ASIAN AEROSPACE : ROTOR RIVALRY LESSOR SCALES lelicopter manufacture’ opts for a ton of fare up at Heli-Expo as. N product launches SHOW REPORT raise temperature Bera eTe POWERPLANTS STAYING SHARP How engine makers aim to put airlines in the blackThinking without limits ee ee a i a ae A helicopter designed to meet every operational challenge. AR MIU Cn Designed in collaboration with our customers to cope with anything from a business trip to the most advanced SAR mission, the ECI75 sets a benchmark for decades to come. The largest and quietest cabin. The highest levels of comfort, accessibility and visibility. The lowest fuel cost and CO2 ‘emissions per seat. The EC175 is first in its class for them al ST LACS AN EADS COMPANYrego FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, ‘VOLUME 179 NUMBER 5282 14524 MARCH 2013 PIC OF THE WEEK ‘This Avro Vulean was photographed at the RNAS Yeouiton open day in 2020 by runtehel. Open a galery in fightglobal. ‘com's AirSpace community fora chance to feature here. A a i ‘COVER IMAGE. Rolls Royce supplied this ‘shot of a Trent 1000 at the predolivery inspection ‘stage on its final assembly line. The engine is to enter ‘service later this year, i ponergan A Nop : Airways Boeing 787-8. z Fara ary oe P30 Series pectin ot itu itary AAOOM aiterto | fightglobal.com/imageottheweek start this year P17 Swiss engineering company Marenco | £ reveals sigleengined tubinepowered helicopter P28. | t NEWS 2. New megactes ibe A360" COVER STORY x halewrratiunenae tg SME NS ame © Fst ahe neonate Boe 747. Space squeezes Jet Aviation's ambitions powerplants we can expect to see on the 7 vetburkingorpt Sogacter. | ap Sra eeems et ht Angst onarow cies ti Acs Sine Eropeun 5 fo ney joarend Kekopoocatonopttr i CA 2 Pogessonssb0 tut agony tompkergomrota Wives “opis aa 24 Marengo dg a'70s rewalts Pvt 006 geared turbofan? We analyse 28 AgustaWestland pursues designs on Rolls Royce's decision to ignore the fassect Enc atfomer teotgee © Neepig ne ath win 58 harem ed nc rest tomton aoa onset are a Souda to quate het clo oenareseced Ue US 0 W/Ctols Leap ahs Iedwe caret ucsimoves he HL Spon que ov Aria disrcgats feedetbésives Spear toss decors | ay See te worn e nw it ath = sSemnaton nyovnerton te My £2 el dow gat tere pth, Ceres stare at Ga oT cesces 14 Enisors tac tobe bet set 45 Pesan 787501 Che ad ipa —— — 18 Keorgororstoce ayn cleat | 48 Obtany Seite 4 tations 7 atten seres peace setto-ot | a Claeated exTWeEK 18 i08:mepetstowrioXoved | a2 dane [steeltemerresss nreveny aieeeaee Stag tacos eect tepals pai an ora ec ptbe tical inrgen 20 Taratcetmakeimstos8es | 8 HOROFTMEWEBKopsnsantrt | Ft acon aiines back Boeing figntgioval.com 1521 March 20:11 | Flight International | 3Companies listed sensi 18 ‘eau as foe wigs fra 2 mews. ® tron i fepest 2 rn 2 eng : fest Se it eS 2 fea oun 2 eres i Seam a Pa fRi8 iain ae forme 2 cay ak an canter i ees 2 conse % Deana 3 been 30 oa aaa ft 3 trp ins 2 tsooaeigi 2 en : Eos a Fd roa 3 fara Sei 3 Pyle 2 Cheat Sane 2 Crna So 3 ar 2 fare & tamer 3 tierce 3 tere i Henge FA tna, 0 nin Pa a8 Seater 2 ‘eaarse 2 Cay Si ie toast Siew tor fd tas ° tokoen i 36 tovaiope at isco as 30 Hees. 2 Hero t fees ° eco 3 rata naey ala Presence at tafser iia et wigs fone 3 foptia 2 Se 2 Sseataaas 2 Sur Fd San ain 3 Seca 2 su. FA Soe 3 Se Snr Fa Sane 30 Sie 3 ona 3 Vigra io ogi ze BEHIND THE HEADLINES Hong Kong served as the latest topo for our mobile multime- (da operation as we dispatched ‘team from ourLondon and ‘Singapore bureaux (below) to experience the boom in Chinese ‘avation closeup at Asian ‘Rerospace. In addition to our show report 20), the team de- vere ring news coverage via pint and interactive editions of Flight Daly Nows, 8 wellas Twitter, blogs and video clips: flghtglobal.com/aat has al, Ournews editor Dominic Petry was onthe road too. visit ing Munich forthe lowdown on EADS's 2010 performance P7). Fora fl tof eader eves toi St abertsng cata sae PS eproRtaL, 42086523642 Ticenatonsgegablon isPLay, 20 Bee 3315, ‘lan caren. couk CLAssinED abveRSING 420 86824587 figytsessteeaggeba.can