Flight International - April 19, 2016 PDF

HIGH HOPES
NASA FLOATS ITS

STRATOSPHERIC
AIRSHIP AMBITION
REPORT P8
GENERATION GAME
US Air Force delays F-X
fighter plan as air warfare
review supports research
into family of systems 17
CHINA CRISIS
Shanghai show lacks

high-profile buys, but
business aviation firms
waiting for recovery 20
FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL
19-25 APRIL 2016
50TH ANNIVERSARY
A GIANT
GAMBLE
How Boeing and Pan Am bet

their businesses on the 747
ISSN 0 0 1 5 - 3 7 1 0
3.60
1 6
770015 371280
The difference is monumental.

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FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL
VOLUME 189 NUMBER 5534
19-25 APRIL 2016
NEWS
GENERATION GAME
US Air Force delays F-X
fighter plan as air warfare
review supports research
into family of systems 17
CHINA CRISIS
THIS WEEK
6 Bombardier clear on public funding
7 Comac advances C919 avionics work.
Qatar threatens P&W with cancellation in Neo row
8 NASA signals new interest in airships.
Milestone for SpaceX on road to rocket recovery
9 Push input caused 737 dive.
Airbus to speed up Panther deliveries
Shanghai show lacks

high-profile buys, but
business aviation firms
waiting for recovery 20
FLIGHT
INTERNATIONAL
19-25 APRIL 2016
50TH ANNIVERSARY
A GIANT
GAMBLE
How Boeing and Pan Am bet

their businesses on the 747
ISSN 0 0 1 5 - 3 7 1 0
Alamy
3.60
1 6
770015 371280
AIR TRANSPORT
12 Hi Fly A340 offering zero-g experience.
US legal challenge to aircraft emissions
13 Qatar stakes 777s on investment plan.
GE9X powerplant starts full-scale test campaign
14 Tyre burst led to gear failure.
Rebranded Rossiya takes first 747
15 Emirates steps in for cancelled A380s
COVER IMAGE
Our retrospective feature
about the 747s launch half
a century ago is illustrated
with this 1971 shot of a
Pan Am example taking off
from London Heathrow P32
FIN_190416_301.indd 1
NEWS FOCUS
10 US military exports not waning yet
11 The ramp-up risks of booming industry
14/04/2016 09:57
DEFENCE
16 Ottawa to review defence priorities.
PC-21 switch confirmed for Jordan
17 USAF looks beyond generational shift
19 GAO questions Pegasus delivery plan.
Dutch KDC-10 approval key to F-35 deployment
SHOW REPORT
20 Boeing bullish on BBJ Max demand.
Globetrotting Falcon 8X makes Shanghai debut
21 Caravan sees success in Shijiazhuang.
NetJets China bolstered by BAAs 25% stake buy
BEHIND THE HEADLINES

Greg Waldron (pictured) got
with the jet set in Shanghai,
during the business aviation
sectors ABACE gathering
(P20). Stephen Trimble was
in Boston, to see Qatar
Airways chief executive Akbar
Al Baker detail the carriers
investment plans (P13)
NASA returns to its stratospheric airship concepts P8
COVER STORY
32 Big vision big jet Half a century ago, Boeing and
Pan Am took a risky gamble when they agreed to
create the worlds largest airliner and the bet
paid off by redefining air transport
FEATURES
25 ENGINES Thrusting for sales Pratt & Whitney
has finally got its geared turbofan into commercial
service and CFMs Leap is close behind, so
attention is turning to real-world performance and
order books as the two strive for domination of the
nascent narrowbody power revolution. Meanwhile,
these two engines underpin a string of important
new aircraft programmes from Canada, China,
Japan and Russia
REGULARS
5 Comment
36 Straight & Level
38 Classified
40 Jobs
43 Working Week
Flirtey
BUSINESS AVIATION
22 DA62 is off to a flying start.
First G600 takes shape in Savannah
23 Cessna shaping Hemisphere.
Much-delayed Outback gets airborne in Kunovice.
Bombardier and Gulfstream lead Asia-Pacific fleet
Lockheed Martin
HIGH HOPES
NASA FLOATS ITS
STRATOSPHERIC
AIRSHIP AMBITION
REPORT P8
BillyPix, US Air Force
NEXT WEEK UAVS

In advance of next months
Xponential show, we look at
emerging unmanned systems
that could change our lives
Diamond Aircraft to raise production of DA62 P22. USAF says no single fighter will offer future air superiority P17
Download the Military Simulator

Census online now.
CAE offers training centres, training services, and simulation products for helicopters.
flightglobal.com
www.flightglobal.com/milisim
19-25 April 2016 | Flight International | 3
CONTENTS
IMAGE OF
THE WEEK
Avianca and Etihad Airways

have signed a codeshare
agreement to offer their
passengers direct links to
Abu Dhabi and Bogota, via
hubs at London Heathrow and
Madrid. Flightglobals Fleets
Analyzer database shows the
Colombian carrier as using 85
aircraft, including 61 Airbus
A320-family narrowbodies
View more great aviation shots
online and in our weekly tablet
edition:
Avianca
flightglobal.com/
flight-international
THE WEEK IN NUMBERS
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
58.9%
Last week, we asked: Foreign ownership

of airlines? You said:
Deloitte
Growth in US aerospace and defence exports since 2010,

reaching $143.3bn in 2015; civil exports gained 65.2%
$210m
34%
Protect
strategic
assets
restrictions
needed
TOTAL
VOTES:
Harris Corp
Harris Corp has divested its $77m-revenue Salt Lake

City-based aerostructures unit to Albany International
6bn
34%
Some
769
32%
Should be a
free market
Aviation Partners Boeing
Gallons (22.7bn litres) of jet fuel saved to date by use of

Aviation Partners winglets on 7,000 aircraft of 20 types
This week, we ask: Future of the jumbo jet?

Still Queen of the Skies
Freighter specialist Eclipsed by A380
Vote at flightglobal.com
Flightglobals premium news and data service delivers breaking air transport stories with
profiles, schedules, and fleet, financial and traffic information flightglobal.com/dashboard
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Keep track of the latest developments in

in-flight connectivity
www.flightglobal.com/connectivity
honeywell.indd 1
4 | Flight International | 19-25 April 2016
16/12/2015 15:02
flightglobal.com
COMMENT
The big pay-off

Boeings iconic jumbo jet is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its launch this year, but despite
its eventual triumph as an airliner, no-one least of all its manufacturer was sure of success
oeing celebrates its centenary in 2016, and the 747

has been a big part of its life for half of the companys existence. The risks that Boeing took with the original decision to build the 747, and the investment it
committed to the production programme, set the
benchmark by which all future commercial aircraft
programmes have been judged.
It is remarkable how the 747s success beat all projections in an era when the industry appeared hell-bent
on speed rather than size. The spectre of sleek supersonic transports (SSTs) quickly rendering the 747 obsolete was in fact the secret of the jumbos eventual success. And as Airbus discovered with its self-styled 747
successor, the A380, assumptions around market
trends can be fraught with danger.
With SSTs all the rage in the 1960s, Boeing designed
the 747 to be as capable a freighter as it was a passenger
jet. The SST was expected to hoover up a large chunk
In the end it was the 747 that

had the glamour and any airline
worth its salt wanted a jumbo
of the transatlantic passenger business, to the extent
that Boeing projected only half of the first 200 747s it
built would carry people rather than boxes. In fact, the
vast majority of those aircraft were passenger versions
and all entered service within three years.
The failure of the SST meant Boeings early concerns
about a limited passenger market were unfounded of
the 1,520 747s delivered, 80% started life in the passenger role. But the legacy of that freighter design decision
and the need for the 747 to accommodate containers
on the main deck meant that cargo, rather than com-
Boeing
Style, redefined
fort considerations, determined its very wide cabin.

I think the SST programme did a lot of good for the
747, although at the time it wasnt obvious, recalled
the programmes engineering legend Joe Sutter in a
Flight International interview in 1989. They had the
engineers, they had the development money, and they
had the glamour.
In the end it was the 747 that took the glamour, as
soon any airline worth its salt wanted a jumbo. Its success played a big part in making Boeing what it is today.
And it defined its competitors behaviour too. During its
formative years, Airbus could only look on as even its
most loyal customers called a Seattle salesman when
they wanted a very big jet. And many did.
Boeing was able to play that market monopoly to its
advantage across other size sectors too, so it became almost an obsession in Toulouse to create a superjumbo. But by the time it did, the market dynamics had
changed again, this time in favour of big twins. And
guess who already had that market sown up?
See Feature P32
Old before their time

A
Stay on top of the latest news

and analysis on the defence
aerospace industry at:
flightglobal.com/defence
flightglobal.com
re fighter jets still of any use in modern air warfare?

A quick glance at the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institutes annual tabulation of weapons exports would certainly suggest so. From Asia to
the Middle East, demand for machines designed mainly for air superiority continues to be strong.
Despite anaemic sales growth, the defence industry
somehow sustains 11 different fighter types in active
production, with more in early development. Yet the future of the fighters core mission has never been more
uncertain. Fifth-generation designs were supposed to
give way by 2030 to a sixth, which would leverage advances in tailless flight controls, advanced stealth, efficient supersonic propulsion and new weapons.
Now the US Air Force is having second thoughts

about developing such a fighter. In unusually candid
remarks, the services lead requirements setter, Lt Gen
James Holmes, says no new technology on the horizon
is likely to make a sixth-generation fighter survivable
against advanced ground-based air defences.
It has been known for some time that a modern-day,
close-in dogfight is essentially a mutual suicide pact for
the opposing pilots, due to advances in high off-
boresight targeting and missile agility. But it is
astonishing that the USAF should now acknowledge
the fighter aircrafts fundamental vulnerability to attacks from terra firma.
See News Analysis P10, Defence P17
THIS WEEK
ALASKA SUBSIDIARY SIGNS $2.8BN EMBRAER ORDER

AIRLINE Horizon Air has ordered 30 Embraer 175 regional jets, in a
widely anticipated move. The deal is worth $2.8 billion at list prices,
including 33 options. Deliveries are scheduled from 2017 until
2020, with the aircraft to have 76 seats in a three-class layout.
Portland, Oregon-based Horizon says half the E175s are earmarked
for growth, while the remainder will replace 15 leased turboprops.
BOOST FOR CS300 AS AIR BALTIC FIRMS OPTIONS

TWINJET Air Baltic has exercised its remaining seven options for the
Bombardier CSeries, taking its total firm order for the CS300 to 20.
The new deal is worth $506 million, based on list prices. The Rigabased carrier is the launch customer for the larger variant of the
CSeries, having placed an original order for 10, plus 10 options, in
December 2012. It then converted three options to firm orders in
February 2014. Air Baltics first CS300 is being assembled at
Bombardiers facility in Mirabel, Quebec, and is expected to enter
service during the third quarter of this year.
PRESIDENT-S TO PROTECT RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS

ROTORCRAFT Russian Helicopters will integrate a defensive aids
suite onto the Mil Mi-17V-5, Mi-171Sh and Mi-26T2 transports and
from 2017 the Mi-28NE and Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopters also, to
protect them from attack by air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. It
plans to deliver 12 rotorcraft with the President-S system provided
by Rostec sister company Kret to export customers this year.
DC-3 DESTROYED AFTER COLOMBIAN ACCIDENT

INCIDENT One of the few Douglas DC-3s still flown by a commercial
carrier has been destroyed in Colombia. The countrys air transport
regulator Aerocivil identifies the aircraft as being registered
HK-2663, part of the fleet of operator ARALL Aerolineas Llaneras. It
came down minutes after take-off on 7 April, says Aerocivil, while
operating a flight from Puerto Gaitan to Villavicencio. The vintage
aircrafts entire forward fuselage was destroyed in a blaze.
FINANCIAL STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC
Bombardier clear
on public funding
Canadian airframer attempts to set out how much state aid
it has received, as government debates CSeries assistance
s the debate intensifies in

Canada over ploughing more
public funds into the Bombardier
CSeries programme, the Montreal
manufacturer has published an
opinion letter aimed at setting
the record straight on the extent of
government financial aid the company has received.
Too much misinformation has
been injected into the conversation, writes Sylvain Lvesque,
Bombardiers vice-president of
corporate strategy.
The open letter, posted on
Bombardiers website on 12 April,
comes as the countrys prime minister, Justin Trudeau, weighs a
billion-dollar investment in a new
CSeries joint venture established
between Bombardier and the provincial government of Quebec.
Canadian taxpayers have
invested $1.05 billion in the company since 1992, mostly through
repayable loans, helping programmes such as the Q400, CRJ

regional jets, Global Express business jet, and the CSeries through
development, Lvesque says.
In return, Bombardier has
repaid $733 million to the government so far, he adds. The repayments do not yet include returns
on $467 million of funding from
the Canadian and UK governments for the CSeries programme.
Those will begin later this year
after the first CS100 enters service,
Lvesque says.
In addition, Bombardier has
contributed more than $16 billion
in taxes since acquiring Canadair
in 1986, he adds.
In this case, the facts speak for
themselves, Lvesque says.
Over the past three decades,
Bombardier has proven to be a
sound partner for governments
and taxpayers alike.
Commonwealth of Australia
BRIEFING
For more coverage of the burgeoning

unmanned air system sector log on to
flightglobal.com/UAV
MALAYSIAN CARRIERS TO FORM ASSOCIATION

CO-OPERATION Seven airlines have joined forces to create the
Association of Malaysian Air Carriers. AirAsia,AirAsia X, Berjaya Air,
Firefly,Malaysia Airlines, Malindo AirandMASWings will use this to
discuss issues such as safety, security and air traffic control. The
proposed association will be open to all carriers in the country.
HNA ADDS TO PORTFOLIO WITH GATEGROUP DEAL

ACQUISITION Hainan Airlines parent company, HNA Group, is set
to take over airline catering and passenger services operation
GateGroup Holding. HNA has offered Swfr53 ($55.60) per share for
the Swiss-based company whose divisions include catering arm
GateGourmet and lounge design firm Performa valuing GateGroup
at around Swfr1.4 billion. The GateGroup board is unanimously
recommending the offer to shareholders. HNA in February completed a $2.8 billion acquisition of ground handling firm Swissport.
RAFAEL UNVEILS ITS DRONE DOME

DEVELOPMENT Rafael has announced details of a Drone Dome
product to counter the malicious or hostile use of unmanned air vehicles. With 360 coverage, the system uses an electro-optical/infrared sensor and radar to detect potential threats, before using a radio
frequency inhibitor/jammer to interfere with operations.
UNMANNED SYSTEMS
Heron flocks to Super Hornet swarm
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is flying its Israel Aerospace
Industries Heron unmanned air vehicle at RAAF Amberley in
Queensland, marking the first time the aircraft has operated alongside manned military aircraft at one of the services home bases.
The Heron is typically based at the Woomera test range, where it
carries out training sorties, but for a short period it is operating from
Amberley alongside the 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets from the
RAAFs 1 and 6 Sqns.
In 2015, the RAAF and Airservices Australia signed an agreement
to fly the Heron in civilian airspace for the first time, with the milestone taking place on 24 June at Rockhampton airport.
flightglobal.com
THIS WEEK
NASA signals new

interest in airships
THIS WEEK P8
PROGRAMME GREG WALDRON SHANGHAI
Comac advances C919 avionics work

