1

This issue of FAST has been printed on paperproduced without using chlorine, to reduce wasteand help conserve natural resources.Every little helps.

100 years of powered flight

Fumigation of aircraft with carbon dioxide (CO2)Gregoris DASSIOS

Flap rigging on the A320 familyShark Fin ToolLudovic GIRARD

Cost reduction for initial spares investmentMichael HAUPT

Less paper in the cockpitDaniel MENARDLaval CHAN-KAM-FAIEric LESAGEBruno DAHAN

Fuel leak repairAlain MARECHAL

Worldwide Airbus Customer Services

In a nutshell...

Cover illustration: “Less paper in the cockpit”

2

3

8

11

15

27

31

32

© AIRBUS INDUSTRIE 2000. All rights reservedThe articles herein may be reprinted without permission except

where copyright source is indicated, but with acknowledgement to Airbus Industrie. Articles which may be subject to ongoing review must

have their accuracy verified prior to reprint. The statements made hereindo not constitute an offer. They are based on the assumptions shown and

are expressed in good faith. Where the supporting grounds for these statements are not shown, the Company will

be pleased to explain the basis thereof.

Editor: Denis DEMPSTER, Product MarketingGraphic Design: Sylvie LAGRE & Alain FAURE,

Customer Services Marketing Telephone: +33 (0)5 61 93 39 29

E-mail: fast.digest@airbus.frTelex: AIRBU 530526F

Telefax: +33 (0)5 61 93 27 67 Printer: Escourbiac

FAST may be read on Internet http://www.airbus.comunder Customer Services, Publications

FAST / NUMBER 27

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 0

A I R B U S T E C H N I C A L D I G E S T

s we move into the 21st centurywith the A3XX, an aircraft capable ofcarrying some 580 passengers and

crew over 8000 nautical miles, non stop, it isdifficult to imagine that only 100 years ago aprize was offered for the first man to fly fromthe Aéro-Club de France at Saint-Cloud, aroundthe Eiffel Tour and back to Saint-Cloud, within30 minutes. Although there were manyentrants for the competition, only one manactually competed, Alberto Santos-Dumont, ayoung Brazilian.

He won in his airship the “Santos-DumontNo.4”. It had a 9 horsepower engine driving atwo-blade propellor via a long shaft. Mr Santos-Dumont sat behind the engine, on a bicycleseat, in the open. There were no passengers.

He went on to win another prize, in 1906, forthe first sustained flight in Europe – 220 metresat a maximum altitude of six metres, with acontrolled turn at the end. It was in his“Aeroplane 14-bis” with a 50 horsepowermotor driving a two-blade pusher propellor.

The first passenger wasn’t carried till 1908.

FAST / NUMBER 272

Operators have reported cases of aircraft infestationby rodents such as mice and rats, and reptiles such assnakes and lizards, causing discomfort and alarmamongst passengers and crew, but also potentiallyconsiderable damage to the aircraft. Their presence inan aircraft can lead in extreme cases to the aircraftbeing grounded, especially when electrical wiringdamage has been discovered. Rats and mice seem tobe attracted by the odours emitted by the insulationaround the wires.

In-service experience has revealed that rodents andreptiles tend to board an aircraft through open doorsand access panels, when it is parked for a relativelylong period of time either in the hangar or on theapron, especially during the night when human activityis reduced. Also, they have been observed entering theaircraft during loading of catering trolleys and cargo.

by Gregoris DASSIOSCabin Furnishings & Payload Systems Engineer

Customer ServicesAirbus Industrie

FAST / NUMBER 27 3

U p to mid 1997, AirbusIndustrie had providedoperators with the

possibility of fumigating infestedaircraft with a methyl bromidebased chemical agent, referred to

as ‘SOXAL-PESTIGAS’ in theAircraft MaintenanceManual (AMM).

However, due tothe continuing inter-

national process ofbanning toxic fumigation

agents for civil use, andconcerns about the usage andpotential side effects of this agent,Airbus Industrie decided towithdraw it from the AMM.

Specifically, these concerns werefocused upon:

◗ Residue of methyl bromide stilltraceable in some areas in thecabin and cargo compartments upto 36 hours after aircraft aeration;

◗ Accumulation of methylbromide residues in the thermal-acoustic insulation blankets behindthe linings of the cabin and cargo;

◗ Compatibility of methyl bromidebased agents with sophisticatedaircraft electronic equipment;

◗ Existence ofchloroflourocarbons (CFC) inmethyl-bromide agents, which arerestricted in many countries bylaw, further to the Montrealprotocol.

Airbus Industrie launched aninvestigation to identify anotherfumigation agent, possessing thefollowing characteristics:

◗ Inert;

◗ Non toxic;

◗ Widely available in the world market;

◗ Low procurement cost;

◗ Easy to contain and transport;

◗ User friendly.

As a result, it has beendetermined that carbon dioxide(CO2) can fulfil the aboverequirements, where theextermination of the rodents andreptiles would be achieved bymeans of asphyxiation.

CO2 is already used in industryfor protecting food stored in holdsof ships and warehouses, and forprotecting cultivated plants. Inaddition, the use of CO2 forfumigation was of special interestsince its procurement cost is lowerthan Nitrogen (N2) and less of it isrequired.

In August 1999, Airbus Industrieconducted CO2 fumigation tests inan A319 aircraft. The test readingswere taken using probes placed indesignated areas in the cabin,cockpit, avionics and cargocompartments measuring the CO2

concentration at specified timeintervals.

NOTE: no live animals of any kindwere used in these fumigation tests.

The test results were positive,since CO2 concentration reachedapproximately 90% of the aircraftvolume, and scientifically it hasbeen shown that the lethal dose toexterminate a rodent isapproximately 60% of CO2 withexposure of about six minutes.Therefore, Airbus Industriedecided to implement CO2 and theassociated fumigation procedureinto the scheduled AMM revisionsfor each aircraft.

CO2 Fumigationprocedure

IMPORTANT: Operators are advised toconsult AMM 12-21-12 for the specificaircraft fumigation procedure. The AMMfor A319/A320/A321 was revised in May2000 to incorporate fumigation procedureby CO2 and for the A330/A340 in July2000. The revision to the AMM for theA300/A300-600/A310 family is plannedfor the first quarter of 2001.

In addition, operators are advised torefer to SIL 12-007, revision 01, issuedend of October 2000, since usefulsupplementary information is provided.

FAST / NUMBER 27

Solution=CO2

4

The fumigation procedure by CO2

is the same for all of Airbus Industrieaircraft. A locally manufacturedfilling adaptor is installed over theoutflow valve of the air-conditioningsystem and an outlet pipe installed atone of the cockpit sliding windows(see figures 1, 2 & 3 ).

When Airbus Industrie conductedthe fumigation test, an average CO2

mass flow rate of 3.6 kg/min wasselected, corresponding to almost2000 litres/min of CO2, by adjustingthe pressure to 8 bars at the CO2 sup-ply. In this case the filling time for anA319 was nearly three hours.Equipment is available, with a highermass flow rate capability that wouldallow large aircraft to be filled inapproximately the same time. Thefilling time is calculated using therequired CO2 mass specified in thetable below for each type of aircraftfuselage and the mass flow rateselected. When the specified amountof CO2 has been reached, the fillingprocess stops.

Although the cargo compartmentsare nominally sealed from the cabin,cockpit and avionics compartments,it was demonstrated during the testthat the cargo compartments are alsofilled with CO2. This will occurthrough the cargo compartment drainlines (the leakage in/out is in fact cal-ibrated for the purpose of assuringcontainment of fire extinguishant).

Usually, the CO2 gas is containedunder pressure in liquid form ofabout 150 Bars and at low tempera-tures. Heat exchangers and evapora-tors, (see photo " ), are used to elevatethe temperature of the gas prior toapproximately 15°C on entering thefuselage.

