Singapore Airshow News 02-17-16

Singapore

PUBLICATIONS

FEB. 17, 2016

Airshow News

TM

WEDNESDAY

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DAVID McINTOSH

TAKING A WALK ON THE WIDE SIDE Yes, it's probably very light, but the Airbus A350 XWB (extra wide body) display is an impressive contrast to the high-speed passes from the F-15, F-16, Su-30 and other demonstration flights.

Aerolease order boosts MRJ Saab’s GlobalEye is a ‘go’

by Gregory Polek

by David Donald

Mitsubishi Aircraft has inked a letter of intent with U.S.-based Aerolease Aviation covering firm orders for 10 MRJ90s and options on another 10, the companies announced here in Singapore yesterday. The deal marks the first new aircraft order for Aerolease, which has until now specialized in used airplanes, and mainly cargo types. The companies expect deliveries to start in 2018 and run into 2019.

Although Aerolease Aviation partner Jep Thornton acknowledged some concern over the delays that have plagued the MRJ program, he praised Mitsubishi (Stand U1) for its technological capability and expressed confidence that no further delays would hinder his plans to place the first airplane into service in 2018. “The accumulated experiences in aircraft manufacturing Continued on page 45 u

Saab (Stand D11) has chosen the is a thoroughly reworked version of the Singapore Airshow to fully launch the Erieye airborne early warning radar that GlobalEye, a multi-sensor, multi-mission incorporates the game-changing galplatform that can perform a wide range lium nitride technology. GlobalEye thus of surveillance duties across air, sea and becomes the first airborne application of land domains. The aircraft, then known GaN radar technology. as SRSS (swing-role surveillance system), GlobalEye is based on a Bombardier was “soft-launched” last November when Global 6000 platform, the business jet it was announced that the UAE Air Force offering sufficient size and power to and Air Defense would be buying two. accommodate the sensor systems, and Among GlobalEye’s suite of sensors Continued on page 45 u

UAVs

Regional Defense

Pilot Training

Business Aviation

Air Transport

Schiebel Tests Detect/Avoid System

China, Indonesia Boost Sukhoi Su-35

Airways Aviation's Ab Initio Focus

Hawker Pacific Growth Expectations

Indonesia’s Aging Aircraft Ban Planned

Recent tests involving an unmanned helicopter and crewed aircraft showed promise as the UAV detected the “intruders” and took corrective action in real time. The technology has implications for numerous applications. Page 18

Recently announced sales of the highly capable Russian design to the two Asian countries gives the program new life but also may complicate regional security concerns. The two nations ordered 36 copies of the fighter jet. Page 20

To meet global demand, the company has established a network of foundation schools, including one in Malaysia, to conduct screening and train for regulatory requirements of Europe's EASA and Australia's CASA operators. Page 22

Australia-based MRO and support provider Hawker Pacific reports business aviation is young, alive and well throughout the Asia Pacific region. The company expects demand for infrastructure and skilled professionals will continue. Page 39

The country’s new ban on importing passenger aircraft older than 10 years could be a major headache for some operators and likely won’t improve its poor commercial aviation safety record, experts on the situation say. Page 44

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Singapore

With a year’s service in the books, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost carrier Scoot is riding the LCC wave.

Airshow News

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Singapore Airlines’ low-cost Scoot capitalizes on no-frills biz model

by Bill Carey portfolio of destinations.

“Perhaps we’ll venture further afield in the years to come,” Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson told a Singapore Airshow press conference yesterday.

Scoot started operating in June 2012, originally

with Boeing 777s. The carrier took delivery of its first 787 from Boeing in January 2015, and now has 10 787-8 and -9 Dreamliners–making it the first airline to fly 787s exclusively. Wilson said it plans to acquire another 10 Dreamliners by 2019.

Currently, Scoot operates between Singapore and 18 destinations in China, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea. It will expand to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and

’s Singapore Airshow News is located in Chalet CS62 Editor: Ian Sheppard • isheppard@ainonline.com

MARK WAGNER

A year after taking delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, low-cost carrier Scoot is eyeing new markets. The Singapore Airlines Group subsidiary now has 10 Dreamliners and plans to add the Middle East and India to its

destinations in India.

Scoot has piggybacked on the rise of the low-cost carrier business model in the Asia Pacific region. Since LCCs arrived in Singapore in 2004, Wilson said, their market share has grown from zero to 33 percent of passengers at Changi Airport in 2014. “Because we only sell what sells, we can save on storage space” and configure the 787 for more passengers, he said of the carrier’s no-frills, pay-as-you-go offering.

Appearing with Wilson at the crowded press conference, Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of marketing, said the manufacturer has 1,143 total orders from 62 customers for the 787. It has thus far delivered 373 Dreamliners. o

STATIC AIRCRAFT DISPLAY AREA

“Selling what sells” enables Scoot to save storage space and configure its Boeing 787s for maximum passenger density. It has 10 of the Dreamliners in its fleet.

‘Enhanced’ R-R Trent gives A350 more oomph expects to deliver the first A350-900 powered with the enhanced performance engines to Singapore Airlines in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company said it will make the version available to other customers for later delivery.

Technology improvements on the XWB-84 EP include improved turbine cooling and aerodynamics, improved secondary air system and interstage sealing, and further optimization of the XWB-84’s tip clearance control system. o

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by Gregory Polek Rolls-Royce yesterday launched an enhanced performance version of the Trent XWB to fly with Singapore Airlines A350s. The Trent XWB-84 EP offers a fuel performance improvement of one percent over the original Trent XWB-84, according to the UK aero engine manufacturer. It incorporates technologies from the higher-thrust Trent XWB97, the company’s Advance engine program and “other future technology research.”

Rolls-Royce (Stand N23)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF – Charles Alcock EDITOR - INTERNATIONAL SHOW EDITIONS – Ian Sheppard PRESS ROOM MANAGING EDITOR – Mark Phelps THE EDITORIAL TEAM Chris Pocock Caroline Bruneau Mark Huber Gregory Polek Vladimir Karnozov Bill Carey Peter Shaw-Smith Chris Kjelgaard Pete Combs Matt Thurber Reuben Johnson William Dennis Chad Trautvetter Jennifer Meszaros Dave Donald Annmarie Yannaco Andrew Drwiega Dzirhan Mahadzir Neelam Mathews Thierry Dubois Liz Moscrop Ian Goold GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER – Tom Hurley PRODUCTION EDITOR – Martha Jercinovich THE PRODUCTION TEAM John A. Manfredo Grzegorz Rzekos Mona L. Brown Jeb Burnside Lysbeth McAleer PHOTOGRAPHERS David McIntosh; Mark Wagner

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AIN Seeks Reporters in Asia AIN is looking for reporters to expand its coverage of the aviation industry in Asia. To discuss opportunities contact AIN editor-in-chief Charles Alcock, who is in Singapore for the show. Mobile: +1 201 250 3503 Email: calcock@ainonline.com. At the Singapore Airshow you can find AIN at Chalet CS62.

4 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

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A Trent 900 aero engine nears completion on Rolls-Royce’s production line at the Seletar Assembly & Test Unit, Singapore.

Rolls-Royce ramps up in Singapore targeting one engine per-day

by Peter Shaw-Smith Rolls-Royce (Chalet N23) is ramping up production at its engine manufacturing facility at Seletar Airport in Singapore, and expects to reach full capacity there in 2018.

Tin Ho, Rolls-Royce’s operations director, Seletar, Assembly and Test Unit (SATU), said production rates were currently around one engine every other day, with the plant operating at around 60 percent capacity, and equipment and skill-set addition growing.

“Really it’s about ramping up production. [The goal is to produce] five engines a week by 201819. Today it’s about three. We are right where we should be on rampup. In 2017, we’ll be producing at 80 percent of capacity. 2018 will see full capacity, or roughly one engine a day,” he said.

Since launching operations in 2012, the $700 million Seletar facility has delivered 170 engines.

In 2016 it expects to dispatch 150 more and will reach full capacity of 250 per year by late 2017.

Today, two engine types are manufactured, the Trent 900 (for the Airbus A380) and Trent 1000 (for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner).

“Our current load is mostly Trent 1000. Trent 900 is much lower volume. The A380 hasn’t gotten too much sales [activity] lately,” said Ho. “Airbus is talking about maybe re-engining the A380.”

Company-wide, including the original engine facility in Derby, Rolls-Royce claims to have captured more than 50 percent

of global orders for widebody engines. With its market share in the installed base lagging the order backlog, confidence in long-term cash flow is underpinned, the company said in an earnings statement for the first half of 2015.

“Eventually [by around 2020], we will power more than 50 percent of widebody aircraft that are in service,” a Seletar-based RollsRoyce spokeswoman told AIN. Today, Rolls-Royce claims Singapore Airlines powers almost four-fifths of its fleet using its engines. “We had a really good piece of news when Emirates ordered 50 more A380s [in 2013] and converted the fleet from GE-powered to Rolls-Roycepowered. All those 50 aircraft will take Trent 900 engines, mostly assembled in Derby,” Ho said.

“We don’t have the capacity here to do both the 1000 and the 900 concurrently. This shop is very full right now. We are in a very fast ramp-up pace to three engines by first quarter next year,” he said.

The next engine coming to Rolls-Royce Seletar is the Trent 7000, which will power the A330neo, he said, replacing the Trent 700 currently on the classic A330. The new engine is still in pre-production, with manufacturing expected to start in 2017. “We will [then] see a combination of Trent 1000 and Trent 7000, as well as Trent 900 [in production].”

