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Aviation History
2004
2004-00 - 0008.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON Airbus leapfrogs Boeing in production European manufacturer delivers more aircraft than its US rival for first time, achieving 53% market share Airbus has finally reached the top step of the production podium, delivering more airliners in one year than its rival Boeing for the first time in its 33-year history. Airbus is expected to confirm officially next week that it deliv ered a little over 300 aircraft in 2003, compared to around 280 for Boeing, giving the European com pany a 53% share of deliveries or airliners with over 100 seats. This marks a watershed for Airbus, which was set up in 1970 and delivered its first aircraft in 1974. The situation is no surprise, given that the two companies had first published 2003 projections in mid-2002 that indicated this shift in the balance of power was immi nent. Airbus had already issued warning of its intent during the first six months of 2003, when it out-delivered Boeing in a half-year period for the first time. Airbus only began to get on equal footing with the US manu facturer in output terms in the late 1990s, after McDonnell Douglas was absorbed by Boeing. Its rise has been steady over the past 10 years, with its delivery share growing from less than 30% in 1994. The production achievement comes after Airbus has outsold Boeing in three of the last four years. It moved from under 20% of the gross order total in 1995 to par ity in 1998. The two companies then traded places for three years, and since then Airbus has come out on top. Airbus chief commer cial officer John Leahy predicts that the market will settle with Airbus and Boeing alternating at the top in the 40-60% market share band. Until last year, Boeing had always beaten Airbus in output, and maintained that this was the true measure of market share as some orders are cancelled before delivery. Boeing now says that "in an industry that has two large manufacturers, some years Airbus may deliver more, some years Boeing may deliver more". AIRBUS/BOEING MARKET SHARE OF DELIVERIES, PAST 10 YEARS 80 70 S> 60 I 50 I 40 30 20 \]s--*Boeing 72%i ;._..; •*• * Airbus 28% / : ^^^ i^ of1 cj> oJ * o? t? 55s & & & & $> <$ >v Airbus * Boeing ^^— * Includes McDonnell Douglas. 2003 figures estimated Source: Flight International Airbus 53% Boeing 47% FLIGHT SPACEFLIGHT TIM FURNISS / LONDON Beagle 2 remains silent but Mars Express will soon be on the trail The status of the UK National Space Centre's Beagle 2 Mars lander project should be determined from 6 January. Initial communication attempts failed after the Beagle entered the Martian atmosphere on 25 December. NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in the UK failed to detect any signal from Beagle 2 up to 30 December, when the lander was due to automatically switch into communications search mode. An image of the Isidis Planitia land ing area taken by the Mars Global Surveyor on 25 December showed no dust storms to indicate high winds. The European Space Agency's Mars Express space probe enters a new orbit around Mars on 4 January, however, offering new opportunities for contact on 6,12,13 and 17 January. Beagle 2 may have suffered a com munications system malfunction, or be tilted at an acute angle preventing it from fully deploying its solar panels. It may also have landed in the largest crater in the area, blocking its signals. It may have suffered atmospheric entry heatshield, parachute or balloon landing system failures. NASA is, however, close to landing two Mars Exploration Rovers on the planet's surface.The first Rover, Spirit, should land in the Gusev crater on 4 January. The second, Opportunity, will land on 24 January. GENERAL AVIATION HOWARD GETHIN / MOSCOW EuroMil's Mi-38 collaboration makes first flight EuroMU's Mi-38 medium utility helicopter made its first flight from Kazan Helicopters' airfield in cen tral Russia on 22 December. Two Mil test pilots conducted the initial 6min flight, followed by a second flight the next day. The lat ter was witnessed by Russia's deputy prime minister Boris Alyeshin and Russia's Aviation and Space Agency general director Yuri Koptev. The Mi-38 can be used in a vari ety of roles, including offshore platform support, military medium lift, search and rescue, and medical evacuation. The passenger variant's cabin has 30 seats, a galley, a lug gage compartment and a toilet. The transport variant will carry up to 6t of cargo inside the cabin or up to 8t underslung. The helicopter, Kazan's flagship project, is a collaborative pro gramme also involving the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, Euro- copter and Pratt & Whitney Canada, which supplies the twin 2,500hp (l,865kW) PW-127T/S engines. The helicopter has a maxi mum take-off weight of 15,600kg (34,5001b) and was designed in Mi-38 makes long-awaited first flight from Kazan in central Russia accordance with US FAR 29 and European JAR 29 standards. The Mi-38 uses composite rotor blades, an X-type tail-rotor, triplex electric and hydraulic systems, and a digital standby autopilot with gauge data processing system. The cockpit is fitted with advanced avionics, including multifunction colour displays designed for a two- man crew. The aircraft also has a single pilot capability. While the Mi-38 has no cus tomer as yet, the Russian military is likely to have a requirement for the design to replace some of the hundreds of ageing Mi-8s and Mi-17s in service that are due for retirement. 6 6-12 JANUARY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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