flight international 26 january 2016

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flightglobal.com6 |Flight International|26 January-1 February 2016

CONTENTS

QUESTION OF THE WEEKTHE WEEK IN NUMBERS

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Last week, we asked: When will Airbus or Boeing first deliver 1,000aircraft in a year?:You said:

This week, we ask: A380 prospects on secondary market?

Will sell strongly

Limited appeal if price right Destined for the desertAircraft deliveries deferred by Thai International Airways

12 Airbus A350-900s and two Boeing 787-9s

14

Value of MRO and pilot training contracts secured by

ST Aerospace during the fourth quarter of 2015

$288m

Increase in charges at large European airports since 2005,

leading lobby group Airlines for Europe to call for reform

80%

Ge

offreyLee/Planefocus

IMAGE OFTHE WEEKAustrian air force EurofighterTyphoons provided airpolicing cover of the WorldEconomic Forum, hosted inDavos, Switzerland, from 20January. Flightglobals FleetsAnalyzer database recordsthe service as operating 15Tranche 1 production-standard Eurofighters

View more great aviation shotsonline and in our weekly tabletedition:

39% 40%

21%Before2020

in the2020s

Cant see ithappening

TOTALVOTES:

1,171

Download the Military SimulatorCensus online now.

www.fightglobal.com/milisimCAE offers training centres, training services, and simulation products for helicopters.


7/44

COMMENT

26 January-1 February 2016 |Flight International|7flightglobal.com

Willie Walshs enthusiasm for the A380 and disclo-sure that British Airways is looking at adding up

to half a dozen used examples to its fleet only serves toremind us what an enigma the Airbus big beast is.

The chief executive of IAG which is eyeing second-hand A380s for Spains Iberia as well as the UK flag-carrier is a huge fan of the double-decker and lovesthe way BA has been able to, for instance, free up aprecious Heathrow slot by swapping three Boeing 747services to Los Angleles with two A380s.

According to Walsh, the superjumbos are flying full;passengers love them and they make a bold brand

statement. So why does BA, the biggest operator of747-400s, not want any more new A380s than the 12 it

has already ordered? Quite simply, it would seem,because the $430 million price tag is too high. Thereare only certain routes where BA can be sure thesefour-engined 550-seaters would pay their way.

This is Airbuss quandary. Discount its new A380smuch more to convince the likes of Walsh and the pro-gramme will never break even. Hold firm on price andairlines are likely to stay wary.

Toulouse may be struggling for orders, but Walshspaean to the ultra-large aircraft suggests that the A380could enjoy an unlikely second life on the secondarymarket. Perhaps Airbuss superjumbo may not be quite

the white elephant many suspected.See This Week P9

The A380s second life

Those who mourn the passing of the Concorde erahave cause to do more than mark last weeks anni-

versary now a full 40 years ago of the inaugurationof commercial supersonic air service. For there is muchcause to hope that NASA is poised to drive forwardinto a new age of Mach-plus transportation.

As we report this week, money may be forthcomingfor NASA to develop a flying X-plane to demonstrate anext-generation speed machine able to break the soundbarrier not of Mach 1, but of the ear-splitting,window-shattering sonic boom.

If NASA ultimately proves an aircraft can be shapedto beat the boom, and if trials go on to show that result-ant noise falls below the limit of what people on theground will tolerate, then maybe sometime around2020 or so aircraft companies can start thinking seri-ously about developing a successor to Concorde.

The prospects are exciting. If ground-level noise can

be muted enough to convince legislators, especially inthe USA, to lift the bans on overland supersonic flightthat so restricted Concorde, the market for supersonicaircraft might finally break open.

Since Concordes day there has been a surge indemand for long-haul air travel. Wealthy people, whocertainly value their time, are criss-crossing the globelike never before. Speed looks more than ever like awinning proposition.

Or does it? First, lets not lose sight of the fact that itwas not only noise that did for Concorde. Operating

costs were terminal in any normal commercial context.A 2020s version would presumably be far less thirsty offuel and maintenance, but its a certainty that such anaircraft would still be very, very expensive to buy andto operate. In any business, speed costs money - and itusually costs a lot.

But whatever the technical possibilities, the othercause for commercial caution is that the world haschanged dramatically since Concordes time. Realspeed today means email, teleconferencing and

advanced satellite communications. Some of thosewealthy enough to pay for supersonic transport maychoose to do so but many may still opt for normalfirst-class travel. Airlines will surely up the competi-tive ante with ever-more-sumptuous offerings too.

Fast forward to the mid- or late-2020s, when virtualreality technology will have transformed conferencecalling and the market for business travel. Its not obvi-ous that the speed of physical travel will have quite thesame appeal it did back in the 1970s.

When it comes to speed, the

rule that always applies is that

faster costs a lot more money

Best left in the past?

See Feature P24

BruceAdams/ANL/REX/Shutterstock

Breakthrough work by NASA and industry partners is promising supersonic aircraft that dont

break eardrums and windows on the ground, but noise isnt the only barrier to their uptake

Paying for speed?

Stay on top of the latest news

and analysis of the commercial

aviation sector, by going to:

flightglobal.com/dashboard


8/44

THIS WEEK


Download the 2016 edition of

Flightglobals World Air Forces directory:

flightglobal.com/waf

EXECUTIVE OPERATOR K5 FIRMS ACJ319NEO DEAL

ORDER Germany-based VVIP aircraft provider K5 Aviation has firmed

an order for a re-engined Airbus ACJ319neo. No engine selection forthe corporate jet has been disclosed, but Airbus has confirmed the

deal following a tentative commitment from the customer unveiled at

last years Dubai air show. Airbus is planning to deliver the green air-

craft to an undisclosed completion centre in the first half of 2019.

HEXCEL TO CONSTRUCT MOROCCAN FACILITY

SUPPLY CHAIN Composite specialist Hexcel is to build a plant in

Morocco to supply lightweight materials. The US-headquartered firm

says the $20 million plant will be constructed in an industrial free

trade zone near Casablanca airport and will be located close to

facilities belonging to customers Airbus, Aircelle, Bombardier and

Boeing-Labinal joint venture MATIS Aerospace.

UNKNOWN OBJECT STRIKES COLOMBIAN A320INVESTIGATIONColombian investigators are trying to ascertain the

nature of an object which struck an Airbus A320 at cruise altitude in

the countrys airspace. The LAN Colombia aircraft had been operat-

ing flight 4C3509, a service to Bogota from Cancun, on 10 January.

Inspection of the aircraft revealed a 20cm (8in) depression on the

forward left-hand side of the aircraft, according to preliminary infor-

mation revealed by French investigation agency BEA. The twinjet con-

tinued to Bogota without further incident.

RAF TORNADO SQUADRON TO SOLDIER ON

EXTENSION Further detail from the UK Ministry of Defences

November Strategic Defence & Security Review has revealed the

retirement of the next squadron of Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado

GR4s will be pushed back to 2018, from a previous target of 2017.The RAFs final examples will leave use the following year.

WARSAW NEARS DECISION IN UAV CONTESTS

PURCHASE Polands defence ministry is moving forward with its

effort to select mini and tactical unmanned air vehicles, having

launched the process early last year. Final requirements are likely to

be released in late January, with local news agency PAP reporting

that a deal should be signed early this year. Warsaw plans to acquire

12 mini and 10 tactical UAV systems, with the selected models to be

delivered by 2017 and 2018, respectively.

UNITED PICKS 737S TO REPLACE REGIONAL JETS

FLEET United Airlines has ordered 40 Boeing 737-700s as part of a

programme to retire its fleet of small regional jets. Deliveries of the737s will begin in the middle of 2017 and will allow the Chicago-

based carrier to reduce its fleet of 50-seat aircraft by more than half

by 2019, it says. The deal appears to end Bombardiers hopes of

selling its new CS100 twinjet to the US carrier.

ASCEND RETAINS TOP APPRAISER CROWN

AWARDFlightglobal consultancy Ascend has again been voted

Appraiser of the Year, taking the honours for 2016 at the Aviation

100 Awards event in Dublin, Ireland, held alongside the Airline

Economics Growth Frontiers conference. Recognised in voting by

more than 10,000 industry peers, the Flightglobal division retains

the title for the fourth straight year, and the fifth time since 2011.

Ascends specialists in 2015 valued in excess of 60,000 aviation

assets for almost 200 different clients.

BRIEFING

Germany is moving aheadwith an acquisition pro-

gramme to replace its air forcesSikorsky CH-53 heavy-lift heli-

copters, with the choice effective-ly between two types.

A key driver for Berlins effortunder its fledgling heavy transporthelicopter project is the need topurchase an in-production type,rather than launch a clean-sheetdevelopment.

Maj Thomas Knpper, Luft-waffe capability manager incharge of the programme, saysonly two heavy-lift helicoptersmeet that requirement: the BoeingCH-47F Chinook and Sikorskys

CH-53K King Stallion. We wantto buy a product already on themarket. You could assume BellBoeing would come back with the[V-22] Osprey, but it is not as big,he says.

Germany aims to take deliveryof its first new helicopter in 2022,which means contract signatureneeds to take place in around2018, says Knpper. The servicehas defined its technical require-ments, and should issue a requestfor proposals in about 12 months

time, he said, speaking on thesidelines of the IQPC International

Military Helicopter conference inLondon on 19 January.

Berlin has not indicated thesize of its requirement, but it is

thought to be around or slightlyless than the current fleet ofelderly CH-53G/GA/GS models.Flightglobals Fleets Analyzerdatabase records 81 of the type inactive service.

