This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
Author: Jon Ostrower
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330min ETOPS certification to wait on 787 “software adjustment” (Update2)
As it begins function and reliability (F&R) and extended operations testing on 787, Boeing will have a two-phase implementation of its extended operations certification, with 180min operations certified at entry into service with All Nippon Airways in August or September and a further 330min certification following a required “software adjustment” due to a US Federal Aviation Administration rule change.Boeing says it will have 330min ETOPS certification ready in time for the first customer requirement.UPDATE: The airframer says new regulatory guidance concerning “low fuel alerting that requires an alerting system software change for operations greater than 180 minutes. That software will be available in early 2012.”UPDATE 6:32 PM ET: At first glance, it appears the early 2012 customer requiring 330min ETOPS is United, which is deploying its first 787 on the Houston-Auckland route.Here’s my full story, which doesn’t have the updates, but will soon.This is a breaking story and will be updated.This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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Boeing set for Sunday start to 787 F&R; and ETOPS testing
Boeing is slated to begin 787 systems functionality and reliability (F&R) and extended operations (ETOPS) testing as early as June 26, program sources tell FlightBlogger, beginning the final phase of basic certification for the aircraft’s airframe combination with Rolls-Royce Package A engines.Airplane Nine, ZA102, will be the lead aircraft for F&R, which is slated to take 300h and within that block includes the ETOPS evaluations which are measured in test points.“We’ve flown all of the ETOPS test points in Boeing testing,” says Scott Fancher, 787 program vice president and general manager, with the same points now set to be repeated for certification credit.Reaching F&R and ETOPS evaluations mark a significant milestone for the program, and will clear the way to final US Federal Aviation Administration certification in the third quarter ahead of first delivery of Airplane Eight, ZA101, to launch customer All Nippon Airways in August or September.Yet, the initial US certification will only allow four specific aircraft to be delivered to ANA, and until the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau provides it stamp of approval, 787 cannot enter service.Engine maker Rolls-Royce has said it only plans to deliver in total four 787s with Package A engines, with the first updated Package B delivery slated for the end of the year for ANA’s long-haul configuration while LAN expects its first two in May and June 2012.ANA says it expects JCAB certification for 787 in “in the next few months” and first revenue service to begin in “the autumn” placing the types entry into service sometime between September 21 and December 21. Rolls-Royce announced on Wednesday it had received JCAB certification for the Package A Trent 1000 engines.Of the first six test aircraft have completed flight testing, Fancher says, “I have no more testing on those airplanes for initial type [certification]. The only remaining testing on those airplanes is for the amended type [certification] for the [Package] B and the GE type certifications.”The Package B engine, which will bring specific fuel consumption within 1% of specification, through a series of fan and core modifications, is currently undergoing nautical air mies (NAMS) fuel burn evaluations aboard ZA004.Of the customer aircraft already assembled, some 42 787s at various states of completion, only ANA and LAN Airlines have selected Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. The remainder for Japan Airlines, Air India, China Southern, Ethiopian Airlines and Royal Air Maroc will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.Regarding a timeline for the first deliveries with GEnx engines and the upgraded Trent, “I don’t know that we’ve really said on [Package B] or GE, and we’ve got quite a sequence of things to work through with the FAA, so we’ll wait until we get a bit closer before we talk about those dates,” says Fancher.“We’re proceeding with the block 4 (a reference to Package B), PIP1 work,” says Fancher. “That’s coming along quite well, we’ve seen no major issues with the engines, it’s a flight test program so we’ll see some thing, we’re working through those, no major issues or setbacks.”When asked if the first customer deliveries of GEnx engines would include GE’s PIP1 improvement package set to bring performance within 1%, Fancher said, “I don’t think we’ve said that either.”This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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Airbus COO Leahy says AirAsia pushing for A330neo
PARIS — During the Airbus concluding show press conference with CEO Tom Enders and COO Customers John Leahy, I posed the following question to press conference. Here’s the interchange:FlightBlogger: In the time period between 2017 when you have the A350-1000 entering service and the 2025-2030 A30X, what is your planned technology road map look like between those two aircraft?Enders: I think we have a very good technology road map, but we’re not going to share the details for this road map. Let me just say we’re working obviously on engine makers, we focus on the aerodynamics, we focus on wings we focus on flight management systems. And particularly we are focusing on reliability and maintainability of any new single aisle aircraft in the future, bringing the cost down for composites, all that kind of stuff. So that in broad brush is a very comprehensive, and not inexpensive [research and technology] roadmap for the future.FB: And does that imply that on some levels you guys are actually looking at an A330neo, based on the success you’ve had with the A320neo?Enders: [Laughing] That’s a bright idea, why haven’t we thought about that?Leahy: You’ve been talking to (AirAsia CEO) Tony Fernandes? That’s one of his ideas.Enders: I think we have enough on our plate right now, thank you very much.On a tactical level, the seemingly rapid decline in interest to pursue A350-800, also suffering a two year delay, would leave a hole in