Tour of company facility reveals integration work in progress on narrowbodys software and a stripped-down flying prototype
omac is engaged in the
second stage of software integration testing for its C919
narrowbody, while the first
flight-test aircraft awaits the
installation of wiring.
The software integration work
is taking place at the companys
campus on the outskirts of
Shanghai, where an avionics test
lab is located adjacent to the
C919 iron bird test rig.
During a tour by Flight International, a company official said that
the initial stage of the process has
been completed. This saw avionics integrated with aircraft systems in the lab, with the software
then loaded onto the iron bird.
A 21-strong avionics team, with
assistance from foreign suppliers,
is now engaged in a second step,
which will fix bugs and issues
identified in the earlier phase.
The first flight-test

aircraft is expected
to make its maiden
sortie by the end
of 2016
The current stage includes work

on all internal functions such as
displays, navigation, communications, and the flight management system.
This second software load will
then be installed in the iron bird
for further tests, ahead of a third
integration round. The completed software will then be loaded
onto both the iron bird and the
first flight-test aircraft, which is
expected to make its maiden
sortie by the end of 2016.
AIRCRAFT 101
A tour of the final assembly facility at Shanghai Pudong International airport also revealed that
aircraft 101, the first flying prototype, has had a number of significant components removed since
its roll-out in November 2015.
Its two CFM International
Leap-1C engines are no longer in
place, and all the control surfaces
on the trailing edge of the wing
have been uninstalled. There are
also no leading edge slats mounted. The aircrafts elevators,
however, are fitted to the horizontal stabilisers.
Comac
Ground-test article will shortly be moved to strength test facility

While the landing gear is installed, the gear doors have been
removed. The aircraft is also supported on pneumatic jacks.
In its interior, no wiring is apparent and a temporary wooden
floor is underfoot. All cabin doors
and emergency exits have been
taken out and the cockpit is devoid of instruments. Officials say
that the next step will be to install
the narrowbodys wiring.
Comac has also revealed the
first C919 ground-test article,
which will shortly be transferred

from the final assembly centre to
a newly-built strength test facility
located nearby.
Images provided by Comac
show an airframe with wings
attached, but it appears to be
without its horizontal and

vertical stabilisers.
Comac says the aircraft will
need to undergo 13 test modules
to verify its structural strength.
Additional reporting by Mavis
Toh in Singapore
PROPULSION STEPHEN TRIMBLE BOSTON
Qatar threatens P&W with cancellation in Neo row

meeting with Pratt &
Whitney executives earlier
this month has left Qatar
Airways chief executive Akbar
Al Baker confident his list of
complaints about the engine
selected to power 50 Airbus
A320neos will be at least partly

resolved by mid-year.
But Al Baker is not
withdrawing a threat to cancel
Qatars PW1100G order if the
engine manufacturer misses the
deadline and instead move to
the rival CFM International

Leap-1A powerplant.
They have assured me that
most of the issues will be solved
by mid-year and by the end of the
year all the issues will be solved,
flightglobal.com
Al Baker told a Boston media

briefing. They are already on notice by me that if they dont get
their act together we will walk
away from their engines and we
will have to go to the alternative.
Qatar Airways was due to be
the launch operator for the
A320neo last December, but the

carrier declined to take delivery,
citing an extended cool-down
cycle more than three times the
industry average for the geared
turbofan engine.
In early February, P&W publicly outlined plans to for a soft-
James Mellon/Flightglobal
Lufthansa has operated the A320neos first international flight
ware fix to be available for engines being delivered by Airbus

in April. A hardware change is to
follow several weeks later.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa, which
took over the mantle of launch
customer, has operated the re-
engined variants first revenue
flight outside Germany. On 12
April, the carrier deployed the
second of its PW1100G-powered
A320neos (D-AINB) for a service
from Frankfurt to Londons
Heathrow airport.
Lufthansa says the flight was a
one-off intended to familiarise the
airport operator with the aircraft.
Additional reporting by Michael
Gubisch in London
See Air Transport P13
THIS WEEK
For up-to-the-minute air transport news,

network and fleet information sign up at:
flightglobal.com/dashboard
DIRIGIBLES STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC
NASA signals new

interest in airships
200kg payload into the stratosphere for 200h, or more than

eight days.
If a team succeeds at the tier 1
requirement, NASAs challenge
would have achieved a technological breakthrough. Weather balloons are able to ascend to stratospheric altitude, but they lack
powered controls to remain on
station. In the last decade, the US
military funded development of
two stratospheric airship projects
Lockheed Martins high altitude
airship and its ISIS project but
neither proved successful.
NASA first floated the idea of a
stratospheric airship challenge in
2014. The agency had commissioned a study by the Keck Institute, which showed strong interest from the academic community
in using the vehicles for scientific
experiments and astronomical observation.
The agency also sees commercial interest in the technology,
with Google a potential customer
as a part of a regional telecommunitcations initiative.
ASA is again considering

whether to launch a public
competition to develop large
stratospheric airships, a capability that has eluded the US military
despite several costly attempts.
The agency is currently gauging interest in such a challenge
and seeking feedback on a list of
rules for the potentially threeyear competition.
The proposed list calls for
interested teams to first develop a
tier 1 airship that can lift a 20kg
(44lb) payload to 65,000ft, hold
within a 20km radius while
under control for at least 20h and
successfully return the payload
to the ground. The rules note that
the airship itself is not required to
return, allowing designers to use
expendable vehicles with recoverable payloads.
Successful designs are eligible
to claim up to $1 million in prize
money during the first phase. But
the ultimate goal is to scale up the
technology for the tier 2 competition. Instead of a 20kg payload,
NASA wants a designer to loft a
Lockheed Martin
Agency to offer funding of up to $1m for teams to develop

controllable stratospheric aircraft with initial 20kg payload
Lockheed Martin had performed trials with high-altitude concept

REGULATION BETH STEVENSON LONDON
Airlander gains approval and new title

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has
received the necessary approvals to
return its Airlander 10 airship now
officially renamed to flight.
Both European Aviation Safety
Agency and UK Civil Aviation Authority
have issued the required permissions, meaning the hybrid airship is
ready to get airborne once ground
testing is complete.
This clearly demonstrates the
regulators confidence in Airlander,
and the development teams ability
to safely flight test the aircraft, says
Carl Thomas, Airlanders airworthiness and certification officer.
On 12 April, the Airlander 10 vehicle which is to be flown, was renamed Martha Gwyn by HRH
Prince Edward, after the wife of

HAVs chairman, Philip Gwyn.
An equity crowdfunding campaign
has taken place in recent weeks to
help bankroll the programme, so far
raising over 1 million ($1.43 million) well above the original target
of 500,000, which was reached
within the first 10h of the campaign
opening, the company says.
The Crowdcube campaign ends
on 15 April, with investment capped
at 1.25 million, HAV says. It follows
a similar crowdfunding effort in
2015 that raised 2.1 million.
Hybrid Air Vehicles has been
working to return the Airlander to
flight since re-acquiring the vehicle
from Northrop Grumman in 2013.
SPACEFLIGHT STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC
Milestone for SpaceX on long road to rocket recovery
SpaceX
Stage landed on unmanned ship
paceX on 8 April successfully

recovered the first stage of a
Falcon 9 rocket on the landing
pad of an unmanned ship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Coupled with the similar recovery of a Dragon 9 booster stage on
land on 21 December 2015,
SpaceX has now demonstrated
the basic feasibility of recovering
the first stage of any rocket launch,
whether the payload is intended
to be lofted to low-earth or geostationary orbit, or to proceed to the
Moon or another planet.
I think its a good milestone
for the future of spaceflight and
another step towards the stars,
said SpaceX founder Elon Musk,

addressing a press conference at
NASAs launch complex in Cape
Canaveral, Florida.
Musks mood was celebratory,
but measured. He spoke on the
challenges and failures that may
come before recovery of orbital
space launchers becomes routine.
Although the first ocean recovery marked an historic achievement, the rockets payload an
expendable habitat designed by
Bigelow Aerospace is heading
to a rendezvous with the
International Space Station (ISS).
But the ISS target means the
recovered Falcon 9 booster was
launched on a low-earth orbit trajectory. It was only the second

such recovery in history, but
needed to overcome far less velocity and heat than required for a
trajectory to a geo-stationary orbit.
Although intended to be a simpler test of the four-engined recovery system, SpaceX engineers still
considered the odds of failure to
be about one in three, Musk says.
The next two launches on the
Falcon 9 manifest involve payloads heading to geostationary
orbit, says Musk. It will still take
us a few years to make [recovery]
smooth and make it efficient. But
I think its proven it can work.
flightglobal.com
THIS WEEK
US military exports
not waning yet
NEWS FOCUS P10
INQUIRY DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
CONTRACT
BETH STEVENSON LONDON
Push input caused 737 dive
Marshall set to
convert ATR 72s
for MSA mission
Nose-down shift in fatal Flydubai crash was commanded from control yoke, say investigators
PA
ussian investigators have disclosed that a nose-down shift

in the horizontal stabiliser on the
ill-fated Flydubai Boeing 737-800
occurred as a push input was recorded on the crew control yoke.
The Interstate Aviation Committee confirms a previous disclosure, by the federal air transport regulator, that the stabiliser
shift occurred at a height of 900m
(2,950ft), as the aircraft climbed
away from Rostov-on-Don during
a night-time go-around.
It states that simultaneously
with the yoke being pushed in
the direction away from the crew,
the stabiliser deflected to a 5
nose-down position. The aircraft
rapidly pitched down and dived
with a pitch exceeding 50.
Subsequent actions of the
crew could not prevent collision
with the ground, says the inquiry. It says the aircraft impacted at a speed of more than 320kt
(592km/h). The jet disintegrated
with the loss of all 62 occupants.
Investigators have not reached
conclusions over the reasons for
Narrowbody impacted the ground at a speed of more than 320kt

The Interstate Aviation Committee has received a number of
specific components from the debris on which it will carry out
further research.
Investigators have confirmed
that the cloud base lay at 630m,
indicating that the aircraft had entered cloud before the transition to
a dive, but the inquiry has not
stated whether the crew would
have had any visual references.
Transcription of the cockpitvoice recording is complete, says
the Interstate Aviation Committee, and work is continuing.
the findings into the 19 March

crash involving flight FZ981.
The jet had been climbing away
with its engines at take-off setting
after aborting its second approach
to runway 22, at a height of 220m.
Investigators confirmed that this
occurred some 4km (2.2nm) from
the runway threshold. The aircraft
aborted its initial approach at
340m two hours earlier, after a
windshear warning from the onboard systems.
Both approaches were conducted manually with the autopilot disengaged, the inquiry states.
ROTORCRAFT DOMINIC PERRY LONDON
Airbus to speed up Panther deliveries

M
mid-2017, but this has now advanced to late-2016. Airbus says

changes to production processes
have cut lead times by 30% for
final assembly and flight-line operations. This saved several
months on the first serial aircraft, which conducted its maiden flight last November.
Airbus Helicopters
anufacturer Airbus Helicopters will accelerate deliveries

of its AS565 MBe Panther antisubmarine warfare rotorcraft following requests from the Indonesian and Mexican navies its sole
customers for the new variant.
Initial examples were due to be
handed over to the services in
Airframer will deliver 21 examples of MBe variant to two customers

flightglobal.com
Final assembly has shifted

from a static production line to a
takt flow line and Airbus Helicopters says it has implemented
an integrated team to tackle issues earlier in the build process.
The first production aircraft is
undergoing testing in Marignane,
France, with qualification expected during the summer.
Airbus Helicopters has 21 Panther MBes on order 11 for Indonesia and 10 for Mexico.
The latest variant of the longrunning platform, the MBe gains
uprated 1,129shp (842kW)
Turbomeca Arriel 2N engines,
which offer a 15% power

increase over the 2C models they
replace and lift maximum
take-off weight by 200kg (441lb),
to 4.5t.
arshall Aerospace and

Defence has been contracted by special mission system
provider Aerodata to convert two
ATR 72-500s into maritime
surveillance aircraft (MSA) for an
undisclosed navy.
Marshall will design, manufacture and certify the special
mission equipment on board the
aircraft, which are expected to
enter service with the customer
in 2018 and 2019.
A radar, camera, self-protection
equipment and stores pylons will
be installed on the twin-engined
turboprops at Marshalls Cam-
We have worked
on more than 30
different platforms
making us extremely
experienced
STEVE FITZ-GERALD
CEO, Marshall Aerospace and Defence
bridge, UK site and a team of engineers will travel to Aerodatas

base in Braunschweig, Germany
throughout the installation. Marshall says there could be a later requirement to convert two more
ATR 72s into the MSA configuration for the same customer.
Flightglobals Fleets Analyzer
database shows the Pakistan navy
as having two ATR 72s in storage.
These are undergoing conversion
to maritime surveillance aircraft,
having previously been operated
by Air Botswana and Binter Canarias. The Turkish navy has also
operated an ATR 72-600 in the
MSA role before converting it into
a utility configuration in 2013,
Fleets Analyzer shows.
During our 90-plus-year aerospace history we have worked on
more than 30 different platforms making us an extremely
experienced special mission partner, says Steve Fitz-Gerald, chief
executive of Marshall Aerospace
and Defence.
NEWS FOCUS
To get more defence sector coverage,

subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter:
flightglobal.com/defencenewsletter
SPENDING JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC
US military exports not waning yet

Data from research institute SIPRI shows $35bn arms sales in 2015, although competition is heating up on the fighter front
espite trouble securing combat jet sales in 2015, concerns about an erosion in US
military exports due to its governments burdensome and
often sluggish approvals process
might be overstated.
That is according to Aude
Fleurant, director of the
Stockholm International Peace
Research Institutes (SIPRI) arms

and military expenditure programme, who says the quality of
US equipment and the diversity
of its customer base compares
favourably against those of Russia and China.
New SIPRI data shows global
military
spending
trending
upward, with a 1% increase in
2015 to $1.68 trillion 2.3% of
global gross domestic product.
The US government processed
$35 billion-worth of governmentto-government foreign military
sales transactions in 2015 and
another $11.7 billion in arms as
military aid, according to the US
Defense Security Cooperation
Agency. That is higher than the
$30 billion historical average,
when excluding the $69.1 billion
recorded in 2012 on the back of
Saudi Arabias commitment for
84 Boeing F-15SAs.
Big-ticket deals in 2015 included Japans decision to buy the
Northrop
Grumman
E-2D
Advanced Hawkeye, RQ-4 Global
Hawk and Bell Boeing V-22, and
the final Boeing C-17 sales to
Australia, Qatar and the United
Arab Emirates, SIPRIs updated database shows. Saudi Arabia bought

