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HORNET DILEMMA 

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TWO MINDS OVER 

FUTURE FIGHTERS 

AVALON PREVIEW 

747-8 SLOTS ALERT 

Boeing says it could be 

forced to slow production 

of revamped jumbo if new 

orders fail to emerge 13 

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Ironically, failure of BAE 

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19-25 FEBRUARY 2013 

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Partners in full flight to get Trent-engined 

A350 XWB airborne by June’s big show 


HORNET DILEMMA 747-8 SLOTS ALERT FREE AND SINGLE 

AUSTRALIANS IN Boeing says it could be Ironically, failure of BAE 

TWO MINDS OVER 

FUTURE FIGHTERS 

AVALON PREVIEW 

INTERNATIONAL 

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COVER IMAGE 

This was taken as the first 

Rolls-Royce Trent XWB 

was delivered for Airbus’s 

flight-test A350. Our cover 

story, a programme update, 

leads an engines package 

that also focuses on CFM 

International’s Leap. 

See Cover Story P24 

NEWS 

THIS WEEK 

8 Split loyalties for new airline giant 

9 A330-200 eyed as Beluga successor. 

USAF refuses to reopen ‘flawed’ Raptor 

inquiry 

10 Turmoil as arrests rock Finmeccanica. 

Regulator searches for UAV integration 

test sites 

11 Booming sales prompt Mexico move. 

Airframers to fight soft market with new 

launches 

£3.30 

AIR TRANSPORT 

12 Rolls-Royce focus turns to A350-1000 

powerplant 

13 Empty slots could slow 747-8 output. 

Longer-range Superjet is airborne 

14 Crashed An-28 denied terrain warning. 

Aeroflot technical snags prompt Superjet 

defence 

15 Jat aims to revive latent Airbus deal 

DEFENCE 

16 SOCOM places urgent Insitu UAV order 

to fill critical gap. 

New Zealand’s NH90s clear testing 

milestone 

17 Russian Altius design is inadvertently 

revealed. 

� � 

Rolls-Royce 

PIC OF THE WEEK 

YOUR PHOTOGRAPH HERE 

Keith Campbell gave this Panavia Tornado 

shot the title “Evening playtime” when he 

added it to his “sunshine band” AirSpace 

gallery. Our latest World Air Forces directory 

lists 119 Tornados in the UK’s fleet. Open a 

gallery in flightglobal.com’s AirSpace 

community for a chance to feature here 

flightglobal.com/imageoftheday 

Skimmer conversion kit offered 

18 UK reviews decision to retire Sentinel. 

United Aircraft chief urges full Medium 

Transport Aircraft contract 

BUSINESS AVIATION 

19 MEBAA offers to referee Rizon row. 

Chinese business jet fleet grew 40% 

in 2012 

20 Airbus Corporate Jets pins hopes on 

market rebound. 

Europe opens way to G280 deliveries 

TECHNOLOGY 

21 Rotor blade pressure may hold key to 

dynamic stall. 

Warning – weightlessness can ruin your 

eyesight 

BUSINESS 

22 Fruits of freedom for EADS 

REGULARS 

7 Comment 

42 Straight & Level 

45 Classified 

47 Jobs 

51 Working Week 

48 JOB OF THE WEEK Air traffic controller, 

Alderney Airport 

Proven and arriving soon at a gate near you. 

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Sunshine band gallery on flightglobal.com/AirSpace 


INTERNATIONAL 


Eurocopter to invest $100 million in aerostructures facility 

in Mexico P11. US services issue new budget cuts 

warning P17 

COVER STORY 

24 COMMERCIAL ENGINES All eyes on 

XWB Rolls-Royce turns its attention to 

proving the maturity of the A350’s Trent 

XWB powerplant 

FEATURES 

28 COMMERCIAL ENGINES Leap of faith 

CFM’s A320neo engine has the edge on 

P&W’s rival offering, but the battle remains 

fierce as orders hang in the balance 

32 AUSTRALIA SPECIAL REPORT Fighting 

chance We analyse how the aerospace 

market is being reshaped in our country 

special 

NEXT WEEK HELICOPTERS SPECIAL 

Test pilot Peter Gray (above) runs the rule 

over Sikorsky’s S-92 in an exclusive flight 

evaluation. Plus: reports on the Bell 525, 

safety, aerial filming and the war on rats 

19-25 February 2013 | Flight International | 3 

Sikorsky 

Eurocopter, US Air Force

CONTENTS 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Companies listed 

Aeroflot ..........................................................8 

AgustaWestland ...........................................10 

Airbus ..........................8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 20, 22 

Air Lease ......................................................12 

Air Tractor .....................................................11 

American Airlines ...........................................8 

Antonov ...................................................8, 14 

Astrium ........................................................22 

ATR ..............................................................15 

Australian Helicopters ..................................19 

Aviadvigatel .................................................18 

Avincis Group ..............................................19 

BAE Systems ...............................................22 

Ball Aerospace .............................................23 

Boeing .........................................8, 12, 15, 21 

Bombardier ...........................................18, 19 

Bond Helicopters .........................................19 

Cassidian ....................................................22 

Cathay Pacific ..............................................25 

Cessna ........................................................19 

CFM International ..................................18, 28 

Comac .........................................................28 

Dassault ......................................................11 

DLR .............................................................21 

EADS ...........................................................22 

Elbit Systems .................................................8 

Engine Alliance ............................................23 

Eurocopter .......................................11, 20, 22 

Europe Airpost .............................................15 

Finmeccanica ........................................10, 22 

GE Aviation ..................................................23 

Gulfstream .......................................11, 19, 20 

Hindustan Aeronautics ...........................16, 18 

Ilyushin ....................................................8, 18 

Inaer ............................................................19 

Insitu ...........................................................16 

Interjet .........................................................14 

Irkut .............................................................18 

Israel Aerospace Industries ....................17, 20 

Jat Airways ...................................................15 

Jat Tehnika ...................................................15 

Jet2 .............................................................15 

Kongsberg ...................................................23 

Lockheed Martin ......................................9, 17 

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty .................................14 

Milestone Aviation ..........................................19 

NH Industries..................................................16 

Norsk Helikopterservice ..................................19 

Northrop Grumman ..................................16, 18 

Petropavlovk-Kamchatsky Aviation Enterprise .14 

Pilatus ...................................................16, 18 

Pratt & Whitney ............................................23 

Qatar Airways ...............................................19 

Raytheon .....................................................18 

RBC Bearings ...............................................23 

Recaro .........................................................23 

Rizon Jet ......................................................19 

Rolls-Royce ..................................................12 

Saab ...........................................................23 

Safran .........................................................22 

Signature Flight Support ..............................20 

Snecma .......................................................28 

South Airlines ................................................8 

Spirit AeroSystems .......................................13 

Sukhoi .........................................................13 

Thales ..........................................................22 

Thrush Aircraft ..............................................11 

Transaero .................................................8, 15 

Sikorsky .......................................................19 

Sukhoi .........................................................14 

Superjet International ..................................14 

United Aircraft ..............................................18 

US Airways .....................................................8 

UTair ..............................................................8 

Zenith Jet .....................................................11 

High-fidelity trainer and fighter ground-based training systems. 

4 | Flight International | 19-25 February 2013 

BEHIND THE 

HEADLINES 

Washington DC-based Americas 

air transport reporter Edward 

Russell travelled to Fort Worth 

to report on the proposed merger 

between American Airlines 

and US Airways (P8). In January, 

Russell had covered the former 

carrier’s inaugural Boeing 

777-300ER flight from Fort 

Worth to São Paulo Guarulhos 

– and had his photograph taken 

with chief executive Tom Horton 

(below, right). And our business 

editor Dan Thisdell crossed 

the Atlantic from our UK headquarters 

to Queretaro, for the 

opening of a Eurocopter factory 

in the Mexican aerospace 

hotspot (P11). 

For a full list of reader services, editorial 

and advertising contacts see P43 

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THE WEEK ON THE WEB 


On defence blog The DEW Line, Dave Majumdar highlighted 

an “awesome video from the cockpit of a VFA-103 Boeing 

F/A-18F Super Hornet flying off the deck of USS Dwight D 

Eisenhower”. The footage was 

produced by Carrier Strike 

Group 8 last year. “But if the 

dire predictions of what might 

happen under sequestration 

come to fruition, we may not 

see many more videos like 

this in the near future,” warned Majumdar. Pay a visit to 

flightglobal.com/superhornetvideo to enjoy it while it lasts. 

Elswhere on the same blog, a stunning Eurofighter shot of a 

Typhoon over Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi (above) ran with a 

post on the combat aircraft type’s competitive joust with the 

Lockheed Martin F-35. And on Ariel View, Arie Egozi noted 

that Israel Aerospace Industries chief Joseph Weiss had 

chosen his words carefully at Aero India, where he said, “I 

urge my colleagues in the Israeli industries to make every 

effort to promote co-operation.” 

Find all these items at flightglobal.com/wotw 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 

Last week, we asked what you think of Iran’s stealth fighter. You said: 

Domestic propaganda It’ll never fly 

Sign of things to come 

68% 

Total votes: 2,091 23% 9% 

This week, we ask for your take on the American Airlines and US 

Airways merger: ��Obvious synergies ��Culture clash ahead 

��Won’t fix US sector’s problems 

Vote at flightglobal.com/poll 

HIGH FLIERS 

The top five stories for the week just gone: 

1 Boeing warns about unclaimed 747-8 production slots 

2 Lockheed claims F-35 kinematics ‘better than or equal to’ Typhoon 

3 Airbus restores large American order to firm backlog 

4 Airbus leans towards A330-200 to replace Beluga fleet 

5 Embraer quietly unveils improved E-Jet with American Airlines order 

Flightglobal reaches up to 1.3 million visitors from 220 

countries viewing 7.1 million pages each month 

Download the Military Simulator 

Census online now. 

www.flightglobal.com/milisim 

flightglobal.com

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We didn’t build this company to be historic.�� 

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Power People Depend On.


How the West won 

US Airways stands poised to join the long list of legacy 

airline brands, including Pan Am, Eastern, 

TWA, Northwest and Continental, to pass into history. 

But the proposed merger of American Airlines and 

US Airways upsets the typical post-deregulation narrative. 

For the first time, an airline launched since the Airline 

Deregulation Act of 1978 can buy the third-largest 

US carrier and become the largest airline in the world. 

It all began in 1981, when airline consultant Ed Beauvais 

founded America West Airlines in Phoenix, starting 

humbly with three leased Boeing 737s and plans to 

expand to a booming Las Vegas market. Like many of its 

post-deregulation peers, America West introduced 

cross-utilisation to lower costs and onboard ticketing to 

attract more revenue. Unlike many of those peers, 

America West survived bankruptcy and reorganisation 

during the lean early ‘90s. America West actually 

reached a high point in growth and profitability by the 

late ‘90s, but the boom was short-lived. After 9/11, 

America West needed a government loan to survive. 

Doug Parker, then America West’s chief executive, 

recalled last March an agonising flight back to Phoenix 

from Washington DC on an America West flight. Parker’s 

meeting earlier that day with the airline stabilisation 

board over the airline’s pending loan request had not 

gone well. Parker recalled hoping the flight attendants 

would not recognise him, because he didn’t think he 

could hide his concern about their company’s future. 

The following week, America West resubmitted its loan 

COMMENT 

The deal struck by US Airways and American Airlines marks the watershed at which a carrier 

launched post-deregulation of the US sector can, via merger, become the world’s biggest 

The US Airways victory is really 

the victory of the deregulation 

entrepreneurs of America West 

A name to remember 

application, and this time it was approved. 

Upon regaining its strength, America West tried to 

take over US Airways in 2005, pulling off a reversemerger 

the next year. The new airline retained the US 

Airways brand, but was led by the America West team. 

That achievement was followed by a series of missteps, 

including two failed attempts to merge with Delta 

Air Lines and United Airlines. The bankruptcy filing by 

American Airlines on 31 November 2011 offered the 

last chance for the original America West. 

If regulators approve the pending merger, many questions 

await. For Airbus, it means having a friendly management 

team in charge of the world’s largest airline 

serving still the largest market. Parker’s team must rebalance 

the merged carrier’s domestic network, expand its 

international offerings and keep the unions on side. 

But the US Airways victory is really the victory of the 

deregulation entrepreneurs of America West, now seated 

at the top of the global airline industry. � 

See This Week P8 

Impressing in Mexico a must for Sukhoi 

Sukhoi’s own technical snags with its Superjet might 

not have attracted the same degree of scrutiny as 

to customer confidence, nor has it managed to push 

more than about a dozen aircraft out of its factory in the 

those affecting the Boeing 787. 

space of nearly two years. 

But they are arguably more critical to a programme Sukhoi can’t even take much solace from the home 

that symbolises one of the few remaining chips Russia front, once a closed door to non-Soviet production. 

is still able to play from its dwindling pile at the aero- Even if the Embraer 190, newly certificated in Russia, 

space industry’s gambling table. 

remains a relatively expensive option, it plonks 90-seat 

While its first aircraft for Mexican customer Interjet competition firmly on Sukhoi’s porch. 

is nearing completion, Sukhoi is still dealing with All this makes the Interjet debut a high-stakes affair 

gripes from Aeroflot. 

for Sukhoi, if the airframer ever hopes to find a niche in 

For expert reaction to breaking 

news from the airline industry, 

visit our Airline Business blog 

The airframer rightly notes that every new aircraft 

type experiences operational problems for the first few 

months – witness the mighty 787’s grounding. But Su- 

the increasingly cut-throat regional airliner market. It’s 

likely to find the international spotlights far brighter 

than the ones in Moscow. � 

at flightglobal.com/abblog khoi doesn’t have an 800-strong backlog as testimony See Air Transport P14 


AirTeamImages

THIS WEEK 

BRIEFING 

FLIGHT TESTS BEGIN ON EMBATTLED 787 

OPERATIONS Boeing started conducting test flights with a 787 on 

9 February, the first since the grounding of the global fleet on 16 

January. The airframer is studying the in-flight performance of the 

lithium-ion batteries linked to two incidents on Japanese 787s. Test 

aircraft ZA005 landed after a 2h 21min flight spanning nearly 

800nm (1,480km), operated between the southwest corner of 

Washington state to the Puget Sound. Boeing’s original flightplan 

proposed only a 2h test, but it was extended late in the sortie. No 

changes to the batteries were made prior to the test, Boeing says. 

BOEING, ELBIT MAKE MUSIC PACT 

SELF-PROTECTION Elbit Systems has signed a memorandum of 

understanding to provide its Music-series directed infrared countermeasures 

equipment with Boeing-produced military and civilian aircraft 

and helicopters. Capable of protecting against surface-to-air 

missile threats, the technology has previously been selected by the 

Israeli government to protect the nation’s commercial airline fleets. 

RUSSIAN AIR FORCE COULD DITCH AN-70 

AIRLIFT Russia’s air force command could withdraw from the 

Antonov An-70 transport programme with Ukraine by the end of 

2013, after complaining about its slow progress, Russia’s Izvestia 

newspaper claims. Military Transport Aviation commander Col Gen 

Vladimir Benediktov says the service will get 48 Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A 

transports, rather than the 39 announced in a contract last year. 

INQUIRY PROBES FATAL AN-24 DONETSK CRASH 

ACCIDENT Ukraine’s government has opened an inquiry after an 

Antonov An-24 crashed on landing at Donetsk airport, killing five of 

the 52 occupants. The country’s emergency situations ministry 

states that the twin-engined aircraft (UR-WRA) exited the runway 

while landing, then overturned and broke up. Flight YG8971 was arriving 

after a domestic service from Odessa at 18:09 on 13 

February. Donetsk weather data shows the presence of fog and reduced 

runway visibility at the time of the crash. Odessa-based South 

Airlines had been operating the 40-year-old airframe, which came to 

rest inverted with its empennage detached. 

RUNWAY EXCURSIONS STAY STUBBORNLY HIGH 

SAFETY Runway excursions in 2012 remained broadly unchanged 

from 2010 levels, despite concentrated efforts to increase awareness 

of the risks. Dutch aerospace research organisation NLR’s Air 

Transport Safety Institute found 106 excursions involving commercial 

and executive aircraft operations worldwide last year, compared 

with 98 in 2011 and 107 in 2010. There were eight fatal runway excursions 

between 2010 and 2012, it adds, while total annual traffic 

volumes were stable during these three years. 

SKY GUARDS TO COMBAT AIR RAGE IN RUSSIA 

SECURITY Russia’s civil aviation regulator is supporting proposals 

to deploy specially equipped guards on flights to deal with disruptive 

passengers. Rosaviatsia security department chief Yuri Saprykin 

told a conference in Moscow that several leading airlines – including 

Aeroflot, Transaero and UTair – have asked permission to add inhouse 

security staff to flightcrews. “We are in favour of that initiative,” 

Saprykin said. “The main objective is to preclude air rage 

incidents by confronting troublemakers on board aircraft. There has 

been an upsurge of such incidents over the past few months.” 


For a round-up of our latest online news, 

feature and multimedia content visit 

flightglobal.com/wotw 

Boeing 757-200s are one of the few overlaps in inventory 

STRATEGY STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC 

Split loyalties for 

new airline giant 

Bringing together American Airlines and US Airways creates 

world’s largest carrier – but one with divergent fleet policies 

American Airlines and US Airways 

are to merge in an $11 

billion deal that will create the 

world’s largest airline. 

The combined carrier will 

transport more than 170 million 

passengers and generate revenues 

of more than $38.7 billion annually, 

based on 2012’s figures. It 

will retain the American name, 

be based in Fort Worth, Texas and 

be a Oneworld member. 

Merging the two US majors 

will create the world’s largest 

mainline fleet of 944 jets, and also 

one of its most complex. There 

will be few overlapping pieces 

and a mix-and-match order backlog 

comprising hundreds of single-aisle 

and long-haul jets. 

It would be hard to find two 

merging airlines with a more dissimilar 

historical philosophy for 

fleet acquisitions. The two share 

few common preferences in aircraft 

type or manufacturer. 

The two notable exceptions are 

a common and ageing fleet of 

Boeing 757-200s and 767-200ERs, 

but most of these are marked for 

retirement within the decade. 

And that is where the similarities 

end in their in-service fleets. 

American Airlines has an all- 

Boeing widebody fleet, to which 

it is adding at least 15 777-300ERs 

and 42 787-8s and -9s. US Airways, 

meanwhile, is replacing 

767s with A330s, plus its orderbook 

includes 18 A350-800s and 

four -900s. 

The single-aisle strategies of 

both carriers show a similar split. 

Again, American Airlines has 

showed a strong preference for 

Boeing products, operating 103 

757-200s, 199 737-800s and 186 

Boeing MD-80s. On top of this, it 

has orders for 100 re-engined 737 

Max 8s, which adds to 107 unfilled 

commitments for 737-800s. 

Airbus has had a look-in however. 

In July 2011, American ordered 

130 re-engined A321neos 

and a total of 130 A319s and 

A321s. And although the A320family 

jets have been removed 

from the backlog, American says 

it has already agreed to re-sign for 

those aircraft. 

US Airways, however, has yet 

to order re-engined narrowbodies, 

but a 240-strong Airbus single-aisle 

fleet, with a further 46 on 

order, shows its loyalties. 

The airlines hope to close the 

deal during the third quarter. 

However it requires approval of 

the bankruptcy court, US Airways 

shareholders and US antitrust 

regulators. � 

Additional reporting by Edward 

Russell in Fort Worth 

For more coverage on the 

landmark merger go to 

flightglobal.com/aa-us 


AirTeamImages


Turmoil as 

probe rocks 

Finmeccanica 

THIS WEEK P10 

INVESTIGATION DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC 

USAF refuses to reopen 

‘flawed’ Raptor inquiry 

The US Air Force will not reopen 

the Accident Investigation 

Board (AIB) which examined 

the 16 November 2010 crash of a 

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, despite 

a review of the process finding 

its conclusions were flawed. 

Raptor pilot Capt Jeff Haney, assigned 

to the 525th Fighter Squadron 

based at Joint Base Elmendorf- 

Richardson, Alaska, lost his life in 

the accident. The original AIB report 

issued in December 2011 

concluded that even though the 

Raptor’s life-support systems had 

shut down, and the emergency 

oxygen system was difficult to 

use, the crash was Haney’s fault 

because he had not acted quickly 

enough to save himself. 

The USAF says it will reconvene, 

and not reopen, the board to 

address issues of clarity identified 

in its report. The service’s regulations 

would require new evidence 

to emerge before it could reopen an 

investigation, it adds. 

The Inspector General, however, 

recommends that the AIB 

report be re-evaluated because of 

the numerous flaws discovered 

by its investigation. The AIB’s 

finding, it says, “was not supported 

by the facts within the… report”. 

In adds: “Our conclusion 

was supported by five individual 

findings, and we recommended 

that the AIB report be re-evaluated 

in light of those.” 

Despite this, the USAF remains 

adamant its AIB report simply 

needs to be rewritten for clarity, despite 

the investigative lapses exposed 

by the inspector general. � 

SAFETY 

Swift return for grounded F-35B 

Lockheed Martin’s F-35B short 

take-off and vertical landing 

(STOVL) variant of the Joint Strike 

Fighter has returned to flight after a 

25-day grounding. 

“F-35B flight clearance was restored 

February 12, rescinding a 

cautionary suspension issued 

January 18 after a fueldraulic hose 

failure,” the F-35 Joint Program 

Office (JPO) says. 

“Government and industry engineering 

teams conducted a root 

cause investigation and determined 

that the hose was improperly 

crimped,” it adds. 

The fueldraulic hose powers the 

actuator movement for the F-35B’s 

STOVL thrust vectoring exhaust system. 

Hoses on all 25 F-35B aircraft 

in the US Marine Corps and UK inventory 

have been inspected. Those 

aircraft found to have defective parts 

will have improperly crimped hoses 

replaced, the JPO states. It had said 

earlier that the investigating team 

found a total of seven aircraft had 

the manufacturing defect. � 

An improperly crimped fueldraulic hose was behind the problems 

Lockheed Martin 

FUTURE A330-200XL AND -300XL PROPOSALS 

A330-300XL 

A330-200XL 

Flightglobal al 

A350 and A320 fuselage sections 

A350 wing sections 

Airbus has tentatively identified 

an A330-200 derivative 

as the most promising long-term 

candidate to replace its five A300- 

600ST Beluga oversize transports. 