RECRUMMENT ADVERTISING 4208882 4900 rere sever couk WEBMASTER ‘retencosercstighgota can susscrPnons sad aus a5 toa Fiemerstenl aioe vkcom REPRINTS. S20 86828612 ‘eps. couk FLGHT DAILY News 20 oe 3006 fication om eas. Sires sao en6 cassalestfighgooacm THE WEEK ON THE WEB flightglobal.com While at HetExpo in Orlando (P24) our Americas editor John Croft captured on video the moment when Eurocopter raised a curtain to reveal the T2 version ofits £01.45 (shown left) emerging from a fog of Dy ice, and posted the clip to his As the Cro(ft) Flies blog ~ where you can also peruse footage from Sikorsky and Boll XworX presentations. At Asian Aerospace, our team B: filmed interviews with Boeing market vice president Randy Tinseth and others: view them at flightglobal.comy/video. And Stephen Trimble used his blog ‘The DEW Line to solve a mystery: wity does Janicki Industries’ “highly accurate low observable” (HALO) pole model of the Lockheed Martin F-35A appear, in a photo, to have strange humps on either side ofthe canopy? Find the answer — and photo at figntglobal.com/halophoto (D rasrvesoronsngrension ate QUESTION OF THE WEEK Last wee, We asked: Should commercial aiines older than 25 years be banned? You sai: YES 24\76 Total votes: 2,734 This week, we ask: Will Cathay opt forthe A380? L Yes, obvious congestion-buster in busy Chinese market Yes, but only i Airbus offers stretch version No, it will tay loyal to jumbo and 1g0 for the 747-8 No, it will go forall smaller widebodies ‘Vote at fightglobal.com/poll HIGH FLIERS ‘The top five stories forthe week just gone: 41 An448 crashes in Russia on test fight: minist'y 2 EADS conoodes KC-X contract var to Boeing 3 Crashed Ar-148 broke up after being pushed beyond ints “4 Pletue: China Southern's frst A380 makes maiden ight 5 Crashed An:148 was under test for Myanmar export (adj F2et@ettesens uy tot 2 ators to 220 ‘countries viewing 7-1 milion pages each month DOWNLOAD THE ENGINE DIRECTORY. www.flightglobal.com, SelontaDneatasy 4\ Flight international | 15:21 March 2011.COMMENT Canyou seecear shies ahead for Europe? Has the US Fodeal Comunieaton Cmmission losis wy? Hoe your say on ‘grghobal.con/comment flgntgobal.com Unclear skies ahead Volcanic ash taught Europeans what aviation means to their economy and amplified calls for a single sky, but obstacles must be overcome if the new system is to deliver looks as if the long-awaited Single European Sky is about to enter existence almost unnoticed. But maybe that's the way it should be, or atleast the ‘way it has to be. The executive director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, Patrick Ky, promises thatthe ist sav {ce improvements ~ what SESAR calls the “first releaso” ‘of measures will bein place by tho end ofthe year Airline passengers will not notice the difference, but pilots will, on thase routes or city pairs that involve the use of new techniques and procedures. However, many ‘ill be accustomed to some of the elements of the new SESAR dolivorables, liko continuous descont ap: proaches into airport terminal areas, because airlines hhave been co-operating in the trials for years. fo begin with, only a fow will be flying routes using «four-dimensional trajectory, one of the camerstones ofair traffic management's future, These involve a con- tract with aizports at both ends and air navigation serv- What is at stake here is Europe's prosperity. It’s as fundamental as that {ce providers in between, with the aircraft navigating not merely atwo-dimensional route but a4D trajectory to pass each waypoint at a predetermined time and ‘meet required times of arrival at the runway and stand. Inthe manufactures’ view, airraft have boon capa: ble of this kind of procise 4D navigation for a couple of ddocades, but the air navigation service providers have rnot boon ready, and most still are not. But the gentle introduction of new techniquos gives tho whole system. both its technical and its human components ~ time ‘There is congestion above airports, too toshake down and gain confidence before ramping up to full capacity. ‘There