Air News On Airbus,Boeing In Race For Worlds Largest Single Order,Bells New Commercial Helicopter & Eurocopter X3 Hybrid Makes Its Maiden Flight

Air News On Airbus,Boeing In Race For Worlds Largest Single Order

,Bells New Commercial Helicopter & Eurocopter X3 Hybrid Makes Its Maiden Flight

The race between Airbus and Boeing is on as to which manufacturer can sell the most ,its of a single type at one crack, with Airbus having taken an early lead with a massive 180-airliner order from IndiGo,Indias largest low cost carrier.

As we reported in our February edition, what is claimed to be the largest airliner order in aviation history was announced late in January immediately after IndiGo signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 180 Airbus A320 aircraft of which 150 will be the new re-engined A320neo model and 30 will be A320s.

Apart from being the largest single firm order number in commercial aviation history for large jets, as well as for a single type, in this case, the A320 Family, it also makes IndiGo one of the launch customers for the A320neo. Engine selection will be announced by the airline at a later date.

Airbus recently logged its 10000th order with affirm contract from Virgin America for 60 A320s, including 30 A320neo aircraft. This is the first firm order for the A320 new engine option; therefore Virgin America becomes the official launch customer for the A320neo. (The IndiGo order had not been formally finalized at the time of writing).

Airbus last year increased its production output for the ninth year in a row and achieved a new company record of 510(2009:498) commercial aircraft deliveries to 94 customers (of which 19 were new).

Deliveries included 401 A320 Family aircraft,91 A330/A340s and 18 A380s .In its military division, Airbus delivered 20 light and medium military and transport aircraft(CN235 and C295),exceeding the 2009 figure by four aircraft.

Airbus booked 644 commercial aircraft orders (574 net) in 2010.The value of the new orders surpassed US$84-billion gross (US$ 74-billion net) at list prices. This represents 51% by units of the 2010 gross worldwide market share of aircraft beyond 100 seats (52% net).Airbus won 21 new orders for its CN235 and C295 military aircraft.

Boeing Challenges

Meanwhile ,our US Editor,Ed Hirsc, reports from Miami that Delta Air Lines Inc., the worlds second-largest carrier, plans to order 100 to 200 narrow-body jets and seeks options for 200 more as it replaces older planes.

A request for proposals went to manufacturers recently, and deliveries may begin as soon as 2013.

Atlanta-based Delta told employees on an internal website that the request had gone to "several" manufacturers which it did not identify. Airbus and Boeing are the biggest commercial-jet makers, but the use of the term "several" in the Delta statement could mean that the airline might also be including regional jet-sized aircraft in its orders from manufacturers such as Embraer and Bombardier.

New single-aisle plane such as the Airbus A320 Family or various marques of the Boeing 737NG would be used on domestic routes as Delta retires aging aircraft.

Ordering the full 200 aircraft would be a record-but only if they were all of the same type, eclipsing the mark set when IndiGo said it would buy 130 Airbus A320 ,with a value of $15-billion at list prices.

"We're now starting a plan for the long term," Nat Pieper, vice president of fleet strategy and transactions, said on the Delta website posting."The order will ensure that we continue to maintain a flexible, cost-efficient fleet that meets our customer's needs in the years to come, replacing retiring airplanes and providing for domestic mainline growth."

Both the 737 and the A320 ate twin-engine models that seat about 125 to 185 people. List prices for each aircraft rage from about $ 63-million to $ 95-million, depending on the version.

Filling the full order with Boeing 737-800s, the top-selling US Jet, would cost $ 16, 2-billion at list prices. Airlines typically buy at a discount.

Pieper said the aircraft being replaced included Boeing DC-9s that averaged 34 years old, Boeing 757-200s that were 18 years old and A320S that were 16 years old. Delta has also been acquiring used jets, including five Boeing 757-200s and 33 MD-90s, and will continue to look for additional used planes, Pieper said."We'll evaluate all our options," he wrote.

Boeing has also scored a number of large orders recently, one of the latest being from the CIT Group Inc.Which placed an order for 38 Next-Generation 737 aircraft and purchase rights for seven additional 737s.

The order, with deliveries into 2017, includes 15 737-900ER (extended range) and 23 737-800 airliners. It is the largest order placed by a leasing company for the 737-900ER, the largest and newest member of the Boeing Next-Generation 737 family. This is also the largest order placed by CIT for Boeing aircraft.