As the helicopter will supportspecial forces operations andcombat search and rescue tasks,an aerial refuelling capability isrequired, he says. However,Germany presently has no tankerssuitable for the role. Although it isa customer of the Airbus Defence

& Space A400M, the tactical air-lifter is unable to perform in-flightrefuelling of rotorcraft.

But Knpper believes Airbuswill have to overcome the issueswith its flagship turboprop. Weinsist on it [in-flight refuelling], sothey will have to deal with theproblem over the next sevenyears, he says. If not, Berlin mayinstead have to rely on tankersfrom allies.

But if we integrate the equip-ment in the helicopters from the

beginning, it makes it cheaperthan doing it later, he adds.

REQUIREMENTDOMINIC PERRY

LONDON

Two-way tussle forCH-53G successorLuftwaffe programme to replace its heavy-lift helicopterslikely to be a contest between Chinook and King Stallion

Bundeswehr

The service operates around 80 examples of Sikorsky rotorcraft


9/44

THIS WEEK


Paris pushesfor Tiger talksTHIS WEEK P10

IAG chief executive WillieWalsh has raised the prospect

of British Airways adding fiveor six secondhand AirbusA380s to its fleet of 12 newsuperjumbos, while describingthe type as a fantastic but in-flexible aircraft.

Used A380s could, Walsh in-dicates, be added to the fleet ofIAG-owned Spanish flag carrierIberia. At the same time, Walshappears to rule out convertinghis current seven options fornew A380s, saying the pricebeing offered by Airbus is tooexpensive. He had previouslyindicated that he did not seeroom for additional A380s atBA, beyond the 12 ordered.

We have options on A380sbut were not going to exercise

them, but we are interested inleasing secondhand A380s,

Walsh told the AirlineEconomics Growth Frontiersconference in Dublin on 18January. I believe we could lookat a further five, maybe six, forBritish Airways, and possiblymake a case for Iberia too.

He says IAG would only be

interested in acquiringRolls-Royce Trent 900-poweredA380s, which means that exam-ples leaving the fleets ofMalaysia Airlines or SingaporeAirlines over the next threeyears are the most likely sources.

Walsh says there is no time-scale for acquiring theadditional A380s, which wouldlikely replace Boeing 747-400s.

BA operates 10 Trent900-powered A380s, with thefinal two from its original 2007

order to arrive this year.See Feature P32

Afghanistans new EmbraerA-29 Super Tucanos could

soon make their combat debut,after four aircraft arrived at HamidKarzai International airport inmid-January.

The US Air Force has acquiredan initial 20 A-29s for the fledg-ling Afghan air force, as a replace-ment for the latters Mil Mi-35helicopter gunships, under thelight air support programme.

Pilot training has been taking

place at Moody AFB in Georgiasince early 2015, and the initial

cadre graduated in December.The small fleet will provide an

important air-to-ground attackand aerial reconnaissance capabil-ity, and the turboprops can per-form interdiction missions usingair-to-air missiles. The Pratt &Whitney Canada PT6-poweredaircraft are produced at an Em-braer facility in Jacksonville, Flor-ida, with system integration per-formed by Sierra Nevada.

Afghanistan could eventually

acquire as many as 55 examples ofthe A-29.

Initial A-29s arrive in Afghanistan

COMBAT AIRCRAFT JAMES DREWWASHINGTON DC

USA

irForce

Air force could field an

eventual 55 examples

FLEETSMURDO MORRISON DUBLIN

Walsh eyes used A380sbut rules out new orders

Lufthansas receipt of the firstAirbus A320neo on 20 Januarybegins a delivery run for an air-craft family which has notchedclose to 4,500 orders in five years.

Airbus is already planning toraise the monthly production rateto 60 by mid-2019, and has beenexamining a potential figure of 63to cope with the backlog.

Speaking during a briefing inParis in early January, chief oper-ating officer for customers JohnLeahy said demand had vastly ex-

ceeded the airframers expecta-tions. We said we saw a goodmarket and [at launch] sawdemand for 4,000 aircraft over thenext 15 years, he said. We got to4,500 aircraft before delivering thefirst. That was what we were sup-posed to sell in 15 years.

The aircraft was launched inlate 2010 when climbing fuel pric-es had reached $100 per barrel.

But declining fuel costs do not

PROGRAMME DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

Low-key delivery marks Neos arrivalWith German flag carrier taking its first example of re-engined narrowbody, Airbus can now begin to tackle mammoth backlog

appear to have slowed demand forre-engined aircraft, with Airbushaving secured net orders for 850A320neos last year.

The aircraft is designed to offercommonality with previous A320variants, with the installation ofPratt & Whitney PW1100G orCFM International Leap-1Aengines as the primary difference.

Lufthansa Group accounts for

116 jets in the A320neo-familybacklog. The German mainlineoperator will be taking 61A320neos and 40 A321neos,while its Swiss International AirLines subsidiary will have 10A320neos and five A321neos.

Lufthansa expects to receivefive PW1100G-powered A320ne-os this year. We are proving we,as an aviation and airline group,

are pioneers in the developmentand introduction of technologicalinnovations, says chief executiveCarsten Spohr.

Airbuss backlog included3,327 A320neos at the end of lastyear less one following the firstdelivery as well as 1,094 of thelarger A321neo. Demand for theA319neo has been substantiallylower, with just 50 ordered.

Airbus

First Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered twinjet was handed over to Lufthansa on 20 January


10/44

THIS WEEK


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VIEW AGENDA

France is hoping talks with thethree other operators of theAirbus Helicopters Tiger attackrotorcraft can reach consensus ona common missile to form theheart of an upgrade programmeto be fielded in around 2023,even as it embarks on a nearer-term package of modifications.

So far, the nations army avia-tion branch has received 39 ex-amples of the early HAP variantand 14 newer models in the morecapable HAD standard, with 17

more to be delivered in 2017.Paris will shortly begin on an

enhancement programme thatwill from 2017 see 36 of the early-production Tigers raised to theHAD configuration, offering morepowerful engines and enhancedoffensive capability through theintegration of Lockheed MartinAGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface/anti-tank missiles and 68mm or70mm rockets. This will give theservice an eventual 67-strongfleet in the enhanced standard.

Gulf Air used the opening dayof the Bahrain International

Air Show to confirm its futurefleet mix, updating its widebodyand narrowbody plans withBoeing and Airbus, respectively.

In back-to-back announce-ments on 21 January, the Bah-

raini flag carrier converted anorder for 16 787-8 Dreamliners tothe -9 variant. The revised Boeingcontract comprises 10 firm ordersand options on another six.

The 787-9 will replace GulfAirs current widebody fleet andprovide future network expan-sion opportunities, the compa-ny says. Six Airbus A330-200sare currently used to operate thissegment, and the same number of-300s had previously been ex-

pected to replace them.Deliveries of the extended-

range 787-9 should begin in April2018, with the aircraft to have a280-seat configuration, says

acting chief executive MaherSalman Al Musallam.

Noting that the carrier orderedthe 787-8 in 2007-2008 longbefore it set its current ambitiousnetwork expansion plan, he toldFlight International: Demandnow is different. Gulf Air is look-

ing for something different.Airbus, meanwhile, will deliv-

er 17 A321neos and 12 A320neosbetween June 2018 and 2023,including 10 of the latter previ-

ously ordered by the carrier.These will replace its 22A320/321s, and offset its can-celled A330-300s. At the show,Airbus chief executive FabriceBrgier confirmed a net gain of 13aircraft with the customer.

Gulf Air values its 787-9 and

A320/321neo orders at a com-bined $7.6 billion, and saysengine selections will be revealedas soon as February.See Show Report next week

ATRs turnover rose 11% to$2 billion last year, and the

European turboprop manufactur-er almost doubled its firm orders.

The Toulouse-based joint ven-ture took in 76 firm gross ordersversus 40 in 2014, but eight can-cellations took the net order fig-ure down to 68. Total optionsdeclined from 120 to 81. Deliver-ies increased by five aircraft to 88,says the manufacturer, althoughthis was short of its 95-unit target.

Among its customers in 2015were 12 new clients, taking thenumber of current or confirmedfuture operators to 200.

ATR chief executive Patrick deCastelbajac says he is satisfiedwith the results. The year 2015was good, although some cam-paigns in Brazil did not happen.

ATRs backlog is 260 aircraft $6.6 billion at list prices nearlythree years of production.Additional reporting by Olivier

Bonnassies in Paris

Gulf Air confirms future fleet mix with pair of ordersCONTRACTS CRAIG HOYLEMANAMA

RESULTS

MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON

Orders doubleas ATR turnover

hits $2bn mark

ROTORCRAFT DOMINIC PERRY LONDON

Paris seeks Tiger consensusMk3 upgrade for Airbus Helicopters attack type rests on agreeing common missile standard

This will be followed by a fur-ther upgrade, principally to avi-onics and communications sys-tems but also adding laser-guidedrockets, taking it to the TigerMk2 configuration.

Maj Gen Olivier de la Motte,commander of French army avia-tion, says the budget for the Mk2work is allocated and the servicehopes to field the enhancementsin the 2018-2019 timeframe.

However, France is workingwith other Tiger partner nations Australia, Germany and Spain to define the specification for aMk3 variant. Key to this, says dela Motte, will be a common anti-tank missile for the type.