10 Sikorsky MH-60Rs and Spain
four General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems MQ-9 Reapers.
However, US contractors and
potential recipient nations alike
have raised concerns about the
time it takes for fighter sales to
gain approval.
I think theres been an exaggeration of the erosion of the US
domination of the arms trade,
says Fleurant, speaking at the
Stimson Centre in Washington
DC on 5 April. Not only do I
Commonwealth of Australia
Significant overseas deals in 2015 included additional C-17s for the Royal Australian Air Force
think it is overstated, the US is by
far the largest exporter and the
country that receives most of its
exports [accounts for] only 10%.
Russia is dependent on India
for its arms exports, by about
30%. If India decides it doesnt
want to buy Russian weapons
anymore, Russian industry is in
very big trouble. China is also
very highly dependent on Africa
for exports.
However, in the competition for
international fighter o
rders, particularly in the Middle East, the
I think theres been

an exaggeration of
the erosion of the US
domination of the
arms trade
AUDE FLEURANT
Director, SIPRI
USA has more to worry about

from European manufacturers,
since
lower
procurement
domestically is forcing govern
ments to sweeten deals typically
with greater amounts of technology transfer for the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon or Saab
Gripen, to maintain production
levels. Sweden finalised a con razil
tract for the Gripen NG with B
in 2015, having offered to finance

the deal and co-develop a twinseat variant locally. Dassault
sealed export deals with Egypt
and Qatar last year for the Rafale.
The national procurement
budgets are so tight right now;
theres not enough money, says
Fleurant, so their offset packages
are much bigger than what the
US is ready to offer, which is why
theyve been met with a lot more
success recently.
CONCERN
Kuwait recently reached an
agreement with Italy for 28
Typhoons. It had also signalled
interest in the Boeing F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet, but a deal is yet to
materialise. Boeing expressed
concern last year that Kuwait
might back out unless the US
governments approvals process
moves faster.
Lockheed Martin also finds
itself in limbo as it attempts to
progress pending F-16 deals with
Pakistan and the UAE through
regulatory hoops. The F-16 production line in Fort Worth, Texas,
has no more jets to build after the
last for Iraq in 2017.
Outsiders trying to enter the
market include South Korea
olden Eagle, and
with its T-50 G
the Korea Aerospace Industries
KF-X multirole fighter it has
begun developing in partnership with I ndonesia and the assistance of Lockheed. Turkey is
developing the TFX air superiority fighter, and Japan is pursuing its first domestically produced stealth aircraft based on
the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin
prototype. I wouldnt underestimate whats been going on in
these countries, says Fleurant.
Despite economic troubles in its
domestic market, Embraers Super
Tucano continues to be an export
success, having notched up sales to
Ghana, Honduras, L
ebanon and
Mali in the last 12 months.
India, meanwhile, has not
made much progress on its
planned fifth-generation fighter
programme and has been struggling with military industrialisation since its independence.
Fleurant notes China is struggling with aircraft engine
development and nuclear propulsion for surface ships and submarines. Propulsion seems to be an
issue overall for the defence
industry in China, but as long as
they keep funnelling money into
it, at some point theyre going to
manage it, she says, adding that
the quality of Chinese equipment
is getting better. What theyre
transferring now is not the crappy stuff they used to transfer in
the 70s. Not any more.
flightglobal.com
NEWS FOCUS
Hi Fly A340 offering

zero-g experience
Airbus
AIR TRANSPORT P12
Airbus intends to raise monthly output of A320-family narrowbodies to 60 aircraft by 2019 across four different final assembly lines
ANALYSIS MURDO MORRISON HAMBURG
The ramp-up risks of booming industry

Unprecedented backlogs particularly for single-aisles are driving production rates higher, but there could be a downside
he big original equipment

manufacturers are busier than
ever and the supply chain including interiors companies is
straining to keep up.
Earlier this year, Airbus chief
rgier took the
executive Fabrice B
unusual step of publicly naming
and shaming a supplier Frances
Zodiac for being behind the airframers failure to meet its 2015
delivery target for the A350. Other
tier one and two suppliers, which
met shipping deadlines by a
whisker, might have felt there but
for providence.
The fact that Airbus and Boeing plan to increase production
even further between now and
the turn of the decade is good
news for the industry. But such a
rapid ramp-up brings c hallenges.
Do suppliers invest heavily in
capital equipment and hiring and
training staff to ensure they remain on programmes taking a
hit on short-term profits or do
they hold back and reduce the
Ascend reckons 4,770

installed e
ngines will
be needed by 2021,
and 443,000 seats:
42% more than in 2016
flightglobal.com
risk of being left with too much

capacity if demand stutters?
As history has shown, it only
takes a shock a war, oil crisis,
collapse in the Chinese economy
or a credit crunch for a previously buoyant market to fall.
While no one has a mastery of
macroeconomic future-proofing,
Flightglobals Ascend consultancy has a record of drawing on
wider economic patterns and industry data to predict likely scenarios. At a Flightglobal-hosted
workshop session at the Aircraft
Interiors Expo in Hamburg on 5
April, the groups head of market
analysis, Chris S
eymour, attempted to do just that.
RISING CONFIDENCE
Seymour noted that, on the surface, global passenger traffic
growth remains robust, with
IATA predicting a 6.9% increase
this year over 2015. After years of
financial turbulence, airlines generally are in the black, with net
profits heading for a new record
in 2016. In addition, almost all
other indicators, such as yields
and load factors, are positive
with the exception of freight traffic growth, which has slowed.
This confidence has led to
strong orders. Although 2015 saw
a slight decline, 13,000 jets have

been committed to over five years.
The airframers are working
hard to meet this demand, and jet
deliveries hit an all-time high in
2015, at more than 1,100 aircraft.
Their combined backlogs are also
at a record high, at more than
14,000 units; representing more
than 60% of the installed fleet.
Almost three in four aircraft on
order is a narrowbody.
Led by Airbus and Boeing, the
industry plans to raise output over
scend
the next decade, with A
analysis of announced production
rates indicating an increase to
more than 2,400 aircraft per year,
from around 1,650 in 2016.
That works out at more than
700 additional aircraft per year
by 2020 compared with today.
Looked at from the supply chain
point of view, Ascend reckons
4,770 installed engines will be
needed by the turn of the decade,
and 443,000 seats: 42% more
than in 2016.
However, Ascends mediumterm delivery forecast for singleaisle aircraft and those of manufacturers shows a gap beginning
to widen from 2020 between
planned production and demand. A similar pattern can be
witnessed for widebody aircraft.
JET AIRLINER BACKLOG*

Total backlog: 14,200
Single-aisle
74%
Twin-aisle
18%
Regional jet
8%
As of 1 March 2016
SOURCE: Flightglobals Fleets Analyzer
While much can change between now and the 2020s,

Seymour points out that without
a higher than forecast rise in
traffic to sustain increased production rates, something will
have to give.
RETIREMENT RATE
Lower aircraft productivity is one
possibility, but this would not
help, as it would simply erode
airline profitability and their ability to fund equipment. More likely is a rise in the rate of retirements as airlines use more of
their new aircraft to replace
rather than complement their
existing inventory.
Catch up with all the news and
analysis from Aircraft Interiors:
flightglobal.com/aix
AIR TRANSPORT
TAP Portugal is
raided over its
VEM purchase
AP Portugal has been searched

as part of an investigation into
its acquisition of Brazilian maintenance company VEM.
The Portuguese flag carrier took
over the firm known as Varig Engineering and Maintenance
around 2006-2007, while the former Brazilian operator Varig was
under bankruptcy protection.
Portugals Ministerio Publico,
part of the judiciary, says the attorney general confirmed the searches of TAPs offices under a criminal investigation procedure into
the acquisition of VEM. The company was rebranded as TAP Maintenance & Engineering Brazil.
The Ministerio Publico says
the investigating authorities suspect corruption, laundering and
fraud, as well as other criminal
activity. It has not given details.
TAP, which was privatised last
year, has yet to respond to the
Portuguese judiciarys actions.
LAWSUIT JON HEMMERDINGER WASHINGTON DC
US environmental challenge to target

greenhouse gas emissions by aircraft
E
nvironmental
advocacy
groups are suing the US
government in an effort to force
regulators to set standards on
greenhouse gas emissions from
aircraft engines.
In a lawsuit dated 12 April, the
Center for Biological Diversity
and Friends of the Earth asked a
District Court to direct the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether or
not aircraft engine emissions contribute to pollution.
If the court rules in the groups
favour, they will argue that this
would then require the agency to
regulate the emissions under the
US Clean Air Act.
The US government has dawdled for more than a decade in
its efforts to regulate aircraft engine emissions, which account
for 3% of the countrys total domestic greenhouse gas output,
the groups say in their lawsuit.
In 2015, the EPA issued a proposed finding that linked aircraft
Aviation accounts
for 3% of nations
total emissions
AirTeamImages
LEGAL
DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
For the industrys most trusted and timely

aircraft reporting and forecasting, visit
flightglobal.com/fleetsanalyzer
engines with pollution, but the

groups say that the agency has estimated a rule regulating aircraft
engine emissions will not be finalised until 2018 at the earliest.
The lawsuit follows the February announcement from the International Civil Aviation Organization that its Committee on
Aviation Environmental Protection had recommended new aircraft emission standards.
But the claimants say ICAOs

proposals would barely alter the
industrys steeply-rising pollution curve.
Separately, a study published
in the May 2016 issue of Transportation Research concludes
that emission-curbing technologies, such as blended-wing designs and cleaner fuels, have received lots of media attention but
have largely been abandoned.
CONTRACT DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
Hi Fly A340 offering zero-g experience

Swiss Space Systems pairs with Portuguese carrier to operate commercial flights with 20-25s periods of weightlessness
ortuguese carrier Hi Fly is to
provide an Airbus A340-300
for zero-gravity flights under a
co-operation agreement with
commercial space firm Swiss
Space Systems.
The aircraft (9H-TQM) is a
21-year-old airframe, powered by
CFM International CFM56 engines, originally delivered to Singapore Airlines.
Swiss Space Systems is preparing to conduct commercial
zero-g flights in 2016-2017.
Flights will typically involve 15
parabolic cycles, each giving 2025s periods of weightlessness,
over a 90min duration.
Hi Fly will provide operational
and regulatory support to Swiss
Space Systems.
Commercial operation of
zero-g flights under the status of
an airline company will be a
world premiere, says the
Zurich-based business.
Hi Fly chief executive Paulo
Mirpuri says the carrier brings
innovation, quality and safety
to the venture.
The jet involved is Maltese-registered, having been transferred to

a Hi Fly subsidiary. Under its previous Portuguese registration, it
suffered a heavy landing at Darwin after a microburst encounter
in February 2012.
In its new role it will be repainted in a black livery.
AirTeamImages
Former Singapore Airlines jet will be repainted with black livery
Swiss Space Systems is aiming

to offer the flights at the most affordable price and claims the
A340s flight-control systems will
generate unprecedented accuracy in the parabolic flight profiles.
Previously released plans
show that Swiss Space Systems
intends to divide the jet into three
zones accommodating around
70-80 passengers. Prices range
from 2,000 ($2,260) in the affordable 40-person Party Zone
located in the aft section of the
fuselage, rising to 50,000 in the
12-person VIP Room.
French company Novespace
operates a similar programme of
zero-g flights with an A310, having switched from its previous
A300.
flightglobal.com
AIR TRANSPORT
Tyre burst led to

gear failure
AIR TRANSPORT P14
STRATEGY STEPHEN TRIMBLE BOSTON
Qatar stakes 777s on investment plan

Gulf carrier suggests proposed holdings in other airlines could offer avenue to dispose of older Boeing widebodies in fleet
atar Airways fleet strategy
could play a key role in an
effort by the Oneworld carrier to
make investments in two
airlines by the end of this year.
The airlines chief executive
Akbar Al Baker has o
utlined
plans to expand the companys
ownership interests in other airlines beyond its existing 10%
stake in BA and Iberia parent
IAG and a p
rospective investment in Italys Meridiana.
Since November, Al Baker has
reportedly expressed an interest
in placing significant stakes in
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo as
well as Royal Air Maroc, along
with expanding its existing stake
in IAG.
Speaking on 11 April in
Boston, Al Baker declined to
discuss specifics, but he did
acknowledge a keen interest in

further acquisitions.
We are in detailed negotiations with two airlines in which
we plan to invest, he says.
Al Baker also revealed that the
fate of the Qatar operators
Boeing 777-300ER fleet is part of
the overarching i
nvestment
strategy.
AirTeamImages
Mid-life widebodies could be dispersed among partner companies

From 2020, Qatar plans to
begin replacing those long-haul
twinjets with the successor 777X
family, with firm orders for 50
777-9s and 10 777-8s.
A lot of those [777Xs] will be

replacement airplanes, he says.
They will not be growth.
Qatars business strategy
emphasises a youthful fleet, so
mid-life 777-300ERs will be

removed as new aircraft arrive.
Although sale on the open
market could represent one
means of disposal for those
widebodies, Qatar appears to
have other plans.
We will be retiring [those airplanes] or we will be putting
them into companies we invest
in, Al Baker says.
IAG
subsidiary
British
Airways already owns a substantial 777-300ER fleet, but has
expressed interest in adding new
models. Meridiana and Royal
Air Maroc also own all-Boeing
fleets, but not yet any from the
777 series. IndiGo, meanwhile,
is an Airbus A320 operator.
FLEET
Dohas delight as carrier confirms launch status on -8 model

Qatar Airways has confirmed its
status as launch operator for the
Boeing 777-8, the re-engined
widebody expected to be delivered
after 2020.
We will be the launch customer
and the first recipient of those
airplanes, Qatar chief executive
Akbar Al Baker said, speaking on 11

April at a route inauguration ceremony in Boston.
Last June, Al Baker said only that
he hoped to be the first customer
to take delivery of the type.
Qatar has ordered 10 777-8s and
50 -9s and it has also signed
ptions to potentially buy 40 more of

o
the series, according to information
from Flightglobals Fleets Analyzer
database.
The 777X family is powered by GE
Aviation GE9X engines. The aircraft
will also feature longer, composite
wings with folding tips.
PROPULSION STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC
E Aviation has begun testing

the first full-scale GE9X
engine destined to power the
Boeing 777-9, inaugurating a

two-year sequence of ground
and flight tests required to obtain
engine certification.
The first engine to test
milestone follows a five-year
series of component- and rig

level evaluations on the biggest
commercial turbofan in history,
featuring the largest inlet diameter, and bypass and compressor
pressure ratios.
GE9X general manager Bill
flightglobal.com
Millhaem
says
countless
hours have been devoted to
achieving the eventual transition
from rig tests to the full-scale
testing of the 100,000lb-thrustclass (445kN) engine.
GE has promised to deliver
the GE9X with a 10% fuel burn
advantage over the GE90, the
even more powerful, 115,000lbthrust engine powering the
777-300ER and 777 freighter.
The fuel efficiency is achieved
partly by increasing the ratio
bypassing the engine core from
9:1 on the GE90 to 10:1 on the
GE Aviation
GE9X powerplant starts

full-scale test campaign
GE Aviation completed assembly of the first engine during March

GE9X and an overall pressure
ratio that rises by 50% over the
GE90, to 61:1.
Flight tests of the GE9X are
due to begin next year, with certification in 2018, supporting

service entry aboard the 777-9
shortly before 2020.
AIR TRANSPORT
For up-to-the-minute air transport news,

network and fleet information sign up at:
flightglobal.com/dashboard
DEVELOPMENT
FIRDAUS HASHIM SINGAPORE
AirTeamImages
Parts tests delay

maiden sortie of
N219 commuter
Despite the damage, the turboprop was repaired and eventually returned to service last year
SAFETY DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
Tyre burst led to gear failure

