dubai airshow news 11 18 13

Dubai order bonanza heralds launch of 777X by Gregory Polek, Bill Carey and Peter Shaw-Smith

A series of blockbuster orders placed yesterday underlined Dubai’s status as capital of the commer-cial aircraft megadeal, chief among them being an order for 150 Boeing 777X aircraft placed by Emirates (termed a “commitment”)–effec-tively launching the new larger variant of the popular long-range twinjet. Emirates’s 777X order, which consists of 115 -9Xs and

35 -8Xs, was not entirely unexpected as the carrier played a leading role in defining the aircraft, but yesterday marked the largest product launch in commercial airline history (by dollar value) for any OEM.

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad meanwhile ordered 25 777Xs and 30 787-10s and, shortly afterwards, Air-bus joined the throng via a deal with

NOV. 18, 2013

MONDAY AINONLINE.COM

DubaiAirshow News ®

Engines ATC Technology Training Business Aviation Eco-innovation

Rolls-Royce Optimizes TrentWith ever-improving versions of its legacy Trent turbofan powering the Airbus A380, Rolls-Royce expects to improve efficiency even further, by 1.8 percent. Page 6

Airports Adopt SmartPathHoneywell’s innovative SmartPath precision landing technology is seen as the ideal partner for fast expanding Gulf-area airports. 6

CAE Finds Fertile GroundCanadian training specialist CAE’s center in Dubai is busy, with 13 bays housing simulators for a wide range of aircraft. Page 25

Uptick in Charter Business With an increase in optimism on the overall economic situation, charter operators in the Gulf region are seeing more demand for their services. Page 31

Airbus Developing HybridAn E-Airbus hybrid-propulsion 100-seater could come to fruition by 2030, if plans for a joint program with Rolls-Royce achieve expected results. Page 34

Need transport news? Sign up for AIN Transport Perspective.

royal tourAfter snipping the red ribbon to open the 2013 Dubai Airshow, His Highness Sheikh Moham-med bin Rasheed Al Maktoum toured the show site at Al Maktoum International Airport; the Ruler of Dubai is pictured speaking with Thomas Enders, president and CEO of EADS.

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So why would you accept this?You’d never accept this.

Personal space isn’t any less personal on a twelve hour long-haul fl ight. Yet some aircraft manufacturers are dreaming about matching our economics by reducing the width of their standard economy class seat – in many cases less than the seat width found on many commuter aircraft. This shouldn’t be the standard for personal space. Thankfully, these days you have a choice. Demand the Airbus standard for personal space. With the 18 inch standard economy class seat on the A330 and A350 XWB and the 18.5 inch economy class seat offered standard on the A380, it’ll make a massive difference. So, the next time you’re feeling squeezed on a plane, at least now you’ll know why: It’s not you, it’s the seat.@Airbus

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So, the next time you’re feeling squeezed on a plane, at least now you’ll know why: It’s not you, it’s the seat.@Airbus@Airbus

Airbus_AINShowNews_1711.indd Pg1 Mundocom UK 29/10/2013 18:23

4 Dubai Airshow News • November 18, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

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Vladimir KarnozovNeelam MathewsChris PocockGregory PolekPeter Shaw-SmithJennifer Harrington SnellAimée Turner

Gulf air chiefs talk-the-talk on integration by Chris Pocock

Coalitions, co-operation and network integration were the buzzwords at Sat-urday’s Dubai International Air Chiefs (DIAC) conference here, organized by local think-tank Inegma. Six of the 10 air chiefs who spoke talked of the inter-dependence between air forces, including two from UAE Air Force and Air Defence (UAEAF&AD). But one of the speakers privately told AIN that he had not yet seen much practical integration amongst the defense forces of the GCC states, beyond bilateral exercises.

“We aim to reach capability and connec-tivity for coalition operations,” said Major General Mohammed Sweidan, commander of the UAEAF&AD. He said that the ser-vice would establish a Gulf Training Cen-tre of Excellence to pursue the concept. UAEAF&AD air support commander Brigadier General Mohammed Muran called for a “robust regional integrated air and missile defense.” One of the guiding principles of such an integration would be a

focus on net-centric capability, rather than platform capability, he concluded. “It’s not an impossible objective.”Air Chief Mar-shall Sir Andrew Pulford, chief of the air staff, UK Royal Air Force, said that the mutual interests of airmen “were more entwined than ever.” He paid credit to the UAE for hosting the Advanced Tactical Leadership (ATLC) course. The 21st edi-tion of the ATLC is taking place at the same time as the Dubai Airshow. “It’s a highly realistic environment in which to train,“ he added.

Lieutenant General John Hesterman, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Cen-tral Command (CENTCOM), talked of a plan–apparently led by the U.S.–to establish a Gulf Combined Air Opera-tions Center (CAOC). This could be the genesis of a regional operations center, he hoped, “an incremental step towards regional capability.”

Vice Admiral John Miller, the com-mander of U.S. Naval Forces in CENT-COM, described how his service “changed the way we do business” to understand Air Force doctrine. The U.S. Navy and Air Force is now conducting truly com-

bined air and maritime operations, thanks to a merger of their previously distinct doctrines and C2 systems.

General Denis Mercier, the French air force chief of staff, described the very quick reaction operations of his service

over Libya at the beginning of the conflict there in 2011 and again in January of this year when France decided to intervene in Mali. The French strike on Benghazi on March 19, 2011 led to NATO “Operation Unified Protector.” Mercier acknowl-edged the help of partner air forces in the Mali operation, providing tankers, air lift-ers and ISR aircraft.

The Pakistan air force chief described how careful his pilots are to avoid col-lateral damage when striking terror-ist targets within the country. Air Chief Marshall Tahir Rafique described how his service had established more efficient networks for sharing intelligence with the Pakistan Army and other security agen-cies. He looked forward to more sophisti-cated intelligence fusion capabilities, such as those enjoyed by the U.S, through the Distributed Common Ground System. The U.S. model is good, “but a tall order to follow,“ he said.

Turkish air force commander Gen-eral Akin Ozturk fielded an awkward–but legitimate–question from the audience on the integration theme. After his talk on the Turkish air force’s training offers, he was asked whether Turkey’s recent selection of a Chinese air defense system would endanger inter-operability. “It’s not the final decision; there are new proposals coming,” he said. o

TexTron Scorpion TargeTS firST flighT nexT monTh

Textron AirLand aims to fly the first prototype of its Scorpion light attack/ISR jet in the first week of December. The aircraft is currently undergoing final checks, and is scheduled to fly following the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. A joint venture between Textron and Air-Land Enterprises, the Scorpion has been secretly under construction at Textron subsidiary Cessna’s Wichita plant. The project began in January 2012, but was not made public until September this year. –D.D.

gecaS orderS five more aTr 72-600s

ATR and lessor GE Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) have closed a $241 million deal here at the Dubai Airshow for five ATR 72-600 regional turboprops, plus five options. ATR CEO Filippo Bagnato and Gecas president and CEO Norman Liu signed the contract here on Sun-day. “These aircraft will support the strong growth in regional air transport we anticipate over the coming years,” Liu said. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2015. Previously at the show, ATR (Stand 1424) also announced an order from Saudi Arabia’s Alpha Star Avia-tion Services. In reporting this first contract in Sunday’s edition, AIN incorrectly identified the aircraft on the accompanying photo. In fact, on the static display, ATR has a Garuda Indone-sia-operated ATR 72-600. The airline started operating the type this month. It has agreed to lease 25 from Nordic Aviation Capital. –T.D.

Garuda’s ATR 72-600 is on the Dubai Airshow static display.

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A galaxy of air force leaders convened here Saturday for the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference (DIAC).

RESULTSSPEAK

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It’s the right aircraft for today, and for the future. www.crjnextgen.com

Bombardier, CRJ900, NextGen and The Evolution of Mobility are Trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries. ©2013 Bombardier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rolls-Royce continues to improve Trent engines by Ian Goold

Rolls-Royce’s strategy of feeding technological devel-opments from new programs back to established engines for upgrades or retrofit changes is creating a range of enhanced-performance (EP) packages being available to customers. Since the original Trent 700 entered service on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 in 1985 (the carrier received the 1,000th A330 four months ago), subse-quent models have led to a tai-lored family involving common architecture among variants dedicated to specific airframes.

Airbus has introduced a suite of EP developments that raise production standards or contrib-ute to upgrading of earlier Trent family designs. EP improve-ments have been developed for the T500 (which powers the Air-bus A340-500), T700 (A330), T800 (Boeing 777) and T900 (A380)–the latter now emerging in an improved EP2 form.

Technology feedback began with the Trent 700 (T700), which spawned upgrades for the RB211-535 and many older -524G/H engines powering Boeing 757s and 747s, respec-tively. In turn, the T700 has ben-efited from development of both Trent 800 (powering the Airbus A330) and Trent 1000 (Boeing 787) variants, and technology from the Airbus A380’s Trent 900 has been applied to the Trent

500 (A340-500) and the new Trent XWB (A350XWB) is feed-ing back into the Trent 1000.

A good example of such feedback arises from T1000’s elliptical leading-edge (ELE) high- and intermediate-pres-sure compressor (HPC and IPC) blades, which lower fuel burn and are available for all Trent models, including upgrade kits for the T800EP and T500EP+. The blades’ sophisticated aero-dynamics, which reduces airflow separation behind the leading edge, provides a 0.5- to 0.7-per-cent benefit to fuel consumption worth up to $200,000 per aircraft per year, said R-R. With the higher benefit being felt by T800 operators, because that engine is older and therefore relatively less efficient, the first T800EP engine entered service last month.

T700EP2 Earmarked for A330Rolls-Royce (Stand 1845) is

continuing to enhance the T700, as Airbus considers further improvements to the A330 twin-aisle twinjet, according to civil large engines head of customer marketing Peter Johnston. A T700EP2 package is earmarked to power higher gross weight A330s entering service from 2015. An EP2 kit, going through prelaunch phases in October, was expected to become a final pack-age that could be launched this month, perhaps here in Dubai.

The T700, which has a 58-per-cent share of the A330 engine market and is being produced in ever-higher numbers, is now the leading variant in the RB211/Trent family with around 540 in service with 58 operators (having overtaken the 510 RB211-535 engines powering Boeing 757s earlier this year). R-R said new-build T700EPs provided over $250,000 fuel saving per year.

T700 EP2 characteristics include HPC and IPC stator-blade changes expected to offer 0.2-percent and 0.3-percent fuel-efficiency gains, respectively, as well as better low-pressure turbine (LPT) nozzle guide-vane (NGV) sealing and an improved “aero-standard [anti-]flutter bridge” that together provide a combined 0.2-percent benefit. Improve-ments in engine build standard, particularly clearances and seal-ing contribute a further 0.3-per-cent reduction in fuel burn.

Anti-flutter BridgesThe new NGV anti-flutter

bridges would be introduced in LPT Stages 3 and 4, with the redesigned bridge being reduced in thickness by one third to one millimeter (0.040 inches) to provide better aerodynam-ics. Johnston said the work does not constitute a huge change, since modern engines can be improved only through the introduction of constant incre-mental development.

Previously, Trent 700 fuel burn on in-service engines had improved by 1.1 percent through introduction of a 2009 initial EP retrofit package. The kit included ELE IPC/HPC blades and optimized turbine-case

cooling, changes also incor-porated on new-build engines. Other developments, such as optimized blade-tip clearance, pocketless fan-spinner fairing, super-polished turbine hardware and HPC improvements, con-tributed to a 1.3-percent fuel-efficiency gain on new engines.

With the Airbus A380 hav-ing recently celebrated six years of operations and with about 60 Trent-powered examples in service with six airlines, R-R said the Trent 900 engine has “come into its own in the past 18 months.” It has been selected by 11 of the A380’s 17 custom-ers and Johnston suggested the powerplant’s comparative reli-ability is better than that of the competing General Electric/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alli-ance GP7200.

Standard for Production Units

Following introduction of T900EP Block 1, the production variant since the beginning of 2012 that addressed early oper-ational issues, the manufacturer is continuing improvement with the EP2–now running and des-tined to be the standard for all production units from early next year. Block 1 engines are deliv-ering a 1-percent improvement in fuel consumption over origi-nal units and R-R is increasingly confident that EP2s can extend this further by up to 0.8 percent.

The new variant sports an optimized air system and IPC and also benefits from tech-nology feedback. For example,

engine-section ELE stator blades come from the T1000, while the latest Trent XWB con-tributes optimized turbine-case cooling and improved LPT seal-ing. Experience with both of those variants has influenced T900EP2 fan blade-tip clear-ance optimization.

R-R has five powerplants in the T900EP2 program. Engine serial number 91001 is being used to gather strain-gauge data and for X-ray assessment of engine structural movement during running, while T900 SN90004/11 is the type-test engine running European Avia-tion Safety Agency certification tests, for which highest temper-ature and rpm demonstrations were completed in mid-October.

Trials under way on SN 90005/9 cover air- and oil-system tests, bearing-load assessment and engine functional perfor-mance. The fully instrumented SN90006/5 (scheduled to have run at the end of October) is intended to demonstrate cyclic endurance and to assess behav-ior of the production standard powerplant (including all EP2 core modifications). Additional functional validation (with and without EP2 changes) is being performed on SN 91248, which is regarded as a production engine.

The “maturity” elements among EP2 improvements would be available for retrofit to earlier T900s at any maintenance shop visit and could also contribute to some performance packages applied to T500s, T700s, and T800s, concluded Johnston. o


Rolls-Royce is continuing to revamp the Trent 900 with a second enhanced-performance upgrade (EP2) that is expected to improve fuel consumption by another 0.8 percent. It is now running and destined to be the standard for production units as of early next year.

Roll-Royce claims the EP2 version of the Trent T900 that powers the Airbus A380 can provide up to 1.8-percent better fuel consumption than initial-standard engines.

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INTRODUCING THE NEW 777X.

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A Flying ExpEriEncE thAt cAptivAtEs, comForts And inspirEs.

The new

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THE NEW

777XMORE THAN A NEW AIRPLANE, IT’S THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT UNFOLDING.

The 777X is a giant leap forward in efficiency and innovation,

featuring an all-new wing design and the latest GE9X engine

technology. The new Boeing 777X will be the most efficient,

most capable, environmentally progressive airplane in its class.

newairplane.com/777X #777X


Flourishing UAE airports are capable of handling even moreby Peter Shaw-Smith

With eight civil airports boasting IATA designations, it’s reasonable to ask why there are so many facilities in a country the size of the UAE. Partly, this is because five of the seven emirates Abu Dhabi (3), Dubai (2), Fujairah (1), Ras al-Khaimah (1) and Sharjah (1) have the demand. The other two –Ajman, at 259 sq km the smallest, and Umm al-Quwain, the least populous –do not.

This has led to a flourishing aviation sector, quite apart from the success of the UAE’s two globally competitive airlines. Led by the two major emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and their respective carriers, Etihad Airways and Emirates, the UAE’s main airports have built up a total passenger capacity of nearly 105 million and saw 2012 passenger through-put of around 80 million.

The enormous success of Emirates airline has created dilemmas for airport

planners in the emirate of Dubai. When Dubai’s second airport, Dubai World Central in Jebel Ali, was announced in 2006, the intention was to move Emir-ates airline to the Jebel Ali area early this decade, but the global recession made the cost of building a completely new airport, which Dubai Aviation City Corp. officials put at $100 billion, as too high for even free-spending Dubai to bear.

As a result, a third, 20-gate, A380-ded-icated terminal at DXB, known as Con-course A, followed, increasing total airport capacity from 60 to 75 million in January 2013. Plans for a fourth con-course at DXB are now advanced, and it is set to be complete by 2015. This has given Dubai aviation officials the latitude to develop ancillary services at DWC: the arrival of cargo services took place in 2010, when the airport first opened for operations, and business aviation, seek-ing a new home away from overcrowded DXB, came next. Major announcements on bizav are expected here this week.

The emirate of Abu Dhabi, also home

to the UAE’s capital city of the same name, has fed off Dubai’s success and boasts three major airports. Its original airport, Al Bateen, has undergone many changes. When the new Abu Dhabi Inter-national Airport came into being in 1982, Al Bateen was allocated for royal flights and military use. In 2008, it became Abu Dhabi’s main business aviation gateway and today hosts more than 10,000 air-craft movements a year.

As home to UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi International Air-port is now a major facility. Turkish con-cern TAV Construction, in a joint venture with Greece’s Consolidated Contractors Co. and local company Arabtec, is well into building the iconic Midfield Termi-nal, which will bring the airport’s even-tual capacity to 47 million. Terminal 2 opened in 2005 and a second runway was opened in 2008.

Abu Dhabi’s third airport, at Al Ain, the emirate of Abu Dhabi’s sec-ond city and garden weekend retreat, serves a sizeable local community. Importantly, Al Ain has also been earmarked as the home of several aviation-training academies, includ-ing Horizon International Flight Academy, and is also the base for Strata Manufacturing, the wings and empennage builder that announced $3 billion of OEM orders in the first 18 months of its existence.

Northern EmiratesThe Northern emirates are also

contributing. Sharjah Airport is a growing facility and has a through-put of around 20 percent of that of DXB in cargo and movements. Ras

Al Khaimah International has a capac-ity of around two million passengers a year, as does Fujairah International. Both facilities serve growing industrial hubs and oil and gas business.

While the two other emirates of Ajman and Umm Al Quwain also boast airstrips, these are thought to be largely devoted to recreational flying, with no commercial operations. However, the UAE is not alone in its stunning airport development story: Saudi Arabia, the GCC member with the biggest popula-tion, at over 25 million, has 26 domestic and international airports.

“The UAE is a federation. We have [a system of] local government. Federal government cannot prevent, or [remove] the right from, an emirate to establish an airport unless that airport clashes with a neighbor,” said Ahmed Al Rawahi, director, Airworthiness, Aviation Safety Affairs Sector, UAE General Civil Avi-ation Authority. “So Dubai has right to establish an airport; Abu Dhabi has the right, Sharjah and so on. How capable they are depends on competition.” o

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Traffic to the UAE has grown such that five of its seven emirates host a total of eight IATA-designated airports.

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Honeywell sees Middle East as ideal region for SmartPathby Jennifer Harrington Snell

The adoption of Honeywell’s Smart-Path precision landing system by Middle East airports is expected to gain momen-tum over the next few years, in response to the “phenomenal growth” of avia-tion in the area, according to SmartPath senior product manager Pat Reines–although the company is still waiting its first order from the region.

SmartPath is the world’s first and only certified Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS). It has been certified by the FAA and the German Federal Super-visory Authority for Air Navigation Services (BAF) for Category I (Cat I) approaches, and future upgrades include the ability to support Cat III approaches.

It has a number of operational bene-fits, including the ability to increase effi-ciency and capacity at airports–both of which will be needed in the Middle East over the next two decades, said Reines.

Not only is the area expanding its infrastructure and building new airports and runways, but it is also expected to increase its fleet significantly over the next 10 to 20 years. The Honeywell Busi-ness Aviation Outlook, for example, released last month, predicts a 26-percent increase in the Middle East business air-craft fleet over the next decade.

Boeing, meanwhile, has predicted an increase of more than 2,600 commer-cial aircraft over the next 20 years, while Airbus forecasts a slightly lower, but no less impressive, figure: 1,999 aircraft. In its Current Market Outlook, Boeing also noted that infrastructure development in the Middle East is a long-term concern, and that awareness of infrastructure

challenges and the need for ATC mod-ernization is becoming apparent.

SmartPath has the potential to address all these issues, according to Reines. “GBAS is a wonderful tool in the toolkit,” he said, adding that it is especially useful in areas that are building or expanding airports, such as the Middle East, where instrument approach systems (ILS) are still being used at every airport; for the cost of approximately two ground-based ILS set-ups, one SmartPath system can broadcast up to 26 unique approaches, covering every airport runway.

Taxi Time Is ReducedOne of the benefits of the system

is reduced taxi time. An airport with a 12,000-foot runway, for example, might create two separate glideslopes on one runway, thereby decreasing the amount of time a smaller aircraft would have to taxi to reach its destination.

Another benefit is the potential to decrease separation between aircraft. An airport could create two approaches–a shallower approach for large aircraft and a steeper approach for small aircraft.

