Dubai Airshow News 11 17 13

Dubai

NOV. 17, 2013

Airshow News

®

SUNDAY

AINONLINE.COM

New venue re-energizes Dubai Airshow

rising tide With a strong showing of exhibitors and participants, this year’s running of the Dubai Airshow promises to be as exciting as a performance by UAE’s Al Fursan aerobatic jets.

Possible Site for Expo 2020

As well as becoming the permanent home of the Dubai Airshow, the new exhibition center will also host the biennial Middle East Business Aviation show, beginning in December 2014. And if Dubai is successful in its bid to host the Expo 2020 world fair then the center will form an integral part of the infrastructure. Dubai is competing with Izmir (Turkey), São Paulo (Brazil) and Yekaterinburg (Russia) for the Continued on page 69 u

Typhoon hopes rise as Cameron jets in

by Chris Pocock and David Donald UK Prime Minister David Cameron made an unexpected stop here at the Dubai Airshow on his way home from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka. Speaking to assembled UK aerospace industrialists, he encouraged them to compete in what he termed the “global race.”

“If we play to our strengths we can be a real winner,” he said, “And one of our strengths is aerospace. It’s an industry we’re good at.” But, he added, “It’s not a zero-sum game where one country has to win and another loses.”

Cameron did not refer specifically to the possibility of selling Typhoons to the UAE, but did say that he was “incredibly proud to stand up and promote the aircraft around the world.” He later stated

his hope that the UK could be entering into a partnership here in the UAE on more general aerospace matters.

His arrival last evening undoubtedly reinforced the British-led bid to sell the Eurofighter Typhoon to the UAE and

added fuel to the speculation that a deal could be imminent. British defense ­secretary Philip Hammond and defense procurement minister Philip Dunne are also expected to attend the airshow Continued on page 69 u

DAVID McINTOSH

This year’s Dubai Airshow marks the start of a new era in the event’s growth as one of the key dates in the aviation calendar.

Having been under development for several years, the move to a new site here at Dubai World Central/Al Maktoum International Airport has been accomplished seamlessly.

The move not only provides the show with a purpose-built facility with expanded road access, but also frees the former location at the busy Dubai International Airport from the burden of having to shut down airline operations during the daily flying display.

It may be a new site and a new building, but a closer look reveals many reminders of the former show location. Underlining Dubai’s emphasis on the importance of recycling, some of the infrastructure and fittings have been re-used here. Most obvious is the show’s own air traffic control tower, but also elements of the entrance hall have been recycled. The exhibitor chalets and Royal Pavilion were also carefully reconstructed at the new location.

Even some of the trees outside have been uprooted from the old exhibition center to find a new home at the site.

MARK WAGNER

by David Donald

With its presence in the region already strong, the Eurofighter Typhoon’s fortunes are soaring.

Fighter Contracts

Anti-missile Tech

Finance

Business Aviation

Airlines

Swiss Fighter Trials

Russian Systems Favored

Field of Lessors Thins

Dassault’s Falcon 5X

‘Big 3’ are Region’s Hub

A trio of canard-equipped combat aircraft duked it out for the rights to defend Switzerland. How that competition played out has implications for other contract battles around the world, including here in the Gulf region. Page 18

The politics and scope of weaponry in the Gulf region favors Russian-made anti-aircraft systems. It’s a history that dates back to the days of the Soviet Union. Russia continues to hold a leading position in the field. Page 32

In the world after the 2008 financial collapse, the complement of aircraft leasing companies has thinned considerably. For those that jumped into the game near the end of the boom, the times have been toughest. Page 42

Finally revealed at last month’s U.S. National Business Aviation Association show, Dassault’s large cabin Falcon 5X will incorporate game-changing technology, including the most spacious cabin in the class. Page 48

The stunning financial performances of Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have confounded the management teams of more mature carriers based in Europe and the U.S. There is no sign of let-up in their forward progress. Page 52

Need defense news? Sign up for AIN Defense Perspective.

Airbus, its logo and the product names are registered trademarks.

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Personal space isn’t any less personal on a twelve hour long-haul flight. 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.

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Dubai

Airshow News

familiar facade

®

FOUNDED IN 1972

James Holahan, Founding Editor

If the control tower here at the new Dubai Airshow site looks familiar, it’s because it’s the same one you’ve seen in years past. The entire structure was moved from the old site, along with much of the rest of the original brick and mortar and reassembled here.

Wilson S. Leach, Managing Director R. RANDALL PADFIELD, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Editor-in-chief – Charles A. Alcock INTERNATIONAL EDITOR – Ian Sheppard Press room managing Editor – Matt Thurber PRODUCTION DIRECTOR – Mary E. Mahoney the editorial team Rick Adams Bill Carey David Donald Thierry Dubois Ian Goold Reuben Johnson Kirby J. Harrison Mark Huber

Vladimir Karnozov Neelam Mathews Chris Pocock Gregory Polek Peter Shaw-Smith Jennifer Harrington Snell Aimée Turner

production editor – Lysbeth McAleer the production team Mona L. Brown John T. Lewis John Manfredo Jane Campbell Alena Korenkov Mark Phelps

Colleen Redmond Annmarie Yannaco

MARK WAGNER

Photographers David McIntosh; Mark Wagner

U.S. ambassador to the UAE Michael Corbin will participate in a ceremonial ribbon cutting at noon today to officially open the U.S. International Pavilion at Stand 2358. Luminaries appearing with Corbin include U.S. ambassador to Qatar Susan Ziaheh; regional senior commercial officer for the Gulf and counselor for commercial affairs John Simmons; Robert Bannerman, U.S. consulate general for Dubai; and Tom Kallman, principal commercial officer and president and CEO of U.S. Pavilion organizer Kallman Worldwide. This year’s U.S. contingent includes 45 exhibitors representing 13 U.S. states occupying the largest country pavilion at the show. Nearly a third of the exhibitors have never attended a Dubai Airshow.

According to Kallman, this year’s pavilion is 30 percent larger than the one it organized for the 2011 event. n

Alpha Star signs for first ATR 72-600 Saudi Arabia’s Alpha Star Aviation Services (Stand 806) has signed a firm order for a single ATR 72-600, marking the first sale of ATR’s latest turboprop series in the Middle East. Alpha Star, which also reserved an option on another of the Pratt & Whitney PW127M-powered turboprops, now operates an ATR 42-600. It expects its first ATR 72 to arrive in September 2014.

The acquisition of the new airplanes accounts for part of Alpha Star’s initiative to meet the growing demand in the private aviation sector in Saudi Arabia. Alpha Star has chosen what ATR calls a high comfort, 66-passenger cabin

B787 making ‘good progress’

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by Gregory Polek Boeing sees the reliability of the 787 Dreamliner improving to originally targeted rates within six months, company vice president of sales for the Middle East Marty Bentrott told a gathering of reporters yesterday during a pre-show briefing here in Dubai. Responding to Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker’s recent comments about his dissatisfaction with the reliability of the Boeing 787, Bentrott noted that the issues didn’t affect only Qatar, but that Boeing remains committed to resolving them as soon as possible.

“We have a large Boeing team in Doha supporting that fleet, helping them with their maintenance activity,” said Bentrott. “You take the technology that you have on the 787 today and the amount of information that’s being generated and to a large degree flowing to

the flight deck and in front of the pilots, it’s probably a little bit too much. With that intense amount of information it causes them to perhaps be a little bit more concerned about certain functions or certain technical glitches when, if you just make some changes in software, you can deal with those problems. So we’re making good progress; the fleet reliability is improving. Do we have additional work ahead of us? Yes, but I think we’ll be turning the corner pretty strongly in about six months from now.”

Bentrott insisted that the new airplane, despite its reliability travails, has delivered its advertised efficiency gains. Qatar, he said, started operating its airplanes 16 hours a day as soon as it took delivery.

Qatar now operates nine 787s out of a total of 30 on order. o

configuration for the ATR 72. The company claims Alpha Star’s experience with the ATR 42-600 series validates its ability to operate in harsh environments, particularly from unpaved runways in challenging Middle Eastern regions.

“Given the intense market dynamics with a multitude of business opportunities in the region, Alpha Star to date needs more of the reliable, comfortable and high-performance aircraft such as the ATR 72-600 to better satisfy the rising

demand in private transport,” said Alpha Star CEO Salim Al Muzaini. “Besides, the ATR turboprops perform impeccably in a challenging environment, which is extremely important to our operations.

We also highly value aircraft quick turnarounds and the unique capability to serve the company’s operational needs.”

Based in Riyadh, Alpha Star conducts a range of private aviation services, including aircraft management, charter, air ambulance and consultation. –G.P.

4 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Saudi Arabia’s Alpha Star Aviation Services will soon be flying an ATR 72-600 like this one.

PRESS ROOM MANAGER & IT Solutions – Mona L. Brown Publisher – Anthony T. Romano

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MARK WAGNER

Luminaries will INAUGURATE U.S. pavilion

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Dubai Airshow News is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432; Tel.: +1 201 444 5075. Copyright © 2013. All rights ­reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part ­without permission of The Convention News Co., Inc. is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc. also publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, AINmx Reports, AINsafety, Business Jet Traveler, ABACE Convention News, EBACE Convention News, HAI Convention News, LABACE Convention News, MEBA Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Farnborough Airshow News, Paris Airshow News, Singapore Airshow News.

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Bombardier, CSeries, CS100 and The Evolution of Mobility are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

All data and specifications are estimates, subject to change in family strategy, branding, capacity, performance during the course of the design, manufacture and certification process.

Performance has been estimated based on a 500 NM North American operating environment. © 2013 Bombardier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gulf carriers tempted with quintet of IFC jets Fast-growing Russian leasing group Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC) is targeting the Middle East market with a portfolio of five airliners that could exploit the increasingly blurred lines between traditional regional air transport fleets and new-generation narrowbodies. In increments of 15 to 25 passenger seats, IFC offers the following five types spanning capacities of between 68 and 212 seats: Antonov’s An-148/158, the Sukhoi Superjet SSJ-100, the in-development Bombardier CSeries and Irkut MC-21-300, as well as the Tupolev Tu-204SM. According to Stewart Cordner, IFC’s head of international sales, the mix of what the group views as complementary aircraft will strengthen the hand of Middle Eastern carriers as they seek to develop relatively short, thin routes in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

He also argued that the fact that many countries in the region have extensive experience operating Russian-made military and freighter aircraft gives brands such as Sukhoi, Antonov and Tupolev greater cachet.

“The whole of Asia is a very interesting place for us,” Cordner told AIN ahead of this week’s airshow. “We would not be in Dubai unless we thought there is a market for us there. We

would not spend money if we would not feel there is a chance for return.” His team of 10 people is now refining a specific marketing plan for IFC in the Middle East.

At Moscow’s MAKS air show in August, IFC delivered its 50th leased aircraft (an An-158) to Cuban flagcarrier Cubana de Aviación. It also signed orders and commitments for almost another 100 aircraft.

Cordner, who is British, brings an interesting perspective and past experience to the task of expanding IFC’s marketing horizons. Formerly with the UK’s BAE Systems group, he has experience trying to advance the case for operators in this part of the world to lease examples of its BAe 146 and Avro RJ fourengined regional jets.

Short-field Champs

Cut from similar cloth, in terms of its ability to operate from short- and unprepared airfields, the high-wing An-148/158 twinjets are, according to Cordner, everything the British quadjets sought to offer and more.

“When people with 146 experience look at the An-148/158 I see them half-smile because they think it was actually the airplane that BAE Systems should have developed,” he claimed. He

Airlines in the Gulf have five jets to choose from in the Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC) stable. Among them is the An-148/158, as seen here in Dubai.

believes the Antonov aircraft are well placed to be chosen as replacements for the aging, out-of-production 146s and Avro RJs for operators eager to improve their fleets with greater speed, range and fuel efficiency.

“And that’s exactly what the An-148/158 delivers,” he said. “A brand new Antonov makes sense since it does everything that the 146 did but three times better.”

With range boosted to 3,804 nm with additional fuel tanks, the An-148 can also provide a viable alternative to bigger jets currently employed on some governmental duties. One target fleet replacement customer is Abu Dhabi’s head of state flight department, which is currently a 146/Avro RJ customer.

“I am sure that the Superjet can also do well [in the Middle

East],” Cordner told AIN, pointing out that Sukhoi’s fighter jets are held in high regard by several local air forces. Perhaps more significantly, attractive export credit terms are available to customers through government-backed Russian banks, reducing both the purchase price and operating costs of the SSJ-100.

According to IFC, the SSJ-100 is a good option for airlines looking to nurture relatively thin routes in the Middle East. The leasing group maintains that once a route has been proven and is growing, it will be able to boost a carrier’s capacity and profit potential by smoothly replacing the Sukhois with larger jets from its portfolio, such as the CSeries or the MC-21. “For a leasing company like ours it is important to have a good mix

clean machine

DAVID McINTOSH

An air show is where an aircraft ought to look its best.

That can represent a challenge in a desert region. During the lead-up to Dubai 2013, a brief but impressive sandstorm hit the show grounds on Friday morning. Exhibitors quickly hopped to the clean-up chores with soft cloth materials and smiling faces.

6 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

DAVID McINTOSH

by Vladimir Karnozov

of aircraft so that we can start with an operator by giving him a smaller jet initially and, say, after 10 years still staying together.”

CSeries Prospect

Cordner said he sees “significant prospects” for Bombardier’s CSeries in the Middle East, with clients in the Arabian Gulf accounting for several of the Canadian airframer’s backlog of orders. “We want to capitalize on this,” he said. “There is a big gap between regional jets and the smallest Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and that is where the CSeries plugs in. What we are doing right now is convincing people to look at the CSeries.”

IFC (Chalet C8) holds a firm order for 32 CS300s plus options for 10 more, with deliveries due to in start in late 2015. “Early [delivery] slots do play a role, and that is why we ordered the airplane early,” explained Cordner. “We spent a lot of time deliberating over this and we did not want to be the first [CSeries customer], but we did not want to be far away among other lessors. And we found sweets spots in our analysis. Before 2020 we are going to be one of few leasing companies able to offer airlines CSeries aircraft on lease terms.”

Carriers getting in line now to order a CSeries directly from Bombardier are looking at delivery slots in 2018 and 2019.

Where IFC feels it has an edge is that it can get them aircraft almost four years sooner, saving, Cordner claimed, between $2 million and $5 million per aircraft per year, based on projected operating cost savings compared with existing fleets.

“Instead of waiting, customers can have greater profits more quickly,” he said. “This is the kind of discussion we are having with airlines now.” o

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Atlantic FuelEx joins regional steering group

by Charles Alcock

Atlantic FuelEx president and CEO Rani Awad will help the AACO with three main issues as part of the steering committee.

operators as to which companies meet acceptable standards.

It also organizes an annual conference and last August hosted a technical summit on aviation fuel in Dubai.

Awad told AIN that the committee is dealing with three main issues. The first concerns inconsistent pricing levels for fuel in different countries. For instance, in some African countries jet-A is currently charged at rates as high as $5 per gallon and prices can fluctuate in some cases by more than $1 per gallon. AACO wants to see more stable pricing in the countries where its members operate. “These rates can cause huge losses for airlines so we are discussing it with government,” said Awad.

The AACO steering committee, in coordination with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is campaigning to reduce levels of taxation on aircraft fuel.

At the same time, it is pressing for a system to post changes in fuel taxation rates online in real time. It wants to get this system in place by mid-2014. Atlantic FuelEx is also involved in AACO’s purchasing and technical committees.

African Growth

Meanwhile, Atlantic FuelEx (Stand 3260) is expanding its aviation fuel resale activities in Africa and at the same time is working to improve service standards in the continent.

“We have started helping the African suppliers and carriers to get in touch with IATA standards, and many of them currently are not sufficiently insured,” said Awad.

After encountering problems with fuel supply to airlines in Nigeria, Atlantic FuelEx set up a new joint venture with a local Nigerian supplier to support its client Egypt Air. The new arrangement ensures that the fuel supply service is covered by $1 billion of insurance and that it is fully compliant with IATA standards.

Atlantic FuelEx, which has been in business for just over a year and a half, also is active in Kenya, Libya, Mali and Djibouti. There it has been taking steps to secure fuel supplies that are not subject to what it views as unjustifiable fees. According to the company, each increase of one cent in the price of jet fuel increases costs for operators worldwide by $700 million per year and specifically in the Middle East by $49 million.

“It is quite new in the African region for someone to take responsibility for fuel supplies to IATA standards,” said Awad.

As one of the founding members of the African Airlines Association, Atlantic FuelEx aims to support both fuel suppliers and operators rather than simply taking jet fuel from one side to sell to the other. o

poseidon’s adventure

DAVID McINTOSH

Atlantic FuelEx has been appointed as a member of the steering committee of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO). The Dubaibased company is the first fuel reseller to be appointed to the group, which is focused on improving the reliability and quality of fuel supplies to carriers in the region.

For instance, the committee is implementing new solutions for AACO operators to use for fuel supply management. It is also preparing a new standards manual giving guidelines on the aircraft fuel supply process.

Atlantic FuelEx president and CEO Rani Awad said the steering committee is updating its established process for evaluating fuel suppliers and guiding

The U.S. Navy is showing off its latest new aircraft, the Boeing 737-based PV-8 “Poseidon” maritime patrol platform.

Quest Aviation to be local sales agent for U.S.-based MD Helicopters

by Peter Shaw-Smith Quest Aviation Solutions has put plans to develop the Gulf region’s first locally-produced helicopter on ice to take up an opportunity to become sales distributor for MD Helicopters. In a deal announced here at the Dubai Airshow this week, Quest will be appointed as the U.S. manufacturer’s representative in the UAE. It is reviewing a project launched two years ago to begin local production of a Ukrainian-designed helicopter called AVQ. The MD fleet includes five helicopter types, the single-engine 500 and 600 series, the 530F and 540F for hot-and-high missions and the twin-engined MD Explorer. Single-engine helicopter list prices start at $1.5 million, going up to $6 million for the MD Explorer, which can rise to $7.5 million with optional equipment such as winches or medical refits.

“We didn’t expect to obtain a partnership with MD Helicopters so quickly,” said Mike Creed, commercial and deputy project director for Quest Aviation Solutions. “The contract was signed three weeks ago. We have longestablished relations with the U.S. firm [and] this relationship fasttracks our goals. There are immediate opportunities within the territory.” Plans to set up a dedicated local MRO facility in the UAE are also in place.

AIN reported at the Dubai 2011 Airshow that Quest (Chalet B15) had become a new entrant to the rotorcraft industry with launch of the tandemrotor, light-twin AVQ helicopter, a $2.95 million aircraft designed

8 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

in the Ukraine but manufactured in the UAE. First flight for the helicopter, which featured an ejection capsule, had been planned for early 2013.

“We are re-evaluating that project totally since we got this MD opportunity. It came along rather unexpectedly. MD wanted to get into the territory for a long time,” said Creed, who heads up Quest’s day-to-day operations in China, India and the UAE.

missions],” said Creed. “The Notar [no tail-rotor] technology, exclusive to MD, comes to the fore, as it is not dangerous. The aircraft is also quiet, [a plus] for police and EMS roles, [which] are looking at different ways of utilizing light helicopters for their roles. They’ve been using big helicopters before, and are now looking for light helicopters, which are sprightlier and a little more operationally viable.

Quest Aviation Solutions’ Mike Creed said he’s been keen to have MD Helicopters back in the UAE.

“I have been pushing to get MD back into the Middle East. It has been out of the region, except Qatar, where it has an emergency medical services [EMS] contract for Hamad Hospital. Two aircraft have been stationed [there] since 2008, as civil air ambulances. The Explorer is doing very well there.

We wanted it back in the UAE [where] police and EMS is starting to develop strongly.

“The tail rotor can be dangerous, and there is a lot of running towards the helicopter [during

That’s why they are looking at the [Explorer].”

Quest’s territory will cover the seven UAE emirates–Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah, the company said.

Quest Investments Group, the parent of Quest Aviation Solutions, is owned by Dubai’s Al Ansari family and seeks investments in technology, aviation, oil and gas and property and decides whether to invest family money or pooled investor risk capital. o

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Saudi Arabia is developing a national EWOS capability with Selex ES to provide operational mission data files for aircraft such as the Typhoon.

Selex ES is supporting the electronic battle

by David Donald With around 1,000 employees, the electronic warfare arm of Selex ES is a major player in the EW marketplace, as a lead integrator on programs, such as the Praetorian defensive system of the Eurofighter Typhoon; as a provider of equipment; and as a developer of new technology.

It is also increasingly involved in supporting EW operations of air arms as nations move toward greater control over their own electronic warfare resources.

A key facility is the Electronic Warfare Operational Support (EWOS) unit that was established in Lincoln, UK, in 2008.

Initially created to provide operational support to the Royal Air Force, and located close to that service’s Air Warfare Centre at RAF Waddington, EWOS has expanded its capabilities to introduce training for both UK and overseas personnel, and to support real-world operations through the development of mission data files/sets that program the electronic warfare equipment of various air assets.

Mission data sets are crucial to the effective operation of EW equipment, as they program the types of threat that

are prevalent in the operational theater, and also the responses to those threats. Selex ES has developed a sophisticated concept-to-capability tool that can rapidly update mission data to take into account emerging threats, so that a new file can be ready for either immediate use or for testing in less than an hour after receiving the data of a new emitter. Selex ES’s EWOS division supports the UK in this work, but is also helping other nations to develop their own sovereign EWOS capability so that they can respond to the threats that face them directly.

Nine countries are under contract, and there are several other firm prospects.

Here in the Gulf region, sovereign EW operational support is growing. For instance, in the UAE the capability already exists to reprogram the Falcon Edge EW system on the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, and that of the Dassault Mirage 2000 fleet.

Selex ES is working with Saudi Arabia to develop its own sovereign EWOS capability to support the nation’s Typhoon fleet, among others. As the sovereign

capability is being created, the Lincoln site is providing day-today operational support, as well as training Saudi personnel to staff the country’s own center.

Selex ES’s Hidas system equips the Boeing AH-64s attack helicopters of Kuwait, which is also in the process of establishing a sovereign capability. The first batch of Kuwaiti personnel completed a training course at Lincoln in July this year, and Selex ES has assigned a field specialist to Kuwait to assist, along with a number of mission data sets that can be tailored in-country. Greece is another nation that is looking to establish a full sovereign capability for its AH-64 Apache helicopters, which are

Selex ES is assisting Kuwait to establish sovereign EW programming capability for its Hidas-equipped Apaches.

also equipped with the Selex ES Hidas defensive aids system.

At the heart of the Lincoln EWOS facility is a laboratory where both training and trials can be undertaken. Housed in a Faraday cage that not only keeps extraneous “noise” from

Snecma tests one-fifth model of open-rotor engine Snecma is about to carry out further tests on a one-fifth scale model of an open-rotor engine, in a research and technology effort that epitomizes how laborious developing a new commercial engine concept can be. The concept, based on counter-rotating high-speed propellers, may not find itself in service before 2025, but the objective is to cut fuel burn by 25 to 30 percent compared to the CFM56 (Snecma’s current narrowbody engine, produced in conjunction with GE).

A new series of evaluations are planned to start this month at the Onera S1 windtunnel in Modane, France. “This time it will be a high-speed test, since we want to demonstrate the engine’s potential for reducing fuel

Snecma is preparing a highspeed-test to demonstrate the open rotor’s fuel burn advantage.

consumption,” propeller module manager Marc Doussinault explained.

The previous series of tests, which lasted two weeks in July, focused on the engine’s low-speed aerodynamics and acoustics. The French engine maker’s engineers checked out several propeller pairs. In the S1 wind tunnel they used the Hera testbed, aimed at maturing the design of the propellers. In two series of tests, one used the baseline propeller pair, which had already been tested, and the other was a new configuration. The latter arrangement allows the propellers to rotate at different speeds, “giving the engine greater operating freedom and enhancing both aeroacoustic and aerodynamic performance,” according to Snecma (Stand 1145).

Test results validated design software programs. Moreover, they helped explain the physical phenomena involved in reducing the usually dreadful noise of counter-rotating propellers. “We have demonstrated that we can meet the new noise standards,” Doussinault said.

A major step in open-rotor development is to occur in 2015 in Istres, southeast France, where full-scale propellers will be tested. The project will study blades made of 3-D-woven composites, like those of CFM’s Leap turbofan, which therefore means that blade design has to be frozen shortly.

“We will start manufacturing the molds in early 2014,” Doussinault said.

Aerospace research center Onera also emphasized its role in the effort.

This included “innovative and even revolutionary approaches,” Patrick Wagner, director of computing, engineering and testing facilities, told AIN. Onera is now working on a more advanced testbed, dubbed Z49, which will be able to accommodate an open-rotor model and accompanying fuselage, wing or empennage model. In fact, Onera has already begun the validation phase of Z49 in S1, and it is understood that Snecma’s openrotor model was used for this purpose.

–T.D.

10 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

affecting its operations but also stops any potentially sensitive emissions escaping, the laboratory is equipped with simulators that generate RF signals that can be run into the signal processors of electronic warfare equipment. Using software to generate these signals is much cheaper than using real hardware, although the latter can also be used if required.

Alongside the laboratory are classrooms for training. A number of courses are offered, covering a variety of requirements and at varying levels of knowledge.

The Lincoln site can train up to 42 personnel at one time, and in 2014 is expecting to conduct 435 total training days, as compared with 175 this year. The increase is largely due to the requirements of the Saudi contract.

While the EWOS unit was created initially to support the equipment in which Selex ES acts as integrator or supplier, the company’s EWOS activities can also be applied to equipment from other manufacturers.

Wynne Davies, head of strategic EW campaigns for Selex ES (Stand 1933), acknowledged that there are some issues when moving into areas involving the IP of other companies, but noted that, “We can put in place half the velcro. We can put up the hooks from which they hang their kit, whether it’s U.S., French or Russian.” o

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Leap-1 testing leaps ahead

by Ian Goold With initial running of the new Leap-1 engine on schedule in September, CFM International (CFMI) has embarked on an “unprecedented” level of testing that should involve 20 developmental units by the end of next year and seven of the remaining eight planned examples before 2016 (when a final powerplant will take part in a short exercise–possibly a Leap1C blade-out check).

The equal-share Franco-American joint venture between Snecma and GE Aviation will test an additional 32 compliance examples of the new design, which is expected to take to the air for the first time when a -1C model flies on a flying testbed (FTB) in about six months. FTB work will follow for the -1A in the third quarter of next year and for the -1B in early 2015.

Testing in the past two months has been conducted on the first Leap-1A, the variant destined for the Airbus A320neo and which shares its turbo-machinery with the -1C that will power the Chinese Comac C919. Design of those two models was frozen last year, while that for the remaining -1B variant for the Boeing 737 Max occurred earlier in 2013.

Engine certification and first flight of the -1A and -1C are slated for 2015, with those for the third variant following in the first half of 2016. The new engine is scheduled to enter service as the Leap1A on the A320neo, ahead of the -1B and -1C versions in 2017 (in that order).

On Schedule or Ahead

CFMI is at pains to relate that, by October, “every major milestone for all three applications has been hit on if not ahead of schedule.” Asked why the Leap1C will be the first model to fly despite the Comac C919 being the third of the three aircraft to enter service, Chekat

Chahrour, GE’s executive vice president at CFMI, said the test schedule is “based on the requirements from the three airplane companies [and] the ultimate entry-intoservice [dates]. [We] put the FTB for the -1A first, [but there are] hardware requirements that [must be met] on time [to fulfill the] schedule for each FTB.” In reality, CFMI will have the hardware for the -1C first: “So we’re just going to go ahead and [fly] it first. This is how we laid [out] our schedule. We like to stick to our plan and not really create ‘churn,’” according to Chahrour.

Nevertheless, the manufacturer expects to apply data from the first flights to subsequent engines. “The -1C and -1A are very similar, although installation is not exactly the same. We’ll get as much useful data as we can out of that [-1C] FTB. But from an engine perspective, everything that we learn on the 1-C is applicable to the -1A.” Next year, CFMI will finish testing the first engine, said Chahrour. “We’re going to take it down, rebuild it and do an engineering early icing test to make sure we have enough time to react [before certification] if any issue shows up in icing.”