At the moment, there are no plans to manufacture other

engines at Seletar, but Ho didn’t rule this out in future.

Wide Chord Fan Blades

Adjacent to SATU is RollsRoyce’s Wide Chord Fan Blade manufacturing facility (FBSG).

By 2018, the facility will reach full capacity, to manufacture 7,600 fan blades a year.

Lee Brough, manufacturing executive Fan Blade Facility, said the plant was operating at an average of 65 percent of capacity

A pair of Rolls-Royce factory technicians observe a Trent 1000 undergoing production testing at the Rolls-Royce Seletar Assembly & Test Unit in Singapore.

6 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

in 2015. “We are doing around 90 blades a week at the moment [enough for three engines]. There are 22 in a set. There are some spares as well for the 900 and 1000. We will get to 120 blades by about April-May.” FBSG had delivered more than 2,900 blades by last November, and was estimating 3,100 expected by the end of last year. It expects to be delivering over 7,500 a year by 2018. FBSG manufactures blades for the Trent 900, Trent 1000/7000 and XWB. Ho said the same method for building engines was used as in Derby, but the new facility is more efficient, with its singlefloor line located in one building. “In terms of layout, it is not a carbon copy. Derby is 109 years old, with a number of different buildings. We set up this facility on a clean sheet of paper.”

“An equal production standard between our UK and Singapore facilities is an important part of Civil Aviation Authority approval. Both sites utilize the same uniform processes to produce large commercial Trent aero engines to the same high standards of excellence demanded by our customers,” the company said.

Ho said eight modules were required to manufacture a Trent engine, with four completed inhouse and four stocked by external suppliers. The final module area is the Customer Delivery Centre (CDC), designed to ensure that the engine is fully ready to go to the customer.

At the time of AIN’s visit last

November, engines for Scoot, ANA, LAN Chile, British Airways and Thai Airways were in production.

New engines assembled at SATU are tested to meet design requirements before being dispatched to Airbus or Boeing.

Rolls-Royce does not perform overhaul or repair at Seletar.

“The production test-bed can accommodate an engine with a fan size of up to 140 inches and 150,000 pounds of thrust, providing greater flexibility for the future,” it said.

Engine testing on every unit is a crucial part of the manufacturing process. “Absolutely. It’s a must.

Not just from a safety standpoint, but also cost. If I sell an engine to Boeing, it costs $100,000 to deliver. There’s an insurance issue,” Ho said.

He said engines were tested for performance, especially fuel efficiency. “Fuel cost is about 30 percent of what an airline [spends].

There is not much variation in performance,” he said.

Airlines also want to ensure engine performance does not interfere with aircraft performance. “An engine creates a lot of vibration. How do we know your engine is not causing structural issues on the aircraft? Airlines want actual data.

There are a lot of specifications on these kinds of data that are required by the aircraft manufacturers,” he said.

“Typically, as a whole, an engine will stay on-wing for five years. Periodically, it requires attention: some checks and inspections. Hot parts in particular need periodic inspections.”

Ho said Richard de Crespigny, the pilot of QF32, the Qantas A380 that suffered an uncontained engine failure on November 4, 2010, over Batam Island, near Singapore, visited the Seletar facility following the incident. “He really had a lot of good words to say about Rolls-Royce, despite the problem, given how severe that incident was.”

“Any incident is a disappointment for a manufacturer. [The Qantas aircraft] was in a lot of danger. The pilots were very professional. How you manage the problem, that’s where the pilot comes in.”

Ho concluded by emphasizing Rolls-Royce’s focus on the customer. “It’s really not about just selling airplanes or engines. It’s about the whole package, being able to be so close to your customer that you think he’s sitting next to you; [responding to] any issues, any questions that are there. They [need only] worry about flying the passengers.” o

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BREIT LING.COM

Chengdu’s J-20 enters production

PHOTO VIA CHINESE INTERNET

China’s much-debated J-20 stealth fighter has now entered the low-rate initial production (LRIP) phase. Following on from two prototype/technology demonstrators and at least six pre-production development aircraft, the first of a new batch of production examples made an appearance outside Chengdu’s works in late December. It reportedly made its first flight on January 18, by which time a second LRIP aircraft had also been spotted at the airfield.

Whereas the earlier aircraft had all been numbered in the 20xx range, and were revealed in a full painted finish, aircraft 2101 was seen undergoing taxi trials in December in a yellow primer finish typical of aircraft fresh from Chengdu’s production lines. A second LRIP machine, 2102, was recorded in January, also in the primer finish.

Designed by the 611 Institute and built by the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation at the Huangtianba airfield, the J-20 is a large multi-role fighter with stealthy features similar to those found in the American F-22 and F-35. Although very little is known about its intended purpose, the aircraft appears to offer capability in a number of roles, including long-range interception and precision attack.

In terms of weapon carriage the J-20 has a similar arrangement to that of the Lockheed Martin F-22, comprising two lateral bays for small air-toair missiles such as the agile, imaging-infrared PL-10, and a large under-fuselage bay for accommodating larger missiles and precision-guided surface attack weapons. The 607 Institute’s new PL-15 activeradar missile is thought to be the primary long-range air-to-air weapon, reportedly having been test-fired from a Shenyang J-16 platform last year. The PL-21, a ramjet-powered weapon in the

The first production example of the J-20 takes off from the Chengdu plant.

same class as the MBDA Meteor, is another possibility for the J-20.

The sensor suite includes an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) and a large-array AESA radar, which was developed by the 14th Institute at Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET, 14th Institute), and is possibly designated Type 1475/KLJ5. Diamond-shaped windows around the fuselage suggest that a distributed aperture infrared vision system is installed.

In the cockpit, the J-20 sports three large color displays, plus other small screens, and a holographic wide-angle head-up display. An advanced datalink has been developed, and a retractable refueling probe is located on the starboard side of the forward fuselage. Much of the avionics suite has been tested by the CFTE (China flight test establishment) aboard a modified Tupolev Tu-204C, in much the same way as the systems of the F-22 were tested in a Boeing 757.

One area that has dogged the J-20 is the powerplant, where Chinese indigenous development has lagged behind that of the airframe and systems. The intended powerplant for the J-20 is believed to be the WS-15, an afterburning engine in the 44,000-pound-thrust (197-kN) class being developed by Xian, and which may ultimately feature thrust-vectoring. However, this engine is not expected to be ready until around 2020.

In the meantime, the J-20s produced so far have been powered by the NPO Saturn AL-31FN (as used in the single-engine J-10) imported from Russia. The latest J-20s have the improved AL-31FN Series 3 engine offering 30,800 pounds (137 kN) of thrust, but even this engine may not provide the J-20 with “supercruise” capability Spurred on by developments in both indigenous technology

PHOTO VIA CHINESE INTERNET

by David Donald

First flying in September last year, the penultimate development aircraft, 2016, introduced a host of small changes compared with its predecessors.

and U.S. military capability, China initiated a project for a twin-engine stealthy fighter in the early/mid-1990s, subsequently reported by U.S. intelligence as the XXJ program. Chengdu/611 Institute’s Project 718 competed with a larger design from Shenyang/601 Institute, and was eventually selected in 2008.

Two Flying Protoypes

Chengdu is believed to have built an initial batch of four prototype airframes, of which two took to the air. The first, 2001, made its maiden flight on January 11, 2011. It was followed on May 16, 2012 by aircraft 2002, which was subsequently renumbered as 2004. Two other airframes are understood to have been used for ground static and fatigue testing, and additional airframes may have later been produced for radar cross-section tests.

On March 1, 2014 the first of the development batch aircraft (2011) made its first flight.

Whereas 2001 and 2002 appeared to be prototypes for evaluating aerodynamics and aircraft systems, as well as limited weapon carriage tests, aircraft 2011 was clearly outfitted for some mission systems.

Quite apart from the new RAM (radar-absorbent material) paint, there were numerous differences between it and its predecessors: the tailfins featured cropped tips; the inlets and DSI (diverterless supersonic intake) bulges had been redesigned; the leading-edge root extensions between wing and foreplanes were reshaped; the canopy had gained a stiffening bow frame; and the cumbersome mainwheel door design of the initial aircraft had been replaced by a much neater installation.

Perhaps the most obvious differences were the new nose design with a dielectric radome for an AESA radar featuring a

8 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

sawtooth joint with the main fuselage, and the addition of an electro-optical targeting system in a fairing beneath the forward fuselage.

Three further development aircraft took to the air during 2014; Number 2012 on July 26; Number 2013 on November 29; and Number 2015 less than a month later on December 19. The latter two lacked a nose-mounted air-data probe, suggesting that the AESA radar was installed.

Aircraft Number 2016 flew on September 8, 2015 with reshaped DSI bulges and lengthened fairings around the nozzles to improve rear-aspect radar crosssection. Other changes included enlarged fairings to either side of the engine nozzles. Aircraft 2017

followed on November 24, with a slightly more pronounced hump to the canopy.