Moreover, the installation of each new approach is “easy,” according to Honeywell: It requires a software load, as opposed to brand-new equipment. And, unlike ILS, the GBAS equipment is not restricted to a precise location at the end of a runway. It can be placed wherever the airport has space, Reines said. “GBAS is installed when you open the first runway,” Reines said. “When you add and open up new runways, you just have to load some software. You don’t have to go out and

install new equipment or even move the existing GBAS equipment.”

The SmartPath system also requires fewer maintenance flights–unlike ILS, which requires periodic calibration flights every six to 12 months, depending on the area. GBAS requires one flight check, when a new approach is loaded. This not only saves costs in terms of crew and flight time, it also saves money because the airport does not have to close a runway every few months.

Bremen Airport in Germany, the first airport to fly a commercial GBAS flight back in 2011, reported a “significantly reduced maintenance effort” as a result of activating SmartPath. Currently there are 15 airports worldwide either using or having SmartPath installed, includ-ing Frankfurt Airport, which has just announced that it is to have it installed.

The benefits are such that Reines fore-sees a time when ILS will no longer be needed. “They might be a time when an airport might want to forego the cost of ever putting ILS in,” he said.

In order to use GBAS, an aircraft must be equipped with a Global Nav-igation Satellite System (GNSS) land-ing system (GLS). By 2016, Honeywell expects more than 4,000 aircraft to

be equipped with GLS. This number is expected to increase if operators, including business aviation operators, choose to retrofit their fleets.

Today, around 650 Boeing 737NG air-craft (approximately 20 percent of oper-ators) have GLS installed and turned on, and 900 aircraft (40 percent of oper-ators) have the option to activate it. In addition, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-800 both come with GLS as stan-dard equipment.

Among Airbus A380 and A320 oper-ators, eight airlines, including Emirates, have activated GLS. And by the end of the year, the A330 and A340 family of aircraft are expected to be GLS certified. Four airlines have also selected GLS as an option on the A350.

“We’re getting good momentum on the aircraft,” Reines said, admitting that no airport in the Middle East has yet adopted the system. Reines suspects it won’t be long before the first airport takes the plunge, however. “They’re stra-tegically located [for worldwide travel], they’re building runways and there are lots of airplanes out there,” he told AIN.

“We’ve seen it work in places like New-ark Airport (N.J.), Bremen and Zurich. It’s a good formula,” said Reines. o

FAA and EASA will soon require revamped approach to stall training

The FAA is due to issue a rule requir-ing a new approach to stall training for airline pilots that runs counter to pre-vious guidance. According to Dr. Jeff Schroeder, the agency’s chief scientific and technical officer, the new approach will “take a lot of work to undo previous training because some pilots are ‘spring-loaded’ to the previous technique.”

At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s annual International Flight Crew Train-ing Conference in London in September, Schroeder explained that operators will have five years to comply with the new requirement. Flight simulator providers will need to make changes to stall, buf-fet and icing models used in their devices, and rules governing these changes should be issued in 2015 with a three-year imple-mentation grace period.

European Aviation Safety Agency rulemaking officer Dean Dousi told the

conference that EASA will publish simi-lar rules in the third quarter of 2016, fol-lowing the publication of a concept paper before year-end. This will be subject to pub-lic consultation in 2014, with resulting rec-ommendations to be made to the European Commission in 2015. The rulemaking pro-cess follows in the wake of highly publicized accidents involving stalls within four months in 2009, including Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y., and Air France Flight 447’s plunge into the Atlantic Ocean.

Before and especially since then, multiple industry groups have debated improved approaches for dealing with loss of control in flight, identified as the leading cause of aircraft fatalities. Schro-eder estimated the total cost to develop new aerodynamic models for 50 aircraft types at $20 million, plus another $30 mil-lion for these to be installed on around 300 full-flight simulators. –R.A.

Ground-based augmentation provided by Honeywell’s SmartPath facilitates Category 1 approaches, increasing efficiency and capacity at airports, which will be needed in the Middle East in the coming decades.

The FAA is to issue a new rule governing stall training for airline pilots based on industry input recommending improved approaches for dealing with loss of control in flight, said to be the leading cause of aircraft fatalities.


Boeing shapes its 777X to Middle East marketby Gregory Polek

The rulers in the Arabian Gulf region strive for bigger and better in practically every pursuit they undertake, and that includes air transport. So when Boeing drew its plans for its proposed new 777X, its considerations no doubt included the needs of those in the Middle East, who are some of the biggest custom-ers for the current 777.

Speaking with AIN a few weeks before the start of this Dubai Air Show, Boeing vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth charac-terized the 777 as perhaps the most important widebody airplane in the Middle Eastern market. Of course, what makes an airplane important could vary depend-ing on one’s perspective. But in terms of the sheer numbers, the 777 stands alone, thanks largely

to Emirates Airline’s fleet of more than 130 airplanes.

One of Boeing’s most prom-ising customers for the 777X, Emirates has spent more than two years working with the manufac-turer on the size and performance specifications of the airplane, which it says will burn 20 percent less fuel per passenger and gen-erate 15 percent lower operating costs than existing 777s.

“When I think about the 777X, I just think of it as big-ger and better than the airplane we have today,” said Tinseth. “I know it sounds pretty simple, but it is bigger; the whole family is bigger.”

The “family” would consist of the 777-8X and -9X, estimated to typically seat around 350 and 400 passengers, respectively.

The 8X would replace the 777-200LR, now the world’s lon-gest-range commercial jet, which seats roughly 300; the 9X would replace the 777-300ER, which seats some 365.

“What makes it better is really the new wing and the new engine, which improves fuel efficiency,” added Tinseth. Boeing has opted to design an all-new compos-ite wing for the 777X and offer the proposed GE9X–expected to generate 102,000 pounds of thrust–as the sole engine choice.

Although the cross section of the 777X’s aluminum fuselage wouldn’t change, Boeing plans to squeeze another four inches out of the interior by reengineering the frame profile and resculpting the side panels, explained Tins-eth. Airlines such as Emirates, like 70 percent of all 777 oper-ators, outfit its airplanes with a 10-seat-abreast interior rather than nine, making every extra inch valuable.

“We can use the same alumi-num fuselage that we have today,


Continued on facing page u

777X production site search now underwayBoeing will be exploring “all

options” for production site locations for the new 777X, not only Seattle, Boeing Commer-cial Airplanes CEO Ray Con-ner told a gathering of reporters in Dubai on Sat-urday. His state-ment followed the rejection by com-pany machinists of a contract extension proposal, which fea-tured a Boeing com-mitment to build the airplane and its car-bon-fiber wing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state. Conner insisted that Boeing had offered a fair proposal and that the com-pany “has no plans” to return to the bargaining table.

Meanwhile, Conner denied that any desire to accelerate the timing of entry into service influ-enced what appeared as urgency

to reach a deal. “Going into this vote [we were] not being driven by a need to accelerate the air-plane,” said Conner. “The timing of this airplane hasn’t changed. The reason we were looking to

move forward with the negotiations was because we’ve got to put bricks and mor-tar in place. So we have to make some [long-term] decisions on where we’re going. It’s a pretty long cycle because, particularly with the wing, it’s not something we’ve do-ne before in the Puget Sound region or any-where else, except

for over in Japan [at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries].”

In fact, Conner wouldn’t dis-count suggestions that 777X wing production could go to Japan, alongside that of the 787’s wing. Instead, he called it

“a good thought.“We’re going to look very

broadly,” he said, adding that the list of possibilities still includes the Puget Sound region. The considerations in the U.S., of course, include tax incentives offered by various states, said Conner. Abroad, they involve primarily manufacturing capac-ity and capability.

Whatever the outcome of the search for manufacturing sites, Conner pledged that the plan to gain certification by the end of the decade won’t change and that its potential customers in the Middle East haven’t expressed any concern about Boeing’s union problems. “What’s hap-pened with the IAM [Interna-tional Association of Machinists] is not going to impact anything we do with respect to our cus-tomers,” he said. “We are going to execute our plan, whether it’s built in the Puget Sound or any-where else.” –G.P.

Emirates flies some 90 Boeing 777-300LRs, making it by far the model’s biggest operator.

GE Aviation’s GE9X prepping for 777X dutyby Gregory Polek

What turned into a big week for Boeing with the for-mal launch of its new 777X widebody also promises to be a big week for the engine that will power it, the GE9X. Dubai Airshow visitors can get a sneak preview of the 102,000-pound thrust turbofan through a new 3-D representation of the equip-ment at the GE Aviation exhibit (Chalet A9).

According to the U.S. man-ufacturer, its extensive technical maturation process is progress-ing well ahead of the start of the full-blown engine devel-opment cycle, which is set to being in mid-2015. The ini-tial program has involved full-scale rig tests with fan testing and will include the running of

a full core engine and a variety of low-pressure turbine demon-stration tests. “We are trying to substantiate the performance of the module, including its aero-dynamic performance and the new materials we’ve used for it,” explained GE90 program man-ager Bill Millhaem.

A big part of the matura-tion process is to run a series of “trade studies” that consider various trade offs involved in choices made between various new materials. These include new carbon fibers and resins, as well as an improved metal lead-ing edge to allow for a thinner fan blade.

The 9X has just 16 fan blades (compared with 22 blades on the original GE90) and these are stronger and thinner than their predeces-sors, delivering improved aerodynamics. Millhaem told AIN that GE has run tests of the new fan blades but with

them sized up to the dimen-sions of the GEnX turbo-fan so that it can run tests to benchmark the blades’ perfor-mance against the established database for these engines.

Also in the works at GE is a new universal propulsion system rig at Boeing’s facility in Seat-tle, where it will run a scaled ver-sion of the 9X with fan blades, nacelles and outlet guide vanes. Engineers will take the results of both of these tests and use the data to build the full-size 9X, after which it will verify the design of the fan blades before doing some inlet testing and a blade-out test.

Meanwhile, similar techni-cal maturation work is being done on both the 9X compres-

sor and combustor. A com-pressor demonstrator unit has been installed at GE’s facility in Massa, Italy, where it has con-ducted initial runs to evaluate the performance of the 11-stage, 27:1 pressure ratio unit. “The initial data looks very good and we will now do the design itera-tion of the compressor based on what we’ve seen and we’ll run a demonstration core in 2015 to substantiate the engine size and what the core will look like,” Millhaem explained.

Using 3-D printing tech-niques to make early iterations of the fuel nozzles, GE is sav-ing a lot of time because it can quickly incorporate design changes and test these with a new version. Soon, the 9X team will start low-pressure tests. The company is build-ing a new facility in Cincinnati to allow combustor tests to be conducted across the full pres-sure range. o

Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO

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With just 16 fan blades, GE’s new GE9X turbofan will produce 102,000 pounds of thrust.

www.ainonline.com • November 18, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 19

which is good news for us,” said Tinseth. “It does a couple of things. It keeps the cost of devel-opment down for us; it allows us to use the same systems on today’s airplane, so all the issues that any new airplane goes through with systems development we don’t have to go through on this air-craft…Then we’re going to take some of the technology from the 787, some other things that we’ve been thinking about in terms of airplane development and bring it into the interior…again, bigger and better.”

Of course, “longer” would also serve as an accurate description of the 777X, both as it relates to the fuselage and its flying legs, which, according to Tinseth, would allow the 8X to connect any two points on the globe through the Gulf. Tins-eth couldn’t name the additional number of city pairs the extra “few hundred” nautical miles would allow the 8X to serve, but he insisted that potential customers consider the benefit

more than incidental. “In talk-ing with some of our customers, they certainly see some value there,” he said.

Boeing sees value in the 777-8X’s ability to compete directly with the Airbus A350-1000, and the prospect of the 9X more effectively filling the capacity gap that exists now between the 777-300ER and the 747-8. In a typical three-class configuration the 747-8 seats some 465 pas-sengers, amounting to about 15 percent more capacity than that offered by the 777-9X, which itself would carry nearly 15 per-cent more than the 8X.

“If you don’t need the range [of the 8X] we can dial back on the takeoff weight of the airplane and improve the economics a lit-tle bit by doing that, and then it’s really a head-to-head compet-itor with the A350-1000,” said Tinseth. “When we designed the 777X, we wanted to make sure it complemented the range, eco-nomics and performance of the 747-8,” he added. “We wanted to make sure that…from the 747 to the 777, the 777X to the 787, that all those families really work to complement and supplement what they do for each other.”

Boeing claims to offer a far more “seamless” widebody product line than its compe-tition fields. Airbus has yet to offer an option to fill the capacity gap between the 350-seat A350-1000 and 555-seat A380. Nevertheless, unlike the 747-8I, the A380 has drawn substantial sales in the region, specifically from Emir-ates, which operates nearly 40 of its earlier firm order count of 48. Saudi Arabian Airlines flies a pair of 747-8 freighters and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad leases a single 747-8F under an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) lease with Atlas Air. Tinseth, how-ever, noted that both manu-facturers have struggled to sell aircraft in the size category of the A380 and 747-8 over the past two or three years.

“I have to be honest with you, the 747/A380 market has been pretty slow over the last couple of years,” he said. “But as air-lines continue to see the strong growth that we’ve seen over the past few years, I do believe [that will change] and we’re in con-tact with several airlines about 747 opportunities.” o

Boeing shapes 777X to marketuContinued from preceeding page

news clipsz Beechcraft Appoints Absolute Aviation

Beechcraft today announced the appointment of South Africa-based Absolute Aviation as an authorized parts distributor for sub-Saharan Africa. Absolute Aviation, Beechcraft’s exclusive distributor for the region since 2011, will house a stock of inventory worth $1 million at Lanseria Airport near Johannesburg, to support Beechcraft products as well as the Hawker 125 series.

“We appointed Absolute Aviation as a parts distributor because they have built up an excellent reputation in sub-Saharan Africa as our aircraft representative and we feel that by stocking a full range of parts in South Africa, it will increase the level of support we can provide to our customers in the region,” said Christi Tannahill, Beechcraft senior vice president, Global Customer Support.

Beechcraft is displaying a King Air 350ER, King Air 350i, King Air C90GTx and its AT-6 light-attack aircraft at Chalet C7 at the Dubai Airshow.

z India Receives New Aircraft Carrier On Saturday the Indian Navy formally took delivery

of the INS Vikramaditya. The aircraft carrier is the former Soviet Admiral Gorshkov, which has been refurbished and retrofitted by the Sevmash shipyard at Severodvinsk in the north of European Russia (see story page 22). India’s defense minister, Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, attended the ceremony. The delivery acceptance document was signed by Rosoboronexport’s deputy general director Igor Sevastyanov and by Commodore Suraj Berry, the new captain of the vessel. Later this month Vikramaditya will leave Russian waters for its long transit to its new homeport at Goa. The carrier will not arrive until late January or early February.

z Parker Aerospace Expands SupportParker Aerospace (Stand 2309) is expanding its component

support and repair exchange services for the company’s range of hydraulic, flight control and fuel systems for customers in the Middle East.

With the service expansion, Parker Aerospace will offer an inventory of products on aircraft including the Boeing 777 and 787 and the Airbus A380 and new A350XWB. Customers will be able to acquire new products and exchange components for repair directly from Parker’s office in Dubai.

“Our focus will clearly be newer and emerging platforms, which have been extremely successful in this area,” said Ben van Sleeuwen, Parker Aerospace director of customer support operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Parker Aerospace recently added a new leader to its customer support team in Dubai. Michael Davies, who will be based in Dubai, has 16 years of aerospace MRO experience, including assignments in Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

z Empire Aviation Reaches into AfricaDubai’s Empire Aviation Group (EAG), operator of the

largest managed fleet in the Middle East, has extended its services into Africa with the addition of two aircraft to its fleet, to be based in Nigeria.

EAG (Pavilion 4), which already has a strong presence in the GCC and India, recently took delivery of a two pre-owned Dassault Falcon 900DX EASy business jets, one on behalf of a Nigeria-based owner. Both aircraft will serve the African market. EAG now has more than 20 aircraft under management.

“We now have aircraft under management in the GCC [UAE and Oman], Africa [Nigeria] and India, where we recently launched our new operations,” said Paras Dhamecha, EAG’s executive director. “We are especially pleased to have acquired one of the Falcons for the owner, demonstrating our full range of aircraft sales and management services and flight operations capabilities.”

Air Works India became a strategic investor in EAG in 2012, and Empire Aviation was set up as a division of Air Works to manage aircraft for the company in India.

LHT’s Dubai facility expands to meet needsby David Donald

One of Lufthansa Technik’s fastest-growing activities in the Middle East is the Lufthansa Technik Middle East Services (LTMES) facility here in Dubai. LTMES brings together all the capabilities offered by the par-ent group and makes them available from one regionally focused location.

Currently the office supports customer service for component support and acts as the local sales office for VIP customers. Under

a planned expansion, LTMES will develop on-site technical ser-vices from early next year. Rising demand for nacelle component services and repair operations for airframe-related components is driving this expansion in capa-bility, which is offered to cus-tomers outside the Lufthansa group. Depending on the kind of service required, work can be undertaken at the customer’s own facility, here in Dubai, or elsewhere within the worldwide

Lufthansa network.As well as increased line main-

tenance capability, from early 2014 LTMES is also to offer the efficient Cyclean engine-wash pro-cess at Dubai International and other airports in the region. This process reduces fuel consump-tion by up to one percent, while improving engine performance and reducing CO2 emissions.

Lufthansa Technik (Stand 1945) is preparing for 787 VIP completion work. Boeing is set to deliver the first of 12 VIP 787s sold so far at the end of the year, and Lufthansa Technik is in advanced discussions with several of the customers regarding cabin completion and technical sup-port. Capacity is being offered for completions in 2014/15.

With the development of a new process of providing secure cabin installations in the new generation of composite-air-frame aircraft such as the 787, Lufthansa Technik has laid a foundation for customized cabin solutions for VIP interiors. The company has also applied this technology to the Boeing 747-8, of which two are undergoing VIP completion.

Lufthansa Technik has been involved in the 787 program since the initial concept stages, drawing on its expertise as both a completion expert and mainte-nance specialist. o

Lufthansa Technik is an acknowledged expert in VIP conversions of large-cabin aircraft. This 787 interior has been created by London-based Andrew Winch Designs.


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Russian combat copters begin arriving in Iraqby David Donald

Last week Iraq took delivery of the first batch of Mil helicop-ters from the Rostvertol factory. Four Mi-35Ms were delivered, their arrival being announced by Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki.

Iraqi managers, crews and technicians have been training at the Russian army’s Torzhok cen-ter, with the first group complet-ing its course in late September. Following the delivery of the initial batch will be at least two more Mi-35Ms, and a sizeable batch of Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopters.

The supply of Mil helicop-ters is part of the $4.3 billion arms deal signed with Moscow in 2012, which covers a range of defense and security-related pro-grams. Among them is the sup-ply of 42 Pantsir-S1 short-range air defense systems. Procure-ment of the Kamov Ka-52 Alli-gator attack helicopter is also believed to be part of the deal.

Turning to Moscow for arms underlines Iraq’s determination to remain independent in terms of its major government acquisi-tions. Reportedly the deal nearly fell through earlier this year over corruption issues, but Iraq received adequate assurances and contracts have been signed. The supply of main battle tanks and fighters is also under dis-cussion, with the MiG-35 being

touted by some as a possibility for the Iraqi air force.

Reports surrounding the heli-copter deals have been conflict-ing, but it seems likely that the Mi-35M order comprises at least six aircraft that were signed for on April 16 this year. The con-tract includes training and arma-ment. Officially, Iraq is receiving “around 40” Mil helicopters from the Rostvertol factory, which is consistent with the oft-mentioned numbers of 30 or 36 Mi-28NEs to add to the Mi-35M buy.

Meanwhile, Iraq is also involved in discussions with the U.S. concerning Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. A report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction (SIGIR) contained reference to Iraq acquiring 24 new-build Apaches, with six U.S. Army air-craft to be leased to Iraq in the interim, possibly as early as next January. However, this is appar-ently not happening any time soon, although official request has been made to Congress. Asked if the deal was going ahead, Paul Oliver, the regional vice president for international business development for Boeing Defense, Space and Security Middle East and Africa, replied: “Not right now, that’s the easiest way to say it. There [are] conver-sations going on...between Iraq and the U.S. government.” o

Iraq is beginning to receive attack helicopters from Russia as part of a much larger arms package agreed last year. The deal covers Mi-28NE Night Hunters (above), and may also include Kamov Ka-52s (below).