The icing test will be conducted in Winnipeg, Canada.

“Then we’re going to do an early block test ahead of certification to give us the practice and the confidence. We [will] run at maximum fan speed, maximum core speed and maximum exhaustgas temperature for extended periods,” he said. Other 2014 work will include bladevibration tests, rain, hail and ice ingestion, with all the activity repeated on the -1B, for which assembly is beginning in mid-November and which is scheduled to be running in June.

With 20 of the 28 developmental certification engines being involved, according

Avionics engineering forum at Dubai show this week The International Council on Systems Engineering (Incose) has scheduled an all-day avionics engineering forum during the Dubai Airshow for November 19. Presenters from around the globe plan to discuss topics including avionics systems and market trends and connectivity in airborne applications, particularly as they relate to this region.

“Indigenous offset programs are fueling the need for localized development, upgrade and maintenance of advanced avionics systems in the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region,” said Nauman Arshad, MENA Ambassador for Incose and CEO of Rockford-Xellerix.

“As a result, there is an increased need for the promotion of international collaboration in Systems Engineering practice, education and research.”

Incose has geared the forum’s subject matter to executive managers, technical project managers, systems architects, systems engineers, integration managers and test engineers.

According to the Aircraft Electronics Association, worldwide avionics sales reached $6.3 billion in 2012. Having registered $1.6 billion in worldwide sales in the second quarter of 2013, the global avionics industry expects to enjoy another record year. With the estimated demand for aircraft to reach over 29,000 through 2032, according to Airbus, ancillary avionics markets focused on biofuel, composites, airport and air traffic management technologies, in-flight entertainment and onboard satellite communications, appear poised to grow, creating new opportunities and partnerships in the United Arab Emirates and across the region.

Seven industry leaders–Incose, PennWell, Wind River, RTI, Curtis Wright, Rockford-Xellerix and TE Connectivity–participated in the forum’s creation and sponsorship.

Individuals interested in learning more about the Incose forum can register online at http://www.xellerix.com, or visit Rockford-Xellerix (Stand 3245) at the show.

–G.P.

12 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Testing of the Leap-1 powerplant will involve 60 engine builds over the next three years. Engine certification is slated for 2015 ahead of commercial service entry on the Airbus A320neo in 2016, according to CFM International.

to a notional chart designed to show the depth and breadth of the test and airworthiness approval program, CFMI describes the volume of tests as unprecedented.

The company declines to say how many developmental Leap-1s are assigned to each airframe design: “We are not disclosing how many of each model because the information can be considered proprietary. Each bar [on the chart] does indicate an engine, but it is a mix of models and missions for the various engines. The length of the bars is indicative of the kind of tests we would do. Some tests can be very short–[such as] fan blade out–[while] others are very long–[such as] endurance or flight test.”

The subsequent 32 compliance units are the flight test engines to be sent to Airbus, Boeing and Comac and that will fly ahead of certification. “So we’ll have 60 engines and we’ll have 40,000 cycles combined on these,” said Chahrour.

“That’s equivalent to about 15 years of simulated revenue service. [It’s a] tremendously aggressive and robust program, but this is what it takes to really get into service with the level of reliability that our customers expect from us.”

Problem-free Tests

Commenting on results of about six weeks’ Leap-1A testing, Chahrour said 50 percent power was achieved quickly on the first day of running, with full power being reached a few hours later following a series of required “break-in” runs. “In fact, we achieved above fullrated thrust of the engine–30,000 pounds, well above it, actually–within 48 hours of putting that engine to test.”

By mid-October, CFMI had logged around 175 hours of Leap-1A running, about 170 cycles, and about 165 starts, according to Chahrour. “And I’m proud and really happy to [say it] is running very smoothly. This engine wants to run. The only time that we actually [do] not run it is when we’re trying to change configuration of the engine to meet our test plan objectives.”

Really, everything that we’ve seen

meets or exceeds our expectations. We’re very, very thrilled. Everything is working great; the composites [sic] fan blades, the TAPS combustor, the ceramic-matrix composite shrouds and our HPT blades.

These are the four newer technologies in the engine and we’re pleased with every aspect of the results.”

Chahrour confirmed that initial testing has been essentially problem-free: “From a mechanical standpoint, the engine is running great, smoothly, and we have had no glitches, no show-stoppers.”

Engine starting and operability [are] right on our plan.” The manufacturer has run three different iterations of the core.

This performance is seen by CFMI as a testimony to the module-testing strategy that it introduced four years ago, including the fan, different components and enginelevel testing with the fan. “All of that gave us the ‘runway’ to be able to really run smoothly and not interrupt the testing.”

On the question of new technologies, CFMI partner GE Aviation had by midOctober run nearly 1,400 cycles (out of a planned 3,000 cycles) with a set of CMC shrouds on two GEnx engines. “So we’re not relying on the first [test] engine to get [what] we need to know: we have had a pretty generous test plan with the GEnx engine,” according to Chahrour.

As CFMI prepares for the Leap engine’s service entry on three airframes during 2016-17, it faces a steep increase in manufacturing rate. “The goal is to achieve complete production ramp-up within less than three years–from zero to 1,700 engines/year by the end of 2018 [or] beginning of 2019,” said Cedric Goubet, CFMI’s executive vice president representing Snecma interests. This compares with the partnership’s current annual production of about 1,500 engines.

In September when AIN visited the new “pulse line” at CFM’s Villaroche plant south of Paris, where most CFM engines are assembled, it was evident that a real ramp-up in production efficiency has been implemented through a major investment. o

UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as the most prominent countries in the region for potential Boeing sales, the company can in no way consider Egypt an afterthought, particularly now that it has issued a request for proposal covering 60 airplanes, potentially of various sizes, to support a plan to replace aging jets and expand its fleet from 81 to 125 airplanes by 2022.

Operating Despite Turmoil

In one new, formerly closed market that Boeing has managed to penetrate, Iraqi Airways took delivery of its first 737-800 in August.

The airline has committed to thirty 737NGs and ten 787s, although it does not plan to take its first Dreamliner until after 2020.

Boeing catch-up efforts paying off in Middle East

by Gregory Polek The Middle East has undoubtedly become a key market for Boeing and Airbus alike, but the extent to which the two manufacturers enjoy market share in various capacity categories differs dramatically. Airbus, for example, holds a virtually unchallenged lead in the ultra-large-aircraft segment due to Emirates Airline’s installed fleet of nearly 40 A380s.

It also leads in the narrowbody market, carrying more than 60 percent of the installed base thanks to the large number of A320-family jets at airlines such as Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Sharjah-based Air Arabia. Boeing, conversely, accounts for some 54 percent of the installed base of twin widebodied aircraft, located most prominently at Emirates, whose 777 fleet now numbers 130.

Over the past five years, Boeing (Stand 1606) has worked especially hard to develop relationships and devote more resources in general to the Middle East in an effort to capture more of the narrowbody market, according to Marty Bentrott, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Middle East vice president of sales. Speaking with AIN a few weeks before the Dubai show, Bentrott acknowledged that Boeing underestimated the Middle East market for single-aisle airplanes roughly a decade ago, leaving it somewhat unprepared for the subsequent surge in demand among low-fare carriers, in particular.

It has also been working hard to buttress its position in the widebody segment, he added.

As a result, its 737 family accounts for only 38 percent of the single-aisle airplanes in

operation and just 30 percent of the backlog in the Middle East.

Encouraged by the prospect of an imminent order for a large number of its new 737 Max airplanes for current 737-800 operator FlyDubai, however, Boeing expects its backlog share to increase significantly by the end of the Dubai show.

Focus on Customers

“We took our eye off the ball back in the late ’90s, early 2000s time period,” said Bentrott. “Airbus took advantage of what they deemed to be a strong, growing market and I think we probably didn’t expect things to take off the way they have taken off. “[Today] we are more focused on customers and relationships, and if you looked at the data over the past five years, our market share has been around 60 percent or 60 percent and above through the region, so we’ve done pretty well overall.”

Bentrott noted that Boeing has added three representatives at its Dubai office in the past three years to help with sales coverage in the region, and that the performance of the products in service, most notably its 737s that are in service with FlyDubai and Oman Air, have perhaps served as the most effective marketing tool.

“So as we’ve had some successes there, the airplanes have performed well and the customers like them and their utilization levels are very high, so they’re maximizing the revenue capability of those airplanes,” explained Bentrott. “And then, certainly on the widebodies, the success of the [777-]300ER has just been phenomenal compared

to our competition. You’ve seen what has happened to the A340, and those that operate them today would just as soon get rid of them as soon as they could.”

One of those A340 operators is Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, whose recent purchase from Air India of five 777-200LRs to serve such long-distance routes as Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles would appear to portend a less prominent role for that airline’s A340 fleet.

“The reason [Etihad bought the 777-200LRs] is they want to phase out their A340s because they’re just costing them too much money,” said Bentrott, who added that Etihad’s move to 200LRs bodes well for sales to that airline of the 777 family in general.

While Bentrott listed the

Although tourism has waned in Egypt since the 2011 overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak and the subsequent violence associated with the military ousting from power of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptair continues to operate as normally as it can.

“As much turmoil as the country is in, the airline seems to be plugging along OK,” said Bentrott. “As other airlines have backed away from that marketplace they’ve been able to fill the void.”

Boeing has managed to escape all the regional political turmoil “basically unscathed,” added Bentrott. In fact, it delivered its entire Egyptair backlog, and in places where sectarian strife hit hardest, such as in Syria and Tunisia, it carried no delivery commitments. Of course, U.S. companies cannot generally do business in Syria and Iran due to economic sanctions, but Bentrott wouldn’t discount their potential. “It all comes down

OEM’s regional relations may spell business success Business success anywhere in the world can often depend on a company’s willingness to serve local interests as much as on its ability to offer a good-quality

product at a fair price. In the Middle East, perhaps more than elsewhere, a company’s product offerings best come with a readiness to help build a foundation

to when are people going to be comfortable with opening up the sanctions and allowing them to acquire new airplanes,” he said.

In one new formerly closed market that Boeing has managed to penetrate, Iraqi Airways took delivery of its first 737800 in August. It has committed to thirty 737NGs and ten 787s, although it doesn’t plan to take its first Dreamliner until after 2020.

In Iraq, as throughout most of the region, various cultural and political considerations often mean deals hinge on more than simple economics. “Obviously, each customer set has some unique aspects about how they conduct their business,” explained Bentrott. “Bringing more to the table than just the airplanes sometimes becomes a factor.

“Their accessibility to training for their pilots if there are visa issues for getting into the U.S. for training at times can be a negative check against us. In Iraq, we have a big infrastructure investment going on there to help the airline rebuild, even up through training their management people.”

In the UAE, Boeing has worked with Mubadala to help it develop its aerostructures business. The benefits of that cooperation can naturally extend into sales negotiations–with Etihad in particular. “Things like that weigh into their decision-making process,” said Bentrott. “It certainly [benefits Boeing] with respect to how the Boeing company is viewed in the UAE.” o for industrial and societal development. Boeing learned that lesson the hard way, as its past tendency to simply “parachute in” for sales resulted in some lackluster results over the years, particularly in the commercial realm. During the past five years, however, the OEM has worked hard to earn a reputation for good corporate citizenship in the region, and its effort has begun paying dividends, both in good will and commercial airplane sales.

Mentorship

Student interns from the UAE visit Seattle during delivery of a Boeing 777 to Emirates Airline, as part of Boeing’s capstone college-level programs.

The undertaking, at its most fundamental level, centers on an investment in so-called human capital, according to Boeing Middle East president Jeffrey Johnson. For example, the OEM’s involvement in the Middle East chapter of Junior Achievement, called Injaz, has just this year extended to the establishment in the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait of an “incubation” effort called Startup, a six-month

Continued on page 16 u

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 13

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OEM’s relations could spell success uContinued from page 13

job-shadowing and mentorship program for graduating university students. After completing the program, the budding entrepreneurs then pursue venture capital to start new businesses.

“We’ve worked over the last five years to change our thinking,” Johnson told AIN in a preshow interview. “We said we have to completely change the way we do business. Before we would sort of parachute-in the teams, do the transaction, make a sale and then parachute out and then a team would come in and execute on the promises.

“We’re here in these markets forever, so we said let’s go change our behavior.

Let’s go partnership, let’s go innovation around research and technology, let’s really weave ourselves into the fabric of the community with

Jeffrey Johnson, Boeing Middle East president

citizenship programs, with volunteer programs, with university relationships.”

Of course, Boeing’s motives are not entirely altruistic.

In fact, one of the manufacturer’s most prominent partners in the region,

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Strata, asked the U.S. company to get more involved in helping it develop young engineering talent. In response, Boeing established a university relations plan in which it has funded capstone programs for seniors at UAE University, Khalifa University and at higher colleges of technology.

“This is about…thinking long term and then acting like it,” said Johnson. “You weave yourself into the fabric of the community.”

Developing Talent Base

As Boeing sees it, such community involvement not only earns it public relations points, but also develops a talent base into which it can tap in the future.

Meanwhile, present-day partnerships with companies such as Mubadala, which makes carbon fiber parts for 777 tails and expects eventually to contribute composites for the 787, not only helps develop the UAE’s industrial base, but translates into good will with the country’s leaders, who ultimately buy Boeing’s products.

In Qatar, Boeing and the Qatar Foundation have teamed to establish a program centered on what Johnson called big-data analytics. “What we’re doing is taking our airplane health management algorithms and upgrading them again to be able to take the data that we have off the 777 and ultimately the 787 and really break through performance around predictions and health maintenance,” he explained.

Other countries where Boeing maintains a durable presence include Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, both of which have strong diplomatic ties with the U.S. Johnson praised the U.S. government’s efforts to encourage industrial cooperation as well.

“I think the U.S. has really stepped up the leadership they have at the embassies [and] the military leadership at central command,” he said. “We get great support out of the State Department, the Commerce Department, [the] White House, the Secretary of Transportation and ExIm [Bank]. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I’ve ever seen in my over thirty years in the business. And it continues to get better.” –G.P.

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Swiss battle could be Euro-canard turning point

by Chris Pocock First it was Dassault with the Rafale and then it was Eurofighter with the Typhoon that competed for the favor of the UAE Air Force. In Oman, it was the Saab Gripen against the Typhoon. In Qatar, who knows? Around the world, Europe’s three rival fighters have been locked in virtual combat. For Europe this is not necessarily a good situation, but the result of Switzerland’s evaluation of the three–in which it first favored the Rafale and then selected Saab’s Gripen, could prove pivotal in other competitions.

“This is a very bad situation,” said the head of the European Defence Agency, who pointed out that Europe simply cannot afford such wasteful competition. When choosing a new fighter, each nation has different priorities, criteria and methodology. In addition to technical evaluation, politics, technology transfer, industrial offsets and commission payments have all played a part in previous selections. So when Switzerland evaluated the three so-called “Eurocanards,” many observers awaited its

The Gripen E/F demonstrator in a test flight over Sweden last May, with a Swiss air force pilot onboard. In the competition among the three contending fighters, the Swiss chose the Swedish jet for its New Fighter Aircraft over its larger European rivals, the Eurofighter and the Rafale.

choice with considerable anticipation.

By reputation, the Swiss are thorough and methodical. Moreover, they are quite rich, and politically neutral.

Nevertheless, and perhaps inevitably, the Swiss choice of the Gripen as its New Fighter Aircraft (NFA) could not escape controversy. The government overruled the air force’s choice of the Rafale on cost grounds, it was alleged. The purchase was supposed to be off-the-shelf, but the Gripen-E is a new development, some argued. A significant minority of

Swiss citizens were entirely opposed to the NFA buy–and their voices may yet be heard if a national referendum is called on the decision.

The NFA evaluation started badly when Boeing decided not to bid, because (it said) the Super Hornet far exceeded the requirement. “The RFP spelled Gripen, so we withdrew,” a Boeing official told AIN. The competition was characterized by many as a replacement for the air force’s 54 remaining Northrop F-5E/Fs. They now operated alongside

The Rafale was the clear winner of the Swiss flight test evaluation, but it could not compete with the Gripen on cost.

33 Boeing F-18C/D Hornets acquired in the mid-to-late 1990s. Both types were dedicated to the air superiority role.

As Col. Fabio Antognini, project manager, explained in a presentation to the Fighter Conference organized by Defence IQ in London last year, the air force also wanted the NFA in order to reintroduce the air-to-ground and reconnaissance roles that had been lost with the retirement of the Mirage IIIRS in 2003. Despite its neutrality, the Swiss saw a future need to contribute to combined operations abroad with these additional capabilities. Besides, the NFA would supplement the F-18C/Ds whenever the requirement for increased protection of Swiss airspace arose. This would involve patrols that were constantly airborne.

Therefore, between 30 and 50 NFAs would be required.

Three Contenders Evaluated

In the second half of 2008, the Swiss air force conducted in-country flight evaluations of the three remaining contenders–the Eurofighter, Gripen and Rafale–from Emmen airbase. In some 10 sorties each, Swiss pilots (including Antognini) and ground-based specialists evaluated them in five roles: air policing; defensive counter-air; offensive counter-air; strike; and reconnaissance. Each contender was also allowed one flight to demonstrate additional capabilities that were not in the Swiss requirement.

Following this fly-off, the contenders were invited to submit details of improvements that they were scheduled to make to their aircraft by the projected

The Eurofighter did not fare well in the Swiss evaluation, partly because its multi-role capabilities were not fully developed.

18 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Continued on page 20 u

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Swiss battle could be canard turning point

roles. The Eurofighter failed to make the grade in the strike and reconnaissance categories. The Gripen failed to achieve the MEC in all five roles.

That verdict did not change, even when the improvements to be expected by 2015 were factored in. The development of the Eurofighter’s air-ground capability has lagged significantly behind that of the Rafale. Even so, the proposed Tranche 3 P1E enhancements to the four-nation jet, which were evaluated by the Swiss team, failed to match the F3+ standard improvements to the Rafale numbering 18, and already contracted by the French air force. They included AESA radar and other sensor improvements. Moreover, the Swiss noted, “If the Rafale is sold to the UAE, 11 new upgrade items not taken in the evaluation will be part of the delivered configuration.”

As for the Gripen, Saab told the Swiss that it had scheduled 98 upgrade items for the MS21 version of 2015, including AESA radar and infrared search and track. But these were not enough to push the Swedish jet above the MEC level in any of the five roles. The November 2009 report therefore recommended the Rafale as the New Fighter Aircraft.

Antognini declined to comment on the leaked flight test reports. “All three candidates passed the evaluation...

They met our requirements,” he told the Fighter Conference. He told AIN that it is important to note that those two reports were not the whole story.

There were eight others produced, covering maintenance, noise, growth potential and other criteria. These were all weighted according to a predetermined scale of Swiss priorities. This scale was also leaked to the media (see Overall Evaluation Criteria) but the other reports stayed confidential.

Then the cost was factored into the evaluation, said Antognini, before one final main report was sent to the Federal Council–the Swiss government’s sevenmember decision-making authority. The acquisition cost of the Gripen would clearly be lower than its two larger competitors. The smaller jet would also score better on adaptability to Swiss airfields and life-cycle costs.

The first thing that the Federal Council did was–nothing! The crisis in financial markets gave even the Swiss pause for thought. The Federal Council wanted to trim the nation’s defense budget. Given

uContinued from page 18

delivery date to Switzerland of 2015.

Between March and August 2009, the air force evaluation team visited Dassault, Eurofighter and Saab to witness flight and simulator demonstrations.

The result was two confidential flight test reports that were approved for distribution in November 2009. They were subsequently leaked to the Swiss media, providing outsiders with a fascinating insight into the respective flying performance of the three contenders, as seen by the Swiss air force. The Rafale was the clear winner of the fly-off in each of the five roles. Moreover, the French jet retained its winning position in the Swiss evaluation of how the three contenders would be improved by 2015 (Flight Test Evaluation, below).

Strong/Weak Points

“The strong points of the Rafale were the quality of its sensors, such as the PESA (passive electronically scanned array) radar; the frontal optronics; and the EW (electronic warfare) suite, Spectra,” the report on the 2008 fly-off noted. “The good data fusion of all its sensors allowed to provide the pilot a very good situational awareness,” it continued. “The weak point of the Rafale was the lack of a helmet-mounted sight system.”

The report praised the aerodynamic performance of the Eurofighter, notably its ability to supercruise at Mach 1.4.

But the sensor data fusion and the EW suite were “weak points,” while range and systems reliability were noted to be “limiting factors.” Moreover, the report said, “the capabilities of the Eurofighter to fulfill recce and strike missions were rated as unsatisfactory.”

The report acknowledged that because of the Gripen’s design–it is the smallest of the contenders and the only one powered by a single engine– its “endurance, aircraft performances and aircraft weapon load were among the main limiting factors.” The evaluators said there was no sensor data fusion between the radar and EW suite, although the latter “was among the strong points of the Gripen.”

Only the Rafale met the minimum expected capabilities (MEC) in all five

the bids submitted by Dassault, Eurofighter and Saab, the NFA budget of some CHF 5 billion ($5.5 billion) did not seem affordable, despite all three contenders offering to offset 100 percent of the cost by placing contracts with Swiss industry–and especially since the Euro currency was depreciating all the time against the ever-stronger Swiss franc.

Over the next year, however, the Swiss Parliament voted extra funds for defense, and told the Federal Council to conclude its NFA evaluation. The three manufacturers sharpened their pencils, while evidently reducing the number of aircraft on offer.

Of most significance, Saab defined proposed upgrades to the Gripen in much greater detail, flew the NG demonstrator with a new F414 engine and AESA radar, and suggested that the Swedish government would soon place an order.

The Choice Revealed

On Nov. 30, 2011, the Federal Council announced its choice. The Gripen was the lowest cost option, but it met the requirements, and was the most adaptable choice, the Council said. Ruag Aerospace and up to 200 other Swiss companies stood to gain much from codevelopment of the Gripen-NG (subsequently redesignated Gripen E). Meanwhile, Sweden’s status as a neutral country, like Switzerland, had been a consideration.

Defense minister Ueli Maurer told journalists that the acquisition cost was CHF3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) for a

22-aircraft package including training, support and spares. Swiss media previously reported that the Rafale bid was about CHF3.5 billion, with the Eurofighter costing CHF4 billion, although the proposed number of aircraft was never made clear. Commenting on the decision, Dassault insisted that the Rafale could have met the Swiss requirement “with a smaller number of aircraft at equivalent or lower cost.”

Reviewing the decision a few months ago, former Swiss Air Force commander Gen. Max Gygax admitted that, in the end, the choice was a political one. “The Gripen is multi-role, and life-cycle costs are very important,” he told journalists at the Paris Air Show in June. “The Gripen-E is a big step forward from the current C/D version,” he noted. But even the latter’s performance in the 2008 fly-off was much closer to that of the Eurofighter and Rafale than the Swiss evaluation team had anticipated, he told AIN. As the clear winner of the flight evaluation, the Rafale won the battle, but lost the war in Switzerland. The Eurofighter ratings were consistently lower.

Gygax told AIN that he did not expect the four-nation jet to score worse than the Rafale in air-to-air roles. Moreover, he added, the unpublished reports on maintenance and training did not rate the Eurofighter any better than the Rafale. “The spares are possibly cheaper because of the large number of aircraft, but it’s a very manpower-intensive aircraft,” he said. o

Swiss Air force overall Evaluation Criteria • Air-to-air capability • Reconnaissance and strike capability • Growth potential beyond 2015 • Criteria not specified

50% 20% 10% 20%

• Maintenance processes–e.g., supportability 30% • Militia–e.g., could part-time Swiss troops handle the complexity?

25% • Infrastructure compatibility–e.g., operations from small Swiss airfields 25% • Noise and emissions

20%

• Industrial participation • Military cooperation

70% 30%

15% 15%

OPERATIONAL OPERATIONAL Suitability Suitability

25%

60%

OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Cooperation & Participation

Related criteria COST

SWISS AIR FORCE FLIGHT TEST EVALUATION The three competing fighters were rated on a scale of 1 to 9. The evaluators used the Swiss air force’s current F/A-18C/D Hornet as the reference point. Level 6 represented the “minimum expected capability” for the New Fighter Aircraft. This chart compares the respective flying performance of the three contenders in the Swiss fighter competition, as seen by the Swiss air force. The Rafale was the clear winner of the 2008 fly-off in each of the five roles. The French jet retained its winning position in the Swiss evaluation of how the three contenders would be improved by 2015.

AIR POLICING

DEFENSIVE COUNTER AIR

OFFENSIVE COUNTER AIR

STRIKE

RECONNAISSANCE

• Acquisition, including logistics package • New or modified Infrastructure • Life-cycle costs first 10 years, then next 10 years, then another 10 years OTHER FACTORS

2008

2015

2008

2015

2008

2015

2008

2015

2008

2015

Rafale

6.71

6.98

7

7.28

7.12

7.41

7.21

7.63

7.57

7.63

• Risk • Timing • Cost-to-performance ratio

Eurofighter

6.2

6.48

6.06

6.49

6.21

6.54

5.02

5.75

5.14

5.43

OUTSIDE THE PROJECT TEAM’S COMPETENCE

Gripen

4.2

5.33

4.64

5.68

4.77

5.62

5.13

5.8

5.39

5.79

• Political aspects

20 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

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World Expo 2020 bid drives progress at DWC

by Peter Shaw-Smith Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central (DWC), Dubai’s second airport, originally planned to accommodate 160 million passengers when complete, will see its development speeded up dramatically if Dubai’s bid to host World Expo 2020 is successful.

The Paris-based International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) will announce the results of the fourway contest, between São Paolo, Yekaterinburg, Izmir and Dubai, on November 27. Expectations are high here in the Middle East, given the slickness of Dubai’s bid–after it was a last-minute entrant to the BIE bidding process in 2011–that the ambitious emirate will come out on top.

“I think that would put us very much in the limelight,” said Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive director of Dubai Aviation City Corp. (DACC), the government entity overseeing development at Dubai World Central.

“I am afraid that we might end up really accelerating the program for Jebel Ali and probably bring it to the year 2020, which is quite a job to do,” he told AIN. “All of the region, Dubai and all our neighbors and friends, [are] waiting. We hope we win it.”

The Middle East Economic Digest reported in March that airport operator Dubai Airports was “preparing proposals to double the emirate’s passenger handling capacity to 200 million

passengers a year by 2045, up from the current target of 100 million a year by 2020.”

Al Zaffin confirmed recent reports that Dubai’s target capacity had been increased to 200 million passengers a year three decades from now, even hinting that the figure would apply to DWC alone. “It is true, we are looking at that [for] Jebel Ali only. If you look now, we are 60 million at [Dubai International, DXB]. So, yes, I think it is achievable. And doable.”

Strategic Plan 2020

The blueprints represent a dramatic reassessment of earlier plans embodied in the “Strategic Plan 2020,” published by Dubai Airports in July 2011, which forecast DXB would hit capacity in 2018 at around 90 million passengers. A fourth concourse is under construction at DXB, after the opening of the Airbus A380-dedicated Concourse A in January brought the airport’s capacity up to 75 million.

“It’s a very [ambitious] plan, [but] DXB is almost reaching capacity,” he said. “[We] will be lucky [if] it [ever] accommodates 100 million passengers.”

Last year, Al Zaffin told AIN that any plan to move Emirates in its entirety to DWC is unworkable in the next decade due to a $100 billion infrastructure price tag. Current suggestions indicate that Emirates would not move until 2025-27 at the earliest.

Al Maktoum Airport’s Jebel Ali location offers plenty of room for the addition of the planned commercial and logistics service at DWC.

However, Emirates SkyCargo is thought to be planning the transfer of dedicated freighters to DWC in 2014, due to the phased temporary closure of DXB’s two runways for upgrade work in May-July next year.

Nevertheless, aviation officials say the government of Dubai is already investing $33 billion in development at DWC and budget allocations would likely rise if the Expo bid is successful. Other planning assessments indicate that one day DXB will be Emirates-only.