The airframer has already embarked 

on a programme to restructure 

its A300-600ST operations 

to cope with the demands of 

ramped-up production during 

the next four or five years. 

This programme, designated 

Fly 10,000, is intended to increase 

the flight work performed 

by the transport fleet to 10,000h 

per year in 2017, from the current 

level of about 6,000h. 

Airbus says it is changing “ways 

of working, opening hours and organisation” 

to meet this demand, 

which would double the number 

of weekly flights to about 120. 

The greater Beluga workload 

will primarily arise from a surge 

in A350 output. However, Airbus 

will also require capacity for the 

A400M military airlifter, which 

will partly offset a decline in 

A330 production, while A320 

and A320neo rates are set to remain 

high. 

Airbus recently indicated to 

Flightglobal that the A300-600ST 

fleet would probably remain in 

service for another 10 years or so. 

But while the fleet stay in use 

until about 2025, the cost of operating 

the type will increase as the 

aircraft age. The airframer has ini- 

THIS WEEK 

FLEETS DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON 

A330-200 eyed as 

Beluga successor 

Rising output across Airbus product range drives airframer 

to consider options for next iteration of oversize transport 

tiated a study to replace the A300- 

600ST fleet in the long term. 

“No decision for immediate 

launch has been taken,” it stresses. 

But to address any capacity limitations 

beyond the Fly 10,000 

scheme, as well as the ageing of the 

current Beluga fleet, Airbus is likely 

to aim for 2018-2020 as a window 

to have a new aircraft available. 

Several airframes are being 

considered as a platform for a Beluga 

successor, notably the A330-200 

and -300, as well as the A340-500 

and even the A300-600. 

While the current Beluga fleet 

is carrying A350-900 sections, the 

size of the A350-1000 central fuselage 

assembly will determine 

the final cross-section for the 

freight hold of the new transport. 

The A300-600ST has a hold diameter 

of about 23ft (7.1m). 

As well as the requirement for 

high payload capabilities, airfield 

landing limitations at its UK wing 

facility in Broughton will also determine 

the eventual choice of 

base airframe. 

Airbus believes an A330-200 

variant – tentatively designated 

the A330-200XL – could potentially 

cope with the landing criteria 

at projected weights of 

about 135t, and is the most 

promising option. � 

More on the Beluga – past, 

present and future – on 

flightglobal.com/beluga 

19-25 February 2013 | Flight International | 9

THIS WEEK 


For a round-up of our latest online news, 

feature and multimedia content visit 

flightglobal.com/wotw 

AIRSPACE ZACH ROSENBERG WASHINGTON DC 

Regulator searches for UAV integration test sites 

The integration of unmanned 

air vehicles into US civil airspace 

has moved a step closer 

after the US Federal Aviation 

Administration revealed it will 

begin a competition for six unmanned 

air vehicle test sites by 

the end of February. 

FAA deputy administrator Jim 

Williams revealed the move during 

a 13 February meeting of the 

Association for Unmanned Vehi- 

cle Systems International. The 

fiscal year 2012 FAA reauthorisation, 

as approved by Congress, 

contains a measure establishing 

six test sites to experiment with 

UAV integration into national airspace, 

which is strictly regulated. 

Although the nature of the 

sites is not specified, the selection 

is anticipated by low-traffic 

airports that are hoping to attract 

new business. 

A notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM) for small UAVs in the 

national airspace will also be issued 

by the agency by the end of 

2013. And, although it remains 

hopeful that the release could 

come sooner, it notes “the process 

is very deliberate”. 

In any case, small civil UAVs 

will be in use before the NPRM is 

issued. Beginning in mid-2013, 

UAVs less than about 23kg (50lb) 

will be allowed to fly for commercial 

purposes in a large area off 

the coast of Alaska. That zone, 

defined by Congress, covers thousands 

of square miles of ocean off 

the north and west coasts of the 

state. It will be the only area in 

which UAVs are allowed to operate 

for commercial purposes. � 

For more about unmanned air 

vehicle operations, visit 

flightglobal.com/uav 

INQUIRY CRAIG HOYLE LONDON 

Turmoil as arrests rock Finmeccanica 

Italian giant forced into management shake-up as bribery investigation into Indian helicopter deal claims chief executive 

Italy’s aerospace champion Finmeccanica 

has been rocked by 

corruption allegations levelled at 

two top executives as part of an 

ongoing probe linked to the 2010 

sale of 12 VIP-roled AgustaWestland 

AW101s to the Indian defence 

ministry. 

Finmeccanica chief executive 

Giuseppe Orsi was detained by 

Italian police on 12 February, 

with the company confirming 

that “precautionary measures” 

were issued against him, and 

also against AgustaWestland 

chief executive Bruno Spagnolini 

in relation to the investigation. 

The latter has been placed 

under house arrest. No charges 

have been brought and both deny 

any wrongdoing. 

Orsi, who headed AgustaWestland 

at the time the €560 million 

($753 million) deal was signed, 

was swiftly replaced as Finmeccanica 

chief executive on 13 February 

by Alessandro Pansa, who 

will also retain his current duties 

as chief operating officer. Pansa 

will additionally take on some of 

Orsi’s duties as chairman, although 

the latter has yet to resign 

from the post. 

The move is aimed at “ensuring 

comprehensive management of 

the company and group”, it says. 

A board meeting is scheduled for 

early April, where further changes 

to the company’s executive team 

Orsi became chief executive in May 2011 with a mission to reverse the company’s fortunes 

are likely to be made. 

It adds: “Finmeccanica expresses 

support for its chairman 

and CEO, with the hope that clarity 

is established quickly, whilst 

reaffirming its confidence in the 

judges. The operating activities 

and ongoing projects of the company 

will continue as usual.” 

However, there was no immediate 

suggestion Spagnolini had 

relinquished his duties as Agusta- 

Westland chief. 

Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland 

previously denied allegations 

that illegal payments were 

made in relation to the sale. 

Orsi was only appointed as 

Finmeccanica chief executive in 

May 2011, following the resignation 

of his predecessor, Pier Francesco 

Guarguaglini, to successfully 

fight corruption charges. Orsi had 

been considered a reformer and 

had been tasked with reshaping 

the company and improving its financial 

performance. 

Meanwhile, India’s defence 

ministry has reacted to the claims 

by referring the AW101 acquisition 

to the country’s Central Bureau 

of Investigation (CBI). 

The ministry says it decided to 

refer the case to the CBI for inquiry 

after it sought more information 

from the UK and Italian govern- 

ments following media reports of 

the arrest of the two executives. 

“No specific inputs were, however, 

received substantiating the allegations,” 

it adds. The contract 

signed with AgustaWestland included 

“specific contractual provisions 

against bribery and the use 

of undue influence as well as an 

integrity pact,” it says. 

The acquisition was signed in 

February 2010, with the first three 

rotorcraft already delivered and 

the remainder due to be handed 

over by the end of 2013. � 

Additional reporting by Dominic 

Perry in London and Ellis Taylor 

in Singapore 


Finmeccanica

Eurocopter has joined the 

growing number of aerospace 

majors in Mexico’s Queretaro 

manufacturing cluster with the 

formal opening of a $100 million 

factory that will be its sole-source 

supplier of AS350 Ecureuil tail 

booms and the A320, A330 and 

A340 cargo and emergency exit 

doors that it builds for sister company 

Airbus. 

Initial operations will see the 

assembly of imported kits but machinery 

will, from this year, be installed 

to carry out machining, 

sheet metal fabrication and surface 

treatment in Queretaro. Total 

investment could eventually 

reach $550 million. The Ecureuil 

series is Eurocopter’s biggest seller, 

last year taking in orders for 

249 units, or 53% of the airframer’s 

total. Assembly takes place 

both in Europe and at the aiframer’s 

Brazilian subsidiary Helibras. 


Focus turns to 

A350-1000 

powerplant 

AIR TRANSPORT P12 

The fabrication of Airbus doors 

is being transferred from an undisclosed 

Asian subcontractor, 

adds global supply chain executive 

vice-president Joseph Saporito. 

Saporito expects the plant to 

be performing both component 

manufacture and assembly in 

2014-2015. 

Around 200 new jobs will have 

been created by mid-2014 in the 

manufacturing plant and an attached 

maintenance, repair and 

overhaul facility. 

Saporito says the Queretaro 

plant “kills three birds with one 

stone” in achieving Eurocopter’s 

three key objectives in its overseas 

deployment strategy – offsets, increased 

exposure to a dollar zone 

cost base and competitiveness. He 

declines to detail Mexican costs 

but describes them as “competitive” 

– as shown by the move of 

the Airbus door work. 

An intensive training programme 

being carried out on site 

– with the aeronautical university 

of Queretaro and in Eurocopter facilities 

in Europe – should have 

the plant running with mostly 

Mexican staff and a “handful” of 

Europeans by 2017, says Saporito. 

THIS WEEK 

PRODUCTION DAN THISDELL QUERETARO 

Booming sales prompt Mexico move 

Promise of lower-cost manufacturing persuades Eurocopter to invest $100 million in Queretaro aerostructures facility 

The new facility will supply tail booms for the AS350 Ecureuil 

He stresses that moving too 

quickly from assembly to manufacturing 

is inviting failure, so 

Eurocopter is edging forward cautiously. 

However, he says, Eurocopter 

has been “very positively 

impressed” by the quality of the 

workforce in Queretaro. � 

FORECAST STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC 

Airframers to fight soft market with new launches 

Business jet demand will not 

recover to its 2008 peak during 

the next 10 years but airframers 

will still forge ahead with a 

number of new aircraft, predicts a 

new forecast released by a Montreal-based 

business aviation services 

agency. 

Zenith Jet’s 10-year outlook also 

SALES 

Helicopters, crop sprayers offer ray of light for GAMA 

Helicopters remained a bright spot 

and agricultural aviation boosted 

otherwise flat sales for general and 

business aviation manufacturers in 

2012, says the General Aviation 

Manufacturers Association (GAMA). 

Fixed-wing shipments grew by 

0.6% compared with 2011, largely 

driven by a surge in demand for turboprop-powered 

crop-sprayers, such 

as Thrush Aircraft and Air Tractor 

models, GAMA says. 

Rotorcraft shipments, meanwhile, 

anticipates the launch of at least 

nine more clean-sheet or major derivative 

programmes, including 

new families of business jet widebodies 

by Dassault and Gulfstream. 

The projected new-starts will compete 

with existing programmes to 

claim 9,400 expected deliveries 

until 2022, the forecast says. 

leapt 21.5% to 1,044 deliveries, the 

group adds. 

“2012 was kind of mixed,” says 

Brad Mottier, chairman of GAMA and 

vice-president and general manager 

for GE Aviation’s business and general 

aviation unit. “We think we see 

the turboprops and the agricultural 

market are going to continue to 

thrive. There are more and more 

needs for those types of specialised 

aircraft around the world.” 

GAMA, however, was unable to offer 

That prediction reflects an increasingly 

grim outlook taking 

hold in the business jet industry. 

It means Zenith Jet’s analysts 

have slashed future deliveries 

over the next decade by 9.4% 

since 2012, as the industry acknowledges 

that some buyers 

which exited the market during 

a similarly positive outlook for 2013 

for the rest of its fixed-wing manufacturing 

members, especially as the US 

fiscal outlook remains uncertain. 

The Obama Administration and 

Congress are poised to allow automatic 

budget cuts to take effect in 

early March, removing about $100 

billion in government spending from 

the economy and forcing federal agencies, 

including the Federal Aviation 

Administration, to furlough employees 

for perhaps several weeks. � 

the post-2008 recession will not 

return. “The reason is simple: a 

significant portion of that narrowbody 

[customer] base was new to 

business aviation and the recession 

had a profound effect in 

shaking their appetite for ownership,” 

Zenith Jet says. 

The only market segment immune 

to this trend is the ultralong-range 

sector, which will 

grow by 8.7%, with 1,577 projected 

deliveries during the 10year 

period. 

That is expected to draw new 

competitors into large-cabin segments. 

Zenith Jet anticipates Dassault 

will launch three new aircraft 

– the 5X, 6X and 9X – to 

replace the 2000LX, 900LX and 

7X. Gulfstream also could replace 

the G350/450/550 series with new 

aircraft which Zenith calls the 

G380, G480 and G580. � 

For news from the business and 

general aviation sectors, go to 

flightglobal.com/bizav 


Eurocopter

AIR TRANSPORT 


Check out our collection of online dynamic 

aircraft profiles for the latest news, images 

and information on civil and military 

programmes at flightglobal.com/profiles 

PROPULSION DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON 

Focus turns to A350-1000 powerplant 

Work begins on prototype for higher-thrust Trent XWB to equip largest Airbus twinjet following certification of basic engine 

Rolls-Royce is preparing a prototype 

demonstration for the 

higher-thrust Trent XWB-97 engine 

which will be used on the 

A350-1000. The basic XWB-84 

engine for the A350-900 has been 

newly certificated. It is capable of 

delivering 84,000lb (370kN) of 

thrust and the certification also 

covers the XWB-75 and -79 versions 

for the smaller A350-800. 

However, the XWB-97 powerplant 

for the A350-1000 – put forward 

as part of the larger type’s 

redesign in 2011 – is undergoing 

a separate development and approval 

process. 

The prototype will be built 

from an XWB-84 engine platform 

with additional turbine technology 

fitted, says Trent XWB programme 

director Chris Young. He 

says this will allow the manufacturer 

to “run it as close as possible 

to [more demanding] conditions 

and temperatures”. 

Rolls-Royce intends to construct 

two demonstrators this 

year, with initial build about to 

begin. Young expects the first 

runs will start around the middle 

of 2013. It held a preliminary design 

review for the XWB-97 powerplant 

in January. Young says 

this allows the manufacturer to 

move into detailed design of individual 

components, and work on 

the machining definition and initial 

casting to “get the prototype 

engine in place”. 

Rolls-Royce is to perform freightloading 

tests for its Trent XWB engine 

at the UK’s East Midlands 

airport, to verify transport procedures 

for the powerplant. 

The engine is the first Trent family 

member too large to fit into a 

Boeing 747 freighter while still 

wholly assembled. 

Trent XWB programme director 

Chris Young says the manufacturer 

has developed tooling allowing the 

fan and the core to be split and 

Air Lease has underpinned confidence with an order for up to 10 

The XWB-97’s basic dimensions 

– such as the fan size, 

mounting points and interfaces – 

remain the same as those for the 

XWB-84. “But we take more flow 

through the fan by spinning the 

fan faster and changing some aerodynamics 

in the fan system,” 

says Young. 

The changes include an inflected 

annulus and a larger core, and 

technical changes to extract more 

power. Technological advancements 

will include shroudless 

high-pressure turbine blades and 

an adaptive cooling system. 

Young points out that the 

XWB-84 engine has already been 

run at thrusts “well in excess” of 

100,000lb, and that the growth is 

“more about restoring margins 

than airflow”. 

OPERATIONS 

Split-loading procedures to be tested using 747 freighter 

loaded separately. “Previously, 

we’ve trialled the tooling and gone 

through a mock-up of a 747 door,” 

he says. “This time we’re fully proving 

the tooling.” 

Rolls-Royce intends to take its 

first-produced XWB engine – which it 

uses for training – to East Midlands 

during February to carry out the 

standard loading procedure in conjunction 

with a 747 operator. 

With certification on the XWB for 

the A350-900 achieved, Young says 

Detailed design work on the 

Airbus A350-1000 is set to begin 

early this year, the type having secured 

a reassuring endorsement 

from former critic Air Lease. 

Air Lease, which will take up 

to 10 of the type as part of a broad 

A350 order, had expressed concerns 

about the aircraft’s lack of 

thrust, and claimed it needed 

greater maximum take-off weight, 

before the airframer unveiled a 

more powerful, higher-weight redesign 

in June 2011. 

Even after this revamp, Air 

Lease chief executive Steven Udvar-Hazy 

pointed out the commonality 

disjoint on the -1000’s engines 

and was still reserved about 

its ability to compete with the 

Boeing 777-300ER. 

However, Rolls-Royce’s design 

the focus in the test programme will 

move to proving on-wing capability 

and the “full robustness of the engine”. 

“We’ve done the very complex 

tests, with lots of 

instrumentation but limited test 

hours,” he says. “We’ll see test 

hours start to accelerate very quickly 

this year.” Rolls-Royce has been 

testing the XWB powerplant on an 

Airbus A380 testbed, and Young 

says this will remain a “key element 

of the programme”. � 

Airbus 

review has confirmed the higherthrust 

engine will have 80% commonality 

with the XWB-84 in 

terms of line-replaceable units, 

with only fuel pumps and metering 

systems not retained. 

Rolls-Royce has completed the 

latest build of its EFE technology 

platform in Bristol in the UK 

which is based on the Trent 1000 

core, and has carried out tests of 

high-temperature thermal paint. 

Young says using a platform “as 

representative as possible” for the 

XWB-97 prototype will help with 

“risk reduction” during the powerplant’s 

development. 

Air Lease’s agreement to take 

the -1000, following a similar acceptance 

from outspoken customer 

Qatar Airways, will give 

the type a backlog of 110 aircraft 

The XWB-97’s basic 

dimensions – such as 

the fan size, mounting 

points and interfaces 

– remain the same as 

those for the XWB-84 

once the lessor’s deal is firmed. 

But Airbus appears to be dismissing 

the possibility of a further 

stretch to the A350, despite the 

capacity gap between the A350- 

1000 and the A380. 

While Airbus positioned the 

A350-900 as the central platform 

for the three-member family, the 

backlog of the smaller A350-800 is 

eroding in favour of the larger variants. 

But the airframer does not 

see room for a further stretch beyond 

the A350-1000. “A double 

stretch has never been shown to 

work in this industry,” claimed 

Airbus chief operating officer for 

customers John Leahy, speaking 

in Toulouse in January. “We 

couldn’t do it. And we don’t think 

[Boeing] could do it either.” � 

See Cover Story P24 

More about Rolls-Royce’s development 

of the Trent XWB at 

flightglobal.com/trentxwb 

flightglobal.com

United Aircraft 


Crashed An-28 

denied terrain 

warning 

AIR TRANSPORT P14 

AIR TRANSPORT 

TESTING 

Longer-range Superjet is airborne 

Sukhoi has conducted the first flight of a longer-range Superjet 100, 

starting a test programme which will last three to four months. The 

twin-engined aircraft, designated the SSJ100LR, will have a range of 

nearly 2,470nm (4,570km), some 50% greater than the basic variant. 

Sukhoi says the first airframe, 95032, performed its maiden 

flight on 12 February. It expects to secure certification for the twinjet 

in 2014. It adds that the SSJ100LR will require a runway length of 

6,730ft (2,050m). The first operator is yet to be confirmed. 

PRODUCTION STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC 

Empty slots could slow 747-8 output 

Maintaining monthly rate for Boeing’s high-capacity aircraft might result in airframer resorting to building unsold jets 

Boeing could be forced to slow 

production or build unsold 

747-8s after 2013, the company has 

warned in a US regulatory filing. 

The airframer says a “number” of 

unsold production slots for the 

747-8 Freighter, as well as the Intercontinental 

passenger model, 

must be filled after 2013 to keep 

production on track at a rate of 

two aircraft per month. 

“If we are unable to obtain orders 

for multiple Freighter aircraft 

in 2013 consistent with our nearterm 

production plans, we may be 

required to take actions,” it states, 

adding this may include “reducing 

the number of airplanes produced” 

or “building airplanes for which 

we have not received firm orders”. 

Boeing made the notification to 

the US Securities and Exchange 

Commission. As of 31 January, 

Boeing had 67 unfilled orders for 

747-8s, including 39 747-8Fs and 

28 747-8Is. The company is building 

747-8s at a rate of 24 per year, 

but customers have not claimed 

all the delivery slots for 2013. 

The market does not appear to 

have turned in Boeing’s favour. 

Air cargo demand remains weak 

and strong interest in the passenger 

model has yet to materialise. 

Boeing says it will continue to 

focus on reducing travelled work, 

improving supply chain efficiency 

and implementing cost cuts. “If 

market and production risks cannot 

be mitigated,” it adds, “the 

programme could face an additional 

reach-forward loss that may 

be material.” Spirit AeroSystems 

manufactures structures including 

the 747-8 nose section but has 

not adjusted its production plans, 

says chief executive Jeff Turner. 

“Right now, we’re assuming that 

those [unclaimed positions] are 

going to fill in,” he says. � 

DEVELOPMENT 

Extra design changes hike type’s empty weight to 220t 

Boeing has updated the empty 

weight of the 747-8 passenger variant 

to reflect a 3% increase driven 

by additional design changes since 

the previous estimate set in 2008. 

The empty weight of the 747-8 

has risen by about 6,800kg 

(15,000lb) to 220,000kg, according 

to Boeing’s latest update to airport 

planning documents. Actual weights 

in service vary with each airline. 

The weight of the 747-8 grew 

during the development phase as 

Boeing engineers struggled with the 

initial design of the new supercritical 

airfoil. “We changed the airfoils 

on the 747-8 to a deeper chord supercritical 

design,” says Boeing. 

“This caused the weight of the wing 

to increase.” 

Boeing had previously also described 

a migrating series of weightrelated 

design problems in the 

development phase. Changes to the 

wing shifted the centre of gravity. 

That shift, in turn, required Boeing to 

�� 

�� 

Strong demand for the passenger variant has yet to materialise 

redesign portions of the tail to rebalance 

the loads, which caused further 

design changes elsewhere. But 

Boeing remains confident that the 

effort to attach a supercritical wing 

to the 747 airframe achieved most 

of the desired results. 

It claims a 15% fuel-burn reduction 

over the 747-400. Lufthansa 

has measured the difference as 

more than 10%, but Boeing is to 

offer an improved General Electric 

GEnx-2B engine in 2014. � 


Slider gallery on flightglobal.com/AirSpace

AIR TRANSPORT 


Check out our collection of online dynamic 

aircraft profiles for the latest news, images 

and information on civil and military 

programmes at flightglobal.com/profiles 

INVESTIGATION DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON 

Crashed An-28 denied terrain warning 

Pilot intoxication cited after collision with mountain but aircraft should have been fitted with ground-proximity system 

Investigators have determined 

that an Antonov An-28 that collided 

with high terrain on a domestic 

service in eastern Russia should 

have been fitted with a groundproximity 

warning system. 

