into the X-35B short take-off vertical landing version of its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) demonstrator air craft. The aircraft, which is being modified from the X- 3 5 A, flew 27 sorties late last year before being grounded for conversion. The Pratt & Whitney JSF119-911 engine will follow shortly in readiness for the start of hover pit testing next month. The US Navy in the meantime has started test flying the X-3 SC aircraft carrier demonstrator. The second JSF demonstrator has so far logged five hours in the air. 8 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 January 2001
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