Jazz Q400 incident at Edmonton was initiated by subsequent vibration, investigators believe
anadian investigators believe
vibration from a Jazz
Aviation-operated Bombardier
Q400s spinning tyre initiated a
mechanical sequence which led
to the starboard main gear collapsing on landing at Edmonton.
This in turn caused the propeller of the turboprops right-hand
engine to strike the runway,
shearing all the blades, with fragments penetrating the cabin and
injuring three passengers.
The Transportation Safety
Board of Canada says a starboard
gear tyre burst after hitting a hard
object during take-off from
Calgary on 6 November 2014.
The
crew
diverted
to
Edmonton and the inquiry says
aircraft C-GGBF touched down
very lightly on runway 02.
But the contact of the wheel
caused the tyre to spin at a
rotational frequency that coin
cided with a natural harmonic of
the main gear. The failure of the
tyre had created an unexpected
Transportation Safety Board of Canada
Mishap resulted in three injuries

high rotational imbalance, says
the inquiry.
Tests showed that the vibration
could affect signals to the maingears proximity sensor, which is
part of the logic sequence for
deployment and retraction.
This misreading of the gear status on the aircraft was exacerbated by the effects of the vibration
on the gears mechanical systems.
The combination resulted in the
starboard main-gears collapsing
while the Q400s nose-gear was
still off the ground.
Investigators state that, while

the fuselage adjacent to the propellers is reinforced, this is to
protect against impact from ice
shedding from the blades.
It is not designed to stop portions of failed propeller components from entering the cabin,
the inquiry says.
Jazz took safety measures after
the accident including discontinuing the practice of using retreaded main-gear tyres on its Q400s.
It also amended procedures to
reduce stresses on these tyres,
through avoidance of tyre-pivot,

and changes to taxi techniques.
Investigators also point out
that vibration testing requirements and criteria are relatively
limited. If there are no specific
requirements for dynamic vibration testing of components or
completed airframes, there is a
risk that similar or other aircraft
systems could fail during highvibration
conditions,
the
inquiry says.
ndonesian Aerospace has

pushed back the first flight of its
N219 commuter aircraft by three
months, to 10 August.
Programme manager Budi
Sampurno says components need
to pass laboratory and system tests
and be certificated safe for flight
by June to meet the new schedule.
It is vital to meet that August
deadline for first flight if the manufacturer is to retain any hope of
achieving Indonesian type certification by May 2017.
Sampurno identifies three potential challenges: failures during
tests, delays in component deliveries, and components not meeting certification standards.
Should there be a need to redesign components and conduct
new tests, first flight will probably
be delayed to October, he says.
The N219 will be capable of
fulfilling commercial, military,
and parapublic roles. Missions

include scheduled and chartered
airline operations, troop transport,
search and rescue, cargo, and maritime surveillance.
Powered by two Pratt &
Whitney
Canada
PT6A-42
engines, it can operate up to
480nm (889km) with 19 passengers; ferry range is 840nm. At its

maximum take-off weight of
7,030kg (15,500lb), it can depart
from a runway as short as 393m
(1,290ft). Maximum speed is listed as 210kt (389km/h).
DELIVERY
eroflot Group carrier Rossiya

has taken delivery of a Boeing
747-400 bearing the revised and
modernised livery of the newlyconsolidated airline.
Rossiyas aircraft arrived from
repainting in Dublin. The airline
is expanding its fleet with aircraft
formerly operated by Transaero
before its collapse last year.
The airline says, as part of the
revamp, aircraft will be named

after Russian cities the first 747
will naturally be named after
the carriers St Petersburg base.
database shows the aircraft
(EI-XLE) is a GE Aviation CF6
powered airframe, produced in
1999, which was originally delivered to Japan Airlines before being
transferred to Transaero.
Rossiya
Rebranded Rossiya takes first 747
Former Transaero jumbo is powered by GE Aviation CF6 engines

Rossiyas operation is being
r einforced with the integration of
Aeroflot Group carriers Orenair
and Donavia.
Repainting of the rest of the

fleet will be carried out in
accordance
with
planned
maintenance schedules.
flightglobal.com
AIR TRANSPORT
Ottawa to review
defence priorities
Airbus
DEFENCE P16
Airbus has maintained its backlog for the superjumbo at 135, with a total of 319 orders; Dubai-based airline accounts for the majority
BACKLOG DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
Emirates steps in for cancelled A380s

Gulf carrier adds to already sizeable commitment for double-deck type as Air Austral culls its order for high-density model
eunions Air Austral has cancelled the pair of Airbus

A380s it had on order, with the
airframer maintaining its backlog
for the type through a deal from
Emirates Airline for two aircraft.
Air Austral had ordered the
jets, powered by Engine Alliance
GP7200
powerplants,
in
November 2009.
It had conceived a high-density layout for the type with capacity exceeding 800 seats. The aircraft were supposed to have been
delivered two years ago.
But Air Austral had recently
signalled that it was revising its
fleet plan and indicated that the
order would be abandoned in
favour of other aircraft types.
And Airbuss backlog figures for

the first quarter of 2016, released
in early April, no longer included
the Air Austral A380s.
But they featured an undisclosed order for two A380s,
signed on 31 March and subsequently attributed to Emirates.

The net e ffect is to maintain overall A380 orders at 319, with an
end-March backlog of 135.
Airbuss
March
activity
included four A330s for its
defence d
ivision, plus Czech
irlines switch of its A320 order

A
to A320neos.
But business over the quarter
has been much quieter than last
year, when the airframer booked
more than 100 net aircraft in the
first three months.
Airbus lists net orders for just
10 aircraft for the January-March

2016 period, as changes and cancellations wiped out most of the
32 gross orders.
It also lagged behind last years
delivery figures, handing over
125 aircraft compared with the
previous level of 134.
NARROWBODIES
Avianca conversion bolsters A319neos modest orderbook

Colombian flag-carrier Avianca has
lifted the backlog for the re-engined
Airbus A319neo through a partial
conversion of last years order.
Avianca had ordered 17 of the
type in 2012 and added another pair
as part of a deal for 100 A320neofamily jets in April 2015.
But the latest backlog data from
the airframer, covering the first quarter, shows that the airline has
switched nine A320neos to the
smaller variant.
The change gives Avianca 28
A319neos and confirms the Latin

American operator as the largest
single customer for the type.
Airbus has sold only 60
A319neos out of a total of 4,510
orders for the A320neo family; 1.3%
of the total.
Aside from Avianca, the aircraft
has been selected by Frontier
Airlines, as well as an undisclosed
customer, plus private operators.
Elsewhere, the backlog figures
show that Taiwanese carrier
TransAsia Airways has halved its
order for A321neos. TransAsia had

ordered six of the type, powered by
Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines,
and subsequently exercised options
on another six to give it a total of 12.
But Airbuss first-quarter backlog
data includes a reduction of six
A321neos and shows that the number of aircraft for TransAsia has
fallen from 12 back to six.
Orders for the A321neo at the
end of March stood at 1,108 aircraft: almost a quarter of all firm
A320neo-family jets.
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DEFENCE
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policy james drew washington dc
Ottawa to review
defence priorities
C
anadas government has

launched the nations largest
defence policy review in over 20
years, as it considers if and
when to withdraw from the
Lockheed M
artin F-35 Joint

Strike Fighter programme.
Defence minister Harjit Sajjan
has appointed a four-member
advisory panel to oversee the
review, which will seek input
from citizens, experts, parliamentarians, allies and the nations

security partner, the USA.
When released in early 2017,
the new policy will influence
everything from the role of the
Canadian armed forces in operations at home and abroad, to
resourcing
and
capability
requirements. Sajjan will launch
the process in Vancouver on 27

April, followed by cross-country
roundtable meetings in Toronto,
Vancouver, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Montreal and Halifax, ending in July.
The review is, however, independent from the governments
plan to hold a competition to
replace the Royal C
anadian Air
Forces Boeing CF-18s.
In the run-up to its election
iberal
victory late last year, the L
government led by prime
minister Justin Trudeau said it
would ditch a planned acquisition of 65 F-35As a commitment estimated at $45.8 billion

over a 42-year life cycle and
immediately launch an open
fighter competition.
Royal Canadian Air Force
Trudeau government will commence cross-country process

to discuss military balance, and potential F-35 withdrawal
Competition plan to replace air forces CF-18s remains in place

The process to replace the
F-18s is just beginning, Sajjans
C
office says. We have only been
in government for a few months,
and are making good progress on
this file.
That process, led by the minister of public services and procurement in partnership with the
safety
Modification flaws behind fire on Canadian Hercules tanker

Excessive chafing and arcing
between an auxiliary hydraulic line
and a power cable led to a fire which
caused irreperable damage to a
Royal Canadian Air Force Lockheed
Martin C-130H at NAS Key West in
Florida on 21 February 2012, a flight
safety report has confirmed.
Configured for in-flight refuelling,
the Hercules was carrying 6,800kg
(15,000lb) of fuel in a cargo bay tank
when the incident occurred during a
touch-and-go exercise. A jet-like

flame shot across the cargo ramp
floor and erupted into a fireball.
The transport had reached only
10ft, and its pilot was able to land
immediately. The crew escaped with
one minor injury, but the rear of the
aircraft was badly damaged in the
3min it took for fire crews to respond.
The chafed stainless steel outer
braid of a hydraulic flex hose had contacted electrical wires powering an
active hydraulic pump motor, leading

to arcing and ignition, the report says.
In 2002, an update had added two
ground-test connections to the
C-130s auxiliary hydraulic system.
Deficiencies in the modification
and its approval process, as well as
its installation and in-service maintenance practices, were directly causal
to the fire, the report adds.
Work to fix the flaw on additional
aircraft will be completed this year.
Department of National Defence,

will design a procurement process for an aircraft that matches
Canadas defence needs.
We are committed to ensuring
that manufacturing contracts for
whichever aircraft is chosen will
go to Canadian companies, the
defence ministers office says.
Industrial benefits to Canadian
companies will be part of the
decision-making process. It has
not specified whether it wants
the winning fighter to be assembled in the country.
The government is committed to keeping its campaign
promises, Sajjans office says,
adding: there will be an open
and transparent process.
Canadas interest in the F-35
dates back to 1997. It formally
joined the development programme in 2002, before its government of the day selected the
F-35A in 2009.
Pilatus
fleet craig hoyle london
PC-21 switch confirmed for Jordan
Nation will become seventh operator of turboprop-powered trainer

ordan has amended a production order with Pilatus for a

new fleet of turboprop trainers,
switching its commitment from
the PC-9M to the PC-21.
In August 2015, Pilatus
received a contract to deliver
nine PC-9Ms to the Royal

Jordanian Air Force, but recently
signed an agreement to instead
provide eight of the more capable
PC-21, chief executive Oscar

Schwenk told the Swiss newspaper Neue Luzerner Zeitung.
Deliveries were originally due to
start in January 2017.
The PC-21 is currently
operated by the air forces of
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore,

Switzerland and the United Arab
Emirates, and the trainer is also
on order for Australia.
flightglobal.com
DEFENCE
Dutch KDC-10
approval key to
F-35 deployment
defence P19
strategy james drew washington dc
USAF looks beyond generational shift

T
weapons at targets from stand-off

distances, and others to perform
direct attacks.
Holmes wants an operationally-representative configuration of
this future air superiority network
by 2025, and notes the service has
delayed its F-X or Next-
Generation Air Dominance analysis of alternatives by a year, to
avoid ending up with requirements for another fighter.
F-X would have been most
likely a sixth-generation fighter
and would have had a 20- or 30year development programme,
Holmes told an Air Force
Association forum in Washington
DC on 7 April. What we want to
try to do is solve the problem faster than that, by looking across the
options and building what were
capable of building, instead of
waiting for the next generation.
Exquisite technology demands have delayed readiness of F-35

For the past year, an air force
enterprise capability collaboration team has processed over
1,500 submissions from 14 organisations on 220 initiatives related
to achieving air superiority in
2030. Of those, almost half proposed new equipment, while others pushed the modernisation of
hardware or new battle concepts.
US Air Force
he US Air Force will begin a

prototyping and experimentation campaign related to new air
superiority technologies, after
concluding there is no next-generation fighter able to single-handedly evade and counter the surface-to-air, air-to-air and other
threats springing up worldwide.
Lt Gen James Holmes, USAF
deputy chief of staff for strategic
plans and requirements, says his
team is moving away from terms
like fighter and next-generation and will look at different
ways of conducting air warfare.
This will involve parallel technology developments, such as on
new propulsion systems, airframes, directed energy weapons
and hypersonic missiles, to develop a family of systems, including longer-range, higher-payload
platforms to launch volleys of
US Air Force
Air superiority study concludes that future combat will require family of systems, rather than lengthy wait for F-X fighter
Competitors are vying to replace the Fairchild Republic A-10 in delivering close air support mission
requirement
Warthog successor plan could form part of 2018-2022 budget

A draft requirement document that
articulates the US Air Forces need
for a new attack aircraft optimised
for close air support (CAS) missions
is being circulated within the
Department of Defense, ahead of a
review this spring.
Lt Gen James Holmes, deputy
chief of staff for strategic plans and
requirements says, if approved by
the USAF chief of staff, a future CAS
platform that could replace the
flightglobal.com
Fairchild Republic A-10 Warthog will

be considered by a planning choices
panel this year. This could lead to
inclusion in its five-year budget plan
for fiscal years 2018-2022.
Lockheed Martins F-35 will be
trialled in the CAS role to identify
potential shortcomings, with a flyoff between it and the A-10 in
FY2018 or FY2019. Under current
plans, the USAF will draw down the
latter between 2018 and 2021.
Holmes points to potential alternatives like the Embraer/Sierra

Nevada A-29 Super Tucano or
Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine turboprops, the industry-funded Textron
AirLand Scorpion, or light attack
versions of candidates for the
USAFs T-X trainer contest.
Some funding has been
apportioned for AT-X studies, while
a new A-X aircraft is also believed
to be under consideration.
The USAF has concluded only

a highly networked collection of
weapon systems will be capable
of tackling future threats: rather
than one or two new platforms
with long development cycles.
Holmes notes the Lockheed
Martin F-35 is not outdated but
that technology demands are so
complex it took longer than we
hoped to achieve.
Exquisite capabilities ended
up being late-to-need, adds chief
of strategic planning and integration Col Alex Grynkewich, who
led the services Air Superiority
2030 effort.
Grynkewich says range and
payload are critical, but some
studies show speed, manoeuvrability and some level of low-
observable shaping or stealth have
a place, along with automation
and human-machine teaming.
Holmes says a meeting will be
convened with US Air Force
Materiel Command leadership
next month to examine ways of

moving faster through acquisition,
with the service also to involve
rapid acquisition organisations.
Money has been included in
the USAFs fiscal year 2017 budget to begin advanced prototyping
efforts, while some members of
the family of systems are already
under development or being
matured. Planning chiefs have not
ruled out building derivatives of
existing or in-development aircraft, while modest investments
will be made to upgrade legacy
fighters, and to modernise the
Lockheed F-22.
FLIGHTGLOBAL FINANCE
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Forum market briefing. Well cover the supply and demand in the commercial
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CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
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Etihad Airways
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Head of Aviation
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Head of Aviation Structured
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DEFENCE
Globetrotting
Falcon 8X makes
Shanghai debut
SHOW REPORT P20
TESTING
he Royal Netherlands Air

Forces McDonnell Douglas
KDC-10 tankers have been certificated to refuel the Lockheed
Martin F-35, following flight trials conducted from Edwards
AFB in California. One of the
services two tankers tail number 264 refuelled the fifth-
generation Lightning II for the
first time on 31 March.
On 7 April, the Dutch
defence ministry announced
that one of its two 323 Sqn-
operated F-35As based at

Edwards AFB in support of initial operational test and evaluation of the type will visit the
Netherlands in late May or June,
probably accompanied by a
KDC-10. Demonstration flights
are planned at its Leeuwarden
and Volkel air bases during the
three-week deployment.
The Netherlands plans to
acquire an operational fleet of 37
F-35s, with the first eight due to
arrive in-country by 2019.
US Air Force
Dutch KDC-10 approval

key to F-35 deployment
Combination is planned to cross the Atlantic in late May or June
PROGRAMME JAMES DREW WASHINGTON DC
GAO questions Pegasus delivery plan

Watchdog calls Boeings schedule optimistic, citing testing hitches that will extend its development activities into 2018
oeings plan to deliver 16,

rather than 14, operational
KC-46 Pegasus tankers within a
six-month period has been
labelled optimistic in a state
ment by the US Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
Setbacks encountered during
testing in 2014 and 2015 have
already delayed the US governments low-rate initial production
(LRIP) decision by nine months,
to May, but the GAO reports that a
five-month operational testing
phase previously due to begin this
month will now not start until
May 2017.
Boeing will not be able to complete development activities until
June 2018; five months later than
required, the watchdog says in its
annual appraisal of the US Air
Force tanker programme.
The GAO quotes government

test officials as saying that
Boeings drive toward having 18
aircraft ready to meet a contractual required assets available
milestone is optimistic, and
carries four months of schedule
risk. That does not account for
recently acknowledged troubles
with boom refuelling of the
Boeing C-17 transport.
If the air force exercises its
options for production lots one
and two, any future delays may

affect Boeings ability to deliver all
18 operational aircraft by August
2017, the GAO says. However, it
adds: that risk is being measured
in months, rather than years.
The 18-unit total had been
expected to include the pro
grammes four development aircraft, brought up to an operational
standard, plus 14 LRIP examples.