FAST / NUMBER 27 5

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Amount of CO2

(kg)

A319

600kg

750kg

900kg

2300kg 2300kg

2500kg 2500kg

2000kg 2000kg

1700kg

A320 A321 A330-200

A330-300

A340-200

A340-300

A300 A300-600

A310

Apparatus:Sliding window adapter

Heat exchangers and evaporators

Figure 2

The following table shows the amount ofCO2 required for each fuselage #

Requ

ired

amou

nt o

f CO 2

per f

usel

age

Attachment barsprotected with foam

WingnutOutlet

connection

Woodenplate

Screw

Foam

Apparatus:Outflow valve adapter

Figure 1

Foam or Prot. hoseHook

Foam

WingnutConnection

to CO2 source

CO2 Fumigationprocedure (cont’d)

The CO2 enters the cabin througha locally manufactured simpleadapter that is installed over the out-flow valve. To ensure that the CO2

penetrates to the highest level in thecabin an outlet tube is fitted abovethe ceiling panel behind the cockpit,with the end placed at the highestposition in the fuselage. The otherend is taken out through a blank fit-ted in place of the sliding window inthe cockpit (see figure 3c " ). Thusas the level of CO2 rises in thecabin it forces out the ambient airthrough the tube. After the CO2 fill-ing process, the aircraft shouldremain closed for half an hour forrodent extermination and 12 hoursfor reptile extermination.

General informationUsing CO2 and

InsecticidesFumigation using CO2 is not

totally effective against insects butvery effective against rodents andreptiles. In case an operator needsto exterminate insects as well asrodents and reptiles then insecti-cide in association with fumigationshould be used. First the internalsection of the pressurised fuselagehas to be sprayed with ‘Baygon’,(Material No. 14-004 or 14-004A),and then, the CO2 fumigation pro-cedure should be performed.Insects such as ticks are almostresistant to high concentrations ofCO2 gas since they can close theirtrachea and virtually stop theirmetabolism. Other insects such ascockroaches will lay their eggsprior to dying. CO2 has no effect onthe eggs, however ‘Baygon’ iseffective against them.

In the case of reptiles, the fumi-gated aircraft has to be kept with alldoors, hatches and drain portsclosed and sealed for at least twelvehours. This is due to the fact thatreptiles hibernate when underthreat or lack of nutrition. They canreduce their heartbeat significantlyas well as their rate of breathing.

Rodents are exterminated afterbeing exposed to an environment

with 60% CO2 content for sixminutes.

The CO2 has an anaesthetic effectafter 20 seconds.

Penetration of the CO2 into thethermal-acoustic insulation blan-kets behind the cabin and cargo lin-ings, was measured at about 90%during the fumigation test.

Using ConventionalMethods

If an operator wishes to use con-ventional traps (spring loaded orwith adhesion) to catch rodents andor reptiles then the following tech-nique should be used:◗ Prior to placing the traps,remove all catering trolleys andthe waste from the trash com-pactors, (if any), from the galleys,from the lavatory waste bins andfrom any other container whichcould contain any waste.◗ Remove all soap bars and dis-pensers from the lavatories.◗ Remove all cosmetic productsfrom the lavatories.◗ Place the traps in the cabin, inthe aisles, below the seats, in thegalley and lavatory areas, in thecockpit, in the avionics bay, in thecargo holds, and in the FlightCrew Rest Compartment, LowerDeck Mobile Crew Rest compart-ment and Lower Deck Lavatories,if any of these are installed.◗ Close all aircraft doors andhatches for twelve hours with nohuman activity around the aircraft.

The main advantage of fumigat-ing an aircraft by CO2 over the useof conventional traps is that theresult is definitive in a specifiedtime frame.

IMPORTANT: Do not under anycircumstances use poisoncapsules for rodents, since theirlater removal could be easi lyomitted by cleaning personnel,leaving them to be swallowed bychild passengers.

Do not under anycircumstances use ultra-sonicanimal repellent devices insideand/or near the aircraft.

FAST / NUMBER 276

CO2 SUPPLIERAirbus Industrie encourages operators wishing to use CO2 for fumigation to use

the method described in the AMM. They should contact and use local CO2

suppliers and their associated equipment for performing the fumigation task. AirbusIndustrie performed the fumigation test in association with Linde AG. (see addressbelow) who supplied the gas and also the equipment.

FAST / NUMBER 27 7

A irbus Industrie, beingconscious of thedifficulties faced by

operators when pests board theiraircraft, and with the gradual

prohibition of toxic agents againstthem, has developed an effective,

user friendly solution for the eradication ofstowaway reptiles and rodents.

It uses products and materials that are in common use,and very simple to adapt to the aircraft.

Good hunting!

Contact person and address of supplierMr. Soenke WEIDGENLINDE AGSchnackenburgallee 2222525 Hamburg, GermanyTel: +49 40 8531 2146Fax:+49 40 8531 2125 e-mail: soenke_weidgen@linde-gas.deNote: LINDE AG has international distribution centres.

Installation of apparatusFigure 3

Sliding windowOutflow valve

Pressurizedarea

Connection to CO2 source

Think again! Conclusion

A

B C

FAST / NUMBER 278

Being the only all newaircraft in their class the A320Family benefited from theadvances in technologyintroduced in the interveningtwenty years. Inevitably theseadvances reduce themaintenance costs by reducingthe time that the A320 Familyspends on the ground formaintenance purposes,because they are easier tomaintain, having easier andaccurate trouble-shooting andmodern maintenanceprocedures.

by Ludovic GIRARDFlight Controls Systems Engineer

Engineering ServicesAirbus Industrie

Shark fin tool This tool kit is composed of two

tools. One for flap tracks two andthree and another for track 4. Eachtool has a base, a fin and a scaleblock (see photo 1 " ). They aremuch smaller and lighter than theprevious overwing rigging boards.Thus they are easier to transport,handle and store, which reduces thepossibility of them being damaged,and so increases the accuracy andrepeatability of the rigging.

InstallationWith the flaps in the up position,

the base of the tool is clampeddirectly to the top, aft end of theflap track, up against the beam end-stops. The fin slides into the slot ontop of the base (see photo 2 " ) andis held in the correct position by apip pin. The scale block sits on oneof the steps at the top of the fin.

Having a fixed position, the sharkfins are much more accurate thanthe overwing rigging boards, whichwere located by measurement. Inaddition, the fin does not requireadjustment before carrying out therigging, leading once again to animprovement in the accuracy andthe repeatability of the rigging.

Rigging procedureThe flaps should be in the up

position with rigging pins installedin the drive levers at the flap tracks(see photo 3 " ). It is no longernecessary to systematicallydisconnect the flap drive torqueshafts to achieve the required foreand aft flap position beforecarrying out the flap rigging. Thisreduces the required rigging timeapproximately by half.

A change in the wing manufacturing process has allowed animprovement in the flap rigging procedure. Until now rigging ofthe flaps has required disconnection of the flap drive system and

use of rather cumbersome devices, which were placed on top of the wing. With the introduction of new manufacturing tools, to more precisely

position flap tracks two and three, and more recently track four, in relationto the top surface of the wing, this rigging method has been replaced by amuch simpler one.

This new rigging procedure uses the flap tracks as the datum with asmall tool that looks like a shark’s fin, for alignment of the flaps. The drivesystem does not need to be disconnected, if it is found to be correctlyrigged.

FAST / NUMBER 27 9

Photo 1The scale block sits on one of thesteps at the top of the fin

Rigging pins installedin the drive levers at

the flap tracks

Photo 2 The fin slides into the slot ontop of the base

Photo 3

Photo 1The scale block sits on one of thesteps at the top of the fin

Rotation of this eccentric bearingprovides the vertical adjustment ofthe whole flap with regard to thewing (see figure 2 "). On most air-craft this is all that needs to be done.

However, on some aircraft,straight and level flight required theouter flap to be pitched very slightlyup or down to provide the aerody-namic balance. In this case, the flapnominal position determined on theproduction jig, is modified using theflap forward eccentric bearings ontracks 3 and 4.