Thales addressing civil and military segments

Thales is exhibiting a wide range of products for in-flight entertainment (IFE), air traf-fic management (ATM) and defense systems here at Dubai Airshow 2013 (on Stand B13).

In the air defense market-place, showgoers can see the Thales Rapid range of inte-grated weapon systems (from sensors to fire), the LMM and StarStreak armored vehicle

platform missiles and the 3D Ground Master radar family. The ThalesRaytheonSystems partnership has delivered more than 300 air defense radars to 26 countries, according to Thales.

Thales is also displaying its military communication and identification equipment, as well as optronics devices. These are used for “evaluat-ing critical situations at both

tactical and strategic levels,” according to Thales.

In civil aviation, the French company is here with its passen-ger IFE and connectivity systems and an ATM simulation tool, dubbed ScanSim. Thales is also promoting its airport security solutions, which integrate secu-rity, telecommunications, public information and airport informa-tion technology systems as well as an overall management layer.

Thales continues research and development work on its futuristic Avionics 2020 flight deck demonstrator, but has not brought that to the show. –T.D.

Thales’s offerings cover a broad spectrum of products on display here in Dubai.

Jet Aviation enhancing FBO presence in Dubaiby Peter Shaw-Smith

Jet Aviation has expanded operations at Dubai World Cen-tral’s Al Maktoum Interna-tional Airport, underlining its FBO presence at the new air-port, which opened just under a year ago. It also highlights the growing trend for business jet migration from Dubai Interna-tional to DWC, which started around the time of the Middle East Business Aviation event in December 2012.

“With a strong commitment to meeting our customers’ needs, we are increasing our services at DWC,” said Ata Saffari, director of maintenance for Jet Aviation Dubai. “With our customized maintenance vans, we can dis-patch teams from our base at Dubai International Airport and deploy mobile line mainte-nance services at DWC.”

Jet Aviation’s FBO at DWC now offers 96-hour visa

facilities, improved catering options, as well as 24-7 VIP lim-ousine service, assistance with duty-free shopping and interior and exterior VIP aircraft clean-ing. Jet Aviation Dubai’s main-tenance and FBO operations at Dubai International Airport were established in May 2005 as a joint venture company with the local Al Mulla Group.

Jet Aviation (Stand 2490, Chalet A16) has also signed an exclusive FBO-service agree-ment with VistaJet for the Mid-dle East, Europe and Asia, to provide dedicated handling ser-vices. VistaJet owns and oper-ates a fleet of more than 35 Bombardier aircraft.

“As we continue to grow our global business in the corporate aviation marketplace, we care-fully select partners who under-stand our needs as a bespoke service provider, with local and

international expertise,” said Ian Moore, chief commercial offi-cer of VistaJet. “Jet Aviation is reputed in the worldwide busi-ness aviation community for its exceptional service and cus-tomer orientation.”

Training Courses ApprovedThe Saudi Arabian Gen-

eral Authority of Civil Avia-tion (GACA) has authorized Jet Aviation’s Saudi office to provide on-site training to its workforce in Jeddah, Riyadh and Medina, as well as to com-mercial customers throughout the kingdom.

The company will now be able to offer training courses to FBO and maintenance teams, as well as commercial customers and oper-ators at GACA’s Jeddah, Riyadh and Medina facilities. The com-pany has a full-time GACA-approved training instructor on-site and offers courses on GACA regulations and hazard-ous materials handling.

GACA has also given approval to Jet Aviation St. Louis to operate as an approved repair station for aircraft regis-tered under its auspices. o

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Fighter jets, helicopters fly from Indian carrierby Vladimir Karnozov

The Indian navy ship Vikramaditya successfully completed testing recently and, after final adjustments and painting at Sev-mash Dockyards in northwest Russia, was due to be handed over to a Indian navy crew of 1,326 that was eagerly awaiting the November 15 handover cer-emony, just before the Dubai show. The carrier is expected to serve India for 30 to 40 years and, during that time, it may be a regular visitor to the waters around the Arabian Peninsula.

The ship first took shape back in 1978 when the Black Sea dockyard in Nikolaev started a fourth hull of the heavy air-craft-carrying cruiser Project 1143.4. Commissioned in 1987 as the Admiral Gorshkov, she served with the Russian navy for five years and then another five

in reserve. A further five years passed before the Kremlin gave the cruiser to the Indian gov-ernment under a promise that the new owner would pay for restoration and modernization. The initial contract was for $617 million–a sum later found to be woefully inadequate to com-plete the work. Eventually, the contract value rose to more than $2 billion. For that money the cruiser was rebuilt into a carrier under Project 11430.

The Vikramaditya is one and a half times larger than the Indian navy’s current flagship, the Viraat. The latter was origi-nally the HMS Hermes and saw a long and eventful career with Britain’s Royal Navy before India purchased her in 1987. The Vikramaditya’s full displacement

is 45,000 metric tons, compared to the Viraat’s 28,700 metric tons, with a length of 283.5 meters compared to 226.5 meters (930 feet versus 743 feet), and a width of 59.6 meters versus 48.8 meters (195 feet versus 160 feet).

The two ships carry the same number of aircraft, 30, but the payload on the Vikramaditya is far greater. The MiG-29K fighters that it carries have an all-up weight of 24.5 met-ric tons, compared with the smaller Sea Harriers on the Viraat at 11.9 metric tons.

On September 21, the Vikramaditya returned to Sever odvinsk after three months of trials in the White and Barents Seas. Keen to demonstrate the full compliance of the ship to the advertised per-formance, including the speed at full throttle, the Russian navy

crew–headed by senior com-mander Alexander Shevchenko and commanding officer Igor Ry-abko–accelerated the carrier to 29.2 knots on the night of July 27. On the request of the Indian commanding officer, Commo-dore Suraj Berry, they did it a sec-ond time when heading for Severodvinsk harbor and kept the top speed for an hour. By so doing the Russians demonstrated that the last year’s trouble (when the ship could make only 27.8 knots due to the leaking heat-in-sulation of the eight steam boil-ers) is over now. Due to this and a number of smaller technical fail-ures, the ship had to spend anoth-er year in Russia during which these and other drawbacks were being remedied.

The main purpose of this

year’s sea trials was “to give our Indian comrades confidence in the ship’s reliability,” said Igor Leonov, the Sevmash Dock-yard’s manager responsible for the customer acceptance pro-gram. “The crew must be confi-dent in the ship and her ability to function and fight even in most harsh environments. All figures in the specification have been met and demonstrated during the sea trials includ-ing functioning of the boilers,

machinery and radio electronic equipment,” he added.

The testing involved flights from the deck of Kamov Ka-27PS/PL and Ka-31R helicop-ters and MiG-29K/KUB fight-ers owned by the Russian navy and industry. Ilyushin-38, Beriev A-50, Sukhoi-33 and MiG-31 airplanes flew from coastal air-bases to perform checks for correct functioning of the Vikramaditya’s radio electronic equipment (including the Pod-berezovik and Fregat radars with target detection ranges up to 500 km and 250 km, respec-tively) and her self-defense ca-pability. There were no Indian-owned flying vehicles involved in the testing (these intended to form the ship’s air wing are safe-ly ashore, awaiting customer

acceptance of the ship); a group of Indian pilots were on the Virkamaditya to watch MiGs and Kamovs fly with their Rus-sian colleagues at the controls.

During the test campaign, Kamov helicopters performed more than 30 flights, not count-ing numerous liaison, patrol and SAR missions. MiG flights were the most spectacular part of the trials: 57 sorties were made, including 47 culminating in deck landings. On 12 occa-sions the MiGs came to rest on the deck at night.

Night FlyingDuring a week aboard the

ship, AIN witnessed four take-offs and landings, including one at night. The most memorable scene was a MiG running along the deck toward the 13-degree sky ramp at full afterburner, with its Klimov R-33 engines’ exhaust flames turning the darkness of night into daylight, with their roar seeming to be loud enough to be heard as far as Goa, where the ship will be based when in Indian navy service.

RAC MiG director gen-eral Sergei Korotkov com-mented: “The completion of the flight trials from the carri-er’s deck marks a milestone in the life-cycle of the ship Project 11430 as well as the MiG-29K/KUB program that our corpo-ration has been carrying out in the interests of the Indian navy.” RAC MiG’s next step in real-ization of the program will be a training course for the Indian navy pilots in the techniques of ship-borne operations.

The MiG-29K/KUB are attributed to the “4++” genera-tion of Russian jet fighters; they are intended for the air defense of a carrier task group, estab-lishing air superiority over the theatre of sea-land operations, destroying land and sea-going targets with precision-guid-ance munitions in all weather, day and night. The MiG can act in an aerial tanker role using

body pods. The maiden flight of the customized Indian navy MiG-29KUB occurred in Jan-uary 2007, followed by the first flight of a deliverable aircraft in March 2008.

In 2011 RAC MiG deliv-ered the last airframe in the ini-tial batch of 16 aircraft to the Indian navy under the contract, which was signed in 2004. Last year, the manufacturer delivered four additional aircraft as part of the follow-on order for 29 more navalized MiGs. Having posi-tively assessed the MiG-29K/KUB performance–as demon-strated in Indian service (since early 2010)–Russia decided to buy a quantity for its own navy, Twenty-four examples were ordered last year, and are due for delivery between 2013 and 2015.

The MiG’s mtow is seven tons lighter than the Su-33 that today equips the Russian navy’s only carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov. Pilots say the big Sukhoi is more of a joy to fly, whereas the more modern MiG-29K/KUB pro-vides better value for naval chiefs. The Su-33 is a pure inter-ceptor for air defense of the car-rier group; it was in production from 1993 to 1998. The MiG can do both air defense and strikes on sea-going and land-based targets. It is able to use a number of precision-guidance munitions such as missiles and guided bombs with radar, ther-mal imaging and laser heads. Its crew stations are equipped with large diagonal multifunc-tional displays. Fly-by-wire controls provide better han-dling qualities as compared to the original MiG-29, which had mechanical linkages. The designers, however, stayed with the central stick in a belief that it is more convenient for naval pilots making landings on the carrier’s deck. o


Having completed flight trials from the ship’s deck, Russia’s MiG now turns its attention to training Indian pilots in ship-borne ops.

Russian naval aviators made 12 night landings on INS Vikramaditya as part of the ship’s sea trials.

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P&WC completes phase one of new-gen turboprop projectby Charles Alcock

Consensus is building among manu-facturers and operators alike for a new 90-seat regional turboprop airliner, according to Pratt & Whitney Can-ada (P&WC), which is eager to press ahead with its plans for a New Gener-ation Regional Turboprop (NGRT) engine. Both ATR and Bombardier are known to be actively considering plans for larger members of their respective turboprop families and P&WC is step-ping up development work to be ready for what it believes could be a pair of program launches next year.

According to Richard Dussault, P&WC market-ing vice president for regional and helicopter markets, the airframers are broadly in agreement that the target speed for the new turboprop transports would be between 300 and 325 knots. In his view, the optimum speed will likely closer to 300 knots if they are to achieve the

desired goal of a 20-percent reduction in fuel burn, compared to the PW100 family of engines, first certified 30 years ago and still serving the regional airline market.

For the envisioned 5,000- to 7,000-shp engine family, P&WC is tapping technol-

ogy developed by sister com-pany Pratt & Whitney for the PW1000G geared turbofan to power the new Bombar-dier CSeries and Mitsubishi Regional narrowbody jetlin-ers, such as the new Talon combustor that delivers sig-nificant reductions in nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions.

Fresh DemandAccording to Dussault,

fresh demand for both the ATR family of twin tur-boprops and Bombardier’s

Q400 series is prompting both manufac-turers toward a launch decision for new larger models up to a maximum capacity of 100 seats. In his view, a cruise speed of a little above 300 knots is optimum to

preserve the fuel-burn advantage of tur-boprops over jets.

“Back in 2003, there were only 24 [regional airliner] turboprops deliv-ered at the height of jet mania,” said Dussault. “But when the price of oil went above $50 [per barrel] the eco-nomics changed completely. Turbo-props consume 40 percent less fuel than jets on short segments, but jets are not standing still and this is why we need to achieve a further 20-percent reduction [in fuel burn]. I foresee a [regional air-liner] market in which about 40 percent of the fleet is turboprops.”

P&WC has now completed phase one of the development work for the new tur-boprop, which mainly focused on test-ing compressor components. Earlier this

year, the company shipped the first fully assembled compressor to MTU in Ger-many and tests of this unit to verified performance standards and load limits are almost complete.

The next task for P&WC is finaliz-ing the exact requirements for the new engine before entering the post-contract phase of the development. This cov-ers areas such as the amount of bleed air in the air management system, the control system architecture, as well as the engine’s electrical load and physical geometry.

Beyond that, the company would undertake the detailed design and pro-cure hardware, with a view to conducting the first ground test within 18 months of program launch for the new aircraft. P&WC’s goal would be to achieve first flight ∏within 30 months and final certi-fication within 42 months. “Everything now is about our readiness for when the market is ready for the new engine,” con-cluded Dussault. o

Richard Dussault, Pratt & Whitney Canada v-p for regional airline and helicopter markets

Pratt & Whitney Canada

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CAE finds fertile ground in regionby Peter Shaw-Smith

CAE said last week it had received Level D qualification of the world’s first simulator for the Boeing 747-8 freighter, a full-flight simulator (FFS) sold to Luxembourg-based Car-golux Airlines International. Luxembourg’s national aviation authority awarded the simulator EASA Level D qualification. CAE also announced Novem-ber 12 that it had received Level D qualifications from the FAA for its first two Boeing 787 FFSs for undisclosed North Ameri-can customers.

On November 13 the Cana-dian aviation-training specialist released its financial results for the second quarter ended Sep-tember 30. Net income attribut-able to equity holders was $36.6 million this quarter, compared to $34 million in the second quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter was $465.6 million, against $483.8 million last year.

“We achieved a book-to-sales ratio of 1.47 on solid order intake and our backlog reached $3.73 billion,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s presi-dent and CEO. “This includes a record $1.9 billion backlog in civil, which is indicative of our sector leadership within a robust aerospace market.”

CAE caters to a grow-ing market. Boeing’s Current Market Outlook 2013-32 pre-dicts that the world will require 498,000 new pilots in the next two decades, 39 percent of them in the Asia-Pacific region, and 8 percent, or 40,000, in the Middle East. CAE’s joint ven-ture with Emirates Aviation Col-lege, known as Emirates CAE Flight Training (ECFT), was set up in 2002 to manage a flight-training facility, now one of the largest in the world, thanks to joint investments by the two

companies of $260 million.The training center is located

adjacent to the Emirates Aviation College in Garhoud, Dubai, and offers 13 bays that house simula-tors for Airbus, Bell Helicopter, Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault, Gulfstream and Hawker aircraft types, according to ECFT. CAE’s 11-year relationship with Emir-ates now enables the joint venture to service more than 200 aviation clients, training more than 10,000 pilots and technicians a year.

EFCT set up a second sim-ulator center in May at Dubai Silicon Oasis. The 55,000-sq-ft facility houses eight FFS train-ing bays with Airbus and Boeing simulators featuring what the company called “breakthrough visual realism, cockpit repli-cation and high-fidelity avion-ics simulation with flight and ground-handling characteristics indistinguishable from an oper-ational aircraft.”

“Growth in the civil aviation market has driven the demand for pilots, maintenance tech-nicians and cabin crew world-wide, resulting in a shortage of qualified professionals in sev-eral markets, notably the faster-growing emerging markets, led by Asia, the Middle East and India, which have seen sus-tained pilot population growth,” a CAE spokesman told AIN. “CAE has launched specific campaigns for cadet programs for some of its anchor custom-ers to address the growth of the airlines in the Middle East as well as the requirement to have more GCC nationals in the cockpit going forward.”

The requirement for busi-ness aviation training in the Middle East has been growing steadily over the last 10 years and is expected to keep grow-ing. “On average CAE has been

adding close to one to two new training platforms per year, and new aircraft have been entering the market for Dassault, Bom-bardier, Gulfstream and other manufacturers. Specifically the larger business aviation planes are doing very well,” he said.

Asia is becoming a big mar-ket for Dubai, he said. He esti-mates that of the trainees being educated in Dubai, around 20 percent are destined to work in the Gulf, 50 percent in Europe, 25 percent in Asia and under 5 percent in the Levant.

“Emirates Aviation College is very keen to meet industry and market requirements,” said Dr. Ahmad Al Ali, vice-chan-cellor of Emirates Aviation Col-lege. “In order to respond to our annual student body increase of almost 15 percent, EAC is in the process of moving to a brand new campus at Dubai Academic City. The plans have been approved and in 2012 the ground breaking began.

“Designed to meet EAC’s needs for the next 10 to 15 years,

the new campus will cater to up to 5,000 students and will be equipped with the latest tech-nology to meet the needs of the future education, in addition to expanding internationally. A $38 million investment, the new campus has a target open date for phase one in the fourth quar-ter of 2013.”

“Emirates has spent consid-erable time, energy, effort and money in sponsoring its very successful National Cadet Pilot program,” said Capt. Martin F. Mahoney, senior vice presi-dent, flight training, Emirates. “Our rigorous selection and assessment process has allowed us to recruit very high quality

nationals into the company, some of whom have progressed through to training and man-agement positions.”

Industry experts have said that pilot supply is purely an issue of remuneration, and that Emirates will have to increase this to attract the pilots it needs. “With the projected pilot short-age, money will not be the only means of attracting pilots to the region,” Mahoney said. “As well as a comparable market-based remuneration, Gulf car-riers have to offer an overall package which non-Gulf based pilots would find attractive as well as a safe and secure operat-ing and living environment.” o


His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group, presents plaques commemorating ten years of the Emirates-CAE Flight Training partnership to: Jeff Roberts, group president, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services, CAE (left) and Gary Chapman, president, Group Services, Emirates (right).

A pilot undergoes recurrent training from a member of ECFT’s experienced training team. The session is taking place in a CAE-built full flight simulator.

Embraer Executive Jets sales exceed 630, to date

Embraer Executive Jets (Cha-let A7) is enjoying strong sales with a cumulative total of more than 630 sold in 50 countries to date, according to Colin Steven, the unit’s vice president of sales and marketing, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We delivered 99 jets in both 2011 and 2012, despite the total market deliver-ies having dropped 6 percent in the same period,” he said.

“While the total value of mar-ket deliveries fell 2 percent, the value of our deliveries grew by 15 percent, and [our] deliveries now account for 15 percent of all busi-ness-jet deliveries. Since entry into service of our first Legacy execu-tive jet in 2002, Embraer Execu-tive Jets has achieved a 22 percent share of the markets we serve.”

Embraer has a significant presence in the Dubai Airshow’s static display. “Our full execu-tive jets portfolio will be offered at the Dubai Airshow, with a spe-cial emphasis on the new version of the Lineage 1000, a new inte-rior design of the Legacy 500 and Legacy 450 and a 2014 edition of the Phenom 100. On static dis-play we have the Lineage 1000

and Legacy 650 aircraft.”Steven was coy about sales in

the Middle East region. “We don’t normally advise quantity of sales, except to say that it’s a major mar-ket for us and that the business jet deliveries to the region have been maintained over the last few years.

“The Lineage 1000, the Leg-acy 650 and the Legacy 600 are certainly the most popular mod-els in the Middle East, as their ranges enable non-stop flights from Dubai to South Africa, Western Europe, northeastern Russia, Japan, China and Central Asia. [The region is] extremely important, as our Middle East customers represent the largest

Lineage market and second-larg-est Legacy market in the world.”

In the MRO space, Embraer has appointed two regional oper-ators to act as authorized ser-vice centers to offer maintenance support. “ExecuJet, located at Dubai International Airport, [and here at Stand 2406] supports our Phenom 300, Legacy 600/650 and Lineage 1000 customers. In Abu Dhabi, Falcon Aviation Ser-vices supports our Lineage and Legacy customers alike,” he said.

