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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2318.PDF
BUSINESS AVIATION STRATEGY GUY NORRIS / PALM SPRINGS Aerion confident it can corner SSBJ market Developer optimistic a viable SSBJ will be ready by 2011, with backing from partners Supersonic business jet (SSBJ) developer Aerion is optimistic that its proposed eight- to 12-passenger design could claim the bulk of the projected SSBJ market because of an estimated six-year lead its simpler concept would have over the more complex quiet supersonic designs. Aerion chief operating officer Michael Henderson says that as the aircraft would not operate superson- ically over the continental USA it does not "require any rule changes relative to its operation. It's very do able." Speaking at the Speednews regional and corporate conference last week, Henderson said the Aerion SSBJ could enter service as early as 2011 compared with pro jected entry-into-service targets of the quiet supersonic concepts that "are not until around 2017". "We feel there are a lot of sales to be made in the meantime. We are in the middle of market research, but we estimate a requirement for between 250 and 350 aircraft." Supersonic Aerospace International, the main competitor to Aerion to emerge so far, sees demand for 300- 400 aircraft, including government and special missions, but reducing to 250-300 if supersonic overland flight is not allowed. Aerion's market analysis indicates that, flying overland at Mach 0.98, the SSBJ would be capable of going from Los Angeles to New York in 4h 19min, reducing to 3h 52min if the trip was performed at Mach 1.1 "at altitude". The company believes that the Aerion's straight-wing, supersonic natural laminar-flow wing design will also allow for a "boomless" cruise speed up to Ml.l. But even with a "boomless" capa bility the Aerion will still require a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to perform overland flights supersonically over the US. Operating internationally, the air craft will use agreed supersonic cor ridors over sparsely populated areas of Australia, Canada and Russia. Aerion is seeking partners to advance its plans beyond the Phase One evaluation. "One of the possi bilities is we may need a European partner to make this viable - some one like Dassault," adds Henderson. Dassault Falcon Jet director Brian Foley is downplaying the manufac turer's potential involvement in any on-going SSBJ or quiet supersonic aircraft project, other than the new European High Speed Aircraft study. "We're not comfortable yet with the current engine technology to make our design work and another long pole is the regulatory process. I'd say there will be nothing [in service] before maybe 12 years." CERTIFICATION Hawker Horizon closer to delivery Raytheon Aircraft (RAC) expects provisional certification of the Hawker Horizon super mid-size business jet within weeks, leading to delivery of the first aircraft to a cus tomer in December. The company will immediately lease the aircraft back to support operational evalua tions and customer demonstrations, and will not book the sale this year. "Development testing is complete - we are now in flight testing with the [US Federal Aviation Admin istration] on board," says RAC. When the Horizon was announ ced in November 1996, first flight was planned for late 1999 and certi fication for mid-2001. By the time of the delayed first flight in August 2001, certification had slipped to mid-2003. The most recent delay was caused by flight-control system modifications Flight International, 28 September-4 October). Details on the schedule for full The Hawker Horizon was originally due for certification in mid-2001 certification and service entry for the Horizon are expected early in December. The company plans a military- style "operational evaluation" phase, before entry into service with a customer, to "work out any kinks" in the aircraft and in its sup plier system. Parent company Raytheon says research and development spend ing at RAC, which has been run ning at around $70 million annu ally during development of the all-new Premier I and Horizon, will decrease by 20% next year and another 20% in 2006 as Horizon spending winds down. TESTING Roswell hosts Global Express test Bombardier's Global Express test aircraft visited Roswell Industrial Air Center (RIAC) in Roswell, New Mexico late last month for field trials of a new brake software configuration. The modification is designed to improve the aircraft's runway performance enough to warrant a gross weight increase, and Bombardier plans to incorporate the enhancement into the next generation Global XRS, which will replace the standard Global Express in production. According to the Bombardier Wichita flight-test team, existing Global operators will have the option to perform the upgrade during their normal maintenance cycle. The demonstrator also sported the Thales/CMC Electronics enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) earmarked for future Global-family produc tion. Its infrared camera system is mounted atop the aircraft's nose radome. Bombardier says its approach is designed to reduce the parallax view errors that pilots have allegedly experi enced using chin-mounted EFVS equipment. RIAC is a popular location with manufacturers for flight and ground testing due to its clear weather, low-density air traffic and ungrooved, 13,000ft (3,965m) runway. • Macedonia has selected the Bombardier Learjet 60 for its VIP transport requirement. According to local media reports, the mid-size business jet was selected over the Cessna Citation XLS and Raytheon Hawker 800XP as Bombardier could meet the gov ernment's demands on performance, year-end delivery schedule and price. The Mace donian government says: "The offer we got from Bombardier was the best under all criteria established for this tender. We got discount of 16.1 % [off the $12 million list price] and training is also included in the price." www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16-22 NOVEMBER 2004 25
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