At least four aircraft of the development batch were transferred to the CFTE (China flight test establishment) at XianYanliang for tests. It is expected that the initial LRIP aircraft will be dispatched to the Chinese air force’s test and training center at Cangzhou once initial manufacturer/acceptance trials have been completed, and during 2017 the first front-line regiment could start to receive aircraft. IOC is slated for 2019, but may occur earlier given the priority afforded to the J-20 program. Chinese officials have stated that final requirements could be between 500 and 700 aircraft. o

CONTROP SHIPS 2000TH STAMP MINIATURE EO/IR PAYLOAD Controp Precision Technologies recently delivered the 2,000th example of its Stamp miniature electro optical/infrared (EO/IR) payload. The dual sensor day/night surveillance equipment can be carried by a variety of aircraft, including unmanned aerial systems and vertical takeoff and landing systems.

The Stamp EO/IR incorporates three gimbals, which the Israeli company says allows for a geo-stabilized, clear picture when looking horizontally and vertically. It also provides a stable picture when using an uncooled thermal camera with a zoom lens.

The Controp Stamp product family—which already includes the Micro-Stamp, the M-Stamp, and the T-Stamp—is designed for day and night tactical reconnaissance missions. The systems provide geolocation and consist of just one line-replaceable unit, which the company says makes them a more cost-effective solution.

During 2016, Controp (Stand Q56) plans to expand the Stamp line with new systems to fill new operational requirements. The company’s products range in weight from just 300 grams to 3.3 kg (just over 10 ounces to just over seven pounds).

–S.C.

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NEWS CLIPS z Assembly Begins On First GE9X Engine For 777X Final assembly of the first full GE9X scheduled to test in the first half of the year has gotten underway, four years before the big turbofan is scheduled to enter service on a Boeing 777X. “Assembly of the fist full GE9X engine is on track and coming together very nicely,” said GE90/GE9X general manager Bill Millhaem. “The GE9X team is extremely excited to see the engine design come to life and looks forward to watching it run soon on a test stand in Peebles, Ohio.”

The first engine to test (FETT) embodies the result of a technology maturation program that began almost five years ago and has included component-level, system-level and core demo testing to validate the engine’s technologies and materials.

z Honeywell Supporting Falcon Guardian Engines Honeywell has signed a five-year contract to support the French navy’s fleet of Dassault Falcon Guardian surveillance jets based in Tahiti. Under the agreement, Honeywell will provide parts, repair and overhaul services and engineering support for the fleet’s Honeywell ATF3 turbofans. Honeywell will work with Sabena Technics, the primary maintenance, repair and overhaul service provider. Honeywell will provide engine services at its Sky Harbor facility in Phoenix, Arizona.

Falcon Guardian

z Parker In Long-Term A350 Support Pact For SIA Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Parker Aerospace Customer Support Operations (Stand D23) have signed a multi-year agreement through which Parker will provide a support package for the airline’s Airbus A350 fleet. This package will include maintenance, inventory pooling and leasing as well as reliability sustainment and management.

This agreement will be long-term since SIA recently ordered 67 A350 XWBs. Parker Aerospace provides the A350 with four systems, including the fuel-tank inerting, fluid conveyance and hydraulic systems. The manufacturer also provides the pneumatic valve suite, engine build hydraulic system and other equipment for the A350’s Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

z Aero Campus Launched To Attract Young Talent Singapore Airshow has announced the launch of the inaugural Singapore Airshow Aero Campus (SACC), a new initiative to attract local aviation and aerospace talent.

The SACC targets students and young professionals who are considering a career in the industry. The campus will be integrated into the show’s traditional educational-day programs, which will take place on Thursday, February 18th and Friday, February 19th.

Visitors will have an opportunity to participate in two different zones, focused on learning, education and career prospects.

The education zone will allow attendees to explore a variety of academic programs offered by local and overseas institutions.

Meanwhile, the industry zone will allow participants to network and seek information from participating companies.

z FAA approves Dunlop retreading facility in China Dunlop Aircraft Tyres (Stand M93) has received FAA approval of its retreading and distribution facilities in China and the U.S. “Many operators, not just those with U.S.-registered aircraft, require FAA certification,” Dunlop chairman Ian Edmonson commented. The Chinese site, in Jinjiang (Fujian Province), supports the Asia Pacific region and already has approvals from the CAAC and EASA, as well as from a number of countries across the region, such as Indonesia and Thailand. The U.S. facility, which is in Mocksville, North Carolina, will open later this month.

Rolls to build Trent fan cases in Malaysia

by Ian Goold Rolls-Royce (R-R) has expanded its involvement in the Asia Pacific aerospace industry with arrangements for producing Trent 1000 engine fan cases in Malaysia. The engine maker has signed a 25-year agreement covering manufacture, assembly, and supply of the assemblies with UMW M&E, the investment arm of Malaysian conglomerate UMW, and the latter’s newly established UMW Aerospace subsidiary.

The deal is part of the UK company’s strategy to create a supply chain closer to customers in developing regions. Three years ago, Rolls-Royce opened a 65,000-sq-m (about 650,000 sq-ft) fan-blade manufacturing, assembly, and testing plant at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park, which, in the future, will receive Trent 1000 fan cases from neighboring Malaysia.

The agreement follows R-R’s development of Southeast Asia as a supply hub and “demonstrates the positive impact the Seletar facility has on growth in aerospace capability in Malaysia and the rest of the region,” according to UMW. The conglomerate sees its expansion into aerospace as a significant step that will make it Malaysia’s first Rolls-Royce Tier 1 supplier.

With its first Seletarassembled example unveiled earlier this year, R-R plans to accelerate Singapore production of the Trent 1000, which competes against the General Electric GEnx-1B to power Boeing 787s, and that of the Trent 900, its offering for the Airbus.

The facility, which accommodates a full-size engine testbed, has an annual capacity for 250-to-300 units, which permits the principal UK plant in Derby, UK to concentrate on increasing output of Trent XWBs to more than 300 a year. The engine is the exclusive powerplant for the new Airbus A350.

New Tech For The A350

This new engine introduces several features developed for the A350’s more-powerful Trent XWB, including a “rising-line” compressor and threestage bladed disc (“blisk”) at the front of the high-pressure compressor. R-R says that on flights of up to 3,000 miles the -TEN is expected to

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offer a specific fuel consumption advantage of some 3 percent, although this differential decays over longer sectors.

For flights of average 787 range, the basic 1000 delivers a fuel-burn advantage “well ahead” of the GEnx-1B at shorter ranges, according to R-R. An “additional 1 percent” is also said to accrue from superior performance retention through the life of the engine.

Powering Ethiopian 787s

Rolls-Royce has also been running Trent 1000 “maturity engines” to ensure behavior of units fitted with Pack B and

Pack C performance-improvement measures and to stay ahead of operational in-service units.

A recent, and new, customer is Ethiopian Airlines, which has selected the engine (and an associated long-term support package) to power six Boeing 787-8s.

The decision is noteworthy since it represents a change of engine by the African carrier from the GEnx-1B it chose for 13 previous 787s.

Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam is confident that the R-R engines will “deliver outstanding lifetime fuel burn, performance, and reliability.” According to Dominic Horwood, the manufacturer’s chief customer officer for large civil engines, R-R has “real momentum in the marketplace,” the Trent 1000 having been selected in more than 60 percent of applicable engine competitions in the past five years. o

Above: The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 is capable of providing up to 78,000 lbs of thrust and powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Below: Rolls-Royce has entered into a long-term agreement for Malaysia’s UMW Aerospace to manufacture and assemble fan cases for Trent 1000 engines built at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park.

Boeing’s first 737 Max lifts off from the Renton Municipal Airport on its maiden flight.

Boeing 737 Max’s first flight begins nine-month, four-ship test program

by Pete Combs and Gregory Polek If Boeing’s new 737 Max 8 proved anything at all during its first flight, it was that the company’s narrowbody mainstay can operate in bad weather.

Aircraft 1A001 successfully navigated inclement conditions as it took off smoothly on January 29 from Runway 34 at Renton Municipal Airport near Seattle, Washington. The crew of the 737 Max consisted of Boeing 737 chief pilot Ed Wilson and Craig Bomben, chief test pilot and the company’s vice president of flight operations. They said the only complications they encountered related to the weather.

Consequently, they conducted their tests to the west, over the Olympia Peninsula and Puget Sound, rather than over eastern Washington as they had initially planned. “In places, it was a little tough up there,” said Wilson at a news conference after N8701Q touched down.

“The weather wasn’t real kind to us over eastern Washington, but it was great over in the west, so we stayed over on the west side and got everything we needed to get done today.”

The first-to-fly 737 Max, call sign BOE1, reached a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet and flew at a top speed of 250 knots during its maiden journey, which lasted two hours, 47 minutes. A four-airplane, nine-month flight test campaign is expected to culminate in FAA certification and delivery to launch customer Southwest Airlines in the third quarter of 2017.

The first flight characterized Boeing’s new philosophy of “Right at First Flight,” a mantra that took shape in the aftermath of the 787 Dreamliner’s shaky rollout in July 2007.

Boeing had to delay the 787 program repeatedly as it battled myriad problems ranging from kinks in the supply chain to software glitches.

So far, the 737 Max has suffered no delay-causing problems. The first airframe, “Spirit of Renton,” rolled off the assembly line and into the paint booth days early. In fact, the Max took off early for its maiden flight, as Boeing moved up its departure 14 minutes to stay ahead of the worsening weather.

The airplane’s new CFM Leap-1B engines, whose efficiency improvements account for most of the 14-percent fuel burn reduction Boeing cites for the Max 8 variant over today’s 737NG, spooled up with a distinctive whine as the airplane prepared to roll down the runway on its first take off. But once under way, test pilot Wilson reported a noticeable lack of noise. “We were amazed at how quiet the cabin was,” he told reporters.