“Embraer Executive Jets offers a global network for its executive jets, close to 70 owned and authorized service centers. The network is complemented by a 24/7 customer service cen-ter at the company’s headquar-ters in São Jose dos Campos, Brazil, which offers assistance to Embraer executive jet customers anywhere in the world.” –P.S.S.

Embraer’s Lineage 1000 finds its most extensive market here in the Middle East. There are close to 70 service centers worldwide.

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Nextant debuts here with a like new 400XTiby David Donald

Buoyed by the recent 50-air-craft order to remanufacture the Hawker 400XP fleet of Travel Management Company and fresh from the launch of a new aircraft remanufacturing pro-gram, Nextant Aerospace (Cha-let B17) has brought its 400XTi light business jet to Dubai to make its airshow debut in the Middle East.

The 400XTi is based on the Hawker 400A/XP, but is reman-ufactured to create an as-new aircraft with greatly improved features. The latter include Wil-liams International FJ44-3AP engines, Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics and a new cabin that offers more space, greater comfort and very low noise levels. Life-limited items are replaced so that the aircraft is zero-lifed when it leaves the Nextant facility, and the com-pany provides the same kind of

warranty and after-sales service as an OEM would provide for new machines.

Nextant’s 400XTi provides equipment, comfort, operat-ing costs and performance that match or better those of compa-rable new-build aircraft, but at a much-reduced acquisition price. The company has received sig-nificant interest in the aircraft from the Middle East and trav-eled to Dubai to engage with potential customers. The air-craft’s 2,000-nm range covers many of the popular city-pairs flown from Gulf locations.

While buyers in the region have favored large-cabin busi-ness aircraft, Nextant president Sean McGeough suggests that the situation may be shifting. “It is a light jet,” he told AIN, “but I believe the marketplace is changing. Operators are looking to be more competitive.”

Nextant Aerospace unveiled its next remanufacturing proj-ect at last month’s NBAA show in Las Vegas in the form of the G90XT. Taking Beech-craft’s King Air 90, Nextant has engineered a complete upgrade of the aircraft, apply-ing the same principles that cre-ated the 400XTi. Key elements of the G90XT program are the installation of new engines, a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit, cleaner aerodynamics including winglets and a bespoke interior.

Prague ConnectionReplacing the King Air

90’s Pratt & Whitney PT6As are General Electric H80 tur-boprop engines. The H80 is a major redesign of the proven Walter M601, with advanced 3-D aerodynamics and state-of-the-art materials. Made in GE’s Prague facility, the engines offer increased time between over-hauls and no requirement for

hot-section inspections thanks to a simple but highly effective slinger-type combustor. Deliv-ering more power than the orig-inal engine gives the G90XT improved hot-and-high perfor-mance, yet operating costs are lower. A model of the H80 is on display at Nextant’s chalet next to the 400XTi. To reduce pilot workload the engines are controlled by a jet-like single-lever control, negating the need for propeller pitch controls. This system has been devel-oped in conjunction with Uni-son Industries.

The choice of the King Air 90 for remanufacture is a logi-cal one, with more than 1,500 in service and airframes available at reasonable prices. Nextant is selling the G90XT for $2.2 million and is taking depos-its for the initial deliveries in late 2014. Nextant is comfort-able with the short timescale of the G90XT certification pro-cess, particularly as GE already

has a King Air 90 supplemental type certificate in place for the H80 engine. The first G90XT is about to enter the remanufac-turing process, and flight test-ing is due to begin in the first quarter of 2014, with certifi-cation due in the third quarter and first deliveries scheduled for later in the year.

Both the 400XTi and G90XT are applicable for various spe-cial missions, including air-ambulance/medevac duties, and these are of significant interest in the Middle East. On display here is the Spectrum Aeromed equipment that can be turn the 400XTi from a business air-craft with a typical club-four layout into a fast, long-legged and reliable air-ambulance. In addition to medical trans-port, the G90XT offers numer-ous special-mission options, including rapid freight carriage, high-density passenger trans-port, training, surveillance and cloud-seeding. o


Nextant Aerospace is exhibiting here in Dubai for the first time. Its 400XTi (above) is a re-engined and remanufactured version of the Hawker 400. Nextant also anticipates a robust market for its similarly upgraded version of Beechcraft’s popular King Air C90 (right). The G90XT will feature GE H80 turboprop engines and Garmin G1000 avionics.

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oasis of trade

Just as oases serve as waypoints for desert trade routes, meetings such as the Dubai Airshow are also steps along the way to economic pros-perity. The show serves to refresh and replenish industry growth.

Nav CaNada traiNiNg saudi studeNts to be air traffiC CoNtrollers

Thirty students from the Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia have gone to Canada to train to become air traffic controllers as part of an agreement between Nav Canada and Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation. The students expect to complete all their required training at the Nav Centre, described by Nav Canada as its world-class training and conferencing facility in Cornwall, Ontario. Training lasts for about two academic years, at which time the students plan to seek qualification as controllers at air traffic control (ATC) facilities in their home country.

Classes started at the Nav Centre in late August. Coursework now concentrates on English-language instruction specifically designed to teach the students ICAO-standard proficiency in aviation English and in ATC phraseology.

Following language training, schedules call for students to begin studying all aspects of VFR and IFR

air traffic control. During that phase of study, students will train on advanced simulators, updated to accu-rately replicate Saudi Arabian airspace. Specific areas of study include aerodrome control, non-radar and radar approach control, air traffic management and air navigation system communications, navigation and surveillance. Plans also call for two five-day famil-iarization tours of Nav Canada facilities to provide an understanding of day-to-day operations.

“We are pleased to be working with our Saudi Ara-bian counterparts,” said Duane Clefstad, director of international training at Nav Canada. “They value our ability to custom-build courses, which sets us apart from a lot of ATC training schools. While we tailor our courses to meet the requirements of Saudi Arabia or any other jurisdiction, we do so in ways that meet ICAO standards. And our courses can start at any time during the year, on a timetable that suits the customer.” –G.P.

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Doric distances itself from bullish leasing spin-off by Peter Shaw-Smith

The dynamism of today’s airliner leas-ing business was illustrated earlier this year by the creation by German invest-ment company Doric GmbH of a sepa-rate entity, Doric Lease Corp. (DLC), to manage the assets. However, it seems that now Doric is trying to distance itself from DLC, which is busy talking up the future prospects for the A380 and seems to be keen to acquire more aircraft directly to place them on operating leases–some-thing Doric is not permitted to do as it is a regulated investment company.

Doric GmbH’s managing director, Dr. Peter Hein, conceded that relations are strained. Although there remains a connection between the two companies, Doric is seeking to prevent DLC from using the Doric trademark and is mak-ing clear that all DLC employees have “ceased to be employed or otherwise related to the Doric Group of companies as partner or adviser.”

“The only connection between the two companies is a cross-shareholding of both shareholder groups,” Hein told AIN. As of October 7, he said: “Doric at this point in time is pursuing legal action to discontinue the use of the Doric trade-mark by DLC.”

DLC was set up in Dublin to operate independently of Doric GmbH, which has 14 A380s on finance lease with Emir-ates and another five with Singapore International Airlines (SIA).

“Doric’s shareholders have expanded Doric’s existing business with the launch of Doric Lease Corp. (DLC), an oper-ating lessor company based in Dub-lin, Ireland,” the company said on June 14. “Together these Doric platforms will create a significantly enlarged business opportunity envelope for airline custom-ers and will now include principal invest-ments, in addition to UK-listed company

offerings with institutional investors, German KG distribution, as well as the continuing development of new investor jurisdictions,” Mark Lapidus, CEO of DLC, said at the time.

A380 SpecialistLapidus was quick to exploit the

advantages offered by the creation of the new entity, surfacing at the Paris Air Show this summer to sign an MoU with Airbus for 20 A380s.

“DLC focuses on larger scale trans-actions predominantly in the widebody space. Our focus nowadays is the ‘bigger the better,’” Lapidus told AIN. “We think the A380…will be attracting more new airline customers as optimal scheduling at peak airport waves drives yields in the rapidly growing 400-plus seat routes. Our niche is with the A380 primarily, but we will consider ordering other new-genera-tion widebody aircraft,” he said.

Clarifying the relationship between the two Doric entities, Lapidus said: “Doric GmbH does not order planes, but is involved only in asset management. As a regulated financial institution in Ger-many, [it] is constrained from entering into direct speculative aircraft orders.”

As such an enthusiastic proponent of the A380’s potential, Lapidus’ views are the subject of a good deal of mar-ket interest. He is happy to explain the outlook as he sees it: “There are more than 220 400-plus seat routes today and they will grow to more than 400 by the end of this decade. The larger the route, the more compelling it is to use larger aircraft due to slots and sched-uling constraints, as every airline wants to maximize capacity during the higher-yielding airport peak traffic waves.

Lapidus said that being still in the early part of the program means that

it’s too early to assess the aircraft’s true potential. “Aircraft coming back to us will be in 2026-2028 for early deliveries. Those aircraft are likely to remain with most of the customers, just like the 747s have been, but we will also be ready to reconfigure them if necessary at costs pre-agreed with Airbus...After the second lease, a freighter-conversion program is something we have started discussing.

“Currently, aircraft that are being delivered are in the adolescent part of the program, with a lifespan of longer than 25 years. It’s a brand-new and different beast from everything else.”

Airbus’s target production rate is 30 aircraft a year and the lifespan of the aircraft is estimated at around 30 years, so the potential is there; and he does not interpret the small number of cus-tomers to date as a drawback.

“One airline is talking about increas-ing its A380 fleet to 180 aircraft. [Many] would have to be built. Emirates will do what they have done with the 777; lease them a little longer. If some do come back, the market does not fully under-stand how to reconfigure them. The cost is far less than anticipated. With our price guarantees, reconfiguration costs will be less than those for the 777-300ER.

“The growth will attract more play-ers into the widebody space. When [the A380] started operating, nobody had flown more than 500 seats. Aircraft with 525 to 600 seats, even with 11 abreast downstairs, give you the lower deck comfort enjoyed on a 747-400. Airports have slots and scheduling constraints, so large capacity is needed at the right time. A lot more players [will be] stepping up.”

Lapidus also discounts the “no stop-over theory,” which says that the new A350 and 777X models, keenly antici-pated by the market in the second half of the decade, will allow passengers to fly long distances without transferring at airport hubs. In addition, he said, the 747 will be retired, “while the 747-8 is not making it. So the A380 will basi-cally have a nice advantage in hot-and-high airports.”

Four-engine aircraft won’t die out either, he believes. “Flights of 8,000 nau-tical miles are a stretch for any plane. We don’t think we’ll be exceeded by the newcomers: the A350-1000 and 777-9X. Flights of 8,000 nautical miles will not get you from South America to Tokyo. You will always need to have a stop somewhere else. Dubai-LAX is 7,200 nautical miles. SIA is dropping New York-Singapore, where it was operating the A340-500. The twins do have restrictions on performance. In ten years [from now], the A380 will be the only four-engine plane available.” o


Doric GmbH provides financing for A380s on lease to Emirates and Singapore Airlines, but wants to

separate itself from its spinoff, Doric Leasing Corp., which is keen

to branch out into operating leases.

delta magic

The familiar delta planform of Dassault’s Mirage series fighters creates elegant wingtip vortices, clearly visible when the smoke system is turned on for an aerial display.

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Jet charter operators see uptick in confidenceby Peter Shaw-Smith

Although charter providers form an important part of the Middle East aviation market they have faced tough times in recent years, unlike the region’s royal flights.

“Royalty always had money and always will have money,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice presi-dent of analysis for Teal Group, of Fairfax, Virginia. “The entre-preneur class that was growing has obviously been hit by the downturn, though,” he added.

However, some charter operators are now reporting increased business confidence. “Business jet charter declined in the region during the global economic downturn but is now returning strongly,” said Paras Dhamecha, executive direc-tor of Dubai’s Empire Aviation Group (EAG), which has more than 20 aircraft under manage-ment and operates out of Dubai International Airport.

EAG said business-jet char-ter bookings had risen 12 per-cent over the last year, and it has added five new aircraft to its management portfolio over the past 12 months. It also said 85 percent of charters were for busi-ness travel and 15 percent for lei-sure. The fleet now includes three Dassault Falcon 7Xs.

Five EAG aircraft operate from Lagos, Nigeria and it also manages and operates a Dubai-based Hawker 800XP air ambu-lance service, in association with RMSI, Dubai’s first licensed air ambulance operator.

Al Jaber AviationAnother player which is see-

ing an upturn is Al Jaber Avia-tion (AJA), whose five-aircraft fleet combines owned and man-aged aircraft (in 2014 it will take on at least two further air-craft under management). “AJA have gone through restructur-ing, where we have looked at every dirham spent internally and externally,” said Dr. Mark Pierotti, AJA’s COO. “We have looked at every function within the company, and we have tried to be more efficient and leaner. This has meant reducing head count but with the competition today in the industry we need to be [more] competitive. I think AJA have achieved this without diminishing our level of service.”

Commenting on today’s operating climate, he said that business has improved. “But still there are too many operators and still it is cut-throat at times. The MENA region as well as the subcontinent and the Far East

remain an interesting market with different aircraft size needs. The large wider-body VIP air-craft are still our flagships. Africa has always been interest-ing. AJA supply frequent VIP services to West Africa. I recog-nise that Africa is increasingly becoming more important and AJA are focusing efforts on that region.”

Execujet Eyes DWC MoveThere are other players who

are finding success in the Gulf region. “ExecuJet Middle East has quietly under the radar grown the fleet to now include 17 fully managed aircraft and seven under partial main-tenance management,” said Mike Berry, managing director, ExecuJet Middle East. “Of the 17 aircraft under full manage-ment, we have six available for commercial charter. ExecuJet do not own their aircraft and as such have no pending deliveries or open order book. What we are experiencing is an increased approach from aircraft owners to have ExecuJet manage their aircraft in either a commercial or private capacity.”

Berry hinted that ExecuJet was on the cusp of a decisive

move to Dubai World Cen-tral (DWC) and that the Dubai Airshow 2013 might serve as the backdrop for an announcement to that effect. “[We would like to] showcase our service proposi-tion and strengthen the message that we remain a global ser-vice provider committed to gen-eral aviation within the region. Hopefully by the time of the show we can confirm our con-tractual commitment to estab-lishing a presence on DWC, as to what and when.”

ExecuJet claims a healthy mix of clientele. “Generally we find that from a charter perspective there is demand from a small light jet to a larger widebody air-craft; it all depends on the flying profile of the customers, which vary from the traditional royals or high-net- worth individuals to a growing business and tour-ist demand,” he said.

MRO is also a growing part of the business. “The regional services and support mir-ror what we offer on a global basis, however, Dubai is cer-tainly one of the cornerstones of the ExecuJet footprint having undertaken significant growth and development over the past 14 years,” he said. “Today we are

an AMO for major OEMs [with] Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce approvals.”

Royal JetMeanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s

Royal Jet signed an MoU in March with Al Bateen Execu-tive Airport to expand its oper-ations at the facility. A Royal Jet release indicated that the agreement would signal a long-term shift in operations from Abu Dhabi International Air-port. “The signed MoU reflects Royal Jet’s growth and expan-sion plans through the gradual transition of its principal oper-ating base to Al Bateen Execu-tive Airport,” it said.

“Royal Jet’s operations at Al Bateen Executive Airport sig-nify the consistent and contin-uous upward growth that the private jet industry has expe-rienced in the last five years,” said Royal Jet CEO Shane O’Hare. “This supports the double-digit growth and the overall aviation strategy and is in line with Abu Dhabi’s 2030 Vision. Additionally, it com-plements our FBO facility at Abu Dhabi International Air-port, customer demand and industry needs.” o


Like the rest of the world, the Gulf region suffered a setback in business aviation activity during the fiscal crisis. However, charter operators in the region have been reporting an upsurge in business confidence, which is translating to more flying hours for the fleet.

MEBAA Looks Forward to its 2014 Event

Ali Al Naqbi, founding chairman of the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), a key figure in the development of business aviation in the region, confirmed recently that the MEBA 2014 Show will take place at the new Dubai World Central Expo site, where the current Dubai Airshow is taking place. “MEBAA has already cemented its place as the ‘voice of business avia-tion in the region.’ At the Dubai Airshow we would reiterate this position through a series of activities like seminars and workshops,” he said. He added that this year’s airshow would give MEBAA the chance to discuss measures to respond to membership growth, discuss market-based mechanisms for green gas emis-sions and participation in IBAC forums on emissions controls.

Al Naqbi believes there is a need for a “separate set of regulations for business aircraft and crew training, licensing and career progression issues to meet impending crew shortages and to improve local availability. We also need to motivate youth in the region to take up aviation as a career.”

On tackling the gray charter market, an issue which has slowed bizav’s progress in the region, he said more needed to be done. “I do feel there is progress but it is slow and measured. [We have raised] awareness of the gray market. We are in the process of appointing a study team on the subject.”

In June, MEBAA organized a bizav symposium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “We shall be having anther regional event in Saudi Arabia, by the beginning of second quarter 2014,” he said.

A recent conference was also organized to focus on African bizav in Mar-rakech, Morocco. “North Africa is an integral part [of the MEBAA region] and we are committed to developing our activity there,” Al Naqbi said. “This event [brought] MEBAA into greater focus in the North African region.” –P.S.S.

MEBAA to Promote ERP and Bizav Insurance Here

The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) will offer new guidance on Emergency Re-sponse Planning (ERP) aimed specifically at the Middle East, as well as an update on the Middle East Business Aviation Insurance Scheme (MAIS), at a series of semi-nars and workshops during the Dubai Airshow this week.

MEBAA will also host its General Assembly on Tuesday, November 19, with founding chairman Ali Al Naqbi updat-ing the association’s 215 members on MEBAA’s activities during the year. He will also outline plans for 2014, includ-ing the MEBA 2014 event in December.

MEBAA will also hold a workshop tomorrow afternoon

to update and register new members seeking coverage under MAIS. Since its launch last year at MEBA 2012, the MAIS product has grown to include seven MEBAA mem-bers insuring a fleet of more than 55 aircraft valued at a total of $1 billion.

“We have witnessed the Dubai Airshow’s continued growth since its inception and through MEBAA’s dili-gent work in the field, I’m pleased to see business avia-tion has followed suit,” Al Naqbi said. “At this year’s air show we have developed a program that we hope the attending business aviation community and our mem-bers will gain from.” –P.S.S.

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CTT touts the benefits of its Cair humidifierby Ian Goold

Sweden-based environmental equipment supplier CTT Sys-tems (Stand 2439) is promoting its Cair airliner cabin-air humid-ification system to Middle East operators, stressing the health benefits for passengers. It also provides fuselage structure zonal-drying (ZD) equipment to reduce the condensation forming above cabin ceilings and sidewalls, thus avoiding the extra weight accru-ing when the water is absorbed by noise- and thermal-insulation bags. CTT’s equipment is avail-able for the three newest large airliners: the Airbus A350 and A380 and Boeing 787.

The company has recently launched a Cair system for Boeing 777-300ER airline first-class cabins, following installa-tion on several corporate 777s; the system comprises humidifi-cation, ZD and crew-rest area applications. A similar system is standard fit on the Boeing 787 and available for executive vari-ants, for which CTT sees a local Middle East/Gulf market for up to four aircraft.

The equipment is offered as an option on the new Airbus A350

and the A380; German carrier Lufthansa selected the Cair equip-ment for its A380 first-class cabins (and is seen as a potential customer for its 747-8 fleet). CTT Systems sales and marketing vice-president Peter Landquist told AIN that there is “a good chance” of selec-tion for the upgraded 777X.

Alongside the 777, Landquist sees the Airbus A330 as a good retrofit opportunity for “a very neat system of one humidifier for first class and one or two zonal dryers.” Among smaller jetliners, CTT is running a trial with UK low-cost carrier (LCC) Easyjet on four Airbus A320s, while local LCC FlyDubai has its ZD equip-ment on its 737-800s. Easyjet suggests that the equipment can

reduce moisture by up to 250 kg (550 pounds) on each flight.

