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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2502.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT NICHOLAS IONIDES / TAIPEI A350 family ready for formal launch EADS board set to give go-ahead for 7E7 rival this week Airbus is set to announce the com mercial launch of its A350 wide- body twinjet family as early as this week after introducing last-minute performance enhancements aimed at boosting the design's competi tiveness against the Boeing 7E7. The European manufacturer was last week expecting the board of majority shareholder EADS to grant it authority to offer the aircraft to airlines at its meeting scheduled for 29 November, say industry sources. Speaking to Flight International at last week's Association of Asia Pacific Airlines presidents meeting in Taipei, Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy confirmed that the projected range of the baseline 250-seat A350-800 has been ex tended to 15,700km (8,500nm), from 14,300km (Flight International, 19-25 October). This would provide 550-900km more range than that of the 220-seat 7E7-8, he claims. He says the A350-800 and 295- seat -900, equivalent in size to the A330-200 and -300, respectively, would enter service in 2009 or 2010, around six months apart, adding that the -800 will "not necessarily" be first. The -900 would be pitched against the 257-seat 7E7-9 and have the same range as the A340-300 long-range quad, Leahy says. "We are using a lot of composite work on the wing," says Leahy. "The gross weight of the aircraft will be increased and it will have a 242t maximum take-off weight." The A330, upon which the A350 will be based, has an MTOW of 233t. "General Electric has signed up with us already and we are finalis ing agreement now with Rolls- Royce. We definitely want two [suppliers of] engines," Leahy adds. Airbus has been forced to enhance the A350's performance after receiving a lukewarm response from airlines to its initial proposals. The range increase has been achieved through structural changes including wing modifications and greater use of advanced materials. GE and R-R are tackling chal lenges to adapt the 7E7 power- plants, the GEnx and Trent 1000 respectively, to the A350. These include meeting requirements for engine-out take-off climb and sin gle-engine sustained altitude of 15,000-20,000ft (4,570-6,100m). Although aimed at similar thrust bands in the 55,000-70,0001b (245- 300kN) range, the Airbus require ment puts this at the top end of the Trent 1000 level and is expected to present R-R with a bigger challenge than that facing GE. The single- engine power requirement may raise the optimum top-line thrust need beyond 70,0001b to around 75,0001b, say industry sources. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY GUY NORRIS IN LOS ANGELES DEFENCE CRAIG HOYLE / LONDON BAE goes cool on CATS' BAE Systems' drive to place shareholder value at the top of its bidding criteria last week led the company's Customer Solutions and Support business unit to withdraw from the UK's £700 million ($1.3 billion) Combined Aerial Target Service (CATS) contest. Originally to have provided services to the UK armed forces from December, the CATS programme has suffered a string of delays, and BAE says it is no longer in the best interests of its shareholders to pursue the project's prime service provider contract. However, it could still seek a lesser rale in the project as a second-tier supplier The UK Defence Procurement Agency will in early 2005 receive best and final offers for the requirement from a Meggitt Defence Systems, Meteor and Qinetiq consortium and a joint venture between EADS and Serco. A down- select is expected later, when a new in-service date for the system will be set. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY PETER LA FRANCHI IN CANBERRA Briefing Osprey suffers blade tip failure INCIDENT A US Marine Corp Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey suffered a rotor blade tip failure on 19 November off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada during de-icing tests, the manufacturer has confi rmed. The left rotor reportedly shed a 760mm (20in)-long blade tip, forcing the crew to declare an emergency. The aircraft landed without further incident at the Canadian air force's Shearwater base. Palm oil to pay for Sukhoi fighters PROCUREMENT Russia's Rosoboronexport arms agency says Indonesia has closed a barter deal with Moscow to receive eight Sukhoi Su- 30MK fighters in return for palm oil. Worth around $250 million, the aircraft are expected to be delivered by the end of this year. Indonesia, which already operates four Su-27/30 fighters, also paid for a 2003 acquisition of Mil Mi-2 utility and Mi-35 attack helicopters in part with commodities. Italy suspends Volare licence COLLAPSE Italian civil aviation authority ENAC is suspending collapsed low-cost carrier Volare's air transport licence for one month after studying the grounded airline's financial and operating situation. Volare declared itself insolvent last week just days after grounding its fleet and stopping further ticket sales, prompting the air transport regulator to request an urgent meeting with the airline's executives. "The licences can be restored, based upon an evaluation of a possible new financial and operational situation, and after an analysis of the airline's safety standards," says ENAC. TV channels snap up satellites ACQUISITION Cablevision Systems company Rainbow DBS satellite television, and television channels AMC, The Independent Film Channel, and Women's Entertainment, will buy $740 million worth of satellites from Lockheed Martin. This amount does not include launch costs and the first year's payment is $48 million. The satellites will be delivered over a period from 38 months to 50 months after the deal is signed. Lockheed Martin will construct five Ka-band satellites and provide related tracking, telemetry and control equipment, satellite simulators and other equipment, software and training. The satellites are intended to use FCC frequency licences held by Rainbow DBS at 62°W, 71°W, 77°W, 119°W and 129°W. Virgin Galactic seeks US government help ASSISTANCE Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is expecting the US government to assist with its suborbital tourism business following the collapse of the US commercial space bill. The current version of the bill, which sets out flight safety criteria, and provides a definition of a suborbital vehicle, was not passed due to disagreements between the House and the Senate over the final text of the bill. The lack of any clear laws for the foreseeable future means Virgin Galactic must fly with experimental flight licences from the Federal Aviation Administration. UK airport operator TBI acguired TAKEOVER Two Spanish firms, operating as a consortium known as Airport Concessions and Development (ACDL), are to jointly acquire UK airports operator TBI after reaching agreement on a takeover bid for the company. Transport infrastructure management company Abertis, based in Barcelona, is a 90% shareholder in ACDL while the remaining 10% is held by Aena Desarrallo Internacional, a division of Spain's main airport operator. ACDL and TBI have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer to be made by banking group HSBC on behalf of ACDL. The offer covers the entire share capital of TBI and values the UK company at over £551 million ($1.03 billion). TBI operates London Luton airport, its flagship business, as well as UK airports at Cardiff and Belfast. It also operates Stockholm Skavsta and the USA's Orlando Sanford airport. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 30 NOVEMBER - 6 DECEM BER 2004 9
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