Rotation of these forward eccen-tric bearings causes only the trailingedge of the flap to move vertically(see figure 2 # ). This deviation fromthe nominal position of the trailingedge is inherent to the aircraft and isrecorded on a label installed onthe side of the flap track 3(as shown on photo 4 ").

Hence, any re-rigging of the outerflap on in-service aircraft must takeinto account the presence, or not, ofa deviation value recorded on thislabel. If a value is recorded on thelabel, in the first place the outer flapnominal position has to be recov-ered by moving the forward eccen-tric bearings on tracks 3 and 4. Thenthe flap can be rigged by using themain eccentric bearing, and finallythe flap trailing edge should bemoved back to the dimensionmarked on the label, by the forwardeccentric bearings on track 3 and 4.

FAST / NUMBER 2710

Label installedon the side of

the flap track 3tracking

deviation fromthe flap nominal

position

Photo 4

Flap rigging:action of the main andforward eccentrics

Rotation of the main eccentric bearing allowsthe vertical adjustment of the whole flap withregard to the wing

Rigging procedure (cont’d)

Alignment of the flap trailingedge with the zero (nominal)position of the tool scale block isdone using the main eccentricbearing located on the carriage(see figure 1 $ ) .

Flap/carriagemain eccentric

bearing

Eccentric hole atmaximum aft

position

Figure 1

Figure 2

T his procedure will significantly reduce the time required to rigthe flaps. It will also make their adjustment easier to performand more accurate. As this new rigging procedure is also

applicable on aircraft initially rigged with overwing rigging boards, it ishighly recommended to take advantage of this new procedure and tool(ref. AI SB A320-27-1119).

Note: to further assist the operators, a video “SHARK FIN TOOLFOR EASY FLAP ADJUSTMENT” providing the salient points of theflap rigging procedure, is available on request (see contact $ ).

ConclusionAirbus IndustrieFabienne BARON, AI/SE-E5Tel: +33 (0)5 61 93 47 40Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 44 25E-mail: fabienne.baron@airbus.fr

Documentation referencesAI SB A320-27-1119 rev 04 issued August 21, 2000AMM 27-51-00 PB501Modifications 26649 and 28827SIL 00-032 (video)

Forwardeccentricbearing

Maineccentricbearing

Rotation of the main eccentric bearing allowsthe vertical adjustment of the whole flap withregard to the wingRotation of the forward eccentric bearingallows the vertical adjustment of trailing edgeof the flap

Rotation of the forward eccentric bearingallows the vertical adjustment of trailing edgeof the flap

Eccentric hole atmaximum aft

position

FAST / NUMBER 27 11

The Initial Provisioning (IP) spares investment recommendation is a centraldeterminator of spares investment. This important working document is used notonly by airline materiel planners but also by their financial controllers. Thisarticle highlights how both have benefitted from the effects which reduced theairline’s initial expenditure in spares. The main reasons for the reduction in thevalue of Initial Provisioning investment in the last five years have been, improvedparts reliability, reduced repair time and spares stock quantities adapted to in-service experience, together with spare parts pricing initiatives.

by Michael HAUPTProvisioning Manager

Materiel SupportAirbus Industrie Customer Services

FAST / NUMBER 2712

Where the resultscome from?

T he Airbus ProvisioningDepartment investigatedhow the value of recom-

mended spares investments givento customers has reduced over thelast five years.

The Initial Provisioning recom-mendations given by AirbusIndustrie are based on formulae,statistical distributions, technicaland operational parameters.

One of the questions was,whether the spares stock quantitycould be further reduced. Anotherpoint has been to what extent aredifferent achievements contribut-ing to savings in spares investment.And finally, how can theProvisioning Department supporttheir customers by providing themwith cost optimised data.

The customer’s operational input(including items such as annualutilisation, fleet size, transit time) isconsidered to be a constant.Therefore it indicates only thechanges implemented in the pastfew years through product andprocess improvements. For the pur-pose of the investigation we com-pared the investment recommendedto airlines that ordered their single-aisle fleet in 1995 with the value ofa similar package today.

We focussed initially on theexpensive parts category, theLRU’s (Line Replaceable Units)which represent some 95 % ofinvestment within a typical IP-package.

Four main investment-savinginitiatives have been developedsince 1995:◗ A price freeze, against the globaltendency of rising prices, kept thecost of spares below the index.◗ Improved parts reliabilitysupported by guarantees allowed areduction in stock levels.◗ Cost optimised calculationparameters were applied inaccordance with the MMEL, and astaggered fleet build-up. ◗ Guaranteed lower shopprocessing time (SPT) shortenedthe re-supply chain.

Competitive pricingsaved money

Inflation is a common phenome-non and was at some 1.6 % perannum on average in the aviationindustry from 1995 to 2000.

The following chart containssome high cost items that typicallycan be found within the IP package.It reflects the savings due to price-freezing agreements achieved byAirbus Industrie with the OriginalEquipment Manufacturers (OEM)and compares the Airbus pricingpolicy against the US price riseindex.

Achieved savings (kUS $)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

(kUS $)

Airbus price in 1995

Auxiliary Power Unit

Flight Management& Guidance Computer

Unit-Braking Steering

Actuator

Flight Warning Computer

Computer-ManagementDisplay

FCU-Flight Control Unit

Computer Fuel QuantityIndicator

Display Unit

Airbus price in 2000

Price if the US indexhad been applied

{19

28

6

20

12

10

8

7

8

High cost items that typically can befound within the IP package reflecting thesaving due to price-freezing agreements

FAST / NUMBER 27 13

Analyzing the RecommendedSpare Parts Lists, the reliability ofLRUs has significantly improvedwhen measured by the MTBUR(Mean Time Between UnscheduledRemovals) figure. For all LRUitems contained in an InitialProvisioning package the parts’reliability has improved by 11.5 %while the 10 most expensive itemsimproved their reliability by up to46 % thus leading to substantiallyless spares investment.

Parts reliability is usuallydefined by design, by themanufacturer, and influenced by

the airline’s maintenance. Due tothe large number of Airbus aircraftnow in operation and theiraccumulated flight hours, morereal data became availableabout the MTBURs. Successiveimplementation of these in-serviceMTBUR figures converted ourcalculations into more efficientplanning documents. These in-service figures are supported byguarantees contained in theGeneral Conditions of Purchase(GCP). If a guaranteed MTBUR isnot met the supplier will provide aremedy (see figure 1 ").

Improved parts reliabilityrequires smaller stock quantities

Economical sparesavailability can be

planned withoptimised stock levels

To plan availability of spare partsa so-called protection level is wide-ly used. It reflects the probability ofhaving a part in stock when needed.

Furthermore we typically classifythe parts following their “essential-ity code” in these categories:◗ “No-Go”◗ “Go-If” ◗ “Go”

The parts that are essential foraircraft dispatch (i.e. “No-Go”parts) are calculated with compara-tively high levels, ranging from94% to 96 %. Starting in mid-1995an input variation using the essen-tiality code became possible, thus

reducing the recommended invest-ment by lowering the protectionlevels for “Go-If” parts to typically85% to 92%. Protection levels forthe “Go” items, less essential foraircraft dispatch, were reduced tolevels between 70% and 80 %. Byintroducing this feature the invest-ment could be more closely adapt-ed to operational circumstances.

Quicker repair =less stock holding

Looking at the period from 1995to 2000 the average ShopProcessing Time (SPT) for allLRUs in a typical InitialProvisioning package has short-ened from 19 to 14 days represent-ing a more than 26% reduction.For the 10 most expensive itemsthe reduction has been up to 32%.