The equipment has been selected for more than 50 cor-porate aircraft (such as Boeing Business Jets–777 and 747-8 models–and Airbus A320 and A330 corporate jets), and CTT sees smaller business jets as a potential market.

Its focus in the Arab mar-ket is concentrated on the Cair system, with FlyDubai’s 737s used for reference. “This region doesn’t suffer [the] condensa-tion-related problems [of] more moist and cold locations,” according to Landquist.

He said that local airlines’ “response and understanding for the need to introduce the system has been quite good, but it is a discussion of who shall become the first [customer].” CTT said twin-aisle operators are most interested “as [such aircraft] are used for long-distance opera-tion. It is a huge market, as all the Arabian carriers offer first-class [cabins], which is our focus.” Operators such as Emirates here in Dubai, or Singapore Airlines (SIA) in equatorial Asia, are seen as very good candidates for 777 applications, but Landquist does not expect to announce orders before early 2014. (Since 2007, SIA has operated CTT humidifi-ers in A380 crew-rest areas.)

Humidifying the 777-300ER first-class cabin can increase the air-moisture content for premium passengers “from the insanitary 5-percent level to 20 to 25 percent without significant impact on payload/range,” said CTT. “Cair is based on operator requirements and demand for an economical system, [and] increased humid-ity will enhance [travelers’] overall in-flight experience–more rested with less negative impact from jet-lag [and] without skin, eye and throat problems. Higher humidity [also] restores the delicate taste of food and wine–flavors lost in the drier cabin ambience.”

CTT claims that demand for humidification is growing steadily. The equipment is sup-plier-furnished equipment on the A350, with the manufacturer also reporting more frequent airline requests for retrofit availability.

The B777-300ER system’s net weight is negligible, claims CTT, a characteristic attributed to the company’s “unique” ZD tech-nology, and the low consumption

rate (3.2 liters/hour, or an over-all 43 liters on a 15-hour flight) of the humidifiers, which means that operators do not need to carry additional water. Total in-service system weight is put at 58 kg (128 pounds), while estimated retrofit installation time is about 180 hours.

Landquist said current cabin-air arrangements provide a para-dox. “The objective is to increase passenger experience and well-being to motivate the premium price. The fact that passen-gers paying the most have been exposed to insanitary dry air has long been an eyesore for the industry. From now on, they can fully benefit from airline invest-ments in new, better first-class cabins,” he commented.

On long-haul flights, passen-gers and crew are exposed to rel-ative humidity levels of 7 to 10 percent in business- and 10 to 15 percent in economy-class cabins because of the closer seating (rel-ative to that in first-class areas), according to Landquist. “Ironi-cally, the cabin with [lowest] seat density and the highest cost/seat [has] the lowest humidity. Several medical studies conclude that a slight increase of relative humid-ity is beneficial, as the increase improves tear-film stability and nasal patency (increasing resis-tance to viral infections and so forth). It also reduces headaches, as well as ocular, nasal and der-mal dryness symptoms.”

Landquist acknowledges ZD and flight-deck humidifier reli-ability problems during initial 787 service, for which CTT has devel-oped a system upgrade involving new part numbers introduced via a Boeing service bulletin. o


Honeywell signs two dealership agreements by Peter Shaw-Smith

Honeywell Aerospace has signed two dealership agree-ments with Middle East-based companies to improve business and general aviation operators’ access to sales and services, the company announced.

Honeywell (Stand 2336) inked an avionics dealership and service center agreement with Hawker Pacific (Stand 1378) to enhance its approved business and general aviation channel partner network in the Middle East. This will improve sales, installation and aftermarket sup-port in the Middle East for Hon-eywell’s wide range of avionics products and services includ-ing cockpit avionics and satellite communication technologies for both the cockpit and cabin.

Honeywell Aerospace also signed an avionics dealership agreement with Jeddah-based Arabian Aircraft Services (Arabasco) of Saudi Arabia, to increase installation capa-bility and reduce servicing time for Honeywell avionics-equipped business and general aviation operators across the Middle East.

The agreement with Arab-asco (Chalet B8, B9) will give operators access to a

Honeywell-approved avionics service center in Saudi Arabia that can provide maintenance, retrofits, modifications and upgrades to operators of Hon-eywell-equipped aircraft. The latest agreement represents an upgrade of Arabasco’s existing Honeywell servicing capability, for the company’s TFE731 engine family. Arab-asco has been an aviation ser-vices provider in the kingdom for 27 years.

“Minimizing grounding time through more efficient, accessi-ble servicing, meeting mandates and enhancing the value of busi-ness aviation aircraft through technology are top priorities for our operators,” said Andy Gill, senior director, Honeywell Aerospace aftermarket EMEAI. “Our partnership with Arab-asco, a company with nearly three decades of experience in servicing and ground support in the Middle East, is the latest example of how we are meeting this need and making it easier for our customers in Saudi Ara-bia and across the region to keep their fleets flying and up-to-date with the latest Honeywell tech-nology,” said Gill.

“Hawker Pacific is a valuable addition to our dealer network in the Middle East, said Gill. “Our two companies already have a long-standing and successful full-service agreement in Austra-lia. With this latest announce-ment operators in the Middle East can now benefit from faster, local access to Hawker Pacific’s product expertise and aftermar-ket care for a wide range of our business and general aviation products and services.” o

right this way

The main entrance to Dubai Airshow 2013 is a bustling place. Visitors and exhibitors pass through these portals by the thousands over the course of the five-day trade show. The new location of the event here at Al Maktoum International Airport represents an expansion and an improvement over the previous venue.

Boeing’s selection of CTT zonal dryers as standard fit on the 787 has been a good thing for the Swedish supplier, which is marketing the equipment to commercial 777-300ER operators. CTT reports positive discussions with Dubai carrier Emirates Airline, which would be the “perfect” launch customer.

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Airbus targets 2030 for hybrid 100-seatersby Thierry Dubois

EADS has set itself an ambitious target for its E-Thrust hybrid propulsion concept, a joint effort with British engine maker Rolls-Royce that went relatively unnoticed when it was revealed at the Paris Air Show in June. The E-Airbus, under its new moni-ker, is to enter into service in 2030 as a 100-seat regional aircraft. The announcement of the schedule and market segment came

during a conference held in Paris in Sep-tember, where the French government out-lined its latest industrial policy.

Rolls-Royce (Stand 1845) expects distributed hybrid propulsion will dra-matically cut noise and fuel burn. “Dis-tributed” means a greater number of fans replace the usual two bigger, heavier turbofans. According to EADS chief

technology officer Jean Botti, the E-Air-bus will have six electric fans. They will be distributed along the wingspan in clusters of three. The bypass ratio (or its equivalent number for such a system) is expected to be in excess of 20.

A major benefit of the distributed pro-pulsion system is that it can be integrated into the airframe’s structure allowing the airflow around it to be optimized, while also reducing the aircraft’s weight, drag and noise level, according to Rolls-Royce. Botti referred to Europe’s Flightpath 2050 goals, which call for cuts of 75 percent in CO2 emissions, 90 percent in NOx emis-sions and 65 percent in noise, compared to 2000 levels, although he didn’t clarify where the E-Airbus would position itself in 2030.

An additional efficiency gain appears possible if the boundary layer is “ingested” and accelerated by the fans. Such a re-energizing process reduces the aircraft’s wake and hence its drag. How-ever, the airflow into the fans is not uni-form, therefore, the fan blades must be able to withstand the distorted, unsteady intake. Rolls-Royce is currently develop-ing this type of blade at its University Technology Centre in Cambridge.

One gas power unit (a turbofan con-nected to a generator) will provide the electric power for the six fans and for recharging the energy storage. Initial results from the Airbus study indicate that a single large gas power unit has advan-tages over two or more smaller gas power units, reducing noise and allowing the fil-tering of particles in the long exhaust duct.

The serial hybrid architecture offers the possibility to improve overall effi-ciency by allowing the separate optimiza-tion of the thermal efficiency of the gas power unit (producing electrical power) and the propulsive efficiency of the fans (producing thrust). It also makes it possi-ble to downsize the gas power unit and to optimize it for cruise.

The additional power required for takeoff will be provided by the electric energy storage. In the cruise phase, the gas power unit will provide the cruise power and the power to recharge the bat-teries. During the first part of the descent,

the E-Airbus will be a glider and the gas power unit will be switched off. Then, the fans will start windmilling, also pro-ducing electricity. For the landing phase, the gas power unit is restarted to provide redundancy (backup thrust in case the aircraft needs to go around).

The storage system’s energy density is expected on the order of 1,000 Wh/kg, more than doubling today’s best perfor-mance. Lithium-air batteries are seen as the most promising solution as they are lighter, using oxygen from the air as the oxidizer (thus air acts as the cathode); how-ever, they are not commercially available.

For the megawatt range power levels required, EADS (Stand 410) and Rolls-Royce are counting on superconductivity. This phenomenon of zero electric resis-tance occurs in certain materials when they are cooled below a critical temper-ature, and allows electric system compo-nents–such as wiring–to be much smaller,

lighter and more efficient. On the E-Air-bus, cryogenic cooling may have to reach -252C (about 21 Kelvin, that is, above absolute zero, which is -273.15 C). One candidate technology is available today for space applications, said EADS.

In addition to the wires, the hub-mounted motor will be superconduct-ing. The operating principle starts with a superconducting stator that generates a powerful electromagnetic field that rotates around the circumference. Electromagnetic torque is created by effectively aligning the rotor’s and the stator’s magnetic fields. The superconducting machine replaces the copper and iron stator structure of a con-ventional machine. It is a much more pow-erful, lighter and low-loss design. o


EADS Sets Out Path To Electric Light Aviation

EADS has an ongoing partnership with Siemens and Diamond Aircraft on serial hybrid propulsion. The three companies announced the first flight, in June near Vienna, Austria, of a DA36 E-Star 2 motorglider, the propeller of which was driven by an electric motor. The batteries were recharged in-flight via a small Wankel-type engine.

Separately, the European group is already developing the E-Fan, an electric two-seater for pilot training. – T.D.

The E-Airbus will have six electric fans and one gas power unit that will act as both a turbofan and a generator.

AIN is serious editorial, designed to attract and engage its readers — in print and online. Isn’t that where you want your message?

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SINGAPORE AIRSHOW NEWS (February 11 – 13, 2014)

Three daily news-fresh editions: Your print message seen by thousands attending the show. Issues available at all show hotels as early as 6:00 a.m. at every show entrance, exhibit and chalet.

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ACJ319 cabin boasts ‘mini-suites’Airbus Corporate Jet Cen-

ter (ACJC), a specialist in Air-bus Corporate Jet executive cabin completions, recently delivered its 24th aircraft. The project is a strong showcase for the Tou-louse-based facility’s capabilities, since it involved the development

and integration more than 15 new technologies to meet an unidentified customer’s demand-ing requirements in terms of lay-out design, comfort and systems.

The cabin layout is based on two main major zones with accommodations for up to 19

passengers. A large forward din-ing room and executive lounge allows for as many as 12 passen-gers and combines a work ar-ea of one four-club and a one two-club work areas, as well as a rest area with two large sofas surrounding four mechanically

articulated cocktail tables. From there, the configuration departs dramatically from what is typi-cal in an ACJ layout.

The second zone aft provides 10 private “mini-suites,” five on each side of the main aisle. Each is equipped with a large, electri-cally articulated seat that extends fully flat for berthing, a 32-inch monitor and a local remote to control in-flight entertainment, lighting and the environment. The suites also include substan-tial storage areas and a mini-bar.

A unique satellite antenna permits not only global in-flight television, but also the GSM global system for mobile voice communication and Ku-band high-speed Internet connectivity.

As to the cabin environment, there are electrically operated window shades, and a starlight array highlights the upholstered ceilings and carpets. Mood light-ing uses the brighter, vivid color technology, including a “night” ambiance.

Large, Elegant LavAlso part of the interior

design is “a large and elegant” aft lavatory, equipped with a full-height shower and a timer system to ensure the same quan-tity of hot water to every passen-ger. The lavatory floor is heated, and mirrors are imprinted using a silkscreen process.

Adding to the unique décor are decorative materials used for the panels and partitions of the VIP zones, including wood veneer with metal inlay and metal-deposit 3-D modeling.

“This latest cabin has reached a new step in terms of cabin in-novation with new technologies and decorative materials nev-er seen aboard an Airbus Cor-porate Jet,” said ACJC CEO Benoit Defforge.

At the Dubai Air Show, ACJC is exhibiting an ACJ318 and an ACJ319. As of the end of 2013, there will be 13 Airbus Corporate Jets in service in the Middle East that were outfitted by ACJC. Two more are scheduled for deliv-ery to Middle East clients by the end of 2014. –K.J.H.


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UAE pre-clearance base opposed by U.S. Congressby Bill Carey

Airline industry organiza-tions have welcomed new leg-islation introduced in the U.S. Congress that would prevent the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency from opening a customs preclearance facility in the UAE.

U.S. representatives Patrick Meehan, a Pennsylvania Republi-can, and Peter DeFazio, a Demo-crat from Oregon, introduced the legislation on November 14. If approved by the full Congress, it would block CBP’s planned open-ing of a U.S. customs processing facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport and set requirements by which the agency can open a new facility. It would require the Department of Homeland Secu-rity (DHS), CBP’s parent agency, to provide Congressional com-mittees with an assessment of the economic and national security impact of any new facility. The Meehan-DeFazio legislation has 59 co-sponsors in Congress.

In April, the DHS nego-tiated an agreement with the UAE government to establish the pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi’s airport. By screening people early in the travel cycle, the department contends, CBP officers could protect against high-risk passengers seeking entry to the U.S. and help relieve customs lines at major ports of entry, including New York JFK,

Chicago O’Hare, Washington Dulles and Los Angeles Interna-tional airports. Under the agree-ment negotiated by the parties, the UAE will reimburse 85 per-cent of the cost of operating the pre-clearance facility.

Which Airlines Benefit?No U.S. airline currently flies

between Abu Dhabi and the U.S., and airline groups argue that the pre-clearance facility would ben-efit only Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi’s government-owned air-line. Passengers traveling to the U.S. from Asia or Europe could choose to fly Etihad and connect through Abu Dhabi to avoid long customs lines on arrival in the U.S. The CBP does operate cus-toms pre-clearance facilities at airports in Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean that are served by U.S. carriers.

“It’s ridiculous that U.S. gov-ernment policy would encour-age travelers to use foreign airlines instead of U.S. carriers,” stated Meehan, announcing the new leg-islation. “While pursuing strong border and customs policies, we should not be hurting American workers by giving an advantage to a state-subsidized foreign air-line. This bipartisan bill will cor-rect this misguided policy.”

The Airline Pilots Associa-tion (ALPA) which represents pilots at 32 airlines in the U.S.

and Canada; and Airlines for America (A4A), the trade group that represents major U.S. air-lines, lead a coalition of several travel industry organizations that oppose the Abu Dhabi pre-clearance facility. Both groups issued statements applauding the Meehan-DeFazio bill.

According to ALPA, the leg-islation would require an eco-nomic impact analysis before CBP could establish any new pre-clearance facility, “including any potential facilities at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Maktoum International Air-port and Dubai International Airport in the UAE, or at Doha International Airport in Qatar.”

The planned pre-clearance facility in Abu Dhabi “would benefit only Etihad Airways, the heavily state-supported national airline,” the pilots union said. “It is U.S. airlines and their employ-ees, not their state-backed for-eign competitors, that should benefit from a marketing advan-tage provided by the U.S. govern-ment as they compete to prevail in the global economic arena.”

A4A said it has “consistently advocated that DHS use its resources to focus on addressing lengthy wait times at several U.S. gateway airports, which inconve-nience U.S. citizens and discour-age travel to the United States. Despite strong objections from members of Congress and the U.S. aviation industry, the Admin-istration is moving forward with its misguided decision to estab-lish a CBP pre-clearance facility in Abu Dhabi, an airport that no U.S. carriers currently serve.” o


news clips

z Geven, Aeropair Sign Seat Support AgreementItalian seat manufacturer Geven and Scotland-based

repair specialist Aeropair have signed an agreement for aftersales support of Geven’s seats in the Middle East. Locally, Geven has provided aircraft seats for Air Arabia’s Airbus A320s and business class seats for FlyDubai’s Boeing 737s. An Aeropair parts production and repair facility is located near Al Maktoum International Airport here in Dubai. Aeropair is here (Stand 2736) exhibiting Geven’s Piuma Evo economy seat.

z Nesma Switches to Air BP LubricantsEgypt’s Nesma Airlines, which operates two leased Airbus

A320-200s, has announced a change of lubricant manufacturer as it seeks to combat the hot desert conditions involved in flying in the Middle East.

Three years ago, Nesma started using Air BP Lubricants’s High Performance Capable Turbine Oil 2197. According to Air BP Lubricants, “The recommendation to switch oils came from the aircraft’s former operator, who had previously experienced the added benefits of using BPTO 2197 in other aircraft.”

“We chose to take the advice of the aircraft’s previous operator and change to BPTO 2197 firstly because of the high quality of the oil and also because of the excellent customer support offered by Air BP Lubricants in Egypt,” said Nesma Airlines engineering manager Khaled Saif. “Since using BPTO 2197 we have had a reduction in engine maintenance and costs, as well as a decline in oil coking propensity.”

Air BP claims the airline is now experiencing “better engine performance, reduced maintenance issues and notable cost savings, an impressive achievement for an airline operating in the Middle Eastern climate.”

z AkzoNobel Paint System Wins AMS ApprovalU.S.-based AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings, a division of

International Paints, has reported qualification of one of its base-coat products to the Aerospace Material Specification (AMS) standard, which governs the use of metals for aircraft manufacture and MRO.

AkzoNobel (Stand 1163) said it has qualified its direct-to-metal base-coat/clear-coat system to AMS 3095A. The product’s benefits to paint shops include providing one paint system for any type of commercial aircraft, reduced operational complexity and lower paint inventory costs. Airlines also benefit from reduced paint inventory costs.

“A direct-to-metal system eliminates the need to use any kind of metal pre-treatment such as Alodine, Solgel or Wash primer technologies,” the company said. “The primer is applied directly to clean Scotch-Brited substrate. The primer itself provides the necessary adhesion and corrosion resistance to meet the stringent specification requirements.”

AkzoNobel claims that use of its product will contribute to making “variability of aircraft appearance within a fleet a thing of the past.”

z Rolls-Royce Delivers 1,500th AE 2100 EngineRolls Royce (Stand 1845) celebrated last week the

completion of the 1,500th AE 2100 engine, destined for installation on a Lockheed Martin C-130J and scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force next year. The engine is manufactured and assembled at the company’s Indianapolis, Indiana facility. More than 300 of the four-engined C-130J military transports have been delivered or are on order to customers in 15 countries, according to Rolls-Royce. The company’s firm and announced order book stood at over $110 billion on June 30, 2013. “Delivery of the 1,500th AE 2100 engine marks an important accomplishment for Rolls-Royce,” said John Gallo, president of defense programs at the company.

set ‘er down right here

The latest Bell 412 is here in Dubai. The 412EPI features more powerful fadec-controlled engines and glass panel avionics. Abu Dhabi Aviation will receive the first in the region in the coming weeks.

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Farnborough International to improve again in 2014

Farnborough International has reported that sales of space at the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow (Stand 1375) have almost reached 80 per-cent, with more than six months remain-ing before the show opens next year (July 14 to 20). More than 16 percent of the current applicants are first-time exhibi-tors, and there is an increase in interna-tional participation. France, Japan and Switzerland are expanding the size of their national pavilions, and there is growing interest in the show from companies in the MENA region.

By the end of this month construc-tion is due to have begun on new chalets in Row A, which will be permanent struc-tures to replace the former temporary units. Sales of these spaces are already at 95 percent, and exhibitors appreci-ate the promise of reduced fit-out costs,

permanent power/water supplies and waste facilities and improved on-site park-ing. With some already existing pavilions, the Farnborough site is moving towards a more permanent installation.