At the IQPC Military Helicop-ter conference in London, de laMotte said the Mk3 upgrade hadbeen delayed to 2023, to allowmore time to reach agreement.

France intends to operate a

67-strong fleet of HAD variantAnthonyPecchi/Airbus

Helicopters


11/44

THIS WEEK


First officer flight-hours law distortsmarket for pilotsAIR TRANSPORT P12

Bombardier has stepped upproduction of the CS100airliner as crews from launchoperator Swiss Interational AirLines start flight training inMirabel, Canada.

The first CS100 for delivery toSwiss in the second quarter isnow structurally complete,Bombardier says. The carriersroute-proving aircraft will fly toEurope in the coming weeks,the manufacturer adds.

Bombardier resumed final as-

sembly operations in the CSeriesplant in Mirabel last August aftera year-long hiatus caused by de-lays to the flight-test programme.

The factory is now building upproduction to increase outputover the next five years. Bombar-dier expects to deliver 255-315CSeries aircraft through to 2020.

Its truly a spectacular sight tosee the CSeries final assemblyline fully stacked with produc-tion aircraft in various stages ofassembly, says Bombardier

Commercial Aircraft presidentFred Cromer.

Although Swiss flightcrewshave already started instruction,Bombardier is still working withTransport Canada to validate thetraining syllabus for the CS100.

Canadian investigators have

revealed that a Virgin Atlan-tic Boeing 747-400 crew declaredan urgency call to secure a loweraltitude after receiving a warningover low fuel temperature duringa transatlantic service.

The aircraft (G-VGAL) hadbeen operating from Las Vegas toLondon Gatwick on 19 January,according to an occurrence re-cord filed with Transport Canada.

While over the mid-AtlanticOcean its crew requested adescent from 36,000ft after a

low-temperature fuel warningwas triggered.

The aircrafts flightplan origi-

nally included a cruise level of35,000ft, but air traffic controlhad instructed the higher climb.

Controllers approved the de-scent to 35,000ft but subsequentlyadvised that, owing to traffic, fur-ther descent could only be permit-ted by declaring an emergency.The crew declared a pan pan ur-gency call and reduced altitude to33,000ft and then 31,000ft.

Transport Canada originally in-dicated that the aircraft had alsooffset 15nm (28km) to the right of

its track. It continued to Gatwickwithout further problems.

FLEETEDWARD RUSSELL WASHINGTON DC

Delta chief is fan of GTFs innovation

Delta Air Lines is taking a serious

look at the Bombardier CSeries,

says chief executive Richard

Anderson, citing the fuel savings

offered by the narrowbodys geared-

fan engines.

At the right price its quite a com-

petitive airplane given the engine

technology, he said during a full-

year earnings call on 19 January.

The comments follow a viewing of

the Pratt & Whitney PW1500G-powered CS100 and a meeting with

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft pres-

ident Fred Cromer in December 2015

when the aircraft visited Deltas head-

quarters at Atlanta Hartsfield-

Jackson International airport.

The geared turbofan engine is

the biggest innovation since the

[Boeing] 787, Anderson adds, refer-

ring to the use of advanced compos-

ites on the Dreamliner.

Whether Delta actually orders the

CSeries is another question. In

2014 Anderson praised the Boeing

787-9 during Deltas campaign to

find a replacement for its 767-

300ER and 747-400 fleets.

However, it ultimately ordered AirbusA350-900s due to what many ana-

lysts think were more attractive de-

livery positions and better pricing.

Delta has previously acquired

used aircraft to fulfil its 100-seat

aircraft requirements.

The Virgin Atlantic service was flying from Las Vegas to Gatwick

AirTeamImages

Cold fuel affected Virgin Atlantic 747 over AtlanticINCIDENT

PROGRAMMESTEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

CSeries gearing up for service entryAirframer increases production of narrowbody as flightcrews from launch customer Swiss prepare for route-proving effort

The crews must be trained intime to launch a route-proving ef-fort in Europe ahead of entry intoservice. The airline programmeadds to the North American route-proving phase of Bombardierscertification programme, whichwas completed in December afterthe CS100 visited 35 cities.

We are also doing somethingunique to ensure that Swissscrews will be ready at deliveryand EIS, says Rob Dewar,Bombardier vice-president and

general manager for the CSeriesprogramme. The flight crews,once trained, will operate theCS100 route-proving aircraftalongside Bombardiers ownflightcrews from Swisss mainbase of operations.

Bombardier

Twinjet visited 35 cities during the North American route-proving phase of its certification testing


12/44

AIR TRANSPORT


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US regional airlines are facingan unprecedented pilotshortage caused by a market-distorting rule that requires firstofficers to have 1,500h flyingexperience, maintains the chiefexecutive of Republic Airways.

The legislation, which tookeffect in 2013, is the least talkedabout but most significant prob-lem facing the industry, and per-

suading law-makers to relax the2013 regulation will be a priorityfor airlines this year, Bryan Bed-ford told the Airline EconomicsGrowth Frontiers conference inDublin on 19 January.

Pilot labour is exceptionallyscarce, but it is artificiallyscarce, says Bedford. [The leg-islation] has dissuaded manyyoung men and women from en-tering the industry, leading to aspiralling of wage rates. It is caus-ing a distorted marketplace.

The rule tabled in 2010 inthe wake of the fatal Colgan AirBombardier Q400 crash nearBuffalo in 2009 raised thehours requirement for first offic-ers from 250h to 1,500h with

certain exceptions, includingformer military pilots.

Bedford claims the regulationhas had the opposite effect to thatintended by lawmakers, by push-ing passengers onto small turbo-props and other air taxis, which

can operate under less stringentPart 135 rules and are able to fillgaps in the market that are uneco-nomic for regional airlines.

Bedford says that to reach the1,500h requirement, aspiring re-

gional airline pilots are working insectors such as crop-dusting andaerial photography, which is notgreat for honing the skills theywill need to fly a regional jet.

Indianapolis-based Republicand other regional airlines are

working hard to persuade Con-gress to adopt a quality ratherthan quantity view of pilot ex-perience, adds Bedford. Weare trying to get them to rethinkthe law.

Embraer has started buildingthe first parts for the E195-E2regional jet, the largest version ofthe re-winged and re-engined air-craft to enter manufacturing.

The first metal cut mile-stone for the E195-E2 comes 15months after the same event forthe baseline E190-E2. Embraer isalso developing a smallervariant, the E175-E2.

With this event we begin tomanufacture the first E195-E2that will fly in 2017, with first de-liveries taking place in the firsthalf of 2019, says Embraer Com-

mercial Aviation president andchief executive Paulo Cesar Silva.

The E195-E2 can seat up to 132passengers in a one-class layout

as a result of a fuselage stretchthat allows the addition of threerows of four-abreast seats.

Embraer is now entering a pe-riod of intense manufacturingand testing of the EJet-E2 family.

The first E190-E2 is scheduledto roll-out in February at its SoJos dos Campos facility, followedby a first flight in the second halfof 2016. The variant, which canaccommodate 106 passengers in asingle-class layout, is scheduled toenter service in 2018.

Its sister aircraft are due to fol-low at one-year intervals the

Kaman Aerosystems will con-tinue supplying wing panelsfor the 242t, long-range version ofthe Airbus A330 until 2020, undera five-year contract extension.

The deal also ensures Kamanengagement on the A330neo,the supplier says, referring to there-engined version of the A330,now in development.

Kamans facility in the UKcurrently supplies 30 carbonfi-bre wing panels composed of

honeycomb-core sandwichmaterial on each 242t version ofthe A330.

The 242t variant of the aircraft which has range extended by500nm (926km) was first deliv-ered to Delta Air Lines last May.

Kaman says the A330neo willfeature 14 alternative wing pan-els with a subtly changed aero-dynamic form.

Another UK operation will de-sign and manufacture new tool-ing to support the slightly differ-

ent shape of the panels.This award builds upon the

companies long-standing, 15-yearworking relationship on this pro-gramme, says Kaman Aerosys-tems president James Larwood.

MANUFACTURING

STEPHEN TRIMBLEWASHINGTON DC

Kaman extendsA330 wing panel

supply contract

Embraer energised as first metal cut for E195-E2PROGRAMME STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

OPERATIONSMURDO MORRISON DUBLIN

First officer flight-hours lawdistorts market for pilotsLabour shortage in USA aggravated by tighter requirements, says Republic Airways chief

Indianapolis-based carrier hopes it can effect legislative change

E195-E2 in 2019 and the E175-E2in 2020.

All three variants are poweredby new versions of the Pratt &

Whitney geared turbofan engines:the PW1900G on the E190-E2

and E195-E2 and the PW1700Gon the E175-E2.

Deliveries of the stretched twinjet

are expected to begin in 2019

AirTeamImages

Embraer


13/44

AIR TRANSPORT


Transaero jets toenter Aeroflot fleet

AIR TRANSPORT P14

Airbus and Boeing saw dra-matic declines in their book-to-bill ratios last year as theircombined result fell below theindustrys long-term average.

Analysts expect this trend tocontinue in the near term but donot see it as an indicator that de-mand for new aircraft is softening.

Between them, Airbus andBoeing boosted output in 2015 by3% to almost 1,400 aircraft. Buttheir order intake declined morethan a third from the all-time

commercial jet record of 2,888net orders in 2014, to 1,804 lastyear. While this is still a respecta-ble tally, it is the first time thatcombined net orders has droppedbelow the 2,000-mark since 2010.

