Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008 - (Page 96)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 China’s J-10 Fighter is a Work of Art China’s Chengdu Aerospace Jian-10 (J-10) fighter airplane is finally coming out from under wraps. The public display of the aircraft will take place as part of the official ceremony to commemorate the re-merger of the two divisions of the Aviation Industries Corporation (AVIC I and AVIC II), which Show News has learned will take place on July 26. An actual J-10—one of the earlier production models—has been put on outdoor display in front of the AVIC I central administration building in Beijing’s Chaoyang district and will be unveiled at this event. Show News was able to catch the aircraft being mounted on its stand before it was then draped in a ceremonial covering that will stay in place until the re-merger ceremony. Chinese engineers putting the finishing touches on the J-10’s outdoor display mounting told Show News that the aircraft is an actual airplane and not a full-scale model. Close inspection reveals that the engine has been removed and the exhaust nozzle replaced by a painted wooden mock-up. Other systems have also been removed in order to reduce the display’s weight, but the aircraft will be exhibited with a full weapons load, including the Luoyang Optical-Electronic Development Centre (LOEC) LS-6 glide bomb. Chinese industry officials are also displaying the J-10 as part of the “Beautify Beijing” campaign in advance of the Olympic Games in August. The PLA Air Force’s (PLAAF) Bai-Yi demonstration squadron will be upgraded before the games, with the current Chengdu F-7EB models replaced by J-10s. A flyover of the Olympic “Bird’s Nest” stadium with the J-10equipped team during opening ceremonies is reportedly planned. —Reuben F. Johnson The new AVIC will take the wraps off its J-10 gate guardian later this month. Show News was there early. Made in China–the ERJ145 by Harbin Embraer China has become the global production site of the Embraer ERJ145 and has enough orders to keep its production line going for another three years. says Embraer. The jv between Embraer and Harbin (part of AVIC II) will continue to supply the 43 aircraft on firm order for Chinese carriers, and future orders. Production of the Legacy 600 business jet (which is based on the shorter fuselage ERJ135) will remain at Embraer’s São José dos Campos headquarters site in Brazil. Luiz Sergio Chiessi, Embraer’s vp for airline market intelligence, says there are no plans to take the Legacy/ERJ135 production line out of Brazil. Asked how many ERJs were currently parked around the world, Chiessi said that there were just three in the U.S. and three in Europe, but all were being readied for imminent re-entry into service. Chiessi says that there are still plenty of market opportunities for 50-seat regional jets, and points as replacement candidates to the ageing Russian 30-seat Yak-40 (average age 33 years) and Tupolev Tu-134 (average age 30 years). Some 286 of the former and 172 of the latter are still in service. He says the replacement process has already started, and cites the Ukraine’s Dniproavia Airline’s growing fleet of five used ERJ145s that have been in service since 2007, replacing Yak-40s. The RJ50 feeder is fundamental to the support of the U.S. hub and spoke system, he explained, as well as to feed European hubs, but high fuel prices will force airlines to revise RJ50 short-haul and long/thin operations. Because of improved scope clause rules the U.S. trend will be towards higher capacity RJ75-seaters, which has the potential to remove up to 250 RJ50 (ERJ and CRJ) units from the U.S. in the next five years. He says that China will absorb additional new RJ50-seater units to achieve a better capacity balance in its fleet. Secondary markets will keep expanding, with more used RJ50s moving to the CIS, Mexico, Africa and South America. Deliveries of the Embraer ERJ family reached 1,000 last September, including military variants and the Legacy 600 bizjet. —Mike Vines Orders are in hand for three years of ERJ145 production in China. 96 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

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