The inquiry into the loss of the 

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 

Aviation Enterprise aircraft near 

Palana found that the An-28 had 

been among the types required to 

fit GPWS by 1 July 2012. 

While the ministry had intended 

to postpone the deadline to 

October, the Interstate Aviation 

Committee (MAK) says this order 

was not registered with the justice 

ministry at the time of the accident 

on 12 September 2012. 

Investigators had previously determined 

that the pilots had been 

intoxicated with alcohol, despite 

passing a pre-flight medical check. 

MAK suggests “impaired concentration” 

of the crew contributed 

to a “lack of response” to 

radio altimeter indications that 

the aircraft was approaching high 

ground. Fitting of GPWS avionics 

Sukhoi has defended the technical 

record of its Superjet 

100s after two recent incidents 

involving landing-gear retraction 

problems on Aeroflot aircraft. 

The airframer insists that design 

“deficiencies” emerge during 

the first two years of commercial 

operations on any aircraft type. 

Russia’s transport ministry has 

highlighted two incidents this 

year during which Aeroflot Superjets 

experienced landing-gear 

retraction issues. 

“could possibly have prevented” 

the accident, says MAK. 

Flight 251 from Yelizovo, 

transporting 12 passengers and 

two crew, had been intending to 

approach Palana’s runway 11. 

This required maintaining flight 

level 70 (minimum 2,150m, 

7,000ft) until reaching Palana’s 

non-directional beacon (NDB), 

then entering a hold to descend 

The first involved aircraft 95017 

departing Moscow Sheremetyevo 

on 18 January, while the second, 

four days later, centred on 95019 

on take-off from Kharkov. Crews 

received “gear fault” and “door not 

closed” messages. The ministry 

has asked for checks on the landing-gear 

and for results to be sent 

to the federal aviation regulator. 

Sukhoi’s civil aircraft division 

says the incidents are “isolated” 

and adds: “Aircraft at the plant 

are improved during the produc- 

to 1,200m before exiting to the 

final approach. 

But the aircraft had been far off 

course. It had been approaching 

the NDB from the south but the 

crew gave an incorrect position 

report to air traffic control. Despite 

being 43 nautical miles (80km) 

from the airport, the An-28 prematurely 

descended to 1,700m and 

subsequently to 1,200m. 

tion process.” It says commercial 

operations with the twinjet type, 

which is in service with three carriers, 

have turned up problems 

with erroneous leakage-detection 

signals as well as slat extension. 

Slat-extension incidents on 

two other Aeroflot Superjets – 

numbers 95008 and 95010 – arose 

last year, prompting an airworthiness 

directive in June. Aeroflot 

has 10 Superjets. 

Both matters have been “isolated”, 

the airframer says, with service 

bulletins developed, and the 

in-service fleet is being modified 

accordingly. The landing-gear 

problem is not systemic, adds Sukhoi, 

and is “being solved” in cooperation 

with undercarriage specialist 

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty. 

“Gear-up faults do not qualify 

as in-flight emergencies,” it says. 

MAK says the crew effectively 

followed an “arbitrary” approach 

to the airport. As the aircraft continued 

to descend, it started turning 

left, possibly to cross the coast 

of the Sea of Okhotsk and then 

turn inbound to the airport. 

But this track instead took it 

towards high terrain, which was 

shrouded with cloud. Flight-data 

recorder information revealed a 

sudden elevator deflection, pitch 

up, which MAK believes to be a 

crew reaction to obstacles in the 

aircraft’s path. But this failed to 

avert a collision with trees at a 

height of 330m. 

The impact occurred at 135kt 

(250km/h) and the aircraft lost 

power in both engines. 

It pitched up but the loss of 

thrust caused its speed to bleed to 

70kt and the An-28 stalled, hitting 

the trees again before breaking 

up. It came to rest 10.7km 

from the airport. 

Both crew members and eight 

passengers were killed in the accident, 

but four others survived. � 

SAFETY DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON 

Aeroflot technical snags prompt Superjet defence 

Interjet’s first airframe emerges sporting its full paint scheme 

Four of the 14 occupants survived the impact outside of Palana 

Superjet International 

Interstate Aviation Committee 

“All other aircraft have been 

checked and no landing-gear 

problems were detected.” 

Sukhoi’s marketing operation 

Superjet International is nearing its 

first delivery to a Western customer, 

with the initial aircraft for Mexico’s 

Interjet nearing completion. 

Aircraft 95023 has been rolled 

out from the Venice paint facility 

carrying the Interjet colour 

scheme, although the interior installation 

has yet to be finished. 

Interjet has ordered 20 of the 93seat 

twinjets. The first is to be delivered 

in spring. Its second aircraft, 

95024, has been delivered to 

Venice for completion work. 

Superjet International says a 

new full-flight simulator is undergoing 

certification at its Venice 

training centre, and Interjet pilots 

will use the device from March. � 

flightglobal.com


AIR TRANSPORT 

Out of the embattled airline’s 14 aircraft only seven are operating 

STRATEGY IGOR SALINGER BELGRADE 

Jat aims to revive 

latent Airbus deal 

Troubled Serbian flag carrier faces fleet shortage and intends 

to slash workforce as part of broad restructuring programme 

Serbian flag carrier Jat Airways 

claims the government commission 

responsible for the troubled 

airline has accepted a restructuring 

plan proposed by the 

operator, which includes axing 

nearly 50% of jobs and leasing 

additional aircraft. 

Under the plan, Jat would lease 

four Airbus A320-family jets and 

two ATR 72-500 turboprops to 

cope with a fleet shortage. 

The airline confirms that out of 

14 aircraft – 10 Boeing 737s and 

four ATR 72s – only seven are 

currently in operation, forcing it 

to revise timetables and cut frequencies 

to some destinations. 

Sources familiar with the situation 

indicate the airline has received 

a $10 million loan to be 

used for maintenance and repayment 

of debts to fuel suppliers. 

Jat Airways’ escape plan includes 

cutting its workforce to 

740 personnel, including 156 

flightcrew, down from 1,138 employees. 

It will also “revise” its 

relationship with Belgrade airport, 

its fuel supplier, caterer and 

handling agent, and maintenance 

firm Jat Tehnika – some of which 

were formerly an integral part of 

the airline before being spun off 

as independent companies. Jat 

started the year with some 5.5 billion 

dinars ($66 million) of debt, 

mostly towards these companies. 

It hopes to introduce two new 

Airbus A319s and two A320s, as 

well as two ATR 72-500s, before 

June, and operate 14 aircraft for 

the summer peak. 

This could lead to resurrection 

and restructuring of the long- 

dormant order for eight A319s. Jat 

intends the revised fleet and reduced 

workforce, along with 

amended relations with domestic 

suppliers, to halve losses and 

help increase passenger numbers 

to 1.5 million – up from 1.36 million 

in 2012. 

Jat Tehnika managing director 

Srđan Mišković says the maintenance 

company has received the 

necessary certificates to be “fully 

capable” of offering both line and 

heavy support for A320-family 

jets. It currently services Boeing 

737 and ATR fleets, and last year 

recorded a “steady” turnover 

with a “slightly positive, yet to be 

specified” result. 

About half of its work is performed 

for Jat Airways, the rest for 

third-party clients such as Jet2, 

Europe Airpost and Transaero. � 

Igor Salinger

DEFENCE 

PROGRAMMES 

GREG WALDRON BENGALURU 

Indian air force 

chief lambasts 

HAL trainers 

India’s air force chief of staff has 

cast further doubt on the future 

of the Hindustan Aeronautics 

(HAL) HTT-40 basic trainer, while 

also criticising the company’s 

HJT-36 Sitara intermediate jet 

trainer and describing the service’s 

relationship with the airframer 

as “functional”. 

Speaking at the Aero India 

show near Bengaluru, Air Chief 

Marshal NAK Browne gave a 

fresh insight into the bad relations 

between HAL and its biggest 

customer. 

“We have the Pilatus PC-7 MkII 

trainer now,” says Browne. “It is a 

fully proven trainer flown by 

many countries globally. HAL’s 

project to make [the HTT-40] from 

scratch means that costs are 

bound to be higher. The Indian 

air force would also have to pay 

for research and development. In 

our view there is no need for this. 

We need to stick to one trainer, 

and we have advised the government 

of this.” 

New Delhi is obtaining 75 PC-7 

MkIIs after conducting a competition 

for a new basic trainer, with 

the selection having prompted 

Indian media reports in late 2012 

which suggested that the air force 

had rejected the HTT-40. 

Browne also criticised HAL’s 

developmental HJT-36 Sitara, 

saying that its Russian-made NPO 

Saturn AL-55I afterburning turbofan 

engine has a time between 

overhaul of only 200h. 

Also speaking at the show, 

HAL chairman RK Tyagi said it 

would be cheaper for India to create 

an indigenous basic trainer 

with the supply chain located 

mainly in India. He also defended 

the HJT-36, noting it has conducted 

647 test flights, including 185 

last year and 45 during January 

2013. “We are confident that the 

[HJT-36] can achieve its initial 

operating capability in December 

this year,” he adds. � 

More stories, pictures and video 

from Aero India 2013 at 

flightglobal.com/aeroindia 


New Zealand’s fleet of NH Industries 

NH90 medium utility 

helicopters has cleared the 

first phase of operational testing 

and evaluation activities, enabling 

the type to undertake its 

first operational taskings for the 

nation’s air force. 

By approving an interim type 

certificate and initial release of 

operational capability, the Royal 

The US Special Operations 

Command (SOCOM) has 

placed an indefinite delivery, 

indefinite quantity service 

deal with Insitu for mid-endurance 

unmanned air system 

(MEUAS) operations. 

Announced on 7 February, the 

contract places an immediate 

order, the details of which remain 

under wraps, including the type 

of aircraft that will fill the role. 

Boeing subsidiary Insitu manufactures 

the ScanEagle, which is 

already in use with SOCOM, and 

the larger RQ-21 Integrator, which 

is the most likely candidate for 

the new business. 

“Due to unforeseen circum- 

For free access to Flightglobal’s Defence 

e-newsletter visit flightglobal.com/ 

defencenewsletter 

Four of the utility helicopters are now in use at Ohakea air base 

OPERATIONS PETER CLARK AUCKLAND 

New Zealand’s NH90s 

clear testing milestone 

New Zealand Air Force will be 

able to perform domestic passenger 

and cargo tasks, including 

providing non-tactical support 

to the armed services and government 

agencies. 

Four of New Zealand’s eventual 

eight NH90s have now been 

delivered to Ohakea air base, with 

the remainder to be handed over 

within the next year. � 

PRODUCTION 

DoD approves 

E-2D Hawkeye 

UNMANNED SYSTEMS ZACH ROSENBERG WASHINGTON DC 

SOCOM places urgent Insitu 

UAV order to fill critical gap 

US special operations contract for unspecified quantity aimed at mid-endurance operations 

The ScanEagle is already flown 

stances beyond the government’s 

control, there is an immediate requirement 

to mitigate a critical 

intelligence, surveillance and re- 

Peter Clark 

Rex Features 

Northrop Grumman’s E-2D 

Advanced Hawkeye has received 

approval from the US Office 

of the Secretary of Defense to 

enter full-rate production, following 

a successful operational test 

and evaluation phase. 

“With the US Navy’s E-2D programme 

of record at 75 aircraft, this 

decision enables the production of 

the remaining 55 aircraft over the 

next 10 years, and provides the opportunity 

for a cost-effective, multiyear 

procurement,” says Bart La- 

Grone, Northrop’s vice-president 

for the E-2 programme. 

The manufacturer has so far 

delivered nine E-2Ds to the USN, 

with another 11 in various stages 

of manufacturing and pre-delivery 

flight-testing. The navy expects 

to declare initial operational 

capability with its new-generation 

airborne early warning and 

control and battle management 

aircraft during 2015. � 

Keep track of news from the 

defence aviation sector at 

flightglobal.com/defence 

connaissance [ISR] services gap,” 

the Department of Defense says. 

“The contract is for the MEUAS 

ISR service using contractorowned 

and contractor-operated 

equipment,” it adds, saying that 

the 25-month deal has a potential 

maximum value of $190 million. 

One of SOCOM’s current 

MEUAS service providers, AAI, 

has suffered propulsion problems 

with its Aerosonde UAV, 

which has resulted in the loss of 

several examples. The company 

says it is now meeting contractual 

requirements. � 

For more about unmanned air 

vehicle operations, visit 

flightglobal.com/uav 

flightglobal.com


UK reviews 

decision to 

retire Sentinel 

DEFENCE P18 

The Joint Strike Fighter is key to the USAF’s modernisation plans 

BUDGETS DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC 

US services issue 

new cuts warning 

Looming sequestration measure could force restructure of 

F-35 programme and lead to cancellation of MV-22 deal 

Lockheed Martin’s entire F-35 

Joint Strike Fighter programme 

may have to be restructured 

if the Pentagon budget undergoes 

the full effects of a 

threatened sequestration act, the 

US Air Force’s highest-ranking 

officer has warned. 

Under the Congressional sequestration 

budgetary manoeuvre, the 

US Department of Defense’s coffers 

would be automatically cut across 

the board by 10% every year for 10 

years. If introduced, the reductions 

would come on top of a $487 billion 

reduction already imposed on 

its spending plans. If full sequestration 

were to take effect, “we’re 

going to have to look completely at 

the [F-35] programme,” USAF 

chief of staff Gen Mark Welsh told 

the Senate Armed Services Committee 

on 12 February. “It’s going to 

be impossible to modernise.” 

The consequences would mean 

the air force would be unable to 

operate as effectively in contested 

airspace as planned, Welsh says, 

noting: “Our ‘kick in the door’ capability 

would be impacted.” 

Operational testers at Edwards 

AFB, California, are expected to 

receive their first four conventional 

take-off and landing F-35As on 

21 February, with a sister squadron 

at Nellis AFB, Nevada, due to 

receive its first four examples 

about a week later. The aircraft 

will be handed over in the Block 

1B and Block 2A software standards 

respectively. 

The USAF’s 31st and 422nd test 

and evaluation squadrons were 

supposed to receive their first aircraft 

for operational test about 

eight months ago, and have six 

qualified F-35 pilots between 

them. “The job is really familiarisation 

training in preparation for 

our big test in 2015-2016, assuming 

that doesn’t slip again,” a 

USAF official says, referring to the 

planned start of operational testing 

for the F-35A’s initial war-fighting 

Block 2B software configuration. 

Meanwhile, the effects of full 

sequestration would be equally 

dire for the US Navy and US Marine 

Corps, service officials say. 

Adm Mark Ferguson, vicechief 

of naval operations, told 

Congress the USN would lose 

two carrier strike groups and a 

“proportional” number of amphibious 

strike groups if the cuts 

are introduced. The USMC may 

have to “cancel major multi-year 

procurements, such as the [Bell 

Boeing] MV-22, and incur greater 

cost and delay in future programme 

buys,” says commandant 

Gen James Amos. Unless averted, 

sequestration is scheduled to 

come into effect on 1 March. � 

US Air Force 

model of a previously unseen 

A Russian unmanned air vehicle 

potentially capable of performing 

strike missions has been 

inadvertently revealed, with the 

regional republic of Tatarstan’s 

government having posted images 

of the design online. 

Pictures showing the Altius 

UAV were briefly published following 

a visit to the republic by 

Russian defence minister Sergei 

Shoigu on 5 February. 

They were subsequently removed, 

but had already been 

reproduced by the business 

daily Vedomosti. Tatarstan-based 

Sokol then posted a graphic of 

the type on its website following 

the disclosure. 

The Altius is a high-winged 

aircraft apparently powered by 

two turboprop engines, with its 

design also featuring a streamlined 

forward fuselage, slabsided 

rear fuselage and a 

V-shaped tail. The Sokol illustration 

does not include a repre- 

Israel Aerospace Industries is offering 

a cost-effective means of 

converting basic helicopters for a 

range of maritime missions, and 

is currently exploring co-operation 

opportunities with leading 

rotorcraft manufacturers. 

Suitable for installation on new 

or used helicopters, the Skimmer 

DEFENCE 

DEVELOPMENT ALEXANDER ZUDIN MOSCOW 

Russian Altius design is 

inadvertently revealed 

ROTORCRAFT ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV 

sentative sensor payload or communications 

equipment. 

Sokol and St Petersburg-based 

Tranzas won a Rb 1 billion ($33 

million) contract in 2011 to develop 

a 5t-class medium-altitude, 

long-endurance UAV provisionally 

named Altius and a 

1t-class system called Inokhodyets 

(Wanderer). 

Speaking at the time of the 

award, Tranzas news agency 

Viktor Godunov told ARMS-TASS 

that the new systems would be 

competitive with their foreign 

counterparts, have long range and 

endurance and be capable of “all 

missions, including strike”. 

Sokol is responsible for aircraft 

construction and the supply 

of ground systems, with Tranzas 

developing control systems and 

electronics for the Altius and Inokhodyets. 

Both should make 

their flight debuts during 2014, 

and enter detailed testing in 

2015, according to Russian 

media reports. � 

Sokol and Tranzas are working on the roughly 5t twin-turboprop 

Skimmer conversion kit offered 

package can add a search radar, 

electro-optical/infrared sensor, 

sonar, datalink, electronic support 

measures and communications 

intelligence arrays, plus 

mission management and monitoring 

systems. Weapons such as 

anti-ship missiles could also be 

installed, IAI says. � 


Tim Bicheno-Brown/Sokol

DEFENCE 

DEVELOPMENT VLADIMIR KARNOZOV BENGALURU 

United Aircraft chief 

urges full MTA contract 

Russia’s United Aircraft (UAC) 

wants a contract for full-scale 

development of the Medium 

Transport Aircraft (MTA) to be 

signed with India later this year, 

following the completion of the 

current project definition and 

draft design phase, says UAC 

president Mikhail Pogosyan. 

About 30 Hindustan Aeronautics 

engineers have been working 

with their Ilyushin counterparts 

in Moscow since December 2012 

on the draft design. Freezing the 

specification will enable the current 

aggressive MTA schedule to 

be met, Pogosyan said at the Aero 

India show, near Bengaluru. 

Meanwhile, Ilyushin general 

director Victor Livanov confirms 

the Aviadvigatel PS-90A76 engine 

selected for the Il-76MD-90/90A 

transport is the primary candidate 

The UK Ministry of Defence is 

reviewing its decision to remove 

the Royal Air Force’s 

Bombardier Global Express-based 

Sentinel R1 surveillance aircraft 

from use in 2015, as their capability 

continues to support operations 

inside Afghanistan and Mali. 

The proposal to retire the synthetic 

aperture radar and ground 

moving target indication sensorequipped 

Sentinel fleet and associated 

ground exploitation equipment 

formed part of the coalition 


to power a development prototype 

and initial batch of production examples 

of the MTA, due to appear 

in 2017-2018. The more fuel-efficient 

PS-14 engine being developed 

for Irkut’s MS-21 narrowbody 

airliner is likely to power 

later examples, with an Indian 

proposal to use the CFM International 

CFM56 now dropped. 

Livanov says the final choice 

will be made by the MTAL joint 

venture and Russian and Indian 

air forces, with specialists working 

to determine the maximum airfield 

elevation for operating the 

MTA, with “an idea” to increase 

an earlier limit of 10,800ft 

(3,300m) to 13,400ft. The Ilyushin 

official says if this is advanced, 

“the PS-90A76 might not deliver 

the required thrust and come short 

in other characteristics”. � 

government’s Strategic Defence 

and Security Review (SDSR) of 

September 2010. 

Five Raytheon Systems-modified 

aircraft are assigned to the 

RAF’s 5 Sqn based at RAF Waddington, 

Lincolnshire. The MoD 

says two are on overseas deployments: 

one is supporting the 

NATO mission in Afghanistan 

and the other providing ground 

surveillance for France’s Operation 

Serval in Mali. The latter is 

being operated from Dakar in 

For free access to Flightglobal’s Defence 

e-newsletter visit flightglobal.com/ 

defencenewsletter 

TRAINERS 

Botswana banks on PC-7 MkII fleet 

A new fleet of five Pilatus PC-7 MkII turboprop trainers has been 

placed into operational service by the Botswana Defence Force, 

which also has retired six earlier-model examples. Acquired under a 

roughly Swfr40 million ($44 million) deal and formally introduced in 

the capital, Gaborone, on 8 February, “The new aircraft will be operated 

and maintained by Botswana Defence Force personnel, supported 

by Pilatus,” the Swiss manufacturer says. Delivered in 1990, 

the operator’s originally seven-strong PC-7 inventory accumulated 

more than 28,000 flight hours before being withdrawn, it adds. 

SURVEILLANCE CRAIG HOYLE LONDON 

UK reviews decision to retire Sentinel 

Capabilities proved within Afghanistan and Mali lead MoD to consider retaining Global Express-based aircraft beyond 2015 

Five radar-equipped aircraft have been in service since late 2008 

Crown Copyright 

Senegal as part of a roughly 

70-person detachment. “The department 

is currently considering 

how it might retain Sentinel beyond 

2015, with the final decision 

to be taken as part of the next 

SDSR,” says Mark Francois, minister 

of state for defence personnel, 

welfare and veterans. 

First indications that at least 

part of the Sentinel capability 

could be retained emerged in 

May 2012, when NATO said 

France and the UK had each offered 

to make contributions in 

kind in support of its future Alliance 

Ground Surveillance system, 

which will include a fleet of 

five radar-equipped Northrop 

Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned 

air vehicles. 

The UK’s Sentinel R1s were acquired 

via the MoD’s Airborne 

Stand-Off Radar programme, 

worth more than £1.2 billion 

($1.9 billion), including support 

arrangements. The system entered 

service in November 2008. 

Francois also confirmed the 

planned introduction schedule for 

the RAF’s three Airseeker electronic 

intelligence aircraft. “The 

first of these aircraft will be delivered 

in December 2013, followed 

by further deliveries in 2015 and 

2017. Airseeker is expected to 

enter service in October 2014.” 

