The 747 is an intercontinental wide-body commercial transport aircraft. A total of 1,410 747s were built through 2008. The 747-400 is no longer in production. The current production version is the 747-8. The 747-400 carries 416 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. First flight and certification of the 747 occurred in 1969. The -400 variant was certificated, and deliveries began, in January 1989. In November 2005, Boeing launched the 747-8 series, which includes the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger model and the 747-8 Freighter.
The House approves a three-month extension of the FAA’s funding authority, and the Senate is expected to follow suit. But this will not take the heat off Congress to come up with a long-term FAA reauthorization bill. The existing FAA authority expires at the end of this month, and the latest extension is intended to give Congress time to complete a full, long-term reauthorization. The House has passed its version of the reauthorization bill, and is waiting for the Senate to do the same.
The big-three Chinese airlines are comfortably outperform-ing the local stock market, even as operating profits remain weak. Shares in the largest, China Southern, have risen 95% from their low in the past 52 weeks, while China Eastern is 108% above its 52-week low. The price of Air China, widely regarded as the best managed of the three, has tripled since hitting a cyclical low in November. By comparison, the Shanghai Composite index has gained 71% since its 2008 low.
Japanese Transport Minister Seiji Maehara is refusing immediate approval for a Japan Airlines request for government funding, complaining that the carrier’s business improvement plan is inadequate. The minister has limited his own options, however, by saying the government will not consider bankruptcy or a break-up of JAL. Maehara wants JAL to “work to the bone” to reform itself enough to satisfy investors.
Pakistan seems to be canvassing Western suppliers anew for avionics and weapon systems to equip its version of the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft. Initial bids for the JF-17 were sought several years ago, but the plane’s developers apparently believe more capabilities are needed for the aircraft, which entered production in Pakistan in July. According to French reports, several Western suppliers have been solicited, including South Africa’s ATE and Astrac, a joint venture of Thales and Sagem. Neither company would comment on the reports.
France-based Safran and China’s Avic have agreed to extend their long-standing collaboration to cover aircraft equipment. The expanded agreement will allow the two companies, which already collaborate on fixed- and rotary-wing engines, to work together on the design, production and support of landing systems and engine nacelles, and establish new facilities in China based on existing assets. An initial application is expected to be China’s new Comac C919 narrow-body transport (AW&ST Sept. 14, 26).
Concern is mounting in the maintenance, repair and overhaul community that Airbus and Boeing, as well as other equipment providers, will try to lock up increasing portions of the after-market business, crimping prospects for traditional MRO providers. Airbus and Boeing are already investigating how to capture more support business, with their strategy likely to crystallize in the next 3-4 years, says David Stewart, a principal at AeroStrategy consultancy.
ATC Lasham is refurbishing two hangars, covering 40,000 sq. ft., at Southend Airport in Essex, England, to grow its heavy maintenance capacity. The addition expands ATC Lasham’s hangar capacity by 50%, so it can accommodate six aircraft simultaneously.
The saga over Airbus A330/A340 pitot tube continues. This time, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency airworthiness directive related to Goodrich tubes. Operators have been told to check the torque of the pneumatic quick-disconnect union. EASA is investigating the cause of what it says are several reports of loose pneumatic quick-disconnect unions, which “may be the result of mis-torque of the affected unions at the equipment manufacturing level.”
Virgin Nigeria, pressing ahead with efforts to remake the carrier, on Sept. 17 unveiled its new name, Nigerian Eagle Airlines, and new logo. Virgin Atlantic, which owns 49% of the airline, had signaled some time ago that it would like to retrench from the venture. Management for the Nigerian carrier, which is owned to 51% by institutional investors, says efforts are under way to inject further operational funds. Virgin Nigeria has struggled to establish a firm business plan, and recently shifted focus from flying long-haul to becoming a regional carrier.
