Airbus’s launch of the A320NEO (New Engine Option) family has shifted the commercial aircraft industry’s attention from the widebody market, and Boeing’s travails with the 787, to the dramatic change underway in the narrowbody sector.
The TBM 850 is a single-engine, 4-6-passenger, turboprop-powered business transport; it replaced the earlier TBM 700 in 2006. The TBM 850 is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D engine rated at 850 shp. and has a range of 1,520 nm. Through 2009, 184 aircraft were built. Production of 413 TBM 850s is forecast for the 2010-19 period. EADS Socata is designing the TBM 850 to compete with very light jets.
Richard Flynn has been named CFO of Jazz Air Income Fund , effective Feb. 28, succeeding Allan Rowe, who will retire. Flynn has been vice president-finance. Honors And Elections
Airbus says it will close 2010 with nine new executive jet sales, raising to 170 the number of such jets it has sold of all types, including one A380. Approximately half of those sales come from the Middle East.
The 747 is an intercontinental widebody commercial transport; 1,418 were produced through 2009. The aircraft is powered by four turbofan engines. The current 747-400 production model is available with 62,100-lb.-thrust General Electric CF6-80C2B5F engines, 63,300-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney PW4062s or 59,500-lb.-thrust Rolls-Royce RB211-524H2-Ts. The 747-400 carries 416 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. First flight and certification occurred in 1969. The -400 variant was certificated, and deliveries began, in January 1989.
This is a family of twin-engine, 70-122-seat regional jet aircraft. The 70-80-passenger 170 made its first flight in February 2002 and deliveries began in March 2004, while the 78-88-seat 175 flew for the first time in June 2003. The 170 and the 175 share a common engine in the 14,200-lb.-thrust General Electric CF34-8E. The 94-114-seat 190 made its initial flight in March 2004, while the 106-122-passenger 195 first flew in December 2004. The 190 and 195 also share the 20,000-lb.-thrust CF34-10E engine. Through 2009, 614 aircraft in the series were built.
Thierry Antinori has been named chief executive of Austrian Airlines ’ executive board, effective April 1, joining co-chief executives Peter Malanik and Andreas Bierwith. Antinori is chief marketing officer at Lufthansa, Austrian’s parent company.
The twin-engine turboprop aircraft family initially was known as the Dash 8 series. The Q100, the original model, made its first flight in June 1983; first deliveries followed in October 1984. The Q100 carried 37-39 passengers and was equipped with 2,150-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120/121 engines. In 2009, production of the 37-39-passenger Q200 (with 2,150-shp. PW123C/D engines) and the 50-56-seat Q300 (with 2,500-shp PW123Bs) ended. Currently, the 65-70-seat Q400 (with 6,000-shp. PW150As) is in production.
Italy and Israel have agreed to build a hyperspectral remote-sensing satellite system that will be one of the first operational systems of its kind in space.
The Indian government is poised to exercise an option to double the size of its fleet of C-130J tactical transports while recognizing that its operational requirement will require an even larger force. With delivery of the first of six Lockheed Martin C-130J-30s due to begin soon, the prospect of additional buys is strengthening. “We definitely need more than six airplanes,” says an Indian air force officer.
Upcoming spending decisions will be instrumental in dictating the level of operational risk the U.K. will face as the Royal Air Force reshapes and downsizes its combat air arm.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (London)
Chinese advisers are believed to be working with Afghan Taliban groups who are now in combat with NATO forces, prompting concerns that China might become the conduit for shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, improved communications and additional small arms to the fundamentalist Muslim fighters.
The 228NG (Next Generation) is an update to Dornier’s original Do 228 launched by RUAG Aerospace in 2007. The aircraft uses upgraded 776-shp. TPE331-10 engines, along with other improvements over the original, including a new glass cockpit, avionics by Rockwell Collins, five-blade MT propeller and aerodynamic changes to the wing to boost short-field performance. Delivery of the first Do 228NG is expected in September 2010, with 73 aircraft forecast for production over the 2010-19 period.
The first parts for the Indian navy’s initial Boeing P-8I maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine-warfare aircraft have entered manufacturing at SpiritAerosystems in Wichita, Kan. The first part, cut on Dec. 6, is a bonded aluminum panel that later will be installed on the fuselage’s upper lobe to support an antenna. Boeing plans to deliver eight P-8Is to India.
The twin-engine, 107-129-passenger narrowbody jetliner made its initial flight in January 2002. In May 2003, the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) certified the aircraft with CFM56 engines, U.S. FAA certification followed in June, and deliveries began in July. Through 2009, Airbus produced 72 A318s, which are powered by two 21,600-23,800-lb.-thrust turbofan engines—either the Pratt & Whitney PW6000 or the CFM International CFM56-5B. Primary competition includes the Embraer 190 and 195 and the Bombardier CSeries.
Amy Butler (Los Angeles AFB and Beverly Hills, Calif.)
A dramatic increase in funding pressure on the Pentagon could finally compel the military space community to buy satellites in bulk, securing 5-35% savings on various programs, according to senior U.S. Air Force officials.
In developing the 525-passenger A380, Airbus chose to leap past Boeing’s 747 in capacity class. The A380 is powered by four turbofan engines rated at 70,000-76,500 lb. thrust each, and can be outfitted with either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or GE/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200. Airbus currently produces only a commercial version of the A380, delaying development of a freighter until at least 2014. Boeing is marketing the 747-8 to indirectly compete with the A380, but no direct challenger exists in the 500-plus-seat market.
Geysers erupt from the cracks at the south pole of Saturn’s frozen moon Enceladus in this view collected by the nuclear-powered Cassini probe as it hurtled by on Aug. 13, with the planet’s layered atmospheric limb visible beyond its night side in the background. During the same pass, Cassini scientists used the nuclear-powered spacecraft’s composite infrared spectrometer and high-resolution imaging camera to obtain new maps of the polar cracks, which were dubbed the Tiger Stripes after their discovery by Cassini in 2005.
Bombardier plans to commence CRJ1000 deliveries on Dec. 14. The handover is taking place almost a year late owing to problems during flight trials, but Bombardier hopes the start now will strengthen its last-quarter earnings.
Mitsubishi formally launched the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) family in March 2008. Two basic models are planned: the 70-80-passenger MRJ70 and the 86-96-passenger MRJ90, both using a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofans. Extended-range and long-range versions of each basic model are also envisioned. First flight is scheduled for 2012; Japanese certification is slated to be obtained in 2013, and FAA certification concurrently with deliveries in 2014.
TAG Aviation of Zurich is partnering with China First Mandarin Group to form a company that will provide business aircraft management, maintenance and charter services in China.
A twin-turbofan-powered, narrowbody commercial passenger transport, the Chinese-built C919 is designed to compete in narrowbody airliner sales against Airbus and Boeing. The program is being driven by the Chinese government, which wants an indigenous capability to produce airliners competitive with those built by Western manufacturers. Variants include the baseline C919-200 seating up to 168 passengers; the -100, a 130-seat model that will compete against the Airbus A319; and the -300, a larger 190-seater designed to compete with Airbus’s A321 and Boeing’s 737-800/900.
Delta Air Lines Capt. (ret.) R.C. Bauer (Fleming Island, Fla.)
The recent articles on the Delta Air Lines/Northwest Airlines merger were well written (AW&ST Nov. 15, p. 70). Indeed, Delta has a history of successful mergers over a 50-year period. However, there is a factual error.
Tony Tyler has been recommended to become director-general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association , succeeding Giovanni Bisignani, who will step down next year. Tyler is CEO of Cathay Pacific Airways.