“We have finalized the aviation city and it is ready to go. We have customers there. The logistics city is growing and we have a lot of customers for buildings [there].

We have a lot of interest on the real estate side,” said Al Zaffin.

“Almost all the people who have signed up with us have reserved

[space for] expansion plans.

“We [saw] the airport [being] opened [to passenger airlines] on October 27, and [are looking at] the airshow opening on November 17 and hopefully [a successful bid to host] the [World] Expo [2020] on November 27,” he said.

“Everything is looking good.”

Business Aviation Capacity

Al Zaffin is also mindful of the potential for business aviation at DWC. “Part of the general aviation is already operating at Al Maktoum now, and it is increasing,” he said. “We are expecting a lot of growth in that area. All of them [business and general aviation] will go here, because the international airport will be open for all.”

The extent to which business aviation has migrated to DWC is not yet clear, although Jet Aviation opened an FBO at DWC last year, and several privatejet operators are throwing their weight behind a transfer from DXB. DC Aviation-Al Futtaim (DCAF), a joint venture (JV) between Germany’s DC Aviation and the Dubai-based AlFuttaim Group, also recently announced the completion of an FBO at DWC. “We have some announcements, but we will be making them at the airshow,” said Rashid Bu Qara’a, chief operating officer at DACC. Incremental Development

The Al Maktoum terminal has capacity for 75 million passengers annually, and that number is set to reach 160 million.

24 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

To date, development of DWC has very much taken place on an incremental basis to meet immediate demands. This could change with the Expo bid, as additional terminal infrastructure would be required.

Al Zaffin has revised plans for new DWC infrastructure and

runways, after telling AIN last year he expects an additional runway to be built within five years. “We are looking at probably two more runways within five years, and one more will [happen even] quicker [than that]. Within five years, hopefully we will have part of the midfield terminal complete.”

Little reference to date has been made to DWC’s midfield terminal, although it is clearly visible in 2012 DWC blueprints.

Development timing would hinge on runway construction. Plans also exist for humanitarian, exhibition, residential and golf districts. A logistics corridor and bridge connecting DWC to Jebel Ali Port has already been built.

The migration strategy for DWC started with cargo operations in June 2010, with business aviation operations successfully beginning in 2012. Commercial aviation commenced at the end of October, with the arrival of Hungary-based low-cost carrier Wizz Air. As of late October it was still not clear whether the major Arab player to join Wizz Air would be Saudi Arabia’s Nas Air or Kuwait’s Al Jazeera Airways.

Winning the right to host World Expo 2020 would certainly speed up an exit from the waiting game that the global slowdown imposed on Dubai.

Success would be the biggest vindication yet for Dubai’s plans to turn itself into the trade and aviation crossroads of the world. o

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To improve support for operators, Jetex (above) and Honeywell (below) recently signed an agreement providing customers access to Jetex’s trip planning and 24-hour on-the-ground concierge service, and Honeywell’s Global Data Center live dispatching and flight-tracking service.

ME traffic congestion imposes demands on flight planning

by Jennifer Harrington Snell The latest figures from the International Air Transport Association show that international traffic growth and passenger demand in the Middle East is still outpacing the rest of the world.

With competition among operators getting tougher every day, the need for proper flight planning is more important than ever.

“There is a lot of traffic,” said Tim Bartholomew, manager of international flight services at Rockwell Collins.

“There is a lot of corporate traffic, a lot of commercial traffic and a lot of cargo traffic.” As a result, business aviation has to compete daily for both airspace and parking at Middle Eastern airports.

“As with any congested airspace, airway restrictions are fairly common across the region,” said Djamal Nedjadi, director of flight operations at Jetex.

“In some parts of the Middle East, for example, there are airways that may be used for domestic traffic only, and other parts that are reserved for military use,” Nedjadi said. “Consequently, it’s important that operators work with a knowledgeable flight-support provider best placed to map the most efficient flight plans.”

Parking is also a challenge, at airports

26 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

of all sizes. Muscat International Airport in Oman, for example, has implemented “blackout” periods for GA aircraft between 0500 and 0800Z and 1730 and 2200Z. “At certain periods of the day they won’t allow GA aircraft because the airport is saturated with commercial traffic,” Bartholomew said. “We know that well in advance, and we can plan around those blackout periods.”

In Dubai, GA aircraft are going to have to use Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC), due to the large volume of commercial traffic at Dubai International, according to Bartholomew.

Small Airports Are Challenging

Flying into smaller airports is no easier, however. “Some countries do not allow operations into small airfields at all, so that is certainly the first thing to check,” said Nedjadi. “That aside, the main challenges are typically obtaining permits and fuel, as the infrastructure is simply not as developed and the process can take time. In some countries it is mandatory to enter via an airport of entry, and in others you might be required to carry a local instructor

to fly into smaller airfields.”

At most airports, however, the infrastructure and processes are mature enough to accommodate private air travel, according to Blane Boynton, director of aerospace services, Honeywell Aerospace.

However, flights should ideally be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.

“The sooner the better,” said Bartholomew, adding that parking spaces are allotted on a “first-come, firstserved” basis.

Stick with Itinerary

East should have a passpolitical climate, according port that is valid for at least to Bartholomew. In particnine months. Depending on ular, operators need to keep the country, crew visas are abreast of the situation in either not required or can be Syria and Egypt. “Operaobtained on arrival, accordtors are not encouraged to ing to Bartholomew. In addioverfly Syria because there tion, some countries require is a potential hazard to life crewmembers to be in uniand limb,” Bartholomew form and to have proper crew said, adding that U.S.-regisidentification. tered aircraft should also try Some countries also have to avoid overflying Iran due requirements not related to to political tensions between Djamal Nedjadi, Jetex the U.S., Iran and Syria. U.S. director of flight operations flight. “While operators tend to be familiar with flightlaw also places restrictions on U.S.-registered aircraft flying into related procedures for each country, it is easy to forget some of these imporeither country.

U.S.-registered aircraft can overfly and tant yet non-flight-critical requirements land in Egypt with no problems, but it is that absolutely must be followed,” Nedstill important to be aware of the current jadi said. “To give one specific example, situation. Operators also need to know it is very important to remember that the entry requirements of each individ- when flying into Saudi Arabia alcohol is ual country. “Some countries–Saudi Ara- stowed and any on-board bars are sealed bia and Israel, in particular–have very at least 30 minutes prior to arrival.”

Crew and passengers must also be specific operational requirements, which is why it is critical that customers have aware of the culture they are visiting, access to an experienced regional support regardless of its location. “For visiting service that can navigate such require- crews and passengers, especially western visitors, it is very important to be ments,” said Nedjadi.

Please do not delete rule border. ItSaudi is part of thefor adexample, design. requires aware of the culture and take a very Arabia, Political Climate 1/2 page ad 10” x 6 1/2” visitors to submit a sponsor letter to conservative attitude,” Bartholomew In addition to know- the General Authority of Civil Avia- said. “That would be the wise thing ing the operational require- tion (GACA) in order to fly into the because you don’t want to offend anyments, operators must also country. In terms of personnel and pas- one. You should do this for any country o be aware of the current sengers, anyone visiting the Middle you visit.”

create blowing dust and sand storms in the winter.

Earlier this year, Jetex and Honeywell signed an agreement giving customers access to Jetex’s trip planning and 24-hour on-the-ground concierge service, and Honeywell Global Data Center’s live dispatching and flight tracking service.

The Flight Sentinel service will allow customers to receive live flight updates and relay real-time ETAs and route changes.

The service is particularly useful in emergency situations, said Boynton.

“In such a situation, the airborne crew can alert our dispatchers of the issue via datalink message or satellite phone call, and we can then go to work between our dispatch desk and Jetex’s trip support specialists to find a solution,” said Boynton. “Once we make the proper changes we can then relay the route changes to the aircraft in real time while we make the necessary arrangements on the ground, leaving the pilots and crew to focus on managing the situation on board and getting the aircraft safely on the ground.”

Once en route, the goal of every flight should be to stick with the planned itinerary. However, changes can be made if there is an issue involving safety of flight.

“ATC is more than willing to work with you depending on the nature of the change,” Bartholomew said, adding that ATC is very accommodating when it comes to mechanical, medical or safety of flight issues, including weather.

The most hazardous weather occurs in the autumn and winter, Bartholomew said. In the fall, tropical cyclones from the Arabian Sea can affect Blane Boynton, weather in Oman and the Honeywell director of aerospace services UAE, and strong cold fronts

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www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 27

Royal Jet to issue RFP to replace BBJs shortly

by Peter Shaw-Smith Abu Dhabi’s Royal Jet, the commercial luxury private-jet operator, is to issue an RFP for the replacement of six Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) aircraft within the next two months, as it seeks to expand regional charter operations in the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

Speaking with AIN in the Seychelles at the official opening of Air Seychelles’ VIP FBO at Mahé International Airport, CEO Shane O’Hare said all options for the airline are on the table. “The RFP will determine the gravitation. There has been a very close dialogue,” said O’Hare. “Comprehensive planning goes on, [on] capital requirements, [with] shareholder involvement. There has been a very heavy consultation with the OEMs. The OEMs are very professional, very active.”

Royal Jet (Chalet A39, A40) announced late last year that it would be moving to replace aircraft in its fleet in 2013, but complex negotiations with OEMs, principally BBJ, Airbus Corporate Jets, Bombardier Business Aircraft and Embraer Executive Jets, had led to delays in its fleet replacement program, O’Hare said.

Royal Jet announced in late 2012 that it would be placing orders for the replacement of six BBJs in its fleet in 2013.

“We are still the largest BBJ operator in the world,” O’Hare said. “The RFP will be in two months. That’s up to the shareholders, but we would expect [an order to go out] by the end of the first or second quarter next year.” Royal Jet is owned 50 percent by Abu Dhabi’s Presidential Flight Authority and 50 percent by Abu Dhabi Aviation, whose fleet is composed largely of helicopters.

“Boeing is coming with the BBJ Max, the 737 Max. Airbus is coming with the neo. Both manufacturers will have business jet versions of those aircraft. We have our RFP ready to send to the market…the renewal process will commence in 2014 for RJ.” As speculation has mounted this year that Royal Jet may sever its traditional ties to the U.S. manufacturer, O’Hare has continued to insist that the bidding process will be open, and that all players involved will have a chance at winning the important Royal Jet order.

However, privately, Abu Dhabi Aviation officials close to Royal

With an eye on expansion, Royal Jet is looking to replace its six BBJs this year.

In contention for the role are Boeing’s BBJ Max (based on the 737 Max) and Airbus’s A320 neo.

Jet’s chairman, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, insist that Royal Jet will continue to be a major Boeing ­customer in future.

Fleet Size Stays Static

O’Hare said the size of the fleet would remain at nine aircraft. In addition to six BBJs, Royal Jet operates two Gulfstream G300s and one Learjet 60. “We are in a good place as far as the type of aircraft we operate. We believe right now that six [large aircraft] is our optimal number,” he said of the BBJs. “We look at where the demand is. It’s hard to tell now because of the market dynamics.

EC135 zig-zag livery is aerial art At the Monaco Yacht Show in September, Eurocopter exhibited a “collectable art” EC135 helicopter with a distinctive zig-zag, blue-on-white livery aboard the 282-foot superyacht Quattronelle.

The project began with the idea of creating something unique and different in the vertical-lift marketplace, according to Eurocopter (Stand P10).

The result is the striking, zig-zag

design that creates a link between the helicopter and yacht landing pad. And thanks to its contrasting pattern with integrated lighting, the helicopter’s appearance changes, depending on the observer’s perspective.

“A helicopter doesn’t have to be just a technical accessory; it also can be a work of art,” explained German artist Rita Weber who created the exterior design. My zig-zag

The distinctive zig-zag livery of this EC135, designed by German artist Rita Weber, was adapted and applied to the helipad on the owner’s super-yacht “Quattronelle.”

design respects the external lines of the EC135 but creates a unique helicopter.”

To provide an optical tie between the helicopter and its ocean-going home, yacht designer Nuvolari & Lenard of Venice, Italy, adapted and applied the same blue-and-white, zig-zag pattern to the Quattronelle’s helipad.

The five-passenger EC135’s “wow” factor also extends to the cabin, which combines posh materials from well-known international designers–silk carpet by Tai Ping; leather in fuschia from Foglizzo; and cashmere-covered interior walls by Loro Piana.

The twin-engine EC135 is also a roomy aerial runabout, with flat floor and space for as many as five passengers plus one pilot.

The Quattronelle is the first Lürssen-built super-yacht to be designed by Nuvolari & Lenard and was launched in 2012.

–K.J.H.

28 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

“Europe is very flat. The Middle East is starting to grow at three, four, six percent. The U.S. is quite flat. It’s hard to get a trend on where these markets are going. In emerging markets, India has a lot of infrastructure issues that prevent good growth of private aviation, but Asia is coming up strongly. It’s a relatively unstructured industry and we are trying to gauge the actual requirements. But we think six, seven [large private jets] is optimal for us over the next five years.”

In June Royal Jet took delivery of a second BBJ refurbished by Sabena Technics in Bordeaux, France, but O’Hare said he expected a third aircraft in the fleet due for a refit to be disposed of instead of being put out to tender for refurbishment. “We’ve refurbished our second BBJ in a $15 million program in Bordeaux. That came back to us June. We got a lot of good feedback after the refurbishment. Technologically it’s a very advanced aircraft now,” he said, referring to amenities such as GSM, wireless capability, video-on-demand, flatbeds, a bedroom, as well as space for 40 passengers.

“The market’s been buoyant,” said O’Hare. “We have been very aggressive in the market.

We’re very happy with the way that’s going. We’ve just started refurbishment of our FBO [at]

Abu Dhabi [International Airport], which will be finished by the end of the year.”

While Abu Dhabi International has been the focus since the company’s inception in 2003, O’Hare is looking to transfer the company’s operating base to Al Bateen Executive Airport, and to that end signed an MoU in May. A plan for the UAE military to withdraw from Al Bateen in the next few years is under way and that will create extra space for new hangarage and other facilities.

“The trick for Royal Jet is to build operations over time at Al Bateen, [since] we…expect there to be increasing congestion at Abu Dhabi International. It is growing very quickly. Part of it is about the availability of infrastructure to enable us to operate efficiently and cost-effectively. We do operate [at Al Bateen] but our longer term desire is our own infrastructure,” he said.

“Commercially we operate [at Al Bateen] on demand. The FBO is DhabiJet. If our customer requests Al Bateen, we go to Al Bateen. But the longer term for Royal Jet is having our own structure [there]. We are exploring the MoU with [Al Bateen management] and this would involve having a principal operating base [there]. It’s a work in progress.” o

Airbus A350 future includes double-stretch

by Ian Goold Airbus faces several major steps in bringing the A350XWB, which flew in June before appearing at the Paris Air Show, into service in the second half of 2014, said executive vice-president and A350 program head Didier Evrard. The manufacturer is working hard to progress the five-aircraft flight-test campaign in order to deliver a mature design at entry into service (EIS).

As the new twin-aisle twinjet progresses, Airbus (Stand 410) must secure production rampup dates with its suppliers, and ensure smooth introduction of the stretched Series 1000 variant as it increases finalassembly capacity and tries to “capitalize on the A350 family position to increase market share,” said Evrard.

Among considerations as Airbus studies the development potential of all its aircraft designs is a possible second extension of the basic fuselage, which logically would be dubbed A350-1100. For Evrard, this would be straightforward: “Stretching [the aircraft] further is possible, it is no show-stopper.” Last month, he characterized such a second stretch as “still in the concept phase or even pre-concept phase. Others did it, so we can certainly do it. It’s a question of markets, of

priorities. And we will continue to listen to our customers [and] hear what’s best for them. We have a big order book, so we are not in a hurry to define another product, but if the market needs it we’ll do it.”

Airbus product-marketing head Sophie Pendaries said that further higher-thrust variants of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine could be available depending on the degree of additional stretch–“two, three, four, five frames: we study everything”–and the offered range, which needs to be defined. The possible variant is “generating a lot of reaction from the competition, but let’s wait and see,” she said.

There is also talk of an A350 Regional variant, but Pendaries emphasized that this would not be the same as the A330 Regional recently revealed by the manufacturer. “The A330 Regional is a high-density aircraft for short-haul services.

An A350 Regional would be for long-haul operations, so the two types are complementary but are not the same range,” explained Pendaries. “There are two types of long-haul: up to eight hours and more than eight hours, which requires a crew rest. Eight hours long-haul is the limit of the A350 Regional, which is not the target of the A330 Regional.”

Airbus faces several major steps in bringing its new A350XWB twin-aisle twinjet into service. The company is working hard on flight testing, hoping to achieve a mature design when the twinjet enters service with Qatar Airways in the second half of 2014.

With more than 175 orders booked, the initial stretched version–the 369-passenger A3501000–is now entering the industrialization process, according to Evrard. A predicted market for 1,300 large twin-aisle twinjets accommodating 350+ passengers and about 780 to carry 400+ has grown by 29 percent since Airbus launched the A350XWB, he said.

Prepping For Production

Final assembly is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2015, with the ramp-up already started for the higher production rate that will pertain when the A350-1000 enters service in 2017. “[Final assembly] will involve a higher degree of maturity even than the A350-900

By the end of 2013, Airbus hopes to be building one A350900 a month–dubbed Production Rate One. Plans call for this final-assembly flow to triple by the beginning of 2015.

Evrard said that Airbus “would like to take time [to accelerate assembly] but customers do not want to wait.” He expects program technical and industrial maturity to merge with customers’ needs as Airbus prepares to deliver the first A350 to launch customer Qatar Airways around next September.

A year after inauguration of A350 final assembly, Airbus has two aircraft flying, but, concluded Evrard, “A program is never finished; we still have great challenges ahead to be processed.” o

Airbus to drop A350-800?

Airbus builds A350-900 flight-test hours Airbus has “done really well with [A350-900] flight test [and] in the first phase has gathered a lot [of information],” according to executive vice-president and program head Didier Evrard. By the beginning of November, the first two A350-900 twin-aisle twinjets had logged more than 100 flights and over 500 hours of testing. As at October 21, MSN 001 had completed 77 flights, accruing 378 block hours, while MSN 003 (the second to fly) had achieved three flights in its first week of operations, accumulating 25 block hours, according to Airbus A350 experimental test pilot Hugues van der Stichel.

The manufacturer has allocated about 2,500 hours of flying to the A350 test campaign, with the first two flying aircraft–MSNs 001 and 003–each being heavily instrumented and earmarked for 800 and 600 flight-hours, respectively. The next two aircraft, currently expected to be MSNs 002 (configured with a furnished passenger cabin) and 004 in that order, should fly in February at the start of 400 flighthour programs. Following in May is scheduled to be MSN 005, another aircraft equipped with passenger interior and which has a shorter 300 flight-hours duty.

Airbus is continuing work with the A350 static test airframe that last month was being prepared for the ultimate-load test,

because we have to insert [the new variant] into the finalassembly line flow that will already be operating at high speed,” said Evrard. Airbus is already preparing to increase A350 build rate for 2017’s EIS. The manufacturer sees A350-1000 development essentially as low risk after the -900’s steep learning curve. Evrard said there are many bridges to the earlier design because of the high level of commonality. Changes from the basic aircraft include the introduction of respective six- and fiveframe forward- and aft-fuselage plugs and a stronger landing gear. Indeed, the new six-wheel undercarriage bogies suggest that the idea of a second A350 stretch is not a new one.

which should be complete by early 2014. Development aircraft MSN 002, the first to be fitted with a full airline cabin interior, is expected to be ready for flight testing in February.

MSNs 004 and 005 had joined the final-assembly line by the end of October, having been less difficult to complete because they will sport less flight-test equipment than initial aircraft. Work on the process of fuselage joinup began November 4.

By October 21, MSN 001 had completed aero clean and landing configuration, and air brakes setting tests. Operations using normal control law had been cleared to FL430 and the aircraft had performed a first automatic landing on the fourth flight. Maximum torque braking had been demonstrated, as had landing-gear emergency free-fall lowering.

Demonstration of minimum takeoff (Vmu, minimum unstick) speed on the A350’s 57th flight in late September was an important milestone to confirm the optimum flap setting for takeoff and show that the aircraft is not stall-limited. The next significant step is a flutter-free demonstration that will see the A350 being flown at maximum operating speeds (Vmo) and Mach numbers (Mmo) at moderate to high altitudes. Another important exercise, according to Stichel, will be flight in icing conditions. –I.G.

Airbus has signaled that it could drop the A350-800, the smallest member of the new family. Acknowledging that currently “a market is here and we will do it,” product marketing head Sophie Pendaries said that in the past six years demand has “shifted to larger aircraft.” In 2007 industry order backlogs covered almost 1,000 airliners with capacity for 250 passengers (Boeing 787-8s, Airbus A330-200s and A350-800s) but only about 400 aircraft with 300 seats (A330-300s, A350-900s and 7879s and -10s).

By last month [October], however, orders for 250-seaters had declined by just over 400 while bookings for 300-passenger designs had grown by more than 660 units. “We took 300 seats as the basis for the A350 and now all airlines want [that number], so it was the right decision,” said Pendaries.

A350 executive v-p and program head Didier Evrard indirectly addressed the subject when asked about the manufacturer’s ability to mix A350-900 and -1000 production. “Our order book is [roughly] 500 A350-900s and 200 A350-1000s, about [the ratio] we assumed at the beginning. Now, the trend of converting -800 [orders] to -900s and -900s to -1000s might (and will, I think, probably) rebalance.”

On the possibly of dropping the smaller A350-800, Pendaries said: “We have orders and we have customers and we are talking with them. As long as there is interest we will develop it. [There is no] issue, it’s not complicated.

We will develop [the -800] if there is a market.” –I.G.

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 29

Tiny cadre of Saudi MROs gear up to handle burgeoning business the MENA region. Business jet completions and MRO are also vital Alsalam services. “[Today] the Saudi Arabian government is our main client for VIP work.

[We] are an approved BBJ warranty repair center and BBJ completions center, and we anticipate adding to our list of clients,” said Fallatah.

Alsalam is owned by Boeing Industrial Technology Group, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Advances Industries Co. (SAIC) and Al-Bilad International Technology and Industry Co. “Boeing’s relationship with the Alsalam Aircraft MRO goes back to the 1983 Peace Shield offset program.

Boeing has certified Alsalam as a BBJ repair station.”

Alsalam holds certifications from the U.S. FAA, EASA, the Saudi Arabian GACA, BAE Systems, ISO and NADCAP. “As a Part 145-certified repair center, Alsalam has regular audits by the certifying authorities and we are proud of our 100-percent pass record since we began operations 25 years ago,” said Fallatah.

Where Alsalam has gravitated to the military side, Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI, Stand 2066), based in Jeddah, is the leading Saudi civilian MRO operation. Established over 60 years ago, the company was officially reconstituted as a full-service MRO for commercial, business jets and VVIP aircraft as part of the 2009 Saudi Arabian Airlines privatization program.

New passenger terminals in Jeddah, Riyadh, Medinah,

Boeing won Peace Shield and kicked off four aerospace joint ventures. Subsequently, Boeing divested itself of three of the companies but continues to maintain approximately 50 percent ownership in Alsalam,” said Steve Taylor, CEO of Boeing Business Jets.

“Saudi Arabia is an aviation country and requires aircraft depot, modification, repair and scheduled maintenance capability. The VIP aircraft community also needs a local provider.

Tabuk, Yanbu, Abha, Jizan, Tayef, Qasim and Alhasa have all accompanied a dramatic opening up of Saudi airspace to international operators in the past two years, increasing SAEI’s workload. It has also signed agreements for line maintenance in various domestic international airports to handle the more than 12 airlines that operate into them.

“SAEI is planning on having line maintenance hangars built at Riyadh, Dammam and

by Peter Shaw-Smith Saudi Arabia’s MRO players are seasoned operators. Alsalam Aircraft Co. (Stand 1718) is one of the two or three leading players in the kingdom and a pioneer in aircraft maintenance, modification and technical support in the Middle East. It carries out corporate, VIP and military work for customers worldwide.

“Our expertise covers civil aircraft maintenance; military aircraft maintenance; programmed depot maintenance (PDM); technical support programs; manufacturing and assembly; and VIP interior completions, in addition to specialized aviation training,” said the company.

Supporting the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), Alsalam started out subcontracting for Boeing in 1989 on the RSAF’s E3A AWACS and KE3 tankers. In 1997 Alsalam started a PDM program on the RSAF’s Tornado fighter-bombers. This led to its winning the RSAF AWACS E-3A and KE3-A PDM in 2000, the RSAF F-15 PDM in 2002 and the RSAF C-130 program in 2007.

“Alsalam’s military business continues to grow. We have a number of programs currently under contract and new ones coming online,” said Mohammed Fallatah, Alsalam’s president and CEO, commenting on the company’s current operating outlook. “The F-15 wing and forward fuselage assembly program which started on 1st of July was the most recent program to come online. This is quite a landmark for Alsalam, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, as the F-15 program sees Alsalam entering high-tech

manufacturing for the first time and positions us well for similar work going forward. Turnover is approximately SAR1 billion ($270 million) split 80 percent military and 20 percent commercial,” Fallatah said.

Helicopters are a growing business, and Alsalam has been quick to serve the market. It also provides MRO to Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command helicopters. According to its website, Alsalam’s range of helicopter projects include the Bell 412, 212, 206 and 406; Boeing Apache AH-64; Sikorsky’s Black Hawk UH-60 and ASH-3D (VIP).

Alsalam Aircraft has a dynamic list of capabilities, including civil and military maintenance, modifications, VIP interiors, training, manufacturing and more.

“About two years ago the inventory of helicopters in the kingdom began to grow and Alsalam responded to that growth by offering our MRO to the operators. Since then, we have established a dedicated department for helicopter MRO work and we see a lot more growth and opportunities ahead in this market,” Fallatah said.

Alsalam is the only designated warranty center for Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) in

Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries, the Saudi civilian MRO provider (shown here), and Asalam Aircraft Co., which specializes in the military arena and also handles helicopters and is a designated warranty center for the Boeing Business Jet, are major suppliers of maintenance, mod and tech support in the MENA region.

30 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Medina airports, and the manpower has been increased at domestic regional airports to allow handling of third-party business,” said Ribhi Al-Husseini, SAEI’s director technical sales and marketing. “[A] new maintenance and engineering system [will be] online by end of 2013, which will allow better services to clients. New capabilities [are] being added for A320, A330 and B777. New engine overhaul capabilities now include the CF34 and CFM56.”

New MRO in Jeddah

A consortium led by Turkey’s TAV Construction won the contract in 2012 to build SAEI’s new MRO facility in Jeddah. TAV expects construction to be complete in March 2015. “The construction of the new facility… started in March 2013,” said Al Husseini. “The Jet Propulsion center has upgraded its facilities to handle the overhaul of both the GE CF34 engine and the CFM56 engine. Some of the existing workshops have gone through an expansion project to allow for the increased demand on component work.”

Two new ATEC 6000 test computers have been added since last year, making a total of three ATEC 6000 computers and allowing increased capacity to test more than 115 aircraft computers, said Al Husseini. A $5 million investment was made in CNC and part fabrication and machining equipment to allow SAEI to enter the parts fabrication business.

SAEI is an approved Das­ sault service center and handles line and base maintenance on selected aircraft. In 2013, the company also was contracted by a private customer to perform two D-checks on Boeing 747s.

Today, SAEI has more than 5,150 employees, over 92 percent of whom are Saudi nationals. It currently has approvals from GACA, the FAA and EASA; and from several GCC civil aviation authorities, as well as those of Korea, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Al Husseini said. The metrology laboratory at SAEI has obtained American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) for calibration services in addition to ISO9001 certification.

“By end of 2013, SAEI will start operating a new stateof-the-art maintenance and engineering system,” said Al Husseini. “By 2016, SAEI will launch operations out of its new one-million-square-meter facility making it by far the largest MRO in the region, with an estimated 7,500 employees.” o

Strong demand reported for Russian SAM tech used to be manufactured on the same line, is no longer available new from the factory.