140

%

120

100

80

6020001995

All IP LRU's

10 most expensive LRU's

+46.7%

+11.5%+11.5%

+46.7%

Improved component reliability(MTBUR in %)

Source: Airbus Industrie ProvisioningDepartment, Investigation of InitialProvisioning Documents for LRUcomponents on single-aisle aircraft

Figure 1

Quicker repair =less stock holding (Cont’d)

The SPT is defined as the totalnumber of calendar days fromreceipt of the part at the repair baseuntil its dispatch from the repairbase. As many airlines don’t havethe repair capabilities to perform allthe maintenance tasks, severalvendor repair shops are alsoinvolved. Airbus obtainedagreements with them to shorten therepair cycles. The latest agreement,called GCP 2000, guarantees amaximum shop repair time of 10days for avionics and 15 days fornon-avionics components. The GCP2000 has been signed by 40 majorOEMs so far (see figure 2 ").

Streamlined processes within theairline can achieve furtherimprovements along the repairchain. This is due to the fact that

the number of calendar daysneeded for repair administrationhas a great influence on theformula-based calculation ofrecommended quantities.

Further savingsprogramme

for Airbus proprietarymateriel successfully

implemented The Customized Lead Time

(CLT) programme is an initiativein materiel planning and deliveryintroduced by Airbus Industrie in1997. Today the 25 airlines alreadyparticipating can effectively reducethe inventory of Airbus proprietaryparts held in stock. Benefits of CLT are:◗ Shortened process times withinthe supply chain

◗ Reduced customer safetystocks and holding costs

◗ Optimization of inventoryby common planning foressential items

◗ Reduced materiel coststhrough increased use ofroutine ordering

Essentially the airlineshold no Airbus proprietaryparts in stock and obtain theparts needed on a just-in-time basis. Dispatch can beachieved the same day ifrequested.

FAST / NUMBER 2714

T he significant reduction in the value of spares reflected in theRecommended Spare Parts List (RSPL) and now being appreciated byAirbus operators results from several initiatives taken by Airbus

Industrie over the last five years. In particular, freezing prices, guaranteeingreliability, optimising spares recommendations to meet actual airline operationalneeds, and guaranteeing shorter component repair times have all contributed tomeeting the airlines’ need to reduce operating costs.

Airbus Industrie Materiel Support

Michael HAUPT, AI/SM-P

Tel: +49 40 50 76 27 17Fax: +49 40 50 76 28 29e.mail: michael.haupt@airbus.fr

Conclusion

Figure 2

Reduced Shop Processing Time(SPT in %)

Source: Airbus Industrie ProvisioningDepartment, Investigation of Initial

Provisioning Documents for LRUcomponents on single-aisle aircraft.

80

100

120

140

%

60

40

20

020001995

-32.4%-26.5%

All IP LRU's10 most expensive LRU's

TThhee AAiirrbbuuss TThhee AAiirrbbuuss ""LLeessss PPaappeerr ""LLeessss PPaappeerr

iinn tthhee CCoocckkppiitt""iinn tthhee CCoocckkppiitt""ccoonncceeppttccoonncceepptt

"A modern approach to cockpit information management"

Daniel MENARDDepartment Manager

Flight Oper. Digital Info. & ToolsFlight Oper. Support Depart.

15FAST / NUMBER 27

Imagine...

Imagine a world where thepilot enters a paper free cockpit,checks the technical status of hisaircraft then switches on his laptopto retrieve his information. The daybefore his flight, he was connectedby electronic mail to his airline toreceive the latest Flight CrewOperating Manual/ MinimumEquipment List (FCOM/MEL)updates and also updated his per-formance modules. He sits in thecockpit seat with his laptop on thetable in front of him, checking theECAM warnings with the MELModule and selecting the inopera-tive items before switching to theTakeoff Module. In order to startthe LPC software, he must enter theaircraft registration number andthe software will present the infor-mation relative to this aircraft onhis screen...

Eric LESAGE Senior Performance Engineer

Group Manager A330/A340 Perf.Flight Oper. Support & Training

Laval CHAN-KAM-FAISenior Performance Engineer

Group Manager Perf. ProgramFlight Oper. Support & Training

Bruno DAHANProgram Manager

Flight Oper. Digital Info. & ToolsFlight Oper. Support & Training

Imagine his flight is only fortyminutes ahead and he is preparingfor it. He computes his takeoff per-formance after selecting the run-way, entering the takeoff conditionswhile the MEL Module just “acti-vated” the inoperative items.

Imagine the passengers areboarding the aircraft and the cargois loaded. The loadmaster entersthe cockpit to give the load details.The pilot selects the LPC Weightand Balance Module to computethe takeoff CG and actual weight ofthe aircraft. Then he reverts back tothe Takeoff Module to finalise thetakeoff performance, which is thenmanually entered in thePERF(ormance) page of the FlightManagement System (FMS) in theaircraft.

Imagine the same laptop nowgives FCOM data, if required, dur-ing taxi-out. Finally, the pilot justcloses his laptop and stows it andthe table prior to the takeoff roll.

Do not imagine anymore, butvisit an Airbus fly-by-wire cockpitto actually live this “Less Paper inthe cockpit” experience.

FAST / NUMBER 2716

A world inconstantevolution

T he amount of automationand sophistication goinginto aircraft today

requires more and more informa-tion to be handled within the cock-pit environment. This, added to therequirement for more precise andcomplex performance computa-tions have made it necessary toreview the way to provide access toinformation for the pilots.

If the next generation of aircraftincludes a server on board with thescreen display as part of the cock-pit, a transition phase will berequired to prepare the pilots touse a Personal Computer ratherthan paper. At a later stage elec-tronic management of the infor-mation through some appro-priate softwaretools willprobablycompletelysupersedepaper.

Today theprogress madein the area ofthe on-linetechnologiesand particularlyin the domain ofInternet with the"WebRevolution" hascontributed tothe general useof the PersonalComputer to gainaccess to infor-mation. More andmore people nowuse the Web services at home to get access toan almost unlimited amount ofinformation and this becomes evereasier and faster. The PersonalComputer is an essential tool forthis environment.

A moreproductivecockpit

environment

The Airbus Industrie FlightOperations Support Division isbringing the benefits of this tech-nology to the cockpit, particularlyin the domains of performancecomputation and consultation oftechnical information.

Based on the laptop computerthis new innovative way of work-ing can be readily implemented incurrent aircraft. The LPC conceptallows the pilot to get the informa-tion needed before the flight, get allthe information necessary to fulfilthe tasks during a flight and get theproper information at the righttime.

On Board Tools

On Ground Tools

FAST / NUMBER 27 17

Architecture overview

The LPC concept has two parts.The first part mainly concerns visu-alisation of operating manuals suchas the FCOM and the MEL andpossibly some specific airline man-uals. The second part providesaccess to performance of the air-craft and concerns the takeoff,landing, aircraft weight and bal-ance and in-flight data.

The various modules are linkedtogether through a common inter-face called F.O.V.E (FlightOperations Versatile Environment).This interface provides some general services to the variousmodules. These services cover thecommunications and the inter-oper-ability domains. The design of thisinterface is flexible enough toenable airlines to develop their ownspecific modules and to integratethese modules in the same environ-ment as those of Airbus Industrie.

The list of services managed byFOVE are:

- inter-module communications, - management of software ver-

sions,- management of software com-

patibility,

- control of integrity between thedata and the versions of thesoftware,

- management of updates,- management of context.

The various software tools, partof the Airbus Industrie “Less Paperin the Cockpit” (LPC) concept aredivided into two categories:

◗ On-ground tools enabling theairline administrator to preparethe set of information to beused in the cockpit by theflight crew. This preparationphase customises the informa-tion.

◗ On-board tools enabling theflight crew to get access to theinformation prepared by theiradministrators.

To speed-up and ease the processing flow, the update mecha-nisms between Airbus Industrieand the Airline are managed byusing electronic networks. Thismeans that the performance data aswell as the technical informationare electronically distributed.

FAST / NUMBER 2718

Objectives

The overall objectives of themodules part of the LPC are theelectronic distribution, update, andconsultation of Airbus TechnicalFlight Operations information, andcomputation of performance data.