However, it will now comprise
only two of the test aircraft. With
deliveries to occur before the end
of operational testing, Boeing will
be financially responsible for any
late design changes or fixes.
COST RISK
Boeings fixed-price development
contract caps the US governments liability at $4.9 billion. As
of December 2015, the manufacturer and the USAF programme
office estimated that Boeing
would incur additional costs to
complete development of the aircraft of about $769 million and
$1.4 billion, respectively, the
GAO says.
The manufacturer is also selffunding construction of the first
batch of operational tankers in
Download the 2016

Wo r l d A i r F o r c e s R e p o r t
anticipation of a contract signature, and opening a second completions centre to modify 767-2C
freighters to the military standard.
According to the GAO, Boeing
has resolved most of the issues
encountered to date, and it reports
that the expected cost of KC-46
development, production and
associated military construction
work has come down by 7%; from

$51.7 billion to $48.2 billion.
There are still problems, however, with certifying the aircrafts
centerline drogue system and
wing aerial refueling pods. These
should have been ready for U
S
Federal Aviation Administration
certification in 2014, but are now
not expected to secure approval
until July 2017, because the supplier did not follow FAA processes during construction.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
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REPORT
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ABACE 2016
REX/Shutterstock
Although the annual Asia Business Aviation Conference

& Exhibition (ABACE) event in Shanghai is ostensibly
about the whole region, the only country one hears
discussed is China. This years show featured a number
of modest announcements around charter operators
and maintenance organisations, but no high-profile
orders. Nonetheless, despite the recent doldrums
experienced by the Chinese business jet market owing to a slowing economy and an anti-corruption drive
the big OEMs were out in force. They are not happy
with the current state of affairs, but patiently await
renewed growth in what could one day be the sectors
largest single market. Greg Waldron reports
OUTLOOK
PROMOTION
Boeing bullish on Globetrotting Falcon 8X

BBJ Max demand makes Shanghai debut
B
oeing is confident of selling

one to three BBJ Max a ircraft
in China every year, following a
good year for orders for the airliner-derived jets in the country.
Weve sold three BBJ Maxes
into
China,
says
David
Longridge, president of Boeing
Business Jets. Thats under a

third of the total number of
Maxes weve sold, which is 10. I
would say interest in China is
high. We would be happy to sell
one to three airplanes a year I
dont think thats unreasonable.
Longridge, who spoke to Flight
International at Boeings ABACE
chalet, says the range of the BBJ
Max 8 is around 6,500nm
(12,000km) suitable for missions from major Chinese cities to
California or the US West Coast,
with the aircraft carrying 10-12
passengers.
Boeing borrowed a Chinese
customers
current-generation
BBJ1 to display at the shows static
park. Because range is the foremost consideration for this particular aircraft, it has a basic cabin,
saving weight and boosting range.
Longridge also took a swipe at
what he feels is a questionable
sales tactic in the industry.
We have a good reputation delivering the range we promise in

our brochures, he says. We
dont want people to be disappointed. We get some customers
who have been disappointed by
other manufacturers because the
aircraft did not do what was
promised. There is nothing more
irritating than spending a large
sum of money and not being able
to fly non-stop between the two
cities you need to fly between.
Longridge adds that Boeing has
not received much interest in its
2015 proposal for a passenger/
combi version of the BBJ 737700C, similar to the US Navys
C-40 Clipper. Announced at
ABACE last year, the proposed
variant would have had a large
cargo door just behind the leftside forward door.
Were not seeing great demand for it, says Longridge.
Were seeing more demand for a
straight BBJ Max 8. We wanted to
make it clear that we could do
things with our aircraft and were
willing to look at different variants for what we thought would
be a demand specifically in the
Chinese market. It didnt materialise, no harm done.
assaults developmental Falcon 8X made its debut appearance at the show.

The aircraft on display, bearing
the registration F-WWQC, is the
third 8X produced. It has a full
cabin installed and was in Shanghai as part of a world tour, prior
to service entry later in 2016.
So far, the ultra-long-range trijet has just one buyer in China,
alcon senior vicebut Dassault F

president international sales
Jean-Michel Jacob says Chinese
customers prefer to see a jet before buying, which is why it
brought the 8X to the show, despite the ongoing certification
campaign. It was hard to get the
aircraft from testing, but we have
very high expectations for the 8X
in China, he says.
Third test
aircraft has
full cabin
installed
Dassault Aviation
Airframer confident that China will become strong market for

its corporate airliners after three sales into country last year
SALES
Maturing market buoys Cbajet
hinese business jet broker

Cbajet is seeing strong growth
for pre-owned aircraft in China, as
buyers become more sophisticated about selecting aircraft.
When business jets started to
appear in China, buyers would
opt for the business jet version of
a brand-new Mercedes-Benz or
BMW, says Jason Liao, chief executive and founder of Cbajet.
Now Liao observes a maturing

in the market, with users becoming more sophisticated.
He adds that Chinese owners
want customised cabins invariably installed overseas because
the Civil Aviation Administration
of China (CAAC) lacks experience certificating private jets.
This will restrict Chinas completions business, he says.
flightglobal.com
ABACE 2016
DA62 is off to a
flying start
SHOW REPORT
BUSINESS AVIATION P22

STRATEGY
Caravan sees success in Shijiazhuang

Joint production venture between Textron and AVIC gives improved access to Chinese market for singe-engined turboprop
extron Aviation is enjoying
success with its Shijiazhuang
factory for the Cessna Caravan
208 single-engined turboprop,
with the type attaining acceptance in the Chinese market.
Bill Schultz, manager of Textron Aviation in China, says there
are about 77 Caravans operating
in the country, of which 30 were
produced in Shijiazhuang.
The factory is run as a joint
venture between Textron and
AVIC. Schultz says working with
the state-owned airframer has allowed for far greater access to the
market, owing to its deep connections across China.
The assembly line in Shijiazhuang, which employs about
60 production staff, takes kits
produced in Wichita, Kansas and
completes them. Finished aircraft
are flown out from a private airfield next to the factory.
Schultz declines to comment
on annual production numbers
or the backlog for the factory, but
Textron Aviation
Float-equipped variant has been used to provide tourist flights

says it is making sufficient progress to increase workshare.
This means that increasingly
complex production processes
will be transferred to Shijiazhuang. He does not foresee an
entire, independent line at the
site, however.
He attributes some of the Caravans acceptance in China to regional governments efforts to
connect remote communities. In
Inner Mongolia, for example,
Caravans are used as feeder aircraft to outlying areas.

Caravans equipped with floats
could also be used to reach islands in Chinas littoral domain;
one operator is using aircraft with
floats for tourism flights on Chinas east coast.
Private uses include aerial
tourism. Textron is also in talks
with a company that plans to
equip a Caravan with skis. This
aircraft will ferry passengers to a
hotel located near the site of the

2022 winter Olympics, which
will take place near Beijing.
One major change that Textron
has implemented with its local
Caravan business is the establishment of a large spare parts base
within China. Previously, operators who needed spares would
need to convert Chinese Yuan
into US dollars to buy the part
an arduous process given Chinese capital controls.
As such, Textron has imported
a large inventory of spare parts
that will be located in Beijing.
This will allow operators to pay
for parts in local currency.
Schultz also touches on the
companys Citation XLS+ production centre in Zhuhai. For the
time being, the facility is engaged
in painting completed aircraft
and doing some cabin work. Chinas lacklustre private jet market,
however, means that this facility
is unlikely to get more workshare
for the time being.
DEBUT
ACQUISITION
NetJets China bolstered Viking shows first of nifty fifty

by BAAs 25% stake buy V
hinese business aircraft
manager Business Aviation
Asia (BAA) will take a 25% stake

in the China unit of fractional
ownership provider NetJets.
The two companies have
signed an agreement for the deal,
which is now contingent upon
approval by Chinas Ministry of
Commerce and the Civil Aviation
Administration of China, according to representatives from both
companies.
NetJets China is a joint venture between the fractional ownership giant and a consortium of
Chinese investors, led by private
equity firms Hony Capital and
Fung Investments. It operates
two aircraft on a charter basis in
the mainland.
New shares will be issued to
flightglobal.com
accommodate BAAs stake, diluting the holdings of NetJet Chinas

existing investors.
NetJets currently operates a
pair of Hawker 800XPs in China.
Shenzhen-based BAA has been
in operation since 2006, manages
56 aircraft, employs 500 staff, and
has operations in 12 cities in the
Greater China region.
The deal will combine the
global brand of NetJets with
BAAs strong local knowledge
and strong funding, says Chang
Qiu Sheng, chairman of BAA.
Chang adds that BAA hopes to
create a membership card programme for NetJets China,
suggesting a move toward an actual fractional ownership business model, as opposed to one
focused on charters.
The remaining 49 examples

are due for delivery to Reignwood over the next six years.
The company will use the type
throughout China for utility missions including transport and geographical survey work.
Reignwood is involved in five
business areas: general aviation
operations; airport investment;
airport industrial zones; financing; and maintenance, repair and
overhaul.
Greg Waldron/Flightglobal
iking Airs Twin Otter Series

400 has appeared in China
for the first time, displayed in the
ABACE static park.
The twin-engined turboprop is
the first example of a 50-aircraft
order for Chinas Reignwood
Aviation Group, says Dan Tharp,
chief operating officer for Viking
The aircraft at the show was
Chinas first imported Series 400.
Built in Canada, it has 19 passenger seats and a medevac option.
Twin Otter on display was initial example delivered to Reignwood

BUSINESS AVIATION
Keep up with the latest news and read

in-depth analysis from the business
aviation sector: flightglobal.com/bizav
DELIVERY
utch
charter
start-up
Winged-Dutchman
Aero
Service has taken delivery of the
first European-registered Eclipse
550, following handover of the
very light jet (VLJ) registration
OE-FMO on 14 April.
The aircraft, owned by
Austrian
charter
company
MaliAir, will be the first of the
1,300nm (2,400km)-range twinengined type operated commercially in Europe when revenue
flights begin on 20 April.
The EA550 is an ideal aircraft for point-to-point transportation around Europe, says the
founder of Winged-Dutchman,
Sjoerd-Jan van Klaarbergen.
The four-passenger aircraft
will be based at Groningen
airport in the northeast of the
Netherlands,
where
van
Klaarbergen says the growing
industrial base is poorly served

by airlines. To fly to the major
cities around Europe, travellers
have to fly via [Amsterdam]
Schiphol, which extends the
journey time considerably, he
says. The EA550 can connect to
most airports around the continent for around the price of a
business-class ticket.
Van Klaarbergen will add a
second aircraft this year, if
demand for the service is strong
enough. I have already sold
200h on the EA550, he says.
The next aircraft will be owned
by me and should enable the service to expand across Europe.
The continent is home to two
other EA550s, but they are based
on the US N-register and
operated privately.
The VLJ secured E
uropean
ovember and is
validation last N
an updated version of the
10-year-old EA500, featuring a
dual Avio integrated flight management system, synthetic
vision, enhanced vision, auto
throttles and anti-skid brakes.
database records a fleet of
around 20 EA500s in Europe.
Lead example of the 6,200nm-range aircraft is scheduled to make its flight debut later this year
ASSEMBLY KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
First G600 takes shape in Savannah

G
ulfstream has mated the wing

and fuselage of the first G600
flight-test article at its Savannah,
Georgia headquarters, as it prepares the clean-sheet, large-cabin
jet for a maiden sortie this year.
The 6,200nm (11,500km)-range
,Pratt & Whitney Canada
PW815GA-powered twin is set to
enter service in 2019 a year after
its shorter-range G500 stablemate,
which is also making good pro-
gress, according to Gulfstream.

The companys four G500
flight-test aircraft have logged over
800h in 195 flights, with T1 focusing on envelope expansion and T2
on flight loads validation and aircraft performance and systems
testing. T3 recently completed
cold-soak testing and is undergoing wing anti-ice systems testing.
It is also the testbed for the types
Symmetry flightdeck, powered by
Honeywells Primus Epic system.

T4 is testing avionics; flammable
fuel drainage; water ingestion and
water/waste; lighting and fire-
protection, adds Gulfstream.
A fifth aircraft, P1, is being outfitted at Gulfstreams completions
centre in Savannah. It will test
interior and cabin systems.
The 5,000nm-range G500 is
scheduled for US certification and
service entry in 2017.
MANUFACTURING KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
DA62 is off to a flying start

Diamond Aircraft on track to boost production of popular diesel type to 60 units in 2017
ustrian airframer Diamond

Aircraft says market acceptance of its DA62 piston-twin has
been extremely positive, and its
production target of one aircraft
per week should be reached by
mid-year.
The diesel-fuelled type entered
service in late 2015 as Diamonds
top-end product.
We have delivered 11 aircraft
and production is sold out for the
rest of the year, says Diamond
chief executive Christian Dries.
Based on our sales book, we
should be manufacturing one aircraft a week in Weiner Neustadt
[near Vienna] by mid-year, rising
to 60 a year in 2017.
Diamond makes two versions
of the DA62. European models
seat five and have a maximum
take-off weight (MTOW) of
1,999kg (4,440lb); just under the
2,000kg threshold for Eurocontrol
air traffic control user fees. The US
variant, sold through Diamonds
Canadian distributor, seats seven
and has a MTOW of 2,300kg.
BillyPix
Gulfstream
Winged charter
service ready to
Eclipse its rivals
Austrian airframer has so far delivered 11 of the piston-twins

We expect the US market to
account for over 50% eventually,
says Dries.
Meanwhile, flight testing of
Diamonds first turbine-powered
aircraft, the DA50-JP7, is continuing in Weiner Neustadt, with over
100h on the first prototype. Three
aircraft will join the flight-test
campaign, says Dries. The final
product, set for certification in
around 24 months, will feature a
modified wing and fuel system.
Priced at under 1 million
($1.1million), the DA50 will have
two configurations: a high-perfor-
mance standard model, for private

owners; and a utility version the
Tundra. This will have big wheels
and rugged landing gear, giving it
the ability to operate from uneven
strips. It will be a workhorse in
the remotest regions, says Dries.
The 1,200nm (2,220km)-range
aircraft is powered by a 465hp
(347kW) Ivchenko-Progress AI450S turbine engine built by
Ukraines Motor Sich. It has an
empty weight of 1,150kg, a
MTOW of less than 2,000kg and a
projected top speed of more than
200kt (370km/h).
flightglobal.com
BUSINESS AVIATION
Thrusting for sales
SPECIAL REPORT P25
DEVELOPMENT KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
INVENTORY
GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE
Cessna shaping Hemisphere
Bombardier and
Gulfstream lead
Asia-Pacific fleet
Textron seeking feedback on clean-sheet, large-cabin business jet from selected operators
T
Textron Aviation
evelopment activity for

Cessnas new Hemisphere
large-cabin aircraft is under way,

with the customer advisory board
that will help shape the twinjet
preparing to meet.
The clean-sheet business jet
which tops the Citation family
was launched last year and is set
to make its first flight in 2019.
The board will meet in
Wichita this month, says Kriya
Shortt, senior vice-president for
sales and marketing at Cessna parent Textron Aviation. It will consist of 15 to 20 core members
including owners and operators of
large-cabin aircraft and potential
and current Citation owners.
The aircraft is Cessnas first
foray into the large-cabin sector. It
is at the lower end of the segment
where Shortt says there has been
no investment for 30 years.
With a clean-sheet aircraft we
can start from scratch to produce a
best-in-class product, she says.
Preliminary specifications indicate a 2.59m (102in)-diameter
fuselage cross-section, a range of
up to 4,500nm (8,334km) and a
price point of around $35 million.
The feedback we get from the
Top-of-the-range Citation is due to get airborne during 2019

[customer advisory] board should
help us to produce a highly desirable product, says Shortt.
The Hemisphere tops Textron
Aviations 18-strong family of piston and turbine-powered aircraft
across the Beechcraft and Cessna
brands. Next down is the in-
development $24 million supermidsize Longitude, which is being
readied for a first flight in the third
quarter, says Shortt. Certification
and service entry are on target for
2017, she adds.
The Longitude uses the same
fuselage cross-section as the midsize Latitude which entered service in mid-2015. Cessna on 11
April started a European demonstration tour for the latter,
equipped with a new standard interior, revamped with wider seats.

