FlightBlogger

Archive 2007-2012

  • Breaking: FAA confirms Gulfstream G650 Roswell test accident (Update8)

    _MG_7796 Gulfstream G650 N652GD


    APRIL 2 5:45 PM ET: The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed a Gulfstream G650 test aircraft crashed at 9:30 AM MT on its takeoff roll on runway 15 21 at Roswell International Air Center Airport in Roswell, New Mexico, killing all four aboard.

    According to FAA spokesperson Lynn Lunsford, the aircraft had been out spending the morning – 2.5 hours – conducting brake testing when the aircraft had been cleared for takeoff. On the roll the aircraft had “just gotten airborne” when the right wingtip struck the ground, causing the aircraft to lose altitude, collapsing the gear, skidding on the runway and catching fire. (Update: Winds were 10kts and under at the time of the accident)
    Two test pilots and two test engineers were onboard the aircraft at the time. Both NTSB and FAA investigators are enroute to the scene. Gulfstream is expected to release a formal statement on the accident shortly.
    A source familiar with the accident says that N652GD was the airframe involved and was operating as Gulftest 31 at the time.
    Additional updates are below the fold:

    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.

  • Many questions surround Bombardier/Comac partnership

    Comac ARJ21-700 B-1110L

    WEST PALM BEACH — Two weeks ago when Bomabardier Commercial Aircraft President Gary Scott emphatically denied his company was pursuing a stretched CS500, pushing the CSeries into direct competition with the 737-800 and A320, many in the industry wondered why the Canadian airframer would rule out such a possibility. Within the context of the newly-signed Comac partnership, Scott’s comments are now fully explained.

    With no intention to compete or overlap products with Comac, Bombardier is cultivating a partner with seemingly limitless access to capital (and patience) to establish itself in both domestic and export markets. 
    If the duopoly wasn’t dead before, the last nail in its coffin was hammered in on March 24.
    The Sino-Canadian agreement opens the door beyond just Bombardier and Comac, with Pratt & Whitney CEO David Hess seeing opportunity to accelerate his company’s “on-going discussion” with the Chinese airframer to offer its PW1000G on the C919, placing it in direct competition with the A320neo, on which the engine is also an option.
    “We’re not privy to the conversations between Comac and Bombardier, but clearly there could be opportunity for collaboration on all the platforms,” says Hess.

    Hess says Comac is studying applications of the PW1000G on the C919, ARJ21 as well as potential new designs.

    “They’re very excited about a geared turbofan,” says Hess. “They know where we are in development, they’ve seen the engine. In fact, we’ve had Comac people down here at test stands. So they’re pretty excited about it. Certainly their initial selection was Leap-X, they’ll start a flight test program with Leap-X, but they seem to be very interested in flying the next generation product family, either on derivatives of the C919, the ARJ21 – they are studying possible applications for ARJ21 – and for and certainly clean sheet paper airplanes.”

    In the near term, Bombardier and Comac are set to begin commonality studies to find overlap between the 110 to 149-seat CSeries and 156-seat C919, opportunities exists where the same suppliers cover both aircraft, including, but not limited to, the aircraft’s Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics navigation and communication systems, Liebherr landing gear and Honeywell auxiliary power unit.

    While the P&W may have a chance to add itself to that list of common suppliers, the opportunities created by the tie up is just one of the many questions that will begin to define the emergent strategic partnership and its potential to re-shape the global aerospace landscape.

    Benjamin Boehm, Bombardier’s vice president for international business, was instrumental in bringing this partnership to the fore. Having quietly left his post as vice president of commercial aircraft programs in November, the new role has his guiding the strategic machinations on an partnership that could crack the duopoly in a way Bombardier never could on its own.

    The language of the press release points to significantly more than an “arms-length” partnership between the two companies, but the fundamental question for both partners in this deal is whether or not the actions reflect a long-term or short-term link up.

    In the context of Piepenbrock’s Red-Blue, is the partnership meant for the betterment and improvement of both OEMs with a stake in either’s success? Or is this tie up a way to extract expertise and market access in the near term? The push toward commonality and part procurement would suggest that incremental technological and supply chain integration of the C919 and CSeries brings the two closer together in a way that the industry has never before seen.