But the demand for advanced long-range SAMs is strong, with many customers with the money not prepared to wait eight years for the S-400.

Seeing this, Rosoboronexport is trying to urge some of them to choose the S-300V, whose production is set up at another location. This system was developed in the late years of the Soviet Union and supplied in limited numbers to the Russian air defense units in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before production ceased. The Russian defense ministry preferred to focus its then-limited funds on the improved S-300P and develop that system further on the account of the S-300V. For a while the S-300V looked like a discontinued product but recently it has come to life again with deliveries to Venezuela. Iran, which

The Middle East region has a long-standing association with Russian-built anti-aircraft systems, dating back to the Soviet Union days.

ordered the S-300PMU but was denied deliveries due to the newly imposed international sanctions, is now being offered the Antey-2500, an improved version of the S-300V. This system is also on offer in India.

Vympel’s RZV-MD

At the MAKS 2013 show this past August, the AlmazAntey Concern exhibited for the first time the S-350E Vityaz SAM, consisting of 50P6A launcher loaded with twelve 6M96/6M96E missiles featuring

active radar seekers, 50N6A multi-functional radar, 50K6A control post, all on a BAZ 8-by-8 wheeled chassis. Development of that system commenced in 2007.

In production at the Obukhov Plant, the S-350E has just started fire trials prior to service entry in 2015. The Vityaz will replace the ageing S-300PS and S-300PM/ PMU. Its availability for export is not clear.

Another new missile demonstrated to the public for the first time at MAKS was the RZV-MD from Vympel,

MARK WAGNER

The Middle East is rich with all sorts of Russian-made anti-aircraft systems. Most of them were delivered to the Arab countries opposing Israel and, in the time of the Soviet Union, to other clients on a political pretext.

The flow of modern anti-aircraft systems to the area continues, although in lesser quantities.

Russia is often viewed as a preferable supplier for that sort of weaponry due to the long story of success of its anti-aircraft systems. It has been estimated that anti-aircraft missiles made in the Soviet Union and now Russia have seen more launches than such weapons made in all other countries combined.

Although UAE and Jordan are among those nations that have historically bought the bulk of their military equipment in the West, these countries have procured certain air defense systems from Russia.

In particular, the UAE was the launch customer for the Pantsyr SAM. Speaking to AIN, a highplaced manager at the Rosoboronexport governmental arms vendor said that the Arab customers tend to buy the same systems the Russian defense ministry is acquiring.

The Russian air defense units have already received a number of S-400 and Pantsyr SAMs as well as Nebo-M radar sets. The rearmament of the Russian air force’s SAM units with the S-400s will proceed at a rate of two to three regiments annually, the defense ministry announced earlier this year. It was also announced that, on completion of state trials on the Vityaz SAM and the Container beyond-horizon radar, these systems will also be added to the inventory. The S-500 development is due to be completed in 2015, extending the reach of anti-missile ranges into the near space.

Sadly for foreign clients looking for highly effective long-range SAMs, the S-400 production line at the AlmazAntey facility has been overloaded with domestic orders, so deliverable sets are not expected to be available for a new customer for seven to eight years.

Because of the high demand, the earlier S-300P family, which

vladimir karnozov

by Vladimir Karnozov

smoke and mirage The UAE air force has been operating Dassault Mirage fighters since 1989, starting with an order including 22 2000EADs, eight 2000RAD reconnaissance variants and six two-seat trainers. Subsequent orders included 20 single-seat Mirage 2000-9s and 12 two-seat 2000-9Ds. Also, many of the 2000EADs were upgraded.

32 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

a member in the Tactical Missile Corp. (Russian acronym TRV)–an integrated structure encompassing 25 enterprises with a total workforce of 40,000. Speaking to journalists at a MAKS press conference, Boris Obnosov, TRV general manager, described the RZVMD as a surface-to-air derivative of the R-77 (RVV-AE being the exportable version) air-to-air missile. “There have been a number of foreign customers repeatedly asking us for this application of the missile,” Obnosov commented.

In appearance, the RZVMD bears little resemblance to the R-77. Vympel’s description for the RZV-MD on the placard next to the missile, and on its container, was the following: “The anti-aircraft guided missile of the short range is intended for air cover of the land forces in all kinds of battle and on the march, and provides protection from the air strikes with precision guidance munitions, tactical airplanes, helicopters, UCAV and strategic cruise missiles flying at middle, low and extremely low altitudes, in the conditions of severe jamming, in any weathers, day or night.”

The RZV-MD can accelerate up to 1,000 meters-per-second and employs command guidance. Weighing 163 kg (around 360 lb) (containerized), the weapon has a firing range in excess of 16 km (10 miles) and a ceiling of 10 km (6 miles). The missile is 2.94 m (9.6 ft) long, with a diameter of 24 cm (9.5 in). It is developed jointly with Almaz-Antey Concern for use in surface-to-air systems.

With a broad line of legacy and newly developed assets, Russia continues to hold a leading position in the international market for air defense systems. o

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Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines powered the Boeing 787-9’s first flight in September. The upgraded Trent 1000-TEN is under development and is to enter service on the 787-8 and -9 in 2016.

Trent TEN tests advance as R-R preps second unit

by Ian Goold Rolls-Royce (R-R) has completed a 1,500-cycle test of its new Trent 1000-TEN engine and is well into the demonstration phase ahead of formal testing in early 2014, according to T1000 program chief engineer Gareth Jones. In mid-October, the initial demonstrator unit was being stripped down in R-R’s development department as the company prepared to assemble a second test engine.

This latest family variant (see Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-TEN characteristics sidebar), which is designed to provide up to 78,000 pounds thrust and is available to power each 787 version, is scheduled to enter service on the Boeing 787-8 and -9 in 2016 and the planned -10 “doublestretch” model two years later.

Alternative thrust levels will be

available through replacement of the data-entry plug to re-rate engines, according to Jones.

The -TEN is expected to fly aboard a Boeing 747 testbed in early 2015 before Boeing’s own flight testing of the new powerplant begins, following engine certification in the third quarter of that year. (Its -TEN suffix stands for Thrust, Efficiency and New technology.)

Last month the company began parts manufacture for the first T1000-TEN development example, including intermediate-pressure (IP) turbine blade casting, IP compressor front case, high-pressure turbine blade wax pattern and the HP/ IP case. The UK engine manufacturer said it is “well on track” toward assembly of the unit.

Meanwhile, R-R is continuing

to deliver the T1000 Package B upgrade, now in service, and to develop the Pack C that will become available next year.

The T1000-TEN represents a further development of the current engine (which is dedicated to the 787) with a higher bypass ratio and a “fundamentally different bill of materials,” said Jones. “The compression ratio is up a shade on [that of] the Pack C, but with a different core compressor–[it’s] not just a throttle push that would drive new pressure ratios.”

In early 2013, R-R completed the strip and layout of a Pack C upgrade following 150 hours of testing and by last month it had finished cyclic running of an engine to support 330-minute extended-range twin-engine operations (Etops). The flying testbed (FTB) program, using three different engines, was completed ahead of European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) airworthiness approval, which was granted in September.

EASA certification for Etops flights is expected in early 2014

Smart windows keep out light and heat

by Kirby J. Harrison Since the invention of the glass window, the way to prevent glare and heat from the sun was to pull down the shade.

With its SPD-Smart window technology, Research Frontiers expects to consign the window shade to the dustbin of history.

The U.S. company has licensed Vision Systems (Stand 2639) to

produce the windows, and the technology is a highlight of this year’s Dubai Air Show.

The principle is relatively simple. In the suspended particle device (SPD) window, millions of particles are suspended between two panels of glass or plastic that are coated with a transparent conductive material. When electricity comes in contact with the SPDs via the conductive coating, they line up in a straight line and allow light to pass through.

When the electric current is removed, the particles move back into a random pattern and the light is blocked. The amount of light Vision Systems license agreement with Sunpartner expects to produce a prototype solar photovoltaic, dimmable window this year and bring the technology to market by mid-2015.

passing through can be altered by using a rheostat to control the amount of electrical current.

Today, the SPD-Smart window technology has become a best-selling smart-window technology worldwide, said Joseph Harary, president and CEO of Research Frontiers. In fact, there are thousands of Mercedes-Benz vehicles on the road now with Magic Sky Control panoramic roofs that employ SPD-Smart window technology.

In growing numbers, business aircraft manufacturers and independent completion centers are offering the SPD-Smart windows as standard or as an option on everything from Beechcraft King Airs to Boeing Business Jets. The technology now features in the highly distinctive

34 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

well ahead of entry into service, said Jones.

Last month, Jones said it was too early for R-R to share numbers regarding early Pack C specific fuel consumption in the air, but he said the program was on track and the company was confident of the upgrade’s prospective performance. Nevertheless, R-R claims that the T1000 delivers the best lifetime fuel-burn for 787 operators, with new-engine consumption equivalency available at 3,000nm range and with “a fuelburn advantage well ahead at shorter ranges.”

Pack C flight-testing is “up and running [and] trucking along with fundamentally no issues,” according to Jones. T1000-TEN flight testing of the upgrade aboard the 787 has involved four aircraft: u787-8 MSN ZA004 was the first to fly frequently with the Pack C upgrade, having also been used for Pack B work and a lot of earlier T1000 flight testing;

u787-9 MSN ZB001 (line number [LN] 126) is the first -9 airframe to fly the Pack C and had completed about a month’s flying by mid-October; u787-9 MSN ZB002/LN 133 was expected to have flown with Pack C engines by this month; and u787-9 LN 169, the first Air New Zealand aircraft, and LN 146, which has been earmarked for Etops and function and reliability testing, also have Pack C engines.

R-R expects to see 90 T1000-powered 787s in service by the end of this year, with Royal Brunei having, in midOctober, become the most recent operator when it began crew training with its first aircraft.

The powerplant manufacturer pointed out that the T1000 had been the first engine certificated for the 787, as well as the first to enter service and the first to receive 330-minute ETOPS clearance. o

Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-TEN Characteristics The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-TEN’s physical hardware characteristics ­introduce knowledge gained from earlier variants, including: u a new rising-line intermediate-pressure compressor using Trent XWB technology; u a new high-pressure turbine (HPT); u a full-face cover plate in front of the HPT disc, expected to offer longer life and to permit through-life improvements; u a modulated HP air system reduces parasitic flow, helping to improve fuel burn efficiency, and improves performance retention through maintenance of seal margins; u a new, more-efficient HP compressor previously demonstrated on the New Aero-engine Core (Newac) concepts program and the Trent XWB; and u new lighter, more-efficient bladed discs, again using Trent XWB technology.

overhead skylight­–called the Zenith Window–in the main entrance of the new Dassault Falcon 5X business jet.

The Zenith Window is being supplied by Vision Systems and employs the SPD-Smart technology that Dassault described as the solution to the critical need to manage the intense solar light, glare and heat coming into the cabin through the skylight.

This is particularly true, said the OEM, at cruise altitude where solar rays, including ultraviolet radiation, are much stronger than when on the ground. Vision Systems said the SPD-Smart film used in the skylight can block more than 99.9975 percent of all visible light, at the same time controlling heat inside the cabin and blocking UV light 100 percent of the time.

Even more interesting is the product of a new license agreement of Vision Systems with Sunpartner Group. The latter is the

developer of Wysips Glass a product that will transform any glass into a photovoltaic, energy-generating solar panel producing sufficient energy to power the dimmable window itself without the need of an external power source.

Wysips currently captures 30 watts of energy per square meter, allowing visual transparency of the window from 70 to 90 percent. The company anticipates the capacity will reach 50 watts per square meter in 2014, while maintaining the 70- to 90-percent transparency rating. Ludovic Deblois, CEO and founder of Sunpartner Group, said the window’s transparency rating will eventually reach 95 percent and generate enough electricity to power not only itself, but other nearby devices as well.

Sunpartner and Vision Systems expect a prototype by the end of 2013 and a marketready product is anticipated by mid-2015. o

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Etihad builds fleet ahead of expansion to U.S. West Coast

by Matt Thurber “Etihad Airways is the fastest-growing airline in the history of commercial aviation,” said James Hogan, president and CEO, upon the announcement that Etihad will begin nonstop flights to Los Angeles from Abu Dhabi beginning June 1, 2014.

Etihad plans to fly daily flights with Boeing 777-200LRs, configured with a three-cabin layout. Los Angeles will be the fourth U.S. destination for the airline, which already flies to Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. To support the

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38 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

expansion to the West Passengers in the “Diamond” Coast, Etihad signed first-class section of Etihad’s an agreement to pur- 777-200LRs can expect a chase five 777-200LRs decent night’s sleep in an enclosable suite fitted with from Air India. By the cotton sheets, full-size pillows end of the year, its fleet and duvets. When they will grow to 87 air- awake, they can choose what planes, which includes they want from the “larder,” the Air India jets and with a chef preparing meals on demand for first- and 14 new jets delivered business-class passengers.

by Boeing and Airbus during 2013.

Hogan explained that although owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad was created “on a hard-nosed business model” and not as a government-subsidized national airline.

“The brief that they gave me was clear: the airline had to be safe, which you’d expect from any airline chief purchasing 24 percent of India’s Jet Airexecutive; [and] it certainly had to be best ways, which is still under regulatory in class.” With far-larger Emirates Airlines review but represents “the first offshore headquartered in Dubai, Etihad isn’t try- investment in an Indian airline under the ing to be the world’s biggest airline, Hogan country’s Foreign Direct Investment legexplained. Also important is the airline’s islation,” according to Etihad.

Etihad is managing Air Serbia, Serrole in helping Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, grow and provide jobs and bia’s national airline, in a five-year agreement signed with the Serbian govbecome a destination for world travelers.

Etihad is run like a publicly listed ernment, and it has grown its ownership company, including regular financial of Virgin Australia to 19.9 percent. All of audits by KPMG and audits of the audi- these equity alliances give Etihad a strontor by the Abu Dhabi Accountability ger hand in negotiating better prices with Authority. “They audit KPMG to make vendors and aircraft manufacturers.

“We fly into each others’ cities,” sure that KPMG has audited us properly,” Hogan said. “They’re very focused Hogan explained, “and we open up markets together. As an airline [together] we on good governance.”

With its hub in Abu Dhabi, the move have 500 aircraft. And we source as one, into Los Angeles offers new connections now.” This means that for the partners’ for multicultural travelers who want to fly purchase of a total of 66 Boeing 787-9s throughout the Middle East and Indian (41 for Etihad), they were able to negosubcontinent. The addition of Los Ange- tiate for the same GE engines and also les will grow Etihad’s U.S. operations by plan a pilot training center in Abu Dhabi.

33 percent. “We always wanted to come “Come together, and we all win,” he said.

Hogan said the challenge for Etihad here; it’s a vibrant market,” said Hogan.

During the third quarter of 2013, Eti- is how to differentiate the airline from had saw passengers served climb to more its competitors. “How do I differentiate? than three million and total revenue up Service, service, service.” Etihad’s 77711 percent to $1.4 billion from $1.3 bil- 200LRs will carry 237 passengers. The lion in the third quarter of 2012. The rev- “Diamond” first-class section offers eight enue breakdown was $1.03 billion for enclosable suites upholstered with Italian passengers (up 10 percent) and $244 mil- Poltrona Frau leather and fitted with cotton sheets, full-size pillows and duvets. lion for cargo (up 39 percent).

One of the key factors in Etihad’s The “Pearl” business-class section holds growth is its partnership programs; 40 flatbed seats, each with aisle access. In between codeshares and airlines in which the “Coral” economy section, 189 pasEtihad holds equity, revenue in the third sengers can be accommodated, and they quarter climbed 36 percent, to $247 receive four-course meals (three main dish million, compared to the same period choices) and real blankets and pillows.

All passengers have access to more last year. Partnership activities include than 650 hours of in-flight enterThe “Pearl” business-class section holds 40 flatbed seats, tainment content. Economy paseach with aisle access. sengers will be able to graze on snacks and beverages, while business- and first-class passengers have access to a full-time airborne chef who offers dine-on-demand instead of scheduled meals. “The galley is a larder,” said Hogan.

Other amenities, such as a flying nanny to help lone mothers and fathers care for small children, further the Etihad difference. o

Successful airline pilots takeoff from here.

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Boeing ‘Advanced Super Hornet’ is pitched for future threats

by Bill Carey The sunset could be farther off than thought for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the mainstay of the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based fighter fleet. With initial operational capability of the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter that will eventually replace the F/A-18 now planned in early 2019, Boeing and partner Northrop Grumman are proposing an “Advanced Super Hornet” upgrade designed to operate until 2030 and beyond.

This summer, Boeing conducted test flights of an F/A-18F Super Hornet demonstrator with conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) built by Northrop Grumman, a centerline enclosed weapons pod (EWP) and “signature enhancements” for increased stealth.

The external modifications, matched with an upgraded F414-GE-400 engine, an upgraded Raytheon APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and other improvements, substantially increase the range and reduce the radar signature of the Navy’s Block II Super Hornet.

The upgrade package readies the F/A-18 for the “anti-access, area denial” threat environment of the future, Boeing contends, and offers the Navy an affordable, low-risk solution that contrasts with the expensive F-35. It would also make the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare variant of the fighter more effective.

Boeing (Stand 1606) and Northrop Grumman (Stand 2051) self-funded the demonstration using a Super Hornet leased from the Navy. The modified demonstrator made its first flight on August 5 in St. Louis and conducted a series of test flights at both the Boeing Defense facility next to Lambert St. Louis International Airport and the Patuxent River, Maryland, Naval Air Station. In late August, Boeing test pilot John Tougas and weapon systems officer John Simmons flew the aircraft at St. Louis for reporters and visiting delegations from Brazil and Denmark. The F/A-18E/F figures in fighter competitions in both countries.

laser-guided munitions and bombs, weighing up to 2,500 pounds.

Tests have shown the CFTs installed on the upper fuselage increase the Super Hornet’s mission radius by up to 130 nm, for a total radius exceeding 700 nm.

The CFTs add no drag to the aircraft at subsonic speed; at transonic or supersonic speeds they produce less drag than a centerline fuel tank, Boeing said. Enhancements to the aircraft’s radar cross section, including the EWP, produced a 50-percent improvement in its frontal low-observable (LO) signature. “We have worked very hard to make sure that the CFTs were not a negative contributor to the [radar] signature,” said Paul Summers, Boeing Super Hornet and Growler director.

CFTs on the Growler would provide equivalent mission performance in

terms of range and performance, but with 3,000 pounds less fuel, compared to an EA-18G fitted with two 480-gallon external fuel tanks, three jamming pods and two AGM-88 HARM antiradiation missiles.

Summers said the removal of the external fuel tanks would enable the ALQ-99 tactical jamming pods and their planned replacement system in 2020, the Next Generation Jammer, to have an unobstructed field of regard for jamming. “Historically, the fuel tanks tend to block some of the radiation coming off of the airplane,” he said.

Next year, Boeing plans to incorporate an internally mounted Lockheed Martin infrared search-and-track system under a Super Hornet nose as part of a “multiship/multi-spectral” demonstration of data sharing with the Navy, involving an E-2D Hawkeye airborne early-warning aircraft. Participating aircraft will share data from multiple sensors using Rockwell Collins’ tactical targeting network technology (TTNT) waveform, which supports high data-rate, longrange communications.

On August 27, Boeing flew the Advanced Super Hornet demonstrator for reporters and visiting delegations from Denmark and Brazil at its St. Louis facility. Visible are the Northrop Grumman conformal fuel tanks on the upper fuselage and Boeing-build centerline enclosed weapons pod.

Validating the Aerodynamics

The aim of the test flights was to validate the aerodynamics and radar signature performance of the non-operating or “dry” CFTs designed by Northrop Grumman, which already produces the F/A-18’s aft/center fuselage section and vertical tails at its El Segundo, California facility. The prototype CFTs weighed 1,500 pounds; production fuel tanks would weigh 870 pounds and carry 3,500 gallons of fuel.

The centerline EWP built by Boeing, also a non-operating prototype, weighed 2,050 pounds. The production pod would weigh 900 pounds and carry a mix of weapons, including AIM-120 air-to-air missiles,

40 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

The Advanced Super Hornet package includes a “next-generation cockpit” featuring an 11- by 19-inch main touchscreen display developed by Elbit Systems that replaces other, smaller multifunction displays. The large area display also figures in Boeing’s F-15SE Silent Eagle export fighter.

Some or all of the upgrades could be retrofitted or included as forward fit options on the Super Hornet. Mike Gibbons, Boeing’s F/A-18 and EA-18G program vice president, said the cost of developing the entire set, including an upgraded GE Aviation F414-GE-400 engine, would be “less than a billion dollars” and could be done by 2020. He estimated that the package would add 10 percent to $50 million flyaway cost of a Super Hornet.

Engine Upgrade

Separate to the Boeing effort with Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation and the Navy have spent $100 million over 10 years developing elements of an F414-GE-400 “enhanced engine” upgrade, involving changes to the combustor and high-pressure turbine. Tests indicate the enhanced engine would provide 3 percent lower fuel consumption, increased time on wing and optionally 20 percent more thrust.

“You could run [the engine] at today’s thrust level–22,000 pounds–with new materials and get a significant increase in time-on-wing because it’s more durable,” said Daniel Meador, of GE Aviation military systems operations. “If the customer needed an improvement in capability, they could do that, the hardware is already there.

They could change the Fadec [full-authority digital engine control] software and get a 20-percent increase in thrust. You would see today’s excellent durability at a higher temperature.”

Boeing and GE Aviation contend that the enhanced engine would save the Navy $5 billion in scheduled and unscheduled maintenance visits and reduced fuel consumption over the life of the Super Hornet, which in itself would pay for the entire set of proposed upgrades. Meador said GE is conducting component testing of the enhanced engine, and is prepared for a detailed design and qualification effort. The company hopes the Navy will include the enhanced engine as a program of record in its 2016 program objective memorandum.

GE Aviation currently has a performance-based logistics contract to sustain the F414-GE-400 engine at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. “We would propose that a -400 [engine] would come in when it needs to come in. You would have a separate line that would replace the parts and the modules there and it would come out as an enhanced engine,” said Meador.

The company would be able to retrofit about 300 engines per year, its current service rate, he said. o

PETER SHAW-SMITH

The flow of passenger traffic has begun, punctuated by a ceremonial fire-hose greeting.

Al Maktoum airline ops start

by Peter Shaw-Smith More than three years after completion of its five-millionpassenger-capacity terminal at Dubai World Central (DWC), passenger operations at DWC’s Al Maktoum International Airport finally launched October 27 with the arrival of Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air, Bahrain’s Gulf Air and Kuwait’s Al Jazeera Airways.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said the company was in negotiations with several

other potential participants but would not comment on the identities of possible new players. News reports said Condor Flugdienst would launch operations into DWC in late November, Kyrgyzstan Air Company in December and Qatar Airways in March 2014.

Emirates Sky Cargo’s dedicated freighters will move to a new base at DWC next year, while Air France-KLM earlier announced that DWC would

become its Middle East freighter hub from August 1 this year.

Wizz Air flew 12 million passengers in 2012 and expects its Dubai operations to add 200,000 more next year. It did not speculate on how Dubai’s place in the airline’s strategy would grow in the future. “We have 14 flights a week, four times [each] to Budapest and Kiev and three times [each] to Bucharest and Sofia. That is a total capacity of 200,000,” Wizz Air CEO

József Váradi told AIN. “That is a fairly substantial strategy on a new market from a new airline.

We feel good about it.”

Váradi founded Wizz Air in 2003 after an earlier stint as CEO of Malev, Hungary’s now defunct flag carrier. The airline is majority-owned by German transportation financier DVB Bank, while Phoenix, Ariz.-based Indigo Partners, a private equity firm which pursues acquisitions and investments in the air transportation industry, is also a shareholder, Váradi said.

Wizz Air orders for A320 variants stretch out the best part of the coming decade. “We have an orderbook of 70 aircraft to be delivered from Airbus, mostly A320s,” he said. “We just confirmed that we converted some of these A320s into A321s; 26 of those planes we will deliver as A321s starting in 2016. Certainly we have plenty of capacity coming down the line that enables us to take [new] opportunities. This is going to cover us for the next six to seven years.”

Váradi said passengers seeking to connect to Dubai from Western Europe could hub via Budapest and elsewhere. “Some

people may connect, that is fine.

If you look at the London market, we have four daily services between Budapest and London Luton. But also we have multiple daily services from all the other markets that we are linking up Dubai from. [Hubbing] is very possible and there is nothing wrong with that.”

Al Maktoum Airport currently has one runway open and it is not clear when more runways will be added. The original plan called for six runways, before the financial crisis hit in 2007 and affected Dubai badly.

Over the past year or so optimism has returned and it seems the UAE has returned to a “Back to Plan A” approach to growth. It is believed that operators at Dubai International Airport (DXB) have been prompted to make their plans to move to Al Maktoum, which is much further from the epicentre of the city still, although it is closer to the new area around Jebel Ali, and to Abu Dhabi. This will leave only Emirates and its low-cost sister company FlyDubai as the incumbent airlines at DXB, although it is not clear when the latest plan calls for the transition to be complete. o

Singapore show targets security, training markets “We aspire to provide our exhibitors and visitors with a better experience at each subsequent edition of the Singapore Airshow,” said Jimmy Lau, managing director of show organizer Experia Events. “We also continue to demonstrate our relevance to the industry by anticipating market trends and introducing new features, enabling our exhibitors and visitors to tap emerging markets and be updated on the latest products and technologies.”

For the fourth edition of the Singapore Airshow, to be held at the Changi exhibition center next year (February 11 to 16), the organizers have introduced two new, targeted zones that reflect trends in aviation.

The Aviation Security Zone highlights the accelerating need for security in the Asia-Pacific region as cargo volumes and passenger traffic experience rapid growth. Throughout the region airports are improving security systems and investing heavily in infrastructure upgrades to meet new government requirements. By

2017 it is forecast that the aviation security business will be worth around $10 billion. At the Singapore Airshow 2014 the dedicated security zone will cluster together exhibitors with expertise in this sector, providing an opportunity for networking and targeted marketing, as well as the opportunity to showcase their products, services and innovations.

An Aviation Training Zone is also being implemented as a platform to bring together a range of exhibitors involved in areas of training, simulation and recruitment. Significant growth in air travel brings with it a growing requirement for aircrew and technicians, while new safety and training regulations have resulted in existing schools not only seeking to acquire new simulation systems, but also to upgrade existing equipment.

Boeing’s Pilot and Technician Outlook report for 2012 estimates that 185,600 new pilots will be needed over the next two decades to support the forecast level of traffic growth in the Asia Pacific region. o

DAVID McINTOSH

by David Donald

home-country success story Adcom Systems, with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, was founded 20 years ago. Since then, it has grown to include a group of more than 20 companies in the region employing a total of more than 600. Adcom’s business activities include air traffic control systems, communications networks and manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This mockup of a new design, on display here at Dubai 2013, represents a twin-jet engine derivative of the company’s United 40 model. Adcom takes great pride in its UAE roots, paying tribute to its government for “encouraging ‘made in the UAE’ technology and products.”

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 41

Post-financial shakeout leaves few lessors active

by Peter Shaw-Smith Students of human psychology need look no further than the fable of the tortoise and the hare to understand the situation today in the Middle East region’s leasing sector. In the waning years of the boom, a number of new entrants made valiant plays, but some appear to have had to pause to reconsider. Despite the aviation boom in the Middle East, few new major regional entrants into this esoteric business have come into existence and, of those that have, the 2008 bust clearly had a major negative impact.

Three players–DAE Capital, a unit of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise; Waha Capital, which is also from the UAE; and Kuwait’s Aviation Lease and Finance Co. (Alafco)–were riding high in the boom, but the two UAE companies have suffered growing pains. “The Middle East lessors are a somewhat reduced group now,” said Dick Forsberg, head of strategy at Avolon Aerospace Leasing in Dublin. “Alafco would be the most active.”

The most profitable aircraft leasing company in the region today, Alafco, is headquartered in Kuwait City. The company was founded in 1992

by Kuwait Airways Corp.