The first example was recently
handed over to a US customer.
Since entering service in the
US [in August], the Latitude has
proved very popular, with 16 aircraft delivered by the end of
2015, says Shortt. We expect
this trend to continue.
Europe is Textrons second largest market, with around 500 Citation business jets, according to
database. We will tour major
European cities [with the re

vamped aircraft]. Well return
with the aircraft in May for the
EBACE show [in Geneva,
Switzerland], says Shortt.
he Asia-Pacific business jet

fleet grew 6.2% in 2015, to
1,134 aircraft, with 66 new and 74
used aircraft entering the region.
However, the region saw 74 aircraft leave, and Chinas business
jet fleet growth was just 3.8%, to
300 aircraft, according to Hong
Kong aviation consulting firm
Asian Sky Group.
The second biggest business jet
market in the region, Australia,
saw its fleet rise 7%, to 184 aircraft. The third biggest, India, saw
a 4% increase, to 145 aircraft.
Bombardier jets had the highest
market share, with 306 aircraft
27% of the market. Gulfstream
had 264 aircraft for a 23% market
share and Cessna was third, with
220 business jets for 19%.
Of local markets surveyed,
Hong Kongs fleet grew the most,
with 16 aircraft added in 2015.
Bombardier had a strong year
in the region, with 51 additional
aircraft, of which 28 were new.
The most popular model
added across the region was the
Global 6000, and the [fastest]
growing size was the long-range
segment, says Asian Sky.
TESTING KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
Much-delayed Outback gets airborne in Kunovice

vektors first production- The second prototype is a ground the business and utility sector.
However, funding shortages
conforming EV-55 Outback test article which has completed
made its maiden sortie on 8 April load testing and is undergoing significantly delayed development of the nine- to 14-seat EV-55,
from the Czech airframers head- stress tests.
The EV-55 programme was originally set for certification and
quarters at Kunovice airport.
The twin-engined turboprop launched by Evektor in 2005, service entry in 2013. Evektor is
serial number 3, registration marking the piston-engined air- keeping the aircrafts orderbook
OK-DRM took off at 11:45 local craft developers first foray into and certification timetable secret.
time for a 20min flight that went
according to plan, says Evektor.
The Pratt & Whitney Canada
PT6A-2-powered aircraft will be
used for systems testing and its
performance and flight characteristics will also be evaluated.
It joins the initial flying prototype, MSN1, which made its first
sortie in 2011 and has logged over
370h of flight testing, says Evektor. Evektor has not disclosed certification timetable for its EV-55
flightglobal.com
Evektor
The high-wing, all-metal

a ircraft will be offered in configurations including VIP, high-
density passenger, cargo and
utility. An amphibious variant is
also planned.
Evektor says it is has not selected a supplier for the EV-55s integrated glass flightdeck, so the initial batch of aircraft will be
delivered with a cockpit containing a combination of analogue
and digital instruments.
The company is majority
owned by three Czech shareholders. Malaysias Aspirasi Pertiwi,
which acquired Evektor group in
2014, now has a minority stake in
the venture, Evektor says.
Lets get to the heart

of the matter
Our Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) is the heart of the
engine. With an installed base of 25,000 engines, we are enabling
our customers to achieve benchmark performance in fuel efficiency
and reliability. Youll find our FADECs on engines that will power
the next generation of aircraft being developed by the leading
aircraft manufacturers.
www.baesystems.com/enginecontrols
ENGINES
special REPORT
Airbus
Picture - caption. Style for caption
thrusting
for sales
CFM International, Max Kingsley-Jones/Flightglobal
Pratt & Whitney has finally got its geared turbofan into
commercial service and CFMs Leap is close behind, so
attention is turning to real-world performance and order
books as the two strive for domination of the nascent
narrowbody power revolution. Meanwhile, these two
powerplants underpin a string of important new aircraft
programmes from Canada, China, Japan and Russia
Contents
26 Get it in gear P&W, CFM finish testing

28 Power struggle A320neo sales battle
30 Trust in thrust Engine market data
flightglobal.com
Rolls-Royce (main), Pratt & Whitney (top),

CFM: pushing hard for new aircraft types
ENGINES
special REPORT
getting it
into gear
Teething troubles at Pratt & Whitney delayed the service

entry of its PW1100G and there are modifications yet to
come, but the geared turbofan is flying. Meanwhile, rival
CFM remains on schedule and confident its Leap series
will soon complete the narrowbody power revolution
ometimes the revolution begins

with a whimper instead of a bang.
After investing $10 billion over
nearly 30 years in geared turbofan
engine technology, the entry into service of
the first pair of Pratt & Whitney PW1100Gs
on a Lufthansa A320neo seemed more tentative than triumphant.
With zero fanfare, Lufthansa on 25 January
loaded passengers on an A320neo for a flight
from Frankfurt to Munich, making for one of
the most anti-climatic moments in aviation
history. The silence was made more awkward
by coming two years late. Delays to the
Mitsubishi MRJ and the Bombardier CSeries
family pushed the arrival of the geared turbofan engine from late 2013 to early 2016 and
allowed Airbus to introduce the first all-new
centreline engine to enter the single-aisle
market in nearly 30 years.
For some customers, however, the longawaited PW1100G was still not quite ready
for primetime. P&Ws main engine rival

CFM International will no doubt face similar scrutiny when the first Leap-1A-powered
A320neo enters service this year. But the
PW1100Gs eight-month lead on the Leapseries engines meant it was the first to feel
the pressure.
P&W plans to begin delivery of P
W1100Gs
with upgraded software soon, said Rick
Deurloo, senior vice-president of sales, marketing and customer support, speaking at
Marchs ISTAT Americas conference in Phoenix, Arizona. He expects those upgrades to
address 80% of the issues that prompted
Qatar Airways in December to withdraw as
A320neo launch operator.
cooling cycle
But it is taking a hardware upgrade to address
the PW1100Gs most prominent flaw. In turboecome
fan engines, superheated air can b
trapped inside the casing after engine shutdown. Restarting with that air inside can cause
component deformations and extensive dam-
CFM is confident of Leap-1B performance on the 737

Max, which Boeing began flight-testing on 3 February
Boeing
STEPHEN TRIMBLE PHOENIX
age. So, on shutdown a cycle of cooling air is

run through engines, typically taking less than
1min. CFM, for example, says the Leap cooling
cycle is within a few moments of the 50s needed for the CFM56 it will supercede.
P&W, however, is having to add a damper
to the third and fourth shaft bearings of PW1100Gs, starting with the engines destined for
320neo off the production line
the 11th A
the first 10 will be retrofitted to help stiffen
the shaft against thermal deformations. How
much the teething troubles will cost P&W in
the long run is unclear.
The competing Leap-1A for the A320neo
will not enter service until later this year, so
no comparison is possible. But P&W officials
point to other aspects of the PW1100Gs performance, citing a comment by Airbus chief
executive Fabrice Brgier that fuel burn is
perfect and a claim by Lufthansa that fuel
efficiency is slightly better than expected.
Although the Leap-1A has yet to enter service, the non-geared alternative to the P&W
remains on the schedule set by CFM at programme launch in July 2008. The Leap-1A
received airworthiness certification in late
November, fulfilling CFMs pledge, more than

seven years earlier, to reach that milestone by
2016. The Leap achieved either the exact
date set four years ago or we were able to be
ahead of schedule, says Jean-Paul Ebanga,
chief executive of CFM.
flightglobal.com
ENGINES
Mitsubishi performed the debut flight of its PW1200G-powered MRJ in November 2015
As of early March, the certification campaign for the Leap-1B that powers the Boeing
737 Max was approaching its conclusion,
working through final, minor, tests, ahead
of US Federal Aviation Administration approval, said Ebanga at the ISTAT Americas
conference. In addition to being on time, CFM
officials assert both engines for the A320neo
and 737 Max are meeting promised fuel burn
performance.
big fans
P&W promises a 20% reduction in specific
fuel consumption, mostly owing to the gearbox between the PW1100Gs low-pressure
turbine and inlet fan, allowing designers to
increase the length of the fan blades and raise
the ratio of air bypassing the engine core from
about 6:1, as in the International Aero Engines
V2500, to about 12:1.
CFM relies on a conventional architecture,
with the low pressure turbine driving the front
fan. That arrangement limited expansion of the
bypass ratio to 10:1, but CFM compensated by
increasing the efficiency of the engine core.
CFM added a stage to the high-pressure
compressor, raising the pressure ratio from
around 30:1 in the CFM56 to around 40:1 in
the Leap-1 series. As pressure loads rose, CFM
added a second stage to the high-pressure turbine. Internal cooling demands were reduced
by inserting heat-resistant ceramic matrix comflightglobal.com
We are running the engines

now and they are right on
specification
allen paxson
Executive vice-president, CFM
posites in the shrouds of the first stage of the

high pressure turbine. Despite the upgrades,
questions lingered about the Leap-1s ability to
meet fuel specifications. Airbus and Boeing officials have said the engines should meet
promised levels by the time aircraft are ready
to enter service. Within months of the entryinto-service date of the Leap-powered A320neo, CFM officials insist the proof is already in.
In an interview at CFM headquarters in
Cincinnati, CFM executive vice-president
Allen Paxson adds that the same engines delivered to Airbus have demonstrated fuel
burn results on GE Aviations flying testbed: I
am confident the engines we have delivered
to Airbus are on specification.
Airbus has not named the launch operator
for the Leap-powered A320neo, but CFM
expects to deliver engines to six airlines within three months of entry into service, Paxson
says. The Leap-1B engines on the first 737
Max 8 had completed 22 test sorties within a
month of the types first flight, on 3 February,
Paxson says. We are running the engines
Mitsubishi
NEW POWERPLANTS
now on the ground and they are right on specification and Im talking ten-thousandths of
a percent, he adds. We are very, very confident. Is it done? No, because we have not
delivered it. But the engines are drinking the
amount of fuel to meet our spec level. We are
very confident the -1A and the -1B will meet
the committed level of performance.
A version of the Leap-1A is developed for
the Comac C919. CFM delivered the first
Leap-1Cs to the Chinese narrowbody programme last year, as the C919 was scheduled
to be first to enter flight tests. First flight of the
C919 is scheduled in the third quarter.
P&Ws development work is ramping up.
The PW1500G is set to enter service this year
on the Swiss International Air Lines
Bombardier CS100. Russian manufacturer
Irkut expects P&W to certificate the PW1400G

engine for the MC-21 in the second quarter,
although first flight has slipped to at least the
end of this year. Although the Mitsubishi MRJ
completed first flight last November, the
PW1200G-powered airliner is set to enter service at around the same time as the Embraer
E190-E2, powered by the PW1900G. The
PW1700G selected for the E175-E2 is set to
enter service two years later. P&W has delivered the first pair of PW1900Gs to the E190E2, ahead of first flight in the second half.
Additional reporting by Dominic Perry
in Cincinnati
ENGINES
special REPORT
power struggle
A320neo launch operator Lufthansa has followed its precedent and split its order across both engine options
Chris Seymour, head of market analysis at Flightglobals Ascend consultancy, examines

how Pratt & Whitney and CFM are faring in the fight to win Airbus A320neo customers
CFMs Leap-1A has the most orders so far
The key wins for CFM, whose Leap-1A

enters service in 2016, are AirAsia (304),
Lion Air a recent customer (183), EasyJet
(130) and American Airlines (100), while
lessor GECAS usually only orders aircraft
with GE content and has 120 Neos on order.
P&Ws leading customers are Indigo (180),
Turkish Airlines (92), AerCap (90), GoAir
(72) and JetBlue (70).
Lessors important
Operating lessors are an important component
of the Neo customer base and to the success of a
new type. With 984 orders, 11 lessors have a
22% share of the orderbook. Their engine choices are 34% Leap, 28% P&W and 38% undecided. However, excluding GECAS, which only
orders CFM, the lessor share swings to 32%
P&W. Most will order a mix of engines to meet
demand and maximise portfolio liquidity.
To date 31 customers 52% have only
chosen one engine type, for 1,969 orders
(44%); 12 have chosen the Leap for 1,226
orders against 19 for 743 of the P&W engine.
flightglobal.com
Lufthansa
Where a choice has been made, the Leap1A has won 1,544 orders 54% against
1,312 for the PW1100G. In customer terms,
the P&W engine has 30 versus 23 for the Leap
and also leads direct airline orders, 22 versus
15. Nine lessors have ordered from CFM and
eight from P&W.
Airbus
ith the Airbus A320neo entering

service, how successful have
the two engine manufacturers
been in winning customers to
power the re-engined twinjet family? Unlike
the Boeing 737 Max, where CFM International has exclusivity, there is a choice of two
powerplants for the Neo: incumbent CFM (the
GE/Snecma joint venture has been on the
A320 programme with its CFM56 since the
start) offers the new-generation Leap-1A engine against Pratt & Whitneys PW1000G
geared turbofan, which for the Neo is designated PW1100G-JM. P&W is a newcomer to
the A320 programme in its own right, but has
been involved from the early days through the
International Aero Engines consortium and
became majority shareholder in the V2500
when it acquired Rolls-Royces stake in 2012.
By March, analysis of Flightglobals Fleets
Analyzer database showed the Neo family
had amassed 4,502 firm orders from 60 airlines and lessors. Of these, engine choices
have been announced for 2,856 aircraft, 63%.
ENGINES
competition
A further seven customers have ordered 335

aircraft with one choice (87 CFM and 248
P&W), but have another 561 orders where a
choice has yet to be made. These include IndiGo and Avianca. Eight customers have chosen both engines for 552 orders, 58% of
which are for P&W. They hold another 229
orders with no engine selected.
All are lessors except one: Lufthansa,
which is following the same practice it has on
the A320ceo family, where it uses the CFM56
and V2500. While Lufthansa only has the
V2500 on the A321ceo, for the next generation it has chosen a mix for A320neos and
A321neos. Lessors are flexible and must use
liquid assets, so they usually select both engines where a choice is available, to maximise
attractiveness to lessees.
customer Loyalty
The engine business is fiercely competitive
and customer loyalty is crucial. To date, 18
customers with either the CFM56 or V2500
on the A320ceo family have stayed with the
same suppliers for almost 1,500 neos.
Nine CFM A320ceo customers have ordered 995 Leap-powered A320neos with a
further 100 ordered by Avianca yet to make a
choice. Nine customers with V2500s powering their A320ceos stayed with P&W on the
Neo, a ccounting for almost 500 orders 38%
of their backlog. Again, one customer IndiGo has yet to reveal a choice for 250 orders.
The number of customers who have
changed supplier from their A320ceo fleet is
relatively small just eight airlines (five CFM
and three P&W) for 392 aircraft: 9% of the
backlog. Six operators using both CFM56s
and V2500s on their Ceo fleet have decided
on one supplier for 254 Neos the largest
being American, which chose the Leap despite operating almost 250 V2500 versus 150
CFM56 aircraft. LATAM Group, with slightly
more CFM56 types as a result of the LAN and
TAM merger, has decided on the P&W engine.
Airbus and Boeing are fiercely competitive
A320NEO FAMILY CUSTOMERS ENGINE SELECTION
Selected CFM
Selected P&W
Undecided
Selected one
Selected both
0
10
15
Chosen
mix of mfrs
552
in the single-aisle market and the battle to win

customers is intense. However, of the 60
A320neo family customers, only five are new
to the A320 programme, accounting for just
185 orders 4% of the backlog. This is indicative of aircraft family loyalty when it comes
to new orders.
Norwegian has 100 orders for Neos and
has selected P&W for half; it has been an all737 single-aisle operator to date but has chosen both Max and Neo for future needs, although the airlines initial Neos will be
leased to other operators through its Irelandbased leasing entity.
Korean Air is a recent A321neo customer
and has chosen P&W, as has Hawaiian, which
is adding 16 A321neos to its widebody fleet to
serve US West Coast cities. Azul, in Brazil, is
stepping up from Embraer E195s to 35 Leappowered Neos. Israeli charter operator Arkia
will replace 757s with A321neos but has yet to
choose an engine for its four. Interestingly,
none of these customers are switching from
the 737 to the Neo, although Airbus has seen
Air Canada and SilkAir switch in the opposite
direction, from the A320ceo to the 737 Max.
There are still 13 airlines and lessors who
New customer
131
Undecided
1,646
Changed mfr
392
Stayed loyal to existing mfr 1,489