To be maintained in a common 

configuration with the US Air 

Force’s RC-135W Rivet Joint platforms, 

the UK aircraft are being acquired 

for £634 million, plus a total 

expected in-service support cost of 

£637 million by 2025, according to 

the UK National Audit Office’s 

Major Projects Report 2012. They 

will replace the RAF’s former British 

Aerospace Nimrod R1s, the last of 

which was retired in 2012. � 

Keep track of news from the 

defence aviation sector at 

flightglobal.com/defence 


Pilatus

The Middle East Business 

Aviation Association has offered 

to intercede in a dispute between 

Rizon Jet and Qatar’s civil 

aviation authority, which the Doha-based 

operator accuses of preventing 

it competing with the 

business aviation arm of stateowned 

Qatar Airways. 

MEBAA chairman Ali Al Naqbi 

says the organisation wants to 

help its member “build a bridge 

and create an effective means of 

Greater China’s business jet fleet 

grew by 40% in 2012 to 336 

aircraft, fuelled by huge demand 

for top-of-the-range aircraft. 

According to a study by aviation 

consultancy Asian Sky 

Group, the fleet of jets in Hong 

Kong, Taiwan, Macau and the 

People’s Republic of China (PRC) 

grew by 96 aircraft in 2012, with 

large, super-large, ultra-longrange 

and corporate airliners accounting 

for 91% of the growth. 

Gulfstream topped the tally 

with 36 aircraft – 22 G550s and 12 

G450s, while Bombardier was second, 

delivering 22 Challenger 

types and nine Global business 

jets. Largest growth came in the 

PRC, with its fleet climbing by 

40% to 193 business jets. 

“This represents an increase in 

absolute numbers during 2012 – 

BREAKDOWN BY OEM OF 

GREATER CHINA FLEET – 2012 

No of aircraft 

Embraer 

8 Airbus 

18 


Boeing 

11 

Cessna 

33 

Gulfstream 

122 

SOURCE: Asian Sky Group 

Dassault 

20 

Airbus Corporate Jets 

pins hopes on 

market rebound 

BUSINESS AVIATION P20 

communicating concerns” with 

the authority. It has also raised the 

matter with the International Business 

Aviation Council. 

Al Naqbi says MEBAA’s objective 

is to create “a sustainable and 

competitive environment in Qatar 

that will facilitate increased adoption 

and accessibility for business 

aviation in the Middle East.” 

In January, Rizon chief executive 

Capt Hassan Al-Mousawi said 

the authority was “creating obsta- 

60 versus 43 aircraft in 2011 – but 

the growth rate slowed by 5% to 

40%,” says report author and 

Asian Sky general manager 

Jeffrey Lowe. He is confident demand 

will remain strong across 

the region: “There is huge pentup 

demand for business jets in 

China. We have barely scratched 

the surface.” 

Top-end business jets continue 

to dominate, the study reveals, 

with Lowe highlighting “the increasing 

need for companies and 

individuals to fly globally for 

business”. In contrast, demand 

for bottom-end jets is lacklustre. 

Bombardier, for example, has yet 

to find a market for its Learjet 

family. Another of the industry’s 

big players has also struggled, the 

report states: “Cessna has seen little 

growth over the last three 

years, with only one net aircraft 

added in 2010 and two net aircraft 

in 2011. 

“The range of available models 

has not catered to more recent 

large-cabin and ultra-long range 

tastes of high-net-worth individuals 

in the PRC,” it adds. 

“Cessna is hoping its new midsize 

Citation Latitude and largecabin 

Longitude, [scheduled to 

enter service in 2015 and 2017 

respectively], will reverse its fortunes 

in PRC.” � 

cles” to its “progress to grow” at 

Doha’s airport, where the Qatariowned 

company competes directly 

with Qatar Executive – the business 

jet charter arm of Qatar 

Airways. Among his claims were 

that the authority had broken an 

agreement to allow third-parties to 

use Rizon’s VIP terminal, and for 

Rizon to offer flight support services 

to other carriers. 

Al-Mousawi highlighted the 

fact that Qatar Airways operates 

Sikorsky has delivered the first 

of 16 S-92s to UK mission 

critical services company Avincis 

Group for operation by its Norwegian 

subsidiary Norsk Helikopterservice. 

Although registered in 

Norway, the first two S-92s will 

be based in Aberdeen and used 

for offshore crew transportation 

and search and rescue missions 

in the North Sea for clients of sister 

company Bond Aviation. 

Bond has been seeking additional 

capacity in the UK since the 

October grounding of its Eurocopter 

EC225 fleet. The S-92s are expected 

to begin operations in Norway 

before the end of 2013, says 

Avincis. All 16 S-92s will be 

equipped with five flotation devices, 

two auto-deployable life 

rafts, satellite flight-following 

communications, and a main rotor 

blade ice protection system. 

Offshore oil operators fly the 

aircraft for an average of 90-110h 


DISPUTE MURDO MORRISON LONDON 

MEBAA offers to referee Rizon row 

Association wants to build bridge between charter firm and Qatari civil aviation authority in dispute over Doha airport 

RESEARCH KATE SARSFIELD LONDON 

Chinese business jet 

fleet grew 40% in 2012 

Hawker 

27 

Bombardier 

97 

the airport, and effectively has a 

monopoly on ground handling – 

something he said created an 

“uneven playing field”. 

Privately owned Rizon, which 

also owns a fixed-base operation at 

London’s Biggin Hill airport, was 

set up in 2006 and offers a range of 

business aviation services, including 

charter and hangarage. � 

Read our recent report on Middle 

East business aviation at 

flightglobal.com/mideastbizav 

The UK group’s order is the largest single purchase of the type 

DELIVERIES KATE SARSFIELD LONDON 

Avincis gets first finished S-92 

per month in often challenging 

environments, says Sikorsky. 

Operators based in North Sea region 

countries – including the 

UK, Norway and the Netherlands 

– operate 47 S-92s configured 

for offshore transport and 

search and rescue missions, adds 

the US airframer. The S-92 fleet 

is expected to reach the 500,000 

flight hour milestone in February, 

leading to the 200th delivery 

of the 20+-seat type in the second 

quarter of the year. 

Avincis subsidiaries, which 

also include Inaer and Australian 

Helicopters, operate a combined 

fleet of about 350 rotary and 50 

fixed-wing aircraft across 295 

bases worldwide. The aircraft 

order – announced in December 

2011 – is the largest single purchase 

of S-92 helicopters to date. 

The first four aircraft will be financed 

by Irish helicopter leasing 

company Milestone Aviation. � 


Avincis


IN BRIEF 

SHANGHAI REPAIRS 

Shanghai Hawker Pacific 

Business Aviation Service 

Centre has received Part 145 

certification from the US 

Federal Aviation Administration 

as an overseas repair station. 

The approval is the first for a 

dedicated business aviation 

maintenance facility in China, 

says the company, a joint venture 

between Shanghai Airport 

Authority, operator of Shanghai’s 

Hongqiao and Pudong airports, 

and Hawker Pacific. 

SILICON SIGNATURE 

Business aviation services provider 

Signature Flight Support 

has won a bid to build and run a 

fixed-base operation (FBO) at 

Mineta San José International 

airport (SJC) in California. The 

Orlando, Florida-headquartered 

company is now seeking the 

go-ahead from San José city 

council to begin construction of 

the $82 million facility on the 

west side of SJC, also known as 

“Silicon Valley’s airport”. Plans 

call for a “full-service” FBO, 

22,300m 2 (240,000ft 2 ) of 

hangar space, a 930m 2 executive 

terminal, a 700m 2 “technology 

garden”, 2,230m 2 

dedicated to offices and shops, 

and 18.5 acres (7.5ha) of ramp 

space, says Signature. 

INDIAN HANDOVER 

Eurocopter has delivered an 

EC135 to Indian multinational 

car manufacturer Mahindra & 

Mahindra. The Mumbai-based 

company – whose aerospace 

division builds sub-assemblies 

and customises Eurocopter civil 

helicopter types for the Indian 

market – will use the light twin 

for corporate transportation. 

ASIA VENTURE 

ST Aviation Resources has established 

a joint venture with 

Caterham Jet and EVIA 

Aviation. The new company, 

CJS Aviation, will be based in 

Singapore and specialise in 

private aircraft management 

and leasing throughout the 

Asia-Pacific region. 


Gulfstream has secured European 

validation for the G280 

business jet about five months 

after Israel and the USA certificated 

the super-midsize aircraft. 

The G280 was introduced in 

2008 as a replacement for the 

Keep up to date with all the latest 

business and general aviation news at 


CERTIFICATION KATE SARSFIELD LONDON 

Europe opens way to G280 deliveries 

Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) 

hopes for a stronger sales performance 

in the coming 12 

months after a “soft” market for 

VIP airliners in 2012 contributed 

to it adding only five gross orders 

to its backlog. On top of that, two 

cancellations of ACJ318s, caused 

by the airframer “housekeeping” 

on its orderbook, took the net figure 

down to only three aircraft. It 

was also a worse performance 

than the preceding year where it 

recorded 10 commitments for its 

corporate jetliners. 

The division is pinning its 

hopes for 2013 on an improved 

market, including several ongoing 

governmental campaigns. 

Fran çois Chazelle, ACJ vice-president, 

says the contests offer potential 

for sales right across its range: 

“It’s mostly at the smaller end, but 

I could imagine some appetite 

coming back for widebodies too.” 

ACJ also intends to bolster its 

widebody sales through the disposal 

of a number of former Singapore 

Airlines A340-500 passenger 

jets, which are returning to Airbus 

as part of a deal for new A350s. In 

all, Airbus will receive five of the 

A340s from the carrier and Chazelle 

is confident the corporate jet 

operation will be able to move 

some of them on. But its ability to 

sell all five aircraft is constrained 

by capacity later this year at completions 

centres, he says. 

To support the A340 sales, ACJ 

has developed a new three-class 

interior for the type – “Gala” – of- 

G200, formerly dubbed the Galaxy 

business jet. 

The 10-seat aircraft is manufactured 

by Israel Aerospace Industries 

in Tel Aviv and shipped to 

Gulfstream’s headquarters in Savannah, 

USA for completion. 

fering a VVIP cabin between doors 

two and three, with potential to install 

first-class seating at the front 

and a business-class section to the 

rear. “It’s something we have asked 

the outfitters to quote on and we 

believe we have come up with 

quite an attractive package and 

price,” he says. The Gala concept 

will also be available for new-build 

ACJ330s and the conversion of existing 

commercial A330s. 

Chazelle is also confident its 

“entry-level” ACJ318 will continue 

to attract interest, particularly 

with the Enhanced package, including 

the addition of the sharklet 

wing-tip modification it 

launched at the 2012 NBAA show. 

Although there has been no decision 

on the future of the ACJ318 

following its exclusion from Airbus’s 

re-engining plans for commercial 

A320-family jets, Chazelle 

says production will continue at 

Gulfstream delivered 17 midsize-category 

jets – including the 

G280’s smaller stablemate the G150 

– in 2012. This tally is expected to 

climb to 26 in 2013, although Gulfstream 

declines to break down the 

predicted deliveries by type. � 

STRATEGY DOMINIC PERRY LONDON 

Airbus Corporate Jets pins 

hopes on market rebound 

Product tweaks and used aircraft proposition for governments will help, says airframer 

Company confidence is high over sales for the ACJ318 Enhanced 

least until 2018-2019 despite the 

overall transition to assembly of 

the Neo range from 2015. “There’s 

no real obstacle to build the two in 

parallel,” he says. 

There is also no indication 

whether Airbus will offer re-engined 

variants of the ACJ320 family, 

but Chazelle hints at a positive 

decision: “We have not 

announced a launch so far but it 

is something that could happen 

in the coming months. 

“There’s definitely a commitment 

from Airbus to the corporate 

jet market so down the line we 

want to be able to offer our customers 

the best possible aircraft.” 

In 2012, ACJ booked orders for 

two ACJ318s, two ACJ319s and a 

single ACJ330, handing over nine 

aircraft in total. � 

For news from the business and 

general aviation sectors, go to 



Airbus


Fruits of freedom 

for EADS 

BUSINESS P22 

AERODYNAMICS MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON 

Rotor blade pressure may 

hold key to dynamic stall 

DLR revisits experiments from 1940s to test effect of air discharge on flight control 

German aerospace research 

centre DLR is experimenting 

with modified helicopter rotor 

blades which discharge pressurised 

air through small holes 

along the leading edge to dampen 

airfoil vibrations and increase aircraft 

manoeuvrability. 

Main rotor blades tend to stall 

in the part of the rotation cycle 

when the airfoil travels in the opposite 

direction to flight. Such 

dynamic stall happens particularly 

in high-speed forward flight 

or fast manoeuvres. 

The airfoil not only loses lift 

and drag increases when the airflow 

becomes turbulent, but the 

rotor construction is also subject 

to vibrations and significant strain. 

This limits the top speed and manoeuvrability 

of helicopters, particularly 

at high altitudes. 

Releasing air from the holes in 

the leading edge can reduce the 

turbulences and substantially 

dampen the associated pitchdown 

momentum of the rotor, 

says DLR. 

The scientists tested a 1m (3ft) 

fixed rotor blade in the transonic 

windtunnel of DLR’s Institute of 

Though great efforts necessarily 

go into improving the machinery 

of flight, it is sometimes 

worth remembering there remains 

much to be learned about 

the most important component of 

all: the human crew. 

Speaking to a packed house on 

7 February at the Royal 

Aeronautical Society in London 

about the training regime he 

hopes will one day earn him selection 

for an International Space 

Station mission, European Space 

Agency astronaut Tim Peake was 

asked whether, 50 years into the 

space age, we fully understand 

Sensors measured air pressure changes 6,000 times per second 

Aerodynamics and Flow Technology 

in Göttingen, which can 

simulate air speeds from about 

540kt (1,000km/h) to Mach 2.2. 

The blade was equipped with 

42 holes of 3mm diameter to discharge 

the pressurised air, as 

well as 74 sensors to measure air 

pressure changes across the airfoil 

6,000 times per second. As a 

next step, DLR wants to test a rotating 

blade and verify the previous 

results. 

The research team envisions 

an application which can be 

the physiological effects of 

weightlessness. His answer surprised 

the crowd. 

Just last year, he said, it became 

evident that about 20% of men 

who make long-duration space 

flights – of six months or more – 

suffer permanent eyesight degradation. 

That is, after returning to 

Earth they remain short-sighted 

and may need to wear glasses or 

undergo corrective laser surgery. 

The theory being considered 

is that in microgravity, blood and 

fluid pressure in the legs is necessarily 

lower than on the 

ground, and that pressure is dis- 

manually activated by the pilot in 

critical manoeuvres to enhance 

the helicopter’s performance. 

The idea of influencing aircraft 

aerodynamics by discharging pressurised 

air from airfoils goes back 

to the 1940s, when experiments 

were conducted in Göttingen. 

Karl Richter, who is head of 

DLR’s “STELAR” (stall and transition 

on elastic rotor blades) 

project, says that the windtunnel 

experiment was the most elaborate 

dynamic stall control assessment 

internationally. � 

tributed elsewhere; astronauts 

on the ISS tend to have puffy 

faces, says Peake, and it may be 

the case that pressure on the retinas 

flattens them, in some cases 

permanently. Women are not affected, 

it appears. This discovery 

begs the question, what other effects 

of spaceflight have we yet 

TECHNOLOGY 

TESTBED 

‘Responsible’ 

eye-in-sky set for 

return to testing 

Boeing’s Phantom Eye highaltitude, 

long-endurance testbed 

is ready to fly again – following 

a hard landing after its first 

flight in June 2012. 

Strengthened landing gear and 

software and hardware upgrades 

will enable higher-altitude tests 

from NASA’s Dryden Flight 

Research Center at Edwards AFB, 

following 40kt (75km/h) taxi tests 

on its launch cart on 6 February. 

The 150ft (46m) wingspan aircraft 

is capable of carrying a 440lb 

(200kg) payload and features 

what Boeing describes as an “innovative 

and environmentally 

responsible liquid-hydrogen propulsion 

system creating only 

water as a by-product”. 

The objective is to stay on station 

for up to four days at up to 

65,000ft. The June 2012 flight 

ended in a mishap when the 

landing gear dug into the 

Edwards lake bed and broke. 

“We’ve drawn on Boeing’s experience 

to come up with a solution 

using our tactical fighter aircraft 

landing systems as an example,” 

says chief engineer Brad Shaw. � 

FLIGHT MEDICINE DAN THISDELL LONDON 

Warning – weightlessness can ruin your eyesight 

It may be the case 

that pressure on the 

retinas flattens them, 

in some cases 

permanently 

DLR 

Track the progress of development 

programmes at 

flightglobal.com/aircraft 

to encounter? A typical stay on 

the ISS is six months and the 

spaceflight endurance record is 

437 days, set on the Russian station, 

Mir. If a mission to Mars is 

ever undertaken, the crew would 

be away from Earth for a minimum 

of 18 months. 

Peake, a UK army major who 

still flies Boeing Apache helicopters 

for the Territorial Army, speculated 

that genetic screening may 

become a necessary part of astronaut 

selection. � 

Commentary about the spaceflight 

sector is on our blog at 

flightglobal.com/hyperbola 


BUSINESS 

Good week 

THE EURO Despite many 

predictions to the contrary, 

Europe’s single 

currency not only remains 

in business but 

appears to be thriving. 

From a low point of barely 

$1.20 in July 2012, 

the euro has climbed 

steadily to its current 

level, solidly in the 

$1.30s. That strength is 

a welcome sign that 

while European economies 

remain mired in 

debt and slow- or nogrowth, 

the European 

Central Bank has a grip 

on a crisis that a year 

ago looked existential. 

EUROPE Chaotic collapse 

of the euro may no 

longer be an urgent worry 

but Continental exporters 

may be excused for 

wishing their currency 

was just a little bit less 

robust. These are recessionary 

times, and a 

strong currency is hardly 

welcome – especially for 

European aerospace 

companies whose products 

are so often priced 

in US dollars. We are a 

long way from the painful 

days of $1.50 to the 

euro, but the European 

Central Bank is getting 

worried at $1.30-plus. 

Bad week 


Rex Features 

Rex Features 

Aircraft finance is among the sectors covered 

by our premium news and data service 

Flightglobal Pro: flightglobal.com/pro 

FINANCES DAN THISDELL LONDON 

Fruits of freedom for EADS 

The failed BAE merger has left a legacy – an unshackling from government interference 

Airbus parent EADS is poised 

to reveal a dramatic rise in 

profitability, having netted more 

than €2.1 billion ($2.8 billion) for 

shareholders last year, up from 

little more than €1 billion in 2011 

and only €533 million in 2010. 

The figures, to be revealed on 

27 February, look to be at the high 

end of EADS guidance. Results 

issued by key shareholder 

Daimler show its approximately 

15% share of the 2012 net profit 

of EADS amounted to €307 million, 

more than twice the €143 

million it received in 2011. 

EADS is unable to comment yet 

on 2012 performance, but revenue 

has risen steadily for several years 

to €49.1 billion in 2011, and Airbus 

in 2012 delivered a record 588 

aircraft. However, profitability has 

been low and Louis Gallois, who 

retired in 2012 as chief executive, 

had made improvement a priority. 

Although the group’s “Vision 

2020” bid to reduce its reliance on 

Airbus – historically accounting 

for some two-thirds of sales – has 

been thwarted by a booming civil 

aircraft market, analysts have 

praised cost reduction efforts. 

Astrium and Eurocopter are 

stars, too, and both have been in 

the ascendancy for several years. 

The Cassidian defence unit, 

however, is another story – which 

Gallois’ successor, former Airbus 

boss Tom Enders, will be pressed 

to address when he takes to the 

stage for the first time as chief executive 

to detail 2012’s results. 

Since taking office, Enders has 

made two strategic thrusts – one 

failed and one spectacularly successful 

– that have placed him at 

the focal point of the global defence 

aerospace industry, a position 

that would have seemed fanciful 

even six months ago. 

His bold September bid to 

merge EADS with the UK’s BAE 

Systems and create the world’s 

biggest aerospace group failed to 

find favour with many investors. 

It was thwarted by the German 

government which, alongside 

Paris, effectively controls EADS. 

Listen carefully 

Berlin is believed to have feared 

its national defence industry interests 

would lose out to a Franco-British 

axis in an EADS-BAE 

combination. However, like a 

judo master Enders quickly exploited 

Berlin’s momentum to 

achieve a strategic victory – by 

pushing the shareholding governments 

out of the EADS management 

loop. 

NEW DEAL 

As Daimler’s 2012 results reveal, 

this new EADS governance deal 

– arising from astonishment that 

politicians could so blatantly 

thwart the will of management 

and investors – is already shifting 

the European industrial landscape. 

In the first week of December, 

only hours after the French 

and German governments agreed 

to cede control of the European 

aerospace champion, the auto 

maker behind the Mercedes-Benz 

brand realised €709 million from 

the €1.66 billion sale of a 7.5% 

stake – half of its remaining holding 

in EADS – to institutional investors 

and German banks. 

Daimler has long made clear it 

wants to end its days as proxy 

holder of Germany’s EADS stake 

to focus on its core business. The 

new deal frees it to do that – as it 

does Daimler’s equally-reluctant 

French counterpart, Lagardère. 

EADS itself is unlikely to 

pursue another mega-merger 

soon, but its dalliance with 

BAE has surely focused minds 

in other European boardrooms; 

transformative deals involving 

big players Safran, Thales and 

Finmeccanica have been discussed 

for years and may now 

look timely. 

Reaction in the USA may be 

equally disruptive. As consultancy 

PwC concluded earlier in 

February in its 2012 aerospace 

mergers and acquisitions report, 

uncertainty surrounding the US 

government’s ongoing political 

battle over spending cuts is holding 

back a wave of defence industry 

consolidation. 

PwC’s US aerospace lead Scott 

Thompson told Flight International 

that while the Department 

of Defense has made clear it does 

not support further mergers between 

US prime contractors, that 

position predates the financial 

crisis. If US defence spending is 

cut drastically in any eventual 

resolution of the federal budget 

sequestration stand-off, then 

some companies will surely be 

prepared to explore the prospect 

of changing that DoD position in 

a new economic environment, 

says Thompson. The fact that one 

of those primes – BAE – was prepared 

to enter a transformative 

deal will have got its rivals thinking 

about their strategic options. 