(KAC) and acquired by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) in 2000.

It was floated on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2006 and, today, 53.69 percent of Alafco is owned by KFH, 11.47 percent

by KAC and the remainder by private investors.

Under the astute but understated leadership of chairman and general manager Ahmad Al Zabin, Alafco has grown

DAE Capital’s Portfolio

steadily. In May, acting CEO Abulqasim Abdulghaffar Redha told an investment conference the company had owned 46 and managed three aircraft, all leased out, as well as having an order book of 117 units: 85 A320neos, twenty 737-8 Max aircraft and 12 A350-900s for lease in 201721. “Six A350-900s [are] already placed with Thai Airways for 12 years’ lease,” he said. “The company plans to acquire up to 15 narrowbody aircraft per year from 2013 to 2016 through sale and leaseback.”

According to Ascend, Alafco is ranked fourth in the Middle East by aircraft orders, behind only the three large governmentowned carriers–Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. “Alafco

OEM and Type

No. of Aircraft

Boeing 777-200F

7

777-300ER

2

737-700

3

737-800

13

Total

25

Airbus A319

8

A320

7

A330-200

11

Total

26

Grand Total

51

Source: DAE Capital

has developed significant capability to manage the aircraft purchase and fleet-leasing process,” said Redha. The Asia Pacific and Middle East regions are expected to be home to most of Alafco’s ordered aircraft, he said. Alafco reported revenues of $194 million in 2012, and net profits of $90 million.

Alafco also stresses the importance of corporate governance.

31 narrowbodies, according to Aircraft Finance Report 2013.

These include nine Boeing 777s and 11 A330-200s. DAE Capital appears to be keeping a low profile, however.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd. reported 2012 revenues of $1.94 billion, and net income of $7.3 million. In its May 5 earnings release, DAE managing director Khalifa H.

737s, but those for 15 Boeing 747Fs and 777s apparently remained in place. The 747 freighters do not yet appear in the current fleet. However, the fact that DAE Capital has not announced any orders in recent years should not necessarily be seen as a sign it is moribund.

“There seems to have been a reinfusion of interest–and presumably capital–from the shareholders and a green light to acquire assets once again,” observed Avolon’s Forsberg.

Waha No Longer Leases

Alafco, the most profitable aircraft leasing company in the Middle East region, has an order book of 117 aircraft in the 2017-21 time frame. They include 20 737-8 Max jets (above), 85 A320 neos and 12 A350-900s. At the other end of the scale, Sahaab Leasing has approximately a dozen A320s and essentially is an in-house lessor for Jazeera Airways (below).

It was the first Kuwaiti company to comply with a new law by separating the positions of chairman and chief executive officer.

The company is also studying the possibility of a secondary listing on a foreign stock exchange. “Alafco is doing well.

It’s a mature player, and has been around for quite a few years,” noted Richard Aboulafia, vice president analysis at Teal Group of Fairfax, Virginia.

DAE Capital Growing

The other major players in the Gulf fared less well in the downturn. DAE Capital appears to be on the mend, having added four aircraft to its fleet in 2012, thus bringing the total to 51–20 widebodies and

42 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Al Daboos said: “DAE was successful yet again in growing its core income. Our business prospects are strong, and the company is poised for growth in 2013 and beyond.”

Aviation analysts are reserving judgment on DAE Capital for the moment. “DAE was an ’08-’09 victim,” said Aboulafia. “I don’t think anything will [bring them back] to their original ambitions.

Suffice it to say, in terms of the aircraft market, they have ceased to be an industry leader. DAE is emblematic of aggressive leverage cut short by the crash. Dubai has stabilized, but I doubt whether it will find it easy to get back to aggressive leverage.”

In 2011, DAE Capital canceled orders for 35 Boeing

The region’s third major lessor, Waha Capital, which also has interests in shipping and real estate, has also curtailed its interest in aircraft leasing. “My understanding is that Waha took a strategic decision to get out of the direct ownership and management of aircraft and to maintain their presence in the sector via an investment in AerCap,” said Forsberg. “The ex-Waha aircraft were all… transferred into a JV vehicle… managed by AerCap. “Waha Capital still exists as an investment vehicle, but not as an aircraft leasing platform and I don’t expect them to start to acquire aircraft again on their own account–but who knows what the future may bring,” he said.

“There is also Sahaab Leasing, which is basically an in-house lessor for Jazeera Airways,” Forsberg told AIN, adding that the lessor has “a handful of aircraft elsewhere.” Forsberg also identified a couple of minor Middle East players in Arab Leasing International Finance (ALIF) and MENA Investments.

A spokeswoman for Waha Capital, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, confirmed that it is no longer an aircraft leasing company involved in aircraft management. She said Waha continues to be an investment company. “Waha Capital… originally acquired a 20-percent stake in AerCap in 2010 in a transaction that involved the sale or partial sale of certain aircraft leasing-related assets in exchange for equity in AerCap. Waha Capital’s stake in the company has since increased to 26.3 percent as a result of a series of share buyback initiatives undertaken by the company.” o

Women’s roles expanding in Middle East aerospace

by Jennifer Harrington Snell Aviation in the Middle East isn’t just growing, it’s booming– and women have every opportunity to join the ranks, according to the president of the Emirates chapter of Women in Aviation, International (WAI).

“People from the outside think that women in this part of the world are limited in choices, but that’s wrong,” said Mervat Sultan, one of the first Emirati women to obtain a flight dispatcher’s license. She also holds a PPL and serves as finance manager for RamJet Aviation

paths. As Sultan explained, people often think that the only career choices are those of pilot, flight attendant or ticketing agent, which is wrong, she said.

“All of us, we have the same vision,” Sultan said, speaking of the eight women on the WAIEmirates board. “We have to introduce women to different fields in aviation. There are plenty of choices.” The WAI-Emirates board consists of women from all sectors of aviation. In addition to Sultan, the board includes Dina Ali Beljaflah, vice

Authority (GCAA); and Suaad Al Shamsi, an aircraft engineer with Emirates Airline.

The goal of each of the board members is to share their knowledge and experiences with other women in the industry, Sultan said. And the board expects to see big numbers over the coming months and years. “Every three or four days I receive emails from women who want to be involved with us,” she said.

Opportunities for Women

Although it may come as a surprise to many, Middle Eastern women have been involved in aviation for decades. Loftia El Nadi, the first Egyptian woman to earn a pilot’s license, was also the second woman ever to solo an airplane. She earned her license in 1933.

An ever-increasing number of women are entering the industry. Mideast Aviation Academy in Amman, Jordan, for example, currently has female students from Libya and Nigeria, in addition to Jordan, and its graduates include women from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain and Algeria.

One of the founders of the academy, Entisar Al-Ramahi, Women have an active role in the development of aerospace in the UAE, according to Mervat Sultan (below), finance manager for RamJet Aviation and president of the Emirates chapter of Women in Aviation International (WAI).

Support, based in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. “The choices open to women are the same as for men. We, all of us, are the same.”

Men and women also receive the same encouragement to pursue careers in aviation, Sultan said. “In the UAE, we receive the same support as men, from the government and from our families. There is no difference. I’ve never faced any problems here.”

The UAE government, which has publicly praised women’s contributions to society and encouraged the private sector to give them every opportunity to succeed, was especially supportive of Sultan’s dream to launch a WAI chapter. “The government really encouraged us,” she said.

The WAI Vision

The newly launched WAIEmirates chapter is the first of its kind in the Gulf region. To date, there are no other organizations that support women in aviation, Sultan said. One of the goals of the new chapter is to introduce Middle Eastern women to all aspects of aviation, and to encourage them to look beyond the obvious career

president of aerospace at Mubadala Aerospace; Kristina Tervo, a flight instructor and director of KTConsultancy; Heba Hussain, operational readiness, Abu Dhabi Airports Co.; Belinda Suares, business development manager at RamJet Aviation Support; Farah Al Ansari, manager, Airport Security Pass, Dubai Airports; Mariam Ali Al Balooshi, Environment Manager, UAE General Civil Aviation

has been involved with aviation for 13 years and serves as the school’s director of public relations and marketing. She has been instrumental in helping to develop new courses and attracting international students, including many females, to the school.

At Emirates Aviation College, where Sultan earned her JAA-compliant GCAA flight dispatch license, her

Alia Twal was one of the first female students at Jordan’s Mideast Aviation. She is currently serving as first officer for one of the region’s airlines.

fellow students included the first female Bahraini air traffic controller and a female pilot who now works for Gulf Air. “There are plenty of ladies in aviation, but aviation itself is still a young industry in the Middle East,” Sultan explained.

“It’s not the same as the industry in the U.S. or Europe, and it’s a challenge for both men and women to get involved.”

That being said, the Middle Eastern aerospace industry is making great strides in attracting nationals–including females–to positions within the industry. One of the most successful has been Strata, the Al Ain-based aerostructures facility wholly owned by Mubadala Aerospace. To date, the company employs 165 women, 140 of whom are UAE nationals.

In many Middle East countries, there are still cultural objections to women working in the manufacturing industry and leaving their children at home.

But as Sultan explained, many people have positive views of the aviation industry.

“As Arabs, we cannot get involved in any industry unless we keep our femininity,” Sultan said. The aviation industry, unlike other manufacturing industries, is “a nice industry, very conservative.”

The goal of the WAI-Emirates chapter is to introduce women to the wide range of opportunities within the industry, many of which don’t require women to go abroad. “Maybe being a pilot is difficult,” Sultan said. “It is difficult for a woman to find balance because she is away most of the time. But in other fields, there is no need to be outside the country. You can be close to your family and your business.”

Challenges

One challenge women face is the need for some industry employees, such as pilots and flight attendants, to leave the

country–to work or for training.

This is something many families object to.

Strata recently sent a group of male and female technicians working on the A330 aileron assembly to Nantes, France, for a five-month intensive training course. The company also sent three women to Brindisi in Italy for three months for training on another project.

Fortunately, the families of the women supported their choice to work for a Mubadala asset and permitted them to go abroad. In fact, the families saw it as a patriotic duty to the country.

Some other challenges are not unique to the aviation industry. “Childcare in the Middle East is a big problem,” said Mariola Ziolkowski, president of WAI–Chapter Germany, which recently initiated the World-Wide Traveling Photo Exhibition of Women in Aviation. Ziolkowski is currently in Iraq, working at Erbil International Airport.

Most governments don’t have childcare programs, and the private companies that do have daycare centers are few and far between–but that is starting to change. Mubadala, for example, is planning to offer daycare to its employees and allow women to go home for up to an hour per day to breastfeed their babies. And within the Al Ain International Airport Master Plan, there are proposals for staff accommodation, childcare and leisure facilities.

The government in the UAE is keen to provide more motherfriendly workplaces, and has called on private companies to provide more childcare facilities. Maternity leave remains a problem, though. In the UAE, women are allowed 45 days maternity leave after the birth of a child. Women’s groups, including the Dubai Women’s Establishment (DWE), are calling for a change, to bring the UAE up to international standards. o

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 43

The nose-mounted M-TADS/PNVS sensor suite has logged more than one million flight hours on the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

by Bill Carey Lockheed Martin continues to upgrade its modernized target acquisition designation sight/pilot night-vision sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) for the AH-64 Apache, an electro-optical firecontrol system that this year surpassed one million flight hours on the attack helicopter.

This summer, the company was in the final stages of integrating a new modernized day sensor assembly (M-DSA) in the nosemounted sensor suite, the goal being to conduct a first flight in January. The M-DSA replaces the daylight sensor assembly in the lower M-TADS turret, which serves for targeting, with a highdefinition, color-capable camera with improved field of view.

It incorporates updated laser rangefinder/designator and laser spot tracker components. The U.S. Army plans to equip its first unit with the new sensor assembly in Fiscal Year 2018.

According to Lockheed Martin (Stand 1975, Static A19/ A20), the M-TADS/PNVS sensor suite, first fielded in 2005 by the U.S. Army’s 1-82nd attack reconnaissance battalion, improves system performance and reliability over the Apache’s original TADS system by more than 150 percent and decreases maintenance actions by about 60 percent. The company claims the modernized system will save nearly $1 billion in operation and support costs over its 40-year lifespan.

The 1-82nd deployed to Iraq with M-TADS/PNVSequipped Apaches in 2006.

In 2007, the Army initiated a

performance-based logistics contract for system components that has achieved a 95-percent supply availability rate.

“From our perspective, it’s given us almost a 10-times increase in reliability,” said Lt. Col. Steve Van Riper, U.S. Army project manager for Apache sensors. “That really was what M-TADS was about in the beginning; it was really focused on reliability improvement [and] obsolescence mitigation. But as a second-order effect, we also gained all these performance advantages.”

The M-DSA sensor will be introduced in the sixth production lot of upgraded AH64Es, formerly called Block III Apaches, delivered to the U.S. Army from around 2017.

The Block III upgrade features

44 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Mubadala boosts Dubai Airshow presence

formation delegation The UAE air force is well represented by the dynamic aerobatic stylings of its Al Fursan jet demonstration team. Established in 2010, the elite unit performs precision formation aerobatics, puncutated by individual flying by breakaway aircraft.

MARK WAGNER

Lockheed Martin enhances Apache vision

improved GE Aviation T700GE-701D engines with enhanced digital electronic engine control units, improved drive system and transmission, composite rotor blades and extended-range firecontrol radar and missiles.

Boeing had delivered more than 40 AH-64Es as of this summer; the program calls for 690 mostly remanufactured helicopters through 2027. The 1-229th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB), based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, was the first unit equipped with AH-64Es in February, followed by the 1-25th ARB at Fort Carson, Colorado.

The 1-229th will deploy to Afghanistan with the AH-64Es next spring, said Col. Jeff Hager, the U.S. Army’s Apache project manager. Some of those helicopters will be equipped with a mast-mounted UAS tactical datalink assembly supplied by the Longbow LLC joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The datalink, which is

contained in a doughnut-shaped radome identical to the radome that houses the Longbow firecontrol radar, enables Apache pilots to control the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft.

Dave Belvin, Lockheed Martin director of Apache programs, declared that MTADS-PNVS became a “game changer” for the U.S. Army when it was introduced, providing Apache pilots with greater resolution to engage targets from longer standoff ranges. “The system has earned the trust of the soldiers who fly it and the crew chiefs who maintain it,” he said.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control was working on its eighth production lot and had delivered more than 1,200 M-TADS/PNVS systems to the U.S. Army and 12 international Apache customers. The company performs electronics assembly in Ocala, Florida, while final assembly takes place in Orlando.

The U.S. Army commemorated one million flight hours of service by the M-TADS/PNVS system, most of it during combat tours, at a ceremony held at the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control facility in Orlando on August 8. “That is no small feat,” Hager told assembled employees and soldiers.

“Through countless engagements scattered throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, the system provides a combat-proven advantage over the enemy.”

Four days later, Lockheed Martin announced a $223 million contract to provide 36 M-TADS/PNVS systems and spares for AH-64Es destined for the Republic of Korea army, demonstrating a further market for foreign military sales. o

Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s investment diversification catalyst, will launch a new combined Aerospace, Communications Technology and Defense Services (ACTDS) portfolio, a merger of business units designed to maximize intra-unit synergies, at this year’s Dubai Airshow.

Some 21 businesses in the ACTDS portfolio incorporate international industry leaders and emerging domestic players with more than 10,000 global employees. Together, the ACTDS businesses contributed almost 40 percent of Mubadala’s revenues in the first half of its 2013 fiscal year.

“Seven years after taking its first steps into the industry, Mubadala is well positioned to become a key global aerospace player, delivering sustainable financial and social returns for Abu Dhabi,” said Homaid Al Shemmari, executive director of Mubadala ACTDS. “Our goal is to further develop our existing capabilities and market position to become a diversified global tier one aerospace supplier focusing on airframes and engines in the commercial and military sectors. We have built our expertise in high-growth areas and developed strong relationships with global OEMs, industry suppliers and airlines, as well as with international government stakeholders.”

Ten of Mubadala’s aerospace, communications technology and defense services-related subsidiary companies are exhibiting at the show, including Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, Advanced Military Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Center, Horizon International Flight Academy, Strata Manufacturing, Nibras Al Ain Aerospace Park, Piaggio Aero, SR Technics, Sanad Aero Solutions, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company and Bayanat for Mapping & Surveying Solutions.

Mubadala aims to create 11,000 jobs for Emirati scientists, engineers and technicians and has committed to an annual research and development budget of $10 million in 2015, in partnership with OEMs and academic institutions. –P.S.S.

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Patriot defense system looks to the future

by David Donald Late last month Raytheon announced that it had received contracts worth $71.7 million to continue upgrading its Patriot air and missile defense system for the U.S. Army. The latest contracts, which add a modernized radar digital processor (RDP) and modern man station (MMS), highlight the continuous development that is being applied to the Patriot to keep it at the forefront of the air defense arena. The Patriot system has now conducted 2,500 search and track tests, and around 1,000 flight tests. The latest of these was a live-fire exercise undertaken last month in South Korea to demonstrate operational capability.

MMS introduces color LCD displays, touch screens and soft keys. The heightened situational awareness afforded by the MMS compared with the old interface results in quicker decision-making in

terms of identifying and assessing threats. Under the RDP upgrade, 19 racks are replaced by a single unit, and the number of component modules has been reduced from 432 to just 12. This has a significant effect on reliability in the field, with an improvement of around 40 percent. At the same time, acquisition cost is reduced, while maintenance requirements and operating costs are also cut.

Both RDP and MMS are fully compatible with the Post Deployment Build-7 software that Raytheon began delivering in June this year. This software release is part of an ongoing capability enhancement that caters to new technological developments, as well as advances in threats and their countermeasures in the dynamic air defense environment. Overall, PDB-7 makes the system more robust and software-defined. As well as RDP

Raytheon’s Patriot system has conducted around 1,000 flight tests in its history.

At right, the new Modern Man Station from Raytheon enhances situational awareness for the Patriot operators. The U.S. Army has just ordered this upgrade.

and MMS, PDB-7 supports a new modern adjunct processor (MAP) that greatly increases the computing power of the command and control system. The increase in capacity allows the integration of new technologies as they are developed.

PAC-3 MSE Compatible

Also included in PDB-7 is compatibility with the PAC3 MSE (Patriot Advanced Capability 3, Missile Segment

LHT ready for carbon-fiber technology Teaming with the Technical University of Darmstadt, German cabin completion and MRO specialist Lufthansa Technik (LHT) is developing new methods for load transmission into carbon-fiber composite aircraft fuselage structures in executive aircraft.

Looking ahead to the growing use of composite materials in aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing’s 787, the Hamburg-based company points out that appropriate changes to the current technology “are essential for manufacturer-independent modifications and individual cabin solutions.” It must be made possible to install specific cabin components at the desired location in an aircraft, and the primary structure must be reinforced in such a way that the additional load can be introduced and distributed safely, according to Dr. Hans Schmitz, LHT’s senior vice president of executive jet solutions.

The project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, has made it possible to define the maximum load on floor panels for the first time, and to develop highly efficient connectors known as

“floor-panel hard points.”

These components, says LHT, are small enough to fit into the palm of a hand and can be individually fitted to the cabin floor by gluing them to the floor panels. This facilitates the flexible attachment of special cabin fittings such as cupboards, tables and partition bulkheads in an aircraft cabin with a maximum load of up to 3,000 Newtons.

The result of the project is sufficiently rewarding that components are already being used for a total of 40 floor-panel hard points in an executive 747-8 being outfitting by LHT. Cabin Pressure Stability

Among related projects in the study, LHT has also begun investigating ways to compensate for a sudden drop in cabin pressure in an aircraft consisting of many smaller compartments, as well as examining the possibilities for load introduction in the side and upper fuselage structure.

The complete study and “especially the execution of test series, were significantly assisted by a virtual research and development simulation.”

“The results of the Fiber

Force research and the resultant force transmission concepts helped us decisively in the VIP completion business to continue successfully meeting the challengers of installing cabin interiors in the new composite fiber aircraft design,” said Schmitz.

The overall Fiber Force project is due to conclude by the end of this month.

Elsewhere, Lufthansa Technik’s U.S. subsidiary BizJet International has delivered its first Boeing Business Jet completion to the Chinese Nanshan Group in the city of Longkou.

Among highlights of the interior are satellite-live television and iPad interface, audio/visual ondemand (AVOD) entertainment, independent in-arm monitors at each seat, a private stateroom and seating for staff and crew. According to LHT (Stand 1945), it is the first BBJ delivery to the Chinese market and Tulsa, Oklahoma-based BizJet expects to begin the next green completion this month for another Chinese customer. –K.J.H.

46 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Enhancement) interceptor that was also selected for the MEADS system. This weapon is yet to enter production, although a decision is expected shortly. Developed by Lockheed Martin, PAC-3 and MSE missiles use hit-to-kill interception rather than the proximity fuzing of the Raytheon PAC-2 weapons such as the current GEM-T (guidance enhanced missile).

In June this year the PAC-3 MSE undertook its seventh test, and the first involving a multitarget engagement. Upgrading a Patriot launcher to fire PAC-3 missiles as well as PAC-2s is easily undertaken. In the international arena Saudi Arabia is upgrading its Patriot systems to PAC-3+ status, while the UAE is procuring them new. Taiwan is receiving both new-build systems and upgrading existing units.

Development of PDB-7 was made possible by recent sales to the United Arab Emirates, and its introduction highlights the application of the Patriot International Engineering Services Program (IESP) that drives the development of the system. All 12 Patriot customers are members of the IESP and share development costs, their individual contributions being based on the number of fire-units in their inventories. New developments, such as the PDB-8 software load that is already under way, are jointly defined by IESP members for application across the global Patriot fleet. However, customers also have the ability to define and fund their own particular

capabilities if required.

As the Patriot has become more “internationalized,” so Raytheon’s supplier chain has broadened. In around 10 years the amount of the company’s inhouse work has decreased from 70 percent to roughly 30 percent, with several suppliers outside of the U.S. Some of this is a result of offset agreements associated with international sales.

There is a possibility of UAEbased companies being involved in the program in the future.

In U.S. Army service the Patriot system is scheduled to serve until at least 2048, and in April this year the service approved a second recertification of the PAC-2 GEM-T missile to extend its life to 45 years.

The recertification program is less than 10 percent of the cost of new acquisition, and involves the replacement of some shelflife items and a rigorous test and inspection process to ensure that there are no other faulty items.

Despite NATO Patriot batteries being sent to Turkey earlier this year after Ankara requested assistance in the face of the troubles in Syria, the Turkish government controversially announced last month that it had selected the Chinese FD-2000 system instead of NATO-compatible equipment. While this came as an unexpected blow, the decision may yet be reversed. In the meantime, Raytheon (Stand 1954) is seeking to add Qatar to the list of Patriot users, and also hopes for further business from Kuwait. o

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High-tech Falcon 5X is Dassault’s tour-de-force

by Ian Sheppard Dassault Aviation launched its long-awaited, all-new Falcon 5X at last month’s NBAA show in Las Vegas. The long-range, advanced technology model should provoke strong interest among the growing Middle Eastern jet set.

The twin-engine, Mach 0.8, fly-by-wire business jet is powered by Snecma’s new Silvercrest engine, which, along with a new wing and flight controls, is a big part of the new aircraft’s leap forward in performance. The 5X is scheduled to fly before mid-2015, with certification and entry into service following in the first half of 2017.

The first batch of 40 standardized 5Xs will be fully equipped and priced at $45 million in today’s dollars, with Dassault (Stands 650/1445) indicating that it had taken some initial orders during the NBAA

show. Three development aircraft will be built and aircraft number-one will be retained for future development work.

The 5X likely will launch a new family of jets and could ultimately be grown to provide Dassault with a competitor for new large-cabin jets from Bombardier and Gulfstream. “There is no doubt that the 5X will be creating new derivatives in the future,” said Olivier Villa, senior v-p for civil aircraft, who suggested an “8X” would be well suited to China and other developing regions.

To this end, the 5X features a new wide cabin. “The key feature will be a new generation of cabin comfort, with a fuselage diameter of 2.7 meters or 8.86 feet,” said John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet. The $50 million-plus 7X for now remains Dassault’s

When designing the cockpit of the 5X, Dassault started with the 7X as a base and took it a few steps further, paying particular attention to pilot comfort, which users will certainly appreciate in an airplane that can fly 11.5 hours or 5,200 nm.

longest-range Falcon, and the three-engine jet has notched almost 200 deliveries. The 7X has a cabin diameter of 2.5 meters or 8.20 feet. The company’s existing twin is the $26 million Falcon 2000 series, of which almost 600 have been delivered.

Villa said that although for the 5X design there is a “special focus on the availability of the aircraft” (that is, reliability), there is also a range of technological enhancements, including a new wing, which is “about the

Falcon 5X Has Most Spacious Cabin in Its Class, Claims Dassault “We have worked a lot to define the volume and to look at how the 7X is used for long flights, to find the most comfortable and efficient way to use [the new 5X],” said Olivier Villa, Dassault senior v-p for civil aircraft.

The cabin volume of the 5X is 1,770 cu ft compared to 1,550 cu ft on the 7X. The unfinished cabin interior height is 78 inches, which is four inches more than the 7X/900LX, and the maximum width is increased by 10 inches.

The company brought a full-size mockup to last month’s NBAA Convention. This is one of two mockups, the other one being designed with a more flamboyant (“racier”) interior. The latter, dubbed mockup two, will be ready by the end of this year and will be kept at Le Bourget in Paris and displayed at EBACE 2014 in Geneva, among other events.

Villa believes that the windows are a key feature of the new aircraft, with “30 percent more window area on the 5X

compared to the 7X.” The cabin altitude will be only 3,900 feet when cruising at 41,000 feet, he said (the maximum cabin pressure would be at 6,000 feet cabin altitude, reached at 51,000 feet). Meanwhile, passengers will benefit from a 155-cu-ft baggage compartment with in-flight access and a second unpressurized baggage compartment.

“We’ve been working for two years on a real breakthrough on what you’ll see in the cabin,” said Jim Hurley, Dassault Falcon Jet v-p of sales. “The two most important things were cabin comfort and speed.” The cabin can sleep six and it features a skylight over the flight attendant working area/galley area.

Agnes Gervais, interior designer for Dassault, said, “It is a new and sleek design that gives the impression of space.

The passenger will be wrapped in a cocoon.” Seats have also been completely redesigned with “an outer shell giving a feeling of protection. –I.S.

Cabin comfort was at the top of Dassault’s list in the design of the 5X, and the company promises “a real breakthrough” for passengers.

48 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

same size as the 7X wing,” and the new engine. Notably, the aircraft benefits from Dassault’s fighter heritage with flaperons, not seen on a Falcon before, and a full fly-by-wire flight control system, which can employ all the control surfaces together to enhance efficiency throughout the flight profile, including benefits in maneuvering and comfort in turbulence.

Maximum takeoff weight is 69,600 pounds and the maxlanding-weight to max-takeoffweight ratio is 95 percent, said Villa. “So you can land almost straight away to pick up passengers, then go on a very long mission–typically 5,200 nautical miles or 11 hours 30 minutes– off a 5,000-foot runway, landing at 105 knots.” High-speed cruise will mean less range, with Mmo (maximum operating Mach number) being Mach 0.9.

New Technology

“We could have kept the same wing and digital flight control system [as the 7X],” said Villa, “but we decided to bring a new wing and DFCS [digital flight control system] to the 5X, both being developed by Dassault in-house, and a new cockpit standard, optimal use of manufacturing technology, pressurized fuel tanks and a new step-in digital mockup. We are using Catia version 6, which brings a 4-D mockup, with simulation capability for all the systems.”

The wing, he said, “is very sophisticated.” It features three slats, “very efficient winglets, a new curved trailing edge and flaperons, which so far we’ve [used] only on military aircraft.” The wing buffet margin has been increased by 15 percent and the lift-to-drag ratio is up by 5 to 10 percent, said Villa. Differential use of the flaperons helps to achieve this improvement.