Government-services contractors are trying to stanch a potential trend of federal managers defaulting to “insourcing”—hiring more federal employees, especially from industry’s ranks—in response to widely perceived problems with the nation’s acquisition regime. The trend, which leaders of the Professional Services Council (PSC) say is most acute in the defense sector, is not a tidal wave yet. But in a recent survey of its 350 members, PSC found that about 65% reported some kind of insourcing experience.
GE Aviation has completed assembly of the first production F138-100 turbofan engine as part of the U.S. Air Force’s C-5M Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program (RERP). The F138 is a military version of the commercial CF6-80C2L1F engine and features a number of upgrades that provide an additional 10,000 lb. of thrust per engine (40,000 lb. per aircraft) as well as reduced fuel consumption, allowing the four-engine C-5M to complete certain missions in one flight instead of multiple legs.
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Headlines blare that the balance of power in building large commercial aircraft has already shifted from Airbus and Boeing: A380s are being deferred, 787 delays are mounting, China and Russia are pushing forward with narrowbodies and Bombardier has its first CSeries customers. But the two incumbent commercial aircraft makers will continue to dominate deliveries for at least the coming decade.
Rolls-Royce is developing a fuel-burn performance improvement package on the Trent 900 designed to keep the Airbus A380 engine competitive in its fiercely contested battle with the Engine Alliance GP7200. “We’re committed to a 1% fuel burn improvement. We’re taking technology from the Trent 1000 and 700EP and putting that into the Trent 900. That technology wasn’t available for the Trent 900 at certification but is part of a package we’ve launched,” says Ian Crawford, Rolls-Royce’s head of Airbus programs.
Pilots—regional and major, current and future—face new training, hiring and flight/duty-time requirements as stakeholders make swift progress on safety initiatives launched in the wake of the Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash in February.
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has lofted a new monitoring satellite and six European experimental spacecraft, marking its 15th straight successful flight. The launch orbited Oceansat-2, a 958-kg. Indian ocean-monitoring spacecraft, and six nano-satellites funded by European universities, including the first indigenous spacecraft to be built by Turkey and Switzerland.
USAF Lt. Gen. Philip M. Breedlove has been appointed deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He was commander of the Third Air Force, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany. Brig. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins, Jr., has been nominated for promotion to major general. He is deputy director for policy and resources in the Office of War- fighting Integration/chief information officer in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon. Brig. Gen. (select) Kenneth J.
NASA’s Office of Education has selected six universities that serve many minority and under-represented students to establish scientific, engineering and commercial research centers under grants totaling $30 million.
The NTSB determined on Sept. 21 that the inflation of a tail-cone evacuation slide and subsequent binding of elevator control cables probably caused the July 7, 2008, uncommanded pitch-up of the Midwest Airlines MD-80 carrying then-Sen. Barack Obama. As the slide inflated inside the tail cone during Flight 8663’s initial climbout from Chicago, the aircraft pitch exceeded normal limits, according to the NTSB. The captain regained control of the aircraft and diverted the flight to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for a safe landing.
The initial version of the ARJ21 regional jet from the Chinese company AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co. Ltd. will be the 78-90-seat ARJ21-700. Introduction of a 98-105-seat version is planned. The ARJ21 will be powered by two GE CF34-10A turbofans. The first ARJ21-700 was rolled out in December 2007; initial deliveries will begin in 2010. Three aircraft have been built through 2008. Production of a total of 178 ARJ21s is forecast through 2018. The ARJ21 faces competition from Bombardier, Embraer, Airbus and Boeing.
The British industrial bulldog in the pending battle over spending is growing bigger, but as Mark Twain once quipped: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
The A340 is a four-engine, intercontinental, wide-body commercial transport aircraft. A prototype flew in October 1991, and deliveries began in January 1993. The A340-200 and -300 were both certificated by the JAA in December 1992 and FAA in February 1993. They are powered by four 31,200-34,000-lb.-thrust CFM International CFM56-5C4 turbofan engines. Deliveries are also under way of two newer models: the longer-range A340-500 and stretched A340-600. Both are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines.