The main goals are:- To improve access time to the

information.- To improve consultation effi-

ciency through the followingfeatures:

◗ access information for onespecific aircraft,

◗ wordsearch through an index,◗ hyper-links within a document

or between several documents, ◗ shortcut to access to most fre-

quently used parts of the docu-ments,

◗ bookmark management,◗ graphics display,◗ identification of the revised

information, ◗ list of highlights with a direct

link to the revised information,◗ possibility to associate some

specific airline information toAirbus information.

- To improve takeoff perfor-mance.

- To optimise the loading andtrimming of the aircraft.

- To ease the updating processesand reduce the distributioncycle time for revisions andupdates.

- To ensure technical data accura-cy.

- To reduce costs in distributionand management of operationaldocumentation.

A300-600 A310 A319 A330 A340A320 /A321

A300-600 A310 A319 A330 A340A320 /A321

Weight & Balance ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

TakeOff ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

MEL consultation - - ✔ ✔ ✔

FCOM consultation - - ✔ ✔ ✔

Landing ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

In Flight ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Airline Info ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Scope

The various modules are or willbe made available as follows:

Environment

The LPC is based on the conceptthat a laptop dedicated to the pilotswill hold information relative tooperations manuals and to perfor-mance computations. The informa-tion contained in the laptop maycover all the aircraft types operatedby the airline. However the infor-mation displayed is relevant to aunique aircraft type or registrationnumber as selected by the pilot. Itis also displayed in a homogenousway irrespective of the aircrafttype, size or model.

As the laptop is not connected tothe aircraft systems, the product isnot certified. However, to operatethe LPC on board, an operationalapprobation shall be obtained fromthe local authorities and the appro-priate Standard OperatingProcedures be developed.

The Airbus fly-by-wire aircraft inservice today already have slidingtables, power supply outlets andstorage areas to allow the use oflaptop computers in the cockpit.

Following a survey of airlines,Airbus Industrie is proposing theinstallation of two plugs(115volts/60Hz) to supply pilots’laptop computers (standard option).

FAST / NUMBER 27 19

Captain plug

Easy to use thanks to the sliding table.

Power supply already available

A storage LPC.

First Officer’s PlugCaptain’s Plug

ComponentOverview

Weight & Balance Module

The Weight & Balance moduleenables the pilot to compute thedifferent weights and centre ofgravity (CG) positions of the air-craft and to check them againsttheir operational limitations. Thismodule considers the given condi-tions of the day so as to optimisethe loading and the trimming of theaircraft (see figure 1 " ) .

For a given aircraft, the Weight &Balance Module is started with thecharacteristics of the selected air-craft registration number.

Different information is enteredby the pilot. The nature and thenumber of parameters to be entereddepends on the aircraft type as wellas on the administrators’ settings:many parameters can be cus-tomised or are optional. TheModule is very flexible so that itcan accept the maximum number ofparameters required to perform theloading and trimming of an aircraft.

Firstly, the pilot selects the con-figuration code for his flight. Theconfiguration code is associatedwith a specific service type (see fig-ure 2 " ) .

A service type is expressed by agiven type of:

- passengers (composition andindividual weights)

- cabin arrangement (configura-tion)

- cargo (composition)- holds (configuration) and by

associated operational limits.

With the configuration code, thepilot can select the exact aircraftconfiguration associated with theactual conditions of the day andoperate the aircraft within the opti-mal CG envelopes.

Then the pilot can select the crew,the catering or any miscellaneousitems (a person on a jump seat, aspare part in a cargo compart-ment…) that are not included in the

FAST / NUMBER 2720

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

commercial payload. Finally, thepilot recovers the dry operatingconditions of his aircraft.

In the LOADING frame, the pilotenters the composition of the pas-sengers on-board, the cargo and thefuel. It is possible to have doubleentry boxes to consider the payloadin transit. All the checks against themaximum structural weights areperformed and the underload isimmediately provided: last minutechanges can be entered immediate-ly.

The PAYLOAD DISTRIBU-TION frame displays a schematicdiagram of the aircraft showing thedistribution of the passengers andof the cargo in the aircraft (see fig-ure 3 " ) .

The FUEL DISTRIBUTIONframe displays the fuel weight ineach tank according to the standardrefuelling sequence. If this latterdiffers from the actual fuel quantityin the aircraft, the pilot can directlyupdate it so that it agrees with theECAM indications (see figure 4 #).

The pilot gets the results numeri-cally and graphically. These havebeen checked against the opera-tional limitations.

Interaction of the Weight &Balance Module with other mod-ules will enable exchange of infor-mation. For instance, the perfor-mance limited maximum takeoffweight can be automatically set so

that the aircraft is not loadedbeyond this weight.

One important aspect of thismodule is that it is able to importdirectly the Weight & Balance dataof the aircraft as well as the datalinked to a given service type fromspecific files produced by the Loadand Trim Sheet (LTS) software.

The LTS software is the optimaladditional tool of the Less PaperCockpit Weight&Balance adminis-trator but it is not mandatory. Thisprogramme manages the Weight &Balance data of the Airbus fleet.The administrator enters his ownassumptions and defines the cabinlayout thanks to a graphical inter-face. Then, LTS calculates theoperational limits and all the load-ing and trimminginformation.

FAST / NUMBER 27 21

Figure 4

Takeoff Module

The Takeoff Module provides the takeoff performance of the

aircraft based on the actual envi-ronmental conditions of the dayjust before the flight (see figure 5 $).This module provides the best take-off performance for the given con-ditions.

For a given aircraft, the TakeoffModule will start with the charac-teristics of the selected aircraft reg-istration number. A number of take-off parameters will be modifiedwithin a frame. These parametersare reduced to a minimum and con-cern only those parameters thatvary at every takeoff. They includeoutside air temperature (OAT),wind conditions, pressure altitudeat sea level (QNH), flap settings,actual takeoff weight, bleeds set-tings, runway condition, engineoption and CG position. An admin-istrator within the airline will havealready set the other parameters.The pilot will then select the run-way from which takeoff is consid-ered. If any specific comments areattached to a particular runway,these will be displayed to the pilots

at runway selectionon top of the displayof the runway char-a c t e r i s t i c s .Inoperative items, ifselected, will be dis-played on this take-off screen.

After the input parameters areset, the computation is run. Takeoff data for the actual takeoff weightwill be presented to the pilot (seefigure 6 $ ) . Customization of theresults is possible depending on thechoice of the airline. Either all pos-sible flexible temperatures are dis-played or just the maximum flexi-ble temperature is displayedtogether with the performance for

OAT. The selected flexible temper-ature and speeds can then beentered on the PERF page via themulti-purpose control and displayunit (MCDU) of the aircraft.

The pilot also has the possibilityto highlight a specific result line byopening the takeoff card. He canalso obtain detailed computationoutputs by pressing the appropriatekey. Detailed results may displayactual runway lengths used, differ-ent limiting weights, etc. This list iscustomized by the airline.The air-line, via its administrator, is able tofully customise the Takeoff Moduleby the selection of the units, the V1range, defining aircraft degrada-tions among other possibilities.

One important aspect of thismodule is that the LPC TakeoffModule is able to share a commonrunway database with thePerformance Engineers Programme(PEP) software. Indeed, LPC usesthe same airport manager softwareto manage all runway data as doesthe PEP.

FAST / NUMBER 2722

Figure 6

Figure 5

The (Minimum Equipment List)MEL Module provides the pilotwith a tool enabling electronicaccess to the MEL information.This set of information is beingprepared by the airline administra-tor from the MMEL (MasterMinimum Equipment List) andeventually completed by the AMM(Aircraft Maintenance Manual)digital data supplied by Airbus(optional) (see figure 7 " ) .