Francois Dupré, 5X flight control system project manager, said, “We moved up a step with

the 7X by integrating all the primary control surfaces, taking [pilot] commands and translating them using new functions that drastically reduce pilot workload–for example, autotrim. Also it is very comfortable in turbulence.

“With the 5X we went even further, integrating the high-lift devices and airbrakes and nosewheel steering into the FCS architecture. So we can realize the high lift and airbrake functions using all surfaces, increasing the global efficiency of the system.” As part of this, said Dupré, Dassault “took the opportunity to introduce new flaperons with high-speed servoactuators. These can deflect differentially or symmetrically to complement the slats and flaps, and can be used as airbrakes.”

The handling qualities and degradation mode philosophies are “close to the 7X,” said Dupré, with normal laws, reverting to alternate laws, reverting to direct laws as the minimum required for aircraft control.

Cockpit Features

In the cockpit, there is a 32-percent increase in window area compared to the 7X, and the cockpit is also larger. “The larger cockpit makes it easier for the pilots to rest during cruise,” he said. The pilot seats (supplied

by Zodiac Aerospace’s Sicma Aero Seat subsidiary) recline to 130 degrees.

The new flight management system (FMS) is by Honeywell, which also will supply its RDR4000 3-D digital weather radar.

Dual EFBs are integrated, one on each side of the instrument panel. The plan is to have dual Elbit head-up displays (HUDs); initially there will be only one, for the left seat.

The HUDs will offer a new combined-vision system (CVS), which includes both synthetic-vision system (SVS) and Continued on page 50 u

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Dassault unveiled a scale model of its Falcon 5X, previously codenamed SMS, with great fanfare last month. The airplane is expected to enter service in 2017.

Dassault conducted extensive windtunnel testing to refine the design of the Falcon 5X, including at DNW in Holland, ETW in Germany, Onera in France (pictured) and Ruag in Switzerland.

Falcon 5X tour-de-force uContinued from page 50

enhanced-vision system (EVS) information. “We decided to go further to have a near-IR [infrared] camera and new EVS camera, too, fitted to the top of the nose but integrated. We worked hard with Elbit on this,” said Philippe Deleume, Dassault’s chief test pilot. “We designed a brand-new HUD with Elbit, with a wider field of view and

new symbology, which is completely consistent head-down or head-up. The goal is to go to a primary display in the HUD. This is a proof-of-concept now as it is a long process to get certification, and later we’ll move to two HUDs and they’ll be primary displays. This will be a first for a business aircraft.”

He also hopes it will lead to “an alternative to autoland” right down to zero-zero (zero height and zero visibility).

A new engine throttle control

Dassault selected the Snecma Silvercrest to power the 5X. The engine maker has produced several test engines and is testing tthem at the company’s Villaroche plant near Paris, and at the company’s Istres test cell in the south of France (pictured).

The Immersive Reality Centre at Dassault Aviation’s Saint-Cloud base, near Paris, has taken the design process to a new level, allowing designers to “interact” with the airplane on the drawing board to address any challenges early on in the process.

unit, supplied by Ratier-Figeac, offers another innovative feature: movable or mobile detents (employing the Hall effect in magnetism). The mobile detents adjust for ambient conditions and can help facilitate noisesensitive departures, for example. “This is so the pilot can easily find the new N1 setting to reduce noise,” Deleume said.

Dassault has designed a new fixed-base development simulator for the 5X. “The 5X flight deck is based on the [Honeywell] EASy cockpit, with a T-configuration for the 10-inch displays,” he said. “There is better integration of the EFBs now, sidesticks and twin HUDs, and full consistency with the other Falcons.” The EFBs are still Class 2 devices. Deleume said developing a Class 3 solution would be expensive and subject to rapid obsolescence.

“There is more automation to decrease the overall pilot workload and decrease pilot errors,” he said. “Also, it has simple and reliable initialization, with simple on/off functions and a routine sequence.”

Dassault describes the 5X as “the safest aircraft, with improved minimum control speed; better maneuverability and aircraft protection with DFCS on primary and secondary flight controls; improved pilot visibility during approach; robustness and manufacturing quality of the structure; and unique fuel tank pressurization protection.”

The company also claims that the 5X will be “the most efficient airplane; 50 percent more efficient than competitors and 30 percent less costly to operate.” For example, Dassault believes the 5X will fly 1,500 nm on 10,000 pounds of fuel, whereas the Global

50 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

5000 can fly just over 1,000 nm on that much fuel. “The Falcon 5X will save up to $4 million over six years (based on an average of 500 hours per year),” claimed the French company.

On the maintenance side, Villa said, “We are starting the MSG-3 process for defining the maintenance, but the intervals will be at least 800 hours/12 months between inspections– that’s 30 percent longer than

the 7X.” The 5X will also have “a new standard in integrated maintenance,” he said, with a maintenance computer that can store up to 10,000 parameters, which can then be accessed on the ground or in the air via Falcon Broadcast. Finally, warranty coverage will be improved to 12 years, although some components will be on a five-year basis and paint and interior two years, Villa said. o

Dassault developed an all-new wing with a “new structural architecture” that reduces weight per wing by 500 pounds while increasing lift-to-drag ratio by 5 to 10 percent, claims Dassault. For the first time on a Falcon, the wing incorporates a flaperon.

Dassault Names Key 5X Suppliers Many of the usual suppliers for Dassault’s Falcon aircraft have been selected for the 5X, although Héroux-Devtek will be the landing gear supplier (Messier Dowty provides the 7X gear). The nosegear will have a “dual-chamber, for comfort.”

Hamilton Sundstrand, a United Technologies company, is providing the electrically started APU (“easy start, all the time”), with Thales AES supplying the new starter-generator system.

“We worked a lot on the acoustic treatment to ensure the 5X is a good neighbor on the ground, too,” said Olivier Villa, Dassault senior v-p for civil aircraft. United Technologies will also supply the ram-air turbine, with the emergency ram-air scoop being on the nose of the aircraft (unlike other Falcons).

UTC Aerospace Systems is supplying the air data system; its architecture is a development of the 7X’s system: four smart probes, associated with angleof-attack sensors and “compliant with new requirements for icing systems.”

Eaton Aerospace is supplying the hydraulics system (with noncorrosive Mil-H-83282 red-oil hydraulic fluid). The electrical system will be a 115-VAC network, which is “new to the Falcons,” said Villa. With the fuel system, he said, “We have ensured that fueling will be very fast and very accurate.”

French company Zodiac Intertechnique is supplying the fuel and oxygen systems. Zodiac will also supply the flight-deck oxygen system, and the crew masks have a new “saver function,” said Villa. –I.S.

Rise of ‘Big Three’ Gulf carriers continues to confound analysts

by Peter Shaw-Smith The spectacular rise of Emirates and its Gulf rivals confounded the expectations of mature carriers in the U.S. and Europe.

These fifth- and sixth-freedom carriers have limitless ambitions and enjoy the revenues won through hydrocarbon abundance to back them up. But personalities have also played a role and one thing is sure: the Ruler of Dubai has made himself a pivotal player on the world’s aviation stage.

It was at the 2003 Paris Air Show that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum served notice to the global aviation community that things were about to change. Availing himself of the last global downturn, he placed an order­–at the time the largest in aviation history– for $19 billion worth of cut-price aircraft.

A string of record-breaking widebody jet deals later and the transformation of the Dubai Airshow into one of the world’s top four aviation shows has vindicated the ascetic sheikh.

Emirates Group announced its 25th consecutive year of profitability in May, after it made net income of $845 million in the year ending March 31. Group revenue was $21.1 billion, a 17-percent increase on the year earlier figure. That month it also announced that its allwidebody fleet had reached 200 aircraft.

On August 1, Emirates celebrated the fifth anniversary of delivery of its firstever A380, and claimed to have carried 18 million passengers to 21 destinations.

At 90 aircraft, Emirates has firm orders for nearly four times as many A380s as its nearest rival, Singapore Airlines; it took delivery of its 35th A380 on July 15. The airline is no shrinking violet: it is also the leading customer for the world’s other mainstay, the Boeing 777-300ER. As of late September, Emirates held a staggering 90 in the fleet with a further 61 on order. Not even the humble DubaiLusaka-Harare route is too trivial to benefit from the Boeing workhorse’s qualities.

On September 19 the airline announced

that is has added Boston as its eighth U.S. route. It plans launches later this year to Conakry (Guinea), Kiev in Ukraine and Sialkot in Pakistan, as well as its own dedicated Milan-to-New York/JFK route. In 2013, Emirates has launched, or planned to launch, several new destinations: Warsaw, Algiers, Tokyo Haneda, Clark International (in The Philippines) and Stockholm.

Emirates is seeing continuing growth in headcount and said it is aiming to recruit 5,000 to 6,000 new employees this financial year (2013-14). It has also taken a leaf out of Qatar Executive’s book by launching private-jet charters through Emirates Executive. The fleet initially comprised a solitary ACJ319, but the airline was coy about when or if it would add new planes.

Sports sponsorship continues to be a major field of endeavor for the airline, as evidenced when it announced a new Real Madrid shirt sponsorship deal May 30, granting it logo and hospitality rights until

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which is seen by some analysts as the second-place competitor behind Emirates and a rival to Qatar Airways, recently increased its services to points in Asia and Australia.

Emirates is predicted to continue to be the leading airline in the region in terms of brand name, overall size and experience. It currently is launching services to several additional locations in Europe, Asia and Africa.

the 2017-18 season. Last November it also signed a £150 million, five-year extension to its deal with Arsenal Football Club.

Arsenal FC, AC Milan, Paris Saint Germain (PSG), Hamburger SV and Olympiacos FC shirts all bear the “Fly Emirates” logo. “We continue to see immeasurable value in our global sports sponsorships,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates CEO and chairman.

Welcome Competition

Qatar Airways, which has been flying to China for a decade, continues its recent expansion into that country, introducing flights from Doha to Hangzhou next month. In October it joined the oneworld global alliance.

52 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Many analysts question whether Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways will have to merge one day, given the fact that having three of the world’s biggest airlines operating from hubs situated within 250 miles of each other should not, on the face of it, be viable. By way of response, Abdul Wahab Teffaha, secretary general of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO), told a conference in Dubai in 2012 that the viability of the Gulf region’s “Big

Three” airlines is not in doubt. “The hubs of the twenty-first century in the Gulf are irreversibly established,” he asserted.

But as their inexorable rise continues, competition between the three is heating up. It is clear who is leading the race, but whether the leader can retain its position of preeminence is open to debate.

“Emirates has always been the leader in terms of brand name, overall size and experience,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group of Fairfax, Virginia. “Etihad is less aggressive and more conservative [and] Qatar is doing its best to catch up.

“It’s a good indication of the difference between Abu Dhabi and Dubai: Dubai is the brash, aggressive emirate, while Abu Dhabi is somewhat more conservative,” Aboulafia told AIN. “This reflects the economic reality. In Dubai, everything depends on commerce, as it has no natural resources; Abu Dhabi has the luxury of abundant oil and gas. Emirates has distanced itself by adding very large aircraft.

It’s not just destinations, but traffic.”

The analyst does feel that the shake-up in global aviation brought by the Gulf carriers has been beneficial. “On the positive side, and not to denigrate the ‘cowboys,’ more competition in international traffic is very welcome. These guys do a great job. Air France and Lufthansa need shaking up. The days of the chummy flag-carriers secure with home traffic…that didn’t do any favors to passenger service…these guys have done quite a lot of good. The reality is that something could bite back.”

Aboulafia is referring to Emirates’ predilection for the A380, which he fears could come back to haunt the airline, given the low likelihood that anyone will want them when Emirates is finished with them.

“The A380 is a very good tool to add market share up front but, for future growth and profitability, it’s probably going to be the wrong jet [see box on page 54].

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Aboulafia’s Misgivings About the A380

‘Big Three’ continue to confound analysts uContinued from page 52

“Emirates’ fleet strategy is extremely diverse: seeing what planes work on its routes. The biggest number of planes in the fleet is [of] the 777. It has increased the -300LR emphasis. Qatar is looking at the A350.

They will just wait and see how it plays out. If an airline wants planes, it orders them. If it keeps wanting them, it takes delivery.

A lot can change in 18 months.”

Widebody Backlog

Still, he said he cannot deny that the “Big Three” have changed the landscape. “At this point, there is an astonishing percentage of widebody backlog by value from [the Gulf] carriers.

It means they are punching way above their weight in terms of the backlog. It all comes down to the issue of big plans to add capacity. Their O&D traffic growth is minimal. They are growing by taking other people’s traffic.”

Aboulafia agrees that Emirates markets itself cleverly.

“Emirates does like to project

an international face. They have a problem with local attractions they are doing their best to address. They have modeled themselves on Singapore. They are Singapore but with much better geography, and greater emphasis on cosmopolitanism.”

As he focuses on making good on the promise to make Dubai’s candidacy as host for World Expo 2020 a winning one, it is perhaps better to leave the last word to the man who may be said to have made all this possible, Sheikh Mohammed. The stress on open skies is emblematic of all that Dubai set out to achieve.

In the words of Sheikh Mohammed: “Aviation and transport infrastructure is the fundamental catalyst for the creation of global cities. The UAE’s open-skies policy is the cornerstone on which Dubai built its dynamic air transport hub, which in turn supports the growth of other industry sectors. The growth of Emirates embodies the spirit of competition and free enterprise which will continue to guide our policies for the benefit of the UAE and the global community in which we operate.” o

Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Baseball has a history of ‘Build it and they will come.’ History Group of Fairfax, Virginia, wonders whether Emirates has bitten has proved that doesn’t always work. off more than it can chew with the A380. The lack of operating “On the point-to-point travel that passes by these hubs: lessors is an indication of a weak-to-nonexistent secondary I’m not stopping in Dubai. I am London-to-‘take-your-pick,’ market. And Emirates’ insistence on low average fleet age–a say, Perth. In terms of economics, a lot of gas weighs a lot. year ago, its strategy officials were aiming for under six years– What of the next generation of long-range planes? What if the means that the airline could have to start offloading its earliest A350 or the 777X are really good at this? What if they are really A380s as soon as next year. good at doing 8,000 nautical miles. The advantage of stop“They might retire them after 12 years in service. It raises ping gets eroded. one question: who takes responsibility for marketing “Three things could derail the Gulf carriers,” the plane? There is no secondary market. What do believes Aboulafia, “Trade action–there’s no hope of you do with a retired A380? It might not even be that at all. Political instability? Probably not, but you 12 years [given Emirates’ current average fleet age never know. [And] the advent of more economic very target of under six years]. Who takes responsibility long-range aircraft…?” for used industry behemoths? It is very unlikely they He zeroes in on Doric Asset Management, the will have a fleet of 90 A380s at any given moment. lessor responsible for most of the A380 leases to “I am not so sure there’s much of a market Emirates. Doric’s website claims to have 36 aircraft for this plane. There is very little data for the out to lessees, 14 of them A380-800s to Emirates.

Richard Aboulafia in-service specific aircraft type. There are a couple “They don’t have much experience in this industry. of issues: One, there is absolutely no operating lessor that There is a risk, not necessarily from Emirates, that everything ordered this plane. And it is not suitable for cargo conversion. could go horribly wrong. What do you do after they come off Everyone involved has said that this is a long-range plane, lease? There is no reason these planes shouldn’t last 25 years restricted to long-haul carriers who don’t care about operlike any other widebody. This is wide open here. They could ating new aircraft; that’s a small number. survive as Hajj carriers. [But] your residual value is the same “The market is intra-Asia, Africa, Europe and transatlantic. as the 747-400!”

The A380 makes sense only for very long ranges, to premium Aboulafia puts the A380’s list price at $330 million. carriers that want a new jet. The only [secondhand market] fit Straight-line depreciation would put the aircraft’s value at is Delta in the U.S., which has shown no interest. $250 million after six years and $172 million after 12 years. If “Their percentage of transit passengers is way, way up.

Emirates were to retire all its A380s after six years, this would It’s not O&D [origin and destination] traffic. They have recogleave Doric with a rolling $3.5 billion of metal looking for a nized the problem by targeting 20 million tourists in Dubai home. That would leave another 21 current in-fleet planes to by 2020. Can you do that? What can you really do to grow? be retired and accounted for, he said.

–P.S.S.

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Empire Aviation looks to grow east of India

by Neelam Mathews Dubai-based aircraft sales and aircraft management specialist and operator of the region’s largest fleet of business jets, Empire Aviation Group, which has been a subsidiary of Air Works India Engineering since 2012, is looking to expand support to the booming Southeast Asia market. A strategic tie-up is to be announced in the first quarter of 2014, Paras Dhamecha, executive director at Empire Aviation, told AIN. Empire started its services in Bangalore early this year and is now taking “the Air Works marriage forward,” said Dhamecha.

As markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand boom, he added, “we will create an international brand east of India–not China. Southeast Asia and Hong Kong are active [markets]…Our focus is to support that growth, while not physically being there.” He refused to elaborate further, however.

The present conflict in other parts of the Middle East has made the Gulf region “a safe haven for incoming cash, and buoyant again,” said Dhamecha. Empire plans to use Dubai World Central Al Makhtoum International Airport and Sharjah as alternatives to DIA, which is becoming increasingly congested. “DIA wasn’t going to last too long. Besides, DWC is closer to the New Dubai and provides flexibility to our clients,” Dhamecha added.

moving into the growing African market for business aviation, managing five aircraft based in Lagos,

Paras Dhamecha, executive director at Empire Aviation with a Challenger 300 managed by AEG in Bangalore.

Nigeria. By contrast, Air Works continues to find the general aviation sector in India to be held back by a combination of economic and political uncertainty.

But Dhiraj Chhabra, the group’s associate vice president of marketing said that this situation has helped the local market to consolidate and deal with an imbalance between supply and demand. o

Charter Declining

Trends in management have taken a 360-degree turn, according to Dhamecha. Of the 23 aircraft the group manages worldwide, only four are available for charter services. “A few years ago, we had 18 jets, with 12 owned by charter companies. As the Middle East economy evolved, more people could afford jets and didn’t need to use charters,” he said. This is an antithesis to a growing market like India where business continues to be sluggish. Empire has two jets–a Gulfstream G450 and a Challenger 300–under management at HAL Bangalore Airport in India. Through a partnership with its parent company, Empire offers its asset management service and Air Works carries out the maintenance.

Meanwhile, Empire also is www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 55

No time for breathers at Flydubai

by Peter Shaw-Smith Ghaith Al Ghaith, the CEO of Flydubai, Dubai’s low-cost carrier, has a reputation for being tight-lipped. Observers would be unwise to mistake this reticence for a lack of activity: Flydubai has been diligent in adding aircraft and routes ever since its first flight to Beirut in 2009 and, as of September, Dubai’s second airline operated to 66 destinations, from Yekaterinburg in the north to the Maldives in the south, Belgrade in the west and Colombo in the east.

“Flydubai’s main goal is to provide travel to underserved markets within a five-and-a-halfhour flying radius of its hub in Dubai. We have seen enormous demand in Russia and Ukraine for travel...Half of our Russian destinations did not previously have a direct air link to Dubai,” Al Ghaith said. Flydubai made headlines at the Farnborough 2008 airshow by ordering 50 air-

Oman, its 60th destination, was made in May, the same month Qatar Airways touched down there for the first time.

In September, Flydubai announced flights to Chisinau, Moldova, would begin on November 20. That month its first flight to Kiev touched down, and it was operating to 66 destinations, including four in Ukraine. “Flydubai operates an average of 1,200 flights a week,” said Al Ghaith. “With the launch of new destinations and an increase in frequencies to existing destinations, we expect this number to grow.”

Attracting Tourists

Flydubai is becoming popular with Eastern European and Russian tourists looking for Indian Ocean sunshine. Speaking in March at the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition, Al Ghaith said,

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith

craft before its first flight. By cooperating and competing with Emirates, it has seen success: in 2012, it saw revenues of $756 million and profits of $41 million. Its $1.2 billion fleet financing also earned market plaudits.

As of late September, Flydubai had 31 Boeing 737800NGs, the sole type, in its fleet. “The remaining order[s] will be fulfilled by 2016,” said Al Ghaith, who disappointed analysts and journalists at the 2011 Dubai Air Show by refusing to place orders for more aircraft.

“Flydubai serves more than 65 destinations across its network. This year alone we have announced 16 new destinations and we are planning to make further announcements.” Flydubai’s maiden flight to Salalah,

“Russia and Ukraine are two of Flydubai’s key markets. We have seen steady passenger growth over the past couple of years in both countries. Not only is Dubai a popular destination, but we are seeing more and more passengers connecting to Flydubai’s services to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.”

Although Flydubai can’t match Emirates in terms of transit passengers, thought to be 70 percent of total traffic through Dubai International Airport (DXB), its numbers are impressive. “In the past 12 months, 26 percent of Flydubai passengers have used DXB to connect to another flight on our network,” he said. “Our network covers the following regions: the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Middle East, Europe, the

Indian subcontinent, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Africa. We will continue to explore opportunities within these areas.”

Flydubai operates out of Terminal 2 at DXB. Passenger numbers for the carrier’s GCC network grew by 63 percent in 2012, with the total market for all airlines growing by 21 percent, the company said in February. In the CIS, Flydubai’s passenger numbers grew by 72 percent, with the total market for all airlines growing by 28 percent, it said.

The airline recently added business-class seats on a number of flights. “With several of our destinations, such as Juba, Donetsk and Skopje, we are offering our customers the only business-class option on these routes.

We launched business-class based on the feedback of our passengers, and we expect demand from our existing customers, along with attracting new travelers on our routes,” he said.

Both Emirates and Flydubai operate to several of the same destinations, such as Colombo and Istanbul. While there is clearly scope for price differentiation for travelers seeking to travel to or through Dubai, more than two thirds of Flydubai’s routes give travelers a new opportunity to connect with Emirates in Dubai. “Emirates and Flydubai are independent airlines. While we may operate some of the same routes, more than 45 of our 66 destinations did not previously have direct air links to Dubai.”

It is believed that neither Flydubai nor Emirates are interested in moving to Dubai World Central without the other, given the connectivity that would be lost. Flydubai’s growth has taken place very much with the complementing Emirates’ route development in mind.

It was long thought to be the most likely candidate to move to Dubai World Central to take the pressure off DXB. However, Al Ghaith rules this out for now. “Dubai World Central is the new frontier of aviation in the UAE, [but] Flydubai does not have plans to move its operations at this stage. Our current home at Dubai Terminal 2 is convenient for our passengers while offering us operational efficiency. With the extension due to open in 2014, there is enough capacity to support our continued route network expansion,” he said. o

56 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Technicians work on the MRJ’s center fuselage section at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ plant in Tobishima, Japan. Final assembly began last month.

Mitsubishi undeterred

by MRJ’s slow progress

by Gregory Polek Progress has proven slow– tediously slow–for Mitsubishi’s MRJ regional jet program during the two years between the 2011 Dubai Air Show and this one. In fact, program schedules reflect two separate year-anda-half-long delays to certification since then, placing the company further from its elusive goal today than it thought it stood during the 2011 edition of the Middle East’s premier aerospace event.

Undaunted, program managers continue to persevere, insisting that they now see a clear path to certification in the second quarter of 2017, two years after first flight.

Previous schedules called for first delivery to launch customer ANA between the summer of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.

In a somewhat opaque statement, Mitsubishi explained that design and certification has taken more resources than previously expected, which, in turn, affected component deliveries and aircraft fabrication. The new schedules take into account the “fulfillment of respective safety certification standards,” it said.

Roughly a week later, during a conference call from Tokyo, executives explained that the company’s failure to properly forecast the effects of new U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) procedures introduced in 2009 to validate

regulatory compliance of production processes forced the latest delay.

Those standards–set by the FAA’s Organization Designation Authorization (ODA)–replaced an earlier process to certify airplanes in which a designated engineering representative (DER) and a Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representative (DMIR) validated compliance based upon a test or analysis on a part following its manufacture, explained Mitsubishi Aircraft director and head of sales Yugo Fukuhara.

The ODA system requires documentation and approval of all internal design and manufacturing processes in advance.

“Under this system we need to build a new process of compliance not only for ourselves but also all partner components, so we needed more time to build this process together with our partners,” said Fukuhara. “Of course, we knew this system conceptually, but [in practice] we needed more time than expected.”

The first program fully governed under the ODA system from the start of its development, the MRJ has now encountered three major delays since its launch in 2007. The first happened in 2009, when the company moved its first flight target from late 2011 to the second quarter of 2012 to accommodate changes to the design of the cabin and the wing box.

Continued on facing page u

Slow going for Mitsubishi MRJ uContinued from facing page

More recently, in April 2012, the program suffered a setback of roughly a year-and-a-half following Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ failure to properly document engineering and production processes.

That rather abrupt interruption came at the behest of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), which, in concert with the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), carries responsibility for issuing type and production certification for the airplane.

Since the JCAB intervened, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has had to remanufacture virtually all the parts for the first prototype.

The company and its partners have now produced virtually all of the parts for the first flight-test airplane, and final assembly finally began last month at MHI’s Komaki South plant.

During June’s Paris Air Show, Fukuhara detailed the flight-test plan, which specifies 2,500 flight hours over the course of almost two years.

He said the first aircraft, MSN1001, would test basic flight characteristics, possible expansion of the altitude and airspeed envelopes, major systems and runway performance, including hot-and-high analysis, at a still undetermined location in the U.S. The second airplane, MSN9001, would serve as a ground-test airplane and assess static strength. The company plans to use the third airplane and second flighttest example, MSN1002, for general flight performance tests; the fourth, MSN1003, would prove detailed flight characteristics and test avionics; the fifth, MSN1004, would perform systems and interior tests, natural icing, extreme temperature tests and community noise tests, again at undetermined locations in the U.S. Finally, MSN1005 would test autopilot performance and flight characteristics with simulated ice shapes.

Now carrying a backlog

of 165 MRJs, Mitsubishi last added a customer for the program during the 2012 Farnborough airshow, when U.S. regional airline SkyWest signed an agreement in principle covering a firm order for 100 and options on another 100.

Ostensibly, the latest delay might not affect SkyWest, whose original order called for

first deliveries in 2017–some two years after the previous target for certification. However, Mitsubishi executives have declined to elaborate on how many deliveries it had planned to make to its other customers–ANA and Trans States Airlines–between the time it last expected certification and SkyWest’s first delivery date. o

Program schedules call for the Mitsubishi MRJ to fly 2,500 flight test hours over the course of some two years.

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 57

Aviation in Africa Airlines must compete via sound business strategies

by Peter Shaw-Smith Africa’s airlines need to wake Kenya, Egypt and South Africa up to competition from outside as the continent’s best-perthe continent, form alliances that forming national airlines. “It allow players both big and small depends how you grade them. to interact for the greater good, In terms of profitability, Ethioand realize that governments pian Airlines is definitely ahead are often no longer interested of everybody else. It made a net in protecting domestic carriers profit of around $140 million (as they see economy-boosting in its last financial year and is tourist arrivals as a more impor- more profitable than any other tant priority), according to Nick airline in Africa.”