The consequence of the risingproduction and declining salesis a combined book-to-bill ratioof 1.3, below the long-term aver-age of 1.6.

Airbuss higher order tally andlower production (1,036 net or-ders and 635 deliveries) gives itan order/delivery ratio of 1.6.Boeings deliveries outstrippedits rival by almost 130 aircraft(762 shipments). It matched itsoutput with new sales, securing768 net orders in 2015. And afterfour consecutive years ofdouble-digit growth, the com-bined jet backlog rose by justover 3% in 2015.

STRONG BACKLOGRob Morris, head of consultancyat Flightglobals Ascend analysts,says that while book-to-bill canbe a strong indicator of the de-mand cycle, he thinks other fac-tors are currently at play.

Right now, we look to be head-ed below the long-term book-to-bill average, he says. But lets beclear, this is not a sign of weaken-ing demand at present. The back-log cant grow forever.

This time around, its

probably a manifestation of thestrong backlog, coupled with thefact that manufacturers have noslots to sell for many years in thefuture. Therefore we expect thebook-to-bill to be below the long-term average at least in 2016,

SOURCE: Flightglobal analysis of delivery data from Fleets Analyzer database

AirbusIndustry long-term average Boeing

AIRBUS/BOEING BOOK-TO-BILL TREND - 2000-2015

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

IAG will make an engine

selection for the AirbusA320neos it has on order in thecoming few weeks.

The British Airways, AerLingus, Iberia and Vueling parentopted for the re-engined narrow-bodies in 2013 as part of a dealfor up to 220 A320s.

It has gradually been firmingoptions and Airbuss backlog datashows that, at the end of 2015,the carriers had a combined 102A320neo-family jets on order.

IAG chief executive Willie

Walsh confirmed, at the AirlineEconomics Global Frontiers

Walsh says decision imminent on A320neo enginePROPULSIONMURDO MORRISONDUBLIN

Aer Lingus A320-family fleet is powered by CFM56B engines

conference in Dublin 18 January,

that the company would decideby the end of the quarterbetween the CFM International

Leap-1A and the Pratt & Whitney

PW1100G.British Airways current-gener-

ation A320s are powered by

International Aero Engines

V2500s, while Aer Lingus andIberia jets are equipped withCFM56Bs, and Vueling uses bothengine models.

IAGs original deal with Airbuscomprised 30 A320s and 32A320neos, plus 58 A320 options,intended for Vueling, plus a sup-plementary options package of100 A320neos to be deployedacross all IAG member carriers.

BA currently has firm commit-ments for 35 A320neo-family jets.Iberia has orders for another 20

and Vueling has 47. None has yetbeen allocated to Aer Lingus.

AirTeamImages

ANALYSISMAX KINGSLEY-JONES LONDON

Book-to-bill fall is no cause for alarmDespite output rising significantly above order intake at big two airframers, demand is still strong, according to analysts

We are headed

below the book-to-billaverage, but this

is not a sign of

weakening demandROB MORRISHead of consultancy, Ascend

and potentially for a couplemore years.

In addition, there is no evi-dence that falling oil prices aredeterring carriers from orderingnew fuel-efficient aircraft, andthere is little prospect of thatchanging even if prices stay low,argues Peter Morris, chief econo-mist at Ascend.

Delivering an upbeat outlookfor the global airline industry,

Peter Morris told the AirlineEconomics Growth Frontiersconference in Dublin on 18 Janu-ary that carriers had enjoyed adouble windfall of a falling fuelprice and the benefit of newtoys a slew of more-efficient

narrowbody and widebody typescoming onto the market.

The year-on-year falls in ordertotals seen in 2015 were theresult of the first movers havingplaced big orders earlier in theprogrammes rather than anindication of falling demand,says Morris.

There is no strong evidenceof major cancellations on thenew stuff or people saying Ill

run the old stuff forever, hesays, noting that the commercialbacklog remains at a record high.I dont anticipate [that chang-ing], he adds.Additional reporting by Murdo

Morrison in Dublin


14/44

AIR TRANSPORT

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14 |Flight International|26 January-1 February 2016

Comac has declared its newflight-test centre, nearDongying Shengli airport inShandong province, ready foroperations. The Chinese airframersays the facility will progressivelygain its own test adjustmenthangar, aprons, simulation labsand training centres, all geared

towards building capability forcommercial flight-test work.

The centre will primarily focuson high-risk flight-test modulesfor the C919 narrowbody, and thetraining of pilots and engineers. Itwill subsequently work on main-tenance of the indigenous Chinesetwinjet, due to make its maidenflight this year. It will also under-take flight-test work on the ARJ21.

Comac says the facility willraise its flight-test capabilities.Other proposed developments in-

clude separate maintenance,delivery and training centres.

Russian airframer Irkut hastaken delivery of the firstcomposite wing panel for theMC-21 single-aisle twinjet.

The cover panel for the star-board wing has been developed byAeroKompozit using vacuum infu-sion and carbon lay-up processes.

AeroKompozit is completingwork on similar panels for the

port wing, says Irkut.Irkut says it is currently

installing various systems in theassembled fuselage of the initialMC-21 airframe.

Final assembly of the newRussian narrowbody is takingplace in Irkutsk, with the firstflight-test article set to be rolledout by mid-2016 and to make itsmaiden sortie late this year.

The jet will be powered byPratt & Whitney PW1400G orAviadvigatel PD-14 engines.

Meanwhile, Russian aerostruc-tures supplier Aviastar has

SUPPORTMAVIS TOHSINGAPORE

Comac bolsterscapabilities withflight-test facility

Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar is producing fuselage panels for the jet

PROGRAMME DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

Irkut MC-21 gathers momentum withdelivery of first wing panel for twinjetshipped fuselage panels for thesecond prototype MC-21 to Irkut.

Production of the panels forthe third example, and of theauxiliary power unit (APU)cover for the second, is alsounder way, says Aviastar.

In 2016, the Ulyanovsk-based

company will also produce thedoors 11 for each aircraft andvertical and horizontal stabilis-ers for the second prototype andAPU compartment for the third,it says.Additional reporting by

Dominic Perry in London

The demise of Russian carrierTransaero has not led to Aero-flot unfairly dominating the na-tional air transport sector, itschief has told Russian presidentVladimir Putin.

Chief executive Vitaly Saveliev,during a meeting with the presi-dent, claims the loss of Transaerohas not unbalanced the Russianmarket. Aeroflot did not be-come a monopoly, he insists,despite its absorption of a sub-stantial portion of Transaero.

He puts Aeroflot Groups mar-ket share at 42%, counting onlyRussian operators, falling to37% when foreign operators aretaken into account.

Aeroflot Group expects to startintroducing aircraft fromTransaero in March, says Save-liev, and has entered lease agree-ments with financial firms Sber-

bank, VTB and VEB to take over34 former Transaero jets. The air-craft will comprise 14 Boeing747s plus five 777s, five 767s and10 737s.

They are undergoing mainte-nance, says Saveliev. We hopeto see the first aircraft in March.

Most of the 34 aircraft will beput into service with Rossiya,

which is being combined withOrenair and Donavia. This willhave a fleet of 74 aircraft.

Saveliev says that the expand-ed fleet will enable a 10-30%hike in capacity on routes to thefar east of Russia during summer.

He confirmed to Putin thatAeroflot will complete deliveriesof its 30 Sukhoi Superjet 100s

over the next four or five monthsand that the company is intendingto increase its fleet with the acqui-sition of another 20 of the type.

Saveliev adds that the companyhas a tentative deal for 50 IrkutMC-21s also referring to the typeas the Yak-242 and that Aeroflothopes the aircraft will strengthenthe groups operations.

AIRLINESDAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

Aeroflot plays down monopoly claimsCollapse of rival Transaero and absorption of part of operation has not given flag carrier unfair position in Russian market

AirTeamImages

Addition of former Transaero aircraft, including Boeing 777s, will enable summer capacity hike


15/44

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AIR TRANSPORT

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Portuguese flag-carrier TAP isto establish a new regionaldivision, TAP Express, which willoperate Embraer jets and ATR tur-boprops. The airline is positioningTAP Express as a successor to re-gional subsidiary Portugalia(PGA) from the end of March.

Its fleet will be modernised tocomprise nine Embraer 190s andeight ATR 72s. With such a fleet,TAP Express will become the

most efficient regional airline inEurope, says the flag-carrier.

PGA uses Embraer ERJ-145sand Fokker 100s, as well as ATR42s, according to FlightglobalsFleets Analyzer database.

The larger Embraers will have110 seats, while the ATRs willhave 70, says TAP, increasing theregional capacity by 47%.

PGAs fleet averages 21 years ofage, it adds, and new aircraft willreduce the figure to just two years.

The fast phase-in of aircraft

will only be possible thanks to co-operation between TAP andBrazils Azul, the company says.

TAP is majority owned by theAtlantic Gateway consortium including Azul founder DavidNeeleman which secured a 60%stake following a government pri-vatisation in November 2015.

FLEET

DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROWLONDON

TAP continuesshake-up with

regional revival

Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) isclose to finalising the designconfiguration of the N245, a com-mercial variant of the AirbusDefence & Space CN235 mediumtransport it builds under licence.

Once the configuration is fro-zen, the manufacturer will pro-ceed with windtunnel tests of amock-up, leading to prodution ofthree prototypes by 2018, it says.