The MMEL and AMM raw dataare delivered by Airbus in SGML(Standardized Generalized MarkupLanguage) format. To enable theuse of the MMEL SGML data, theMMEL Starter Pack is made avail-able. This software tool enables theconversion of the SGML data intoeither “FrameMaker+SGML” orRTF formats.

Once the data is converted, theairline administrator has the possi-bility to amend the information byusing some off-the-shelf softwaresuch as “FrameMaker+SGML”(Adobe) or Word (Microsoft) andto create either a PDF or a paperversion of the airline MEL. Byusing the FrameMaker version ofthe MMEL Starter Pack an addi-tional feature is offered which pro-vides the possibility to export thecustomized MEL data into a data-base. Once the database has beenloaded with the MEL information,a generation tool enables the prepa-ration of the MEL data for the MELModule.

With regards to the MaintenanceProcedures the airline administra-tor has two choices:

◗ The administrator creates thePDF version of the concernedtasks by using any off-the-shelf editor such as Word,FrameMaker, etc…

◗ The administrator uses theAMM SGML raw data toextract the concerned tasks andtranslates them into RTF for-mat. At this stage the mainte-nance tasks may be amendedto comply with some internalprocedures. Of course thisaction is optional. Then with

an additional tool the mainte-nance tasks are converted intoPDF format to be integratedinto the MEL consultationmodule.

Interface based on standard Webbrowser (see figures 8,9,10 " ) .

- Hyperlinks:◗ within the MEL◗ between the MEL and the

associated OperationalProcedures

◗ between the MEL and theassociated MaintenanceProcedures

◗ between the ECAM entry listand the associated dispatchcondition in the MEL

- Access information from:◗ the ECAM Entry List sorted

by ATA or alphanumeric ◗ the MEL◗ the Operational procedures◗ the maintenance procedures◗ the airlines documents

FAST / NUMBER 27 23

Minimum Equipment List ModuleFigure 7

Figures 8,9,10

FCOM - OEBModule

The FCOM/OEB Module giveselectronic access to the four vol-umes of the Flight Crew OperatingManual (FCOM) and to the associ-ated Operations EngineeringBulletins (OEB) and TemporaryRevisions (TR).

This module offers two modes ofconsultation (see figure 11 # ) :

- The Stand-alone mode enablingthe pilot to consult theFlight Operationsinformation on hislaptop.

- The Connectedmode enabling theadministrator to con-sult the FlightOperations informa-tion directly on theAirbus server. Inaddition to this possi-bility of accessing afull consultation envi-ronment, this mode isalso used to updatethe Airline environ-ment with the latestOEB and TR docu-ments released afterthe CD-ROM publi-

cation. The administrator willmainly use this mode.

A CD-ROM containing the infor-mation related to:

- FCOM Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4, - TR and OEB documents valid at

the CD-ROM publication time, andcomplying with the Airline fleet ismade available with the same revi-sion cycle as the present one relat-ed to the paper.

In parallel, the Airbus Industrieserver is updated with the samecontents as the CD-ROM and anyauthorised airline end-users haveaccess to this information.

Any new TR (see figure 12 $ ) orOEB released after publication ofthe CD-ROM is made available onthe Airbus server. First this infor-mation is made available to the air-line administrator. The duty of theairline administrator is to ensurethat the OEB/TR is applicable tohis fleet and to authorise access tothis information for his end-users.It should be noted that the airlineend-user does not have access tothis information until the airlineadministrator provides the autho-risation.

Then the airline end-user mayconsult this information and down-load it on his laptop to enable theModule to take into account thisnew OEBs and TRs and their linksto the FCOM.

FAST / NUMBER 2724

Figure 11

Figure 12

The possibility to distribute theTRs and OEBs is also made avail-able through E-mail mechanisms(see figure 11 % ) . However, a pieceof software will be required on thecustomer side to ensure the integri-ty of the communications.

The CD-ROM provided byAirbus Industrie is based on Airbusdata. However, the airline adminis-trator may prepare a customisedpackage by including for examplethe airline Standard OperatingProcedures (SOP) into the set ofdata prepared by Airbus.

The FCOM raw data is providedby Airbus Industrie in SGML(Standardized Generalized MarkupLanguage) format. To enable theuse of the SGML data, the FCOMStarter Pack is made available. Thissoftware tool allows the conversionof the SGML data into either“FrameMaker+SGML” or RTF for-mats. Once the data is converted,the airline administrator has thepossibility to amend the informa-tion by using some off-the-shelfsoftware such as “FrameMaker-+SGML” (Adobe) or Word(Microsoft) and to create a PDFversion of the airline specific pieceof information (see figure 13 " ) .

With the "FCOM NavigationTree Customisation" the airlineadministrator is in position toamend the FCOM tree structure.These changes take into accountthe airline specificity (airline infor-mation such as the SOP) and maycorrespond to the setup of somedifferent views of the FCOM.Based on the same source of infor-mation, different structures of theFCOM are presented to the enduser:

- Access by cockpit localisation- List of valid OEB documents- List of valid TR documents

(see figure 14,15,16 " )

FAST / NUMBER 27 25

Figures 14,15,16

Figure 13

FAST / NUMBER 2726

Landing Module

This module will enable the pilotto determine the landing perfor-mance of the aircraft either beforedeparture (flight planning) or at anytime during flight. It gives the max-imum weight corresponding to agiven landing distance andaccounts for the external conditions(OAT, wind, etc) , and the technicalstatus of the aircraft (inoperativeitems, bleed selection, etc) and run-way conditions (runway state,lengths, etc). The pilot will also beable to retrieve operational datasuch as landing with autobrake andautoland (if data permits).

Other Modules

At this stage some other modulesare also foreseen. For instance,Airbus is evaluating an In-FlightModule which may provide highspeed data, currently not availablefrom the FMS. Details of computa-tions are not fixed for the timebeing and all possibilities will beexplored.

Hardwareand softwarerequirements

The required or recommendedhardware and software are as fol-lows:

Hardware- Laptop 400 MHz Pentium Processor- 128 Megabytes of RAM- 2 Giga-byte hard disk- 1 modem at 33600 baud- 1 CD-ROM reader 11X speed - 1Display unit with following characteristics:- XGA TFT active matrix- 14’’ minimum- Resolution 1024 x 768 64K colors

Software- Windows 95 or Windows NT (required)- Netscape 4.7 browser or Microsoft Internet

Explorer 5.5 (required)- “Acrobat reader”

Plug-in PDF format viewer (required)

- Plug-in able to display the graphics in TIFF/CCITTG4 format like

The following sitescan be consulted for additional information:

www.TMSequoia.comwww.visionshape.comwww.cartesianinc.comPrizm from TMSequoiahas been adopted by Airbus for internal use.

NetworkTo access AOLS (Airbus OnLine Services) an access to one of the following Networks isrequired:

- AERONET (SITA)- INTERNET (service provider to be selected

by the airline).

Contact person and address of supplierAirbus IndustrieMr. Christian MONTEIL Tel: +33 (0)5 61 93 30 85 Deputy Vice President Training Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 29 68& Flight Operations Support e-mail: christian.monteil@airbus.frAI/ST-F

Conclusion

S everal airlines already usethe Takeoff and the FCOM-OEB Modules. So far

Airbus Industrie has received someencouraging feedback. On the per-formance side, some simulationshave been conducted which showthat the use of the LPC will lead tosavings in the engine maintenancearea. Another customer has high-lighted potential safety improve-ments when consulting the TechnicalInformation. This is a promising startwhich provides encouragement tocontinue with the development of theuse of laptop computers so as tofinally remove the need for paper inthe cockpit.

FAST / NUMBER 27 27

Alain MaréchalWing / Pylon /Empennage / WindowEngineering ServicesAirbus Industrie

Until now, curing fuel leakshas been a relatively difficultand time-consumingoperation for operators andmanufacturers alike. Themethods available to speed upthe curing time of the repairsealants have been with hotair blowing or heating lamps,neither method being veryefficient. This articledescribes a new heatingdevice based on catalyticcombustion, which has beentested and qualified on allrepair sealants recommendedby Airbus Industrie.