SOURCE: Flightglobal's Fleets Analyzer database
flightglobal.com
25
30
35
40
A320NEO FAMILY ORDERS BY ENGINE SELECTION

Were mixed,
now chosen
one mfr
292
20
Number of customers
Total orders = 4,502
have not made a choice for a combined 373

aircraft, including Wizz Air (110) and IAG
(102 for subsidiaries British Airways, Iberia
and Vueling). A further 479 aircraft have been
ordered by unannounced customers, with
choices to be revealed. Many of these orders
are believed to be for Chinese customers.
The engine battle in the A320ceo sector is
not done, with a fifth of the approximately
1,000 aircraft remaining on backlog still to
play for. The CFM56 has been selected for
around 45% of the A320ceos on order, and the
V2500 for around a third, while the remaining
21% of the backlog is yet to be allocated.
looking ahead
In terms of sales, neither the Leap nor the
PW1100G has a clear advantage and there
are still almost 1,650 orders where a decision
is yet to be made. Looking further ahead, Ascends Flightglobal Fleet Forecast is predicting demand for at least 9,800 Neos in the
next 20 years, which equates to an open market for 5,300 more aircraft. There is an expectation that the better seat-mile costs of the
A321neo will lead to a continued upsizing of
the type. P&W has promised to deliver a performance improvement package in 2019
with a 2% reduction in specific fuel consumption and has launched a 35,000lbthrust (160kN) version which has enabled
Airbus to launch the long-range A321neo
LR, with 30 orders already from Air Lease.
CFM is expected to also develop upgrades in
future on the Leap.
Currently the P&W engine has a 58% share
of the A321neo order choice and if that share
can be maintained then the overall engine
market share over the longer term may just
swing in favour of P&W. It could be a reverse
of what is currently on the A320ceo, where
CFM currently has a 56% share.
However, it is unlikely that either engine
will gain a significant lead over the other, as the
market for single-aisles is broad and diverse.
thrust
in the
numbers
Airbus
antoine fafard flightglobal insight
This year is a significant one for the engine manufacturers, as the two new-generation
powerplants make their service debut. Pratt & Whitney kicked things off in January when
its PW1000G geared turbofan entered service on the A320neo. It will be swiftly followed
on the Airbus twinjet by the all-new rival offering from CFM International, the Leap-1A.
Meanwhile in Seattle, the Leap is key to the enhancements now in flight test at Boeing on
its 737 Max and is the initial powerplant option on Comacs C919, which should fly this
year. Work is even more hectic for P&W. It is preparing the PW1500G for service-entry on
the Bombardier CSeries this summer, while testing is under way on the PW1200Gpowered Mitsubishi MRJ and about to start on the similarly-equipped Embraer E-Jet E2.
The GTF is also the lead powerplant on Irkuts MC-21, which will roll out in mid-2016.
Here, the latest market trends are examined using Flightglobals Fleets Analyzer database
A320 FAMILY ENGINE MANUFACTURER SHARE
2015 deliveries share
Backlog* Share
International Aero Engines 46%
Pratt & Whitney 23%
Max Kingsley-Jones/Flightglobal
International
Aero Engines 6%
Undecided 38%
Total deliveries: 488

CFM International 54%
CFM International 33%
NOTES: At 31 December 2015. Excludes corporate and military operators

SOURCE: Flightglobal Insight analysis using Flightglobal's Fleets Analyzer database
*
flightglobal.com
ENGINES
market share by type

engine manufacturer ranking
767 engine manufacturer share

2015 deliveries
Rank
Manufacturer
1
2
3
4
5
6
CFM International
General Electric
International Aero Engines
Rolls-Royce
Engine Alliance
Pratt & Whitney
Undecided
Backlog*
2015 deliveries
Engines
Share
Engines
Share
1,482
504
448
292
84
14
2,824
52%
18%
16%
10%
3%
1%
-
12,428
2,086
696
2,770
136
2,538
4,786
25,440
49%
8%
2%
11%
1%
10%
19%
TOTAL
787 ENGINE MANUFACTURER SHARE

Backlog*
General Electric 63%
General Electric
Pratt & Whitney
TOTAL
Aircraft
16
0
16

Undecided 20%
Backlog*
Share Aircraft
100%
Share
76 100%
0
76
NOTES: *At 31 December 2015. Excludes corporate and

military operators. SOURCE: Flightglobal Insight analysis using
Flightglobals Fleets Analyzer database
A380 engine manufacturer share

2015 deliveries
NOTES: *At 31 December 2015. Data for installed engines based on Airbus/Boeing types. Excludes corporate and military operators
SOURCE: Flightglobal Insight analysis using Flightglobals Fleets Analyzer database
2015 deliveries
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Engine Alliance
Rolls-Royce
Undecided
TOTAL
Aircraft
Share
21
6
27
78%
22%
-
Backlog*
Aircraft
Share
34 24%
76 54%
30 22%
140

A330 engine manufacturer share

2015 deliveries
Manufacturer
Aircraft
Share
20
7
72
99
20%
7%
73%
-
Backlog*
Aircraft Share
NOTES: *At 31 December 2015. Excludes corporate and military operators

General Electric
Pratt & Whitney
Rolls-Royce
Undecided
TOTAL
REGIONAL AIRCRAFT ENGINE MANUFACTURER MARKET SHARE


Total backlog: 773
Rolls-Royce 37%
2015 deliveries*
Rolls-Royce 32%
36
20
222
61
339
11%
6%
65%
18%
Backlog**
Pratt & Whitney*** 66%
Powerjet 7%
Powerjet 4%

Pratt & Whitney*** 40%
NOTES: NOTES: *Airframe **At 31 December 2015. Excludes corporate and military operators ***Including P&W Canada.
Data for firm orders for ATR, Bombardier (including CSeries), Comac, Embraer, Mitsubishi and Sukhoi
AIRBUS/BOEING FLEET BY ENGINE MANUFACTURER

12,000
10,376
10,000
Airbus total: 8,397

Boeing total: 12,273
8,000
Grand total: 20,670
6,000
2,876
2,792
2,447
2,000
2,076
4,000
103
CFM
International
International
Aero Engines
General
Electric
Pratt &
Whitney
Rolls-Royce
Engine
Alliance
NOTES: In-service and parked fleet at 31 December 2015. Boeing data includes former MDC types. Excludes corporate and military operators
flightglobal.com
Airliner
visionaries: Bill
features
Allen and Juan Trippe
big vision big jet

max kingsley-jones london
n April 1966, a gentlemans agreement

between two visionaries backed by a pair
of huge American corporations created a
transportation icon that would have farreaching implications for the airline industry
and travelling public alike.
That historic day 50 years ago was when
Boeing and Pan Am bosses Bill Allen and
Juan Trippe signed a 190 million deal
(equivalent to $530 million in 1966) for 25
Boeing 747s; in 2016 dollars, the deal was
worth about $3.9 billion, or $155 million per
aircraft. In one fell swoop, the industry giants
had planted the seed to create the worlds first
widebody airliner, d
elivering an order-ofmagnitude reduction in seat operating costs,
range and noise levels.
But the two US heavyweights would
endure very different fortunes in the ensuing
decades. As Boeing and the 747 went from
strength to strength, Pan Am, which would
remain inextricably linked to the airliner it
shaped, entered a gradual decline and disap-
peared within a quarter of a century.

The significance of the day was not lost on
this magazine, which recorded the deal under
the headline, Boeing 747 ordered (Flight International, 21 April 1966): To future air
transport commentators, 13 April 1966... will
undoubtedly count as one of the major turning points in the evolution of the business.
Flight went on to say: The Boeing 747 is
expected to have operating costs per seat and
per tonne-mile up to 40% lower than existing
subsonic jets under comparable circumstances. Our scribe amusingly added that the 747
and other proposed giant airliners will continue the vulgarisation of worldwide travel to
an extent beyond the capability of existing
aircraft.
That the 747 even happened when it did
was remarkable, given the obsession the airlines and manufacturers had at the time with
supersonic transports (SSTs).
Many of the airlines were convinced that
the SST was coming, the 747s original chief
engineer Joe Sutter told Flight Internationals
John Bailey in a 1989 interview to mark the
roll-out of the 747th Jumbo. And many

eople here at Boeing thought that the 747
p
was an aeroplane with a limited future,
because the SST was going to take all of the
business. I even had difficulty getting people
to work on the 747. People would come up to
me and say: Keep working on the 747, and
when you get done, there might be a place for
you on the SST.
unconvinced
Back in 1966, Flights editorial team was less
convinced by Boeings commitment to its
model 2707 Mach 2.7 airliner. Our 747 launch
story concluded with the words... the question which must surely arise is whether the
Boeing 747 is a nail in the coffin of the
American SST.
The catalyst for the 747 was Boeings loss to
Lockheed in the C-5 US military airlifter programme. Sutter told Flight in 1989 how on the
day Boeing learnt it had been unsuccessful,
he was recalled from vacation to begin studies
into a high-capacity jet transport: I was given
about 100 engineers, and we put a brochure
together. We looked at three sizes, 250, 300
and 350 seats, and then we made a pretty
rapid circuit of the key airlines. Most of them
leaned towards the higher size.
A solution based on Boeings original jetliner, the 707, was quickly dismissed after
Sutter and his team concluded that it looked
flightglobal.com
Boeing
Half a century ago, Boeing and Pan Am took a risky

gamble when they agreed to create the worlds largest
airliner and the bet paid off by redefining air transport
boeing 747
like a halfway job and that it wouldnt last

very long.
So studies that led to the all-new model
747 began, quickly focusing on a novel idea.
Rather than a double-decker with two narrower fuselages, one above the other, Sutters
team decided to go with a single-deck that
was more than double the width of
contemporary aircraft.
Pan Am pioneered 747 services in January 1970, between New York and London
Many of the airlines were

convinced the [supersonic
transport] was coming
think it was the largest single industrial

undertaking in the history of the country.
Even with the 747 launched, the spectre of
an SST quickly obsoleting the big jet loomed
large. To hedge its bets, Boeing designed the
747 to carry containerised freight and incorporated a hinged nose for the main deck to
allow straight-in loading. This resulted in the
cockpit being located above the main deck,
creating the 747s distinctive hump.
Boeing
But persuading the irrepressible Pan Am

boss that a wide single-deck, rather than a
double-deck standard body, was the way to
go, did not prove easy. In his book 747, Sutter
explains how colleague Milt Heinemann
unravelled a 6.1m (20ft) length of clothesline
to illustrate to Trippe and his management
team just how wide the 747s single-deck
would be. Incredulity registered on the faces
of Trippe and his people, wrote Sutter.
Speaking just ahead of the 747s introduction (Flight International, 21 August 1969),
Pan Ams vice-president of service Harold
Graham explained how the widebody cabin
seating configuration was decided: The
designers asked us how many seats abreast
we could sell. The figure of nine-abreast came
up because it gave us the best combination of
passenger groups. We have a row which runs
like this: window, three seats, aisle, two seats,
central partition, two seats, aisle, two seats,
window. In this way the fewest possible people have a middle seat.
So the 747s design crystallised as this giant
airliner, configured with a wide, twin-aisle
cabin that would become the benchmark for
all future big jets.
Malcolm Stamper, who was the original
vice-president and general manager in charge
of the 747 and, with Sutter, a key architect of
Boeing
joe sutter
Chief engineer, Boeing 747
747 chief engineer Joe Sutter with Ship One

the jumbo jet, talked to Flights Bailey in 1989:
I remember everyone looking at Bill Allen
down the table, and it was his call, whether to
bet the company on it. Stamper went on to
be Boeings vice-chairman and passed away
in 2005.
The size of the aeroplane itself was not
that much of a technological breakthrough it
was the fundamental scale of the project. I
BOEING 747 DELIVERIES/YEAR-END FLEET

1,600
Cumulative deliveries
Active fleet
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014
flightglobal.com
the hump
When Trippe noticed the unused space in the
hump behind the cockpit earmarked for crewrest, he insisted it be converted into a firstclass lounge. Thus another touchstone of the
747 was created.
Boeing rolled the first 747 RA001
(N747O) out of its brand-new, purpose-built
production facility at Everett, Washington, on
30 September 1968 and Ship One took to the
skies on 9 February 1969.
By the time the first 747 emerged in Everett,
more than 150 orders had been secured from
26 customers, comprising key North
American airlines and flag carriers from
across Europe, Asia and Australasia. But as

Stamper recalled back in 1989, the 747s
debut coincided with a downturn in fortunes
for both Boeing and the air transport industry:
Every time that you plan a new aeroplane,
its a good time economically. The airlines are
right behind you in saying that they need
more capacity, better engines, more fuel efficiency, he said.
When the aeroplane comes out, a lmost in obody has
evitably there is a recession, and n
any money to buy them. The a rrival of the 747
was no exception.
Despite the industry slowdown, Boeing
stuck with its plan to initiate 747 production
at a flurry, delivering an incredible 200 air-
COVER STORY
inal Pratt & Whitney flavour to incorporate all

of the big three powerplants as Boeing
developed the big jets performance capabilities. Deliveries passed 500 in 1980 and
reached 1,000 in 1993, by which time a
second-generation development, the 747-400,
was well into production.
This was the era when the USA led the
way, so the fact Pan Am, TWA, American,
Delta, United all ordered the 747 meant that
European and Asian airlines also had to, to
Airlines now focus on cost

and network, far more than
service and image
Flightglobal
richard evans
Senior consultant, Flightglobal Ascend
The arrival of the 747 redefined the size and scale of airliner design
craft during the first three years of production. Although the 747 quickly proved itself in
service, the recession had caused demand for
new airliners to collapse and Boeings earnings
declined by $73 million in one year.
Over 18 months, Boeings Seattle employment fell from 104,000 to 38,500, and Sutter,
who by now was running the Everett division,
saw his workforce cut from 25,000 to 4,000.

