Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008 - (Page 6)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Gripen’s F414G Power Took Crew By Surprise as They Readied the Demo Saab’s chief test pilot Mikael Seidl recalls some of the experiences he shared with fellow test pilot Magnus Ljungdahl in the run-up to the first flight of the Gripen Demo aircraft. In the lead up to the first flight both Seidl and Ljungdahl did full-power run-ups of the new General Electric F414G engine in Saab’s hush house. “There’s something very strange about sitting in an aircraft, on full burner, inside a building,” remarked Seidl. The F414G provided another new experience for the pilots during the high-speed runs along the runway. Says Seidl, “We discovered a difference between the F414G and the RM12. When you go from full military power to idle thrust there’s a delay of one second before the engine starts to spool down. So when we pulled back the throttle nothing happened and I thought we were going flying. One second later the thrust cut. “When we asked GE later they told us, ‘Oh yeah, that’s what it does.’ “We set an abort speed on the ground of 110 kts, so in a lightweight configuration we had to cut the thrust at 70 knots because the acceleration was so stunning. At Linköping we always make easterly departures from Runway 11 which means there’s about 200 m of the runway that we don’t typically use. For the max acceleration test we decided to use all the available length. So we went with 25% fuel and full afterburner. I cut the thrust at 80 kt, it was going so fast, and we did it inside those 200 m. We were astonished. “The test team threatened they’d sell the cockpit recordings over the internet because of our exhilaration, and our language, that day.” —Robert Hewson Bombardier Picks Pro Line Fusion for CSeries Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics have been selected for Bombardier’s CSeries family of aircraft. Pro Line Fusion’s open architecture features an intuitive graphical human-machine interface, extensive situational awareness capabilities and comprehensive integration with aircraft systems. “Bombardier’s confidence in Rockwell Collins and our Pro Line Fusion offering is a testament to both our strong commitment of providing advanced avionics for airline operators and the flexibility and adaptability of our open system Pro Line Fusion architecture,” said Greg Irmen, Rockwell Collins’ vice president and general manager of Regional Systems. Aeroflot Cargo Chooses Snecma Services Aeroflot Cargo, the freight division of Russian airline group Aeroflot, has signed an exclusive engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) contract with Snecma Services. The three-year deal covers all CFM56-3 engines powering the carrier’s Boeing 737 fleet. The deal also includes a spare engine leasing service, to be provided by Shannon Engine Support, CFM subsidiary and partner of Snecma Services. Future Lynx Said Firmly on Track Despite rumors to the contrary, AgustaWestland managing director business Graham Cole says that the Future Lynx reconnaissance/ attack helicopter program for the British military is on cost, on time and on track. “There’s been a lot of speculation, and we hope it will end soon,” he said July 15 at the Farnborough show. “The program is continuing. We’re working with the [U.K. Ministry of Defence] and have just completed a very successful critical design review.” AgustaWestland is at Pavilion OE1-2. Boeing and Alenia for Composites Recycling Boeing and Alenia Aeronautica are teaming to establish Italy’s first composite recycling facility. They are working with Milled Carbon of Birmingham, with Puglia, Italy-based Karborek, and with ENEA, the Italian national agency for new energy and environmental technologies. The two principals, Boeing says, “have signed a letter of intent to apply their expertise and work with academia to advance industry knowledge surrounding the recycling of composite airplane parts into reusable materials for manufacturing.” The new recycling facility is expected to be operational in mid- to late-2009 in the Puglia region, near the Alenia Aeronautica manufacturing center and its supply chain production centers. Qatar Airways Opts for Rolls-Royce TotalCare Qatar Airways has signed a long-term TotalCare service agreement to support its fleet of four Rolls-Royce Trent 500powered Airbus A340-600s and one VIP-configured Airbus A340-500. Qatar Airways recently ordered 80 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. At this point the Trent XWB is the only engine available for the A350. L-3 Wins 747 VIP Self-Protection Contract L-3 Communications Integrated Systems Group (Hall 4, Stand A15) is planning to install its widebody integrated platform protection system (WIPPS) on two unidentified VIP Boeing 747-400s, having just completed a similar self-protection suite on a Boeing BBJ2 owned by the same headof-state customer. WIPPS includes Thales and EADS missile warning subsystems. It also combines BAE Systems' ALE-47 threat-adaptive countermeasure dispensing system with infrared decoys produced by Armtec Defense and Alloy Surfaces. Mikael Seidl (right) and Magnus Ljungdahl. 6 July 16, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

Bombardier, Shenyang $5 Billion for Composites 787 and Seven V-22s for Export Sale? Saving Fuel at SFO Raytheon Roars Into UAVs Bell Eyes ARH-70A Costs All According to Plan We Fly the PC-12NG Russia’s T-50 PAK-FA Optimistic in Israel ICAO Sim Classifications Pratt to Power New Drone Russian Conglomerate

Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

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