Managers itching to cut loose 

that wave of deal-making will be 

tuned to Tom Enders’ handling of 

questions about EADS’s defence 

sector strategy – which, ironically, 

he will field in Berlin. � 


Rex Features


Rolls-Royce aims to 

prove maturity of 

A350’s Trent XWB 

COVER STORY P24 

PEOPLE MOVES 

Ball Aerospace, Engine Alliance, NASA, Pratt & Whitney 

Strain: heading Ball 

Dean Athans has been named 

president of the 50-50 GE-Pratt & 

Whitney joint venture Engine 

Alliance, succeeding Mary Ellen 

Jones who returns to a senior 

leadership position at P&W. 

Athans has led GE’s LMS100 

power turbine programme since 

2010, following 25 years with GE 

Aviation. Engine Alliance makes 

the GP7200 Airbus A380 option 

powerplant. At Ball Aerospace, 

chief operating officer Robert 

Strain will succeed the retiring 

David Taylor as president and 

chief executive from the end of 

March. Strain joined Ball in 2012; 

he has served as director of 

NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 

“Our business 

model works, even 

in the strong 

recession we 

experienced 

in Ireland” 

Aer Lingus chief CHRISTOPH MUELLER 

says its run of three profitable years 

should keep the airline independent 

as the EC apparently scuppered 

a Ryanair takeover bid 

Ball Aerospace 

Center and held leadership roles 

at The Johns Hopkins University 

Applied Physics Laboratory, 

Orbital Sciences and Fairchild 

Space and Defense. Astronaut 

Brent Jett has left NASA; the 

retired US Navy captain flew on 

four Shuttle flights, headed the 

Flight Crew Operations 

Directorate and most recently 

served as deputy manager of the 

Commercial Crew Program. 

Separately, NASA astronaut 

Clayton Anderson has retired after 

a 30-year career including two 

space flights, as a flight engineer 

aboard the International Space 

Station in 2007, and as a mission 

specialist on STS-131 in 2010. 

Jett: NASA departure 

NASA 

BillyPix 

BUSINESS 

BUSINESS BRIEFS 

RECARO EXPANDS IN TEXAS 

SEATS German seat maker Recaro has opened an extension to its 

Fort Worth, Texas facility as part of plans to grow revenue by about 

65% during the next five years, from €304 million ($407 million) in 

2011 to around €500 million in 2017. The Texas plant, which 

opened in 1998 and employs about 350 staff, has more than doubled 

in size to 23,000m 2 (250,000ft 2 ) during the past year. The bulk 

of 2013 production of about 29,000 seats will be coach-class units 

for customers in North and South America. The site plays a central 

role in Recaro’s growth plans because of its proximity to Boeing final 

assembly lines, Airbus’s planned A320 assembly line in Mobile, 

Alabama, and some of the world’s largest airlines, says aircraft seating 

division chief executive Mark Hillier. In 2012, Recaro expanded in 

Poland and will open a factory in Qingdao, China later this year. 

KONGSBERG THRIVES ON F-35 

DEFENCE At the aerospace and defence systems division of 

Norwegian high-technology group Kongsberg, EBITA rose 45% to 

NKr381 million ($69 million) for the full year 2012, on revenue up 

19% to Nkr4.65 billion. Revenue was up across the operation, with 

Lockheed Martin confirming Kongsberg’s Joint Strike Missile will be 

integrated on to the F-35 standing out as a highlight of the year, with 

potential for “significant long-term contract opportunities for 

Kongsberg as well as other Norwegian subcontractors”. 

SAAB CREATES RADAR VENTURE IN UAE 

ELECTRONICS Saab is to enter a 49-51 joint venture to create the 

first United Arab Emirates-based radar systems maker with Tawazun, 

a UAE investment company focusing on defence and “strategic manufacturing”. 

Abu Dhabi Advanced Radar Systems claims to be the 

first radar development, manufacture, assembly and integration 

company in the Middle East for development of next-generation systems 

as well as support services. 

WIPRO TO MAKE ACTUATORS IN BENGALURU 

HYDRAULICS Wipro Infrastructure Engineering will begin aerospace 

hydraulic actuators manufacture by mid-year at a new facility in the 

special economic zone near Bengaluru International airport. Initial 

production plans are for 2,000 actuators per year. 

RBC BEARINGS ON A ROLL 

COMPONENTS In its third quarter to 29 December, RBC Bearings 

enjoyed “momentum” in aerospace sales, with a near 16% rise in 

revenue on the back of commercial aircraft build rates and aftermarket, 

although these gains were largely offset by declining sales in 

mining and military markets, leaving the company up barely 1% for 

the quarter, to $96.3 million. For the nine-month period, the 

Connecticut-headquartered bearings maker posted sales up 5% to 

$300 million, while pre-tax profits rose 23% to $64.6 million. 

IBERIA UNIONS TO WALK OUT OVER JOB CUTS PLAN 

AIRLINES Unions representing Iberia ground staff and cabin crew have 

announced 15 days of strikes in February and March in protest at parent 

company International Airlines Group’s plans to cut Iberia’s fleet by 

15%, axe 4,500 jobs and reduce salaries by up to 35% in a bid to restore 

profitability. IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, had imposed 

an end-January deadline for agreement with unions, and intends 

to go ahead with the cuts with or without a union deal. IAG boss Willie 

Walsh says the company remains ready to negotiate, but insists: “We 

are determined and united to implement the necessary changes.” 


Rolls-Royce 

COVER STORY 

The Trent XWB 

has the largest 

fan yet designed 

for a Rolls- 

Royce engine 

ALL EYES ON XWB 

As a certification milestone is reached, Rolls-Royce is turning its attention to proving 

the maturity of the A350’s Trent XWB powerplant ahead of first delivery next year 

ANDREW DOYLE LONDON 

The recent grounding of the latest widebody 

twinjet to enter airline service – 

Boeing’s 787 – means the Airbus 

A350 XWB will come under unprecedented 

public scrutiny when customer deliveries 

get under way in 2014. 

Although the 787’s current woes are not 

powerplant-related, Rolls-Royce is well aware 

that as sole engine supplier to the A350 it has 


a critical role in ensuring the European-built 

widebody enjoys a relatively trouble-free 

commercial debut. 

Rolls-Royce is understandably endeavouring 

to leave no stone unturned as it seeks to 

demonstrate the maturity and service-ready 

credentials of the Trent XWB, its most advanced 

three-spool large turbofan, which has 

notched up more than 1,200 sales before the 

A350 even gets airborne. 

An illustration of this determination is the 

fact that although all flight-test work required 

for certification of the Trent XWB has been 

completed, Airbus and Rolls-Royce have together 

decided to extend the campaign using 

the airframer’s A380 flying testbed ahead of 

the A350’s maiden sortie. 

“We both consider that it’s the right thing to 

do for powerplant maturity and we’re both 

very supportive of making sure the powerplant 

is as mature as it possibly can be so as to 

not give [the A350] any form of problem at 

flightglobal.com

entry into service,” says Trent XWB programme 

director Chris Young. “So we’re prepared 

to carry on investing in the product between 

us,” he adds. 

The extra flying using the A380 – which 

first got airborne with the Trent XWB installed 

in February 2012 – facilitated additional systems 

tests and provided an opportunity to 

take the powerplant through its paces under 

extremely cold conditions. 

The cold weather flying tests were performed 

in Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada, where 

temperatures were -23˚C (-9˚F). 

“This is all about proving the long-term 

service maturity of the engine and just carrying 

on getting experience in representative 

environments,” says Young. 

The engine installed on the A380 is the 

same one used for the most recent phase of 

certification testing, and is “very close” to the 

final configuration that will power the A350 

on its first flight later this year. 


“There are a few minor changes as always 

around things like pipe routings and some of 

the last minute external changes that we’ve 

found but overall it’s very representative of 

the bill of material, which is why it makes 

sense to carry on flying and getting the evidence 

and data from it,” says Young. 

“It’s millions of dollars to do 

[the blade-off test] and we 

like to be confident” 

CHRIS YOUNG 

Trent XWB programme director, Rolls-Royce 

Certification of the Trent XWB was awarded 

by the European Aviation Safety Agency on 7 

February following successful completion of 

the critical full engine blade-off test, conducted 

using 58 Bed at Rolls-Royce’s factory in Derby, 

UK. This was preceded by a blade-off test using 

TRENT XWB 

DEVELOPMENT 

GROWTH TRENT XWB FOR A350-1000 TAKES SHAPE 

WHILE THE baseline A350-900 

is powered by the 84,000lb 

(374kN)-thrust Trent XWB-84, 

the -800 shrink will be 

equipped with the de-rated 

XWB-75, or XWB-79 for hot-andhigh 

operations. 

The stretched A350-1000, 

however, requires the 

97,000lb Trent XWB-97 

growth variant to preserve the 

type’s transpacific range capability 

for customers such as 

Cathay Pacific. 

The XWB-97 will retain the 

same fan diameter, mounting 

points and nacelle aerolines as 

its less powerful siblings, and 

derive much of its extra thrust 

via increased fan flow. A larger 

core will be required to power 

the fan, and this will feature 

turbine blade tip clearance control, 

upgraded materials and 

advanced cooling technology. 

The result, Rolls-Royce hopes, 

is the extra thrust capability 

can be delivered with no impact 

on specific fuel consumption or 

on-wing life. 

With development work for 

the baseline XWB-84 essentially 

complete, Rolls-Royce is 

ramping up activity on the 

XWB-97, which has entered 

the component-level design 

phase ahead of the start of 

assembly of the first test engines. 

The preliminary design 

review milestone was passed 

in early January. 

“Now it’s all-systems-go, to 

do the very detailed individual 

component design and manufacture 

and to start pouring the 

castings and cutting the metal 

as we go through this year in 

order to get the first parts in 

store for the first prototype engine 

and go towards that first 

engine run around the middle of 

next year,” says Trent XWB programme 

director Chris Young. 

TESTBED TALKS 

The first A350-1000 is scheduled 

to fly in mid-2016, a year 

ahead of entry into service. 

“Both ourselves and Airbus 

think that for the overall maturity 

of the product, doing a flying 

testbed [for the XWB-97] is 

a beneficial thing to do,” says 

Young. “We are in discussion 

with Airbus about exactly what 

the approach is that we take 

for the 97k engine.” 

Flight tests of the XWB-97 

engine should “most likely” 

start in the second half of 

2015, he says. The first engine 

run is scheduled for mid-2014. 

Options include redeploying 

the A380 as the testbed, or 

fitting a Trent XWB-97 to an 

A350-900 test aircraft. Using a 

twin-engined A350, however, 

would involve more stringent 

regulatory requirements and 

the engine would have to be 

“more mature” before flying 

could begin, says Young. A decision 

between the A380 and 

A350 is expected “towards the 

middle of this year”. 

Some key advances being 

introduced in the XWB-97 are in 

the turbine and combustion sections, 

and include shroudless 

turbine blades, tip-clearance 

systems and advanced materials 

and coatings. Rolls-Royce 

claims to have achieved 80% 

commonality with the baseline 

XWB-97 engine in terms of linereplaceable 

units. 

The third build standard for 

Rolls-Royce’s Environmentally 

Friendly Engine programme is 

being installed on the testbed 

in Bristol, UK and will demonstrate 

technologies aimed at 

extending turbine life. There will 

also be a cyclic endurance test. 

“Apart from just proving it in 

a representative environment 

as we did with builds one and 

two, it’s now about starting to 

prove the full-life capability as 

an advanced de-risk of the 97k 

engine,” says Young. � 

only a fan module at the company’s Dahlewitz 

site in eastern Germany on 2 November, which 

provided the “data and confidence” to move to 

the full engine test in the UK on 29 November. 

“It’s lots of millions of dollars to do [the full 

engine test], and we like to make sure that 

we’re completely confident in the successful 

outcome of that test before we go into it,” says 

Young, adding that the fan module test is conducted 

to identify any “last-minute design 

tweaks” that may be required. 

Conducting the full engine blade-off test inside 

58 Bed threw up a host of technical challenges, 

as the Trent XWB has the biggest fan 

built by Rolls-Royce, as well as the biggest individual 

blades. The high energy levels involved 

meant the company’s engineers had to 

be sure 58 Bed – the newest and most modern 

test facility on the Derby campus – was structurally 

capable of hosting the demonstration. 

“That was the first time we’ve done a big 

fan indoors – it had always been an outdoor 

�� 


�� 

test before,” says Young. The move inside 

was necessitated by the UK company’s decision 

to decommission its outdoor test facilities 

at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire, UK, 

which had been encroached by housing estates 

in recent years. 

“It means that we can do everything that we 

want to 24 hours a day and be more effective 

in our operations rather than just do it a few 

hours a day when we’re not annoying the 

neighbours too much,” says Young. 

ABSOLUTE MAXIM 

In the event all went well as the blade was released 

at the root and the engine ran down, 

and was then shut down, in the presence of 

representatives from Airbus and EASA. 

The blade was released at the “absolute 

maximum, red-line N1 speed, and then we 

actually add a little bit of margin to make sure 

that we’re comfortable that we have some 

growth capability on the engine if we ever 

need it in the future”, says Young. “It’s a very 

arduous test that really proves the robustness 

and overall capability of the engine. We effectively 

do it at a higher speed than would ever 

occur in a service environment. The good 

news is it went very well and delivered all of 

the evidence that we needed for certification,” 

he adds. 

The blade-off test involved the baseline 

84,000lb-thrust Trent XWB-84 for the 

A350-900. The more powerful, 97,000lb-rated 

XWB-97 in development for the stretched 

A350-1000 (see box P25) will require another 

test as it features stronger, heavier fan blades 

which rotate at a higher speed. 

“At the minimum, we’ll do a full-fan rig 

test,” says Young. 

Among the final certification tests performed 

for the XWB-84 was a second 150h 

endurance test to clear modifications designed 

to provide higher turbine temperature 

margins to extend service life. 

Its blade-off test was an indoor first 


Rolls-Royce 

“Assembly hours are coming 

down nicely, as we learn how 

to build the engine” 

CHRIS YOUNG 

Trent XWB programme director 

“The low-pressure turbine rotor dynamics 

was one last test that we had to do, again successfully 

completed,” says Young. 

The first engine (SN21002) for the A350 

flight-test campaign has been delivered to the 

assembly line in Toulouse for podding, following 

pass-off testing and the installation of 

flight-test instrumentation in Derby. 

The second engine (SN21003) has also 

completed pass-off testing and was due to be 

shipped to Toulouse imminently. Follow-on 

engines will arrive in Toulouse “at a reasonably 

fast rate”, says Young. Engine four entered 

pass-off testing in January. 

“We’re starting to see a drumbeat of flightcompliant 

engines coming very quickly 

through the process and fully supporting the 

needs of the Airbus programme,” says Young. 

“We’re really starting to get our industrial system 

proven out very well. The supply chain is 

operating well, the assembly processes, and 

the new production facility that we’ve put in 

place is proving that it’s building the engines 

to the right quality and repeatable. 

“The engines we are passing off are flight 

compliant and even better on performance, as 

we expected them to be,” he adds. 

A total of 11 Trent XWBs have participated 

in the test programme to date, accumulating 

more than 3,100h in ground tests and aboard 

the A380 testbed. 

Still under way are some final tests needed 

to secure FAA cross-certification, and then the 

focus will shift to securing early extended- 

TRENT XWB 

Airbus and Rolls-Royce are going all out for first A350 flight before June’s Paris air show 

range twin-engined operations approval. The 

target is to eventually certificate the A350 to fly 

up to 350min from the nearest suitable diversion 

airfield at single-engined flying speed. 

The cold start capability of the Trent XWB 

has been extended down to -26˚C after winter 

demonstrations using the company’s testbed 

in Manitoba, northern Canada, and this is expected 

to be further lowered to -40˚C. 

“We are now able to do far more full envelope 

testing, which is great for the reliability 

and maturity of the product,” says Young. 

Between 16 and 18 engines will have been 

assembled in the pre-production facility at 

Derby prior to the start of series production, in 

an effort to understand the optimum way of 

assembling the engine and to determine appropriate 

work-station content. 

“Assembly hours are coming down nicely, 

as we learn how to build the engine,” says 

Young. Fully-fledged flow-line assembly 

should begin by mid-2014, in time for the 

planned ramp-up in A350 production. 

“We’re very close to finalising our footprint 

and layout for the full flow-line facility,” 

says Young. 

A couple of spare engines are being shipped 

to Toulouse to support the A350 flight-test 

programme in case an installed engine is damaged, 

for example by foreign object ingestion. 

Rolls-Royce engineers will fly on many A350 

test flights to monitor engine performance. 

“The engines are ready and capable to go to 

their limits from day one, should Airbus 

choose to do so,” says Young. “The programme 

– which we’re fully supporting with 

our initial flight-compliant engines – has a 

very clear aim to make sure that first flight is 

prior to the Paris air show.” � 

For video of the Trent XWB making its maiden 

flight, fitted to an Airbus A380 testbed, visit 

flightglobal.com/videotrentxwb 


Airbus


LEAP OF FAITH 

CFM’s A320neo engine has the upper hand on P&W’s rival offering, 

but with 34% of orders yet to be assigned, the battle remains fierce 

STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC 

A 

programme that began to take shape 

as a concept nearly eight years ago 

is finally taking real form inside 

CFM International’s supply chain. 

Launched at the 2005 Paris Air Show as a 

possible CFM56 replacement, the Leading 

Edge Aviation Propulsion (Leap) programme 

was at that time intended to supply the next 

generation of turbofans for all-new single-aisle 

aircraft by Airbus and Boeing. At that time, 

few expected a replacement for the A320 or 

737 to appear before 2020. 

Over the next six years, the single-aisle 

market evolved rapidly. A competitor, Pratt & 

Whitney, introduced a new innovation in propulsion 

called a fan-drive gear system, the 

Chinese entered the market with a new single- 


aisle airframe and Airbus and Boeing deferred 

plans for an all-new single-aisle. 

Instead, the US and European airframers settled 

for re-engining and updating their products 

within this decade, with Airbus promising 

airlines a 15% fuel burn improvement compared 

to a standard A320, and Boeing – not to 

be outdone – vowing a 16% upgrade. 

Such promises are based almost entirely on 

the performance of a new generation of singleaisle 

turbofans developed by P&W and CFM. 

P&W’s PurePower-branded geared turbofan hit 

the market first. Bombardier selected the 

PW1500G to power the CSeries, a small nar- 

The Leap is the only engine 

on all three 160-plus-seat 

narrowbodies in development 

rowbody launched in the 110-149-seat market. 

But engine selections for a much larger segment 

of the narrowbody market, ranging up to 

220 seats, awaited. 

COMPETITIVE CHALLENGE 

In 2008, CFM partners General Electric and 

Snecma committed to launch the Leap engine 

series and to define the architecture of an allnew 

propulsion product that would be charged 

with replacing the most successful turbofan in 

history and confront the challenge from P&W. 

So far, the Leap has kept CFM atop the narrowbody 

engine orders race, but the final outcome 

remains unclear. The Leap is the only engine 

on all three 160-plus-seat narrowbodies in 

development, which includes monopoly positions 

on the 737 Max and C919. But the Pure- 

Power PW1000G has established a monopoly 

flightglobal.com


GECAS has selected 

Leap engines to power 

60 A320neos 

on new jets in development by Bombardier, 

Irkut, Mitsubishi and Embraer, while also gaining 

a competitive position on the A320neo. 

On the latter application, the results so far 

are equally murky. With 1,864 A320neos 

ordered, the Leap-1A has established a 4.6 

percentage point lead over orders for the 

PW1100G. But that is still five points less than 

the CFM56 lead over the V2500 on the current 

A320, and for 34% of the ordered A320neos, 

engine decisions have still to be made. 

Clearly, the market is yet to deliver its final 

verdict on the new engine technology produced 

by CFM and P&W. Eight years after the 

Paris Air Show launch of the Leap programme, 

much will depend on what comes 

out of the tests that will soon begin on the first 

production-representative engine. 

Airbus 

duction flow of CFM’s supply chain, says Gareth 

Richards, Leap programme manager. These 

first parts will enter final assembly in April. 

“We have a process where first we freeze the 

design, and that design freeze was already completed 

in the summer of last year,” Richards 

says. “Then it goes to the phase of actually completing 

the drawings and releasing them to 

manufacturing. That phase I shall complete 

now; the designs have been released to manufacturing 

and the first part will be coming in for 

assembly in April of this year. We’re past that 

point now and we’re actually accumulating 

hardware through the manufacturing process.” 

SCHEDULE LAG 

This first engine – technically, a Leap-1A for 

the A320neo, but nearly identical to the Leap- 

1C for the Comac C919 – is scheduled to be 

assembled in August and be ready for testing 

by the end of September, Richards says. 

The schedule for the first Leap-1B is not set 

until Boeing reaches the firm configuration 

milestone on the 737 Max at mid-year, but is 

generally running about nine to 12 months 

behind the Leap-1A. The schedule difference 

reflects the 10-month lag between the launches 

of the A320neo in December 2010 and the 

737 Max in August 2011. 

Even as the first components come together, 

another conversation is taking place between 

CFM and two regulators: the European Aviation 

Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation 

Administration. The Leap engine will be 

the first commercial turbofan to incorporate 

ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), which are 

installed as the shroud encasing the first stage 

of the high-pressure turbine (HPT). CMCs are 

a lightweight material that can survive temperatures 

that would cause even actively 

cooled metal blades to melt. GE has already 

used CMCs widely in ground-based gas turbines 

used for industrial power. The US Navy 

has also funded GE to demonstrate CMCs in 

the rotating parts of the F414 fighter engine. 

But CMCs have never been applied before to 

a commercial engine in production, and that 

will require special scrutiny from the FAA. 

“They are reviewing our test plans: both 

our component-test and our engine-test 

plans,” Richards says. “That will culminate 

That engine’s first components are in the pro- CFM’s Leap-1C will power the Comac C919 

NARROWBODIES 

CURRENT A320 FAMILY POWER SPLIT 

No of aircraft % share 

CFM56 3,664 51.5% 

V2500 2,978 41.9% 

Undecided (on order) 453 6.4% 

PW6000 (A318 only) 15 0.2% 

Total 7,110 

SOURCE: Ascend Online 

A320NEO FAMILY POWER SPLIT 

Undecided 

34% 


LEAP 35% 

PW1100 

31% 

with what is called a preliminary type board 

meeting, at which they will give us approval 

for the test plans we have proposed. It is up to 

us as a manufacturer to propose to them how 

we will certify and it’s up to them as the agency 

to approve our test plan or say no.” 

