Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008 - (Page 84)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 The A400M: a New Era Begins, at Last It’s big, it’s late, but it’s here. While the super-smooth lines and gray paint of the Airbus A400M airlifter made it look like a computergenerated image in some publicity photos, the aircraft was very real when it was rolled out in a ceremony at the home of the Airbus Military Transport Aircraft Division, in Seville, on June 26. Presented to the customers and the world’s press and presided over by His Majesty Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, the new aircraft heralds a new era in military airlift capability—once all the developmental problems with its new TP400-D6 engines have been ironed out. Launched under a single contract in 2003 with 180 orders from seven European customers, the A400M is Europe’s most ambitious military procurement program Better late than never–the Airbus A400M was rolled out with considerable pomp in Seville on June 26. ever. The launch customer nations (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom) were subsequently joined by Malaysia and the Republic of South Africa, bring- Ground runs of the A400M’s TP400-D6 engine began June 10. Transport’s TP400-D6 Is Running Now Too On June 10 the first ground runs began of the A400M’s Europrop International TP400-D6 engine and its Ratier-Figeac propeller installed on a Marshall Aerospace-owned C-130 test aircraft. The A400M engine/prop combination is the largest ever to be designed and produced in the Western world. Engineers will test and measure engine starts, nacelle ventilation, intake distortion, and engine noise behavior, and complete a vibration stress survey to clear the new prop. Over 30 hours of ground running are expected before the aircraft is cleared for flight. During this phase Marshall Aerospace will start delivering information recorded from its Data Acquisition System to provide Airbus Military with key data on engine, propeller and nacelle performances. During the initial ground runs, checks will be performed to confirm the aircraft, engine and propeller interfaces, and flight test instrumentation. The propulsion system will undergo low- and high-power static runs, followed by low- and high-speed taxi tests before taking to the air. ing the total number of commitments to 192. The overall contract, worth some 20 billion euros, was signed between Airbus Military and OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en matière d’Armement), the contractual body representing all seven European customer nations. EADS had hoped to fly the A400M last year. The organizers of the ILA2008 Berlin Air Show had hoped to include it in their flying display last May. The first flight date has now been pushed back several times during 2008. At the moment, Airbus thinks the A400M might fly in September, but that date may well shift again. Engine supplier Europrop International delivered the fourth and final TP400-D6 engine for the first A400M in February. The en- gines have already achieved over 1,000 hours of ground testing, but the critical milestone of airborne engine testing has yet to happen. This has been a major factor in the overall delays that have afflicted the A400M program. Engine testing will be conducted on the TP400 Flying Test Bed, a specially modified C-130 Hercules, operated by Marshall Aerospace. Ground runs started in June. The allure of the A400M is its promise to bring an entirely new airlift combination of speed, STOL performance, lift capacity and cost. Created to significantly out-perform the Lockheed Martin C-130J and to substantially undercut the Boeing C-17’s quarter-of-a billion dollar price tag, the A400M should be the airlifter that everybody wants and can afford. Once it’s finished. —Robert Hewson The A400M is designed to outperform the C-130J and undersell the C-17. 84 July 14, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008

Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008 Contents Thirty More Years CFM Reveals New Engine Boeing Reduces Forecast UAVs’ Quiet Revolution Finmeccanica: U.S. Success A Plethora of AESAs BAE North America Plus L-3 Becomes a Prime Better Late Than Never A Peek Behind the Curtain China’s J-10 Revealed Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner Breaking LM’s Hegemony

Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.