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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0432.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT PROPULSION GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Engine Alliance hastens GP7200 test timetable Revised schedule gives more scope to make changes ahead of 2005 approval for A380 The General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance has brought forward the planned first full GP7200 engine test by two months to mid-February next year. It wants to give more margin for "lessons learned" before the sched uled certification of the turbofan in 2005 and entry into service on the Airbus A380 in 2006. In the build-up to the critical full-scale runs, P&W has begun tests in Florida of a 94%-scale hol low titanium swept fan-blade design for the GP7200. "It is a boomerang with a reverse sweep at the tip," says Bob Saia, P&W GP7200 programme vice-president. "The shape gives it efficiency and reduces the shock loss as the flow goes from supersonic to subsonic at the tip," he adds. In particular, swept aero dynamics reduce the shock strength and its interaction with the viscous boundary layer, he says. Based on tests conducted in April 2001 on a 42%-scale ver sion of the fan on the Advanced Technology Fan Integrator, P&W expects fan efficiency will be improved by at least 2% relative to conventional radial fan blades at the same airflow. The final configu ration for the blades, which at 2.9m (9.6ft) fan diameter will be the largest hollow titanium units made by P&W, was selected over an alternative composite design in March 2002 after a decision in late 2001 to increase fan size to meet noise requirements. The 94%-scale blade set, mounted on a PW4098, will be used initially to conduct stress, fan per formance, flutter and operability tests. In the second quarter, identi cal blades in a whirl rig will be tested against 1.1kg (2.41b), 2.5kg and 3.8kg birds before the damaged blades from the smaller and larger bird tests are replaced for perfor mance tests on the engine. Further operability tests, including cross- wind performance and crucial noise tests, are also planned for the third quarter of 2003. "The main objec tive is to finish 2003 with a fully validated blade," says Saia. Containment tests of the full- scale blade will be conducted in a fan module test rig with a 3.8kg bird strike event in the first quarter of 2004. Further ingestion tests of the 2.5kg and 3.8kg birds will be conducted with a full engine before a final blade-out test in mid- September 2004. In 2005, the GP7200 will be cer tificated concurrently at take-off thrust ratings of 76,6001b (340kN) and 81,5001b, although the basic architecture is able to accommo date future A3 80 growth with rat ings up to 84,0001b. The initial variants include the GP7270 rated at 70,0001b for the passenger A380- 800, and the GP7277 rated at 76,5001b for the A380-800F. Testing of a 94%-scale fan blade design for the GP7200 is under way START-UPS Orange aims to squeeze into cargo contention Japan's first dedicated express freight airline is planning to launch services in October operating Raytheon Beech 1900C freighters on domestic routes. The carrier, Orange Cargo, is being launched by local busi nessman Yasumasa Ishada. Executive vice president Kosuke Uematsu says it plans to start operations with four 1900Cs in cargo configuration that it will lease from the manufacturer Orange Cargo will be head quartered in Nagoya and its operations base will be in Tokyo. The carrier plans to initially oper ate night flights between Tokyo Haneda Airport and Kagoshima, and between Haneda and Nagasaki. At a later stage the airline will operate to remote islands by day. The carrier plans to file for an operating licence in June and hopes to secure slots at busy Haneda Airport in August. Slots are in short supply at Haneda, which primarily handles domes tic traffic, but the government has said it will set some aside for new entrants. Uematsu says Orange Cargo believes there will be strong demand for overnight express-freight movements by air, as the geographical nature of Japan -with its many islands - means packages cannot be delivered as quickly via surface transport. TRAFFIC DAVID LEARMOUNT/ LONDON Europe's runways are hitting capacity barrier Latest Eurocontrol figures show the continent's airports are fast emerg ing as the "constraining factor" to European air traffic growth, replac ing lack of air traffic management (ATM) capacity as the main cause of infrastructure-related delays. European air traffic movements in January 2003 rose by 5.9% com pared with the same month a year ago, but the average en route ATM delay was reduced by 29%, reports Eurocontrol. Delays on departure caused by air traffic flow manage ment restrictions increased by 6.3%, but hold-ups resulting from airport constraints increased by more than 40%. Eurocontrol says this indicates that "the next con straining factor in the medium to long term will be airports". This appears to be the first evidence - delayed by a year or so by the economic downturn - of a problem that the industry had warned was inevitable unless European countries allow the con struction of new airports, or at least new runways. Eurocontrol says it is "working very closely with airlines, airports and air navigation service prov iders... with the aim of synchronis ing airspace and airport operations," to try and make the most efficient use of the existing infrastructure. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 25 FEBRUARY - 3 MARCH 2003 13 ' .-
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