Space Zone Sold OutFarnborough continues to diversify

the show to offer more for exhibitors. The Space Zone has been developed and is already sold out, while the Intelligent Sys-tems Zone (formerly Unmanned Systems Showcase) is also drawing a great deal of interest. For the 2014 show a dedicated small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) lounge is being developed. Work-ing in partnership with ADS, the UK’s aerospace trade association, packages for small/medium companies have been cre-ated to promote greater UK SME partic-ipation in the show. –D.D.

CFM56 reaches a milestone; 25,000 delivered and counting by David Donald

In May this year the French-U.S. joint venture CFM International deliv-ered the 25,000th example of its CFM56 turbofan, which powers Boeing Next-Generation 737s and the Airbus single-aisle family. Last month the 10,000th CFM56-7B for the 737 family was deliv-ered, while next month deliveries of CFM56-5s for Airbus will pass 8,500. As well as these two influential single-aisle aircraft lines, the CFM56 also powers the Airbus A340-200/300.

By the time of the Dubai Airshow the number of deliveries had climbed to 25,600 and orders continue to come in strongly, despite the transition of pro-duction to the new LEAP engine fam-ily, which was introduced in 2008. CFM International (Stand 1881) reports that by the end of October the 2013 order book for the CFM56 stood at 1,172, taking total sales of the engine to more than 30,360. “In nearly 32 years of ser-vice–more than 25,000 engines–we have

never once delayed an aircraft,” com-mented Jean-Paul Ebanga, CFM’s presi-dent and CEO. “It is an incredible record and we are very proud of what we have accomplished.”

The General Electric/Safran part-nership expects to deliver around 1,500 engines this year and a similar number in 2014. By 2019 it aims to produce more than 1,700 engines, but the overall annual figure will increasingly comprise the LEAP range, which has been selected for the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX and Comac C919 families. Despite the transition to LEAP production, CFM International has forecast that, based on the current active fleet of 18,000 engines, it will be still producing parts for the CFM56 beyond 2040.

This year CFM International had taken 1,255 LEAP orders by the end of October, out of a then-total of 5,607 engine orders. The company’s current backlog for both types of engine stands at 10,000. o

CFM Leap-1A notches up test hours, sales numbersby Thierry Dubois

CFM International announced on the eve of the Dubai Airshow that it had closed the sale of Leap-1A engines to Pegasus Airlines for its Airbus A320neo/A321neo orders. The Snecma-GE joint venture also gave an update on Leap-1A testing. Separately, the French state has announced a divestiture of at least 3.6 percent of shares in Safran (Snecma’s parent company).

The engine deal finalized with Turkey’s Pegasus was announced last July and is worth $4.3 billion at list prices, includ-ing a 20-year service agreement. Deliver-ies will take place between 2016 and 2022, and the 200 turbofans ordered will power the 100 Airbuses that Pegasus is buying.

The first Leap-1A has now come off its test stand. Trials began at GE’s outdoor

facility in Peebles, Ohio on September 4 and included 300 hours and 400 cycles. The next milestone will be icing tests, scheduled for 2014 at GE’s testing, research and devel-opment center in Winnipeg, Canada.

The flight test aircraft for the Leap, a former Pan Am 747, is being prepared at GE Aviation’s Victorville, Calif. facility, visited by AIN last month.

Meanwhile, the French government’s plan is to sell some of its Safran shares. The final percentage will be somewhere between 3.6 and 4.7, which will bring the French state’s share down to 22.4 to 23.5 percent. AIN calculates this could result in a €900 million ($1.2 billion) gain for the government. Earlier this year, the French state sold 3.12 percent of its Safran shares. o

With creative applications in mind, hav is reviving lta hopes

This could be the shape of things to come–moving cargo into remote loca-tions on a large, lighter-than-air (LTA) craft. Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) of the UK is still pushing the LTA concept for a variety of missions, despite the early demise of the U.S. Army’s Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) surveillance program. HAV provided the design and key components to Northrop Grumman for the LEMV, which fell behind schedule and flew only once, in August 2012.

HAV has now bought the disassembled LEMV and is returning it to the UK. The company told AIN that the single test flight went according to plan, but the program was the victim of Pentagon budget cuts. The 300-foot long, option-ally manned LEMV was the largest LTA vehicle to fly since the early 1960s, HAV said. The company plans to air-inflate what it calls the HAV 304 next January and it could be flying again by the end of next year, in a drive for civil certification.

HAV believes that other customers could emerge for long-endurance surveil-lance missions. Beyond that, the hybrid airship design could be scaled to offer an attractive, low-cost, environmentally friendly airlifter with payloads from 20 to 200 tons. –C.P.

With a welcome market on the wings of Boeing 737s and Airbus single-aisle airliners, CFM International delivered the 25,000th example of its CFM56 turbofan last May, with no signs of a slowdown.

Despite a setback involving a U.S. military program, the concept of lighter-than-air (LTA) aircraft may be in line for a resurgence with UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles.

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Russia aims to expand military helicopter salesby Vladimir Karnozov

Military cooperation between Russia and Middle East will certainly be boosted with the recent appointment of Alexan-der Mikheyev, formerly deputy general manager at arms vendor Rosoboronexport, as the general manager at the Russian Helicop-ters holding company (Chalet C9). The decision was made on September 24 and is understood to be a move aimed at boosting sales of Russian military helicop-ters in the global market.

Established in 2007, the Rus-sian Helicopters company unites two design houses–Mil and Kamov; five mass production plants (in Rostov-upon-Don, Kazan, Ulan-Ude, Kumertau and Arsentiev); and a number of first- and second-tier suppliers. Last year its income rose by 21 percent, up to Rouble 125.7 bil-lion, with 290 rotorcraft deliver-ies to customers worldwide.

Russian Helicopters has a plan to increase annual pro-duction of rotorcraft up to 470 machines in 2020, with a sub-sequent rise in revenues up to Rouble 240 billion.

“Our company is already one of the world leaders on the

global market for rotorcraft,” said Mikheyev. “We will further expand our product line in the segment of light helicopters and also enlarge our service network and its share in the income from aftersales support.”

Commenting on the new ap-pointment, Sergei Chemezov, head of Rostec–Russian Tech-nologies State Corporation (which controls 663 enterprises, including those in the defense and rotorcraft industries), and formerly head of Rosoboronex-port, under whose command Mikheyev served for a dozen years–said that under the new leader Russian Helicopters “has the task of strengthening their positions in the international markets and improving produc-tion efficiency.” He added that this task calls for an increase in the Russian Helicopters’ mar-ket share from 14 percent today up to 18 to 20 percent in 2020 “through expansion of our presence in the Commonwealth of Independent States, China, the Middle East, India, Africa and Latin America.”

Mentioning the Middle East after the two largest countries of

the world and the biggest import-ers of the Russian military hard-ware is symbolic. Last year Iraq signed a framework multibillion-dollar agreement with Russia for the purchase of some advanced weaponry–the first since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. It calls for deliveries of Pantsyr sur-face-to-air missiles (SAMs) and Mil Mi-28ME attack helicopters. Saddam’s Iraq was the intended launch customer for the initial Mi-28 back in the 1980s, when the type was being developed and not yet even selected by Rus-sia’s own military forces.

Iran is another keen importer of Russian rotorcraft in the region. It has been operating dozens of Mi-17 series heli-copters in both governmen-tal and private structures, and even tried to establish a full- service MRO facility able to perform major overhaul on the

Mi-17. In addition, Iran has long been negotiating license production of a customized ver-sion of the Kamov Ka-32. The list of Russian-made weapons in that country is long, from Kalashnikov assault rifles (pro-duced locally under license) up to MiG-29 jet fighters, Il-76 air-lifters and S-200 long-range sur-face-to-air systems.

Syria has also been a major importer of Russian weapons, but the stock of its governmen-tal armed forces has been much depleted by the ongoing civil war. Before the uprising started, and later, the following systems have been mentioned as going into this country: “Elements” of the S-300 long-range SAM, Pechora-2A and Pantsyr medium-range SAMs and Bastion land-based anti-ship missile complex.

MiG-29M/M2 fighters, some of which have been assembled

for the Syrian air force, remain in Russia, but their destiny is unclear. Government forces have been employing Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 helicopters against the rebels, and some of them have fallen victim to ground fire. Russia was contracted to overhaul and upgrade the Mil fleet, but the process of shipping reworked rotorcraft back to Syria came under fire from crit-ics in democratic countries and seems to have been halted.

Pressure from critics has been also been applied to the Mi-17 series helicopters going to another country in the region, Afghan-istan. Another traditional user of Russian weaponry, this poor and unsettled country has contin-ued to suffer from the activities of global terrorist movements, and is receiving financial and material support from the U.S. and other NATO countries.

Despite having strong aero-space industries and aggressive manufacturers, the U.S. some-times prefers using more ro-bust and dust-resistant Russian rotorcraft to support soldiers on Afghan soil. The Pentagon has placed repeated orders for Mi-17 helicopters for use in Afghan-istan (including by the Afghan government forces). Some of the newly supplied rotorcraft go to their destinations via the Unit-ed Arab Emirates, where media-tor companies and support cen-ters have been established. o


Russia aims to expand its product line and to boost global sales of its

military helicopters, such as the Mi-26 (top) and the Mi-17.

UTC ‘smart seat’ has its own miniclimateby Charles Alcock

UTC Aerospace Systems is introducing a business aircraft seat that it believes will set a new standard in cabin ergonomics. It features wireless technology to allow passengers to control the seat itself as well as wide array of cabin management options including climate, connectivity, lighting and entertainment sys-tems. Travelers in the Model 1 seat will effectively be able to create a microclimate in which the temperature is adjusted to their personal preference with-out causing discomfort to fel-low passengers.

According to the company, which was formed last year to encompass UTC’s acquisition of Goodrich and its existing Ham-ilton Sundstrand business, the new seat puts the passenger’s pref-erences first for all aspects of a flight, including work, entertain-ment, dining and rest. It is the first seat developed under the umbrella

of UTC’s new interiors division and has tapped technology from various parts of the U.S.-based group, most notably its Specialty Seating Systems division.

The seat and other cabin management features can be controlled from a touch-screen unit provided by UTC or via a special application using an iPad/iPod or other similar smart devices. The seat also features a pair of USB ports, a connec-tion jack for headphones, a 110-volt power outlet and an arm for holding tablet devices.

User FriendlyThe use of wireless actuation

and new methods for distrib-uting climate-controlled air to passengers without fans has re-duced the weight of the seat and, according to UTC, will make the product easier to upgrade and adapt. There is also no need for the seat’s leather upholstery to

be perforated for air-condition-ing purposes, nor is a thermal pad required for heating.

The layout of the control unit itself can be tailored to match the architecture and equipment specifications of each individual aircraft. The fact that executive jet seats tend to be large means that it is harder for passengers to reach over armrests to access tra-ditional manual control levers and this makes the functionality of the wireless control units all the more advantageous.

New electric functions that would be manually controlled on traditional seats include the track and swivel features, which no longer require cabling. The control unit can be preset to automatically return the chair to the position required for taxi, takeoff and landing, but the passenger can also use it to move the seat in any direc-tion, including side to side, as

well as adjusting the positioning of head-rests and footrests. The new seats can be installed in standard tracking units in the floor of business air-craft cabins.

According to Rob Summers, manager of UTC’s Specialty Seating Systems busi-ness, the fundamentally differ-ent approach to climate control around the seat will give air-conditioning system develop-ers an opportunity to “rethink” their own equipment. UTC is already a supplier of air man-agement systems for commer-cial airliners.

Some aspects of the climate control interface with the seat are still under development through consultation with prospective cus-tomers. UTC intends to have the seat in service by the first quarter of 2015. It has not disclosed pric-ing for the new product.

According to Summers, the Model 1 would be well suited to the existing Dassault Fal-con, Embraer Legacy and

Bombardier Challenger and Global family aircraft, as well as to the larger Boeing Business Jets and Airbus Corporate Jets. With some adjustment, UTC (Stand 1854) hopes to leverage the new technology to produce similar seats for smaller aircraft. o

UTC Aerospace Systems is launching its new Model 1 seat featuring wireless controls for the seat itself, as well as for cabin management functions such as air conditioning.

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Embraer E-Jets ‘connect’ in Middle East regionby Gregory Polek

The Middle East and north-ern Africa have become fertile areas for marketers at Brazil’s Embraer, now the undisputed leader in terms of fleet presence in the region among the world’s regional airliner manufacturers. Of course, the nearly decade-long effort to gain a foothold in a region long considered the virtually exclusive domain of widebodies didn’t yield imme-diate results, but Embraer’s per-sistence has undoubtedly paid handsome dividends.

Speaking with AIN in the weeks leading up to the Dubai Air Show, Embraer Commer-cial Aviation vice president for the Middle East and Africa Mathieu Duquesnoy noted that the E-Jet family ranks as the sec-ond most-operated aircraft type within the Middle East after the Airbus A320.

He pointed out that fifteen E-Jets are flying with Saudi Ara-bian Airlines, 15 with Nasair, 12 with Egyptair, eight with Royal Jordanian, five with Oman Air and three with Libya’s Petro Air, accounting for 78- to 79-percent of the market for regional jets carrying more than 70 seats.

“We used a lot of effort to prove the case for this segment, and that, of course, was the first milestone for us: to demonstrate the requirement for this size of

the equipment,” said Duques-noy. “So we did a lot of work on the marketing side educating the Middle East to go for this smaller capacity equipment…In North America and in Europe, we had this 50-seater revolu-tion. This never happened in the Middle East for a lot of reasons. That’s why you have more [70-seat] E170s in the Middle East than [100-seat] E190s.”

“Rightsizing” proved key in this part of the world, said Duquesnoy, as carriers began to appreciate the value of fly-ing airplanes such as the E170 in markets formerly served by sin-gle-aisle mainline jets or even

widebodies. Some six years after the first E170 entered service in the region, carriers now show a readiness to switch to 100-seat-ers, he added. “It’s about to hap-pen,” he insisted.

“So we have a lot of interest in the 100-seater from all these airlines…What is very interest-ing is that the product is very well accepted in this demanding part of the world,” said Duques-noy. “Passengers are spoiled by the likes of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, but they really see value. Why? Because the E-Jet enables the connectivity that the bigger aircraft cannot accommodate.”

Oman Air, for example, now flies high frequencies between Oman and Abu Dhabi; Egyptair used the E170 to establish its Egyptair Express subsidiary, connecting Cairo to such tourist destinations as Sharm el Sheikh and doubling domestic traffic within three months of adopt-ing E-Jets. In the Levant, Royal Jordanian has developed a high-frequency model with its E175s

and E195s that has shown par-ticular promise for further development in that part of the world, said Duquesnoy.

In North Africa, Embraer just started operations with Royal Air Maroc with two E190s for what Duquesnoy called a test period prior to the airline’s expected launch of a request for proposal later this year.

Even in the Gulf region Embraer sees opportunities, particularly with the likes of Qatar Airways, long considered a prime target for the Bombar-dier CSeries. “Yes, of course, we are talking to Qatar Airways as we are talking to all parties in the region,” said Duquesnoy. “And obviously we feel there would be great possibilities in the develop-ment of a partnership between Qatar Airways and Embraer.”

Of the four types of E-Jets in the region, only the E195–the largest of the family–flies with Royal Jordanian, which operates the airplane on routes as long as four hours to points such as Kiev, Tunis and Muscat as a so-called complement to its A320 service.

Certainly Embraer would like to see more cross-border use of the E-Jets in the region, but so-called liberalization in the Middle East has proved slow in coming. “It is getting there,” said Duquesnoy. “Of course it takes time for this to happen, as it took time in other parts of the world. But there is no rea-son why it would not happen. So we’ve seen some countries that have started to open up–the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being a good example–with the addi-tional licenses that have been granted now [to Qatar Airways and Gulf Air].”

Although the likes of Emir-ates have long eschewed the use of regional jets in favor of ded-icating resources to more prof-itable trans-global networks, Duquesnoy said Embraer talks with “everybody” because, ulti-mately, the company believes the region needs the same sort

of “connectivity” as in North America, Europe and, increas-ingly Asia. In response, Embraer opened a spare parts distribu-tion center in Dubai and a ser-vice center in Egypt; meanwhile, two E-Jet flight simulators–one in Jordan and the other in Saudi Arabia–serve the region.

“We want to continue to develop this network of solu-tions because this is what the market requires, and this is what ultimately brings value to oper-ators,” stressed Duquesnoy. “It’s interesting to note that some of our operators in this part of the world [demonstrate] among the highest reliability of the worldwide fleets, even though we know that the Middle East is a complicated environment to operate in, with the sand, with the humidity and the hot temperatures.”

Regional AdaptationsE-Jets in the region fly with

adaptations specifically designed for such a harsh environment, said Duquesnoy, including mod-ifications to the hot sections in their General Electric CF-34 turbofans and improvements to their Hamilton Sundstrand air management systems.

Of course, Middle East air-lines will also reap benefits from a new wingtip design and other aerodynamic improve-ments that the company expects will, together, yield a 5-percent fuel burn improvement by the second quarter of 2014. Then, by 2018, schedules call for the first E190E2 to reach the mar-ket, yielding a further “double digit” operating cost improve-ment. “This is going to give us some more leverage to consol-idate our position in the Mid-dle East by obviously getting additional orders, both on the existing family and on the E2,” said Duquesnoy. o


Gainjet puts former airliner into Vip serVice

Charter operator Gainjet (Stand 2306) recently expanded its fleet with the addition of a 68-seat VIP-config-ured Boeing 737-400. The Greece-based group has made a specialty of operating former Boeing airliners, with two other 737s already in service (one with 48 seats and the other with 60 seats). The fleet also includes a very spacious 62-seat 757-200.

Gainjet bought the 737-400 from Dutch flagcarrier KLM last year and contracted the company’s engineering department to rework the cabin. In addition to offering more comfortable seating, the aircraft has capacity for more than 12,500 pounds of luggage and can operate on flights of up to six hours.

The company expects the aircraft to be popular for charters with larger groups, such as sports teams and rock groups. Next year, it intends to add auxiliary fuel tanks to extend flight durations to up to eight hours. There are also plans to incorporate a bedroom and bathroom, while still offering 54 passenger seats. A further upgrade will see the installation of Wi-Fi connectivity and new in-flight entertainment systems.

“This is a unique part of the industry that can also be challenging, but with our broad range of experience as a VIP operator we continue to offer an extensive fleet ranging from private executive jets like the G450, G550, Challenger 604 and Global Express XRS to our VIP Boeing executive airliners,” said Gainjet president Capt. Ramsey Shaban. “We found the right product for our market in our B757, and have done again in our new B737-400. We’re very excited about this new acquisition and will continue to maintain our long-standing strat-egy of providing an all-encompassing fleet to service our client needs. We’ve purchased the VIP B737-400 with a specific mission in mind –to serve the large VIP group community in a stylish, comfortable and conve-nient aircraft.” –C.A.

Egyptair doubled domestic traffic three months after launching E170 service from Cairo.

Mathieu Duquesnoy, Embraer Commercial Aviation

v-p for the Middle East and Africa

Gainjet’s Boeing 737-400 features 68 executive seats, but the company is already planning further upgrades to include a bedroom and bathroom, as well as auxiliary fuel tanks and cabin connectivity and entertainment systems.

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AirTanker ready for RAF service and moreby Chris Pocock

The commercial outfit that will provide the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) with air-to-air refu-eling service for the next 22 years says that it will meet the forecast in-service date. By May 2014, AirTanker will have nine Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Trans-ports (MRTTs) ready on the ramp at RAF Brize Norton. It has already trained 18 aircrews, received six aircraft and begun operational flying. Chief execu-tive Phil Blundell told AIN that his company could also assist other customers that need train-ing on the A330MRTT–such as the UAE Air Force.

The decision by Britain’s Min-istry of Defence (MoD) to out-source aerial refueling as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) was controversial from the start. Never before had such a frontline military capability been entrusted to civilians. And although the contract signed in March 2008 meant that the MoD avoided the capital cost of replacing the RAF’s aging fleet of TriStar and VC-10 tankers, the £12.3 billion ($19.7 billion) forecast cost over the lifetime

of the contract raised many eye-brows. The UK National Audit Office criticized the deal, noting that 80 percent of the average cost of AirTanker’s contracted baseline service would go on financing, capital cost and profit.