are obstacles to progress, and the most intrac table ate not technical ar operational, nor volcanic ash co heavy snowfall, but social and political. Maurice Georges, chief executive of French provider DSNA, showed the ATC Global conference in Amsterdam last ‘wook that traffic lost in French airspace owing toindus- trial action by air traffic management staff was greater than that lost when the Icelandic volcano shroucled Eu- rope in ash, grounding everything for a woek, Eurocontrol director genoral David McMillan cites the fal tensions” created by the need for change as a major barrier, And of course ATM cannot solve the prob- Jems of capacity shortage at Europe's majoc hubaispars. Tarmac may not bo high-toch, but a lack of it will dotor ‘min the limits of wha the total system can deliver ‘Matthew Baldwin, the new director of the ECs air transport directorate, described what is at stake here: Burope's prosperity. Itsas fundamental as tha. i ‘See This Week P7 Where on earth does the FCC get ideas? PS has become synonymous with freedom of mo- bility. But that freedom is under fire, thanks to the US Federal Communications Commission. Like other government agencies, the FCC's raison diétre is to serve the public good, and if GPS isn’t “good, what is? The public uses the system moro times ‘a day than most probably realise. Yet the FCC in Janu- ary allowed a company called LightSquared to later this yoar begin deploying a new 4G broadband network that experts far and wide say will make GPS unusable. ‘Theaccelemated approval ame witha caveat but with- ‘out the normal public review process. Thecaveat? A hast- ‘ly assembled government/industry working group was given just four months, until june, to discem the magni- tude of the potential impact. In the group's fist interim report to the FOG, it discusses who should be involved in technical group that will onduet tests and anal ‘The suggestions illustrate the true ubiquity of GPS, used not justin aviation, but in public safety, electric power and utilities, enginoering and construction, en- vironmental protection, law enforcement, maritime and waterways, agriculture, surveying, mapping, ‘weather, space, precision timing, consumer devices, collular handsets...the list goes on. Given how little technical work ean be done in the throe months remaining, pressure is mounting on the FOCto do the right thing reverse its approval. ‘See This Week PG 41521 March 2011 | Flight Intemational 5THIS WEEK For roundup of ur ltest one news, feature and multimedia content vt fightgotaLcom/wotw BRIEFING LUFTHANSA AND NETJETS PARTNER AGAIN [AGREEMENT Lufthansa has entered into @ new cooperation agree- ment wit rational ounershi provider Nets Europe to provide flights forthe German carrier's LP private jet offering. Te colaboro- tion comes less than four years afer the dv disbanded ther orig nal agreement brought on by an overwhelming demand forthe Netlets fet fom Lufthansa customers. This puta strain onthe ‘fractional provider's resourees despite is success. 'AOPA WARNS OVER GPS BLACKOUT NAVIGATION Aviston’ largest advocacy group scaling onthe US Federal Communications Commission to reverse a conditional au- ‘thorisation by ts internatoral bureau tat gives broadband provider LghtSquered a geen light to begin deploying @ new Lband 4G net workin the US. The Aircraft Onners and Pots Association says ts members face a significant threat of ireparable disruption othe (GPS system and tothe future air travel system that depends on it. The approval is condonal on the fing ofa governmen/industry \orkrg group that has until June to analyse the extent of impacts, NEURON DEMONSTRATOR GETS ITS WINGS UAVS EADS fas devered the wings forthe Neuron UCAV demon stratoto prime contractor Dassault Istes, France site forfuther| ‘assembly The Neuron UCAV is aproect between six European coun ‘ules and ther respective aerospace champions: France/Dassaut, Spein/ EADS, Sweden/ Saab, Italy/Alenia Meronautica, Greeoe/HAl ‘and Switzerland Rug, ‘SLOW PROGRESS ON TILTROTOR PROJECT [ROTORCRAFT Bal and AgustaWestland have csclosed