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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1446.PDF
It A318 service entry A318 FEATURES COMPARED WITH A319 FLIGHT With testing finished, the CFM56- powered A318will soon be carrying passengers Forward fuselage shortened by 0.8m (one and a half frames) Pratt & Whitney PW6122 or PW6124 engines (rated at 22,1001b or 23,8001b thrust) Narrower cargo door (no containerised cargo option) CFM International CFM56-5B8/P or -CFM56-5B9/P engines (rated at 21,600lb or 23,300lb thrust) Of the original PW6000 customers, only America West and ILFC remain, and America West has slipped deliveries to 2006-8 as part of its restructure. Air China, British Airways and EgyptAir switched their A318 orders to the larger A320s (but kept the P&W link by specifying the Inter national Aero Engines V2500). The second A318, also PW6000-powered, began flight tests in June 2002, when the first aircraft was grounded for re-engining with CFM56s. This aircraft returned to the air with new engines in August. The two air craft accumulated 850h and 350 flights dur ing the 17-month test programme, which culminated in European Joint Aviation Authorities certification of the CFM56-pow- ered version on 23 May. US Federal Aviation Administration approval is due this month. Flight testing covered the performance of the aircraft in all phases of flight, including an evaluation of handling qualities. Tests included flight envelope definition and fly- by-wire protection parameters; flutter and ground effect; climb performance; braking and auto-land performance; noise measure ment (for the CFM56 version); engine-out take-off performance; and the performance of the CFM56-5B at the A318's thrust rat ings - 21,6001b (96kN) and 23,3001b. Rejected and abuse take-offs with the aircraft operating outside normal parame ters, including minimum unstick speeds (VMU)' were undertaken at the French national flight test centre at Istres in December with the CFM56-powered air craft. Hot and high demonstrations were also carried out at Mexico City (elevation 7,341ft) in March when the aircraft flew to North America for an air show in Acapulco. "Overall, there were no big surprises dur ing flight testing, and the aircraft generally performed as predicted," says Airbus. Meanwhile, the reconfigured PW6000 began initial test runs in early 2003, and three test engines have now accumulated 370h of testing and 271 full cycles. All three test engines either "meet or exceed" the HPC efficiency improvement target of 5% relative to the Block 2 configuration of the earlier five-stage HPC engine. Looking ahead P&W says six test engines will be running within two months and flight tests on its Boeing 747SP are still expected to start on schedule in the third quarter of 2003 for FAA certification in November 2004. First flight on the A318 is now due in the first quarter, with entry-into-service expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2005 to "suit the delivery timescale of ILFC and America West", says P&W. When the new PW6000 is approved, the first A318 will be re-engined and will undergo about lOOh of engine perfor mance-related testing for certification of that variant. This will take place in 2005, with certification targeted for November that year. So despite its bad start, the A318 is poised to start earning money for its customers. Airbus is confident the future is now brighter for its smallest model. "The A318 extends the family for A320 customers," says Airbus vice-president marketing Colin Stuart. "We expect to sell the majority to existing A320 operators." Frontier will be the first to put the new baby to the test, and will introduce the air craft next month alongside its fleet of 17 132-seat A319s from its hub in Denver, Colorado. The airline says the 114-seaters will replace its similarly sized 737-200s on its thinner routes, and could also be used on lower demand longer-haul flights. • HBHI^i^^^^^^^HHMI^^^^i^M^B^i^^HM^B^HHHHHi 80 10-16 JUNE 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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