Fadugba, CEO of Kenya Airways, African Aviation Serthough not profitable vices, the UAE-based in the past two years, multi-faceted organihas made progress zation that provides with fleet and route a wide range of avidevelopment, and ation consultancy has dovetailed its and advisory services network with partto international and ner KLM. Fadugba African organizapraised EgyptAir tions, and to African for the quality of its Nick Fadugba, CEO governments. “Afrifleet, “first-class” ca’s aviation industry African Aviation Services aviation training and is now at a critical juncture,” he MRO facilities in Cairo. “Funsaid. “The ability of African air- damentally, it is a very strong lines to bring in large volumes of airline and plays a crucial role tourism and business traffic is not in supporting the country’s vital meeting the expectations of some tourism industry.” gov­ ernments in terms of their South African Airlines economic re­ quirements; that’s (SAA) for decades had the why foreign airlines are playing highest turnover, but now faces an important role in helping to growing competition on longgrow Africa’s economy.” haul routes from European and Citing a recent example to Middle East airlines. “The airunderline the newly competi- line is 100 percent owned by the tive winds of change, Fadugba government of South Africa said. “The Kenyan government which has shown it is commitrecently welcomed the introduc- ted to the airline through sigtion of services to Nairobi by nificant financial support. This Qatar Airways, even though it is due to the critical role SAA partly owns Kenya Airways. [It] plays in supporting South Afrirecognizes that Kenya Airways ca’s economic development. The alone cannot bring in all the tour- airline is implementing a new ists, traders and business peo- turnaround plan and hopefully ple required to drive the Kenyan this will work,” Fadugba said. economy. Most African governHe pointed to the impliments now want to drive eco- cations for Royal Air Maroc nomic growth rather than simply of the government’s decision protect their national airlines.” to attract more tourists to the Fadugba said African air- country. Their arrival was benlines need to cooperate more on efiting Morocco, but had outMRO, training and safety, as well grown RAM’s ability to serve as business strategy. Although them. “[The airline] now faces market size is growing, the share much more competition. Lowof air traffic carried by African cost carriers such as Ryanair, airlines is diminishing, he said. EasyJet and Air Arabia have “If African airlines don’t change all grown their market share in their business strategy they will Morocco. The fact is that libercontinue to lose business and alizing your economy puts your market share, especially to Euro- national airline at a disadvanpean and Middle East carriers– tage. It’s a conundrum,” he said. and even to U.S. carriers, which Nigeria’s strong economy are once again making inroads makes it one of the largest airinto Africa.” line markets in Africa. “Today, Fadugba singled out the all the airlines [there] are privatenational airlines of Ethiopia, sector driven,” said Fadugba.

Experts say African airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines (below), currently the most profitable among the four best-performing national carriers–the other three being Kenya Airways (above), Egyptair and South African Airlines–need to cooperate more on business strategy if they are stop losing market share to European, Middle Eastern and even U.S. carriers.

“Many of them are small and underfunded. The largest airline to emerge is Arik Air, which has by far the biggest aircraft fleet, route network and turnover. It has more than 25 modern aircraft, including Boeing 737-800s and Airbus A330s. It is doing reasonably well and has a few international routes such as London, New York and Johannesburg. That notwithstanding, it’s a hard slog for Arik to compete with the major international carriers.”

The government of Nigeria could launch a new national carrier, but no details have yet been disclosed publicly. “The fact is that non-Nigerian airlines currently carry about 98 percent of all air traffic to and from Nigeria. This [causes] huge capital flight and financial drain on the economy,” Fadugba said.

Turning to low-cost carriers, he said Fastjet’s emergence was a “positive development. An airline in Africa using a neutral, common brand not associated

with a particular country is a brilliant concept. Every nationality in Africa can buy into the brand and not feel threatened by it.” However, he added that the airline needs to gain access to markets beyond its base in Tanzania and find sufficient funds to support its airline operations during its early years.

Continent-wide success was not assured. “Don’t forget, launching a pan-African airline requires substantial funds

Continued on page 62 u

Africa’s Airport Infrastructure Draws Scathing Comments most airports I need to go] from office to office to sort out [immiNick Fadugba, CEO of African Aviation Services, the UAEgration] problems as an airline or passenger. I don’t care. I am based consultancy and advisory service provider, said the coming to your country. Sort yourselves out and have one perprognosis for the aviation industry on the continent is very son I have to deal with when I have an issue. negative, given the scathing assessment of Africa’s airport infra“What is it that we don’t require? What is it that is unnecesstructure and management made by Dr. Titus Naikuni, Kenya sary in the airport that I am coming to? Is it that we as an airline Airways’ group managing director and chief executive officer, at don’t put what is required on the table? the Routes Africa 2013 Summit in Uganda in July.

“You come out of an airport and the first thing that hits you “I am reminded of an East European leader,” commented is a very long traffic jam,” he said. “Until you solve Naikuni, “who is said to have once been asked that problem, visitors will avoid your countries. by a reporter to use one word to explain how his You do Abu-Dhabi-to-Dubai in an hour. In Africa, economy was doing, and he said, ‘Good.’ ‘Use the same distance takes three to four hours. more than one word to explain how your econ“You need investors into Africa. The day we omy is doing,’ [replied the reporter] and he said: make sure that the investment climate starts from ‘Not good.’ Today I am not going to talk about the airport itself, and people know where to go and good airports, or bad airports, or not so good airyou don’t have [endless] meetings that don’t have ports, so don’t panic that I am going to speak conclusions…until then, nobody’s going to come.” about any airport.”

Naikuni said the advent of the Chinese is Naikuni vented his frustration at the difficulties Dr. Titus Naikuni, the “best” and “worst” thing that has happened posed for African airlines using African airports. “If I were to go into a particular destination as an airline, group managing director to Africa. “Whether you like it or not, [the Chiand chief executive officer nese] are coming to Africa. Tell me which airport what would I be looking for?” He said a safe enviKenya Airways in Africa has any writing or directions in Chinese? ronment, security and costs are his chief concerns.

How do you expect someone to come from China for tour“[I need] a safe environment in Africa; a safe environment ism or investment when you don’t even communicate or give where I land and a safe environment where I take my passenthem directions on arrival? gers. I need an airport that will guarantee me security. We see “Just ask yourself: if you don’t do it, who will do it?” he said. a lot of people with badges in most African airports and wonder “If we don’t move away from calling a spade a spoon…or digwho these people are.” ging equipment, [we need to] call it a spade, in Africa.” –P.S.S. He berated Africa’s airports for immigration problems. “[In

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Aviation in Africa Bizav OEMs flock to Africa

by David Donald While the business aviation world cautiously waits to see if the signs of recovery in the traditional markets of Europe and North America bear fruit, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are looking elsewhere to satisfy demand for growth. While the Far East and Latin America offer encouragement, it is Africa that offers the best opportunities for increased sales, but the continent also has its own unique set of challenges.

Fueled by a boom in the oil and gas industry, notably in West Africa, as well as an increase in mineral resource exploitation, business aviation in Africa is growing at a fast rate. However, it is a new business, and apart from well-established operations in South Africa (where around 40 percent of the continent’s fleet is based) and some countries in the north, such as Morocco, many of Africa’s business aviation companies are relatively small and young in experience.

Combined with an outsider’s perception of a poor safety record in Africa, this has made lenders nervous and, consequently, getting finance for aircraft is more difficult than it is in other markets. This is particularly true for smaller aircraft. Similarly, insurers are also understandably cautious concerning operations in Africa, and the resulting higher premiums raise the cost of ownership considerably compared to Europe, the Middle East or the U.S. Nevertheless, through the lobbying work of the African Business Aviation

Association (AfBAA), attempts are under way to raise the profile of bizav on the continent. Just as AfBAA is lobbying hard with civil aviation authorities to create a more harmonized and conducive regulatory environment, it is also engaging with financiers and insurers. Demonstrating that many of Africa’s business aviation operators are highly professional companies with a healthy safety culture, and by trying to implement industrywide standards, AfBAA is working hard to bring Africa in line with the rest of the world, with the aim of reducing ownership costs and to facilitate financing.

With its low operating cost and high reliability, Cessna’s Caravan (above) is well suited to the African region’s remoteness and poor infrastructure. Below: Airbus Corporate Jets used this Comlux A319CJ for a sales tour of Africa last year, promoting the model’s range and passenger capacity, as well as the comfort it offers.

A Growth Market

Notwithstanding the difficulties associated with Africa, the demand for business jets is growing as a factor of the economic boom. Inward investment from many parts, but especially from China, is driving a growth in bizav that is far higher than in other regions. Bombardier has forecast that the number of large business jets operating on the continent will grow from a current level of 350 to 960 by 2020. Around 65 percent of the current fleet is more than 10 years old as well, and is in need of replacement.

Much of the growth in Africa will be in the medium/large aircraft market segment. “We’re seeing more demand for the Challenger/Global size of aircraft,” said Bombardier’s sales director for Africa, Robert Habjanic. “That’s to do with the size of Africa and the kind

DAVID DONALD

The rugged Pilatus PC-24 (above) can operate from short and unpaved runways, so may be ideal for the African market. Below: Business aircraft dominated the ramp display at the African Aerospace and Defence show held in Pretoria last year; a business aviation show is slated to be held in Marrakech next April.

of cabin that customers are looking for.”

The sheer geographic size of the continent itself and the distances from the world’s main financial centers mean that long-range aircraft are essential. Regular long-haul flights go hand-in-hand with a need for larger, more comfortable cabins in aircraft that are well connected to allow business to continue while executives are airborne.

Gulfstream, too, has also capitalized on these factors with healthy sales in Africa. Its larger G450 and G550 have sold well in the region, and the larger G650 is also performing. By the end of this year three of the aircraft will be operational in Africa. Dassault has also traditionally sold well, especially in the government and head-of-state market.

Operating in an environment where suitable diversion airfields are few and far between, the perceived safety gain of having a third engine (in the Falcon 50, 900 and 7X) is seen as a key discriminator for the Falcon in Africa.

Less popular on the continent are the very large aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, which remain largely restricted to government applications and a small number of very-high-net-worth individuals. Despite that, Airbus Corporate Jets has been promoting its range throughout the continent, citing the ACJ’s range and capacity as ideal for operators looking

60 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

for either comfort or the ability to move large groups of passengers.

Meanwhile, Embraer is offering a wide range of aircraft across its size range, and sees a healthy market in the future for smaller jets. “We see the midsize category as a growth area for Africa,” reported Roch Hennessey, the company’s regional sales director for Western Europe, Morocco and Angola. “The Legacy 500 is ideal.” This new aircraft is scheduled for certification next year and introduces flyby-wire controls. Cessna is also sanguine about the smaller jet market, and already has 110 Citations operating in Africa.

Turboprops Ideal

Africa’s unique geographic environment and lack of airport infrastructure mean that many destinations cannot be served by the larger business jets. Turboprop aircraft such as the Beechcraft King Air are the answer for businessmen and company specialists needing to reach the more remote locations. “We see a significant role in Africa supplementing the larger aircraft,” reported Scott Plumb, Beechcraft’s v-p sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Of the 3,500-plus airports in Africa more than 75 percent are too short or unprepared for jet operations.”

Another beneficiary of the remoteness and poor infrastructure is Cessna. “The African market is very exciting, there is a lot of activity there, especially focused on the Caravan,” said Jodi Noah, senior vice president. “The Caravan is well-suited to the region due to its low operating cost and reliability,” he added.

While there is some investment in airport infrastructure, it will be many years before the need for short/rough-field capability has evaporated. In the near future, the Pilatus PC-24–with its ability to operate from short and unpaved runways–may prove to be an ideal candidate for the African market. o

Aviation in Africa

Operators face up to African challenges

by David Donald “The African continent has great potential to become a business aviation hub, which led to us opening our facility in Lagos in October 2012,” said Ettore Poggi, ExecuJet Africa’s managing director. “Traditionally, Africa has mainly been a turboprop market, popular with mining companies and the tourist industry. While the mining industry remains a key market for African charter services, there is also now growing demand for business jets beyond South Africa, such as in West Africa where widebody jets are popular. Due to the lack of reliable scheduled flights in the region, business leaders are therefore turning to private jets for their travelling needs,” he continued.

“Africa has benefited from the surge in commodity prices for oil, minerals, grain and other raw materials in the past few years. There is tremendous opportunity in the East Africa countries, such as Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya and, if stability can be maintained, in the mineralrich Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, we need improved infrastructure and for regulatory authorities to have a better understanding of the particular needs of general aviation in order for the market to grow.”

As business aviation grows on the continent so local operators are growing their fleets to meet new demand, but there are hurdles to be overcome.

Bizav in Africa uContinued from page 58

and it will be difficult to implement a low-cost strategy in a high-cost environment such as Africa. Fastjet will experience a high cash burn before it turns cash positive. It has to be careful in selecting partners and should expand gradually rather than bite off more than it can chew.”

Fadugba said global airline alliances could be replicated in Africa, where the concept is not new. He cited the example of Air Afrique, the pan-African airline owned by around 10 African countries with Air France as a shareholder,

One of them is the lack of highquality facilities away from the traditionally strong business destinations such as South Africa and Morocco. “There’s a real need to develop FBOs,” asserted Catherine Gaisenband, senior FBO consultant with Aviacare. But, she added, “Every country is so different. It makes for a very complex continent, and what works somewhere doesn’t work everywhere.

The key is the local staff, and good training. There are already many very well-prepared people in Africa, and they want to learn. There’s a real energy.”

Other African operators also highlight the need to work with local partners to ensure the best services. However, while some companies may want to standardize levels of service across their facilities, Gaisenband noted that, “Africans traditionally provide a very warm welcome. That must not be lost in international standards.”

For companies seeking to expand or build new facilities Africa provides challenges, not the least of which is the bureaucracy and the slow speed at which paperwork is processed.

It is also difficult to acquire the information required upon which decisions can be made.

“There are no statistics available to drive the further establishment of FBOs,” said Michael Clark, ExecuJet’s director of flight operations. “Land acquisition can be difficult, too.”

He also noted that franchising could be an answer to expand

FBO coverage in Africa, but only with strong service-level agreements in place to maintain quality.

One area where African operators have faced issues is with regard to support from aircraft manufacturers. Some have complained about the length of time that it takes to get parts, and the distances that have to be traveled for training. These could be seen as the growing pains of a young industry, and the OEMs are responding through increasing their regional presence as the African business aviation fleet grows.

For some OEMs, such as Dassault and Gulfstream, support for African operators is provided from Europe, but others are establishing themselves on a regional basis. Bombardier, for instance, has a regional support center in South Africa, and a servicing facility in Nigeria, and another is due to be opened in Morocco. Embraer has service support centers in Egypt, Morocco and South Africa, although these primarily support its regional jet operators.

However, there is one business aviation center and a second is soon to be opened. Airbus

Corporate Jets also supports its aircraft through the airliner network, while Beechcraft supports its aircraft through ExecuJet’s facilities in South Africa–and is soon to offer support at the Lagos FBO as well.

For OEMs, one problem is the difficulty importing parts to many African nations.

Delays in clearing customs cause delays in repairs, which in turn impacts on operators considerably. This is one of the many issues where most national authorities have yet to fully embrace and support the growth of business aviation. o

which was liquidated around 10 years ago. “It was based in Côte d’Ivoire, but eventually went out of business because the owners couldn’t agree on a successful strategy. Each member country wanted their capital city to be a hub airport, but this was not practical from an airline economics perspective. Everybody wanted [it] to fly from their capital direct to Paris [which didn’t make sense].

This…led to [its] downfall.”

Fadugba cited weak implementation of pan-African interregional “Open Skies,” called for in the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision. “The fact is that African airlines cannot expect to be

protected forever. The way of the world today is air transport liberalization and open skies. Indeed, Africa has been trying to achieve this objective through its Yamoussoukro Decision, which has yet to be implemented fully. In essence, this is a legally binding decision to liberalize the skies in Africa, but very few governments are complying with it. There’s nobody enforcing the agreement and this needs to be addressed.”

Uganda’s open-skies policy has shown that liberalization can succeed and has numerous economic benefits. “Uganda is one of the few African countries that is [truly] implementing the Yamoussoukro

Decision on air transport liberalization,” said Fadugba. “Any airline can fly there. That’s because they don’t have a government-owned national airline to protect.”

He said African airports have a completely different perspective to African airlines. “African airports are pleased to welcome as many airlines as possible.

Hence, African airports have warmly welcomed Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad [and others]. They are gaining additional revenue from airport charges and landing fees. It’s a bonanza for African airports.”

Fadugba said the Chinese are investing heavily in aviation

infrastructure, calling the new airport built by China’s Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Co. in Maputo, Mozambique, a “world-class facility.”

He said, “The Chinese are newcomers in terms of investing in African aviation. Of course, they may be doing so to gain access to mineral resources. But, from an African perspective, China represents a new source of investment that can be harnessed for economic development. By comparison, very few companies from the U.S. are building and funding airports. So funding from China is helping to achieve airport modernization in many African countries.” o

Seeing Africa as a potential business aviation hub, ExecuJet is operating three facilities in the country: one at Lanseria, offering 9,000 sq m of hangar space; another at Cape Town International Airport (above) measuring 6,000 sq m and one opened in Lagos in 2012 at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (below) with 4,700 sq m of hangarage.

62 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

08 -10 DECEMBER 2014 DUBAI WORLD CENTRAL, UAE

BUSINESS AVIATION IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND www.meba.aero

ORGANISED ON BEHALF OF:

MEET THE TEAM AT STAND

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Airbus predicts Middle East region will increase share of world traffic

by Ian Goold The Middle East is sitting at the end of the air transport rainbow, if Airbus forecasts are to be believed: its share of global traffic will expand faster than that of any other geographical area, increasing by one half in the next 20 years. “Traffic carried by [the region’s] airlines is expected to grow at the highest rate of 7.1 percent/annum, accounting for 12 percent of all traffic carried in 2032 [compared with about 8 percent last year],” according to the latest Airbus 20-year global market forecast, published in September. This growth compares with an expected worldwide annual average of 4.7 percent.

The company attributes this expansion to governments in the region recognizing the industry’s potential contribution to economic growth. “Traffic within Middle Eastern countries has doubled [in] the last decade. International and regional air transport are expected to keep growing, with billions of dollars being invested in airlines and airports to meet increasing demand and regional aspirations,” according to the forecast document.

“The surge of aviation in the Middle East is second to none in the world,” say Airbus analysts, who point out that governments in the region generally consider the industry to be “a powerful tool for economic development” and will accordingly continue to invest in future airline and airport infrastructure. (Note: Airbus defines the Middle East region as including the Gulf states, Iran and Afghanistan, but excluding Turkey and the Arab countries of North Africa.)

To meet the predicted traffic growth, the region’s carriers will need to take delivery of almost 2,000 passenger aircraft during 2013-32, says the forecast. In the past 20 years, the Middle East fleet of airliners with 100plus seats has quadrupled from 218 in 1992 to 875 at the start of 2013. Heavy investment in new equipment in the region has seen the average aircraft age fall from 13 years in 1992 to nine years today, with some airline fleets reported by Airbus to be an average of only five years old.

“More than half of [current aircraft] are operated on mediumand long-haul routes, highlighting the global strategy adopted by

the region’s airlines,” says the European manufacturer. There also has been “very impressive” growth rate among aircraft providing shorter services, largely driven by emerging low-cost carriers (LCCs). “The [annual] growth in single-aisle [fleets] has outpaced [that among] twin-aisle and very large aircraft (VLAs):

“ambitious commercial [plans] to expand short- and long-haul networks,” according to Airbus forecasters.

While Airbus acknowledges that the region’s “unique geographic situation” may be fortuitous in allowing local carriers “to capture and satisfy travelers from all over the world,”

100,000 origin and destination (O&D) city-pairs, and “model” demand for nearly 750 airlines.

Confirming that emerging markets–previously dubbed developing countries or the third world– remain the “key and leading drivers” of future air transport, Airbus points out that historic areas should not be ignored: “The importance of advanced aviation markets cannot be underestimated. In fact by 2032, about 60 percent of all traffic will still involve [such] markets, primarily North America and Europe.”

By 2032, the manufacturer expects passenger aircraft (with

Airbus predicts the Middle East will be the second largest regional market in terms of 20-year demand for very large aircraft, accounting for 26 percent. As of last month the Gulf carrier Emirates had received almost 40 Airbus A380s.

8.1 percent, compared to 6.5 percent,” the Toulouse-based manufacturer reports.

In the coming 20 years, the area will require a total of 1,999 new passenger aircraft, comprising 779 single-aisle models, 875 twin-aisle designs and 345 VLAs, according to Airbus soothsayers, who say the Middle East will be “the second largest region in terms of demand for VLAs, at 26 percent.”

Additionally, 31 medium-size and 45 large freighters will be needed to provide necessary capacity for predicted air-cargo movements.

“The Middle East is a very diverse region, with some of the [world’s] fastest growing markets and economies [as well as] on-going economic and geopolitical difficulties,” says Airbus. “[Nevertheless], many governments are aware of the rising [local and global] importance of aviation [and] have made its development a cornerstone of strategic plans to [become] a key element in the world’s current and future aviation network.”

Such strategy has led to “the impressive growth of Middle Eastern carriers, who enjoyed a remarkable 8.2 percent traffic growth in 2012.” Major operators in the region are pursuing

it also underscores current growth in Middle East intraregional air transport as “very clearly displayed” in the rapid expansion of LCC operations and their capture of traffic, both within and to/from the region. The manufacturer attributes this to a young, dynamic population, many of whom share a common language and who are eager for work and to take leisure opportunities both inside and outside the region.

Emerging Market

The predictions for the capacity required to meet expected regional demand appear against a broader background in which Airbus foresees a global fleet more than twice the current size and a need for almost 30,000 new airliners in the coming 20 years.

“Airlines in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia Pacific will enjoy higher than average traffic development, growing at 7.1 percent, 6.0 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. This is fueled by the aspirations of airlines to benefit from privileged access to fast-growing markets, which will generate [an increasing] ability and desire to travel.”

Each year, Airbus market analysts perform more than 200 traffic-flow forecasts, covering over

64 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

more than 100 seats) and freighter aircraft (10 metric tons or greater) to number 36,556– “more than doubling the 17,739 aircraft fleet in service today.”

During the period, airlines are seen as taking delivery of 29,226 new passenger and 871 cargo aircraft valued at $ 4.4 trillion (at current list prices). The deliveries are perceived to comprise 20,242 single-aisle aircraft, 7,273 twin-aisle designs and 1,711 VLAs. The European manufacturer reiterates its consistent judgment, often challenged by Boeing (despite the U.S. competitor’s own forecast statistics appearing to confirm the Airbus view), that on average airliners are getting bigger. “If the number of seats offered by the world’s airlines are divided by [numbers of flights], it can be clearly seen that average aircraft seating [volume] is increasing,” says the forecast.

Airbus also says that carriers are increasing the sizes of aircraft in their existing backlogs and the density of their current cabin layouts. “Manufacturers in turn are looking at ways to add seats to existing products and some [are] considering or launching larger variants of existing aircraft

families to meet demand,” report the market analysts.

The forecast relates the manufacturer’s view of the airtransport market’s key economic and operational drivers in the next 20 years and their implications for new-aircraft demand, requirements that are governed by actual passenger behavior.

“As in the past, it is journeys– how they are performed, where they start and finish, when they happen and who will take them that will define the future.”

Airbus analysts are encouraged that recent events have not stifled travel demand. “In the last year, despite continuing social problems and sluggish economic growth in parts of the world, aviation has continued to grow through developments in world economic activity, demographics, positive socioeconomic progress and simply the ability of aviation to deliver real benefits to real people.

“People, where they choose to live, the work they do and their aspirations are all a big part of the story, and will drive factors such as urbanization, wealth, disposable income and consumer spending, [which are] key factors in the growth of air transport.”

That future will steer aerospace manufacturers “toward areas of innovation that will define the shape and structure of our industry in 2032 and beyond,” concludes Airbus. o

MIDDLE EAST

passenger-traffic flow growth (Compound annual growth: 2013-32)

MARKET GROWTH

%

Middle East-South America

8.9

Sub-Saharan Africa-Middle East

8.9

Middle East-Russia

8.5

Middle East-South Africa

8.5

Central Europe-Middle East

8.3

Asia-Middle East

8.0

Middle East-China

7.7

Japan-Middle East

7.5

CIS-Middle East

7.2

Middle East-United States

6.7

Middle East-Pacific

6.6

Middle East-North Africa

6.3

Indian subcontinent-Middle East

6.1

Australia/NZ-Middle East

5.8

Canada-Middle East

5.6

Intra Middle East

5.5

Western Europe-Middle East

4.8

Caribbean-Middle East

4.7

Central America-Middle East

4.3

Domestic Middle East

3.2

Source: Airbus GMF

Beechcraft’s products fill an array of needs

by Peter Shaw-Smith around 11 percent are for sale at the moment, making it difficult for owners to sell aircraft, according to Beechcraft officials.

“By opting to keep and upgrade their aircraft through our Hawker 400XPR and 800XPR [programs], owners are able to add value and more effectively utilize an existing asset that benefits from increased performance, payload and efficiency at half the cost of a new comparable aircraft,” said Brian Howell, Beechcraft vice president of global customer support, aftermarket sales and business development.

Beechcraft (Chalet C7) has reported strong third-quarter deliveries of 48 aircraft, including 15 King Air 350i/ERs and 10 T-6A/B/Cs, for a 47-percent increase in aircraft deliveries

Beechcraft’s King Air line is well represented here.The 350ER (front) and 350i versions are on display, along with a C90GTx.

DAVID McINTOSH

Beechcraft expects to see increased demand for its XPR jet upgrade packages in the Middle East as sellers try to move small to mid-size jets in the region, and buyers increasingly focus on cost.

The company’s XPR program provides performance upgrades for Hawker 400 and 800 series jets, with options for new avionics and upgraded engines. Purchase of an already upgraded Hawker 400XPR or 800XPR, at around half the price of a similar new aircraft, is another option for cost-conscious buyers.

The company said it is experiencing substantial demand for its XPR upgrade program, with its 400XPR order book now full until the end of the third quarter 2014. Around 23 percent of the region’s 502 business jets are more than 15 years old, while

year-to-date, the company said.

Of the total, 38 were commercial aircraft and 10 were military trainer airplanes. The company has delivered 163 Beechcraft airplanes through the first nine months of the year, compared to 111 for the same period in 2012.

Beechcraft will embark on a three-month demonstration tour of the light-attack AT-6,

after displaying the aircraft here at the show.

“From the Dubai Airshow, we’ll be taking the AT-6 throughout the Middle East region, Africa and Europe and will finish the tour in Asia at the Singapore Airshow [February 6 to 11],” said Russ Bartlett, president of Beechcraft Defense Company. “We have seen growing interest in the AT-6 from

Seen outside the new Glasgow facility, this Beechcraft King Air 200 is operated by Gama Aviation on behalf of the Scottish Air Ambulance service.

Tata is now Piaggio’s largest shareholder Italy’s Piaggio Aero Industries (Stand 1906) announced before the Dubai Airshow that India’s Tata group is now its largest shareholder, after it took 44.5 percent of the company’s recent equity release.

The shareholders assembly had issued a resolution to increase the equity by €190 million (approximately $256 million). Following the move, Tata Limited, a British subsidiary of the India Tata group, Abu-Dhabi-based investor Mubadala and Piero Ferrari subscribed to the capital increase. The latter two shareholders now own 41 percent and 2 percent of the aircraft manufacturer, respectively. The HDI hedge fund, which did not subscribe to the capital increase, retains 12.5 percent.

The increase is supposed to support the business development and diversification plan, notably new programs. “The new shareholding structure and the increased share capital pave the way for our company’s growth and reinforcing its prominent role in the business aviation and aero engine sectors,” said CEO Alberto Galassi. A spokesman also referred to Piaggio’s recently unveiled intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) project. He stopped short, however, of saying whether Piaggio is ready to launch a business jet.

Here at the Dubai Airshow, Piaggio is exhibiting a mockup of the new P.1HH Hammerhead military unmanned version of the P.180 Avanti twin turboprop in the medium-altitude, long-endurance ISR category.

–T.D.

Gama opens new facility serving Glasgow, Scotland

DAVID McINTOSH

Piaggio Aero has raised more equity to fund projects like the P.1HH Hammerhead.

defense establishments around the world,” he added.

Beechcraft is displaying three King Airs at the show–the 350i, 350ER and C90GTx–targeting the region’s increased use of special-mission and business aircraft.

Some 61 of the Middle East’s 91 business turboprops are King Airs. Business turboprop deliveries to the region have increased tenfold in the past five years. o

Last Thursday Gama Aviation opened a new facility at Glasgow Airport in Scotland. The inauguration of the center is well timed, with two major sporting events planned to take place in Scotland next year. Both the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Glasgow from late July, and the U.S. versus Europe Ryder Cup golf match, to be held at Gleneagles (46 miles northeast of Glasgow Airport) in September, are expected to generate a lot of business aviation and VIP traffic.