The preliminary type board meetings for 

the Leap-1A and Leap-1C engines are scheduled 

in the second quarter. The same meeting 

for the Leap-1B is expected to follow about 

nine to 12 months later. 

The Leap engine will be the 

first commercial turbofan to 

incorporate ceramic matrix 

composites 

While CMCs are a new technology in the 

commercial turbofan market, the Leap includes 

several other technologies derived – 

and, in some cases, expanded – from the GE90 

and GEnx. Examples begin at the inlet of the 

engine. The Leap series features a carbonfibre 

composite fan case, which surrounds an inlet 

fan comprised of carbonfibre composite 

blades. The composite materials are lighter 

and stronger than metal, and so far have past a 

crucial blade-out test on a test-rig engine. 

“If we had to design a metal system at the 

Leap scale our total engine system weight 

would have to be 500lb heavier than it is,” Richards 

says. “At the airplane level it’s 1,000lb. 

That’s not even counting the weight of the 

pylon supporting the engine. It would have to 

get heavier [with metal blades and fan case]. 

The wing structure would have to get heavier.” 

Reducing the weight of the fan case and the �� 


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�� blades was even more important because 

of another change in CFM’s propulsion architecture 

for Leap. One quick way to improve 

fuel efficiency is to increase the ratio of air 

passing through the inlet fan that bypasses the 

combustion process in the engine core. So, the 

5:1 bypass ratio of the CFM56 expanded to an 

11:1 bypass ratio for the Leap engine. 

To increase the mass flow of air bypassing 

the engine core, it is necessary to widen the 

diameter of the inlet fan. For example, the 

173cm (68.1in) fan diameter of the A320’s 

CFM56-5B has been widened by 14% to 

198cm on the Leap-1A. 

Of course, as the inlet diameter increases, 

the low-pressure turbine (LPT) that drives the 

inlet fan has to do more work. CFM adopted a 

seven-stage LPT for the Leap, compared to a 

four-stage LPT for the CFM56-5B. 

BOOSTED RATIO 

Another critical area of innovation for the 

Leap is the compressor system. CFM elected 

to concede to P&W an advantage with bypass 

ratio. By inserting a reduction gear between 

the LPT and the inlet fan, P&W was able to 

increase the bypass ratio of the GTF to from 

5:1 to 12:1. Instead, CFM also focused on radically 

improving the efficiency of the compression 

process in a narrowbody engine. 

The Leap engine is designed with 3D aerodynamic 

blades from the inlet to the back of 

the turbine section. These feature scimitarshaped 

tips with blades curved from the inner 

to the outer sections. 

“That technology of that 3D aerodynamics 

is carried all the way through the engine at 

every stage, and its impact is probably greatest 

in the compressor,” Richards says. 

It allows the Leap engine to more than double 

the compression ratio compared to the 

CFM56 to 22:1, roughly matching the compression 

levels achieved by the GE90. 

Increasing the efficiency of the compressor 

was also the goal that drove CFM to install 

CMCs in the shroud of the high-pressure tur- 

BREAKDOWN OF A320NEO FAMILY ENGINE DECISIONS 


No of engine decisions No of aircraft orders % of orders 

A319neo 

CFM 1 20 57% 

Pratt & Whitney 1 6 17% 

Undecided 1 9 26% 

A320neo 

CFM 11 628 40% 



A321neo 

CFM 1 12 4% 




The Leap has a monopoly position on the 737 Max 

bine, which is the mechanism that extracts 

energy from exhaust gases to power the compressor 

system. Metal shrouds in the same location 

would have to be actively cooled to 

keep from melting. The cooling air is siphoned 

out of the compressor section, reducing 

the airflow used for combustion and decreasing 

efficiency. 

“By using CMCs in that shroud we no longer 

need that cooling air that is extracted from 

the compressor, and that’s a debit to the efficiency 

of the compressor,” Richards says. 

Another result of the higher compression 

ratio saddles CFM with a difficult decision 

early in the design process. A key feature of 

the sales pitch for the CFM56 over the now- 

P&W-owned V2500 engine was lower maintenance 

cost. That advantage was driven mainly 

by a key difference between the rival engines 

in the HPT. 

While the V2500 employs a two-stage HPT, 

the CFM56 is designed with only one. With 

fewer moving parts in one of the hottest sections 

of the engine, that small difference made 

the CFM56 inherently cheaper to operate and 

in some cases easier to sell. The CFM56 is the 

undisputed champion in the narrowbody engine 

wars. In direct competition with the 

NARROWBODIES 

LEAP VS PW1000: THE ORDERS TOTALS 

No of aircraft orders 

Aircraft types Leap PW1000 

Airbus A320neo 660 574 

Boeing 737 Max 1,164 N/A 

Comac C919 275 N/A 

Bombardier CSeries N/A 173 

Mitsubishi MRJ N/A 165 

Irkut MS-21 N/A 163 

Total 2,099 1,075 


V2500 on the A320, the CFM56 has a lead of 

almost 10 percentage poins. 

The new bypass ratio requirements of the 

Leap engine, however, rendered CFM’s singlestage 

HPT obsolete. CFM instead designed the 

Leap with a two-stage HPT, matching the 

number of stages designed into the competing 

engine. It was a necessary price to pay, however, 

to achieve the higher efficiency levels 

possible with a 22:1 compression ratio. 

The last piece of the Leap technology puzzle 

is an advanced combustor. Besides reduced 

fuel burn, the airlines also want the 

new single-aisle aircraft to generate significantly 

less harmful emissions, such as nitrous 

oxide (NOx) and unburned hydrocarbons. 

The latter is produced when the 

combustor burns the fuel-air mixture too hot, 

and the former is caused by “cold spots” inside 

the combustor. 

For the GEnx engines powering the Boeing 

747-8 and 787, GE introduced the twin-annular 

premixing swirler (TAPS) combustor, 

which is designed to reduced NOx emissions 

by 50% compared to the CAEP/6 standard. 

For the Leap engine, CFM is introducing 

the TAPS II combustor with improved mixers 

in a smaller geometry, yielding a 60% improvement 

in NOx emissions. � 

Peek inside the Leap engine with a video shot 

at the 2012 Farnborough air show: 

flightglobal.com/leapvideo 


Boeing

AUSTRALIA 

SPECIAL REPORT 

FIGHTING CHANCE 

Australia’s Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets may have a longer future than planned, 

as delays and cost overruns complicate its acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-35 

fighters. Having boosted its fleet of C-17 transports, meanwhile, the national air force 

can claim the best airlift capabilities of any service in the Asia-Pacific region. In other 

sectors of aviation, it is all change Down Under: business is surging in the helicopter 

sector – aided not only by the national geography, but by the need to conquer fires 

and flooding – and the regulator is rethinking the rules that govern civil flying. 

On the eve of the biannual air show held at Geelong’s Avalon airport, we analyse 

how Australian aerospace is being reshaped, in this 10-page country special 


flightglobal.com

CONTENTS 

34 Minding the gap Super Hornets could 

endure as uncertainty dogs the F-35 

36 Heavy lifting C-17s draw plaudits 

37 Helicopters flying high Rotorcraft boom 

39 Air of discontent Regulator under fire 

AUSTRALIA 


RAAF Super Hornets 

off the Gold Coast 

(Left to right) The RAAF’s C-17s have transformed airlift capabilities “unbelievably”, 

says the service; nearly 1,000 Robinson helicopters are operated in Australia 

flightglobal.com 19-25 February 2013 | Flight International | 33 

Commonwealth of Australia, Australia Defence Ministry, Heliflite

Canberra intends to convert 12 Super Hornets into Boeing EA-18G Growlers 

COMBAT AIRCRAFT 

Minding 

the gap 

Australia is leaning towards a 

combination of Super Hornets 

and F-35s for its long-term fighter 

fleet, as delays bedevil the latter 

GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE 

ne day before the opening of the Avalon 

Oair show in 2011, US Navy Vice Adm 

Dave Venlet, then-newly appointed executive 

officer of the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme, 

gave his first press conference after 

assuming the role. The notoriously tough 

Australian defence journalist corps hammered 

him with questions about development 

delays and aircraft software releases. 

Venlet ended the conference forecasting 

that the F-35 would gain another customer by 

the end of 2011. This prediction ultimately 

came true with Tokyo’s December 2011 decision 

to buy 42 F-35As, choosing the stealthy 

type over the Boeing F-18E/F Super Hornet 


and Eurofighter Typhoon. Venlet has since 

been replaced by US Air Force Lt Gen Christopher 

Bogdan. Nonetheless, questions about 

the F-35 will again be paramount at this year’s 

Avalon. Although the F-35 made good 

progress during flight testing in 2012, concerns 

about costs and other issues persist. 

Little more than one year after the last iteration 

of Avalon, in May 2012, Canberra dealt a 

blow to the F-35 programme when it decided 

to reduce costs by ordering just two F-35As 

and delaying the acquisition of an additional 

12 F-35As until 2014-2015. Australian media 

reports at the time suggested that Canberra 

hoped for savings of A$1.6 billion ($1.67 billion) 

from the postponement. 

“When we embarked upon the project, we 

did a couple of very sensible things: firstly, we 

chose the conventional Joint Strike Fighter, 

and secondly, we put a fair amount of padding 

in our cost and in our timetable,” said 

minister for defence Stephen Smith at the 

time of the announcement. “On the timetable, 

we have been making sure that we don’t end 

up with a capability gap. We’ll make that decision 

formally by the end of this year in terms 

of the capability gap, but my current advice is 

that the life of our 71 F-18 Classic Hornets and 

our 24 Super Hornets is sufficient for our air 

combat capability, but we’ll make an advised 

judgement before the end of this year.” 

The May 2012 announcement marked an 

abrupt reversal from Canberra’s stated intentions 

in 2009, when it approved the acquisition 

of the original 14 F-35As for A$3.2 billion 

(AIR 6000 Phase 2A). The original plans also 

called for Canberra to place a massive order 

for 58 aircraft (AIR 6000 Phase 2B) in 2012, 

followed by a decision on an additional 28 

aircraft in 2015. Had this course been followed, 

Canberra would have committed to 

100 F-35As by 2015. 

ECONOMIES OF SCALE 

The three planned orders would have set the 

stage for the Royal Australian Air Force to operate 

a single fighter type and thus enjoy significant 

economies of scale in acquisition and 

long-term sustainment. While inducting this 

massive fleet of F-35s, Canberra would retire 

its ageing F/A-18A/B Hornets in 2020, followed 

by its Super Hornets in 2025. 

The May 2012 announcement also said 

Canberra would “launch a transition plan to 

assess options to ensure that a gap does not 

emerge in the RAAF’s air combat capability”. 

This foreshadowed a December 2012 letter of 

request (LOR) to Boeing asking for more 

flightglobal.com

information about 24 additional Super Hornets. 

“The sending of this LOR does not commit 

Australia to purchase more Super Hornets,” 

said a department of defence statement. 

“It is being sent so that the Australian government 

can consider all options in 2013 with 

the latest cost and availability information.” 

This is not the first time Canberra has 

looked to the Super Hornet to fill a capability 

gap. Canberra’s fleet of Super Hornets was obtained 

between March 2010 and October 

2011, making it the second-largest user of the 

type after the US Navy. The Super Hornet 

purchase was intended as an interim measure 

to cover the gap between the retirement of the 

General Dynamics F-111 and the delayed introduction 

of the F-35A. 

The key question facing Canberra at the beginning 

of 2013 is the composition of its fighter 

fleet in the 2020-2040 timeframe. Will it be entirely 

composed of F-35As? Or a force equally 

divided between F-35As and Super Hornets? 

By delaying the purchase of the additional 12 

F-35As in May 2012, and then asking for more 

information about the Super Hornet eight 

months later, it would appear that Canberra is 

leaning toward a combined fleet. 

By all accounts, the RAAF is extremely 

happy with the Super Hornet. Its pilots love 


Boeing 

the aircraft, and Boeing makes much of the 

fact that it was delivered on time. The aircraft 

is equipped with the Raytheon APG-79 active 

electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, 

making Australia one of the region’s largest 

AESA users. What is more, the aircraft has a 

clear development and upgrade roadmap, 

with the US Navy likely to operate the aircraft 

well into the 2030s. 

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE 

In a vote of confidence for the platform, Canberra 

announced in August 2012 that it would invest 

A$1.5 billion to convert 12 Super Hornets into 

Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. 

“[The upgrade] will provide options for 

the air force to undertake electronic threat suppression 

operations in support of Australian 

Defence Force operations, including land and 

sea forces,” the government said at the time of 

the Growler decision. “The Growler capability 

can also undertake intelligence, surveillance 

and reconnaissance, and will be able to support 

the full range of defence tasks from evacuations 

to major conflicts.” 

Industry sources say that if Canberra buys 

24 more Super Hornets, the 12 Growlers will 

come from these new-build aircraft. This will 

be cheaper than retrofitting current airframes 

(even though 12 RAAF F/A-18Fs came preconfigured 

for transformation to Growlers) 

and insure the availability of the current fleet. 

Although Canberra has never publicly 

backed away from the plan to obtain 100 

F-35s, a follow-on purchase of 24 Super Hornets 

would likely see this type operating well 

beyond 2030 in both its Super Hornet and 

Growler guises. This would inevitably cut 

Canberra’s total F-35 orders before 2020. 

“The advantage to buying additional Super 

Hornets is to cover any potential capability gap 

caused by delays to the F-35 programme,” says 

Forecast International analyst Douglas Royce. 

“Upgrading the F/A-18 family 

is a good idea, and it could 

extend their service lives” 

MARK GUNZINGER 

US Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments 

“At this point in the programme, the Super 

Hornet is technologically mature and immediately 

available. Public comments from the 

RAAF have indicated a high degree of satisfaction 

with the aircraft, particularly with its 

AESA radar and strike capabilities. If they add 

12 or 24 more aircraft, they know what they’re 

getting and will know exactly when they will 

get it. At this point, they can’t say the same 

thing about the F-35 because the F-35 is still in 

development/testing.” 

Royce also sees a possible downside for a 

AUSTRALIA 


follow-on F/A-18F buy: “The disadvantage of 

buying more Super Hornets is that these aircraft 

cost a huge amount of money and if the 

RAAF’s F-35 purchase works out as planned, 

the RAAF will have spent a lot of money on 

an aircraft type that they plan to make into a 

secondary platform in the future.” 

One Australian defence expert questions 

the savings Canberra hopes to enjoy through 

the purchase of additional Super Hornets. “By 

2030, we will need to replace the Super 

Hornet with the F-35 anyway,” he says. “Why 

spend money on more Super Hornets now 

when you’ll only end up replacing them with 

F-35s 15 years down the road?” 

He notes that the development of stealthy 

fighters such as Russia’s Sukhoi T-50 as well 

as China’s Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31 

suggest that the Super Hornet, even with significant 

upgrades, will no longer rank among 

the world’s leading fighters after 2030. 

EMERGING THREATS 

Indeed, in May 2012, the US Center for Strategic 

and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) issued 

a report questioning the Super Hornet’s survivability 

against emerging anti-access/area denial 

(A2/AD) threats. “Upgrading the F/A-18 family 

is a good idea, and it could extend their service 

lives,” says CSBA analyst Mark Gunzinger. 

“That being said, F/A-18-based platforms are 

short-range, lack un-refuelled persistence, and 

are best suited for operations in relatively uncontested 

airspace.” 

But in the future, uncontested airspace is 

unlikely to remain the norm as potential adversaries 

develop means to deny the US and 

its allies access to a region, US Department of 

Defense officials and analysts say. Many future 

conflict zones are likely to be heavily defended 

by new surface-to-air systems, advanced 

aircraft and other weapons. 

“The F-35 provides a level of capability that 

is far beyond the current generation of airplanes,” 

says Dave Scott, director for F-35 international 

development at Lockheed. “The [aircraft’s] 

fifth-generation capabilities – in terms of 

stealth sensors that can pick up and recognise 

what’s in the environment, and then combine 

this data and share it so that airplanes can fly 

and fight together – allow a far greater capability 

than you can achieve in current airplanes.” 

At the Seoul air show in 2011, Lockheed offered 

Flight International a ride in a non-classified 

F-35 simulator. In a simulated air attack 

against surface-to-air missile sites, the aircraft’s 

distributed aperture system (DAS) suite (coupled 

with off-board sensors) allows the pilot to 

see the enemy’s radar coverage and weapons’ 

envelope displayed as coloured domes. In theory, 

pilots can reduce their chances of detection 

by carefully flying between domes. 

During the simulation, a Lockheed technician 

flipped a switch. The size of the domes 

�� 


AUSTRALIA 


�� was reduced by two thirds. Vast swathes 

of airspace suddenly appeared wide open. 

Domes that previously overlapped were now 

far apart. “This part of the simulation shows 

how much the F-35A’s stealth features degrade 

the detection capabilities of the enemy,” 

said the technician. “Previously, you were 

seeing the enemy’s radar coverage if the F-35A 

was a non-stealthy aircraft.” 

IMPORTANCE OF STEALTH 

Indeed, a major element of the F-35’s victory 

in the Japanese F-X competition was its 

stealthiness. Aside from the utility of the 

F-35’s stealth in combat situations, it also allows 

the aircraft to operate closer to sensitive 

geographic regions in peacetime with less 

chance of being detected. Perhaps more important 

in Japan’s decision was the fact that 

the F-35 is likely to play an increasingly important 

role in future coalition war efforts. 

“[The F-35 programme] is about the US and 

close allies joining together on a common system 

that they can work together with, and fly 

and deter potential adversaries for the next 

20-30 years,” says Lockheed’s Scott. “No other 

airplane can offer this level of connection and 

interoperability.” He points out that the 

USAF, US Navy, and US Marine Corps are already 

receiving the aircraft, which eight nations, 

including Australia, jointly developed. 

Israel and Japan have also purchased the F-35 

through the US government’s foreign military 

sales (FMS) mechanism. 

Boeing, for its part, has proposed several updates 

for the Super Hornet under its “International 

Roadmap” offering for the aircraft. Enhancements 

include a full touchscreen display 

in the cockpit, conformal fuel tanks, an integrated 

infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, and 

up-rated engines. Boeing has also proposed a 

large external pod (optimised for low observability) 

for the internal carriage of weapons. 

But Scott questions the viability of such 


efforts: “We built a very good fourth-generation 

fighter with the F-16. We know what you 

can do to upgrade and enhance them. They 

reach a fundamental limit. You just can’t add 

in the stealth and systems that you can with a 

clean sheet design.” 

Although maintaining a mixed fleet of F-35s 

and Super Hornets for the long term would 

likely be more expensive for Australian taxpayers 

than operating a single type, the ultimate 

question is how effective such a fleet would be 

in the event of war. When asked about the viability 

of the Super Hornet in the coming decades, 

Royce indicates there is no black-andwhite 

answer: “It’s difficult to say at this point 

because of the uncertainty regarding the use of 

stealth aircraft in peer-to-peer combat. In the 

case of Australia, they are likely to be using 

their Super Hornets as part of coalition operations 

around the world or against non-peer opponents 

in their own region. It is extremely unlikely 

we’ll see Australia fighting any major war 

by itself in the current security environment.” 

“The prospect of a showdown between 

RAAF Super Hornets and Su-27/30 variants 

in the [Asia-Pacific] is something that pops up 

on a lot of enthusiast boards, but in a real 

shooting war, the air battle would be more 

than just a fighter-to-fighter conflict,” he adds. 

“It would involve a mixture of naval assets, 

intelligence assets, cruise missiles, strike aircraft, 

etc. That’s just too complex a situation to 

break down by which nation has the ‘best 

fighter’, as enthusiasts are apt to do.” 

Irrespective of the merits of each aircraft or 

how they will fit into the RAAF’s structure in 

the future, Australia’s ruling Labor party has set 

an election for September. Defence experts feel 

the government may decide whether to double 

down on the Super Hornet or push through 

with the F-35A in the months before the election. 

The future of Australian combat airpower 

is in the balance, and will inevitably be hostage 

to political and budgetary calculations. � 

The Super Hornet is 

popular with RAAF pilots 

Australian defence ministry 

C-17s have revolutionised Australian airlift 

TRANSPORTS 

Heavy 

lifting 

Operating six C-17s in Afghanistan 

and for relief efforts, the RAAF is 

the Asia-Pacific’s most capable 

service where airlift is concerned 

GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE 

he big news at the 2011 Avalon show was 

TAustralia’s decision to obtain a fifth 

Boeing C-17 strategic airlifter. Two years on, 

this aircraft has arrived and another C-17 has 

been ordered and delivered, bringing the 

Royal Australian Air Force’s total of the type 

to six examples. When asked about how this 

has changed capabilities, Canberra’s Airlift 

Group commander Air Cdre Gary Martin 

uses only one word: “Unbelievably.” 

Martin says the C-17 has revolutionised the 

RAAF’s ability to travel rapidly between 

points with more than five times as much 

cargo per flight as the Lockheed Martin C-130. 

In one airlift operation between the United 

Arab Emirates and Afghanistan in September 

2012, a single C-17 moved cargo weighing 

one million pounds, much of it outsized, in 

only four days. He estimates it would have 

taken two C-130s two months to transport the 

same payload. 

The C-17 is emblematic of a broader transformation 

of the RAAF’s airlift capabilities. In 

the 10 years from 2006 to 2016, the RAAF’s airlift 

fleet will drop to 46 from 47 aircraft, but this 

slight decline will be more than made up for 

with capacity, which will rise to 965t from 

flightglobal.com

673t, or 4,441 passengers from 3,931. The average 

age of the fleet in 2016 will fall to only nine 

years, compared with 24 years in 2006. While 

engine power, range and speed will grow, costs 

to support the fleet should fall. What is more, 

RAAF airlift assets will no longer require navigators 

and flight engineers following the retirement 

last year of the C-130H. 

Aside from supporting Canberra’s contribution 

to the war in Afghanistan, RAAF C-17s 

have supported relief efforts for a range of humanitarian 

crises. In March 2011, RAAF 

C-17s supported relief efforts following the 

tsunami and earthquake in Japan. C-17s have 

also supported relief efforts that followed natural 

disasters in Australia and New Zealand. 

