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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2847.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT STRUCTURE MICHAEL PHELAN / LONDON Boeing details materials and systems for 7E7 Metallic wing ribs among the features as board prepares for crucial launch decision C~^> Carbon laminate C^~*~2) Carbon sandwich C ^> Fibreglass i Aluminium ) Aluminium/steel/titanium pylons FLIGHT Boeing has settled on metallic wing ribs for the 7E7, as it prepares to ask its board of directors for permission to offer the aircraft this month. Boeing has also confirmed that it will follow the Airbus A380's lead and use a variable frequency elec trical power system and a 350bar (5,0001b/in2) hydraulic system. Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes director of product and service marketing, says he is confident that Boeing's board will approve the offering of the air craft "before the holiday shutdown at Christmas". A board meeting is scheduled for 15 December. Tinseth also revealed that the 7E7 will have aluminium wing ribs under composite skin panels, although it is not known if all or just some of the ribs will be metal lic. "The aircraft will be 50% com posites by weight; 20% aluminium; 15% titanium; and 10% steel," he says. "This means the 7E7 Stretch will have an operating weight empty 9,100kg [20,0001b] lighter than the Airbus A330-200, for 3,150km [l,700nm] more range with 250 passengers," he says. Some of the composite materials used will be laminates "much like the Glare material on the Airbus A380", he says. "Using laminates, a 'smart layer' of piezoelectric trans ducers can be sandwiched between composite layers," he adds, which would allow structural health moni toring. "We're looking at it for criti cal damage-prone zones," says Tinseth, "service areas such as doors and the aft fuselage for tailstrikes and heavy landings, for example." Tinseth also says that the use of so much non-corroding composite materials could enable Boeing to increase the basic lifetime of the 7E7 beyond the normal 20 years, but says this is still being studied. Tinseth adds that the 7E7's cabin will feature environmental changes to reduce passenger discomfort on long flights. "The cabin altitude will be reduced from 8,000ft [2,400m] to 6,000ft, and we're also looking to increase the cabin air humidity," he says. Passive and active cabin noise reduction techniques are also being considered, although Tinseth says the current focus is on reducing spe cific sounds that can worry nervous passengers, rather than creating a "silent cabin". For external noise, Boeing's goal for the 7E7 is to meet London Heathrow's QC1 noise limit on take-off and QC0.5 on approach Flight International, 1-7 July). DEVELOPMENT MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / TOULOUSE Airbus reveals long-term plan for new 'regional people-mover' Airbus remains convinced that it can compete effectively with the Boeing 7E7 in the medium-to-long range market with its A330-200, but admits that it has a long-term plan io develop a new "regional people-mover" for the high-capacity short-haul market. "Ten years from now, we may be replacing the A300-600R with a new- generation regional people-mover," says Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy. "The aircraft, which has the project name A30X, would be opti mised for stage lengths of 1,000nm [1,850km]." Leahy says it is likely that the new model would be launched "around the end of this decade, to enable an entry-into-service in 2014-15". He says that until then, Airbus will continue to compete in that market with the A300-600R, which he can sell "cheaply", and that a cockpit upgrade for the aircraft is being studied as an interim measure (Flight International, 7-13 October). Leahy dismisses Boeing's proposal to compete in short-range markets with a cropped wing version of the 7E7. "It is hard to come up with something that can offer 10% cost savings on short stage lengths," he says, but he expects technologies emerging by the end of the decade will enable the A30X to offer such an advance. Meanwhile, Leahy is unconvinced that engines being developed for the new Boeing will offer a significant advantage in overall cost savings. He says that fuel consumption is only part of the overall operating cost equation, and that Boeing's planned move to all-new, bleedless engines on the 7E7 "only lowers total costs by 2%". Despite this, Leahy does not rule out a switch to a new engine on the A330-200 in the longer term to compete with the 7E7: "If the market wants it, then we'll fit the new engine," he says. EXPANSION Hainan looks for more to follow A319s China's Hainan Airlines is preparing a deal for its first Airbus A319s, and the rapidly expanding airline is also looking to add Boeing 737-300 freighters and additional Fair- child Dornier 328JETs to its fleet. The Hainan southern island province-based airline was identi fied in April as one of five Chinese airlines to be allocated aircraft from a bulk order with Airbus that was signed by the Chinese government. Hainan is understood to have been allo cated eight A319s from the deal, and final pricing negotiations are under way with Airbus. The airline is also understood to be negotiating the acquisition of "at least five or six" 737-300s now in service with United Airlines. The passenger aircraft would be acquired by a third party, converted into freighters and leased or sold on to Hainan. Cargo carrier Yangtze River Express, a subsidiary of Hainan, operates four 737-300QCs and is seeking to increase its fleet to boost domestic express-freight operations. Hainan is, meanwhile, in the process of increasing its 328JET fleet, which until manu facturer Fairchild Dornier's bankruptcy, comprised 19 of the type. Hainan has agreed to pur chase eight aircraft from line-owner AvCraft and six have now been delivered, many of which are in service with sub sidiary airlines. It had planned to acquire 21 more 328JETs from the former Fairchild Dornier but full Chinese government approval was not secured before the company collapsed. Hainan has expanded rapidly since its establishment in the early 1990s. Its group fleet, including that of several sub sidiary carriers, stands at nearly 90 aircraft. Hainan is thought to be con sidering an Airbus A330 order within "two or three years", to operate alongside its three Boeing 767-300ERs. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9-15 DECEMBER 2003 9
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