The state-owned airframer, alsoknown as PT Dirgantara

Indonesia, says that the aircraftwill be designed to accommodate

Design freeze nears for new Indonesian turboprop

DEVELOPMENTFIRDAUS HASHIM SINGAPORE

45 to 50 passengers, while offeringbetter short runway performancethan the rival ATR 42.

By utilising the CN235 as the

basis for the N245, IAe believes itwill be able to reduce the develop-ment cost and time needed com-pared with a clean-sheet design.

Creating a commercial variantwill involve re-designing the em-pennage to remove the cargoramp. Several frames will beadded to lengthen the fuselage,while changes to the interior arealso being considered.

In addition, the N245 willutilise Pratt & Whitney CanadaPW127 engines, rather than theGeneral Electric CT7s used on thecurrent model. These alreadypower the larger Airbus C295.

IAe is also open to possibly of-fering a freighter version.Air

busDefence&Space

Military transport will form basis of passenger aircraft

American Airlines has becomethe launch customer forRolls-Royces new fixed-priceengine overhaul scheme,SelectCare. The programme isderived from the UK manufactur-ers hours-based TotalCare after-market support package.

R-Rs deal with American cov-ers a set number of overhauls forthe US carriers RB211-535engines, which power its Boeing757 fleet.

These were previously serviced

under a TotalCare agreement, butas American is retiring the 757s,the airline has sought new terms.

Flightglobals Fleets Analyzerdatabase shows the airline oper-ates 66 757-200s, down from 90two years ago.

R-R says SelectCare sitsbetween TotalCare and tradition-al, time and materials-based main-tenance, repair and overhaul ser-vices. While TotalCare wasdesigned to offer airlines maxi-mum time on wing, predictable

maintenance costs, and coverageof operational risks from technicalfailures, the new scheme allowscustomers the services they re-quire across an agreed number ofengine-shop visits, says R-R.

Guarantees regarding time onwing and operational risk cover-age become less relevant under

MAINTENANCEMICHAEL GUBISCHDERBY

American picks SelectCareShrinking 757 fleet spurs US carrier to change support package for its Rolls-Royce engines

AmericanAirlines

RB211 powerplants are covered by set number of shop visits

the scheme, while airlines canstill count on cost predictability.

The risk an agreed number ofvisits may not be sufficient through, for example, unsched-uled maintenance will be borneby the operator, says R-R senior-vice president of strategy and mar-keting Richard Goodhead.

The manufacturer says servicessuch as engine health monitoringand access to its MRO networkdifferentiate SelectCare fromother fixed-price overhaul agree-ments. Goodhead says the con-tract with American has no defi-nite time period and is based onlyon the number of shop visits.

He adds that the SelectCareprogramme has been developedover the past year and is predomi-nantly aimed at operators owningthe engines in question.

R-Rs contract with American isnot linked to the two partnersdecision last year to close theirjoint-venture overhaul shop Texas

Aero Engine Services, in FortWorth, says Goodhead.

Citing low overhaul volumes,R-R and American disclosed inSeptember 2015 that the facility which supported RB211-535,Trent 800 and Tay engines would cease operations by theend of January 2016.


17/44

DEFENCE


B-52 gets weaponsbay upgrade

DEFENCE P18

US Army officials say the forcehas divested all but two of its

Bell Helicopter OH-58D KiowaWarrior squadrons under its avia-tion restructure initiative, whichhas handed over the armed aerialscout role to Textron Systems RQ-7Shadow unmanned air vehicles.

The service is also on track todivest its Bell TH-67 Creek train-ers, with Airbus Helicopters UH-72As supporting initial-entry rota-ry wing training at the armys

aviation centre in Fort Rucker, Ala-bama, starting from mid-January.

The OH-58, it breaks my heartbut weve got to do it, said MajGen Michael Lundy, head of theaviation centre of excellence atFort Rucker, during a 14 Januaryconference. Its the right thing todo and we will finish divestiturehere during 2016.

Lundy says five combat aviationbrigades have been reconfigured sofar, with Shadow units now pair-ing with Boeing AH-64E Apacheattack helicopters, providing un-manned surveillance, targetingand strike support via manned-un-manned teaming. The services ef-forts in 2015 laid the groundwork

for developments this year, par-ticularly as more UH-72s arrive forthe training mission, and addition-al Shadow units are stood up.

He is also urging for the replace-ment of remaining A-model Sikor-sky UH-60 Black Hawks in the USArmy National Guard, by convert-ing them to the L or V standard.

Lundy says the process is tak-ing longer than hoped, mostlybecause of budget constraints. Itsstill going to be slower than Iwant; probably 2023 by the time

we finish the full divestiture ofthat model, he says.

The OH-58, it breaks

my heart but weve

got to do it [divest]MAJ GEN MICHAEL LUNDYCommanding general, aviationcentre of excellence, Fort Rucker

Bell Helicopter will, in 2017, flya V-22 tiltrotor equipped with

new prop rotor blades designed toreduce manufacturing costs.

The modification is part of aseries of trials under the manufac-turers Advanced TechnologyTiltrotor risk-reduction exercisefor its US Marine Corps and USAir Force customers.

It is a fairly substantial changeto the airframe, says Jason Hurst,senior manager of global militarybusiness at Bell, adding that themodification is designed toaddress the productability of

the blade. They perform fairlywell now, but are very labour

intensive, he notes. The undis-closed changes have been derivedfrom development work on thenext-generation V-280, he said at

IQPCs International Military Heli-copter conference in London on

18 January. Test flights of the mod-ified component will take place in2017-2018 from Bells Arlington,Texas facility, using a Block A

V-22 leased from the USMCsVMM-204 test squadron.

Bell to modify V-22 prop rotor bladesMODIFICATIONDOMINIC PERRY LONDON

US

AirForce

Changes to the components are derived from work on the V-280

STRATEGYDOMINIC PERRY LONDON

SDSR fuels rotorcraft studyUK considering several possibilities to address extending range of transport helicopters

The UK is exploring options forits transport rotorcraft, includ-

ing in-flight refuelling, as it looksto extend the operational range ofits fleet in line with commitmentsmade in a recent defence review.

Released in November, theStrategic Defence and SecurityReview (SDSR) promised the UKwould upgrade helicopters andtransport aircraft so we can deployfurther, faster and independently,

to meet threats around the world.Speaking at the IQPC

International Military Helicopterconference, Maj Gen Richard Fel-ton, commander of the UKs mul-ti-service Joint Helicopter Com-

CrownCopyright

Both AgustaWestland Merlins and Boeing Chinooks could be targets for in-flight refuelling upgrades

mand, said several options wereon the table.

With the acquisition of a newtype, such as the Bell Boeing V-22tiltrotor, unlikely, Felton says thefocus is instead on adding range toexisting platforms.

This could either be achievedthrough the installation of internalfuel tanks with a reduced pay-load the trade-off or the additionof in-flight refuelling.

However, he concedes that con-sideration will also have to begiven to tankers; the nations onlyin-flight refuelling assets, theRoyal Air Forces Airbus Defence& Space A330 Voyager tankers, are

unsuited to the slow speeds nec-essary for helicopter refuelling.

We are thinking how we get anair-to-air refuelling capability. Havewe got tankers that can do it?Felton asks. We might go downthe route of [equipping] the aircraft,but not buy the tankers because wecan use another nations.

Both the RAFs LockheedMartin C-130J and Boeing C-17transports can achieve the 120kt

(222km/h) required, he says, stress-ing that the decision-making pro-cess is at a really early stage, andany upgrade would be confined tospecific operations and missionsrather than a fleet-wide effort.

RESTRUCTURING

JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC

US Army stepsup pace of fleet

retirement plan


18/44

DEFENCE

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Airbus Defence & Spacesdevelopment of an air-to-air

refuelling system for the C295 ismoving ahead, with a dry con-tact flight test planned in 2016,ahead of a full fuel transfer trial.

The companys A400M militaryturboprop is late performing air-to-air refuelling operations, causingfrustration among customers, withFrance picking the Lockheed Mar-tin KC-130J for the capability.

Now, Airbus wants to outfit the

C295 with a centreline, cabin-mounted hose-and-drogue rig forin-flight refuelling of combat heli-copters. The system would be anew option for C295 operators.

We have already performedthe hose control test in the rig andwe are currently preparing thehose control for in-flight [testing],the company tells FlightInternational. We aim to performthe dry contact flight-test with aC295W test aircraft during 2016and then to perform the fuel trans-

fer flight test.If successful, the company says

the technology would becomeavailable during 2017. Airbus isalready in talks with potentialbuyers.

CAPABILITY

C295 to performdry contact testof fuel rig shortly

F-35A on target for Paveway II release milestoneEVALUATION

In February or early March, acombat-coded F-35A from the

34th Fighter Squadron at Hill AFBwill release an inert, laser-guidedbomb at the nearby Utah Test andTraining Range.

This, the US Air Force says,will be a monumental achieve-ment for the multinational F-35programme, which has beenbuilding to this moment sinceLockheed Martin won the JointStrike Fighter contract in 2001.

The Raytheon GBU-12 Pave-way II release will be a test for theconventional A-model, which

until now has only releasedweapons in development and op-

erational testing.The air forces Block 3i aircraft

will first operate with basic laserand GPS-guided weapons, aswell as beyond-visual-range Ray-theon AIM-120 air-to-air missiles.It will also have advanced target-

ing, surveillance and radar-jam-ming equipment. The full com-

plement of weapons will notarrive until Block 3F in late 2017,but the armaments the F-35 doeshave in Block 2B and 3i can ac-complish basic close air support,

air interdiction and suppressionor destruction of enemy air de-

fence missions, says the USAF.Meanwhile, the US defence

department and F-35 engine sup-plier Pratt & Whitney havereached a handshake agreementin negotiations for the productionof 167 F135 turbofan engines.