Then there was the decision to revert the conversion of “green” A330s into the MRTT configura-tion from Cobham in the UK to Airbus Military (AM) in Spain. AM had done the first two, but Cobham was scheduled to do the remaining 12, providing valuable jobs at its Bournemouth facility. In the event, Cobham converted only numbers three and four. Blundell told AIN that this was “a painful period,” but the deci-sion was necessary to avoid con-siderable delay. Airbus Military is taking only 10 months to convert the A330s, and recent deliveries to AirTanker have been on time.

Nevertheless, delays have still occurred, thanks mostly to the UK’s new Military Airworthiness Authority (MAA). AirTanker is not the only UK defense con-tractor to have suffered from the MAA’s root-and-branch scrutiny of new military aircraft entering

UK service. In the case of the A330MRTT, the MAA was not satisfied with the aircraft’s exist-ing EASA and INTA (Spanish) certification, including the two supplementary type certificates (STCs) covering the military con-version. AirTanker was obliged to conduct (and pay for) many more flight tests than anticipated. The RAF was obliged to keep the remaining VC-10s in service for an additional six months.

A330 Cleared for RefuelingThe Voyager–the RAF name

for the A330MRTT–has gained clearance to refuel both Tornado and Typhoon fighters. This came after the new Cobham-designed high-speed variable-drag drogues (HSVDDs) extending from the

Voyager’s wing-mounted refuel-ing pods were replaced by old-er ones designed by the Sargent Fletcher company. The RAF claimed the HSVDDs “tipped” more during contact with the re-fueling probes of its fighters. Ear-lier, Airbus Military adjusted the length of the hose and the soft-ware of the capstan motor that deploys it. (An Airbus Mili-tary official told AIN a year ago that other air forces flying the A330MRTT had not identified any problems with the HSVDD, but Cobham would be making some changes to the design and the RAF would eventually adopt it to achieve commonality with other air forces, he added.)

Before operational refuel-ing sorties began this summer,

AirTanker’s service to the RAF was limited to passenger/cargo flights. Since the A330MRTT dispenses fuel from existing tanks in the big wing, it can also carry up to 291 passengers, plus eight NATO-standard pallets of freight in the lower hold. Since January this year, AirTanker has been flying Voyager 02 from Brize Norton as a transport, with its refueling pods removed for greater aerodynamic efficiency. The company recently took over the RAF’s “Falklands air bridge,” which links the UK with its remote colony in the South Atlantic. The aircraft can also be configured for aeromedical evac-uation, with up to 40 stretchers.

ETOPS ApprovalVoyager 02 is kept on the Brit-

ish civil aircraft register, and AirTanker has gained an air operating certificate (AOC) and extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS) clearance from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The significance of this relates to the “surge” fleet: five of the 14 Voyagers will be required by the RAF only when contingencies arise. At other times, AirTanker can place them with A330 opera-tors and gain third-party revenue, subject to recall. The company says it takes less than a month to remove or reinstall the military-specific gear: refueling pods and/or fuselage refueling units; defen-sive aids subsystem; and classi-fied communications equipment.

“The MoD has the ‘benefit’ of these [five] aircraft without having to pay for them to sit on the tarmac–it is capability with-out the fixed cost, if you like, “ Blundell said. He told AIN that AirTanker had explored dry-leas-ing them, but did not find much interest. The list of airlines that the company can approach is lim-ited by mutual agreement with the MoD, which seeks assurances that the leased-out aircraft can be returned promptly if needed.


Continued on page 48 u

A Royal Air Force A330MRTT refuels the service’s two frontline fighters –a Typhoon and a Tornado GR.4. The big Airbus tanker is known in RAF service as the Voyager. The aircraft are provided by AirTanker Ltd. as part of a unique Private Finance Initiative.

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What Is AirTanker?

The AirTanker consortium comprises Babcock, Cobham, EADS, Rolls-Royce and Thales. These part-ners have all contributed equipment and/or buildings to the project. AirTanker Ltd. holds the contract with the UK MoD; service delivery is via another registered company, AirTanker Services Ltd.

AirTanker signed the 27-year contract for what was then called the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) in March 2008. The company declared, “This program will combine best practice from civ-il aviation with RAF operational expertise and mil-itary ethos to create a most efficient and effective operational solution for the RAF. It is an exciting and ambitious program that will take collaboration between the MoD and industry to a new level.”

AirTanker built an impressive two-bay hangar and operations building at the RAF’s airlift hub, Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Nearby, a purpose-built training center houses a full-motion simula-tor, two part-task trainers for the flight deck and the refueling operator’s station, all provided by Thales. There are also classrooms for computer-based training, and a simulator session replay room. These facilities “are the envy of the station,” accord-ing to Darren Cox, AirTanker’s technical training man-ager. They are fully certified by both the CAA and the MAA. “We’ve been under the microscope from both authorities,” Cox told AIN.

Training of aircrew and maintenance engineers be-gan in 2011. The AirTanker operation is being manned by a unique combination of civilians employed by the

company, regular RAF personnel and “sponsored re-servists.” The civilians have been recruited mostly from airlines or Part 145-qualified maintenance companies.

AirTanker has not found it difficult to recruit reservist aircrew from the airlines. They relish the

challenge of nonroutine operations, Cox said. Most of them come with A320 or A330 experience. They take an aptitude test in the simulator, then the RAF takes them on a nine-month military and officer train-ing course before they return as Flight Lieutenants for their A330MRTT conversion. The RAF intake has been a mix of experienced pilots from the C-130, VC-10 and TriStar fleets, and newly trained pilots.

Airtanker has employed some licensed engineers, but others are being recruited as sponsored reserv-ists. Together with the serving RAF engineers who are posted to AirTanker, they take a 12-month theo-ry course followed by another 12 months on-the-job

training with British airlines that fly A330s. At the end of the course, they all get a full CAA Part-66 aircraft maintenance license.

“We overtrain our engineers. They have to be self-sufficient and capable of dealing with every-thing that a civilian aircraft engineer does, such as maintain ground-upport equipment and per-form de-icing,” Cox explained. “To be back in the classroom after 11 years in the RAF was a culture shock, but the experience we gained was excep-tional,” said one NCO.

The engineering experience that AirTanker is building will enable the company to start doing C-checks on the Voyager fleet next year. “Since we are Part 145-approved, we could theoretically become an MRO for A330s,” AirTanker fleet engineering direc-tor Paul Kimberley told AIN. Like Cox, he described the dual-track course that the company has pur-sued toward civilian (EASA/CAA) and military (MAA) certification.

Cabin crew are, similarly, a mix of serving military personnel and sponsored reservists. Military passen-gers have been pleasantly surprised by the Voyager’s comfort levels. The seats are in a 2-4-2 configuration and have a 34-inch pitch and there is in-flight video on overhead screens. –C.P.

As part of the Private Finance Initiative, AirTanker has built a new hangar and training center at RAF Brize Norton.

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“Damp through to wet-leasing, with the aircraft remaining on our AOC, seems more likely,” Blundell added.

AirTanker must make deci-sions on customers for the surge fleet sometime next year. But as that time approaches, a more promising option than the airlines is becoming apparent. The Euro-pean Defence Agency (EDA) has suggested the pooling of air refu-eling capacity to address the seri-ous shortfall identified by NATO during the Libyan and previous air campaigns. Blundell said that it would be “logical” for AirTank-er to play a part in this, and “a great opportunity for UK Plc.”

He added, “We could exploit the European demand for tank-ers, with our five extra aircraft, without impacting the core RAF demand. We also have scope to extend this approach beyond air-craft to include support, train-ing, maintenance and, critically, we have the infrastructure to de-liver it.”

Blundell said the MoD and RAF could also task the core Voyager fleet of nine aircraft in support of partner nations. “The more the aircraft are used, the proportionally lower the fixed costs to RAF become, as well as the cost of additional tasking,” he noted.

The training facilities that AirTanker has built at RAF

Brize Norton will have some spare capacity. The com-pany could offer these to new A330MRTT customers as they build their own aircrew and maintenance teams. The French Air Force would be an obvi-ous candidate, since it plans to acquire its own A330MRTTs, and France and the UK have signed a formal agreement for defense cooperation. But so would the Saudi and UAE air forces, which may not want to invest in simulators for their rel-atively small A330MRTT fleets.

Five-and-half-years into the contract, Blundell reflected on progress to date. He told AIN that AirTanker’s financial plan-ning had been conservative–justi-fiably so, given that some delays had occurred that were beyond its control.

The company spent £54 mil-lion on bid costs alone. To finance the start-up–aircraft, buildings, personnel–AirTanker negoti-ated a syndicated bank loan of £2.2 billion. With no revenue to be earned until aircraft actually began flying for the RAF, the company also arranged a bridge loan for £170 million.

“It’s an incredibly ambitious program, very challenging, and exciting,” Blundell continued. He is confident that AirTanker will demonstrate the value of this unique approach to providing military capability. For instance, he said, “We are already demon-strating 98 percent dispatch reli-ability–that’s unprecedented for a military program.” o


AirTanker preps for refueling roleuContinued from page 46

A330 Tankers Summarized

Four air forces have opted for the A330MRTT to date, and Airbus Military is marketing the tanker worldwide. Cur-rent prospects include Brazil, France, India, Korea and Singapore. But the big prize of a U.S. Air Force contract eluded the European manufacturer, which lost out to Boeing after two controversial, hotly fought competitions.

The Voyager version for the RAF described in this article can refuel only probe-equipped aircraft. Seven of the Voy-agers are equipped with a Cobham 805E centerline fuselage refueling unit (FRU) in the rear lower fuselage, making them three-point tankers; all 14 can carry a Cobham 905E refueling pod under each wing.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the launch customer for the A330MRTT, with an order for five. Its air-craft have the wing refueling pods, plus a refueling boom instead of an FRU. The Airbus-designed boom has encoun-tered development problems, and the RAAF has not yet qualified it for service. The RAAF uses the designation KC-30A for the aircraft.

The Royal Saudi Air Force (six on order) and the UAE Air Force (three) have both received their first A330MRTTs. They also have the aerial boom refueling system (ARBS) as well as the drogue-equipped wing pods.

The Australian, Saudi and UAE aircraft all have an aerial refueling receptacle above the forward fuselage, allowing the A330MRTT itself to be refueled from other aerial tankers.

The Australian and Saudi aircraft are powered by two GE CF6-80E1 turbofans, whereas the British and UAE aircraft have Rolls-Royce Trent 700s. –C.P.

Prior to the delayed start of refueling service, AirTanker began passenger flights for the RAF using this aircraft, above. It is on the British civil register, and other Voyagers may follow if they are leased to airlines when the RAF doesn’t need them.

Right: Since all the fuel is carried in the wings, the Voyager can double as a passenger carrier as well as a tanker.

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TIM transforms the tablet into an EFBby Charles Alcock

Pilots will be able to use their tablet devices as fully function-al Class II electronic flight bags (EFBs) thanks to the new tab-let interface module (TIM) be-ing introduced by UTC Aero-space Systems. The low-cost solution has been developed by the group’s Sensors & Integrated Solutions division.

According to Jim Tuitt, direc-tor of business development with UTC’s cockpit data man-agement team, the key to TIM’s ability to transform tablets into fully functional EFBs is its air-craft interface device (AID). Traditional EFBs can connect directly to the AID (which effec-tively acts as a firewall to the avi-onics systems), but tablets need TIM to connect.

For Apple iPads this provides both conditioned power and data from cockpit systems, and

can connect via a USB port (or wirelessly via Bluetooth). Win-dows-based tablets, for now, can connect only wirelessly and so can only receive data. The equipment is also compatible with iPad Mini tablets, saving further space in confined cock-pits such as those of smaller business aircraft.

The AID is based on an Arinc 834 server and it can interface with any avionics suite that supports Arinc 429 and 717 data buses, as well as serial connections such as RS4232 and Ethernet links. This means that can connect the tablet with key flight data such as the air-craft’s position in latitude and longitude, its speed, as well as fuel consumption and distance to destination, plus weather information and Notams.

The system can also connect

the tablet via existing datalinks to aircraft condition and mainte-nance data that would be stored in an electronic technical log.

“If the [datalink] connec-tion to the aircraft goes down, you’ve still got an indepen-dent tablet in a Class 2 config-uration that would be available [as an EFB] for all phases of flight,” Tuitt told AIN. “If one iPad fails then one of the others in the cockpit would still work.” Up to three tablets can connect to each TIM.

UTC (Stand 1854) is bill-ing TIM as a much smaller and lighter EFB solution to exist-ing technology that requires a larger server. “As well as provid-ing data from the aircraft, it can also be a networking solution communicating between tablets,” explained Tuitt. “It’s a right-sized server. It reduces pilot workload

and improves their accuracy.”TIM is due to enter service

by the end of this year on a mix of Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s with some unidentified air-lines. UTC is now in discussion with business aircraft manufac-turers and expects to have new

applications for TIM in the near future. The system itself does have to be installed under a sup-plementary type certificate or fitted by the airframer as orig-inal equipment on new aircraft. The tablets themselves simply need approval by the local FAA field office for use as an EFB.

Unlike avionics-grade EFBs, such as UTC’s Class 2 and Class 3 SmartDisplay products, tablets enabled for EFB use via TIM are not likely to be approved to meet the evolving requirements of air traffic management programs such as NextGen in the U.S. and Europe’s Sesar.

However, Tuitt said opera-tors that don’t want to make the higher investment in a full-blown EFB for now will at least benefit from using tablets as a first step. UTC has not released pricing details for TIM but argued that by allowing wider use of tablets in the cockpit the system repre-sents a far more affordable first-step for some operators than traditional EFBs. o

UTC Aerospace is introducing its new Tablet Interface Module, which allows tablet devices to be used as electronic flight bags by connecting to avionics suites in the cockpit.


Arab Wings kick-starts business aviation in Iraqby Peter Shaw-Smith

International Wings Group (IWG), a privately owned, Jor-dan-based aviation firm, has won a management contract for Iraq Gate, the first private jet com-pany in Iraq with an air opera-tor’s certificate (AOC). Its charter unit, Arab-Wings (Stand 2518), reportedly won the contract in June.

“This AOC will be fully utilized by one of the major oil and gas companies in Iraq,” said Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh, CEO of Arab Wings. “We’ll add more business avi-ation and maybe larger jets in 2014,” he added. “We cur-rently have two Hawker 800XPs and one King Air B200. Being the first business-jet operator in Iraq is not a small step. ”

Arab Wings and Gulf Wings, its UAE-based subsidiary, have

expanded this year in terms of aircraft under management, Abu Ghazaleh said. “We’ve added another Legacy 600 to Arab Wings. We’ve also added a Cita-tion XLS. We are operating in dif-

ferent regions. Arab Wings’ Jordanian fleet is 14 aircraft. Gulf Wings has added two aircraft this year, and has six in the fleet.”

Aviation train-ing has proved to be another growth area for the group, he said. “We are very advanced right now in terms of educa-tion in aviation stud-

ies. We have a large number of students and are attracting more. We were also awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force. That’s a big credit to us. It is a very big program on the aircraft and powerplant side.”

IWG owns the Royal Jor-danian Air Academy (RJAA), which has 3,000 students. Capt. Mohammed Khawaldeh, direc-tor general of RJAA, and a for-mer brigadier-general in the Royal Jordanian Air Force, said the academy is a force to be reckoned with in the Middle East. “Today I have 400 student pilots and 800 technicians from 20 different countries,” he said.

“Arab Wings owns and man-ages about 24 aircraft [for the academy],” said Khawaldeh. “Our fleet is 22 Piper aircraft

and four simulators, used to fly around 26,000 hours minimum.” Simulators are the CRJ 700, the AST 3000, the Alsim ALX and the Mechtronix Ascent FNPT II.

“We graduate around 130 pilots per year. Since 2008, we’ve recruited around 8,000 students, between commercial pilots, tech-nicians and refresher courses, and have had 5,000 pilot and engi-neering graduates in the past 12 years,” he said.

“Only last year, we won a con-tract with the U.S. government to train Iraqi air force technicians

for the F-15. We deal direct with the Americans on this contract. The first squadron of technicians, 359 students, arrived in Septem-ber 2012 and they will graduate in 2014. We are expecting the sec-ond squadron in late October. New graduates will go to the U.S. to do type training. This is saving time and money for the Iraqis.”

IWG also owns the Queen Noor Technical College, which trains students as air traffic con-trollers, and also offers refresher courses. It grants diplomas and degrees in aviation studies. o

Arab Wings added a Legacy 600 to its managed fleet.

Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh CEO of Arab Wings

AIN Show Daily DUBAI 254X165.indd 1 08/10/2013 12:12:03


Battle management added to Lockheed Martin Dragon ISRby Chris Pocock

Lockheed Martin (LM) has added a battle management system to its Dragon series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) products as the company continues to offer this wide-ranging set of platform, sensor and com-munications solutions for export. The U.S. company is believed to have won a contract from the UAE to integrate the country’s air and missile defenses.

Dragon Dome is Lockheed Martin’s trademarked name for a tool set that links ISR, air operations and missile defense systems at the battle management level. Randy Peterson, a business development manager for LM Information Systems and Global Solutions (IS&GS), said, “Export customers can take the whole suite but, since it is modular, they can customize applications to fit their requirements.”

Peterson explained that Dragon Dome uses open, nonproprietary web ser-vice interfaces to move vital information seamlessly across domains, with the appro-priate level of security. The system creates

a visual representation of the battlespace and advises operators on which available air defense asset would best counter an incoming threat. A “faceplate” allows the displays to be configured for different lan-guages and scripts–such as Arabic.

LM would not confirm the UAE as a customer, but says Dragon Dome “pro-vides any given nation with a native, advanced C2 system that can network quickly and efficiently with coalition forces.”

IS&GS has been the key supplier of ISR exploitation and dissemination systems to the Pentagon, notably in the Distributed Common Ground System. The compa-ny’s Dragon series of products “harvests millions of dollars of U.S. Department of Defense investment,” said Peterson. “We don’t have to rewrite the software, and the service-oriented architecture allows rapid software changes to accommodate new platforms and sensors,” said another IS&GS official.

LM (Stand 1975) does offer its own platforms and sensors (see box below),

but they do not always form all of the cus-tomer solution. For instance, the Sigint sensor system that IS&GS developed for USAF C-130s has been adapted to Finn-ish Air Force Airbus Military C295 trans-ports. LM labels this palletized, roll-on, roll-off system Dragon Shield.

In another example, neither the plat-form nor the sensor came from LM, but the company provided the ground station and the “glue” that enabled a coherent, flexible system. This was the Frontex dem-onstration for the European Union border agency, in which video from an L-3 Wes-cam EO/IR sensor on a Diamond DA42 was downlinked, processed and pushed to iPad users via a low-bandwidth link.

“We are emphasizing enterprise solu-tions, moving information to users at the combat edge, from those at the centers

who enjoy the fiberoptic links,” said John Beck, manager, transformation programs, IS&GS. Intelligence data from such cen-ters is security-qualified by LM’s Trusted Manager product for transmission from the center before flowing via FTP or XML Stream to low-bandwidth adapters and on to mobile PCs, tablets or smartphones in the field. “We offer cloud-based solutions: get a password, then get your intelligence via email,” Peterson added.

Brent Lipson, director of sensor pro-cessing LM IS&GS, told AIN that the company’s philosophy is to identify the sensor attributes that solve the prob-lem, whether it be EO/IR, X-band SAR or Sigint. “Our emphasis is on the whole cycle–achieving understanding from today’s very rich available data. But you have to understand the requirements–and the sensor phenomenology,” he noted.LM has developed a geospatial large-area multi-sensor processor (Geo LAMP) to exploit radar and EO sensor data from various platforms, including today’s com-mercial satellite providers. GeoLAMP captures, processes and archives data, and offers several visualization and exploita-tion tools. Change detection is one of the most powerful tools, for various applica-tions such as environmental policing and border monitoring. “The big growth has been in algorithms–for instance, so that we can identify from radar imagery subtle changes like scars showing tracks that have been made across a field,” Lipson said. o

The Goodyear Heritage

Just outside Phoenix, Arizona, Lockheed Martin’s Goodyear facility is a key provider of ISR capabilities. The facility was first developed by Good-year Aerospace, a subsidiary of the tire company that had developed farms in the area to provide cotton for the belts in its tires. The company built Corsair fighters in World War II, and airships.