    Yet the key element Bombardier brings to the table may be less tangible, but no less useful for Comac. Creating discreet aircraft systems is far from a simple process, but integrating all those systems together into a self-sufficient airframe is the ‘secret sauce’ to building aircraft and Bombardier has this in spades. Tactically, the partnership allows an OEM-level of systems integration expertise to flow into the C919, one element missing from Chinese commercial aerospace.

    “I think it will certainly give Bombardier access to the Chinese market place, and maybe some Chinese capital, and vice versa it will give the Chinese access to Bomardier’s great technical and development capabilities,” says Hess.

    What remains to be seen is how Boeing and Airbus react to the partnership and whether or not the extensive efforts of both will remain sufficiently recognized by those in the central government as aircraft purchasing decisions are made with the 13th five year plan just beginning to take shape now.

    Airbus was previously seen as having the biggest manufacturing presence in China with its Tianjin A320 final assembly line, while Boeing used selected structural component suppliers for all of its commercial programs. Bombardier has stepped beyond both, likely delivering access to the world’s single fastest growing market.

    No doubt with yesterday’s publication of the WTO ruling, Boeing and Airbus have to be eyeing the Sino-Canadian partnership with great interest. How funds – if any – flow between the companies and their two governments, may spark a new chapter in the battle on research and development subsidies.

    As the incumbent duopolists, any threat to Boeing and Airbus’s status is sure to be met with fierce resistance, but does the tie up actually begin to tie the hands of the US and Europe who want the same access to China as they do today? With a strong desire to continue to sell their respective products in China, does any swipe at CSeries become an indirect swipe at the Chinese? Does a tie-up start to look more like a growing political alliance as the Airbus and Boeing – as mature players – fight to hold their industrial status?

    The duopoly is dead, long live the duopoly.

    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.

  • Exclusive: IndiGo selects PW1100G to power A320neo order

    Indigo_A320neo.jpgThe announcement should come as early as today:

    IndiGo selects P&W to power up to 150 A320neos

    Jon Ostrower/West Palm Beach

    In a major coup for Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan, A320neo launch customer, Indian low cost carrier IndiGo, is to announce it has selected the PW1100G to power up to 150 of the updated Airbus narrowbodies, say those familiar with the deal.

    While the official announcement for 300 engines is expected as early as today, the win by the East Hartford-based engine maker comes on the heels of a hard-fought campaign to secure the right to provide 300 engines and associated service contracts to power what Airbus calls the “largest single firm order number for large jets in commercial aviation history”.

    IndiGo signed an 11 January memorandum of understanding with Airbus for up to 180 A320 aircraft, including 150 of the re-engined A320neo, making it the European airframer’s launch customer for the new variant due for entry into service in 2016.

    MIssing from the initial MoU was an engine selection, kicking off a fierce behind-the-scenes competition between the CFM International Leap-X and Pratt & Whitney PW1100G as both vied for the massive contract.

    The selection represents the second win for Pratt & Whitney on the re-engined jet, having been chosen by International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) to power at least 60 of its 100 A320neo and A321neo aircraft.

    The selection as launch customer also establishes the 208cm (81in) fan diameter PW1100G as the lead powerplant to fly first for Airbus’s certification campaign.

    Airbus says the new engine option for the A320 will reduce fuel burn up to 15%, compared to today’s A320, a savings of over 1,510,000l (400,000gal) of Jet A and 3.600t CO2 per year.

    The PW1524G, the first model of the P&W’s PW1000G engine family, is currently in ground testing at two facilities in Manitoba, Canada and West Palm Beach, Florida as it progresses toward its first assignment to power the 110 to 125-seat Bombardier CSeries CS100 aircraft on its 2012 first flight and subsequent 2013 entry into service.

    The PW1000G has also been selected to power the 70 to 90-seat Mitsubishi Regional Jet MRJ70 and MRJ90, as well as the 150-seat Irkut MS-21.

    Photo Credit Airbus

    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.