Exotic Winglet Design

In addition to the newdesign engines and major avionics upgrades, there are several aerodynamic changes. These include a pair of “split scimitar” winglets expected to deliver up to a 1.8-percent fuel efficiency improvement over the current “in line” design.

Having now collected orders for more than 3,072 Max jets, Boeing will build the first airplanes exclusively on a new production line in its Renton, Washington factory. The new line will allow the team to isolate assembly of the first 737 Max from the rest of production to help it learn and perfect the new build process while the Renton factory continues to turn out airplanes at a rate of 42 a month. Once mechanics validate the production process,

the company will extend Max production to the other two final assembly lines in Renton.

Since last year, Boeing has restructured the factory floor in Renton yet again and installed the wing-to-body join tool that the two current production lines use, ensuring its production readiness for the Max. Meanwhile, the company has consolidated fuselage systems installation from two parts, each serving one assembly line, into a single new three-level, moving design tool, allowing the company to make more efficient use of its available space in the Renton.

Using the reworked floor plan, Boeing plans to increase production three times by 2019, when the rate is expected to reach 57 airplanes a month. o

HONEYWELL, JEJU AIR EXTEND SUPPORT CONTRACT Honeywell (Stand G39) has extended its existing aftermarket support contracts with Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air. The system manufacturer will thus continue to provide services for Jeju Air’s existing fleet of 20 Boeing 737-800 airplanes, in addition to its future fleet. The agreement extends Honeywell’s existing wheels and brakes exchange program by seven years. It also prolongs maintenance support for Honeywell’s 1319B series auxiliary power unit n for five years.

U.S. AIR FORCE MISSILE TRACKING SHIP SLIPS BY The Singapore Airshow may be all about aviation, but it’s hard not to notice some of the vessels sailing past the show site, especially when they are decked out with giant radar arrays that are used to track missile tests.

Although operated by the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command’s special mission program, the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen is part of the U.S. Air Force’s missile tracking efforts, which are understood to keep watch on foreign tests such as those recently undertaken by North Korea. In addition to this vessel, which carries the Cobra King X-band/S-band radar system, the U.S. Air Force program includes Boeing RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft and the – D.D. Cobra Dane radar based on the Aleutian island of Shemya.

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 11

Chinooks to Indonesia; more Ospreys to Japan an order for 36 Rafales. That contract is still not signed.

Kohler admitted that no new set of requirements had emerged, but that in the context of New Delhi’s “Make in India” policy, Boeing was best-placed to “help create an Indian aviation ecosystem.” He added: “We think it’s a great opportunity, and we have let the U.S. government know that we’re ready to jump in.”

Japan is considering an upgrade for its F-15C/D Eagle fleet, similar to one being pursued by the U.S. Air Force. Kohler noted that Boeing was currently modernizing the Saudi fleet. “Those airplanes will be around for years, because of their excellent range, speed and payload,” he added.

Repeat orders for two Boeing 737-based products are in prospect, according to Kohler. Korea will likely ask for two more Wedgetail AEW aircraft, since the four delivered previously are flying intensively. The Indian Navy has expressed interest in acquiring more than the eight P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) they are currently receiving.

Kohler noted the P-8 was the only MPA on the market with “integrated lethal capability” – by which he meant internally-carried torpedoes. Referring to competitor offerings of MPAs based on business jets, Kohler said that, “putting weapons under wings is a challenge.” Boeing also offers a business jet in this market - for maritime surveillance only. Its Bombardier Challenger 605 MSA (maritime surveillance aircraft) has not yet attracted a buyer, but Kohler said Boeing was still eyeing a half-dozen prospects. o

Some 55 years after its first flight, Boeing’s CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter remains in production. If the parties conclude a proposed deal, as many as eight more soon may be going to Indonesia, Boeing’s Jeff Kohler acknowledged yesterday at Singapore Airshow 2016.

MARK WAGNER

Indonesia looks set to become the 24th country to acquire the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. “They have asked the U.S. government for a Letter of Offer, and I’m meeting them here,” said Jeff Kohler, v-p global sales for Boeing Defense, Space & Security yesterday. The number required was still uncertain, he added.

Previous media reports about this potential sale have speculated on four to eight helicopters.

Reviewing other sales prospects in the Asian region at a media roundtable, Kohler said that Japan would probably buy “a few more” V-22 Ospreys. That country became the first international customer for the tilt-rotor last June, with an order for five.

At that time, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the potential sale involving 17 going to Japan.

But Boeing officials freely admit, the sticker price is an initial hurdle to overcome. Kohler said the company was crafting a multi-year buy proposal for the Pentagon that would increase the scope for international buys. Singapore had expressed some interest, he added.

The long saga of Indian newfighter procurement cropped up, after Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenberg told local media there earlier this month that the company was “having conversations” about manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet in India. That jet was eliminated from India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) evaluation, but the country later chose to abandon the 126-aircraft MMRCA program that included licensed production, in favor of

MARK WAGNER

by Chris Pocock

AUSTRALIAN POSEIDONS ON CONTRACT Boeing last month received the Lot 7 production order for the P-8 Poseidon, covering 16 more aircraft for the U.S. Navy (bringing the contracted total so far to 78) and the first four of eight aircraft on order for the Royal Australian Air Force. The first Australian fuselage has just been delivered to the assembly plant and its completion is planned before the year-end. Australia has options for four more, as does India, which completed acceptance of its first eight aircraft last year and is currently in negotiations over taking up its option. The United Kingdom also has announced it is buying nine. The U.S. Navy so far has taken delivery of 35 Poseidons, including the example from NAS Jacksonville-based VP-16 in the static display. – D.D.

DAVID McINTOSH

IAI UNVEILS QUAD-COPTER BOMB

Rotem L can be used for surveillance or as a loitering munition.

In answer to a requirement from Israeli military customers, including special forces, IAI (Chalet CD03) has developed a quad-copter loitering munition that can be deployed by a single soldier for both surveillance and attack purposes. First revealed yesterday at the Singapore airshow, the Rotem L is controlled from a tablet station and is powered by a replaceable battery pack providing 30-minute endurance in standard mode.

Rotem L has a pair of camera sensors–one in the nose and one under the belly–that can be used for surveillance and for target acquisition, with imagery being relayed to the tablet. The nose camera can be swapped between day and night units in a matter of seconds. A quick-release module also allows the Rotem L to

12 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

be reconfigured between a surveillance-only mode, with an additional battery pack giving another 15 minutes of endurance, or loitering-munition mode with a two-grenade warhead weighing around two pounds. The warhead has an arming system requiring airflow for activation, with a highconspicuity plastic “flag” being raised to warn operators the aircraft is armed should it be recalled to its point of origin without detonation.

Designed primarily for urban and close-quarters combat, the Rotem L has a typical operating range of around a mile, with a maximum of six miles. The vehicle incorporates a sonar-based distance-measuring system to prevent it from inadvertently colliding with walls or other obstacles. Once an attack is commanded, the vehicle accelerates to around 60 mph (100 km/h) in its terminal phase, and can approach its target from varying angles.

– D.D.

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SEE US AT SINGAPORE AIR SHOW ‘16 Israel Pavilion, Booth N-41

Australia joins Singapore in the PC-21 users’ club Last month the first group of instructors from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) began training on the Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainer. The initial cadre was deployed in midJanuary to the Pilatus factory at Stans-Buochs in Switzerland to undergo type conversion on company-owned aircraft, and to begin the development of a training syllabus for the RAAF. The first aircraft are due for delivery in June 2017.

Australia is no stranger to Pilatus products, having flown the PC-9/A turboprop trainer since 1987. The type also forms the equipment of the RAAF’s aerobatic display team, “the Roulettes.” Neither is the PC-21, itself, an unfamiliar sight in Australian skies, as the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s No. 130 Squadron has been operating the type on basic training duties from RAAF Pearce near Perth, Western Australia, since 2008.

Selection of the PC-21 to answer the RAAF’s Project AIR 5428 requirement for a turn-key tri-service pilot training system

was announced on September 6 last year. A contract covering 49 aircraft was signed in December.

The PC-21 is being supplied by a partnership known as “Team 21,” comprising Lockheed Martin Australia (prime contractor), Pilatus, and Hawker Pacific, the latter responsible for providing a comprehensive in-service support package, among other tasks. The contract includes seven flight training devices, accommodation, and ground training facilities. The aircraft themselves are being bought by the Australian Department of Defence, and the instructors will be Australian military personnel.

Team 21 successfully competed for the 25-year trainingsystem contract against a team headed by BAE Systems offering the Beechcraft T-6C. Led by Lockheed Martin, the Team 21 arrangement is closely based on that of the Basic Wings Course training contract for Singapore with its 19 PC-21 aircraft.

That program recorded 50,000 accident-free flying hours as of December 2015, having

AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

by David Donald

The first group of RAAF instructors poses in front of a company-owned PC-21 at the Pilatus factory.

produced more than 300 pilots for the RSAF. Of the 49 aircraft on order for Australia, 42 will be employed in the pilot training role. RAAF East Sale, Victoria, is to be allocated 22 aircraft for basic training, and for instructor training with the Central Flying School.

Twenty will be assigned to No. 2 Flying Training School at RAAF Pearce for advanced training, successful graduates moving into the BAE Systems Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer for fighter lead-in instruction.