FUEL LEAK REPAIR

Quick curing sealant device

Introduction

Fuel tanks in modern com-mercial airliners are princi-pally housed in the wings,

and the wing structure is also thefuel tank structure; there are norubber tanks or other forms of innerwalls within the wings. Wingstructures are composed of largeskin panels, dozens of ribs andstringers, and thousands of bolts andrivets covered with sealant toprevent fuel seepage (see photo 1 ").

This structure is flexible, asanyone who has flown in turbulentweather will have noticed, as theywatch the wing tips moving up anddown. Eventually fuel seepagedoes occur and the leaks becomeevident on the outer surface of theskin.

The visible point of seepage is atthe end of the leak path. Anefficient repair requires the originof the leak path (or paths) to beidentified. When this is achieved,the area around the source of theleak has to be de-sealed beforebeing resealed properly. However,in-service experience has shownthat when fuel leak repairs are notsuccessful, it is due to the twofollowing major reasons: eitherbecause the fuel leak source hasnot been properly identified, orbecause the aircraft was refueledbefore the new sealant has reachedan adequate state of cure.

Concerning the identification of thefuel leak source, Airbus has alreadyaddressed this issue with the heliumtechnique (SIL 57-091, alsodescribed in FAST number 22 ofMarch 1998). For the curing time ofthe sealant, as this is directly relatedto temperature and humidity level,in-service experience has shown thatit is rarelyrespected.

The innovativeapproach

Airbus Industrie investigatedseveral devices and methods todecrease the curing time of therepair sealant. Following a studymade by the French Air Force withSunkiss Aéronautique, AirbusIndustrie investigated and selectedthe thermoreactor technologywhich is based on catalytic com-bustion. Therefore, new equipmentusing this technique has beendeveloped to offer reliability andtime saving. This is a great step for-ward compared to the methodsused previously.

The thermoreactortechnology

Combustion means conversionof the chemical energy of acombustible substance, such asgas, into heat. This is done by acomplete or partial oxidation of thegas, by air, the oxidizing element.The catalytic combustion allowscomplete combustion at a lowtemperature without any mixturebetween the gas and the air. Themain advantage of this type ofcombustion is that it prevents anyinflammability and is thereforecompletely safe. The SunkissAéronautique thermoreactor ismade of a catalytic support, whichis composed of different materialsincluding mainly platinum.

FAST / NUMBER 2728

FAST / NUMBER 22 7

Alain MaréchalStructure Engineering SupportA300/A310/A330/A340Airbus Industrie

Alain DeninottiQuality Assurance Product ManagerAirbus Industrie

ntil now curingfuel leaks has been a relatively difficult

operation for operators and manufacturers alike. The methods available to identify the leak pathshave been air blowingassociated with soapy waterto detect bubbles (a methodas old as aviation itself),and suction associated with dye penetrant, neither method being very successful. This article describes a new detecting techniqueusing helium gas developedby Airbus Industrie.

FFFFUUUUEEEELLLL SSSSYYYYSSSSTTTTEEEEMMMMD e t e c t i n g l e a k s u s i n g h e l i u m

UUUU

AIRBUS INDUSTRIE

AIRBUSTECHNICA

DIGEST

NUMBER 22

MARCH 1998

Helium technique:SIL 57-091

described inFast 22,

March 1998

Wing structures:Rivets covered with sealant

to prevent fuel seepage

Photo 1

This support is exposed to aflow of propane gas. Then, thecatalytic reaction starts anddevelops all over the catalyticelement (see photo 2 # ).

The thermoreactor produces aninfrared radiation between 2 and 10microns. The main advantages ofthis new technique are based on theenergy transfer and on the quality ofthe polymerisation. Figure 1 (")makes a comparison between theold technologies – warm air blower,electrical infrared source – and thethermoreactor.

FAST / NUMBER 27 29

Usual temperature &hygrometry conditions(25¡ C 50%)

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

SUNKISSAERONAUTIQUE

2,75 hours 30 hours

6 hours

72 hours

Reference hardness

Tack free time

Time (hours)

Shorehardness

Thermoreactor SUNKISS

(28 VDC at 45¡)

¨

Typical time saving for PR 1422 B2 sealant

Old and new technology:comparison between the oldtechnologies - warm air blower,electrical infrared source - andthe thermoreactor

Thermoreactor SUNKISS

(28 VDC)

¨

Electrical infrared source

(lamps or quartz tubes)

ONLY one wave

= POOR transfer

Warm air

SEALANT

Blocked solvents

= bubbling risk

Superficial dryingand incompletepolymerization

Complete polymerizationat the core from the insideto the outside

Evaporated solvents

= no micro bubbling risk

The following graph gives anexample of the typical time savingfor PR 1422 B2 sealant. Intheoretical conditions (25° C and50% of Relative Humidity), the 35shore A hardness is reached after

30 hours and the final hardnessafter 72 hours. When, using thethermoreactor, the 35 shore A levelwill be obtained after 2.75 hoursand the sealant will be fully curedafter 6 hours.

Figure 1

The thermoreactor technology:The Sunkiss Aéronautique thermoreactor made ofa catalytic support, mainly composed of platinum

Photo 2

Airbus Customer Services has re-defined the equipment to answer toits customers needs (with the inputsfrom some of its major operators).The basic equipment is today com-posed of two boxes (see figure 2 ").

One box is dedicated to the sup-ply of gas. The other one containsall the control equipment, whichallows the operator either to selectone of the sealants proposed and

qualified by Airbus Industrie, andtherefore no additional data isrequested, or to introduce the spe-cific data linked to a differentsealant.

These boxes have been designedfor easy transportation.

In addition, other options, suchas a trolley to transport themaround the maintenance facility areproposed by Sunkiss Aéronautique.

FAST / NUMBER 2730

C onventional methods for curing fuel leak repair sealants arenow becoming obsolete. The thermoreactor technology hasbeen tested and qualified on different sealants. It is now the

most efficient method to cure sealants used for repair of fuel leaks. Itis cost effective as it significantly reduces the aircraft downtime.

In addition, it has been demonstrated on several aircraft thatthis technology, used in combination with the helium techniquefor fuel leak source detection – SIL 57-091, can reduce a con-ventional fuel leak repair from 5 days to 2 days. Airbus Industrierecommends that operators use this equipment which isdescribed in SIL 57-096 and is applicable to all Airbus aircrafttypes.

Conclusion

The equipment

The Sunkiss AéronautiqueThermoreactor:Today, Airbus Customer Services hasredefined the equipment now composedof two boxes, one for the supply of gasand the other one for the controlequipment

SUNKISSAERONAUTIQUE

SUNKISSAERONAUTIQUE

Figure 2

Airbus IndustrieAlain MARECHAL, AI/SE-A22

Tel: +33 (0)5 61 93 47 40Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 38 29

E-mail: alain.marechal@airbus.fr

All the SILs are includedin the new CD-ROM ‘Fuel tank maintenance’.