The ninth and 10th low-rate ini-tial production contracts cover 66and 101 engines respectively, upfrom 36 and 48, marking a 110%jump from Lot 8 to 10. To date,P&W has delivered 262 F135s forall three variants. Lot 9 engine

deliveries are to begin this year,followed by Lot 10 units in 2017.US

AirForce

Tests are set forFebruary or early March

Boeing has delivered six modi-fied rotary launchers for the

US Air Forces Boeing B-52 strate-gic bomber, allowing the aircraftto carry GPS-guided weapons forthe first time.

The new digital rotary launcherallows each B-52 to carry eightjoint direct attack munitions inter-nally, and will eventually carrythe Lockheed Martin AGM-158BJASSM-ER and RaytheonADM-160 Miniature Air

Launched Decoy (MALD).The modification turns the ex-

isting common strategic rotarylauncher in the weapons bay intoa conventional rotary launcher,carrying weapons internally to

MODIFICATION JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC

B-52 gets weapons bay upgradeNew digital rotary launcher will allow aircraft to carry guided JASSM-ER and MALD munitions

help reduce drag. The January de-livery follows a series of groundand flight tests, Boeing says.

That combination of MALDand JASSM-ER makes the Strato-fortress a flexible combat aircraftthat can destroy targets from hun-dreds of kilometres away and pro-vide decoy support for formationsof frontline fighters. The newlaunchers can be swapped be-tween the B-52 fleet.

The upgrade comes as the air

force tries to keep its remaining 76H-model B-52s combat-relevantthrough 2040 as the plannedNorthrop Grumman long-rangestrike bomber enters service.

The Stratofortress has long been

Boeing

The strategic bomber can now carry smart weapons which will help keep the type relevant to 2040

praised for its capacity it is capa-ble of hauling 31.5t (70,000lb) ofordnance but its guided weaponscapabilities have often lagged be-hind modern airframes.

The upgrades to the B-52s in-ternal weapons bay make it possi-ble to have zero gap on the long-range bombing capabilities as wetransfer from conventional air-launched missiles to JASSM-ER,says air force B-52 programme di-rector Col Tim Dickinson. The

ability to carry more MALDs cre-ates a new role for the B-52, asthey are designed to replicate theflight path and radar signature ofUS combat jets to distract air de-fence systems.


19/44

DEFENCE


Cirrus focuses on

certificated Vision

BUSINESS

AVIATION P20

Canadas decade-long quest topurchase a new fixed-wingsearch and rescue (FWSAR) air-craft has narrowed to three con-tenders the Embraer KC-390,Alenia Aermacchi C-27J and Air-bus Defence & Space C295W.

Alenia and Airbus bothconfirmed their participation toFlight International, while theKC-390 has also reportedly beensubmitted by Embraer.

Acquisition body PublicWorks and Government Services

Canada says that just three pro-posals were received. LockheedMartin says it declined to offerthe C-130J.

After an extensive and thor-ough analysis of the request forproposals requirements, wedecided to not submit a formal re-sponse to Canadas FWSAR [re-quest for proposals], says themanufacturer.

Ottawa is seeking a replace-ment for the Royal Canadian AirForces (RCAF) aged fleet of sixde Havilland CC-115 Buffalosand 13 Lockheed CC-130Hs.

The Super Hercules had beenconsidered a prime contender,

since US Air Force and US CoastGuard HC-130Js have long beenperforming SAR missions. Lock-heed had also participated in theearly stages of the FWSAR contestas a potential bidder.

An evaluation process for theC$3.1 billion ($2.1 billion) FWSARprogramme, including flight test-ing, will take some six months. Acontract award is expected in late2016 or early 2017.

The fixed-wing contest is im-

Israel will embark on a deepupgrade of its Boeing F-15I

Raam fleet as it looks to maintainthe type as the backbone of its airforces strike capability, despitethe parallel acquisition of theLockheed Martin F-35.

Modifications will includestructural changes, the addition

of an active electronically-scanned array radar, updatedavionics and new, unspecifiedweapon systems.

A selection process for theradar is ongoing, with a decision

due mid-year. It is thought Israelfavours the Raytheon APG-82(V)1radar selected by the US Air Forcefor its F-15Es.

Lt Col Yiftach, head of theIsraeli air forces aircraft branch,says that although some missionswill eventually pass to the F-35,the Boeing type will remain a

strategic aircraft.When we want to reach far

distances with few aircraft andmany arms the F-15I wins,Yiftach says, noting its greatcarrying abilities.

Flightglobals Fleets Analyzerdatabase records the service asoperating 25 F-15Is, along with acombined 42 A/C-models.

Work to install additionalsystems on the first of the airforces C-130J tactical transports,meanwhile, began in mid-Januaryat Lockheeds facility in Green-

ville, South Carolina.Most of the new equipment

has been developed in Israel, andis aimed at allowing the C-130JSamson to operate within the Is-raeli defence forces Depth Com-

mand, tasked with performinglong-range missions.

The first Israeli aircraft will re-main in the USA for four months,with a second to be flown toGreenville following the lead ex-amples return. The Israeli airforces third C-130J delivered in2015 had the additional sys-

tems installed prior to its transfer.Fleets Analyzer shows a fourth

C-130J as being on order for theservice, with letters of intentsigned for another three, and op-tions on two further examples.

COMPETITION JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC

Field thins in Ottawas FWSAR searchEmbraer, Alenia Aermacchi and Airbus left in running for long-running requirement as Lockheed Martin declines to bid

Following analysis of

the requirements, we

decided to not submit

a formal response to

Canadas FWSAR RFPLOCKHEED MARTIN

Israeli stiffens strike backbone with F-15I upgradeMODIFICATION ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV

The Royal Canadian Air Force is looking to replace its six CC-115s

RoyalCanadian

AirFo

rce

portant to the RCAF as it willalso shape the future of its rotary-wing SAR fleet. It presently uses14 AgustaWestland CH-149 Cor-morants for the mission, withthese due for a mid-life upgradein the coming years.

However a future replacementwill be needed. It is hard tomake a long-term determinationof what rotary SAR is going tolook like until we have the fixed-wing piece in place, says a sen-ior air force officer.

Download the 2016Wor ld A i r Forces Repor t

www.f l ightg lobal .com/waf

IN ASSOCIATION WITH


20/44

BUSINESS AVIATION


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in-depth analysis from the business

aviation sector: flightglobal.com/bizav

Cirrus Aircrafts Vision SF50 isentering the final stages of itsnine-year certification effort, asthe US airframer targets mid-2016 for validation and serviceentry of the worlds first single-engined personal jet.

The certification timetable hasbeen pushed back by around sixmonths. Cirrus attributes this tounavoidable hitches with theflight-test process. Its a brand-new aircraft, says SF50 pro-gramme manager Matthew Berg-

wall. Its also Cirruss first jet, sothere are bound to be a few set-backs when you are producing ahigh-quality product.

The Duluth, Minnesota-basedairframer and producer of the SRpiston-single series has been devel-oping the Williams InternationalFJ33-5A-powered V-tailed jet since2007. The programme was acceler-ated in 2011, following its acquisi-tion by Chinese general aviationaircraft company CAIGA, which

Aeris Aviation, the independ-ent European distributor

and broker for the Eclipse Aero-space very light jet (VLJ) family,is preparing to launch an air-taxiservice in May with a fleet ofmanaged EA500s.

The company, brandedChannel Jets, will be the only op-erator offering the six-seat twinfor charter on the continent home to 20 privately-owned ex-amples of the VLJ.

Channel Jets will be based inthe Channel Islands and theEA500s will be registered onGuernseys 2-prefix aircraftregistry. The British crown de-pendency launched the servicein 2013 for privately-owned air-craft, but widened the offering in

December last year to commer-cial operators.

The Channel Islands are aperfect base for this service, saysAeris founder and chief execu-tive David Hayman.

Pointing to the areas thrivingcommunity of businesses andhigh-net-worth individuals, he

says: There is a demand for high-speed, flexible and convenienttravel from the islands direct tokey financial and business centressuch as Geneva, Edinburgh, Dub-lin and Luxembourg.

We plan to fill a niche betweenthe super-flexible first-class airlinefare and a charter flight on an en-try-level jet such as the EmbraerPhenom 100.

Registering the Channel Jetsfleet on the Guernsey register alsohas its advantages, Hayman says.

Guernsey does not come underEASAs jurisdiction, so we can

operate our aircraft with a singlepilot. While this type of service isthe norm in the USA, it is not al-lowed under EASA rules, whichmakes the cost of operation somuch more expensive.

Channel Jets will begin

operations in the second quarterwith two four-passengerEA500s. We plan to have fiveaircraft in the fleet by the end ofthe year, including a couple ofBeechcraft King Air 200s, saysHayman. The twin-enginedturboprops not only have abigger cabin [than the EA500],but they can also operate fromshort runways, which gives useven more flexibility.

All the aircraft will bemanaged by Channel Jets through

a dry lease arrangement withtheir owners.

Maintenance and interiorsspecialist AMAC Aero-

space has opened a fourth hangarat its base in Basel, Switzerland.

The 7,280m (78,400ft) hangar

took nearly a year to build, andwill be dedicated to widebodymaintenance and completions.

AMAC says the structure isdesigned to accommodate at leastone widebody aircraft, such as aBoeing BBJ 747, 787 or an AirbusACJ340, along with two narrow-body airliners, such those fromthe ACJ320 family.

Since its launch in 2007,AMAC has grown into the largestprivately-owned VIP comple-tions company in the world.

Today it occupies 85,000m at theEuroairport site.

CHARTER KATE SARSFIELDLONDON

Aeris Aviation hails Channel Islandsas perfect base for VLJ air-taxi fleet

PERSONAL JETS KATE SARSFIELDLONDON

Cirrus focuses on certificated VisionWorlds first single-engined personal jet nears service entry as airframer eyes production ramp-up to 100 per year by 2017

Three test aircraft have amassed more than 1,000 flight hours

has committed $100 million tobring the SF50 to market.

Maybe the revised certifica-tion schedule was a little too am-bitious, Bergwall concedes. Butwe are on the home straight now,and will be the first to marketwith a certificated personal jet.

The companys three produc-tion-conforming aircraft havecompleted more than 1,000h of

flight testing since the first exam-ple took to the sky in March2014, and the US Federal Avia-tion Administration has nowbegun in-flight evaluation of the$1.96 million, six-seat type.

In February, Cirrus will beginin-flight deployment of theSF50s ballistic aircraft parachutesystem on test aircraft C-1. Load-bearing tests have already been

carried out on the parachuteusing weights equivalent to thatof the aircraft, says Bergwall, butan in-flight deployment is neces-sary to secure certification.

Cirrus has firm orders for morethan 550 SF50s, around 80% ofwhich are present and formerowners of the SR-series.

The company plans to deliverthe first aircraft in the second halfof this year. We expect to pro-duce 50 units within 12 months ofcertification and ramp up to 100

aircraft by mid-2017, Bergwallsays. Around 5% of early positionholders are selling their slots, hesays, mainly due to a change inpersonal circumstances.

Most orders are for US-basedowners, with around 15% des-tined for Europe. We will step upsales and marketing [in Europe]once the SF50 has secured valida-tion from EASA, Bergwall adds.We expect this around sixmonths after US approval.

Cirrus

Aircraft

COMPLETIONS

KATE SARSFIELDLONDON

Fourth hangarwidens scopefor AMAC site


21/44

BUSINESS AVIATION


Will Moon village

plan materialise?

NEWS FOCUS P23

GE Aviation has confirmed itwill build its new advanced

turboprop (ATP) engine family ata new facility it will construct onits existing site in Prague, in theCzech Republic.

The US-headquarteredmanufacturer had previouslysaid it would create the centreof excellence in Europe, buthad not specified the location.

However, with it alreadyhaving an industrial presence in

the Czech Republic, the CentralEuropean country was always thefavourite to land the investment.

The facility will be built on anew site at GEs currentengineering and productionfacility in Prague, the formerWalter Aircraft Engines businessthat it acquired in 2008.

When it opens in 2020, theoperation will be dedicated tothe development, testing andmanufacture of turboprops in the1,000-2,000shp (735-1, 500kW)

-class range, says GE.The ATP line-up includes the

1,300shp GE93 engine that willpower Textron Aviations in-development turboprop-single.The programme is expected tobe formally launched at thisJulys AirVenture show inOshkosh, Wisconsin.

The GE93 will feature elec-tronic engine and propellercontrols, a class-leading 16:1pressure ratio, and will burn20% less fuel than current-

generation models, says GE.The US company entered the

small turboprop market in 2008following its acquisition ofWalter, the Czech developer ofthe M601 engine, which is thepredecessor of the currentH-series powerplants.

GE says while the new facilityis being constructed, initial workon the ATP family will becarried out at its other opera-tions in Europe includingPrague and Avio Aero in Italy.

Engine testing is scheduled tobegin in 2018.

An Airbus innovation start-upin Silicon Valley and ride-

sharing service Uber will supplyhelicopters for a new on-demandtransportation service, AirbusGroup chief executive TomEnders announced on 17 January.

A3, an Airbus-sponsored ven-ture capital fund and innovationcentre founded in 2015, is work-ing with an unnamed operator to

provide Airbus Helicopters H125and H130 light singles to the Uber

collaboration for the SundanceFilm Festival in Utah.

The goal is proving out a newbusiness model for helicopter op-erators to access a broader custom-er base, Airbus says.

On-demand helicopter trans-portation has been gainingmomentum in several markets. InNew York City, Gotham Air andBlade compete to offer helicopter

flights on a per-seat basis.Uber has previously used heli-

copter rides in several promotionsaround the world, in which theon-demand car service partnerswith local helicopter operators tooffer rides during special events.

Airbus also announced on 17January its investment in US carbuilder Local Motors, which re-lies on a global network of micro-factories to produce its designs.Airbuss investment will see Local

Motors set-up a similar venture inGermany to focus on aerospace.

Airbus start-up to join forces with UberRIDE-SHARING STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

PROPULSION

KATE SARSFIELD LONDON

GE picks Pragueto develop new

turboprop family

Quest Aircraft parent SetouchiHoldings has sold a 12.5%

stake in the Kodiak single-engined turboprop manufacturerto fellow Japanese company Mit-sui.

The equity sale gives Quest,based in Sandpoint, Idaho, morethan $10 million to help it expand

its product portfolio and increaseits share of the global utility air-craft market.

This investment is great newsfor Quest, says company chiefexecutive Sam Hill. We are anambitious company and our out-look is shared by our owners.

He declines to be drawn on thenumber or designs of future prod-ucts, however, nor will he reveal a

FUNDINGKATE SARSFIELD LONDON

Mitsui buys stake in QuestSale of 12.5% share in turboprop maker secures more than $10m to increase its portfolio

QuestAircraft

Equity sale will allow the Kodiak manufacturer to expand its share of the global utility aircraft market

timescale for their launch. All Ican say is that we will be stayingin the utility sector as there is somuch potential here, he says.We are evaluating the market andtalking to owners and operatorswithin this large niche.

Hill says trading conditions inthe turboprop sector are challeng-

ing due to the weak globaleconomy and strong US dollar.This is hitting us hard in Europeand South America, but we aremaking inroads into other regionssuch as Africa, Asia and theMiddle East, he says.

Despite this harsh economicenvironment, Quest deliveredmore Kodiaks in 2015 than in theprevious year. We shipped 32 air-

craft two more than in 2014,says Hill. We hope 2016 will bebetter still.

He attributes Quests perfor-mance to a tougher sales strategy,which the company initiated fol-lowing its takeover by Setouchi inFebruary 2015. The businessplan was revamped to be more ag-

gressive, Hill says.The approach seems to be paying

off, as Hill says Quest has contractsin place for 42 Kodiaks this year.

To accommodate its long-termgrowth, the company is extend-ing its Sandpoint headquarters by6,970m (75,000ft), and is mull-ing a second production line out-side the US. Its too early to saywhere that might be, says Hill.


22/44


23/44

NEWS FOCUS


Plead for speed

FEATURES P23

When Jan Woerner took hisseat at European SpaceAgency headquarters in Paris forhis first-ever January press confer-ence as director general, theformer head of Germanys DLRaerospace agency had plenty ofgood news to talk about.

In 2015, ESAs technically stun-ning Rosetta comet-chasingmission was a highlight by anystandard, while a string ofEuropean astronauts strutted theirstuff on the International Space

Station and ESA delivered toNASA a test version of the servicemodule it is supplying for theUSAs in-development deep spacecrew capsule, Orion.

The first of two ESA-Roscosmos landing missions toMars will launch in March, anddevelopment continues of theclosely-aligned Ariane 6 and VegaC launchers. Critically, ESA mem-bers will make a decision aboutwhether to stick with the ISS to2024 when the outpost original-

ly slated for deorbiting in 2018 will be retired. The other ISS part-ners NASA, Roscosmos andJapans JAXA have signed up for2024; and Woerner betrays noanxiety Europe might walk awayin 2020. After all, he notes, goodscience is done on board and thebig investments in building thestation have been made.

What really motivates Woerneris the question: what comes afterthe ISS? Woerners answer is aMoon village, and forget images

of cafes and a church. The term ischosen carefully, he says, to sug-gest a place where people cometogether. By establishing some sortof permanent base, he says, any ofthe worlds 60 spacefaring coun-tries could participate howeverthey wish, in line with their capa-bilities and objectives.

The Moon has long been aWoerner theme; he raised the ideawhen head of DLR. But for now,his Moon plan is mostly vision;there are no specifics in terms of

missions and hardware, and nomoney. None of the big-budget

The Moon is not as

interesting to science

as Mars, but it is

in reach even if Mars

is a step too far

ESA member states have perkedup. The US Federal AviationAdministrations commercialspace transportation committeewants to talk to ESA, but NASA isnot interested in returning to theMoon, which it considers a dis-traction from its 2030s objective ofa crewed mission to Mars.

SOMETHING NEWSo is Woerner barking at theMoon? Not necessarily. Mars mayprove unreachable, at least as soonas the 2030s. The ISS may beextendable beyond 2024 from anengineering point of view, but thatis probably the political limit of anexpensive scheme; flying there,doing a spacewalk or two to fixthings, messing about with labora-tory equipment and making avideo about how the toilets workhave all, if we are honest (and to

the great credit of the engineers,scientists and astronauts), becomepart of the news wallpaper.

