Author Archives: Addison Schonland

A350 XWB aft fuselage delivered to FAL

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Airbus delivered the aft fuselage for the A350 XWB static test (MSN 0) airframe to the final assembly line in Toulouse. This final section of the fuselage will be assembled with the front and center fuselage sections which were joined up in early April.

Assembled at Airbus’ site in Hamburg, the 20m long carbon fiber aft fuselage is made up of the rear fuselage barrel, produced at Airbus’ Getafe plant, two lateral aft fuselage panels made by Premium AEROTEC plus the upper and lower aft fuselage panels manufactured by Airbus in Stade. Note how many of the key parts are coming from within the Airbus family – which speaks to the supply chain concerns.

MSN 0 will be used for the static structural tests that all new aircraft undergo as part of their certification process. The assembly of the first flying A350 XWB, MSN 1, will start during this summer.

MRJ delayed a year

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Following an in-depth review of the MRJ program, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation  (MITAC) announced the following program schedule update:

  • MRJ first flight is scheduled for JFY* 3Q 2013, in order to:
    (i) Confirm respective fabrication processes.
    (ii) Provide sufficient time for technical studies.
    First flight details to be announced at a later date or during events such as MRJ roll-out.
  • First delivery of MRJ is slated for the summer or later half of Japanese Fiscal Year 2015.
    MITAC continues to strive towards accelerating development and delivery the first MRJ to the customer. And also we are considering to ramp up in following mass production line.

So the silence seems to prove what many had thought – not good news. On the other hand, given many other larger aerospace program delays, this news might slip by. The news does indicate the project may be much more complex than first envisaged by MITAC.

Sukhoi Superjet 100 is certified for Mexico

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On the 16thof April 2012 Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (Aviation Authority of Mexico) provided Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) with the Validating Letter (Type Certificate) for the Sukhoi Superjet 100. This document confirms the compliance of the SSJ100 aircraft to the certification requirements of the Mexican Aviation Authority and allows the delivery and operations of aircraft of such a type in Mexico without limitations.

In January 2011 Mexico’s Interjet ordered 15 SSJ100 plus five options. The delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for the end of 2012.

Pratt & Whitney Canada Share Their Turboprop Vision

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Richard Dussault VP Marketing at Pratt & Whitney Canada spent some time discussing the company’s substantial history in the making of turboprop engines. But as interesting as that is, its the vision of the future is special. PWC is well into the development of an engine of up to 8,000 SHP.  Such an engine could power a turboprop airliner over 90 seats.

Play

CFM makes an important win

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CFM just announced an important win for their LEAP engine. The Qantas Group today announced that it has selected CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine to power 78 A320neo currently on order.   The engine order is valued at $2 billion list prices, including spares. Today’s announcement takes total LEAP orders and commitments to more than 3,500 engines.

The first aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2016 and will support Jetstar, the low-fare Qantas subsidiary. Qantas has been a CFM customer for more than two decades with 737.

US Regional Airline Fleet

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The RAA provides great data on the US regional airline industry.  We took a look at the fleet breakdown and created this chart.

It is amazing that the 50-seat regional jet accounts for 59% of operations.  Note that turboprops account for only 15%.  The balance comes from the newer, larger regional jets.

Given the price of fuel and changing economics for regional airlines, we expect this chart to see radical change over the next five years. We are not alone in this view.

Hello SurfAir!

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About six months ago we spoke with an entrepreneur with an idea. You can watch him discuss it here.

Today the idea takes off, so to speak. Wade Eyerly, CEO and Founder of SurfAir took time to speak with us while commuting in California, the new base for the start-up airline. The business model is unusual – it is subscription based. They are limiting their base to 500 people as a start and, as of this interview, 20% of those slots were sold out.

This sounds like a great idea. Play

Promising Biofuels

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We believe an area that deserves more aerospace attention is biofuels.  Airlines need these fuels because they can reduce fossil fuel price volatility. Biofuels can be sourced in many places in the world. Places subject to much less political unrest than where oil comes from.  A growing biofuel supply is necessary not so much for the positive Eco-impact as for jet-fuel price stability.  Continue reading →

Podcast – Bombardier & COMAC

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The framework agreement from a year ago has made huge progress. Yesterday’s announcement is remarkable. Never before have two aircraft companies decided to combine their interests quite like this. It is more than ground breaking. For an airline looking at new technologies the combined offering could be very interesting. COMAC has some catching up to do, but with Bombardier’s help that process will likely accelerate. For Bombardier this friendship is pregnant with potential – China is a huge market. Bombardier has been doing business in China a long time and understands the unique challenges that brings to the table. Having COMAC as an ally is only good news for the Canadians.

Talking about the new arrangement being put in place between the companies is Bombardier’s Ben Boehm. Play