FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2002
2002 - 2256.PDF
ble. There will be increased support from Airbus and its main vendors at key airports in the airline's network. In-service data will be tracked and analysed to anticipate potential issues and dedicated teams will be in place at Airbus facilities to ensure minimum reaction time to any problems. The first A340-500 flew on 11 February and this aircraft is completing the bulk of the 350h flight-test programme. The high level of commonality between the two models means much of the data from the -600's trials are applicable to the -500. Towards the end of the -500's test pro gramme, the first customer aircraft (for Air Canada) will be used for a small amount of testing of the passenger cabin's systems, such as air conditioning distribution and the new lower-deck crew-rest area. Predicted performance By the beginning of this month, the A340- 500 prototype had flown over 240h and more than 74 flights. Take-off, cruise and climb performance evaluation, flutter and stall tests, and minimum control speed take off trials had all been completed. The full flight envelope - 41,000ft ceiling and 330kt (610km/h)/M0.86 maximum operating speed/Mach number - has been explored. The aircraft is now being used to fine- tune handling qualities and control laws for the fly-by-wire system, and to test autopilot, fuel and air systems. Airbus says results show take-off, climb and cruise per formance to be as predicted or better. During performance testing of the larger A340-6O0, it emerged that climb to initial cruise altitude performance at MTOW was "significantly better" than the target of 33,000ft, says McConnell. The -500 is exhibiting similar performance gains, he adds. "The -600 can reach 35,000ft in under 30min," says McConnell. This was against a target time of around 38min. He adds that the buffet boundary has also turned out better than predicted at all Mach numbers. "With the Trent 500 certificated at 60,0001b, there is plenty of thrust in hand for any future developments'' GORDON McCONNELL, CHIEF ENGINEER LONG-RANGE PROGRAMME AIRBUS A340-500 CHANGES OVER A340-300 |T| 1 /SIJT 1 -6m tiP extensions -. TIM BROWN 2002 Tapered wing insert 1.6m (three frame) G MB wing box extension/ fuselage plug ^^-—""\ \ New larger composite J7 fin and rudder from -- ^y A330-200, but y^X/L U shortened by 0.5m «i \jr U Wb> 1m (two frames) y dF~~~ WvLp fuselage plug ^-^ wL ^-^< \ *<*%/ J^rJ. Y\ ^' \\ ,.•«! *^±J*^2!—-—-"~ Centre fuselage i )jglt(l&^3^gzr^ fuel tank " T^ST^fF^— (20,000 litres) New larger tailplane \ 0.53m (one frame) fuselage plug New nosegear A340-600 profile length Rolls-Royce Trent 553 engines !Hgg Dimensions (m) Length 67.9 Weights (kg) Maximum take-off Operating empty Maximum payload Performance Normal cruise speed (Mach) 0.83 Maximum altitude (ft/m) Powerplant Accommodation Three-class 313 Design range (km/pax) Span 63.5 368,000" 175,000 56,500 New main gear and four wheel bogie centre gear Height 17.1 Maximum landing 240,000 Maximum zero fuel 225,000 Fuel capacity (litres) 214,800 Maximum cruise speed (kt/M) 330/0.86 41,000/12.500 4 x Rolls-Royce Trent 553 each rated at 53,000lb-thrust Two-class 359 16.000/313 One-class 440 Notes' - 365.000kg also available, offering 15,750km range with 313 passengers "The new wing has much better lifting capability than predicted," says Pardoe. "The whole performance during the take off to top-of-climb regime is better - it can lift 6t more payload than we expected." The wing's tapered insert provides slightly greater wing sweep, up from 30° to 31.5°, and greater chord, without any significant increase in depth, yielding a small boost in cruise speed. Airbus says the aircraft will cruise "close to M0.83" com pared to the earlier wing's M0.82 design cruise speed. Airbus has rerun its rejected take-off cer tification tests for the -600, after many of the wheels suffered structural failure dur ing the original test in February, when tyre pressure rose dramatically because of brake heat. The wheels and tyres have been redesigned and a second test was com pleted successfully in May. The A340-500 is due to receive FAA and JAA type certifica tion at the end of October, with deliveries beginning the following month to Air Canada, which is expected to put the new aircraft into service by the end of the year on Toronto-Hong Kong services. Airbus expects to deliver 11 A340- 500/600s this year and 27 in each of the following two years. When it has finished its testing work in November, the proto type -500 will be refurbished for delivery to Emirates in 2003. Despite the outstanding payload/range performance of the new family, Airbus is already feeling the pressure for more-capa ble variants. Emirates wants to supplement its A340-500 fleet with a heavier extended- range version of the -600 to enable it to fly year-round from Dubai to the USA. The airline holds a letter of intent for eight air craft, pending a decision by Airbus to go ahead with the airliner. Boeing is threaten ing to push the -500 with its planned 777- 200LR which, in theory at least, has the greater range capability. Spare thrust Airbus is reluctant to divulge details of weight-growth plans it has for the new family. "When the certification programme is wrapped up, our process is to consolidate all the data to see if there is structural capa bility to exploit," says McConnell. "With the Trent 500 certificated at 60,0001b thrust [4,0001b above the -500/600's current requirements], there is plenty of thrust in hand for any future developments." • 56 23-29 JULY 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