Nobody wanted to fly. If the recession had
gone on six more months, the programme
could have gone down the tubes. It could have
wiped out Boeing, he told Flight in 1989.
But despite the storm-clouds at the start,
the 747 went from strength to strength. The
engine selection was broadened from the orig-
compete, says Richard Evans, senior consultant at Flightglobals Ascend division. Almost
all markets were regulated, so there was little
or no fare competition and airlines had to
compete on image and service. There was
nothing else available that had even transatlantic range, until the [McDonnell Douglas]
DC10-30 entered service.
The arrival of the Airbus A380 in the mid2000s stole the 747s crown as the industrys
biggest airliner, but Boeing countered in
November 2005 with the launch of the 747-8
family. This major development incorporated
launch customer
Triumph and tragedy: the pan am 747 story

Air Station became Pan Am
president in 1927, aged 27. The
airlines journey to global success
all began with an exclusive mail
contract from President Machado of
Cuba for the route between Key
West and Havana.
accomplice
Trippes 747 creation accomplice,
Boeing president Bill Allen, also
moved on in 1968 after almost a
quarter of a century leading the US
manufacturer when he became
chairman. Allen died in October
1985, four years after Trippe.
At the time of the 747s
introduction, Pan Ams jet fleet
totalled approximately 160 aircraft
and during the first decade of jumbo
operations, the number of aircraft
declined as the airline shifted from
an all-narrowbody portfolio to one
that predominantly comprised
widebody types.
Boeing
When Pan Am played its pivotal

role in the creation of the 747, it
was arguably the worlds most
powerful airline, headed by one of
the most dynamic and influential
leaders of the airline industrys first
century, Juan Trippe.
In October 1955, a decade
before he brought the world the
747, Trippe had fired America into
the jet age when Pan Am placed
launch orders for 45 Boeing 707s
and Douglas DC-8s. And the New
York-headquartered airline was still
at the top of the tree in January
1970, when it inaugurated jumbo
jet services on the route between
New York and London.
By then, Trippe had retired from
Pan Am, handing over the reins in
1968, at age 68, after being chief
executive of the airline that he
founded for more than 40 years.
The Yale graduate and student of
aviation at MIT and Pensacola Naval
The niche 747SP debuted for Pan Am but went on to sell only 45 aircraft
During that time, Pan Am continued its close association with the
airliner it created, both in the good
times and the bad. In September
1973, the airline placed the first
order for the 747 Special
Performance. The SP was a shortfuselage, ultra-long-range 747
erivative designed to counter the

d
big tri-jets developed by Lockheed
and McDonnell Douglas.
Unfortunately, despite offering
impressive city-pair route capabilities, the aircraft proved a little too
niche and sales only reached 45.
Pan Am debuted the 747SP in
flightglobal.com
BOEING 747
Tim Bicheno-Brown
a stretch, new General Electric GEnx engines

and a revised wing and like the original 747
included passenger and freighter variants.
Unfortunately for Boeing, the new family
has not managed to match the appeal of the
original 747 and sales have been sluggish in
an increasingly competitive market where its
own stablemate, the 777-300ER, has proved
to be the dominant player.
Evans says that the broader product line-ups
from Airbus and Boeing, as well as the move
towards a liberalised airline market, changed
the demand dynamics for the 747.
Airlines now focus on cost
and network, far more
than service and image.
The 747-400 was the
premium long-haul air-
Boeing
747 in the news
Ship One rolls out on 30 October 1968
March 1976, but a year later it had

the misfortune to be involved in
what remains the worlds worst air
accident, when two 747s (the other
operated by KLM), collided on the
ground at Tenerife, killing 583 people. Another of the airlines 747s
craft well into the liberalised era, but the Atlantic saw fragmentation with 767s, he says.
The 747-400 ruled the trunk routes until the
777 entered service, offering much more cargo
space. The A380 then hit the final nail in the
coffin, by becoming the flagship aircraft for all
the airlines that have bought it.
By early this year, 747 deliveries had
reached 1,520 aircraft, but with a backlog falling to less than 20, production is slowing to
half an aircraft a month in September. Across
the life of the 747 programme, annual production has averaged over five times that rate.
was the target of a terrorist attack

12 years later, when a bomb
downed Pan Am flight 103 en route
from London to New York in
December 1988.
But as graphic images emerged
of the jumbos severed nose lying
shows that from a peak of close to 1,000 aircraft in service in the late 1990s, the 747 fleet
has declined to less than 600 aircraft in service today, which includes only around 255
passenger aircraft, says Ascend head of consultancy Rob Morris.
The backlog of 19 aircraft includes [the
now defunct] Transaero Airlines in Russia,
and there are questions over other commitments as well, he adds. It seems only a matter of time before Boeing decides to terminate
production. But whenever that decision is
finally taken, the 747 will always be judged as
a significant success for Boeing.
on a Scottish hillside, the powerhouse that had led the march of

international air transport was a
shadow of its former self, having
been a victim of the dynamics of US
airline deregulation a decade earlier. Crippled by the lack of a domes-
PAN AM FLEET EVOLUTION 1966-1991

180
160
Narrowbodies
Widebodies
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
19
66
19
67
19
68
19
69
19
70
19
71
19
72
19
73
19
74
19
75
19
76
19
77
19
78
19
79
19
80
19
81
19
82
19
83
19
84
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19 De
91 c
*
*On 4 Dec 1991 when operations ceased

flightglobal.com
tic network, Pan Am purchased

National Airlines in January 1980,
which delivered a substantial US
route system. But the influx of
National aircraft caused the fleet to
balloon and introduced equipment
incompatibility in what proved to be
a difficult marriage, and losses
quickly mounted.
Five years after the National
merger, Pan Ams Pacific division
(both routes and fleet) was sold to
rival United Airlines for $750 million
and by January 1987, the whole
business was up for sale.
In January 1991, it filed for
Chapter 11 protection and during the
course of the year, most of the rest of
the business was sold off to United
and Delta. On 4 December 1991,
when Pan Am folded, it still had 17
747s in its fleet as a momentous,
inspirational and sometimes tragic
story of one of the worlds greatest
airlines finally ended.
STRAIGHT&LEVEL
From yuckspeak to tales of yore, send your offcuts to murdo.morrison@flightglobal.com
On the evening of April 14th a
raid on Constantinople was
carried out by
three naval
aeroplanes.
Bombs were
dropped on the Zoitunlik
powder factory and the
aerodrome hangars.
Another naval aeroplane
visited Adrianople and
dropped bombs on the railway
station.
It was typical of the Germans

to start this campaign by a
mass air attack
on Belgrade of a
particularly
savage nature.
The ancient capital of Serbia
has been laid in ruins,
reduced to ashes. The
slaughter of civilians must
have been appalling.
Next stop New York: the Pan Am Boeing 314 Yankee Clipper
berthed at Europes transatlantic gateway
The museum says a total of
101 war-weary passengers
travelled on the two seaplanes
that day, including citizens of the
UK, Argentina, Sweden, France,
Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, the
Netherlands and the USA,
cementing Foynes role as an
aviation hub in those early days
of long-haul flying.
Against all odds

Still on an Irish theme, in an
aviation first, Ryanairs Michael
OLeary admitted to being lost
for words after the horse he
owns triumphed at the Grand
National at 33-1.
Thats a bit like Richard
Branson being bang out of
ideas, or Donald Trump having
no firm opinion.
The name of OLearys gee-gee
may give an ominous hint as to
his ambitions for Ryanair and
beyond: Rule the World.
example (er bottom left),

which is even less subtle in its
suggestiveness.
It makes the Caledonian
Girls adverts of the 1980s look
like something Germaine Greer
would have approved of.
After our recent story on

Malaysian airline Fireflys rather
sexist advertising, our attention
has been drawn to this earlier
A soft landing
The Bell Aerosystems Co is

developing at Buffalo, NY, an
air-cushion
landing system for
aircraft which
promises to
replace the conventional
wheeled undercarriage and
reduce runways to any long
open stretch of water, ice,
snow, swamp, sand or earth.
Budgie blues
Alex Hendriks spotted a glaring
typo in our 5-11 April issue,
when we said that a Bek Air
Fokker 100, carrying 166
passengers and five crew, had
suffered a nose gear failure.
With that number on board,
its no wonder they had a nose
gear problem, he remarks.
The number of passengers
was in fact 116.
Rock bottom
Behind the times
Constantinople hit
Belgrade slaughter
TWA turbulence
TWA, which announced on 1

April a $237.6 million loss in
1990, has hired
legal advisors in
case it is forced
to seek Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection from
creditors if restructuring
efforts fail. The losses were
blamed on fuel prices and a
drastic drop in traffic due to
recession and the Gulf war.
racingfotos.com/REX/Shutterstock
Back in the 1930s, the tiny Irish

village of Foynes was a centre of
European aviation. It was from
here on the Shannon Estuary
that Pan Am began operating its
flying boat transatlantic services
just weeks before the outbreak of
the Second World War.
An event organised by the
Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime
Museum on 12-15 April brought
together 350 former workers and
associates of the famous airline
many wearing their former
uniforms. It was the last ever
Pan Am World Reunion, a
gathering that has been staged
regularly since the carrier
ceased operations a quarter of a
century ago.
Pan Am began its flights from
Foynes on 9 July 1939, using a
Boeing 314. A replica of the first
aircraft, dubbed Yankee Clipper,
is on display at the museum.
Among the attendees at the
reunion who had travelled in
from around the world was
Edward Trippe, son of Pan Am
founder Juan.
Foynes role as a transatlantic
staging post ended just after the
war, when the nearby Shannon
airport was opened and flying
boats became largely redundant.
However, Pan Ams Foynes
operation had its busiest day on
18 August 1945, when two
Clippers the Atlantic and the
Dixie arrived from New York
in the morning and departed
that evening.
Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum
A Trippe back in
time for Foynes
100-year archive
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42 | Flight International |19-25 April 2016
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WORKING WEEK
WORK EXPERIENCE ROS WYNNE
Technicians skills put to the test

Have you always been
interested in aviation?
Yes, I have always been a big fan
of flying. When I saw the advertisement for an aircraft maintenance apprenticeship it immediately caught my eye, as it would
enable me to learn exactly how
aircraft got in the air and stayed
there.
What are your qualifications?
I am an avionic technician. My
experience is mainly in heavy
base maintenance on the Boeing
737, 757, 767 and 777. I am in
the process of applying for a B2
licence and I plan to apply for a
B1 licence next year.
You recently competed in the
WorldSkills Competition. What
is it and how did you become
involved?
The WorldSkills Competition is
held every two years and is the
biggest vocational education and
skills excellence event in the
world. It is designed to show off
your vocational skills and compete against the best in your
field. To qualify for the championship, in the aircraft maintenance category, I took part in the
2014 and 2015 Irish National
Skills competition. I won the
2014 event and was invited to
compete again the following
year as a guest. After this I was
selected to represent Ireland in
the 43rd WorldSkills Competition in So Paulo, Brazil. From
June to mid-August 2015, I
trained intensely at the Shannon
training centre. The competition
itself lasted four days. During
that time, I competed in seven
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Ros Wynne
Avionic specialist Ros Wynne was initially attracted by an apprenticeship advert. After gaining experience on a
range of Boeing types, he demonstrated his vocational expertise during a WorldSkills Competition in Brazil
Wynne represented Ireland at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition in 2015

disciplines: sheet metal repair;
flight control rigging; daily inspection of an aircraft; gas turbine engine borescope inspection and hot section inspection;
gas turbine compressor inspection and blade blending and polishing; powered flying control
unit removal, inspection, reassembly and rigging; and fabrication and installation of an electrical wiring loom and fault
finding. It is an experience that I
will carry with me always and I
know that it has helped mould
and mature me, both professionally and personally.
What does your job entail?
My day-to-day work, with Ryanair, includes routine and nonroutine rectifications, servicing,
Once I get my [B2]

licence I want to
become a certifying
engineer, and later be
involved with training
i nspections, troubleshooting,
functional testing and especially
avionic modifications. I am an
avionic technician so the majority of my work is based around
aircraft electrical systems.
Describe your typical day
At the moment I am working
nights, so I will describe my
typical night. I get up around
16:30 and leave for work at
20:00. After a quick team meeting I get started on the modification I am currently working
on an avionic modification
programme. The work consists
of aircraft strip-out to get access
for the new wiring, wiring
installation and continuity
checks, aircraft rebuild and,
finally, function testing of the
disturbed systems. I finish at
08:00 and after a quick snack
and a chat with my wife I go to
bed.
What are your ambitions?
I am in the process of applying
for my B2 licence. Once I get my
licence I want to become a certifying engineer on the aircraft.
Later on down the line I would
like to be involved with [the]
training of aircraft maintenance
technicians.
What activities do you do in
your spare time?
I am currently working a fourdays-on, four-days-off shift in
England, so on my days off I am
back in Ireland spending time
with my wife and our puppy,
going for walks or watching a
film. I am a huge rugby fan, so I
also try to watch as many matches as I can, especially Leinster
and Ireland. n
Looking for a job in aerospace?
Check out our listings online at
If you would like to feature in

Working Week, or you know
someone who does, email your
pitch to kate.sarsfield@
flightglobal.com
Flight to the future: our forecast for

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www.flightglobal.com/vision2035
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HIGH HOPES

NASA FLOATS ITS

Shanghai show lacks

19-25 APRIL 2016

How Boeing and Pan Am bet

The difference is monumental.

VOLUME 189 NUMBER 5534

19-25 APRIL 2016

Shanghai show lacks

19-25 APRIL 2016

How Boeing and Pan Am bet

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

NASA returns to its stratospheric airship concepts P8

BillyPix, US Air Force

NEXT WEEK UAVS

Download the Military Simulator

19-25 April 2016 | Flight International | 3

Avianca and Etihad Airways

THE WEEK IN NUMBERS

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Last week, we asked: Foreign ownership

Growth in US aerospace and defence exports since 2010,

Harris Corp has divested its $77m-revenue Salt Lake

Gallons (22.7bn litres) of jet fuel saved to date by use of

This week, we ask: Future of the jumbo jet?

Keep track of the latest developments in

4 | Flight International | 19-25 April 2016

The big pay-off

oeing celebrates its centenary in 2016, and the 747

In the end it was the 747 that

fort considerations, determined its very wide cabin.

Old before their time

Stay on top of the latest news

re fighter jets still of any use in modern air warfare?

Now the US Air Force is having second thoughts

ALASKA SUBSIDIARY SIGNS $2.8BN EMBRAER ORDER

BOOST FOR CS300 AS AIR BALTIC FIRMS OPTIONS

PRESIDENT-S TO PROTECT RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS

DC-3 DESTROYED AFTER COLOMBIAN ACCIDENT

FINANCIAL STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

s the debate intensifies in

repayable loans, helping programmes such as the Q400, CRJ

For more coverage of the burgeoning

MALAYSIAN CARRIERS TO FORM ASSOCIATION

HNA ADDS TO PORTFOLIO WITH GATEGROUP DEAL

RAFAEL UNVEILS ITS DRONE DOME

6 | Flight International | 19-25 April 2016

Heron flocks to Super Hornet swarm

NASA signals new

Comac advances C919 avionics work

flight-test aircraft awaits the

The first flight-test

The current stage includes work

Ground-test article will shortly be moved to strength test facility

which will shortly be transferred

without its horizontal and

PROPULSION STEPHEN TRIMBLE BOSTON

Qatar threatens P&W with cancellation in Neo row

A320neos will be at least partly

the rival CFM International

Al Baker told a Boston media

A320neo last December, but the