After the war, the first patent for synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) was filed from here in 1953, and the laser beam recorder for optical process-ing of radar data was also invented. The site has since produced more than 500 SARs that have been installed on over 30 different aircraft. These include the original Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System (ASARS) for the SR-71 Blackbird.

Goodyear eventually sold the Arizona facility to Loral, from whom Lockheed Martin acquired it in 1996. Today, there are nearly 1,000 employees specializing in radars, exploitation systems and sensor flight-testing. “They are very well-educated, very technical and adaptable to problem-solving,” said Brent Lip-son, director of sensor processing, during AIN’s visit to the site earlier this year.

The latest radars to emerge from Goodyear include Phoenix Eye, an X-band sensor offering three SAR modes plus two GMTI (Ground Moving Target Indicator) modes; Tracer, a VHF/UHF SAR that exploits low fre-quencies to detect targets obscured by foliage; and ASARS-3, a Ku-band SAR that offers superior resolution and is apparently derived from a classified program.

A fleet of five flight-test air-craft is based at Goodyear. The largest is the Airborne Multi-Int Laboratory (AML), a Gulfstream

III, which has been away from its home base for a while now. Follow-ing its conversion from a business jet, the AML did demonstration tours before the Italian air force hired it on a one-year contract to develop ISR concepts of operation and validate future requirements (the Ital-ians have ordered the Gulfstream-jet based Conformal Airborne Early Warning System (CAEW) from IAI-Elta). LM’s contract has since been extended. It provides the pilots and maintainers, while the Italians pro-vide the sensor operators and mission planners.

Two Sabreliner 60 jets and one Navajo Chieftain twin-turboprop remain at Goodyear. They all have FAA experimental certificates. “We are a true R&D flight-test center, and can accommodate a wide range of sensors and com-munications systems,” Anson Grey, director of operations, said. The Sabre-liners have extended pitot tubes so that the nose outer mold line can be modified to accept new sensors. Experimental payloads can also be car-ried externally in pods. “We ship standard 19-inch avionics racks to cus-tomers for them to outfit,” Grey added. Over the years (the Sabreliners were acquired in 1970 and 1979), these aircraft have tested munitions guidance packages, navigation systems, and missile airframes, as well as ISR sensors

and communications systems. These aircraft are available for third-

party work from government custom-ers. But Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has been the main recent “customer.” One of the Sabreliners flight-tested the Electro-Optic Target-ing System (EOTS) for the F-35. The key point is, these aircraft cost about $12,000 for a 2.5-hour flight, versus maybe $50,000 for an F-16. –C.P.

Two Sabreliner 60s and a Navajo Chieftain are operated by Flight Test Services at Goodyear. In this photo, one of the Sabreliners has a modified nose radome, while the other carries a belly-mounted all-purpose flight test radome.

Intelligence analysts at work in one of the U.S. Air Force’s Distributed Common

Ground System (DCGS) locations. Lockheed Martin is leveraging the

millions of dollars invested in the DCGS to offer ISR systems for export.

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Lockheed Martin’s Goodyear facility in Arizona has a 50-year heritage in reconnaissance

radar systems development.

Lockheed Martin’s Tracer radar is currently flying in podded form on NASA’s Ikhana UAV (a version of the General Atomics-ASI Reaper). It was originally funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), as a foliage penetration imaging tool.

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Lockheed Martin’s Dragon Family • Dragon Den–ground processing stations

from small mobile to large fixed• Dragon Dome–battle management system• Dragon Scout–high-altitude multi-

intelligence; large business jet platform• Dragon Sentinel–sensors and processing

for tethered aerostats or towers• Dragon Shield–palletized sensors to adapt

airlifters for ISR• Dragon Star–single or multi-intelligence

system for small to medium-size aircraft• Dragon Stare–radar sensor integration;

processing can include Sigint

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Saab’s Giraffe 3-D radar brings air defense to remote localesby David Donald

Introduced in 1999, the Saab Giraffe AMB (agile multi-beam) 3-D radar has become one of the world’s leading mul-tirole air defense radars. Derived from the earlier G40 and G75 mechanically scanned radars, the AMB has an active electronically scanned antenna that pro-vides a range of around 75 miles and altitude capability of more than 60,000 feet. The antenna rotates once every sec-ond to provide full 360-degree coverage, and in its current version provides detec-tion from surface level up to an elevation of 70 degrees. It has found applications around the world, including in the UAE and Afghanistan.

Originally the Giraffe AMB was devel-oped for the air defense mission and, as such, has been bought by several nations. As well as its defensive capabilities, it can also be used to provide air traffic control, and is particularly useful for deployed operations. In its major application the radar and its operator stations are pack-aged into a ruggedized container that can be deployed by military vehicle and established for use within a short space of

time. It can be connected into wider air defense networks, and can also be oper-ated remotely.

Designed to work with various missile defense systems that operate at different altitudes, Giraffe AMB is the main radar sensor for the Swedish ground-based air defense environment, working with BAMSE, RBS 70 and I-HAWK missiles. In French and Estonian service it is paired with Mistral missiles, and it has also been integrated with VL MICA. The Sea Giraffe derivative is a naval version offer-ing additional tracking capability against missiles and surface targets, and is in ser-vice with Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S. and the UAE (on Baynunah-class corvettes).

In 2007 Saab introduced the Mod B version of the Giraffe AMB, which added a counter rockets and mortar (CRAM) capability to the radar. This functional-ity was improved with the Mod C, which is the current production radar. Adding CRAM made Giraffe a useful tool in the protection of deployed bases, and a num-ber have been deployed for use by forces

in Afghanistan, where they have pro-vided both air defense and CRAM pro-tection. By tracking rockets and mortars in the initial phase of their trajectories the Giraffe can provide both point of ori-gin and predicted point of impact data. By linking two Giraffe units together the CRAM capability can be further refined.

Drawing on this experience of asset protection, Saab has developed the Giraffe further to provide protection for high-value locations with a pedestal-mounted antenna and a control room that can be located up to a kilometer away from the radar. This type of instal-lation has been acquired by the U.S. State Department for the protection of a key facility in Afghanistan. It will continue to provide a threat warning function for the facility long after U.S. combat forces have been withdrawn from the theater. The radar was selected after experience of operating two mobile units that were borrowed from the U.S. Army.

Saab has also devised a system that is packaged into a standard 20-foot ISO container, which can be moved easily into position. The container version can be quickly rigged with the antenna, which is carried in the container for transportation. The antenna is mounted on top of the con-tainer for use, without the extending mast that is employed by the battlefield version.

While it retains traditional capability against high and fast air targets, Giraffe

AMB has carved out a niche as an excel-lent radar for use against small tar-gets that fly low and slow, representing the type of threats that are increasingly encountered by today’s forces. Saab con-tinues to develop the radar’s capabilities along those lines, paying particular atten-tion to further enhancing performance in heavy ground clutter environments, such as experienced in urban areas or in the vicinity of windfarms. o


Saab has adapted earlier Giraffe systems with the AMB AESA radar for Australian use in Afghanistan under an urgent operational requirement.

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Emirates for another 50 A380s–taking the local airline’s total A380 order tally to 140–plus an Etihad order for 50 A350s.

Both Etihad and Emirates also placed orders for narrowbody aircraft with the big two OEMs–Emirates subsidiary FlyDubai ordering 111 737 NG/MAX aircraft and Etihad signing up for 36 A320neos, while Qatar signed a letter-of intent for 50 777Xs and ordered five Air-bus A330 freighters (plus eight options).

Etihad’s Boeing commitments included firm orders for 56 airplanes in all, including 17 777-9Xs, eight 777-8Xs, 30 787 Dream-liners and a single 777-200 freighter. With Airbus, its order breakdown includes 40 A350-900s, ten A350-1000s, as well as one A330-200F, 26 A321neos and 10 A320neos. Its current fleet consists of 23 A320 family aircraft, 25 A330s and 11 A340s.

Qatar’s commitment came in the form of a letter of intent for 50 777-9Xs, while it also firmed up a long-antici-pated order for 13 A330-200F freighters (five firm plus eight options).

Appearing alongside Emirates chair-man HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum during the Boeing press con-ference, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker talked of charting a new course for his airline with the 777X deal. “I have been asked so many times in the past year had I thought about the Boeing 777X and whether Qatar Airways is interested in buy-ing it. Of course, I always said no, but here we are,” Al Baker joked. “By standing here today the answer is clear, indeed we are.”

Emirates, which already operates the world’s largest fleet of 777s, expects to begin taking deliveries of the 777X in 2020. “Air transport is a key enabler of world trade, and we see that demand for aviation services will continue to grow globally,” said Sheikh Ahmed. “What we’re announcing today is a continua-tion of our commitment and vision to connect the world through our efficient hub in the Middle East. Emirates’s air-craft orders today, with deliveries of the 777X starting in 2020, will take us to 2025 and beyond–replacing aircraft due for retirement and providing the founda-tion for our future growth.”

The A380 order portends still more possibilities for Emirates’s long-haul net-work. Now operating one out of every three A380s flying today, it has already placed into service 39 of the double-deck transports. In signing a $23 billion (at list prices) order for another 50 of the super-jumbos, it could further strengthen the power of its Dubai hub.

“After five years in service, the air-craft remains extremely popular with our customers,” said Sheikh Ahmed, who added that he does not expect other nations will limit access or land-ing rights for the fast-growing carrier. “The A380 is the aircraft that defines the Emirates experience,” said Fabrice Bregier, Airbus president and CEO. “With this order, the A380 will be at the heart of Emirates’s future.”

Emirates expects delivery of half of the new batch of A380s before the first quarter of 2018. Appearing with Sheikh Ahmed, Emirates president Tim Clark said the carrier would consider 11-abreast seating for the new airplanes, but that seat width would not “fall below” 18 inches, which Airbus wants to make an industry standard. “I think that’s doable,” Clark said.

As if to underscore the gravity of the Boeing and Airbus orders, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,

the ruler of Dubai and UAE vice pres-ident, attended the signing ceremonies, accompanied by his son, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Dubai’s Crown Prince, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, minister of presidential affairs and a brother of UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al Nahyan. o


Airbus hardly came up empty in the order blitz, with signings for 50 more A380s from Emirates ramping up the fleet to a total of 140-plus. In addition, UAE national carrier Etihad ordered 50 A350s.

Boeing chief Jim McNerney (left), celebrates his big order with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasheed Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Etihad Regional airline springs from partnership by Bill Carey

UAE national carrier Eti-had Airways unveiled its first branded regional airline oper-ation–Etihad Regional–at the Dubai Airshow yesterday. Eti-had is launching the regional operation after acquiring a 33.3 percent stake in Swiss carrier Darwin Airline.

Darwin is based in Lugano, Switzerland, with a major hub in Geneva. It currently offers scheduled flights to 21 destina-tions in Europe using 10 50-seat

Saab 2000 turboprops. Follow-ing the closing of Etihad’s minor-ity investment, which is subject to regulatory approval, Dar-win will rebrand its operations as Etihad Regional and align its network to connect passengers from secondary European mar-kets to the main networks of Eti-had and its alliance partners Air Berlin and Air Serbia.

The new Etihad Regional logo will be displayed on each side of the fuselage of Darwin’s aircraft;

the rear of the airplanes will carry the words “Operated by Darwin Airline,” the company’s present logo and the Swiss flag.

“This is a step-change for Eti-had Airways,” said president and CEO James Hogan. “With our new partner, Darwin Airline, we are creating a unique approach to network development for global airlines. European travel-ers will now be able to connect from a far wider range of Euro-pean towns and cities on Eti-had-branded aircraft, through Abu Dhabi to our destinations worldwide.” Hogan said the new approach could be extended to other markets over time.

Etihad, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary at Dubai 2013, also announced that it planned

to launch daily services from its Abu Dhabi base to Zurich in June using an Airbus A330-300. Zurich will be Etihad’s second Swiss destination after Geneva.

Through Zurich, the daily flight will connect with the Eti-had Regional route network, and provide connections to eight new destinations: Leipzig,

Florence, Graz, Linz, Lyon, Turin and Verona, plus new domestic service to Geneva.

By mid-2014, Darwin will add 21 new routes and 18 new destinations. Its network will then include six European gate-ways served by Etihad: Geneva, Amsterdam, Paris, Dusseldorf, Belgrade and Zurich. o

Announced yesterday here at the Dubai Airshow, an alliance between Swiss regional carrier Darwin and UAE’s Etihad will become Etihad Regional, with growing service throughout Europe.

Order bonanzauContinued from page 1

FLYDUBAI WEIGHS IN WITH ITS OWN MEGA-ORDER Emirates Airline’s low-fare subsidiary FlyDubai will play a large role in Emirates’s growth. Fol-

lowing the bumper 777X announcements, Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed also presided over an announcement of an order for 111 Boeing narrowbodies, consisting of 100 of the new 737 MAX and 11 737-800NGs worth $11.4 billion.

“This new aircraft will extend FlyDubai’s ability to connect new and diversified markets,” said Sheik Ahmed. “Both Emirates’ and FlyDubai’s orders will support hundreds of thousands of jobs in aviation for the next decade and more.”

On network plans for the new aircraft, Sheikh Ahmed issued a clear expression of his ambitions. “If you draw a circle [with Dubai at the center], with the aircraft’s five-hour range, you will see the possi-bilities,” he said. –G.P.

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Rockwell Collins signs multiple new contractsby Thierry Dubois

Rockwell Collins (Stand 2469) announced at the Dubai Airshow several contracts with Middle Eastern airlines and business aircraft operators for avionics, in-flight entertainment (IFE) sys-tems and flight support services. Other agreements, with air forces and aircraft manufacturers, have been disclosed, too.

Alpha Star Aviation Services, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based operator and business aircraft management specialist, has signed a multi-year contract for Rockwell Collins’s Ascend flight information solutions. These include scheduling and dispatch-ing, flight planning, interna-tional trip support, fuel pricing, weather, ground-handling, regu-latory compliance assistance and data link communications.

Oman Air has selected a Rockwell Collins weather radar, a navigation receiver and a traf-fic alert system for 11 Boeing 737NGs due to be delivered from late 2014. The MultiScan threat detection radar is designed to better identify and analyze thun-derstorm cells and turbulence, without the need for pilots to constantly fiddle with tilt adjust-ments. The GLU-925 multi-mode receiver enables the aircraft to use required navigation performance (RNP), area navigation (RNAV) and ADS-B functions. The TCAS II is based on Rockwell Collins’s TTR-2100 traffic com-puter, which also enables future ADS-B in applications.

Turkish Airlines has also selected the GLU-925 and the MultiScan radar for 17 Air-bus A330s, 25 A320s, 20 Boeing 777s and 20 737 NGs. The

carrier has also added the SAT-2200 satcom, which enables air-borne connectivity for both passengers and the flight crew. Deliveries of Rockwell Collins products on Turkish Airlines’s new aircraft are scheduled to begin next year.

Saudi Arabian Airlines is upgrading its entire fleet of six full-flight simulators with Rockwell Collins’s EP-8000 image generation system. Deliveries are planned to start by year-end.

Emirates has entered a five-year exclusive agreement for its flight simulators, which starts with Rockwell Collins providing 10 visual systems featuring the EP-8000 image generator and liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) projectors. Under another five-year agreement, Emirates will benefit from fixed repair costs and guaranteed turnaround times for avionics MRO services on its entire fleet.

Oman Chooses Flight2The Royal Air Force of

Oman has chosen Rockwell Collins’s Flight2 avionics to upgrade its C-130s. Work is planned to begin by year-end.

For U.S. and Coalition forces, Data Link Solutions, a Rockwell Collins joint venture with BAE Systems, will provide multifunc-tional information distribution low-volume terminals. These will provide real-time data com-munications, situational aware-ness, navigation and digital voice in a jam-resistant, crypto-secured package. The contract is valued at $18.5 million.

Also on display here is the RealFires military simulator,

unveiled earlier this month. RealFires is integrated with the Firestorm targeting system and is designed to facilitate com-mand, control and commu-nications for field training of tactical air-control parties, air-support operations centers, air-liaison officers and unmanned aircraft operators.

In Link-16 terminals, Rockwell Collins offers the Tac-Net Tactical Radio, which it said is one-fourth the size and weight of current terminals.

With aircraft manufacturer Pilatus, Rockwell Collins has signed a long-term agreement to provide simulation and training products. The first ones will be EP-8000 and EP-80 image gen-erators and SpectraView dis-plays for customers in Asia and the Middle East.

Also highlighted here at the Dubai air show is the new Rockwell Collins Paves on-demand IFE system, which is to enter into service in early 2015. Paves features a high-definition (HD) touch screen display, and maintenance is simpler, thanks to a quick-release mechanism for removal. For business jets, Rockwell Collins is showcasing its Venue cabin management and HD IFE system. After hav-ing installed Venue on more than 300 business and VIP air-craft, Rockwell Collins hopes to persuade more Airbus ACJ and Boeing BBJ owners to pur-chase the system.

Finally, Rockwell Collins has signed an agreement with OSN, a provider of entertainment content, for HD, high-compres-sion MPEG-4 programming. This will be made available on the Tailwind 500 and 550 in-flight direct broadcast satellite TV systems. Current Tailwind operators will require a hard-ware update, which Rockwell Collins will be able to perform starting in early 2014. o


Offerings at the Rockwell Collins stand here at the Dubai Airshow include avionics, in-flight entertainment (IFE) equipment and information on flight support services.

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Lockheed Martin chops ops by 20 percent, cuts 4k jobs

Lockheed Martin announced last Friday that it plans to close four facilities and reduce oper-ations by a fifth, with the loss of 2,000 jobs. The closures affect the company’s Informa-tion Systems & Global Solu-tions (IS&GS); Mission Systems and Training (MST); and Space Systems business areas. A fur-ther 2,000 jobs in these business areas will be eliminated through “operational efficiency initia-tives,” the company said.

The closures include the IS&GS facility at Goodyear, Arizona (see story page 50). Pro-grams based there will move to Denver, Colorado and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Lockheed Martin (Stand 1975, Cha-let A19, A20) is also shedding most of the workforce at Akron, Ohio. Operations at Newtown, Pennsylvania and Horizon City, Texas will also end, and four buildings at Sunnyvale, Califor-nia will close. –C.P.

Rockwell collins opens its DooRs

Rockwell Collins held an open day at its Burgess Hill facility near London Gatwick Airport on November 5. Among technologies dem-onstrated was an early example of the JSF simulator, which will be fixed-based with a dome and moving image but can be used to qual-ify pilots for the aircraft, which has only a single-seat version. The company was particularly keen to demonstrate its RealFires joint fires effects simulator, which fully integrates its FireStorm targeting sys-tem and facilitates command, control and communications for field training of tactical air controllers, air support operations centers and unmanned systems operators.

Claude Alber, v-p and managing director EMEA, told AIN the com-pany was now “positioned for growth thanks to three major strategies: developing the core business [e.g. 787 cockpit, CSeries or in defense KC-46 tanker or Embraer’s KC-390]; growing internationally; and grow-ing through acquisitions.”

He recognized that “the world is switching from a U.S. to an interna-tional market… we need to understand what drives the international market as it’s very different to what drove the U.S. market.” In the Middle East, the company now has 300 employees and it has subsidiaries in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, a regional headquarters in Dubai, and a new facility in Riyadh. “Obvi-ously the Middle East is an important market for us on both the commercial and the military side. We’re well-placed on a number of contracts.” He men-tioned in particular FireStorm for the UAE armed forces.

Alber concluded by saying that its strategic objectives included the capture of new positions with European OEMs, and to adapt the port-folio to local requirements. “The focus in on the Middle East and Russia, the two growth areas; Europe is flat from a market standpoint.” –T.D.

ain acquiRes a coRpoRate jet?

Members of the editorial team at AIN Publications stopped in their tracks when they saw this Boeing Business Jet on the flight line here in Dubai. Could it be that they would be can-celing their airline tickets and riding home from the show in widebody style? Unfor-tunately, it was not to be. A6-AIN is the registration for someone else’s BBJ. Oh well, maybe next year.� n

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