Ab Initio to Advanced

The flexibility of the PC-21 allows it to take ab initio students through to advanced stages of the training syllabus. The arrival of the PC-21s will spell the end

of the current BAE Systems contract for elementary training that uses piston-engine PAC CT-4B Airtrainers at Tamworth, New South Wales (Singapore is also a customer of this training school). BAE Systems will continue its Tamworth operations for the RAAF until 2019, after which elementary training will be assigned to the PC-21. Despite the number of RAAF training aircraft being significantly reduced, the implementation of the PC-21based training system is expected to increase annual pilot output from the current level of around 75 to more than 100.

Three of the new PC-21s are to be assigned to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) at RAAF Edinburgh, South Australia, for trials and

ASIA PACIFIC REGION’S PILOTS ARE LEARNING TO FLY IN FRASCA SIMULATORS Simulator manufacturer Frasca International has delivered more than 2,600 simulators since its founding in 1958, and its products are seeing growing use in the Asia Pacific region. Most recently, Frasca booked an order for a Robinson R44 helicopter flight training device (FTD) from a customer in China.

Frasca (Stand U70 USA Pavilion) is a vertically integrated simulator manufacturer, with in-house capabilities for “aerodynamics simulation, flight test, data acquisition, visual systems, night-vision goggles simulation, control loading, motion systems, fabrication, electronics design and more,” according to the company.

Recent wins for Frasca include China CAAC Level 5 approval for a TruFlite R44/Schweizer S300 convertible FTD, and this is the first Level 5 helicopter simulator delivered and approved in China, Frasca said.

The FTD includes a helicopter-specific mission training visual database.

The FTD is located at Xilin Fengteng GA’s Guanghang facility in Sichuan Province. The company operates 12 helicopters and provides flight training and business and aeromedical flight services.

Meanwhile Korean Aerospace University received approval from Korea’s regulators (equivalent to FAA Level 6) for a Frasca Cessna 172S FTD installed at the university’s flight training center on Jeju Island.

The simulator is equipped with real Garmin G1000 avionics and G700

Frasca AS350

autopilot, Frasca’s TruVision visual system, an actual 172 cockpit, electrical control loading and instructor station. Korean Air Lines is putting the simulator to work for its initial pilot training program.

Frasca also announced that it is building a new Airbus Helicopters AS350B FTD and a cockpit procedures trainer for the Sikorsky S-92.

The AS350B FTD is for HNZ Group of Montreal, Canada, and will be certified to Level 7 and convertible between the analog AS350B2 instrument panel and the AS350B2 and -B3e configuration with the VEMD instrumentation. “This will be the first Level 7 FTC certified in Canada,” according to Frasca, and it will be installed in the Edmonton airport terminal and available for pilot initial and recurrent training, for HNZ pilots and those flying for other Canadian operators.

The AS350B FTD is equipped with TruVision visual display, a database that includes the Edmonton area and other specialized training scenarios at locations in Canada, a vibration platform, Graphical Instructor Station and cargo mirror simulation.

Other recent simulator deliveries include a Bell 206L Level 7 FTD to Air Evac Lifeteam in O’Fallon, Missouri; a Bell 407 GX full flight simulator to the Bell Helicopter Training Academy in Fort Worth, Texas; and a Bell 407 Flight and Navigation Procedures Trainer II to Horizon International Flight Academy in the United Arab Emirates.

–M.T.

Frasca R44

14 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Frasca B407

chase duties. The remaining four will be allocated to No. 4 Squadron at RAAF Williamtown, New South Wales, formerly known as the Forward Air Control Development Unit. This unit undertakes a range of FAC training duties. Its current equipment comprises four camouflaged PC-9/ As equipped with smoke grenade dispensers for target-marking.

Pilatus developed the PC-21 to maintain its strong position in the turboprop trainer market.

Following the selection of the PC-9 to fulfill the United States’ JPATS requirement, the Swiss company found itself facing competition in the international market from its own design, built under license in the U.S. as the Beechcraft T-6. Unable to match U.S. political “clout” in securing export sales, Pilatus set out to offset this disadvantage by developing an aircraft with significant improvements in performance and capability.

With a near jet-like maximum speed of 370 knots, high rollrate and +8/-4 g structural limits, the PC-21 enables air forces to use it in many advanced training realms that are traditionally performed by jets. However, the stall speed of 81 knots and docile handling at low speed allow the type to undertake initial training duties. The de-coupled cockpit provides significant flexibility in training, allowing the instructor to manipulate the student’s displays in flight. In the advanced phases of the syllabus, the PC-21 provides a cost-effective training platform for mission management. The system can include virtual radar and weapons simulation, and a datalink option permits multi-aircraft training.

Singapore’s 19-aircraft order was the first for the PC-21 from an overseas customer, following an initial order from the Swiss air force for four (later increased to eight).

Subsequently the type has been bought by the UAE (25), Saudi Arabia (55) and Qatar (24).

Current sales stand at 180. o

Taiwan’s export plans face cross-straits issues Taiwan’s two major aerospace manufacturing organizations are renewing their marketing efforts abroad, following their change of status in 2014. The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) was privatized, with the government retaining just 39 percent. The previously secretive National Chung-Shang Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) was made an administrative corporation by the government, and given the freedom to export and forge foreign partnerships. Both AIDC and NCSIST have attractive technology to offer at competitive cost– but their ambitions are inevitably affected by Taiwan’s complicated cross-straits relationship with mainland China.

AIDC now has several private shareholders, and the employees also took up a stake. It is still best known for producing 130

Indigenous Defence Fighters (IDFs) in the 1990s, and has now completed an upgrade program on half of the fleet. But it subsequently diversified into subassemblies for offshore programs, and built an advanced composite manufacturing center near to its other main facilities in Taichung.

AIDC’s most significant current contract is with Mitsubishi, for the MRJ regional jet. It has designed as well as manufactured the MRJ’s rudders, elevators, slats, inboard and outboard flap and track fairing, ailerons, spoilers, belly fairings and support structure. AIDC also produces belly fairings for the Airbus A320 series.

In its engine facility near Kaohsiung, AIDC built many parts for the Honeywell F124 jet engines that power the IDF. Today, it manufactures a wide variety of aero engine cases using

CHRIS POCOCK

by Chris Pocock

AIDC manufactures a variety of engine cases. Seen here on display at the last Paris Air Show, left to right: a front compressor, a diffuser and a combustor case.

five-axis machining and a variety of other advanced equipment. It also produces blades, vane airfoils, tooling and sheet metal parts. It signed new long-term contracts with GE and RollsRoyce last year.

AIDC officials are looking for work from two new procurements by the local air force.

They have long proposed an indigenous development for the Republic of China Air Force’s new advanced jet trainer. But if– as seems likely–the military and

16 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

government prefers the Alenia Aermacchi M346, AIDC expects a 20 percent workshare.

The ROCAF’s forthcoming F-16 upgrade is an important project. AIDC did not previously play any part in major overhaul work on the 150-strong fleet. But it will be involved in the upgrade, and is building a new hangar at Chin Chuan Kang (CCK) airbase to handle the work.

At the Paris Air Show last year, NCSIST displayed some of the weaponry and avionics it has

developed to ensure that Taiwan enjoys a measure of self-reliance in defense. The Institute is bestknown for the ground- or shiplaunched Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) anti-ship cruise missiles including the supersonic Mk III; the Sky Sword air-to-air missiles that equip the IDF; and the Sky Bow surface-to-air missile system. It has also designed various satellites.

In the course of its development, NCSIST gained expertise in active radar seekers; high-resolution medium-wave thermal imaging (MWIR); flight control computers; electronic warfare; shipborne command and control systems, and so on.

Some of these were displayed at Paris and offered for sale or collaboration.

NCSIST is also offering a jet-powered target drone that is catapult-launched, and a handlaunched UAV named Cardinal II that runs for 60 minutes on electrical power and recovers by parachute. Alternatively, it offers an air-cooled rotary engine running on unleaded gas as a UAV engine, for its high horsepower-to-weight ratio and low frontal area. o

Honeywell optimistic on Asia Pacific alliances

by Peter Shaw-Smith they are aiming to be Westerncertified,” he said.

Greer conceded estimates for the C919’s entry into widespread service in 2018-20 were optimistic, saying it was probably more realistic to look at 2025-30.

“They have 400 orders for the aircraft right now, mostly within China. If you look at what’s going to happen in terms of China’s airports overall, demand for single-aisle [aircraft] is quite remarkable. In the last 10 years, the number of aircraft in Asia grew from 3,000 to 6,000. In the next 10 years, it will see 7,000 more.”

The Civil Aviation Administration of China plans to help domestic and foreign airlines open more than 200 international routes in 2016. Last year, Chinese travelers took 120 million international trips, a yearon-year increase of 16 percent.

ARJ21

Honeywell is also a key contributor to another delayed Chinese aircraft program, the ARJ21, a regional twin-turbofan, which saw the first aircraft delivered to launch customer, Chengdu Airlines, also in November.

Honeywell helped develop, produce and support the primary flight control system for the aircraft. The airline hopes to put the ARJ21-700 into commercial

Though China’s C919 (top) and ARJ21 (above) development programs have had their peaks and valleys, Honeywell’s president for aerospace Asia Pacific Briand Greer remains bullish on his company’s opportunities for long-term return on its involvement in both.

operation in early 2016 on routes from Chengdu to Beijing and Shanghai. Honeywell said Comac had already received more than 300 domestic orders for the aircraft.

Airport development is also an important sphere for Honeywell.