“The C295 could not fit 

vehicles such as the Land 

Rover replacement” 

AIR CDRE GARY MARTIN 

Commander, RAAF Airlift Group 

Despite its extensive use of the C-17 – Martin 

says that at any given moment one aircraft is 

likely to be airborne – Canberra has yet to fully 

utilise the type’s capabilities. It is exploring the 

type’s suitability for air drops in support of 

naval operations, including air dropping rigidhull 

boats for special forces. 

And although C-17s are equipped to receive 

fuel via a boom, this capability has yet to be 

implemented. Eventually, the RAAF will be 

able to refuel its C-17s via the boom that 

equips its Airbus Military A330 multi-role 

tanker transports – designated KC-30A in 

RAAF service. 

Canberra received its full complement of 

five KC-30As between 2011 and 2013. Martin 


says initial operating capability (IOC) is likely 

in the first quarter of 2013. The IOC includes 

the ability to refuel the F/A-18A/B through 

the hose-and-drogue method, and the carriage 

of passengers. The RAAF’s first KC-30A has 

returned to Spain, where remedial work is ongoing 

to improve stability of fuel flow in the 

boom. Software to control the boom also 

needs to be upgraded before the equipment 

can be used operationally. 

INFRARED COUNTERMEASURES 

The other significant new type planned for the 

RAAF Airlift Group is the Alenia Aermacchi 

C-27J, of which 10 will be obtained under the 

US Foreign Military Sales mechanism. The 

C-27J replaces the de Havilland Canada 

DHC-4 Caribou, which was retired in 2009. 

Although the Caribou was popular with 

RAAF crews, the C-27J is an eminently more 

capable aircraft. It is more powerful and will 

be equipped with armour and directional infrared 

countermeasures. 

Martin says the main attribute which aided 

its selection over Airbus Military’s rival bid 

with the C295 was the C-27J’s cargo capacity: 

“If you look at the internal size of the aircraft, 

the C295 could not fit vehicles such as the 

Land Rover replacement or special forces vehicles. 

The C-27J came out well on top in 

these areas.” 

The balance of the fleet is rounded out by 12 

C-130Js – delivered between 1999 and 2002 – 

and eight Beechcraft King Air 350s. The RAAF 

Airlift Group also operates five charter jets for 

VIP transport, three Bombardier Challenger 

604s, and two Boeing Business Jets. 

When the C-27J arrives, Canberra will have 

a powerful array of airlift capabilities. This 

will serve it well during war and peace in the 

21st century. � 

Australian defence ministry 

AUSTRALIA 


CIVIL ROTORCRAFT 

Helicopters 

flying high 

In a country with vast tracts of 

wilderness and annual outbreaks of 

bush fires and flooding, no wonder 

the helicopter sector is thriving 

EMMA KELLY PERTH 

Australia’s helicopter sector is growing faster 

than any other in the country’s aviation industry, 

states its Civil Aviation Safety Authority 

(CASA). It is hardly surprising helicopters are 

popular in a country surrounded by water, 

with vast tracts of wilderness, and annual outbreaks 

of bush fires and flooding. Helicopters 

are put to work in all areas – including general 

transportation, firefighting, medical transport, 

emergency rescue, mustering livestock, offshore 

oil and gas personnel transportation, 

even aerial shark patrol. 

In late 2012, the 2,000th helicopter was 

added to the CASA register after a number of 

years of strong growth – topping 10% on an 

annual basis. This compares with less than 

1% growth for the country’s fixed-wing fleet. 

The helicopter fleet has doubled in the past 10 

years – from 980 in 2002 to 1,420 five years 

later and 2,010 by the middle of December 

2012. This growth puts Australia in the sixth 

position in terms of the number of helicopters 

– not bad for a country with a population of 

22.6 million, says Rob Rich, former president 

of the defunct Helicopter Association of 

Australasia (HAA) and local helicopter industry 

executive who has led the creation of a 

new representative body, the Australian Helicopter 

Industry Association (AHIA). The 

AHIA will be formally launched at the Australian 

International Airshow, which takes �� 

Helicopters are used for mustering cattle 


Ned Dawson

AUSTRALIA 


Robinson rotorcraft account for more than half of Australia’s helicopter fleet 

�� place at Avalon airport in Geelong, Victoria 

from 26 February to 3 March. 

The country’s booming resources sector has 

helped swell the ranks of helicopters in 

Australia significantly in the past few years, 

with fleet numbers expected to continue to 

rise despite warnings of a slowdown in the 

resources sector. Some 60% of the country’s 

helicopter fleet is located in the resources-rich 

states of the Northern Territory, Queensland 

and Western Australia. 

This year, HNZ Group – formerly Canadian 

Helicopters – will put into service three new 

AgustaWestland AW109SP helicopters on marine 

transfer flights for resources giant Rio Tinto 

in Western Australia. HNZ has been providing 

services to Rio Tinto from its Karratha, Western 

Australia base since 1992. Under a new 10-year 

contract which starts in May, the AW109SPs 

will replace two Eurocopter EC145s which currently 

serve Rio Tinto’s iron ore carriers at 

Dampier and Cape Lambert ports. 

Meanwhile, CHC Helicopters operates more 

than 30 rotorcraft in Australia in the resources, 

search and rescue and emergency services sectors. 

Its biggest contract in the resources sector is 

a five-year A$300 million ($313 million) deal, 

with possible contract extensions pushing it to 

A$500 million, with Woodside Energy which 

began in June 2011. It was believed to be the 

largest helicopter service contract ever awarded 

in the country when it was signed in 2010. The 

deal involves a fleet of 19-seat Eurocopter 

EC225s and 12-15-seat AgustaWestland 

AW139s based in Karratha, Exmouth and 

Broome, Western Australia, serving the northwest 

shelf oil and gas region. CHC recently 

moved its headquarters from Adelaide in South 

Australia to Perth, Western Australia, to be closer 

to its customers in the state’s resources sector. 


Heliwest, which serves a number of sectors 

including mining and exploration, geosurvey, 

pipeline and power line survey, emergency 

response and equipment transport, is building 

its Australian resources work following considerable 

success in the resources industry in 

Papua New Guinea. 

SUPPORT CENTRE 

At the end of 2012, Eurocopter established a support 

centre in Perth specifically to cater for the 

state’s growing fleet. Eurocopter says more than 

25 17-19-seat Super Puma-family helicopters are 

in service in the oil and gas industry in Western 

Australia’s northwest shelf region, in airlift supply 

and personnel transport operations. 

Some 60% of the country’s 

helicopter fleet is located in 

the resources-rich states of 

the Northern Territory 

Eurocopter expects the fleet to grow significantly 

during the next three to four years. The centre 

also supports customers not involved in the resources 

industry including the Western Australia 

Police, which has been operating Eurocopter aircraft 

for more than 25 years, recently putting a 

new AS365N3+ into service. 

But Australia’s helicopter sector is by no 

means all about the resources industry, with 

about 30% of the fleet deployed in the agricultural 

sector, primarily in mustering, states the 

AHIA. The sector uses light helicopters, mainly 

Robinson types, and despite the short working 

year in mustering, the fleet flies more 

hours annually than the rest of the fleet put 

together, says Rich. At the same time, expanding 

search and rescue and helicopter medical 

services operations are also contributing to 

the strong growth. Australian Helicopters, for 

example, operates 18 single- and multi-engined 

helicopters on emergency medical services, 

search and rescue, surveillance, civil and 

border protection and marine pilot transfer 

services throughout the country. 

In fiscal 2011-2012, pistons made up more 

than 60% of the Australian fleet, with Robinson 

helicopters accounting for just over half of the 

total – 531 R22s and 467 R44s. The multi-engined 

fleet grew 7% during fiscal 2011-2012, 

with the Bell 412, Kawasaki BK117, Sikorsky 

S-76, Eurocopter AS332 and AgustaWestland 

AW139 topping the list. Of the 2,000-plus helicopters 

registered, more than 200 are multi-engined 

types. AHIA expects the multi-engined 

fleet in particular to experience strong growth 

on the back of the resources sector, predicting 

the multi-engined fleet could treble to more 

than 750 helicopters in the next seven years. 

PRESSURE POINTS 

Based on current growth rates, Rich says 

Australia’s total helicopter fleet could grow to 

3,000 in about six years or 4,000 within 11 

years. Despite its growth, the collapse of the 

HAA in 2008 left the Australian helicopter 

sector without a representative industry body. 

The HAA, formed in 1984, collapsed largely 

because of a change in its business model, 

with the association employing salaried staff, 

and the global financial crisis. But with the 

realisation the growing sector needed a body 

to tackle a number of “pressure points obstructing 

development”, says Rich, the AHIA 

was set up to tackle skills shortages and training 

and regulatory issues. 

Heliflite 

flightglobal.com

The HAA, formed in 1984, collapsed largely 

because of a change in its business model, 

with the association employing salaried staff, 

and the global financial crisis. But with the 

realisation the growing sector needed a body 

to tackle a number of “pressure points obstructing 

development”, says Rich, the AHIA 

was set up to tackle skills shortages and training 

and regulatory issues. 

“Agencies such as CASA need 

our help when planning to 

regulate new technology” 

ROB RICH 

Founder, Australian Helicopter Industry Association 

Skills shortages are particularly apparent in 

instruction and maintenance, says AHIA inaugural 

president and former Bell Helicopter 

sales executive Peter Crook. The lack of instructors 

is set to worsen, particularly with the 

new Australian army and navy pilot training 

programme – the Helicopter Aircrew Training 

System – likely to draw on limited instructor 

resources. A growing multi-engined fleet is 

also likely to impact the skills shortages in engineering 

fields, particularly licensed aircraft 

maintenance engineers. 

The helicopter sector also needs to be part of 

regulatory changes and the AHIA aims to be 

the sector’s voice and ensure regulations are 

right for the local industry. “Agencies such as 

CASA need our help when planning to regulate 

new technology heading our way,” says 

Rich. He points out there are about half a dozen 

notices of proposed rulemaking which will impact 

charter operations, crew rostering, performance 

standards and helideck standards. 

The AHIA aims to promote the local helicopter 

industry by working with governments, 

regulatory bodies and the community 

to ensure it is a safe, efficient and viable industry 

able to meet the needs of customers by 

pursuing global best practice, says Rich. 

CASA says there have been “notable improvements” 

in helicopter safety during the 

Heliwest is building its Australian resources work 


past decade, but Australian Transport Safety 

Bureau statistics show that, while accounting 

for about 13% of the Australian civil 

fleet, helicopters were involved in 36% of all 

general aviation accidents in the past 10 

years. Among the AHIA’s objectives are: promoting 

safe helicopter operations; establishing 

an open productive working relationship 

with CASA; developing an exchange of information 

among helicopter owners, users, 

operators, pilots, engineers and support industries; 

making representations to governments 

at all levels; establishing an exchange 

of information with other associations; and 

promoting new helicopter services to the 

public. The association also aims to promote 

its capabilities to the wider international 

community, particularly countries in the 

Asia-Pacific region, where helicopter numbers 

are increasing. 

ROTORTECH CONFERENCE 

Participation at the Avalon show will help it 

achieve this. The AHIA, thanks to sponsorship 

from Avalon organisers Aerospace Australia, 

will hold a series of seminars and conferences 

at the show to promote the local 

helicopter industry. 

The association will also hold a Rotortech 

2013 conference at Sydney’s Darling Harbour 

in October, focusing on helicopter marine 

pilot transfer and offshore resource industry 

activity, running alongside the Pacific International 

Maritime Exposition. “This is a wonderful 

opportunity to promote ourselves as 

best we can,” says Rich. 

Changes in the industry and technology mean 

the AHIA will have a wider remit than the HAA, 

which primarily represented pilots. Rich says: 

“In the past, this suited the needs of an industry 

then operating relatively unsophisticated rotorcraft, 

where logistic and maintenance support 

requirements were minimal. Today, more 

expensive and technically advanced helicopters 

are coming into service and the logistical and 

technical support industry has developed substantially 

due to the increasing number of civilian 

and military heavy helicopters.” � 

Heliwest 

AUSTRALIA 


REGULATION 

Air of 

discontent 

After decades of controversy, new 

civil aviation regulations should 

finally come into effect this year, 

but not everyone is happy 

EMMA KELLY PERTH 

his year is set to be a particularly significant 

Tone in the history of Australian civil aviation 

regulations, with the country’s long-running 

regulatory reform programme nearing a conclusion, 

according to the Civil Aviation Safety 

Authority (CASA). The completion of new safety 

regulations, with comprehensive implementation 

schedules developed for each part, should 

go through in 2013 – or that is the plan at least. 

Australia’s regulatory reform programme 

has not been a happy tale, with the process 

dating back more than 20 years. During that 

time, it has been shrouded in controversy, 

with industry concerns over delays and the 

lack of consultation, harmonisation and simplification. 

“While the need to reform Australia’s 

aviation safety regulations is widely 

supported, progress was often disrupted and 

resources refocused on other activities,” says 

CASA. The process has been put on hold numerous 

times following “significant structural 

and governance changes, changing circumstances, 

and industry input and differing approaches 

to reform”, it adds. 

GAINING MOMENTUM 

Since 2009, the programme has gained momentum, 

with the government’s Aviation 

White Paper released that year calling for the 

reforms to be completed by 2011, with additional 

resources provided to expedite the 

drafting of new regulations, including the 

creation of an aviation safety regulatory development 

taskforce. 

Obviously the 2011 target was not met, but 

despite numerous promises, hurdles and false 

starts, the authority believes the end is in sight. 

“CASA remains particularly mindful that it 

cannot ‘ram through’ these changes; the process 

must take account of the capacity for industry 

to take on these new standards and allow 

for the legislative drafting and parliamentary 

approval process. That said, CASA is dedicated 

to maintaining its continued high level of 

energy to see this process finalised,” it says. 

Australia’s current Civil Aviation Regulations 

are old and in some cases outdated, says CASA 

director of aviation safety, John McCormick. 

“Many were first drafted more than 30 years ago 

and the origins of some go back even further. �� 


AUSTRALIA 


�� The current rules do not properly fit with a 

modern aviation system and latest technologies,” 

he says. 

EXEMPTIONS 

In order to make the old rules work in a modern 

industry, CASA has issued more than 

1,700 exemptions. In addition, rules have not 

kept pace with international developments. 

The new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 

(CASR), covering operational, flightcrew licensing, 

airworthiness and maintenance, are aimed 

at creating a safer aviation system, says CASA. 

It says they are aligned with ICAO standards 

and recommended practices, and harmonised 

with European and US regulations. 

The new rules have a number of benefits, 

according to CASA. They are “logically organised 

into clear parts”, which will make it easier 

for the industry to find and apply relevant 

regulations; are designed to address known 


CASA says there 

are 57 new rules 

made or planned 

and likely safety risks with the aim of delivering 

improved safety outcomes; and will be 

easier to update and improve. In total there 

are 57 CASR parts made or planned, says 

CASA. Of these, 38 have been made in whole 

or in part; 17 parts and one sub-part are currently 

in legal drafting and/or the consultation 

process; and two additional CASR parts are 

under development or consideration. 

But industry concerns remain. At the end of 

last year, The Australian Aviation Associations’ 

Forum (TAAAF) released an aviation policy 

which is highly critical of the regulatory reform. 

TAAAF comprises the Aerial 

Agricultural Association of Australia, 

Australian Association of Flight Instructors, 

Australian Business Aviation Association, 

Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul 

Business Association (AMROBA), Regional 

Aviation Association of Australia and the Royal 

Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia, and was 

Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority 

established in 2008 to present a united voice to 

government on key aviation issues and policy. 

TAAAF says Australia’s regulatory system is 

“out of step with key trading partners, international 

best practice and the relevant international 

treaties”, with the lack of international harmonisation 

being a “missed opportunity”. It 

believes that CASA has lost sight of its original 

aim of simplifying and clarifying regulations. 

An industry lobby is urging the 

government to remove the 

regulatory reform process 

from CASA and place it with 

a new aviation department 

“The reform process has been running for over 

20 years with little demonstrable improvement 

in harmonisation or simplification,” says 

TAAAF. The Forum believes the new rules are 

complex in content and drafting style, with a 

complete failing of the original intent of “safety 

through clarity”. 

CONSULTATIVE MECHANISM 

TAAAF also criticises CASA’s consultative 

mechanism, including the Standards 

Consultative Committee, saying it is “founded 

on a flawed culture of instructing industry on 

CASA decisions rather than genuine consultation”. 

Furthermore, it criticises CASA for 

“very poor control of the workload”, claiming 

the reform programme has itself become a potential 

threat to safety. 

TAAAF also believes it is not appropriate 

for the aviation regulatory enforcer – CASA – 

to draft the law in the first place. Rather, policy 

and regulatory development should be 

handled by the Department of Infrastructure 

and Transport. 

TAAAF is calling on the government to remove 

the regulatory reform process from 

CASA and place it with a new aviation department. 

The regulatory reform programme 

should be characterised by “strong formal and 

informal consultative relationships with industry”, 

it says. 

“Instead of reinventing the wheel in an international 

industry, regulatory reform should 

be based on a sound understanding of international 

best practice and the regulatory regimes 

used by key trading partners and neighbours, 

where relevant,” it adds. 

There should be no uniquely Australian 

rules, unless industry can demonstrate a need, 

and the reduction of “red tape” should be a 

priority, says TAAAF. 

The latest regulation proposals released for 

discussion – the maintenance requirements 

for sectors of the industry other than regular 

public transport (RPT) operators – have re- 

flightglobal.com

cently caused industry concern. CASA released 

five discussion papers on the maintenance 

proposals at the end of last year and is 

seeking comments through to 1 March. Prior 

to their release, the industry had been worried 

that RPT maintenance regulations would be 

applied directly to general aviation. The discussion 

papers have done little to address 

AMROBA’s concerns. 

QUALITY CONTROL 

AMROBA is particularly concerned with a 

proposed shift of regulatory responsibility for 

quality control of aircraft maintenance performed 

by licensed aircraft maintenance 

engineers (LAMEs) to processes contained 

within an organisation’s safety management 

system (SMS), which will introduce additional 

risk and add significant administrative costs 

to small organisations. 

“Has government considered all the risks 

involved with removing regulatory responsibilities 

of LAMEs to rely on organisational assigned 

responsibilities? We certainly hope so. 

It is a bold decision that has not been implemented 

in Europe, North America or in New 

Zealand,” says AMROBA executive director 

Ken Cannane, adding the jury is still out on 

whether an SMS enhances safety performance. 

Basically, these discussion papers are an 

elaborate proposal to remove regulatory minimum 

safety standards for aircraft maintenance 

by adopting manufacturer’s requirements and 

removing individual – LAME – regulatory requirements,” 

he adds. 

The rules would permanently damage the 

viability of the Australian aviation maintenance, 

repair and overhaul sector as costs increase, 

says AMROBA. Cannane says these 

are not discussion papers, but rather position 

papers: “Other options are included to give 

the appearance that options are consulted 


with industry.” CASA stresses that the new 

maintenance rules for non-RPT have yet to 

be determined. “We fully recognise the RPT 

maintenance regulations cannot simply be 

applied across the board. Each sector of aviation 

is different and the new regulations will 

reflect those important differences,” 

McCormick has said. 

WORKING GROUP 

CASA says it has been pleased to date with its 

engagement with the industry during the latest 

consultation process and has received 

“considered responses which are reasonable 

and balanced”. 

CASA says that following the discussion 

paper process, it might form a CASA-industry 

working group to further develop the proposals, 

after which a notice of proposed rulemaking 

will be released to provide further opportunity 

for feedback. “This full process 

provides the industry with opportunities to 

review and comment on proposed policy and 

TIMETABLE 

WHAT’S DONE AND WHAT REMAINS TO BE ADDRESSED 

NEW MAINTENANCE regulations 

– Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 

(CASR) Parts 42, 66, 145 and 147 

– were made in December 2010 

and came into effect in June 

2011. Operators have a two-year 

transition period for Parts 42, 145 

and 147. Part 42 prescribes continuing 

airworthiness requirements 

and applies to operators/aircraft 

used in regular public transport 

(RPT) operations. 

Amendments related to the 

maintenance regulations in CASR 

Part 11 (administrative procedures) 

and a new Sub-part 21.M (covering 

designs of, modifications of and 

CASA is 

seeking 

comments 

until 1 March 

repairs to aircraft, engines, propellers 

and appliances) were made in 

June 2011. 

The taskforce is working to complete 

the other parts. In terms of 

operational CASRs, these include 

Parts 91, 119, 129, 133 and 135, 

which cover general operating and 

flight rules and air transport operations 

in aeroplanes and rotorcraft. 

These have been publicly consulted 

and comments are being assessed, 

with updates being made 

to the legal drafts. These parts are 

nearing completion, says the CASA. 

CASR Part 132, which covers 

limited category aircraft, is expect- 

ed to progress to the public consultation 

stage this quarter, while 

CASR Part 121, covering air transport 

operations in large aircraft, will 

follow at the end of the second 

quarter, at the same time as Part 

131 (non-commercial ballooning). 

Legal drafting, and industry and 

public consultations of the two aerial 

work CASR parts and the three 

sport and recreational aviation operations 

parts will be ongoing 

throughout 2013, says CASA. 

The flightcrew licensing CASRs 

– Parts 61, 64, 141 and 142 – are 

expected to be made early this 

year. In maintenance and certifica- 

AUSTRALIA 


legislation at each stage of their formulation,” 

says CASA. CASA no doubt hopes implementing 

the new rules will be smoother and 

quicker than developing them has been. 

The regulatory authority has established a 

dedicated team – the Operations Regulations 

Implementation Programme – to oversee the 

implementation. Comprehensive implementation 

plans are being drawn up, including 

training and education programmes, designed 

to ensure the transition is balanced with available 

resources in the industry and CASA, says 

the authority. 

CASA does not want to “over-stress the industry” 

and typically it will be provided two 

to five years to implement the changes. 

CASA intends the new regulations to have 

longevity and be “a living set” of standards: 

“The new regulations will be modern, logically 

organised, internationally aligned and 

technologically up to date to ensure the 

framework remains sound and effective for 

the future.” � 

tion, a supplementary regulation to 

existing certification regulations – 

Sub-part 21.J (approved design 

organisations) – has completed 

the consultation stage and is expected 

to be made in the first half 

of the year. 