RCSM LOCATION COUNTRYABU DHABI United Arab Emirates AMMAN Jordan ATHENS Greece BANGKOK Thailand BEIRUT LebanonBERLIN GermanyBRUSSELS BelgiumBUENOS AIRES Argentina CAIRO Egypt CHARLOTTE USA (North Carolina) CHENGDU People's Republic of ChinaCINCINNATI USA (Ohio)COLOMBO Sri Lanka COPENHAGEN DenmarkDAKAR Senegal DHAKA BangladeshDAMASCUS Syria DELHI India

DERBY England DETROIT USA (Michigan)DOHA QatarDUBAI United Arab Emirates DUBLIN Ireland DULUTH USA (Minnesota)DUSSELDORF Germany FRANKFURT (DLH) Germany FRANKFURT (AEF) GermanyGUANGZHOU People's Republic of ChinaHANGZHOU People's Republic of ChinaHANOI VietnamHELSINKI FinlandHONG KONG People's Republic of ChinaINDIANAPOLIS USA (Indiana)ISTANBUL Turkey JAKARTA Indonesia JINAN People's Repuplic of ChinaJOHANNESBURG South Africa KARACHI Pakistan KHARTOUM SudanKINGSTON JamaicaKUALA LUMPUR Malaysia KUWAIT KuwaitLAGOS NigeriaLANZHOU People's Republic of ChinaLARNACA Cyprus LIMA PeruLISBON Portugal LONDON (VIR) England LONDON (BAW) England

CUSTOMER SUPPORTUSA / CANADAFrançois MOURAREAUVice President Customer ServicesTel: +1 (703) 834 3484Fax:+1 (703) 834 3464

CHINAEmmanuel PERAUDDirector Customer ServicesTel: +86 10 6456 7720Fax: +86 10 6456 76942 /3 /4

REST OF THE WORLDMohamed EL-BORAIVice President Customer Support Services DivisionTel: +33 (0) 5 61 93 35 04Fax:+33 (0) 5 61 93 41 01

RESIDENT CUSTOMER SUPPORT ADMINISTRATIONPhilippe BORDESDirector of Resident CustomerRepresentation Administration Tel: +33 (0) 5 61 93 31 02 Fax:+33 (0) 5 61 93 49 64

TECHNICAL, SPARES, TRAININGAirbus Industrie has its main spares store in Hamburg, Germany, and subsidiary stores at Frankfurt, Germany, Washington D.C., Beijing, China, and Singapore. Airbus Industrie operates 24 hours a day every day.AOG technical and spares calls in NorthAmerica should be addressed to: Tel: +1 (703) 729 9000Fax: +1 (703) 729 4373AOG technical and spares calls outsideNorth America should be addressed to:Tel: +49 (40) 50 76 3001 / 3002 / 3003Fax: +49 (40) 50 76 3011 / 3012 / 3013Airbus Industrie's main training centre is located at Toulouse, France:Tel: +33 (0) 5 61 93 33 33Fax: +33 (0) 5 61 93 46 65

Airbus Industrie has major trainingsubsidiaries located at Miami, FloridaTel:+1 (305) 871 36 55Fax: +1 (305) 871 46 49and Beijing, ChinaTel: +86 10 64 57 33 40 Fax: +86 10 64 57 09 64

LOUISVILLE USA (Kentucky)LUTON England MACAO MacaoMADRID Spain MANCHESTER England MANILA Philippines MAURITIUS Mauritius MELBOURNE Australia MEMPHIS USA (Tennessee)MEXICO CITY Mexico MIAMI (AIB) USA (Florida) MIAMI (AES) USA (Florida)MINNEAPOLIS USA (Minnesota) MONASTIR TunisiaMONTREAL (ACA) Canada MONTREAL (TSC) CanadaMOSCOW Russia MUMBAI (IAC) India MUMBAI (AIC) India

NAIROBI Kenya NANCHANG People's Republic of ChinaNANJING People's Republic of ChinaNEW YORK (AIB) USA (New York) NEW YORK (JBU) USA (New York)NOUMEA New CaledoniaNUREMBERG GermanyPALMA DE MALLORCA SpainPARIS (CDG) France PARIS (ORY) France PHILADELPHIA USA (Pennsylvania)PHOENIX USA (Arizona) PITTSBURGH USA (Pennsylvania)QINGDAO People's Republic of ChinaROME (AZA) Italy ROME (G4I) ItalySAN FRANCISCO USA (California) SAN JOSE Costa Rica SAN SALVADOR El SalvadorSANTIAGO ChileSAO PAULO BrazilSEOUL (KAL) South Korea SEOUL (AAR) South KoreaSHANGHAI People's Republic of ChinaSHARJAH United Arab EmiratesSHENYANG People's Republic of ChinaSHENZHEN People's Republic of ChinaSINGAPORE Singapore TAIPEI (LAL) Taiwan TAIPEI (TNA) TaiwanTAMPA USA (Florida)TASHKENT Uzbekistan TEHRAN Iran TOKYO (ANA) Japan TOKYO (JAS) JapanTORONTO (AIB) Canada TORONTO (CMM) CanadaTULSA USA (Oklahoma) TUNIS Tunisia VANCOUVER Canada VIENNA AustriaWINNIPEG Canada XIAN People's Republic of ChinaZURICH Switzerland

FAST / NUMBER 27 31

WORLDWIDEAirbus customer services

32 FAST / NUMBER 27

In a nutshell...

11th Performance andOperations Conference

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico26 – 30 March 2001

The preparation for the conference includinginput from our customers is already inprogress. During three and a half days the

program will cover briefings of our new products the A318,A340-500/600 and the A3XX as well as an update of keyoperational items. Furthermore all participants will bebriefed on the latest Airbus Safety Initiatives. Separatesessions are organized to cover operational aspects of theFly-by-wire and the A300/A310 aircraft family. Dedicatedsessions will focus on aircraft performance and flightoperations documentation. Throughout the wholeconference different demonstrations will take place, such asfor the ‘Less Paper Cockpit’ (LPC) and the Line OperationsMonitoring System (LOMS).

A300/A310/A300-600 Technical Symposium,

Munich, Germany11-15 June 2001

More than 100 operators worldwide arestill flying over 700 aircraft from the firstAirbus widebody generation. As usual, all

operators have been asked to provide us with topics ofspecific interest in order to establish the programaccordingly. Issues such as the problems of aging aircraftand the goal for extended design service will be key pointsin the final program. Input forms are available from yourlocal Resident Customer Support Manager or they can berequested from the engineering department in Toulouse.

Airman 2000Airbus Industrie has developed a new

software tool, called Airman 2000, whichwill increase the efficiency of aircraftmaintenance. This software packageis to be used by ground personnel,permitting real time access to the on-

board maintenance data while theaircraft is still in flight. All necessary maintenance actionscan be therefore prepared before the aircraft arrives.Withthis new troubleshooting tool you will save time and moneyand maximize the actual flying time of your fleet in a safeenvironment.

AOLSAfter a successful pilot phase, in July

2000 Airbus introduced the Airbus On-LineServices. 19 airlines are alreadyconnected, within this number there are450 certificates for different end users. Tenservices are presently in operation. Therange of services goes from access to the

Airbus drawings, the consultation/download capability ofthe Flight Crew Operations Manual, up to the quarterly in-service data as well as supplier information and agreements.

A broad range of other services, such as the AMM andIPC in PDF format are coming soon.

JUST HAPPENED…

NEW SERVICES…

A319/A320/A321 Technical Symposium,

Sevilla, Spain, 5-8 December 2000

The purpose of this conference was to dis-cuss and share views between the operators and

Airbus Industrie about the technical status on the A320 fami-ly in service fleet. The agenda had been prepared with a largeamount of input from all operators and resulted in more than40 dedicated presentations and fruitful discussions. Socialevents and side discussions involving Airbus Industrie Programand Customer services top executives as well as major suppli-ers added to the overall success of this symposium. The air-lines’feedback was very positive and Airbus Industrie commit-ted themselves to another symposium two years from now. Questions & answers and presentations are available on CD-ROM.

Regional Operational Liaisonmeetings and Human Factors

Symposiums in 2000In 2000 we continued our intensive

dialogue with our customers, by having sevenregional operational liaison meetings on different subjects aswell as two human factors symposiums.

For the A300/A310 family two events took place inPrague and Seoul. The A320 family was the subject of theprograms in Sevilla and Gatwick; the A330/A340operational meeting was held in Lisbon. General topicsrelated to the Fly-by-wire technology were covered atconferences held in Bangkok and Phoenix. The HumanFactors conferences were in Melbourne and Aspen.The content of all the conferences is available on CD-ROM.

COMING UP…

Please send any requests for brochure(s) and/or CD(s) by fax (+33) (0)5 61 93 47 73