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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1848.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT LICENSED PRODUCTION Chinese ERJ-145 assembly begins Harbin Embraer Aircraft has begun assembling its first ERJ-145 as the new joint ven ture company prepares for a December roll-out and first flight. Vice-chairman Guan Dong- yuan says the new ERJ assem bly line opened at Harbin in Aug ust with the goal of completing one aircraft in December and seven in 2004. The 22,000m2 (237,000ft2) plant will ultimately have 150 staff and capacity to assemble 24 aircraft a year. "We're negotiating with some customers at the moment. We hope to finalise some contacts soon," Dongyuan says. Sichuan Airlines, the only ERJ operator in China, has expressed interest in additional aircraft. Wuhan Airlines, which conditionally ordered ERJ-145s in 2001 but never secured Chinese government approval for the deal, is also discussing a possible order with Harbin Embraer. By assembling the air craft in China using parts shipped from Brazil, a 23% tax levied on regional aircraft imports is avoided. Harbin Embraer believes China's smaller airlines will focus more on aircraft in the 30- to 60- seat category as new airports open in secondary cities. Embraer owns 51 % of the com pany, with AVICI subsidiaries Harbin Aircraft Industry and Hafei Aviation Industry control ling the remaining 49%. The joint venture's 2004 pro duction rate hinges on the sales effort and Dongyuan says no air craft after the first will be built speculatively. But Dongyuan has set a target of seven aircraft in 2004 based on conversations with potential customers and the learning curve involved with opening a new assembly line. All seven of these aircraft are tenta tively set to be ERJ-145s, but they can be switched to ERJ-135s or ERJ-140s at the request of customers. FLIGHT TESTING GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Boeing takes brakes off plans to increase 777-300ER range Rejected/minimum speed take-off study reveals encouraging field length performance Recently completed rejected take off, minimum speed take-off and landing tests on the Boeing 777- 300ER have revealed "significantly better" than expected field length performance, leading Boeing to offer increases in predicted range and payload. Brake tests, combined with the tail strike protection system, show a field length improvement of around 305m (1,000ft) at sea level at 30°C (86°F). Converted into mission improvements, Boeing says this translates to a 4,800kg (10,5701b) payload increase from Manchester in the UK to Singapore, and 3,100kg or 30 more passengers at 42°C on a Dubai to New York flight. The boost comes on top of a 1% fuel mileage improvement over pre-flight esti mates that was discovered during earlier tests. Boeing translates this into either a 140km (75nm) design range increase or a 1,100kg payload increase on long routes such as Los Angeles to Taipei. The field length tests were con ducted at Roswell, New Mexico, and Edwards AFB, California, at take-off weights of around 351,900kg and, in the case of the rejected take-offs, involved 100% worn brakes from Goodrich and Messier Bugatti. Although this is higher than the 344,850kg certification weight, it continues to be used for maximum test weights to provide consistency with earlier phases of the test pro gramme (Flight International, 3-9 June), as well as g proving margin for «s potential variants | downstream. j The flight tests are | about half-way | through the plan- 1 ned l,500h - lOOh g less than originally 5 predicted when they The Boeing 777-300ER test effort is around half-way through the 1,500h programme began in February. START-UP LEITHEN FRANCIS / SINGAPORE Air Deccan ATRs enter India's domestic scene New Indian domestic airline Air Deccan launched its first scheduled passenger services on 27 August using two ATR 42s. It is initially offering twice-daily return services from its Bangalore base to two smaller cities in southern India, Hubli and Mangalore. Another two ATR 42s will be put into operation in September and by the last week of October there will be six in service, all on lease from the manufacturer. "We will have 40 pilots by November, six aircraft and 70 flights a day," says Air Deccan man aging director Capt G R Gopinath. Chennai, Belgaum, Tiripathi and Rajamundry are among other pro posed destinations for Air Deccan this year. Meanwhile, India's Jet Airways is considering a further delay to its plans to acquire Embraer 175 regional jets, while shelving tenta tive plans to acquire four more Boeing 737-700/800s. The airline announced at the Farnborough air show in 2002 that it had signed a letter of intent to purchase 10 Embraer 175s, with the first aircraft due to be delivered in June 2004. However, it then pushed back the planned first delivery date by 12 months and is now looking at pushing it back even further. "We have delayed it by one year to begin with, but we are looking at our fleet plan again as to what time we should get it," says executive director Saroj Datta. EVALUATION VLM revives hunt for regional jet Belgian operator VLM Airlines has revived its search for a regional jet type to operate along side its 10 Fokker 50s as it plots to expand its European network. The Antwerp-based carrier, whose operational hub is the UK's London City Airport, has a shortlist of 10 European destina tions and aims to serve some with jets rather than turboprops. The jets "could be introduced within two years", says VLM chief executive Johan Vanneste. Embraer will demonstrate its 170 at Antwerp on 1 October, while Bombardier's CRJ900 is also in the running. "Some of VLM's present routes would already support larger aircraft," says Vanneste. 10 2-8 SEPTEMBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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