Part 42 maintenance requirements, 

with “appropriate revisions”, 

will be extended to aircraft 

used in operations other than RPT, 

including general aviation. 

Discussion papers were issued 

last December with CASA seeking 

industry input on extending the application 

of the maintenance regulations 

to GA. � 


Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority

STRAIGHT&LEVEL 

From yuckspeak to tales of yore, send your offcuts to murdo.morrison@flightglobal.com 

Iconic Cold War 

engine for sale 

Thanks to a lucky reprieve by a 

scrap metal merchant some 45 

years ago, you can now buy the 

prototype of one of the most 

illustrious jet engines in British 

aviation history on eBay. That 

is, if you can spare $165,000. 

That’s the minimum price set 

by Jet Art Aviation for a truly 

rare artefact – the original 

prototype of the Bristol 

Siddeley Olympus 22R Mk.320, 

which powered the short-lived 

British Aircraft Corporation 

TSR2 and was the forerunner of 

the engine that propelled the 

supersonic Concorde. 

Chris Wilson, managing 

director of Jet Art, says the 

engine was rediscovered sitting 

on a farm in England. The 

owner had run a scrapping 

business in the 1960s, and was 

given a load of several engines 

to grind into recycled metal, a 

task he fortunately decided 

didn’t deserve his usual 

diligence. “He said, ‘I’m going to 

keep one,’” Wilson notes. 

By luck, the scrapper 

happened to pick the TSR2’s 

prototype engine, serial number 

1, to spare from the grinder. 

The discovery of such a rare 

find raised questions about how 

to price it. Jet Art’s insurance 

firm refused to set a value on it, 

Wilson says, arguing the object 

is, by definition, “irreplaceable”. 

Perhaps fittingly, Wilson 

established the price based on 

its scrap value. 

The Olympus prototype fits 


into a niche market for rare 

aviation objects. Asked who 

would be a likely buyer, 

Wilson says it is “more likely 

private individuals”. 

“It’s an investment really for 

somebody,” he adds. “Items like 

this generally go up in value. 

Money is probably safer in a rare 

jet engine than a bank.” 

Nose for it 

After 5,000 flights, Rockwell 

Collins has donated its North 

American Sabreliner 50 test 

aircraft to Oregon’s Evergreen 

Aviation & Space Museum. The 

1964 twinjet (N50CR), was 

bought by Collins in 1976 and 

used to test many avionics 

programmes over the years. 

Among the distinctive 

Forerunner of the Concorde engine can be yours for $165,000 

“Being stuck back here in dromedary class is really giving 

me the hump.” Our sympathies for the chap with the bucket 

and mop at the end of this Il-76 flight 

Jet Art Aviation 

Sabreliner: avionics pioneer 

features added by Rockwell 

Collins is a large nose radome to 

house airborne weather radar. 

Not plane sailing 

Boeing isn’t the only airframer 

plagued by a grounding 

problem, after the ship which 

conveys Airbus A380 wings 

from the UK to France slipped 

her lines on 30 January. 

Calls about the Ciudad de 

Cadiz prompted an enigmatic 

admission, in Toulousian 

yuckspeak, that there was an 

“issue about its sailability” – to 

do with the fact that the water 

holding her up had clocked off 

from buoyancy duty leaving her 

perched on a sandbank. 

This handed Airbus a 

problem of the utmost gravity. 

The gravity in question being 

the stuff which governs the tides 

and is one of the few things that 

Airbus can’t deliver on demand. 

So it’s had to bow to the lunar 

cycle and wait for high water to 

sort things out. 

Eduard Onischenko/Russianplanes.net 

Rockwell Collins 

Time is at hand 

Other nations have realised 

that the time is at hand. Is it 

not well that we, 

“a Great Power”, 

should at least be 

equally to the 

fore. The present international 

tension is no laughing matter, 

and compared with Germany 

and France our aerial fleet 

simply does not exist. 

Two-seater fighter 

The United States adopted 

the two-seater fighter at about 

the same time 

Great Britain took 

up the Demon, 

standardising on 

a Berliner-Joyce biplane with a 

Curtiss Conqueror engine and 

gull-type wings. This was 

superseded by the 

Consolidated P-30. 

Meteor detection 

NASA will negotiate with 

Fairchild Stratos, of 

Hagerstown, 

Maryland on a 

contract to build a 

large meteoroid 

detection satellite for launch 

late next year. Two of these 

4,000lb satellites (for which 

no designation has been 

published) will be launched on 

the eighth and ninth test 

flights of the Saturn I. 

Chemical damage 

The NTSB says an illegal, 

mislabelled shipment was 

responsible for the 

emergency landing 

and evacuation of 

an American 

Airlines flight at Nashville. 

Leakage of hydrogen peroxide 

and sodium hydroxide caused 

extensive damage to the floor 

and sub-floor of the MD-80’s 

passenger cabin. 

100-YEAR ARCHIVE 

Every issue of Flight 

from 1909 onwards 

can be viewed online at 

flightglobal.com/archive 

flightglobal.com

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6-7 March 

Arab Air Transport Economics Summit 

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26-30 March 

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9-10 April 

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9-12 April 

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16-18 April 

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events.aviationweek.com 

29 April to 1 May 

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21-23 May 

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30-31 May 

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Calls may be monitored for training purposes 

New and used aircraft 

Equipment, 

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GET THE AIRBUS BOEING 320 737 / BOEING AIRBUS 737 320 EXPERIENCE 

AND HOURS ON TYPE THE AIRLINES ARE 

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SPECIALIST SINCE 1996! 

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EUROPEAN & ASIAN bases. JAA & other ICAO type ratings are 

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EUROPEAN & ASIAN bases 

JAA and other ICAO Type Ratings are Accepted 

300 & 500 Hour Options Available 

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46 | Flight International | 19-25 February 2013 flightglobal.com

Getting careers off the ground 

flightglobal.com/jobs 

EMAIL recruitment.services@rbi.co.uk CALL +44 (20) 8652 4900 FAX +44 (20) 8652 4877 

Let your career take off 

Bristow Helicopters LTD is now recruiting additional key staff to support 

our business and customer requirements. 

Offshore Flight Operations Manager – EBU UK 

Offering excellent developmental opportunities, this newly created position will have responsibility for the day to day running of a major Flight Operations Dept with over 230 pilots. 

The main responsibilities will include recruitment strategy and execution; working with the Chief Pilots to ensure, operator proficiency, line & task training and adherence to 

regulations and Operations Manual requirements and formulating operational procedures to ensure safe & efficient operation of Company aircraft. 

Candidates will be a current or ex JAR licensed Pilot with North Sea Operational experience. Applicants must have previous managerial experience at Chief Pilot (or equivalent 

level), or above. The successful applicant must be able to meet the requirements of the CAA to be a Flight Operations Post-holder and assume a deputy role for this. 

SAR Flight Operations Manager 

Offering excellent developmental opportunities, this newly created position will have responsibility for the day to day running of a major SAR Flight Operations Dept with over 50 

aircrew at 3 bases. 

The main responsibilities will include recruitment strategy and execution; working with the Chief Pilots to ensure, operator proficiency, line & task training and adherence to 

regulations and SAR Operations Manual requirements and formulating operational procedures to ensure safe & efficient operation of Company aircraft. 

Candidates will be a current or ex JAR licensed Pilot with UK SAR Operational experience. Applicants must have previous managerial experience at Chief Pilot (or equivalent 

level), or above. 

The successful applicant must be able to meet the requirements of the CAA to be a Flight Operations Post-holder. 

The successful applicant will be in contact with US ITAR controlled technology, goods and information. As a condition of employment, employees with access to US ITAR 

controlled technology and goods may be required to undergo an additional screening process as part of the recruitment process. 

Pilots 

We currently have a number of openings for qualified Pilots within our European Business Unit at Aberdeen. To be included in this role, the candidate MUST possess UKCAA/JAA 

ATPLH or UKCAA/JAA CPLH with ATP theory and UKCAA/JAA IR(H) along with offshore experience. The ideal candidate would have 500 hours flying multi-engine helicopters or 

be a graduate from Bristow Academy. Candidates with Type rating on S92/ AW139/ S76/ AS332L /332L2 preferred, but conversion courses available if required. 

A competitive salary and benefits package are on offer for all positions. 

To Apply 

Focus on the client - 

Focus on Value 

t 1lease submit an online application with a covering letter and CV at: www.bristowgroup.com/careers Closing Date: 22 Feb 2013 

Bristow Helicopters Ltd. is a leading international provider of helicopter transport and support services. The Company especially values its ability to operate in 

demanding environments whilst maintaining the highest levels of quality and safety performance in flight and on the ground. 

Build your career 

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URXWH WR EXLOGLQJ \RXU DHURVSDFH DQG DYLDWLRQ FDUHHU 

Training courses to take you there 

ZZZ ÀLJKWJOREDO FRP WUDLQLQJ 


HUNDREDS OF JOBS @ flightglobal.com/jobs RECRUITMENT

HUNDREDS OF JOBS @ flightglobal.com/jobs RECRUITMENT 

HELICOPTER MAINTENANCE 

TECHNICIANS 

LONG-TERM ASSIGNMENTS 

WORLD-WIDE 

EXCEPTIONAL PACKAGES 

ISATI Srl, urgently requires the services of the 

following helicopter maintenance (ideally licensed) 

technicians (Avionic or Mechanical): 

AW139 

AW119 

AW109 

and/or 

AW101/Lynx * 

* for this activity we are seeking technicians with competence on 

both helicopters and ideally french speaking 

Immediate requirements for Australia, Venezuela, 

North Africa 

For more information, please send your resume with 

full personal details, together with copies of relevant 

licence, training certificates, diplomas and two 

references to: 

Marco Rizzo, ISATI Srl, Via Verdi 3, 21013 Gallarate 

(VA), Italy 

Tel: +39 0331 245522 Fax: +39 0331 1816923 

Mob: +39 346 8758068 

Email: Marco.Rizzo@isati-srl.com 

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER – ALDERNEY AIRPORT 

The Public Services Department of the States of Guernsey is 

seeking a suitably qualified Air Traffic Controller to provide an 

Aerodrome Control Service (ADI) at Alderney Airport. 

The applicant will hold a valid UK CAA ATCO Licence with an ADI 

Rating and a valid ULE in ADI, a valid EASA Class Three medical 

certificate (and be capable of maintaining it), and ICAO Level 6 

English language endorsement. A Certificate in Aeronautical 

Meteorological Observing would also be an advantage 

ATCOs in Alderney provide an ADI service to aircraft flying into 

and out of Alderney Airport, which is open between 0740 and 

1830 and served by one commercial operator. Considerable 

instrument training is conducted by aircraft using both the NDB 

‘ALD’ and RNAV approaches. The Airport is a popular General 

Aviation destination. Approach services are provided from 

Guernsey Airport. ATC has a commitment to respond to calls for 

out of hours SAR and ambulance flights. 

The successful candidate will attract a salary in the range of 

£38,412 - £47,284, including a competitive pension scheme, 

competitive annual leave allowance, and relocation package. 

Contact: Mr Frank McMeiken, Manager, Air Traffic Control, 

Guernsey Airport on 01481 234950 or 

email frank.mcmeiken@gov.gg for further details. 

Closing date 15 March 2013 

Recruitment 

headache? 

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THE industry job site 

at Jobs.Flightglobal.com 

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RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENT FOR NON CIVIL SERVICE VACANCY 

CIVIL AVIATION DEPARTMENT, HONG KONG 

Senior Training Manager 

Salary: US$11,197* – US$12,020* per month depending on relevant experience of the candidate. 

Entry Requirements: This post is open to both male and female candidates. Candidates should (a) have 10 years of 

cadet and ATC experience in which at least 5 years as a practicing air traffic controller; (b) in addition to (a), have 10 

years working experience in an ATC training institute in which at least 5 years in a senior managerial or higher position; 

(c) have good knowledge in International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and ATC training needs, and (d) be 

qualified to instruct in at least one of the following subjects: On-the-job Training Instructor, Human Factors in ATC, 

Fundamental ATC, Language Proficiency Testing. 

Duties: Senior Training Manager is mainly deployed to lead a team of ATC instructors in implementing the new ATC 

system conversion training to be provided to all Air Traffic Control Officers and Air Traffic Flight Service Officers, including 

preparation of training schedule, simulator usage plans, instructors deployment production and vetting of training material 

conducting specialized training on ATC subjects and other training related duties. 

Terms of Appointment: Successful candidate will be appointed on two years non-civil service contract terms. Renewal 

of contract will be subject to operational needs. 

Fringe Benefits: An end-of-contract gratuity may be granted if the contract is completed with satisfactory performance 

and conduct. Such gratuity, if granted, will be the sum which, when added to the Government’s contribution to the 

Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme in respect of the appointee as required by the MPF Schemes Ordinance, equals 

to 15% of the total basic salary drawn during the contract period. 14 days’ annual leave and full pay sickness allowance, 

whereas rest days, statutory holidays, maternity leave, where appropriate, will be granted in accordance with the 

provisions in the Employment Ordinance. 

Address and Enquiry Tel. No.: Assistant Departmental Secretary (Appointments), Level 5, Civil Aviation Department 

Headquarters, 1 Tung Fai Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong. For enquiries, please call (852) 

2910 6395. 

Closing Date for Application: 26 February 2013 

General Notes: 

(a) Persons who are not permanent residents of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) may also 

apply for this vacancy but will be appointed only when no suitable and qualified candidates who are 

permanent residents are available. 

(b) As an Equal Opportunities Employer, the Government is committed to eliminating discrimination in 

employment. The vacancy advertised is open to all applicants meeting the basic entry requirement 

irrespective of their disability, sex, marital status, pregnancy, age, family status, sexual orientation and 

race. 

(c) Non-civil service vacancies are not posts on the civil service establishment. Candidates appointed are not on 

civil service terms of appointment and conditions of service. Candidates appointed are not civil servants and 

will not be eligible for posting, promotion or transfer to any posts in the Civil Service. 

(d) The entry pay, terms of appointment and conditions of service to be offered are subject to the provisions 

prevailing at the time the offer of appointment is made. 

(e) Where a large number of candidates meet the specified entry requirements, the recruiting department may 

devise shortlisting criteria to select the better qualified candidates for further processing. In these 

circumstances, only shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend recruitment examination and/or 

interview. 

(f) It is Government policy to place people with a disability in appropriate jobs wherever possible. If a disabled 

candidate meets the entry requirements, he/she will be invited to attend the selection interview/written 

examination without being subject to any further shortlisting criteria. 

(g) Holders of academic qualifications other than those obtained from Hong Kong institutions/Hong Kong 

Examinations and Assessment Authority may also apply but their qualifications will be subject to 

assessments on equivalence with the required entry qualifications. They should submit copies of their 

official transcripts and certificates by mail to the above enquiry address. 

(h) Towards the application deadline, our on-line system would likely be overloaded due to large volume of 

applications. To ensure timely completion of your on-line application, it is advisable to submit the 

application as early as possible. 

How to apply: Application Forms [G.F. 340 (Rev. 6/2012)] can be downloaded from the Civil Service Bureau of the Hong 

Kong Special Administrative Region’s (HKSAR) web site (http://www.csb.gov.hk). Completed forms should reach the 

above enquiry address of the recruiting department on or before the closing date for application. On-line application can 

also be made through the Civil Service Bureau’s web site (http://www.csb.gov.hk). Candidates who are selected for 

interview will normally receive an invitation in about six to eight weeks from the closing date for application. Those who 

are not invited for interview may assume that their applications are unsuccessful. For further information and an 

application form, please write to the Administration Division, Level 5, Civil Aviation Department Headquarters, 

1 Tung Fai Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong (Fax No. (852) 2910 6399) or e-mail to 

recruitment@cad.gov.hk, quoting reference CAD PR/5-25/69(2012). 

[*Based on exchange rate (HK$7.8) = US$1 (Subject to fluctuation) 


HUNDREDS OF JOBS @ flightglobal.com/jobs RECRUITMENT

FIND THE RIGHT MATCH 

AVIATION RECRUITMENT SERVICES 

WWW.JET-PROFESSIONALS.COM 

Tel: 0041 58 158 8877 

AVIATION RECRUITMENT 

WORLDWIDE 

wynnwith 

T: +44 (0)1483 748252 

E: aviation@wynnwith.com 

W: www.wynnwith.com 

www.ryanaviation.net 

Tel: +353 1 669 8224 

Fax: +353 1 669 8201 

Email: recruitment@sigmaaviationservices.com 

www.sigmaaviationservices.com 

www.sigmaaviationservices.com 

www.aircraft-commerce.com 

+44 (0)1403 240 183 

Recruitment Support 

to the Aviation Industry 

aviation recruitment 

T: +44(0)1483 332000 

recruitment@zenon.aero 

CTC FlexiCrew 

High flyers, on demand 

Seeks Type Rated Pilots 

Locations UK & Worldwide 

Flexible & Permanent Positions 

www.ctcaviation.com/ctcflexicrew 

Ǧ �� 

Ǧ �� 

Ǧ �� 

Ǧ �� 

+353 1 816 1774 

sales@parcaviation.aero 

www.parcaviation.aero 

Contract and Permanent recruitment 

for the Aviation industry 

David Rowe, Alastair Millar, 

Jodie Green, Ian Chapman 

Tel: +44 (0)1737 821011 

Email: aero@cbsbutler.com 

www.cbsbutler.com 

RECRUITMENT FOR AVIATION 

EASA E-LEARNING COURSES 

Tel: +44 (0) 1284 700676 

Email: info@e-techs.co 

www.e-techs.co 

Three Oaks Avia�on Consultancy Ltd. 

Looking for on contract basis consultants with 

working experience gained from aircra� 

manufacturers’ customer services business, 

incl. maintenance & engineering, supply 

chain management, aircra� parts service, 

technical publica�ons, training, opera�on 

support and supplier contract management. 

Email: yongq@3oac.com Tel: +44 20 8643 3981 

www.3oac.com 

Global Aviation Recruitment Solutions 

Rebecca Anderson, Kelly Biggart, Holly 

Sawkins, Billy McDougall, Lee Walker 

Tel: +44(0)141 270 5007 

E-mail: 

aviation@firstpeoplesolutions.co.uk 

www.firstpeoplesolutions.co.uk 

The preferred company for Stress (Fatigue & DT), GFEM, 

Composites), Aeronautical Research. Business units: 

Contract staff, Workpackages, Innovation and New 

Concepts, Aeronautical Research. www.bishop-gmbh.com 

Contact bishop.peter@bishop-gmbh.com 

Tel 0049-(0)40-866-258-10 Fax 0049-(0)40-866-258-20 

GCT Group 

Worldwide specialist for 

Aerospace Engineering, 

Certification & Management 

Services 

e: yourcv@garner.de 

t: +49 (0) 8153 93130 

w: www.garner.de 

Recruiting Stress, Design and Fatigue & DT 

engineers for our offices in: 

Amsterdam 

Bangalore 

Bristol 

Glasgow 

aerospace.info@atkinsglobal.com 

Hamburg 

Seattle 

Global Aerospace contract 

personnel and work packages 

e: progers@strongfieldtech.com 

t: +44(0)20 8799 8916 

w: www.strongfield.com 

Flight International 

To advertise in this 

Employment Services Index 

call +44 (0) 20 8652 4900 

fax +44 (0) 20 8261 8434 

email recruitment.services@rbi.co.uk 

Please note that calls may 

be monitored for training purposes 


WORK EXPERIENCE ANDY BLOXHAM 

Teaching the arts of rotorcraft 


WORKING WEEK 

Andy Bloxham spotted a gap in the market and formed UK helicopter training and services organisation 

A2B Aero in 2010. It now manages six executive helicopters, with plans to expand its fleet during 2013 

What does A2B Aero do and 

where did the idea come from? 

A2B offers a diverse range of 

aviation services and is approved 

for EASA Part 147 (engineer 

type training) and Part M as 

a continuing airworthiness management 

organisation (CAMO), 

offering Part M and airworthiness 

review services. I started 

the company as I felt there was a 

gap in the industry for a customer-focused 

organisation that 

didn’t charge the earth but gave 

the customer a professional and 

efficient service. 

What is your background in 

aviation? 

I have always loved aircraft and 

left school with ambitions to be 

part of the aviation industry. I 

wrote to every company I could 

find in the Yellow Pages and 

found myself an apprenticeship 

as an aircraft engineer, which is 

where it all started for me. I went 

on to get a licence and moved 

into quality, training, contracts 

and regulatory compliance. My 

life now is more about paperwork, 

PowerPoint, Excel and 

Word – and I do miss the handson 

aircraft work. However, I love 

every minute and am never 

bored. I have worked all over the 

world and had fantastic opportunities 

working with a huge variety 

of cultures. 

Describe a typical working week 

As we are so diverse, my working 

weeks are also diverse. Some 

Bloxham: Airworthiness reviews are a fantastic way to see everything from design data to nuts and bolts 

weeks I train engineers on a variety 

of helicopter types in sometimes 

remote parts of the world. 

Another week I complete audits 

on operators, CAMOs and maintenance 

organisations, or negotiate 

a contract to manage aircraft 

on our own Part M CAMO approval. 

Airworthiness reviews 

and surveys are a fantastic part of 

my job as these give me an opportunity 

to see everything from 

design data to the actual nuts and 

bolts on the aircraft. 

Are you recruiting and what 

kind of employees are you 

looking for? 

We have just expanded our team 

by taking on a new junior airworthiness 

engineer. I am keen to 

give others a chance and train 

professionals to ensure the industry 

can survive the future. We 

are a small company so we need 

team players who understand 

our ethos. 

How do you see the future for 

the company panning out and 

what are your personal 

ambitions? 

A2B has grown more than 50% 

per year for the past two years 

and I plan to maintain this, although 

it is extremely hard work 

at the moment. I am sure it is not 

the best economic climate to 

start a company, but my theory 

is that if we can make it work 

now, we can make it work any 

time. My personal ambition is to 

make a difference to the industry 

and, on reaching retirement, 

be able to look back and feel 

proud of my achievements. ■ 

For more employee work 

experiences, pay a visit to 

flightglobal.com/workingweek 

If you would like to feature in 

Working Week, or you know 

someone who does, email your 

pitch to murdo.morrison@ 


Opportunities for Structural Engineers 

www.jobs.eads.com 


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