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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0903.PDF
HEADLINES DEFENCE AMC poised for A400M engine choice Airbus Military (AMC) plans to announce its A400M engine selection this week after Europrop International (EPI) was given a final chance to improve the financial terms of its proposal by the manufacturer's 25 April deadline. "The decision will be made in the very near future," says AMC. Although AMC insists its pending decision between the European powerplant and a rival PW800-based offer from Pratt & Whitney Canada will be made purely on commercial grounds, picking the North American bid could prove politically unpalat able to some of the A400M's customer nations. P&WC is believed to have made a highly attractive offer to AMC. The long-awaited engine selection should clear the way for defence ministers to sign a definitive memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the pro ject and enable AMC to announce the industrial launch of the much-delayed project by June. Germany's acquisition of 60 aircraft still needs approval from the country's parliamentary budget committee. EPI, a joint venture between MTU, Rolls-Royce and Snecma, with 28% each, with ITP holding the remaining 16%, is proposing the8,200kW(11,000shp) TP400-D6 three-shaft turboprop. P&WC is proposing an 8,950kW-class turboprop based on the PW800 gas generator. The PW800 is being developed as a geared fan turbofan for regional jets. The company has said it will bring European part ners on board if it wins the A400M competition. AMC reopened the engine contest last year after the original TP400 proposal failed to meet its performance requirements. The MoU is expected to cover the acquisition of 180 A400Ms by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain Turkey and the UK. First deliveries are due six-and-half years after launch. AIR TRANSPORT DAVID LEARMOUNT/ LONDON Dispute over Zurich noise wakes up governments Row over approach to a Swiss runway through German airspace is becoming international A dispute over noise restrictions imposed on aircraft approaching Zurich Kloten airport has escalated from a local matter to an interna tional argument. Germany is tight ening an already restrictive curfew on aircraft approaching Kloten air port's main landing runway because they fly through southern German airspace. From 10 July, a German court SWISS/GERMAN DISPUTE ABOUT APPROACHES TO ZURICH AIRPORT A GERMANY \_ T m N \ S o • ^^V^^ ^Jz* Approach \* f is SWITZERLAND " v^ FLIGHT Tak*°ff .'* 10km\ Z3 1 5nm » Zurich airport LV &z !\ Take-off Zurich \ •••• decision means that aircraft can only use Zurich airport's runway 14 - its main landing runway - if there is fog, according to Kloten's manag ing company Unique. If visibility is adequate, potential safety consider ations such as high winds or use of a short runway in rain would not override the ruling. The result would be to put pressure on pilots to land in mar ginal conditions or divert to Berne airport, Unique says. The com pany says the airport is complying with the German rules, but believes the dispute can be settled "because there are sensible peo ple on both sides". Meanwhile, the Swiss federal parlia ment has voted the restriction illegal. Kloten usually offers runway 14 for landing and 16 for take-off. The approach to runway 14 has an instrument landing system, but the alternative landing runway 10/28 does not and is only 2,500m long, against 14's 3,400m. On 17 April, Germany extended a 22:00-06:00 curfew on runway 14 approaches to 21:00-07:00. This affects 20 flights, says Unique, and although the traffic downturn is allowing the airport to cope, an indication of the problems it will cause came during the Easter holi day period when delays on some days amounted to "2,500 passenger waiting hours". Kloten says it already applies maximum pressure to force airlines to use quiet aircraft and procedures by pricing movements according to noise footprints, and that the approach to runway 14 is the one over the least populated areas. On 24 November 2001, a Crossair BAE Systems Avro RJ100 preparing for a runway 14 ILS approach in poor weather was switched to a non-precision approach to runway 28 because the 22:00 curfew had just passed. The aircraft hit treetops in snow 2.5km from the runway threshold and crashed, killing 24 of the 31 people on board. GULF CONFLICT PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC War burns $3bn hole in US budget The US military used $3 billion worth of weaponry in just under a month of fighting in Iraq and, with US President George Bush having signed off a $62.9 billion supple mental defence budget, there is no shortage of programmes lining up for extra funding either for produc tion acceleration or development. The US Navy alone fired more than 800 Raytheon BGM-109 Tomahawks, worth more than $1 million each, severely depleting its inventory of land attack cruise mis siles. In recent testimony to Con gress, assistant navy secretary for acquisition, John Young said a heav ier than expected reliance was placed on the weapon to hit targets out of reach of tactical aircraft or during adverse weather. Waiting in the wings to replen ish stocks is the new Block IV Tactical Tomahawk, already in low- rate initial production (LRIP) at an agreed price of about $600,000 each. The supplemental budget includes a provision to increase production of the missile. Also in LRIP is the $400,000 Lockheed Martin AGM-158 JASSM air-launched cruise missile, with deliveries starting this month. After the final successful development test in March, following a series of setbacks, the US Air Force hopes to finish operational testing by July and get the go-ahead for full-rate production in November. The 110km (200nm)-range mis sile will enter service in September on the Boeing B-52H bomber, and next year will be carried on the Rockwell B-1B, Lockheed Martin F-16 and Northrop Grumman B-2. Work on fitting JASSM to the USN's Boeing F/A-18E/F started this month and development of a 270km extended-range version, with a new turbofan engine and large fuel tank, will begin later this year for delivery in 2008, according to Dr Marvin Sambur, air force assistant secretary acquisition. 4 29 APRIL - 5 MAY 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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