that their jointy developed BAGO twinengined tirotor continues tofy ata “low pace” ints delayed cetfcation eooess, says Guseppe Ors, ‘AgustaWestland’ chef executive. Origaly expected to receive reg- Uatory approval n 2011, the BAGO Is now scheduled tobe ceri ‘cated in 2015 of 2016, AgustaWestland says. The timing of certification is based onthe progress of deicing testing, which wl not begin unt the third test arraft stars fhingin 2013, says the alan owned airframe. CATHAY SPECIFIC OVER NEW AIRCRAFT DEALS ‘ORDERS Cathay Paciichas ordered 27 widebodies worth HKSB1 bition ($6.55 billon)atlist prices tots feet under agreements inked with Abus, Boeing and Intemational Lease Finance. These ‘are an addtonal 15 A330300s and 10 more 777-300ERs cect fiom the manufacturers, and an extra pair of A350-000s under a {deal ith LEC, The aitne say itil take delivery of al ofthe ara before the end of 2015. Cathay says itnow hes a total of 91 new ‘erat on order for delveryby 2019. NEW NAVIGATION TIE-UP FOR NORTHERN NATIONS. ATM The air navigation sence providers of four northem European nations have announced their intention to cooperate more closely to Improve airtrafic management intel airspace, withthe prospect of ‘expanding alliances even more widely inte rejon. The ennounce- ment on 8 Meh brings together the existing UK/Inish functional ‘airspace block wih that of the Denmark/ Sweden blockin an allance “designed to dive foward progress tonards greater git efficiency, cost eficiencyanc operational consistency ine wth Single European Si performance goals. 6| Flight international 15:21 March 2011 Engine tests were carried out at various power settings DEVELOPMENT JON OSTROWER WASHINGTON DC First flight nears for Boeing 747-81 Successful engine and systems test on GEnx-2B67- powered model as airframer aims for 20 March target fist flight for Boeing's 747-81 | signed forthe 767'snon-pnewmat ld come as soon as 20 | ic electric start system, Boeing March, company sources say, | says the engine runs were con: after successful first engine run. | ducted at various power settings Boeing has not confirmed the | to ensure all systems perform as target but sources say the engine | expected. During the runs the air start on aircraft RCOOL came two | craft underwent basic systems days ahead of schedule, indicat- | tests and, following powercown, ing a quickening pace toward its | included a vibration check and frst Might from its Everett, Wash- | shutdown logic ial. ARera tech: ington facility. On 8 March the | nical review and inspection the airftamer performed about 2h | engines will be evaluated again, ‘45min of engine runs on the ale- | Tests wore also conducted on ‘rat's four Ganoral Electric GEax- | tho ballast systom, which rgulates 2267 powerplants. RODO1's variable centre of gravity Using pneumatic bleed air | positions, plus a safety-oFfight from the aircrafts auxiliary power | evaluation of eloctromagnotic of unit, the first ofits four engines | fects, Extra functional tests re- was started at 11:57 local time, | main, followed by the flight Line followed by the remaining three | gauntlet to put the systems usingitscross-bleed function. | through aclosed-loop simulation, “The integrated airplane sys- | Just befor its first flight, the toms and engines performed as | aircraft will conduct low and expected,” says Elizabeth Lund, | highspeed taxi tests at Paine vice-president and deputy pro- | Field. Boeing plansatwo-aircraft gramme manager of the 747-8, | fighttest campaign of about “Thisresultallows ustocontinue | 600b, with yearend certification, moving forward tofirst fight.” | followed by handover ofthe ist The test was intended “to | aircraft a Booing Business Jot ~ ‘chock out all the computing sys- | to completion contre for conver tems, the back-up systems, pneu- | sion to VIP configuration for the matics, electric systems,” says | Kuwait govemment, Jim Peterson, 747-8 propulsion | Lufthansa, the first airline op- test director, ina Booing-released_| erator, is expected to take its Hirst viddoo onthe engine star. 747-8 in early 