  • Ten years after Sonic Cruiser, slow is still green

    Boeing-Sonic-Cruiser-2-H8YAH6BPSW-800x600.jpgA milestone of great note passed last week with hardly a notice. 

    The Sonic Cruiser, which would have accelerated air travel from Mach .84 to Mach .98, turned ten years old, according to the March 22, 2001 date on its patent filing. Its life as a conceptual product was brief, but notable, eventually transforming its design elements into what we know today as Boeing’s 787.
    The market demise of the composite canard delta wing design, was in part driven by the fifty-year erosion of the need for “higher, faster, farther” aircraft to those that delivered “faster, better cheaper” results, as reflected in Piepenbrock’s Toward a Theory of the Evolution of Business Ecosystems. The Sonic Cruiser’s market reception – or lack thereof – was ultimately the result of the market reality to compete on cost (efficiency) rather than speed (performance).
    In short, going slow is much cheaper than going fast. In a business where time is money, going fast on the ground and slow in the air pays tangible dividends.
    Bombardier CRJ1000 19007
    This week’s Flight International features a flight test aboard the new stretched Bombardier CRJ1000, the 100-seat latest evolution of the original Canadair Business Jet design, that builds on the CRJ700 and 900. As our pilot Mike Gerzanics set out to demonstrate the fuel burn of the new jet’s General Electric CF34-8C5A1 engines, he found the CRJ1000 could keep up with faster traffic, but at a price:

    Once level, I established M0.78 cruise point, Bombardier’s recommended normal cruise speed. I found the airspeed tape’s trend arrow allowed me to expeditiously set and hold the desired speed. A total fuel flow of 1,480kg/h was needed to hold M0.78/262kt with a resultant true airspeed of 454kt.

    Next, the power was increased and an M0.80 cruise speed was established. Total fuel flow increased to 1,740kg/h with a resultant true airspeed of 473kt.

    My back of the napkin calculations revealed an interesting set of figures. For a 2.6% increase in Mach number, fuel flow had to increase 17.6% at cruise. Translating these figures into dollars and cents, a flight from Chicago O’Hare, where Jet A is $7.47/gal today (according to AirNav), pulling back that throttle to M.78 saves $638 an hour in direct operating cost. ($4,275 vs. $3,637/hr)
    My intent is not to single out the CRJ1000 as an example of neither high nor low fuel burn, but rather to provide real-world data point about the big impact small changes in speed can bring. While the CRJ1000’s trans-sonic wing is optimized for a M.78 cruise, it offers a good example for how slowing down can improve fuel efficiency and direct operating cost.

    The Sonic Cruiser is the extreme example of when the market doesn’t
    want a product that flies higher, faster or farther, it just wants a product that arrives off the production lines faster, of better quality
    and cheaper to operate.

    Yet if all the airframers, engine makers and airlines are looking to spend billions to deliver a 15% improvement in fuel burn that satisfies the need for “faster, better, cheaper” with a new aircraft and engine combination, are we perhaps looking in the wrong place?

    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.

  • Movie Monday – March 28 – The Birth of the Whittle Engine

    Later this week I’ll be heading south to Florida to visit with Pratt & Whitney and see the PW1524G, the first geared turbofan model intended for the Bombardier CS100 now on the test stand in West Palm Beach. As I did last year leading up to the annual Engines 101 and media brief, I devoted Movie Monday to jet engines. Last year it was Engine Failures 101, this year it’s Wonder Jet a 1950 British dramatization of the birth of Frank Whittle’s jet engine design. You’ll notice that Whittle’s early engines (a centrifugal compressor design) don’t resemble what we know today as (axial compressor design) high-bypass turbofans, though the elements and fundamentals remain the same. Today’s Movie Monday runs just over 19 minutes. Enjoy!

    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.

  • Air India’s first 787 slated for October landing in Mumbai

    Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner VT-ANC ZA232

    More details about Boeing’s 2011 787 deliveries have emerged with airline and airframer sources confirming Air India’s first Dreamliner is slated for handover to the carrier in October. The delivery of the airline’s first 787, likely Airplane 25 – registered VT-ANA – matches with its previous guidance of a fourth quarter target. ANA is set to receive the first in July, with JAL to follow in October as well. China Southern, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will all be 2011 customers and will receive a total of 20 aircraft his year. 