In 2016, Greer said China is spending $11.7 billion on airports and civil infrastructure.

This year, it plans to open 10 new airports, including a second in Beijing, and to upgrade 50 more. In the next five years, China will build 66 new civil

DAVID McINTOSH

Honeywell’s partnership with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), (Stand L23) C919 program represents a $15 billion opportunity for the U.S. company, its top regional aerospace official told AIN in the run-up to the Singapore Airshow.

“It’s going to be a great aircraft. If you read deeper into the aircraft, it will be very competitive with the aircraft that are flying right now,” said Briand Greer, president, Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific. “It’s not old, but current, technology.”

Comac’s efforts to develop a domestic aircraft to take on the market’s dominant narrow body players, the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320, have faced repeated setbacks.

Despite delays, the arrival in November of a prototype represented new progress.

Honeywell joined the project in 2010, when Comac invited it to provide four essential components, “including flight control systems, wheels and brakes, auxiliary power units, and navigation systems,” the company said.

Honeywell also offered engineering and training support to Comac to improve the safety, reliability and operational efficiency of the C919. “It’s the first big thing they have done where

airports, increasing the total number 32 percent to 272.

Greer said that defense is also an important area for the company in the Asia Pacific region.

Honeywell supports defense platforms including the C130 transport, F-15 fighter and CH47 Chinook helicopter.

Defense Budgets Growing

“Many of the defense budgets throughout Asia [other than China, which is fastgrowing but inaccessible for U.S. companies] are growing.

The countries here realize that their economic future is tied to China. From a military perspective, new aircraft or upgrades are a huge opportunity for us.”

Honeywell’s latest Global Business Aviation Outlook gave a bleak assessment of the BRIC market, saying: “Slight improvements in Chinese and Russian purchase plans compared with last year are not enough to support an improved overall BRIC outlook.”

Greer prefers to play down the short-term malaise. “This will be the fastest-growing market for business and general aviation for many years to come. All of the things in the West we have known for a long time have simply not existed here.”

Data-driven Future

ZERO NOISE, ZERO EMISSIONS, TOTAL INNOVATION Looking like something from another planet, AgustaWestland’s Project Zero is an all-electric, twin-shroudedrotor hybrid the company produced in 2013 as a technology demonstrator. The aircraft is designed to hover like a helicopter but converts to fixed-wing flight by tilting its wing-mounted rotors through more than 90 degrees.

Aircraft flight efficiency and optimization is an important area for Honeywell also. An aircraft generates 1 terabyte of data on a single flight, which can be used to optimize flights and send

information to the MRO base waiting to service the aircraft.

“All of this information around productivity between systems will rewrite the book on being proactive with prognostics,” Greer said.

He added that 10 percent of Honeywell’s 12,000 China-based employees work in aerospace.

He is based in China and said he spends “50-60 percent” of his time there.

In terms of technology, recent data shows that more than 4,000 companies are incorporated in China every day. “That shows you again [China’s growth] from a scale perspective,” said Greer.

“My personal view is that China is not a house of cards.

They have some difficult things to deal with in terms of government investment, manufacturing and consumption. Sure, that’s a very difficult thing for economies to do. If anyone can do it, it’s China. Like it or not, the government has the ability to turn the ship very quickly,” said Greer.

He said all the most important businesses were part of the [ruling Communist] party, meaning things could be done more quickly than anywhere else in the world. “Growth may be ‘only’ 7 percent or 6 percent, but it is still the second-largest economy in the world; it grew more in one year than the entire size of the Mexican economy.

Though growth is down, it is still very significant in many areas.

We still see very robust aviation demand growth.” o

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 17

CONTROP DEVELOPS AIRFIELD SAFETY SYSTEMS

Traffic detection systems are critical to flight safety if UAVs are operated in controlled airspace with manned aircraft.

Detect and avoid system tested on Schiebel UAV

by Bill Carey Austria’s Schiebel Group (Stand F68), the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), the Netherlands Coastguard and the Royal Netherlands Air Force recently tested a new airborne detect-and-avoid system fitted to Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 unmanned helicopter.

During a flight demonstration held at De Kooy Airfield in Den Helder, the Netherlands, in December, Schiebel supplied an S-100 fitted with the

NLR-developed AirScout detect-and-avoid system. A Coastguard Dornier Do-228 fixedwing turboprop and an RNAF Alouette helicopter acted as “intruder” aircraft for the system to detect. The air force also provided ATC services.

“Several scenarios were successfully executed where the Camcopter S-100 ‘unexpectedly’ encountered an intruder aircraft. The system then determined in real time the corrective

action to ensure the necessary separation from intruder aircraft,” Schiebel said.

The demonstration was conducted under the ATM Innovative RPAS Integration for Coastguard Applications (AIRICA) project, which is funded through the EU’s Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) program.

The project focuses on integrating remotely piloted aircraft systems into the airspace for Netherlands Coastguard applications.

“In the future, we hope to use unmanned systems for our search and rescue operations,” said Edwin van der Pol, Coastguard head of operations. “These trials are important to achieve regulations for bringing RPAS into non-segregated airspace.” o

New European UAV models on display

Israeli surveillance specialist Controp Precision Technologies (Stand Q46) is best known as a supplier of advanced electro-optic and infrared systems for a variety of defense and homeland security purposes.

Now the company has joined forces with wildlife management specialist Pharovision to develop and market a new family of aviation safety systems that can reduce the threat of birdstrikes and FOD (foreign object damage).

Controp’s Interceptor system provides automatic detection and tracking of a range of potential wildlife threats, such as individual birds, flocks and other animals, be they in flight, on the runway or near to it.

The system integrates a thermal imaging camera, daylight camera and laser rangefinder, with a continuous-zoom infrared function and full-color live video combining to provide accurate day and night tracking over a wide area. The system can automatically generate alerts if wildlife threatens air operations.

Interceptor was evaluated by the U.S. FAA at New York’s La Guardia airport, with the results showing that the system could detect and track small birds flying low or high, and at distances of up to three miles (five kilometers). The system’s performance was better than that using traditional radars and human observation. FAA trials are continuing at NAS Whidbey Island in Washington state.

A similar system known as Sentinel has also been developed by the company to provide continuous scanning of runways and taxiways to spot potential FOD debris. The system exceeds all requirements of the FAA Advisory Circular regarding such systems.

Controp’s systems can also detect drones, which pose a threat to safe commercial operations and to the security of military airfields.

– D.D.

FIRE IN THE HOLE A U.S. Air Force F-16 pulls some G in a nearly 90-degree bank as it maneuvers away from the flight demonstration area during a practice session before Singapore Airshow 2016.

UMS Skeldar, the newlyformed joint venture between Saab and Swiss UAV company UMS Aero, can be found here on the stand of its regional partner CWT Defense Services (D87).

The stand features full-scale models of the Skeldar rotary-wing UAV that Saab developed, and the smaller R350 unmanned helicopter that UMS designed. CWT is a diversified Singaporean logistics and engineering services company that has provided equipment and services to the Singapore armed forces.

UMS Skeldar’s F-330 is one of the fixed- and rotary-wing UAVs the company manufactures.

Jacob Baumann, UMS Skeldar CEO, said that Singapore was a natural choice for the launch of the joint venture’s platforms, systems and managed services. It is targeting the Asia Pacific and Middle East as priority regions, and says it has already agreed contracts with governments in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the UAE. Alex Yang, managing director of CWT Aerospace Services, told AIN that the Indonesian military was a customer for the UMS F330, a mid-size fixed-wing UAV.

The Skeldar V-200 can be launched from ships, traveling road convoys or stationary sites and can hover for hours while relaying surveillance imagery to a control station or remote video terminal. It is fully autonomous. The F330 has a larger fixed-wing brother designed by UMS, the F720 with a 7.2-m wingspan which has flown, but is still being developed.

CWT’s Yang told AIN that the company aimed to offer turnkey solutions, including pilots, and would lease as well as sell the UMS Skeldar UAV lineup.

In addition to representing UMS Skeldar, CWT Aerospace Systems is also promoting micro-UAVs: an amphibious tri-rotor hybrid named Bullray from Rapid Composites in the U.S.; an electric-powered flying wing from a Slovenian company named Bramor rTK (real-Time Kinematics); and a quad-rotor from German company Microdrones, designated MD4. o

18 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

DAVID McINTOSH

By Chris Pocock

Satair Group providing parts, support in new deal

From its Seletar facility, Satair Group supports the regions airline and MRO industries with flexible material management and support services.

by Ian Sheppard Satair Group and UTC Aerospace Systems (Chalet CD07) have signed a global distribution agreement covering electric systems, environmental- and enginecontrol systems as well as lighting systems. It will cover “mid- and small-sized customers.”

Airbus subsidiary Satair will “assume responsibility for aftermarket sales support and distribution of selected products and systems,” the company

Satair Group CEO Mikkel Bardram

revealed in a press release here at the Singapore Airshow.

Satair CEO Mikkel Bardram said, “We are very happy to significantly expand our already good and existing business relationship with UTC Aerospace Systems. It fits with Satair Group’s strategy to continually widen our product range and offer more services to our customers and business partners.

Our expectation is to grow the sales of these product lines whilst improving customer satisfaction.” Satair Group’s vision is to become the global market leader in the civil aircraft parts management business in 2017.

Ajay Agrawal, UTC Aerospace Systems v-p of aftermarket, said, “We recognize the needs of our medium and small customers, and we are pleased to work with Satair Group to provide these customer accounts with a unique distribution solution to best meet their needs for quality spare parts support.”