2012. Bach engine sated at 65,500Tb thrust (296KN) and isa derivative ‘of the GEnx-1B originally de- Ferme bout he out Bosings 7473, goto ‘iggobal.com 747-8 Aightgobal.comKeeping the faith with F358 5 News FocusPe | THIS WEEK AVIONICS MARY KIRBY PHILADELPHIA Wi-fi blanking prompts Boeing action Certification testing of wireless broadband on Next Generation 7375 reveals problem with Honeywell Phase 3 display units Herren ester units have shown themselves susceptible to “blanking” during airline electromagnetic intecter- ‘ence certification esting of wire less broadband systems on Boo- ing Next Generation 737s, This has prompted Boeing to cease lino-fit installations of in flight connectivity systemsacross its portiolio, including widebody aireraR. Boeing says it has do- forred tho activation of wireless systems that interface with pas- songor dovices that could inter: fre with the units’ displays “Boeing has not delivered any in stallations that would have this issue,” says Bret Jensen of BCA Engineering Communications, A source with knowledge of the situation says that Booing hhas “gone through and scrubbed the avionics numbers to make sure that there are no anomalies ‘and that the avionies will not be affected by personal elec tronic devices. “It has been discovered that there is stuff out there ‘moot those requirements yot, and down that path.” ‘The source adds: “There are three specific part numbers asso- ciated with the [Honeywell] dis- play that could be installed. ‘Those are the ones [found to be} susceptible to transmissions.” Fall-out from the event has al- hat doosn't ready been observed. Multiple es have told Flight Interna: ‘anditions for supplemental type certifica- tionis that 737NG operators place placards inthe fightdeck saying davices ate to be pow that wi ered off ‘Another condition, say sourc- os, is that 737NG operators are not to have the display units in- stalled with the presence of in- flight connectivity systems, be they wilt or cellularbased. Panasonic partner AcroMo- bile’: eXPhone in-flight mobile ‘connectivity solution, which was offerable on certain made Boeing types, is not being in stalled until the Honeywell issue has been addressed, ‘Assuch, customers ofeXPhone fare not receiving aircraft with eX Phoneas planned These customers include Emir. Boeing has halted linet installations of WHI systems across It portfolio pending a solution to the problem ates, Turkish Airlines and V Aus walla. Booing, meanwhile, says “Current testing by Booing and Honeywell has determined that blanking may occur when a DU is subjected to testing procedurms specified by Federal Aviation Ad. ministration requirements during installations of wi systems on the airplane, Boeing and Honeywell have concluded that actual electromag netic interference lovels experi- ‘enced during normal operation of typical passenger wie systems ‘would not eause any blanking of the Phase3 display units, Boeing says, It adds that this is not an Phaso 1 oF issue with Honeywel 2umits Honeywell says that, during recont ground tosting “at elovatod power levels", the company ‘observed a momentary blanking on the “fat panel" liquid crystal displays that it developed and ploneered for Boeing. “The Scroons reappeared well withi Boeing's specified recovery time frame. The screens have not Dlanked in flight and are not a safety of ight issue, “Honeywell is working to on: sure the problem is addressed and fxod and that our technology will continue to exceed specifica tions,” says Honeywell Tho firm stresses that there have been “noblanking incidents ofin-sorvice aircraft with the wish system installed” The FAA says it sawareof the situation and itis working with Doth manufacturers to “examine the tochnical data and test results. ‘Aftera thorough review the FA ‘will consider if further safety ac tion is necessa ‘Soureas say a service bulletin from Boeing is expocted. i [AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT DAVID LEARMOUNT ANISTEROAM Four-dimensional Single European ae long-awaited Single Euro pean Sky will se its first tan- sible