    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.

  • Video: ZA001’s 747-8I first flight warm up act

    Like any good main stage performance, you have to have a solid warm up act, something to get the crowd in the right mood. Tell a joke, sing a song, do a magic trick, or bring in a jetliner to do touch-and-gos and low passes while its jumbo sibling warms up it engines for its first flight. While I regret opting to get ZA001’s opener on film instead of video, thanks to the wonders of youtube, aviation geekery has eyes everywhere.

    As it turns out, ZA001’s Sea World-esq dolphin show was far from intentional, the lead 787 test aircraft was conducting autolands for FAA certification credit. The timing happened to work out beautifully. The aircraft made one touch-and-go and two low passes at Paine Field before heading back out to the test area. Here are the three videos in the order they were recorded.

    Special thanks to Alex Jossi and Bryan Lung for the videos

    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.

  • Beat Round-Up: 737 & 787 production, GEnx-1B ETOPS, Japanese supplier uncertainty and FAA green-lights OAMS (Update1)

    DSC_0862

    It’s been a very busy few days, but there’s no shortage of things going on around the US commercial aerospace industry, so a Boeing beat round-up post was in the cards. Here’s everything I’ve been working on the past two days:
    Looks like Boeing will hold off on a decision to ramp 737 production beyond 38 per month until 2013, after saying last week it was taking a “hard look” at increasing its output in Renton to 42 per month. Boeing CFO James Bell – in the same presentation – says 787 will go from two to 2.5 aircraft per month mid-year (programs sources point to June). 
    On the engine front, General Electric stopped its GEnx-1B ETOPS certification testing in January to repair micro-cracks in the high pressure turbine of its 3,000 cycle engine. These cracks were found on the ground test stand, not on the wing of ZA005 or ZA006. GE insists that no design change to the blades is required because they were found during a normal inspection interval. The power plant is set to be certified for ETOPS (different from airframe ETOPS certification) in April.
    The major Japanese suppliers appear to be okay in Nagoya, though Boeing is concerned about the lower tier suppliers that feed the ‘Heavies’ due to a lack of gasoline or rolling power outages. 
    The Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing have come to final agreement on the outboard aileron modal suppression system that is designed to dampen out the vibration in the wing of the 747-8F. The 22 page Special Condition the FAA has assigned the nomenclature of limit cycle oscillation (LCO) to describe the vibration, which is also how the inboard aileron power control unit (PCU) problem was identified, only serving to confuse us all. Also worth noting, the lead engineer and developer of OAMS, Pio Fitzgerald, was awarded Boeing Commercial Airplanes Engineer of the Year. 

    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.

  • First flight of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental in photos

    I’m back on the east coast after having wrapped up three trans-continental trips in ten days, so I’m catching my breath back here in DC. In the mean time, I’ve uploaded 239 photos from Sunday’s 747-8I first flight festivities. It was an aviation geek’s holiday that started with ZA001 performing touch-and-gos and missed approaches to runway 16R at Paine Field, RC001’s T-33 formation departure, was followed by a Super Hornet at Boeing Field and twin 787 arrivals. The weather could have been a bit warmer, but I was happy to trade warmth for blue skies, which provided an impressive backdrop for the ‘Sunrise’ colors. Say what you will about artificial lights in the factory, these colors love the sunlight. Carve out some time, there are a lot of photos to look through.

    ▶ Video originally embedded here

    www.flickr.com
    This Flash-based video is no longer available.

    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.

  • Movie Monday – March 21 – Inside Skylab

    Movie Monday returns this week with a 1970’s film from NASA about the Skylab and its operations from the time of its launch, the on-orbit repair and deployment of the solar panels and heat shield, and the three crews who called her home in 1973 and 1974. Just as today, NASA used this movie to justify its space exploration budget, emphasizing the benefits of clean energy and microchip development. Today’s program, Earth View, runs 28 minutes. Enjoy!

    A big tip of the hat to Phil for getting MM back on the air

    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.