Bardram said that there is growing demand from end users, be they airlines or MROs –and most notably from Asia Pacific airlines–for integrated material services (IMS), where companies like Satair group can take on the whole task of managing an airline’s supply chain, stock ordering, warehousing, repairs, inventory management, invoicing, logistics, and more.

“All our strategic initiatives address key trends in today’s aerospace aftermarket–trends that are becoming clearer,” said Badram. “This market is ‘professionalizing’ and companies on both the supplier and end-user side are looking critically at the way they do business. This gives all of us opportunities to see new ways of working together.

“With end-users there is much interest in consolidating consumption with a few suppliers in the market. This plays strongly to the strengths we have in [IMS], together with the extensions in our product range through standard parts and used parts. With first contracts on IMS secured we will move forward and ramp up the business.”

Satair (Stand H39) also announced a new distribution

business with Eaton Aerospace and Dedienne Aerospace at last year’s Paris Air Show. It also revealed that Eltra Electronics of Singapore, which Airbus had also acquired, merged into Satair as part of an initiative to “consolidate activities in the Asia Pacific market,” according to the managing director of Satair Group in Singapore, René Frandsen. He added that Eltra Aeronautics would further strengthen Satair Group

Satair Group is headquartered in Copenhagen and Hamburg and has warehousing and service centers in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and China. In 2014, Eltra Electronics Singapore had a turnover of $22.5 million and was previously a subsidiary of Eltra Group. It was established in July 1998 in Singapore with sales support offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hyderabad (India). o

‘NEW AMECO’ EXPANDS IN MRO MARKET The “new Ameco” (Stand H65) formed last May has seen an increase in line maintenance customers. In November, the MRO signed a two-year agreement for Airbus A330 heavy maintenance with Hong Kong Airlines.

The present-day company was created by joining Air China’s in-house MRO arm–Air China Technics–with the former Ameco joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa. Air China now owns 75 percent of the company; Lufthansa owns 25 percent. “After integration, the new Ameco is much stronger in its capabilities, output and network than before,” the company said.

Ameco currently consists of a Beijing base and nine branches, with maintenance licenses from authorities including the Civil Aviation Authority of China, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Its Chengdu branch developed a freighter conversion for the Boeing 757-200, which it expects to become a “star product.”

Last year, the Beijing base saw an increase of seven international customers for line maintenance. In addition to signing a contract with Hong Kong Airlines for A330 heavy maintenance, the company in November became the first MRO in China to perform line maintenance on the Airbus A350XWB, servicing the aircraft Finnair uses on its Helsinki-Shanghai route. Its line maintenance service covers all Airbus and Boeing in-service aircraft, including the A350 and Boeing 787.

Ameco entered the business jet maintenance market two years ago, and last year performed seven letter checks on business jets for an undisclosed customer. The MRO said it plans to acquire EASA design and production organization approvals to expand in the market.

Indigo, Sichuan A320 nacelles supported by UTC Aerospace

by Thierry Dubois UTC Aerospace Systems (Chalet CD07) this week announced it has won a pair of new aftermarket contracts for the Airbus A320 nacelles that it makes.

Both deals involve Asian airlines and both are covered by the manufacturer’s Prime Solutions support program.

In India, Indigo has chosen UTC’s Aerostructures unit to support the nacelles of its future fleet of A320neos.

The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work will be performed at Goodrich Aerostructures Service Center-Asia Pte Ltd. in Singapore. The

as a material aftermarket integrator, connecting the dots between customers and OEM business partners.

Steen Karsbo, v-p business development for Satair Group, commented at the time: “Satair Group can leverage on Eltra Aeronautics’ intimate knowledge of the Asia Pacific market as well as their relationships with OEM business partners to further develop the distribution business in the region.”

agreement extends the existing support program for IndiGo’s present fleet of A320ceo twinjets and will cover components including thrust reversers, fan cowls and inlet cowls.

The second agreement was signed with Goodrich Aerostructures Service China Ltd, which will provide nacelle support for Sichuan Airlines’ fleet of Airbus A320ceos. The services will be provided at the Goodrich facility in Tianjin, China.

UTC Aerospace Systems has other support and MRO sites in the region

in Australia, India and Malaysia. “The Asia Pacific region is a great market for us,” said Jim Patrick, vice president of UTC’s commercial aviation marketplace. “We want to grow it and make it more cost effective through consolidation. Our big focus now is on improving distribution [of parts] and recently announced new sites in the Netherlands, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore.”

Patrick told AIN that the operators are now seeking, “very flexible and customizable levels of service with a lot of rotable parts delivered quickly.” At the same time, the UTC is working to improve the efficiency of its repair centers, with more advanced data analytics being used to achieve better synergies in its inventory management. The company also is focusing more on using health management prognostics to better predict when parts will need replacing. o

New deals inked with carriers Indigo and Sichuan will see UTC supporting the A320 nacelles it manufactures.

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 19

by Reuben F. Johnson Russia’s recent breakthrough sales of the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter to both China and Indonesia have provided crucial export sales momentum for United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), and a very welcome production backlog. In November, China signed for 24 of the so-called “4++” generation combat aircraft to be deployed with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Around the same time, Indonesia agreed to buy 12 of the jets.

Russia’s air force is already due to get 24 units.

The Su-35s are all produced at UAC’s Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Production Association plant (Knaapo) in Khabarovsk province. The governor of the province, Vyacheslav Shport, himself a former senior manager at Knaapo, told the Russian media that the orders should keep the factory busy for close to 10 years.

The sale to Indonesia was confirmed by chief marshal of aviation Agus Supriatna, who stated that between now and 2019 the country intends to spend $3.1 billion on modernization of its air force. The 12 Su-35s will replace 17 older-generation Northrop F-5s that are currently in service with the air force.

Part of the rationale for procuring the Su-35s was that they are being touted as comparable in capability to the F-16V, the latest, modernized version of the Lockheed Martin fighter, but that they are also a good fit with the older model Su-30MK2 aircraft already in Indonesian service.

China Deal

Negotiations over the $2 billion deal with China had dragged on since at least 2011. A preliminary agreement was reached the following year, but contractual work on financial and technical issues proceeded slowly.

Russia suspected that if China bought only a small quantity it would reverse-engineer the Su-35 and produce its own domestic version, as it did with the Su-27SK. For its part, China pushed to have Chinese avionics and mission equipment introduced into a customized version of the warplane. Back in 2004, the Chinese naval air arm took delivery of 24 Su-30MK2 multi-role fighters.

Among other advantages over the older model, the Su-35S has longer range compared to the Su-30MKK/MK2, which is important to the PLAAF in its efforts to

exert control over disputed islands in the South China Sea and other contested areas.

With a gross weight of 34.5 metric tons (76,060 pounds), the Su-35S can carry 11.5 metric tons of fuel (25,353 pounds) internally for a 3,600-km (1,943 nm) range. With two 2,000-liter drop tanks under its wings, the range rises to 4,500 km (2,428 nm).

The Su-35S has a limited supercruise capability, since it is able to fly supersonically (Mach 1.1) on the “military power” setting (maximum non-reheated thrust) of the NPO Saturn 117S turbofan engines. These each develop 14,500 kg (32,000 pounds) of thrust at full afterburner and 8,800 kg (19,400 pounds) at military power. This feature sets it apart from all other Sukhoi “Flanker” family fighters.

Another important feature is the powerful multimode radar, the N-035 Irbis from Tikhomirov’s NIIP subsidiary. According to NIIP general director Yuri Belyi, the mean emitting power for the N-035 averages at 5 kW, while the maximum emitting power is 20 kW, which results in a detection range of “about 400 kilometers” (216 nm).

Unlike the latest U.S. and European airborne fire control radars with active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs), the N-035 has passive e-scan. “I believe that, despite the rapid development of active array technologies, the passive array still has a market niche.

The active array is costly and not affordable for some customers,” said Belyi. In a headon scenario, the high-power N-035 would enable the Su-35S to detect the F-22A Raptor at a greater distance and, consequently, shoot first, he believes.

Meanwhile, Russia may also provide the financing for the Indonesian Su-35 deal. The vice-chairman of the defense commission in the lower house of Indonesia’s national parliament stated in early September that there were on-going negotiations with Moscow for a $3 billion line of credit to be used for purchasing Russian-produced weapon systems.

There will also be an industrial-participation package for Indonesia’s local aerospace sector involving production of some Su-35 components and a complete line of maintenance functions for the aircraft. This arrangement will be similar to that organized for Malaysian industry after its purchase of MiG29N and Su-30MKM fighters. o

20 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

MOVING ON UP The Royal Malaysian Air Force also is participating in Singapore Airshow 2016, as this Sukhoi Su-30MKM demonstrates.

The RMAF operates 18 of the Russia-designed, twoseat, multi-role fighters, a predecessor to the Su-35 (see related story at left).

DAVID McINTOSH

China and Indonesia help boost Su-35 fighter sales over 10 years

Throughout the early Cold War era, most Eastern bloc pilots took their first training flights in the classic Yakovlev Yak-18 trainer. From the mid-1970s the allmetal Yak-52 entered service to provide elementary training, and is still in limited use today with DOSAAF, Russia’s military-affiliated aero club organization. Now the Russian air force is procuring a new generation of Yak trainers to provide new equipment for DOSAAF. Being displayed at Singapore for the first time in model form as part of the United Aircraft Corporation exhibit, the 3,285-pound (1,490-kg) MTOW Yak-152 is a tandem two-seat trainer with a 500-hp Raikhlin Aircraft Engine Developments (RED) A03 diesel engine. This modern powerplant was developed in Germany, and its initial flight tests were undertaken in a converted Yak-52. The engine’s V-12 layout marks a departure for Yakovlev’s trainers, which have almost universally been powered by various Ivchenko/Vedeneyev radial engines.