The scientific value of a Moonbase, on the other hand, may cap-ture public imaginations. As ESAoutlines in its January 2016Destination Moon video, a baseon the lunar south pole openssome genuine new horizons. Allof the lunar landing sites to datehave been broadly equatorial andon the near side. But some southpolar sites are in permanent

darkness, which means they arevery, very cold and believed to

SPACEFLIGHTDAN THISDELL PARIS

Destination Moon: bold step, in reachThe International Space Station programme has a decade to run; now is the time to ask seriously, what next?

harbour vast quantities of waterice. That ice could, in situ, bemade into rocket fuel for journeysto deeper space. And, from thelunar south pole there is easy ac-cess to far-side sites over the hori-zon perfect for telescope obser-vation of the cosmos, free of theEarths light and radio interfer-ence. The Moon is not as interest-ing to science as Mars, but it isreachable today and has merit whether or not Mars is ever a prac-tical destination.

Whether or not the communityof spacefaring nations ultimatelyembraces the Moon village idea,ESA is in good shape with hard-ware and technology.

The Orion service module isbased on ESAs AutomatedTransfer Vehicle ISS roboticresupply ships. ATVs thrustershave been shown to be ideal forgently dropping a lander on theMoon. And for at least five years,ESA has been working out detailsof a south pole Moon landing. At

one point pencilled in for 2018,that mission may become a joint

project with Roscomos, as soon as2020.

Separately, NASA gave ESA aboost in January with its selectionof Sierra Nevadas (SNC)in-development Dreamchasersmall spaceplane as an ISSresupply vehicle from 2019.

Dreamchaser looked doomed acouple years ago when NASA

failed to choose its manned ver-sion for low Earth orbit crew mis-sions from 2018, but SNC pressedahead, reaching agreement withESA to combine forces on re-entrytechnology development, and towork to launch the craft atopAriane 5 rockets from ESAsspaceport in French Guyana.

CHASING DREAMS

And, adds Woerner, a new fold-ing-wing design has erased con-cerns Dreamchaser would not fit

inside an Ariane faring and theconfiguration will work forcrewed or uncrewed launches.Dreamchaser cannot reach theMoon. But Ariane 6 developmentplans include capability fordistributed launch operations.Crews and spacecraft, payloadsand fuel, would be delivered tolow Earth orbit for assembly andlaunch to deep space. Vision,persistence and its Europeaninstinct for collaboration, it seems,have put ESA in prime position

wherever humankind choosesnext to boldy go.

ESA/NAS

A

For spacefaring nations, what lies beyond ISS?


24/44


COVER STORY

STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Wind tunnel testing of twoadvanced designs has ledNASA to conclude it candeliver supersonic flight,

and reduce tell-tale boom

PLEAD FOR SPEEDNASA

Back in 2012, NASA thought it hadreached a breakthrough in adecades-long quest to design a low-boom supersonic aircraft. With left-

over funding from the 2009 financial stimulusact, the agency commissioned LockheedMartin and Boeing to separately developpreliminary designs and wind tunnel modelsof aircraft concepts.

Lockheed aimed its efforts at a 100-seat-class trijet design similar in scale to the four-engined Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde, whileBoeing focused on a smaller, 70-seater withuniquely-configured over-the-wing-mountedengines. Four years later, Lockheed andBoeing have reported back to NASA, withwindtunnel runs and simulation data appear-ing to have validated the agencys calcula-tions. NASA may have reached a pivotalmoment in the quest to revive commercialsupersonic air travel, more than 12 years afterConcorde was retired from service by AirFrance and British Airways.

Indeed, the data served to persuade thesuperiors of Peter Coen head of the high-

speed project in NASAs aeronautics researchdirectorate to authorise a feasibility studyfor a new supersonic X-plane that couldverify the wind tunnel results in real flight.Critically, data from flight testing could,finally, force international regulators toconsider overturning a 47-year-old ban on

breaking the sound barrier over land.Coen says: Were very pleased with

[Lockheeds and Boeings] results. Lo and be-hold, we feel there is a solution using a scaledX-plane a 100ft-long aircraft that weighsabout 25,000lb, which is capable of replicat-ing the acoustic characteristics of a boom of alarger airplane up to 300,000lb or so.

A final funding decision may come in Feb-ruary, with the Obama administrations fiscalyear 2017 budget request. If the programme islaunched, Coen expects to have a detailed de-sign study complete by the end of FY2017,followed by a first flight of the supersonic X-

plane in FY2019.

EXPERIMENTAL VEHICLE

This low-boom experimental vehicle wouldbe used in an effort to rewrite the rulebook onflying over land at supersonic speed. Ofcourse, not everyone agrees such an effort isnecessary. Aerion, which has partnered withAirbus, is developing the AS2 business jet tobe optimised to fly at supersonic speeds overwater but cruise at high-subsonic speeds overland in the USA and potentially up to Mach1.1 in Europe, where regulations are slightlyless restrictive.

But NASA officials and others in theindustry, including Gulfstream, have said a

commercial supersonic aircraft is only viableeconomically if it can fly at top speed overland. To make that happen, someone has togive the regulators a reason to change therules. The Lockheed and Boeing study resultsindicate new technology can reduce sonicboom noise from 105PLdB to as low as

75PLdB, Coen says.But while ICAOs committee on aviation

environmental protection (CAEP) has estab-lished a supersonic transport task group, itwill need more than NASA-funded windtun-nel studies no rules can be changed withoutreal flight data from a representative aircraftand a public response.

Aerions AS2 business jet

is designed for supersonic

flight only over water

The Lockheed concept

is a 100-seat-class

trijet design

Aerion


25/44

LOW-NOISE CONCEPTS


CAEP has essentially said there is nopossibility of having a standard withoutcommunity overflight data to validate themetrics that would be used for response, andto develop the procedures that would be usedfor certification, he says. Theres clearly a

need for a flight demonstration. Thats whythe NASA work has been moving in thatdirection for the past three years.

If NASA headquarters approves, Coenintends his agency will deliver that data over

several years. The X-plane will need all of2020 to clear the flight envelope forsupersonic testing over a carefully instru-mented range spread over Edwards AFB inthe California desert. Then, beginning in2021, NASA plans to carry out a demographi-cally broad community noise survey,beginning in Southern California, before de-ploying the X-plane to other US locationsand, ideally, overseas.

This next step requires reviving memoriesof Operation Bongo II, a 1964 experimentduring which the US Federal AviationAdministration selected Oklahoma City to

perform a series of supersonic acousticsurveys. In fact, the agency carried out morethan 1,200 sonic booms over the city over sixmonths to measure how the populationwould react. After breaking hundreds ofwindows of downtown buildings, the agencywas flooded with complaints and halted thetests prematurely.

NASA

Theres a need for a flight

demonstration, thats why

NASA is moving towards thatPETER COENHead, high-speed project, NASA aeronautics research

The outcry came against the backdrop of awider public backlash in the USA against thedamage and annoyance caused by sonicbooms as supersonic fighters became thebackbone of the US Air Force fleet. The mili-tary received nearly 39,000 claims for damag-es caused by sonic booms between 1956 and1968, according to a NASA book published in2013 called Quieting the Boom.

PROHIBITION ERROR

The public backlash prompted the FAA toissue a regulation in 1969 prohibiting super-sonic flight over populated areas, a stricterregulation than adopted in Europe, whereonly making an audible sonic boom isoutlawed. Public anger would also play a role

in a decision by Congress to cancel the Boeing2707 supersonic transport (SST) programmein 1971.

By then the aeronautics industry was wellaware of what needed to be done. Two NASAscientists, Richard Seabass and Albert George,had by 1969 developed the basic mathematicsfor relating aircraft size and shape to sonicboom noise. It would still take decades to

transfer the mathematical theory into evenexperimental flying aircraft, but their workgave aerodynamicists tools for shaping anaircraft with sonic boom noise as a predicta-ble and primary requirement at design stage.

As Concorde was heading towards a retire-ment date in 2003, NASA finally began apply-ing those formulae to a flying vehicle. Theshaped sonic boom demonstration (SSBD) in2003 used a Northrop F-5E with a heavilymodified forward fuselage, sculpted to mufflethe double-thumb signature of a sonic boom.

The SSBD programme succeeded indemonstrating that aircraft shaping can re-

duce the pressure rise of the supersonicshockwave, thus muffling the boom signature.But it also proved, as expected, that more thanthe forward fuselage would have to be sculpt-ed. In fact, new software-based design toolswere needed to optimise the shaping of theforward and aft structures to achieve the low-est boom signature. At the same time, NASAsaerodynamicists also needed to solve whatwas then called the low-boom, low-dragparadox; shapes that reduce the sonic boomalso increase drag. Achieving a low-boomnoise profile might, then, gain regulatoryapproval but result in an aircraft so ineffi-

cient as to be unmarketable.Another consideration is the human ears

Boeings concept, upside

down in the wind tunnel,

opts for over-wing engines


26/44


27/44


LOW-NOISE CONCEPTS

tolerance for sonic booms. NASA used aBoeing F-15A test aircraft to break the soundbarrier over a range and measure humanresponses to the noise. The agency also creat-ed a ground-based acoustic chamber to repli-cate the same noise signature in a controlledenvironment, leading to a determination ofthe range of tolerable noise for the human ear.

Its somewhere between 70-80PLdB,Coen says. That roughly compares to thenoise made by a passing car as heard frominside a building, versus the explosive cracksof the Conc

flight international 26 january 2016

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