With an investment of £3.8 million in the project, Gama has created a 2,480-sq-m (26,700sq-ft) maintenance hangar with offices and executive aircraft handling facilities. A number of new jobs are being created in the fields of flight crew, engineering, operations and customer service. The FBO will provide full

base and line maintenance in the new hangar to support the specially equipped Beechcraft King Air 200s operated by the Scottish Air Ambulance service.

Gama has supported this operation since 1993. Additional third-party maintenance activity is expected. A second phase of expansion is being launched next year to double hangarage and handling capacity.

Gama Aviation has also added a new aircraft to its Glasgow-based charter fleet, a King Air 350C. The type’s large cargo door makes it attractive to customers requiring rapidresponse cargo missions, which are particularly applicable to the oil and gas industry, said Gama.

Furthermore, the aircraft can also be employed to support the Scottish Air Ambulance service on an ad hoc basis. –D.D.

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 65

by David Donald Here at the Dubai Airshow Swedish knowledge-management solution specialist Web Manuals (Stand 2715) has launched the latest iteration of its cloud-based document-digitization application. Known as Web Manuals 4 Draken, the new version introduces a range of features that improve content editing and a document ribbon workflow that eases the authoring and publication of manuals.

Also included in Draken is an EASA compliance library that automatically highlights sections of documents that need to be updated due to changes in EASA regulations. This function has been developed by Web Manuals in partnership with AeroEx, in which the Swiss compliance experts continuously update the EASA rules database within the Web Manuals application. This greatly improves the ability of operators to maintain and demonstrate compliance against EASA implementing rules (IRs) and by acceptable means of compliance (AMCs). From April next year all operators must

be able to demonstrate their ability to conform to the latest EASA regulations.

Web Manuals produces an application that provides for endto-end compliance management, and this can be applied to the operations of business aviation, airlines, ground-handling organizations, airports and MROs. The application allows the operator to write, publish and distribute its entire manuals library.

In the last six months Web Manuals has enjoyed considerable sales success, adding a number of new customers that include Bertelsmann Aviation (Germany), JoinJet (Denmark), Grafair and European Flight Service (both in Sweden). In April Gama Aviation Middle East became one of the first business aviation companies in the region to sign up for Web Manuals.

Based in Dubai, Gama Aviation Middle East provides a range of business aviation support functions, such as aircraft charter and management, engineering and FBO services. o Displaying a typical manual page on a tablet, Martin Lidgard is the CEO, chairman and co-founder of Web Manuals.

You don’t need to have access to the Dubai Airshow grounds to see the flying display. Skyview is offering seats in its grandstand, where ticket holders can see, hear and even smell the performances up close.

DAVID McINTOSH

Web Manuals launches latest Draken iteration

Skyview enables public to experience Dubai ’13 For the first time the public will have the chance to experience the thrill of the Dubai Airshow flying display from seats in Skyview’s special grandstand here at Al Maktoum International Airport. From Monday through Thursday, Skyview visitors can enjoy the best of the flying, with an up-close view of the aerial demonstrations. Also, a range of exhibitions, games and activities has been organized in the special Skyview enclosure.

This year’s flying display promises to be a feast of aerial entertainment. The UAE’s Al Fursan national aerobatic display team is scheduled to take center stage, flying their

ST Aerospace flourishing Singapore Technologies (ST) Aerospace booked almost $600 million worth of new work during July-September this year, following receipt of business valued at $480 million and $430 million in the first and second quarters of 2013, respectively. The latest orders range from airframe, component and engine maintenance to commercial-aircraft cabin retrofit and freighter conversions, including 17 Boeing 757-200 passenger-to-freighter (PTF) modifications–bringing to 119 the number of such contracts won by ST Aerospace (Stand 3136) to date.

The company also obtained a cabin-reconfiguration project for two Asian Boeing 767-300s and a European Aviation Safety Agency supplemental type certificate (STC) for an Airbus A330 full cabin retrofit program involving six aircraft.

Completed contracts during the three months covered airframe maintenance and modification of some 250 aircraft, including five 757-200 PTF conversions, and the company also processed 11,360 components, 59 landing gears and 57 engines, and conducted 1,570 engine washes for commercial and military customers.

–I.G.

66 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

Aermacchi MB339s, supported by displays by other aircraft from the UAE armed forces.

A large number of exhibits have also come from overseas, including the Rafale and Typhoon that are under consideration for a UAE Air Force requirement. The U.S. Department of Defense is also supporting the show and a range of its latest hardware is on show, including the F-22 Raptor, B-1B Lancer, F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Osprey tiltrotor transport.

As well as the Typhoon, the UK’s Royal Air Force has sent its own aerobatic team, the legendary Red Arrows. The “Reds” are on a Gulf tour that has

already seen them visit Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Following five shows here at Dubai World Central and one along the seafront on Thursday, the team is scheduled to fly in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, before wrapping up its tour with three shows at the Al Ain airshow.

In addition to fast jets and display teams, Skyview visitors can also see helicopters and transport aircraft. Among the latter the highlights are likely to be the first visit to the region by the Airbus Military A400M military airlifter, and the majestic Airbus A380, the world’s largest airliner.

Skyview opens its gates from 12 to 6 p.m., November 18 to 21, with the flying display commencing around 2 p.m. Admission prices are AED60 for adults and AED30 for children under 12. –D.D.

Lockheed Martin serves the need for missile defense in the region

A PAC-3 MSE missile leaves the launcher during the successful test of the Lockheed Martin Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. on November 6.

by Reuben Johnson level of interest in what goes on in the AMD arena, particularly the effectiveness against TBMs fitted with WMD warheads.

“This creates a big interest in hit-to-kill [HTK] weapons in systems like the PAC-3 MSE and THAAD because with an HTK missile the ability to kill WMD warheads may be compromised. Qatar recognizes the importance of this capability and hopefully there will be an LOA signature as soon as they are ready to complete that process,” said Prins.

Lockheed Martin’s MFC produces the PAC-3 MSE missile, which is currently in flight test and is designed to be introduced into new-build PAC-3 systems, as well as being retrofitted into older model Patriot batteries as an upgrade. The next test is currently scheduled for November 20 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

“The MSE missile employs HTK technology developed by MFC,” explained Prins. “What MSE does is it has a two-pulse rocket motor, giving it a extended range over the current CRI missile. We anticipate that the U.S. government will approve production in the U.S., which [allocates] the first year’s production for the U.S. Army. Following this the U.S. government has approved 16 countries for MSE classified briefings and then we anticipate [it] will permit PAC-3 MSE for sale to international customers.

“The UAE is a perfect example of how different AMD systems

U.S. urges Gulf countries to co-op anti-missile assets

by Chris Pocock The U.S. is “gently prompting” the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to integrate their air- and missiledefense systems, according to American strategic defense consultant Ian Brzezinski.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have all bought Raytheon’s Patriot system; Qatar and the UAE are buying Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system.

These can all potentially defend against, for example, missiles

launched from Iran. But the GCC countries “can’t achieve regional coverage without multilateral cooperation,” Brzezinski told AIN. Brzezinski is a former Pentagon official responsible for U.S. policy towards NATO and Europe. He points to the progress being made by Europe in defending against ballistic missile threats, by combining national radar and missile systems.

NATO is networking the

can complement one another using a layered air defense architecture,” said Prins. “The UAE is the first country outside of the U.S. to procure THAAD, and Qatar could be the second nation, with other nations also interested in the system based on its capability.”

He added, “We believe THAAD is the only AMD system that can address both endoand exo-atmospheric threats.

What you have here in the UAE is a tiered defense or ‘defense in depth’ arrangement, with PAC-3 being the point defense capability and THAAD giving an area defense coverage. This combination gives you this layered defense capability against both air-breathing and TBM threats.

“The U.S. has added a third layer of AMD with the Aegis Ashore system,” continued Prins. “All three systems–Aegis, THAAD and PAC-3–were demonstrated as working in tandem with one another during a historic test in October 2012 on Kwajalein [Atoll in the Pacific].

We anticipate that other countries might go for procuring all three of these systems, or in case of Japan, which already has Aegis and PAC-3 and is now thinking about adding THAAD to the mix.”

Another test in September 2013 employed both THAAD and Aegis, “the point being that the U.S. have had several tests involving multiple layers against different types of threats,” he explained.

The next step beyond these current systems is the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), which is a three-nation development program involving Lockheed Martin, MBDA Italia and MBDA Deutschland. The most recent test of the MEADS system was on November 6, involving the simultaneous intercept of an air-breathing cruise missile and a TBM with the two flight paths originating in different, opposing sectors of the MEADS

radar’s engagement envelope.

“This test showed that the MEADS system has a radar that operates outside the current sector-scan capability of PAC-3,” said Prins, “and it is this kind of increasing, expanding of the envelope for the point-defense layer of a layered AMD architecture that our customers continue to be interested in.”

Unfortunately, the U.S. has declined to fund MEADS into production. o

air-defense sensors and shooters of nine members in the Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) program. This command-andcontrol architecture will combine the nations’ lower-tier, point defense systems such as Patriot and SAMP/T that intercept their targets in the endoatmosphere to defend cities or military deployments. But by further linking these systems to the upper-tier SM-3 system that is fired from American warships and can intercept in the exo-atmosphere (above about 50 miles up), whole regions or countries can be defended.

In a first phase of this enhanced linkage, the U.S. is deploying Aegis-class ships with

SM-3 missiles into the Mediterranean. In a second phase, upgraded versions of the SM-3 will be land-based in Romania (from 2015) and Poland (from 2018). The SM-3 missile is made

by Raytheon, which is one of Brzezinski’s clients.

In recent years, Iran has been considered the main missile threat to European and Gulf countries alike. “But 30 countries now have ballistic missiles, and their range, accuracy and lethality is improving all the time,” Brzezinski told AIN. “On the 30th anniversary of President Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ speech, which was very controversial then, there is now a strong trans-Atlantic consensus for defending against ballistic

missiles,” he added.

Missile defense is an expensive and challenging undertaking, Brzezinski noted.

Collaboration leads to cost savings and increased capabilities through the sharing of sensor coverage and an expanded pool of interceptors.

Brzezinski believes that “a world is coming in which missile defense assets are surged between like-minded countries.” The Gulf region should be no exception, he said. In fact, the U.S. Central Command has already sponsored regional ballistic missile defense exercises. “The sensitivities of Gulf countries over sovereignty are being broken down,” Brzezinski added. o

LOCKHEED MARTIN

Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control division (MFC) is a major supplier of defense equipment to the Middle East and that business is about to arise to a new level thanks to an anticipated sale of its Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) to Qatar.

Air and missile defense (AMD) has been a key requirement for most nations in the region for more than 20 years due to the increase of both foreign-purchased and indigenously-developed theater-range ballistic missile (TBM) inventories.

In November 2012, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the government of Qatar had requested a possible sale of two THAAD fire units, 12 THAAD launchers, 150 THAAD interceptors, two THAAD fire control and communications systems, two AN/ TPY-2 THAAD radars, and one early warning radar unit. The total cost of these major system components plus the associated support and maintenance equipment is estimated at $6.5 billion.

Previously, the UAE decided to acquire the THAAD system.

Orville Prins, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of international air and missile defense, told AIN that “there is a lot going on [in the AMD market] in the Middle East and Asia Pacific as well as in Europe. In the Middle East region threat levels are increasing based on what has been going on in Syria and so there is a continuing high

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 67

Rolls-Royce preps for Trent XWB production

by Ian Goold British engine-maker RollsRoyce has begun manufacturing parts for the 84,000-pound thrust Trent XWB-84s that will power the first Airbus A350-900 for launch customer Qatar Airways, and is on track for the powerplant’s entry into service (EIS) in the third-quarter of 2014.

Initial components for Qatar’s first engines were expected to arrive in RollsRoyce’s finished parts store early this month, according to Trent XWB program director Chris Young, and assembly is scheduled to begin around the end of the year. By mid-October, orders had been placed by nearly 40 customers for more than 750 A350s (including more than 175 stretched A350-1000s).

Rolls-Royce (Stand 1845) is already building pre-production

Trent XWBs as flight-testing of the new twin-aisle twinjet continues with the first two flying A350s (serial numbers MSN 001 and 003). Production is running at about one a month.

By mid-October, Rolls-Royce had delivered engines for the two flight-test aircraft, one flying-testbed (FTB) unit and a spare. It had also shipped powerplants to the United Technologies Aerospace Services “podding” facility in Toulouse for A350 MSN 004, which (with MSN 002) is scheduled to fly in February. Next scheduled deliveries were the first and second XWB-84s for MSN 002, which last month were in engine test and core assembly, respectively, ahead of MSN 005’s powerplants then in module assembly. o

Scimitar winglets ok’d on BBJ fleet

Rolls-Royce Trent XWB Testing Update By mid-October, Rolls-Royce had logged more than 5,600 hours of Trent XWB testing for the Airbus A350 program using 12 development engines (including three flying testbed units) during 10,600 cycles, about half of which have been generated during 2013, said program director Chris Young. Since receipt of EASA certification nine months ago, Rolls-Royce has concentrated on accumulating additional engine-running “to prove maturity and robustness.”

Maturity testing on Trent XWB serial number 20001/4 has been completed after close to 860 hours that involved more than 1,500 cycles (including about 1,240 simulated flight cycles. Serial number 20005/3a had run 1,000 simulated flight cycles before a teardown began last month when components were examined by a large number of airlines, according to Young. Cycles were run in very, very hot conditions at Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial. Rolls-Royce says the testing constituted time at temperature equivalent to one [maintenance] shop visit for harsh operations.

Serial number 20002/4 had completed 1,000 flight cycles on RollsRoyce’s outdoor jet engine test facility, which was set up six years ago at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to conduct noise, crosswind, endurance and other tests. The work included 3,000 thrust-­reverser ­deployments that cannot be conducted indoors; tests continue until the ­engine completes one shop visit equivalency in average conditions.

Last month Rolls-Royce opened a second outdoor engine stand at Stennis. This is part of a general expansion of test capacity required as Trent XWB-84 production increases. A new indoor test facility also became operational at Dahlewitz in Germany in August. The XWB-97 requires a 25-percent increase in production and testing capacity, Young said. –I.G.

by Thierry Dubois Aviation Partners Boeing last month announced that, after launching on the Boeing 737 NG, split scimitar winglets can now be fitted on the Boeing BBJ family. The new split scimitar winglets offer a significant reduction of drag compared to the non-winglet-equipped Boeings and a noticeable drag reduction for those equipped with Aviation Partners Boeing blended winglets.

According to the Aviation Partners Boeing joint venture, the program redefines the aerodynamics of the Aviation

A350 MSN001 in final assembly.

Trent XWB-84 A350-900 Flight Test There have been no surprises with the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 during Airbus A350-900 flight-testing, said program director Chris Young. “Everyone is delighted; it’s been really successful, with very high utilization. The aircraft has been flying up to twice a day, day after day. We’ve not been slowed up by maintenance or [aircraft] inspections.”

The first Airbus A350’s engines had logged almost 280 flight-hours each in 63 flights by mid-October and those on serial number 003 (the second to fly) about five hours each. About 280 flight-hours also have been accrued in nearly 90 flights with three flying testbed engines. Young said the Trent XWB-84 is behaving “brilliantly,” demonstrating good operability and reliability with “immensely positive feedback. This reflects our aim to ensure as mature an engine as possible, [which is why] we flew it a year ahead of first flight.” –I.G.

Aviation Partners Boeing claims a 2.5 to 3 percent drag reduction with the new split scimitar winglets.

Bell Helicopter recently delivered seven of an order for 15 Bell 429 light twin-engine helicopters to the Turkish National Police. The helicopters were accepted during September and October by the police, which immediately started operating them for surveillance, personnel transport and air support of ground operations. Each aircraft is equipped with multi-sensor cameras and microwave downlink.

Deliveries have so far taken place on or ahead of schedule, Bell said. The remaining handovers are planned for next year. Turkish authorities placed the order last year after a two-year evaluation.

The North America-based manufacturer is here ­(Chalet A48) exhibiting the recently unveiled Bell 429WLG, which features a wheeled landing gear, and the Bell 412EPI medium twin. In military products, the Bell AH-1Z and Bell UH-1Y–here for their Dubai Airshow debuts–and the Bell 407GT and Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey are on display. Bell also promised to give updates on the Bell 525 Relentless and SLS programs, in the super-medium twin and light single categories respectively.

–T.D.

68 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

MARK WAGNER

Turkish Bell 429s now on duty

­ artners blended winglets. The P retrofit involves adding a new scimitar-tipped ventral strake and reinforcing the internal winglet structure. Moreover, the aluminum winglet tip-caps will be replaced with new aerodynamically shaped scimitar tip caps.

Aviation Partners flighttested the split scimitar design in 2012 on a BBJ. Company engineers saw that drag was reduced by 2.5 to 3 percent over the basic blended winglet configuration. Therefore, operators can save fuel on a given distance or benefit from an extra 200 nautical miles of range with a full fuel load, according to the company.

“Based on our ongoing study of laminar flow, we believe further improvements in drag reduction will be available in the near future,” said Joe Clark, Aviation Partners founder and CEO. Offered as a retrofit for the BBJ, BBJ2 and BBJ3, the conversion takes eight days of down time and costs $500,000 to $550,000. Receipt of FAA supplemental type certification (STC) for all models is planned for 2014. o

Eurofighter Typhoon

Flexible Approach

However, British defense diplomacy might have outsmarted that of the French.

The Royal Air Force established an expeditionary air wing at Al Minhad airbase last January and has been cycling Tornado and Typhoon squadrons through there. Further, the more flexible British approach to fighter deal-making is paying off. For instance, BAE Systems has been delivering a second batch of 24 Typhoons to Saudi Arabia, despite not having finalized their pricing with the Saudis. Finally, British government and industry negotiators have also been promising significant local industrial participation to the four Gulf states. Of particular note, AIN understands that BAE Systems has offered the UAE some participation in its future development of Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance UAV technology.

Beyond the UAE, AIN has been told that Bahrain is closest to making a commitment to the Typhoon. This could come as early as next January, during the Bahrain Air Show.

The Bahrain air force wants to replace a squadron of ageing F-5 fighters from 2018.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (right) made a surprise visit to the UK pavilion at the Dubai Airshow yesterday. According to industry and government sources, he might be in Dubai to help close a deal that could see the UAE commit to buy up to 60 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for their next generation fighter requirement.

If sealed, the deal would be at the expense of Dassault’s Rafale program, which has been in strong contention.

It is considering a second batch of F-16s, but Bahrain’s King Hamad expressed a liking for the Typhoon when he met Cameron in London last August.

In Qatar, an RFI for a new fighter has been issued, after it seemed for a time that the Rafale was a shoo-in to replace that country‘s Mirage 2000s. The RAF Typhoon solo and Red Arrows display team that are appearing here performed in Doha last week. But the French are still in the running, and so is Boeing’s defense arm. Paul Oliver, the company’s regional vice president for international business development, told AIN yesterday that, “Qatar is looking at fighters: they are looking at both the F-18 and F-15. I can’t get into details, but that is an active competition and it’s continuing to progress.”

It has been reported elsewhere that the U.S. has asked for, and received, a response deadline extension to allow it to complete its offer, to be submitted around the end of this year. According to those reports, Dassault and Eurofighter have already submitted their proposals.

In Kuwait, where an RFI has been issued for a new fighter to replace F-18C/ Ds, it is the Italians that have the lead in marketing the Typhoon. A squadron of Italian air force Typhoons participated in last week’s Air Tactics Leadership Course at Al Dhafra airbase, UAE. Boeing will surely be pushing the Super Hornet in Kuwait, too. Oliver described Kuwait as an “active market” for fighters, along with Qatar and the UAE. What about Lockheed Martin, supplier of F-16s to the UAE as well as Bahrain,

BOEING’S NEW 777X POISED FOR LAUNCH Boeing and a trio of Arabian Gulf airlines have set the stage for what could prove one of the most memorable Dubai Air Shows ever, as the parties neared conclusion of negotiations of reported contracts for around 200 of the new 777X airliners, worth as much as $80 billion at list prices. The deals appear likely to effectively launch the project here in Dubai, where executives for Emirates Airline have spent more than two years helping define the ultimate shape of the 350- to 400-seat jet, entry into service of which Boeing has targeted for around 2020. Fellow UAE carrier Etihad stands as another of the Big 3 in the Gulf region likely to participate in the sales bonanza, while Qatar Airways–whose outspoken CEO, Akbar Al Baker, has recently played coy about his intentions–now represents a proverbial wild card. For the full version of this story go to www.ainonline.com.

–G.P.

and maker of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter?

Some media reports have speculated that the U.S. is ready to sell the stealthy, fifthgeneration fighter to countries in the Gulf.

But a Lockheed Martin official responsible for the region told AIN last week that he was not aware of any classified briefings being given to such countries. The official added that the UAE’s intended order for an additional 25 to 30 F-16 Block 60s, revealed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel last April, was still being negotiated, with the legally-required notification to Congress in process. “We are also discussing more F-16s with other countries in the region,” he added.

Some senior leaders of air forces in the Gulf see merit in choosing the same

New show venue uContinued from page 1

honor and is anticipating a decision on the 27th of this month.

As befits its new home, the Dubai Airshow itself continues to grow, with 1,043 exhibitors displaying this year. Around 60,000 visitors are expected to the trade show during the week, and about 150 aircraft are on the static display. These figures are all higher than those for the 2011 show.

Adding to the trade show attendance will be members of the public enjoying the launch of the Skyview airshow viewing experience. This initiative has been taken to provide a safe, family-oriented environment for the public to enjoy the flying display, supported by entertainment and educational displays.

Another addition to the show is the Gulf Aviation Training Event (GATE), a two-day summit due to be opened on Tuesday by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai’s department of civil aviation and the chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline. GATE will bring together providers and operators in the training and simulator world to discuss the key issues facing training in civil aviation and will feature a wide range of industry speakers.

Dubai Airshow 2013 also recognizes

DAVID McINTOSH

during the week.

While interest this week is obviously focused on the potential UAE deal, the Typhoon could be sold to three more Gulf nations over the next few years, British industry and government officials are saying with increasing confidence. Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar could also choose the jet, which is being promoted personally by prime minister Cameron in meetings with leaders of those countries, both in the Gulf and in the UK. Saudi Arabia is already taking delivery of 72 Typhoons and may order more, while Oman signed up for 12 last December.

If the Typhoon is successful here it will be a bitter blow to the French government and aerospace industry, since the Rafale was for so long the front-runner to secure an order for 60 from the Emiratis, as a replacement for a similar number of Mirage 2000-9s.

The French negotiations with the UAE faltered in 2010-11, despite commitments

by Paris to stationing its own warplanes and warships here. In an attempt to revive the fighter deal, French defense minister Yves Le Drian lunched with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy head of the UAE Armed Forces, during the IDEX defense show last February.

MARK WAGNER

uContinued from page 1

new fighter–namely the Typhoon–as a way of increasing the operational integration of defense forces in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “Eurofighter might well clean up in the Middle East,” a veteran fighter salesman who is still working for one of the other European OEMs told AIN last week.

“The UAE is certainly not going to buy the Rafale unless there is another export customer,” was his opinion of the situation. The Rafale has been selected

by India, and negotiations continue in anticipation of a final signature. o the importance of what is termed the “third arm” of aviation with a pavilion dedicated to humanitarian relief operations (the current DWC development plan features a “Humanitarian District”).

This subject is particularly relevant at the moment in the light of ongoing relief efforts in the wake of the Philippines typhoon disaster. The Pavilion highlights the work of Care by Air and the UN World Food Program, as well as bringing together a number of operators, supporters and charitable organizations with the aim of publicizing this aspect of aviation and of encouraging further companies and agencies to join humanitarian efforts.

Finally, this year’s airshow is running an expanded Futures Day on the last day of the show (November 21). Drawing on the success of the inaugural Futures Day held in 2011, the event this year will see up to 1,000 students from UAE institutions visiting the show. The day’s program includes targeted involvement from many exhibitors to provide inspiration and practical assistance to tomorrow’s generation of engineers. o

www.ainonline.com • November 17, 2013 • Dubai Airshow News 69 00

dauphin dreadnought

MARK WAGNER

In the early 20th century, the most powerful weapons on the seas were the massive battleships known as “dreadnoughts.” This UAE Dauphin maritime helicopter arguably rivals the lethality of those impressive warships. With its specialized ocean-going radar and complement of anti-ship missiles, the swift-moving rotorcraft represents a formidable weapon.

‘Pure-V’ engines from IAE represent the best of the breed

EADS is swapping identities, soon to be ‘Airbus Group’

president and CEO Jon Beatty. “IAE’s records have shown that engines maintained to these standards, for example those covered by a fleet hour agreement [FHA], consume less fuel, have fewer unscheduled removals and have up to 20 percent longer time-on-wing between shop visits.”

IAE’s Pure-V program rewards operators that maintain OEM buildstandard engines with extended warranties on parts. IAE can also provide a customized conversion kit for engines that do not currently meet the Pure-V standard.

Designed to help operators and lessors enhance residual values for their V2500 engines, the Pure-V program helps improve the marketability of engines through a database that identifies all Pure-V engines. The database tracks information from IAE maintenance centers servicing IAE FHAs and from facilities approved by IAE to verify an engine’s Pure-V status. –G.P.

International Aero Engines (Chalet A4, A5) has launched its new Pure-V designation for V2500 engines maintained to IAE’s build standards, the company announced here in Dubai.

A Pure-V-designated engine contains IAE-approved parts and repairs throughout the entire engine.

“Pure-V was created to provide a designation for the large percentage of our customers’ engines that have been maintained with original IAE parts and to recognize the superior value of these engines,” said IAE

by Gregory Polek This Dubai Airshow marks the last time EADS will exhibit at any major aerospace show before it officially changes its name to the Airbus Group on January 1, 2014. Fittingly, two of the company’s highest-profile Airbus-branded products–the A380 and A400M military airlifter–are participating daily in the show’s flying display, while an Egyptair A330-300 sits on static display and an A350XWB cockpit mockup graces the Airbus stand in the exhibit hall.

For the first time in the Middle East and under the tagline “EADS, delivering innovation,” the EADS Group appears as an integrated entity in Pavilion P10 in a central position, alongside the Airbus,

Airbus showcases Gala interiors Airbus is promoting its ACJ330 and ACJ340 Gala concept at the Dubai Airshow, hoping to add to its list of several potential clients. The Gala concept was conceived as a means to offer a lower-cost alternative to a full VIP configuration for Airbus widebody airliners. The

design places airliner-type seating fore and aft of a VIP section between doors two and three.

Airbus designed the Gala product primarily for head-of-state clients who travel with large contingents of support staff and advisors. Airbus (Chalet P16, Stand 410) began discussing

70 Dubai Airshow News • November 17, 2013 • www.ainonline.com

the concept with potential customers roughly a year and a half ago, a company spokesman told AIN. Due to the more ready availability of A330s, Airbus expects the twin-engine model to draw more interest than Gala-configured A340s, he said.

–G.P.

Eurocopter and Cassidian products static display.

The Cassidian display features unmanned aerial vehicles, sensors, defense electronics, border surveillance and avionics systems, while the division is also demonstrating its “Touch Lab” multimedia scenario library. Eurocopter’s presence centers on the new EC175 advanced medium-lift multipurpose helicopter on static display, alongside an evolved EC145T2 and a latest-generation AS350B3. Finally, the company’s Astrium division is displaying a scale model of the Yahsat 1B telecom satellite and some of its latest satellite equipment.

Last Thursday EADS reported its results for the first nine months of 2013, during which revenues increased 7 percent to €40 billion, EBIT rose 22 percent to €2.3 billion and net income rose 36 percent to €1.2 billion. The company also raised aircraft order and delivery guidance to reflect stronger market conditions. The company expects gross commercial aircraft orders to top 1,200 airplanes and deliveries to reach 620 airplanes this year. However, due to lower A380 deliveries and under current exchange rate assumptions, EADS is forecasting moderate growth in revenues for 2013.

Meanwhile, the company acknowledged that the A350 program remains challenging, and added that that any schedule changes could lead to further pressures on cost provisions. Still, it reported good progress on the A350 following first flight of the second aircraft in October. o

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