In a later development ,Boeing announced that it had received final approval from Chinese Government confirming a $19-billion aircraft agreement .Chinas approval of airline contracts for 200 orders covers aircraft to be delivered over a three-year period,2011-2013,mainly 737S and 777s.

Today, Boeing jets are a mainstay in Chinas air travel and cargo system, representing more than50% of all commercial jetliners operating in China. Over the next 20 years, Boeing projects that China will need 4330 new aircraft, worth more than $480-billion.

Boeing recorded 462 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2010, meeting company guidance of approximately 460 deliveries during the year.

Boeing posted 530 net commercial orders for the year as air carrier's transition from economic recovery to expansion. Boeing Commercial Airplanes maintains strong order base of 3443 unfilled orders.

Bell Working On New Commercial Helicopter

Bell Helicopter has begun development of all-new commercial helicopters to bolster a product line that has had only one significant addition in more than three decades.

In a memo sent to Bell employees worldwide recently, the company announced "the formal launch of Magellan bringing a new product to the marketplace in response to our future customer needs." The memo gave few details, except that it follows an initiative known as project X.

Project X was the most recent phase of several years of planning and market research aimed at determining the requirements and market for alarge, longer-range helicopter than anything Bell now builds. The new aircraft will apparently be aimed principally at the offshore oil industry, but will have many other potential uses.

Bells existing aircraft in that market segment, the model 412, is essentially a much upgraded version of the early Huey military helicopters. It lacks the range and performance of newer competitors. That market segment already has a number of modern helicopters, notably the highly successful Augusta Westland AW139.

"This is a strong growth market for both civil and military uses," said Richard Aboulafia, analyst for the Teal Group aerospace market forecasting firm, in Fairfax, a."Helicopter demand in the offshore oil industry in particular has been moving toward larger, longer-range aircraft."

Industry observers feel that the new aircraft will also help Bell by reassuring its existing customers that the company is continuing work on new civil products after along hiatus.

The Bell 429, launched in 2005 and just beginning to be delivered to customers, was the first new helicopter the company has developed for the civil market in more than 30 years.

Bell officials have so far declined to discuss the Magellan programme."Bell Helicopter is continuously investing in the development of both new products and the modernization of current products, but we're not going to talk about them until the right time," said Robert Hastings, the company's senior vice president of communications.

The Magellan programme launch appears to be timed for an unveiling at the Heli-Expo trade show in Orlando, Florida, this month, but sources said the company would not be discussing its plans even then.

Euro copters X3 Hybrid

The Euro copters X3 high-speed hybrid helicopter demonstrator, which made its maiden flight on September 6, 2010, has reached the programmes Step 1 speed objective by attaining a true airspeed of 180 knot in level flight at reduced level of engine power.

In the flight testing performed thus far, the flight envelope has been opened with and without autopilot to validate the basic hybrid demonstrator aircrafts stability and handling characteristics. The X3 has reached an altitude of 12500 feet performed man oeuvres with left and right turns at bank angles of up to 60 degrees.

The X3 flights to date were performed by Euro copter test pilot, Herve Jammayrac, and flight test engineer, Daniel Semioli,at the French DGA test facility in Istres.

"The X3 has performed extremely well, demonstrating handling and flight qualities that are exactly in line with our ground-based simulator evaluations," Jammayrac said."This helicopter is really built for speed, and our test team looks forward to taking the x3 to the next steps of its flight regime."

Having already surpassed the speed of a traditional helicopter, the next milestone for the demonstrator is the Step 2 phase at Euro copters headquarters in Marignane, France, where the X3 will enter a second set of flight tests during which it is expected to reach sustained cruise speeds in excess of 220 knots.

The X3 utilizes a Euro copter Dauphin helicopter airframe .It is equipped with two turbo shaft engines that power a five-blade main rotor system, along with two propellers installed on short-span fixed wings.

This hybrid configuration creates an advanced transportation system that offers the speed of a turboprop-powered aircraft and the full hover flight capabilities of a helicopter.

It is tailored to applications where operational costs, flight duration and mission success depend directly on the maximum cruising speed.

The X3 combines excellent vertical takeoff and landing capabilities with its designed fast cruise speeds of more than 220 knots. Euro copter envisions a wide range of applications for this concept, including long-distance search and rescue (SAR) missions, coast guard duties, border patrol missions, passenger transportation and inter-city shuttles services.

It could also be well-tailored for military missions in Special Forces operations, troop transportation, combat SAR and Medical evacuation-benefitting from the hybrid aircrafts combination of higher cruise speeds with excellent vertical takeoff and landing performance.

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