service deliveries this year, says Patrick Ky, executive direc tor ofthe SESAR Joint Undortak- ing, the organisation responsible forco-ordinating all the activities leading tothe SES, ‘The introduction of four-i- mensional (including, time) en- route aircraft trajectory: manage ment on some routes and improved arrival control in par flgntgobal.com ticularly busy terminal airspace are two of the deliverables Ky promises will be in place by the fend of 2011, “We have to go be: yond signing agreements and stat olivering results,” Ky told the ATC Global conference and exhi- bition in Amsterdam last woek. y's strategy for delivering the carly components is to ease new, tochnology-enabled procedures into the system gradually, route by route, as soon as they are vali= dated, so the system can gain con: fidence in them before deploying the techniques more widely. The SESAR system rulers to these system introductions as "re- oases", and itwas the SESAR Joint Undertaking’s “frst release” that Kyannounced at Amsterdam, A number of airports and area control centres all over Europe have been working to validate programmes such as 4D trajectory management, terminal ava point Sky to go live by the end of 2011 merge, and approach pracedums ‘with vertical guidanoe—all taking sreater advantage of improved aircraft navigational performance ‘capability than they do at present During this year, says Ky, these will gradually be adopted as standard. ‘The Single European Sky hi boon in gestation for around a decade, Despite political agree has been little tangi- . 41521 March 20:1 | Flight Intemational | 7THIS WEEK fightgotaLcom/wotw For roundup of ur ltest one news, feature and multimedia content vt [RESULTS DOMINIC PERRY MUNICH Progress on A350 but programme stays ‘top risk’ Revenue at EADS is buoyed by performance of commercial aircraft division but future programme difficulties remain inbus parent company EADS as the right mix fr the next docade and can exploit its strong product portolio in a “more fo- cused way”, says chif executive Louis Gallois Speaking after publication of BADS's 2010 rosults, Galois said although there had been a period. of significant change at the com: pany, it was now in a position to improve its. performance and profitability in 2011 and 2012, Howover future progress is de- AIRFRAMES. No performance boost from new narrowbody design: Gallois EADS chief execute Lous Galois has questioned the wisdom of Boeing's apparent pian to launch ‘anentiely new naronbody airines Speaking afte the publication of EADS 2010 results on 9 March, Gallois sad that noting he had sen so far had canvinoad hin that the decision to gowith the reen- ‘ned Arbus A3Z0ne0 was anything other than the conect one. Boeinghas been in intensive dis- cussions with customers over is plans fora 737 repaoement, with the company seemingy leaning to wards the development of an en pendent on the timely delivery of its key programmes, he says. The AMOOM and A380 have been “de- risked”, but development of the ‘A950 remains key Gallois indicates the A360 pro- duction line will start in the fourth quartor of 2011, with first flight of its RollsRoyoe Trent ‘XWB engineson the Albus A380 lying testbed due in the second half ofthis year. “We will Iaunch production when weare ure that wo have all the elements to as: tirely new area. Galois points out thatthe cost to bring the Neo to markets some 10 times lower than that required to launch an entirely ew model ‘Ay new Boeing narowbody would have the same engines as the Neo, he notes, meaning that any perfomance improvements above those offered by the Abus jet would have to come rom the design and construction ofthe aircraft se “The improvements wl only come fom the plane. “For shortrange (aircraft com posite brings limted advantages. POT Revenues €m x1000 Total = €45,752m Total = €1,284m 1 Abus division urocopter_ Ml Headquaters/consolidation 4 Commerc! ‘Astium Other businesses 2 mitary Cass semble the aircraft,” he says. The | has begun, “the time schedule re- ‘company doos not want to ropeat the problems it had on