the Airbus product lineup to compete against Boeing’s 787-9 and -10X. A re-engined A330-200 or -300 may offer significant range and fuel burn improvements as the long-range twin benefits from continuing evolution in engine technology on GEnx, Trent and PurePower engines later in the decade, while allowing for an aircraft to compete on cost with the comparatively low investment that preserves the customer base.On a strategic level, the period between 2015 and 2025 fits within the Airbus methodology of incrementally evolving platforms to de-risk and improve aircraft of their life, as seen in the first part of Ender’s answer about small changes in technology.Applying Piepenbrock’s Red-Blue, which we also know as Toward a Theory of the Evolution of Business Ecosystems, which balances maximum benefit at a given cost and minimum disruption, emphasizes incremental “red” developments rather than large “blue” step changes that have become more and more expensive to achieve with each successive iteration. As it is unfolding now, Airbus’ is likely to see this lesson again up close with the leap in technology it’s taking on the development of the clean sheet, majority composite A350.An A330neo would follow the same strategic technology roadmap that saw the A320 become the A320neo and the A300 fuselage serve as the basis for the A310, A330 and A340, and initially the original A350 – a re-winged, re-engined A330. It might not be close at hand, but the A330neo is in Airbus’s DNA.This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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Video: A FLIR camera’s take on 787’s tailwind arrival in Paris
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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Runway Girl and I wrap up the 2011 Paris Air Show
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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BREAKING: AirAsia hands Airbus its largest-ever order
BREAKING: AirAsia hands Airbus its largest-ever order, originally uploaded by flightblogger.
PARIS — AirAsia has placed a firm order for 200 A320neo aircraft, the largest single commitment in Airbus history. The firm order will be powered CFM Leap engines.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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Bombardier unveils CSeries flight deck, details fly-by-wire philosophy
PARIS — Bombardier unveiled its CSeries flight deck for the first time at the show Wednesday, the first commercial application of Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics.With its twin sidestick controls for the two crew flight deck, the CS100 and CS300 are the first three-axis full fly-by-wire aircraft for Bombardier and a first for the 100 to 149-seat market.
At first glance, many of the CSeries flight deck features may not seem unique and are seen on many widebody aircraft, but when you consider the size of the C100 and C300, the integrated application breaks new ground for commercial aircraft of its size.The Canadian airframer employs five 15.1in (38.4cm) displays, which have become an industry standard for new flight decks, with two primary flight displays (PFD) on the outboard and two inboard and a center console multifunction displays (MFD) that allow for information to move across multiple screens.The aircraft’s flight control system, a closed-loop fly-by-wire architecture “keeps the pilot in the loop,” says Robert Dewar, CSeries program vice president. “The ultimate control of the aircraft always remains with the pilot, so the pilot can choose actually to exceed what the flight deck is telling him. If a pilot wants to do an aggressive maneuver, he is not limited by the aircraft.”Closed-loop fly-by-wire means that a pilot sidestick and pedal input results in a rate of roll, pitch and yaw for the aircraft, not a set deflection of the control surfaces that results in a varying aircraft response at different speeds. Further, Bombardier has opted for a moving auto-throttle system, not auto-thrust, providing a tactile and visual indication to the crew about engine activity.Bombardier and Rockwell Collins have taken a “head-up, eyes out” approach to the CSeries flight deck, integrating the radio panel into the glareshield, along with an option for dual heads-up displays that provide flight path vectoring and flare guidance.The integrated flight management system (IFMS) enables RNP .1 navigation, continuous descent capability, along with autoland CAT IIIa baseline and IIIb optional, while the HUD allows for low visibility take-offs.The avionics package is provisioned for NextGen/SESAR, ADS-B in, and allows for precise altitude, speed and arrival time for waypoint crossing.
Dewar says none of the capabilities of the flight deck features are factored into the aircraft’s touted 20% better fuel efficiency over the Airbus A318 and A319 and Boeing 737-600 and -700, while saying the precision navigation capabilities could save a further 2%.Further, Bombardier is offering an optional Class Two electronic flight bag to achieve a paperless working environment, and also features electronic checklists with closed-loop items that automatically indicate completion when performed by the crew.The flight deck capabilities are likely to grow in the future with provisions for enhanced and synthetic vision systems to be displayed on both heads-up and heads-down displays.Dewar says the flight deck is “well defined” and the company is already producing parts. The avionics test rigs are expected to be up and running “later this summer” and will be loaded into the Complete Integrated Aircraft Systems Test Area (CIASTA) before the end of the year.Dewar says pilot training for the CS100 and CS300, which will enter service in 2013 and 2014, respectively, will take 20 days.This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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Flightglobal’s Paris iFlight day two is ready for your persual
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.
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ANA officially unveils special 787 colors
ANA officially unveils special 787 colors, originally uploaded by flightblogger.
PARIS — ANA has unveiled its colors for its first two 787s, Airplanes Eight and Nine.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.