Development of the Yak-152 began in the late 1990s for a Russian air force requirement, losing out to the Sukhoi Su-49 design in 2001, although that program was ultimately shelved.

The Yak-152 design was subsequently reborn, in collaboration with Hongdu, to fulfill a Chinese trainer requirement. A protoAdopting a V-12 engine has given Yak’s trainer family a new look. type of the Hongdu/ Yakovlev CJ-7 first flew in late 2010, powered by a Vedeneyev M-14X radial engine.

In 2014, the Yak-152 was resurrected for a new Russian requirement. The RED A03-powered aircraft answers the “Ptichka VVS” requirement for an elementary trainer and pilot screening aircraft. It forms part of the UTK-Yak training complex with the Yak-130 jet trainer, simulators and classroom trainers.

Yakovlev has always prided itself on the aerobatic capabilities of its trainers, and the Yak-152 has G limits of +8/-6 with two on board, or +9/-7 with one. The aircraft has a top speed of 310 mph (500 km/h), a range of 932 miles (1,500 km) and a landing field requirement of 1,380 ft (420 m) on a hard runway and 1,230 ft (375 m) on grass. The Yak-152 is fitted with the Zvezda SKS-94M2 escape system.

Following the construction of a mock-up in 2014, Yakovlev is producing four prototypes for trials, including static and fatigue test specimens. Flight trials with the two flying prototypes are scheduled for this year, with production likely to start in 2017. Russian requirements are for around 150 aircraft to replace Yak-52s. —D.D.

DAVID McINTOSH

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Training provider tackles pilot shortage

by Charles Alcock Airways Aviation is stepping up its efforts to meet the global air transport industry’s growing need for new pilots. According to Boeing, around 27,000 new pilots will be needed globally each year

between now and 2033. The Asia Pacific region has the greatest need, accounting for more than 11,000 of this annual total.

The company, formed in 2014 by former British Airways

pilot Ian Cooper, now operates pilot training academies in the UK, Spain, Montenegro and Australia. Its focus is on providing ab initio training to take new pilots through to a frozen air

transport pilot license (ATPL) qualification (meaning that the training requirements have been met, but the actual certificate cannot be awarded until the candidate has logged a requisite number of flight hours).

Many of its new students start in Airways’s network of aviation foundation schools, including one in Malaysia. The schools

screen candidates and prepare them to begin flight training under European or Australian regulatory structures.

Airways Aviation (Stand B95) is looking to offer an alternative to longer-established flight training organizations, providing a more holistic approach to the process, including assistance in securing funding. Earning an ATPL costs approximately $130,000, and Airways has an agreement with ATPL Finance to procure unsecured loans to cover training. The company plans to introduce new financing options in the coming months.

“The financing of professional pilot training remains the industry’s Achilles heel, as not everyone can afford to be a pilot,” Airways Aviation business development manager Aaron MacDonald told AIN. “The right aptitude, commitment and passion are crucial, but students have to be able to afford the training.”

Safety Trumps All

At the same time, safety is the paramount concern, and the fast pace of Asia Pacific airline growth poses a particular challenge in this part of the world.

“Recent high-profile accidents in the region have highlighted that past compromises have been made in flight crew training, safety and compliance,” said MacDonald. “We’re delivering industry-ready training that is relevant not only today but also incorporates mandatory training to be implemented in the next three to five years.” For instance, Airways Aviation includes upset prevention and recovery training.

The Airways Aviation training fleet includes a mix of Cessna 172 and Diamond DA42 and DA40 aircraft. Its facilities also include a new Boeing 737 fixedbase simulator at its Brisbane, Australia site, a Bombardier CRJ200 fixed-base training device and FNPT-II simulators for the DA42.

This year will see Airways Aviation expand its network of foundation schools with the most recent addition to the network being in the Chinese capital Beijing. “We do not see the demand for trained pilots slowing down throughout China for the foreseeable future,” said MacDonald, when asked if the slowing Chinese economy could dampen demand.

In Australia, Airways Aviation has a new partnership with Southern Cross University, where a commercial pilot license program is now being embedded into a wider business degree. o

22 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

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General Atomics views Asia as market for Predator UAV

by Bill Carey Twenty years after the U.S. first deployed it over Bosnia, the state of world affairs has only reinforced the utility of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) Predator UAV and its successors. While several nations now operate or plan to operate the larger MQ-9 Reaper or the Predator XP international variant, the Asia Pacific region beckons as a potential growth market for GA-ASI (Stand R81).

“There’s a need there for cost-effective, long-endurance maritime surveillance, ever more so with the disputed islands and disputed territorial claims of a variety of countries,” said Christopher Ames, GA-ASI director of international strategic development. The solution the manufacturer offers would be a maritime version of the MQ-9 similar to the Guardian UAV the U.S. Department of Homeland Security operates.

With a standard, 66-foot wingspan, the Guardian has an endurance of 27 hours in clean configuration; fitting the aircraft with external fuel pods would boost endurance to 35 hours, or with a longer wing to 40-plus hours, said Ames, a former U.S. Navy rear admiral. The aircraft accommodates the Raytheon SeaVue or Selex Seaspray maritime surveillance radars.

“We think it’s a top contender for that region for the purpose of maritime surveillance,” Ames told AIN during a visit to GA-ASI’s facility in Poway, California.

“The maritime domain is a key focus throughout the littorals in the Asia Pacific region, and we have a product that can satisfy the needs at a great price point.”

He identified the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia, as “pretty much those nations that have an interest in better surveillance of the maritime domain.”

GA-ASI’s aircraft systems business unit moved to the Poway site from its original location in the San Diego community of Rancho Bernardo in 2009.

Previously, the Poway site had been occupied by Toppan Optical Products, a manufacturer of rear-projection television screens. The facility hosts two MQ-9 Predator B and two MQ-1C Gray Eagle assembly lines. GA-ASI also produces three generations of ground-control stations, the latest of which it calls the Advanced Cockpit, which provides a 120-degree field of view and hands-on throttle and stick control. “This is really a revolutionary cockpit [with] a wraparound screen,” Ames said. “It presents a synthetic horizon of whatever you want– 180 degrees or 270 degrees. The purpose behind this is to make it easier for the pilot to focus on mission execution.”

At the time of AIN’s visit in December, the Poway facility was producing four Predator Bs and two Gray Eagles per

month, with surge capacity to produce eight and five of those aircraft, respectively, executives said.

Rancho Bernardo remains home to GA-ASI’s mission systems business unit, which produces the Lynx multi-mode radar and integrates other payloads. The manufacturer conducts flight and customer acceptance testing at three desert sites, including two in the Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles: Grey Butte, for the Predator B and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545B turbofan-powered Predator C Avenger; and El Mirage for the Gray Eagle. Testing of the Predator XP takes place at Castle Dome Army Heliport near the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

USAF Role Expanding

Recent developments suggest that GA-ASI’s order book will only grow. In December, the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command announced a series of recommendations stemming from a study it conducted of its remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) needs “in an attempt to normalize operations and ensure long-term mission success.” Among those recommendations, the command called for increasing the number of RPA crewmembers by 2,500 to 3,500 airmen, more than doubling the number of MQ-1/MQ-9 squadrons from eight to 17, adding a new wing and expanding the number of RPA bases.

The Air Force’s plan “highlights the value of the capability of persistent situational awareness,” said Ames. “You can make the battlefield transparent and have a deep competitive advantage because you can use fewer forces against specific targets to greater effect. We see [the plan] as a validation of the benefits derived from persistent situational awareness, the force multiplier effect. Of course the company will be making more Reapers– that’s a wonderful thing.”

Under a quick-reaction capability tasking, GA-ASI delivered more than 40 MQ-9 Reaper ERs to the Air Force with external fuel pods that increase the aircraft’s endurance from 27 to 35 hours.

The manufacturer said the service first fielded the Reaper ER last August. As of September, the Air Force reported an

With an external fuel pod installed, above, General Atomics’ maritime-patrol Predator B can remain aloft 35 hours. The Predator C Avenger, left, is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada turbofan.

inventory of 93 Reapers, which can be armed with a combination of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II and GBU-38 joint direct attack munitions.

In October, GA-ASI announced that it was awarded a full-rate production contract from the U.S. Army to deliver 19 Improved Gray Eagle (IGE) aircraft

by September 2018. Already, the manufacturer has delivered 11 interim “Block 0” and 133 Block 1 Gray Eagles to the Army. The IGE version has an increased maximum gross takeoff weight of 4,200 pounds (compared to 3,600 pounds), with a “straight-belly” design that allows for 850 pounds of internal fuel load and a centerline hard point that can accommodate an optional fuel pod, enhancements that ramp up its endurance to nearly 40 hours.

The need to train RPA pilots has grown in parallel with the increased tempo of U.S. unmanned aircraft operations. In September, GA-ASI announced that it would build an RPA training academy at a business and technology park co-located with Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. The training academy, which GA-ASI expects to open this year, will act as a “shock absorber” to help train both U.S. and foreign military sales customers, