Free Aviation Guy Newsletter Want to receive the latest on aviation delivered to you? Get all the latest and greatest aviation insights for FREE! Join your fellow Av Geeks who subscribe to Aviation Guy for FREE!!

Airbus to Showcase Latest Products at Singapore Airshow

Highlighting civil and military products / ACJ318 on static display

6 February 2012 Press Release

Airbus will be a major participant at this year’s Singapore Airshow, showcasing both its commercial and military transport products. The show takes place at Changi Exhibition Centre, Singapore, 14 – 19 February 2012.

Centre-stage at the Airbus exhibit, located at the stand of parent company EADS (H23), will be a large scale model of the all-new A350 XWB. Currently under development and scheduled to enter service in 2014, the A350 XWB will shape new levels of efficiency in the mid-size long range passenger market, using 25% less fuel than similar sized aircraft in-service today.

Also on display will be a model of the A320neo. Set to enter service in 2015, this latest version of the A320 Family has become the fastest-selling airliner ever, with nearly 1,300 firm orders since its launch at the end of 2010. Featuring new engines and innovative wing tip Sharklets, the aircraft will deliver fuel-savings of 15 per cent, as well as a significantly reduced carbon and noise footprint.

Visitors to the stand will also be able obtain information on the products offered by Airbus Military. These include the A330 MRTT multi-role tanker which first entered service last year and is proving to be the industry reference in its class, as well as the new A400M airlifter, on track for delivery on the turn of the year 2012-2013. The company’s range of light and medium transport aircraft will also be highlighted with a C295 surveillance aircraft model.

Reflecting the important demand in Asia for private aircraft, Airbus will exhibit an ACJ318 on static display for the first time in Singapore. With the widest and tallest cabin of any private jet, this corporate version of Airbus’s smallest aircraft model features an attractive interior with a lounge area and a private office / sleeping area with en-suite bathroom.

Airbus will also be present at the Green Pavilion, organised in association with the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Here visitors will be able to get the latest information on the company’s initiatives to ensure an eco-efficient future for the industry, including its latest work on alternative fuels and air traffic management.

Airbus comes to the Singapore Airshow following the most successful year in its history, having recorded a total of 1,608 new firm orders for its civil product line and delivered 534 aircraft to airlines worldwide. The company has been especially successful in the Asia-Pacific region, where it has over 1,800 aircraft flying with 85 airlines and a backlog of orders for over 1,700 aircraft for future delivery.

Notes for Editors

Airbus will hold the following media briefings on Wednesday 15 February at the show site:

10.00 – 11.30  Press Conference with Airbus Management

Commercial Update / Asia-Pacific Market Forecast

Conference Room 3, Main Exhibition Hall

14.00 – 14.45  Airbus Military Product Update

Conference Room 3, Main Exhibition Hall

February 13, 2012 I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Boeing to Begin Final Phase of 737 MAX Wind Tunnel Testing

Major design milestone sees 737 MAX on track for 2017 entry into service
Boeing 737 MAX 8

SINGAPORE, Feb. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced today that the final phase of wind tunnel testing, a major milestone in airplane development, will begin on the 737 MAX program next week.

“Wind tunnel testing is on the critical design path of the program,” said Michael Teal, chief project engineer and deputy program manager, 737 MAX program. “Based on previous work in the wind tunnel, we are confident this final phase of testing will substantiate our predictions of the aerodynamic performance of the airplane.”

Testing will begin at QinetiQ’s test facility in Farnborough, U.K., where engineers will substantiate the forecasted low-speed performance of the 737 MAX on takeoff and landing. A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide technical advice to customers in the global aerospace, defense and security markets.

Testing also will be completed at the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel in Seattle to substantiate the forecast of the high-speed performance of the airplane.

The models used for Next-Generation 737 wind tunnel testing, with modifications made to the aft fuselage, struts and nacelles, in addition to the new engine, will be used for the tests. Test completion in mid-2012 is a major step toward firm configuration of the 737 MAX.

“This final phase of wind tunnel testing confirms that we are on track to complete our design goals and deliver the 737 MAX to customers beginning in 2017,” said Teal.

The 737 MAX is a new engine variant of the world’s best-selling airplane and builds on the strengths of today’s Next-Generation 737. The 737 MAX incorporates the latest-technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger appeal.

Airlines operating the 737 MAX will see a 10-12 percent fuel burn improvement over today’s most fuel efficient single-aisle airplanes and a 7 percent operating cost per-seat advantage over tomorrow’s competition.

To date, the 737 MAX has received more than 1,000 orders and commitments from 15 customers.

I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.

Airbus Takes Air Traffic Management to the Fourth Dimension

Supports partnership for more efficiency in European airspace.

10 February 2012 The world’s first flight using a four dimensional optimized and upgraded Air Traffic Management (ATM) technology has taken place with Airbus’ dedicated A320 test aircraft flying from Toulouse to Copenhagen and Stockholm. The project is called I-4D (Initial-4D).

The main benefits of I-4D are a significant reduction of fuel burn and C02 emissions, in line with SESAR*’s target to reduce the environmental impact per flight by ten percent, a decrease of delays and therefore shorter and smoother flights for passengers.

This flight test offers a concrete solution towards improving the existing European system which is reaching its capacity limit. It is a world premiere in the ongoing transformation of today’s air traffic management system.

Once proven and industrialized, it will allow aircraft to plan and fly an optimized and efficient profile without any need for the controllers to provide any vectoring instruction. This will bring better predictability of the traffic flows and facilitate Continuous Descent Operations into airports. As a result, aircraft flying in a holding pattern will be notably reduced.

I-4D trajectory management relies on an aircraft function that predicts and transmits data to the ground enabling the aircraft to accurately fly a trajectory after coordination with the ground systems. This is called a 4D-trajectory as it is described in three dimensions (lateral, longitudinal and vertical) and it includes one target time at a specific merging point (time as the fourth dimension).

I-4D is the first step in developing one of the essential pillars of the SESAR programme: conciliating the increasing traffic density with the efficiency of flights. It is the result of several months of collaboration between SESAR partners.

One of Airbus’ key roles has been to test the upgraded flight management (Navigation) and communication systems with each other and to integrate them into the real aircraft architecture.

More flight trials and simulations are planned in 2012 and 2013. The first I-4D operation is planned in Europe from 2018 onwards.

About Initial-4D

Operational partners: Airbus, EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) and NORACON (1)

Ground Industry: Indra and Thales ATM

Airborne Industry: Honeywell, Thales Avionics and Airbus

* About SESAR

The SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) joint undertaking is a public-private partnership created to provide improved control of the aircraft flying the skies of Europe, prevent crippling congestion and reduce the overall environmental impact of air transport. I4D is a project in this broad programme to achieve the goals of Sesar.

Airbus is a major contributor to all activities, and is leading the aircraft work package that defines onboard solutions to meet operational improvement targets identified in the SESAR master plan.

http://www.sesarju.eu/programme/highlights/i-4d-flight

(1) NORACON is a consortium of eight air navigation service providers: Austro Control and the North European ANS Providers (NEAP), Avinor (Norway), EANS (Estonia), Finavia (Finland), IAA (Ireland), ISAVIA (Iceland), LFV (Sweden) and Naviair (DK).  LFV and Naviair will participate in the I-4D flight trial.

I Written By

I'm Dave and I am a proud Avgeek. It goes way beyond liking airplanes. It is a passion that cannot be subdued.