the A380, the A350is s Airbus’ “top risk programme”, and al- though manufacturing of sub- ‘components and subassemblies ‘They want to develop a completely lect apne, we'l see... we have seen the large cificuties they have faced wth eleetcs onthe 787, he says. “We ae not sure [a cleanest design] brings such added value for ‘a shortrange airplane that it merits launching a completely new pro- ‘game, We have not changed our minds on the development ofthe Neo. The orders so far have demon strated that's the right choice. ‘The AB20ne0 famiyhas reoened ‘around 300 orders andl commit ments since ts January launch. mains challenging” to moot the planned entry into service of the second half of 2013, i nate Gallo says the ramp-up to full production is a vital stage for the ‘A350 but it is crucial the compa- ny is “not too aggressive” Single slo production is due to rise in 2012 1040 aircraft a month. How- ‘ver, it is still overbooked and Galloishints.a further rise may be considered but cautions this will ddopend on the ability of Airbus's supply chain to respond, Overall, EADS saw revenues rise 7%% to €45.8 billion ($63.3 billion), mostly driven by the per formance of the Airbus commer al operation, which grow reve: rnuo by 5% to €27.6 billion, up from €26. billion the year before. EADS js sitting on a €12 billion ‘ash pile that Gallois says pro Vides the firm with “investment Mxibility” or buy businesses in the defence markot. However, he declines to speculate on acquisi- Lion targets. ROTORCRAFT JOHN CROFT ORLANDO Heavylifter gets new lease of life from Chinese MoU Tie sateen ter could got new life under a memorandum of understanding between certificate holder Erick- son AinCrano and companies in hina, including Avicopter ‘The MoU, signed on 7 March at Heli-Expo in Orland, calls for Erickson to supply five hheavylift helicopters and kit for ‘an incident response system, Officials say it will take eight ‘months at least to convert the ‘agreement into acontract, signal- ling the beginning of the ramp-up for deliveries. Brickson began de- voloping the incident response systom several years ago after in torest from cusiomers, including the Los Angeles County Fire De: 8 Flight international 1521 March 2011 partment, says prog ‘ager Dennis Hubbard. Incident response kit for the Chinese includes a hose nozzle and holding tank for firefighting, 50-person rescue basket built by Precision Lift, and an 18-patient ‘aro-medical pod built by Sikor. sky subsidiary, Lifepor, that con- nects to the helicopter in place of the 10,000 lite (2,650U'Sgal) water tank for fielighting ‘Under the MoU, the companies ‘will also investigate setting up as- sembly lines for new airraft pro duction as well as maintenance and operations facilities in the Kunshan Aviation Industrial Park near Shanghai. i ‘See Show Report P24 Aightgobal.comea ‘Cancer eampaign brings rosy tnt to Brazilian ATR NEWS FOCUS STEPHEN TRIMBLE ORLANDO Keeping the faith with F-35B Despite admitting to four critical design flaws, Lockheed’s support for JSF vertical take-off and landing variant unwavers ne yoar ago an 18 Marc, Gra ham Tomlinson notched the first vertical landing ofthe Lock hood Martin F-35B, a milestone hailed then as proving the most troublesome of the F-35's three variants had turned a comes Events have not entirely gone to plan, In the 12 months since, tho F-35B has been grounded from fight tests, cracked during ground tests, cancelled by one ‘customer and placed on two-year probation by another. Yet, sup- porters of the short take-off and vertical landing variant rem that — despite the declared doubt- fers, which now include the UK Royal Navy and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates =the prob- Jems are already being overcome, Backing the supporters is are- surgence of vertical landings ~ tho key test for a STOVL fighter, ‘After making only 10 landings in roughly the first six months after 18 March, the programme's test pilots have recorded nearly 50 in tho past six months. CRITICAL FLAWS Im recent interviews, Lockheed officials have candidly described the F-35B's four critical Daws, along with their plans for ad. dressing them. It remains too early to know whether Lockheod’s plan will be fenough to save the world’s only STOVL, fighter in development, but it might be the F-35B's best chance for survival beyond 2013, ‘when Gates's probation expires ‘The blame for last your's three month halt to vertical landing tests falls on two doors, says Steve O'Bryan, Lockheed vice president for business develop- ment, These auxiliary air inlet (AAD doors allow enough air to flow into the lift-fan as the F-35B nters low-speed and hover ‘mode. But the doors are actually ‘opened when the F-35B's forward speed is 250kt (460kan/h), and proved too weak to handle the flgntgobal.com disruptive a flowing around the ‘cover ofthe lit-fan, O'Bryan says For a nearterm fix, Lockheed ‘modified the softwave fr the inlet doors to koop them closed until nooded at very low speeds, (O'Bryan says. But that is not the longterm solution. By the end of this year, Lock- hood plans tocomplete a redesign for the AAI doors, which could involve strengthening the hinges ‘rthe doors themselves tosurvive vibration at 250kt, O'Bryan says, Lockheed has identified a near and Iong,term solution to fix the boulkhead, which is numbered 496 on Lockheed!'s design shes, which cracked in durability test ing, At the point where the wing attaches to the rear of the fuse- lage, this bulkhead that absorbs some ofthe F-A5B's heaviest aero- dynamic loads failed less than 10% through a durability tos In the short term, Lockheed can keep the STOVL tes let fly- ite the tisk of structural failure, O'Bryan says, By blend= ing one of the bulkhead’s hard edges into a curve, Lockheod’s analysis shows the structure will, survive to 1,500h. In an overall flight-test programme expected to involve 7,500 flights by more than 13 aircraft, that should give the BF-series foot plenty of mar. Lockheed plans a complete redesign for the F-358's AAI doors and will seek to fix the bulkhead “We can bring 10 engineers in the room and get 14 different opinions [vertical lift bringback margin] Leckhond Martin vice-president for busines developrnt gin to complete all the test points necessary for certification, But the 1,500h lifespan of the 496 Dulkhoad falls short of the ro {quired 8,000 service life for op: ‘rational fighters, 0 a long: repair is also necessary. A 9.2 '3.8kg (7-8lb) stel patch has been «signed to strengthen the bulk had, O'Bryan says. Lockhood also ‘is considering a. lighter \woight, composite patch, Another major problem in volves a performance measure ment called vertical lift bring back (VLBB). To land vertically without having to jettison stores or fuel, the F-35B either needs to reduce weight or inesease thrust, or some combination of both, O'Bryan says. Intomally, there is still no agreement on the amount, of margin required to meet future \woight growth, "We can bring 10 ineers inthe room and got 11 dllarent opinions," O'Beyan says. Proviously, William Boley, presi: dent of Pratt & Whitney military ‘engines, has described need to increase VLBB by as much as 180g. O'Bryan, however, said that figure is “a lot” when de- scaibing the actual VLBB margin. ‘Although Boley has advocated incroasing the thrust of the P&W F135 engine to achieve the mar agin, Lockheed officials continue to resist that approach, “More thrust {will say generally, ‘comes with more heat,” O'Bryan says, “Moro heat oquals les life time, which equals more cost PROBLEM-SOLVING Lockhood is studying ways to get round the problem without rais: ing tho F-35B's price tag. “That's the nirvana where you can pull Wwoight out and save cost’ (O'Bryan says. “We have funds to find those types of investments. To cap it all, some of the B's parts are falling too fast. Lockheed has traced the root ‘cause to mistakes by supplier. In the short term, Lockheod must solve the problem by buying more spare parts. In the long term, the parts have to become ‘moro roliable to keop the aircraft affordable. Says O'Bryan: "You have to do both. 41521 March 20:1 Flight Intemational 9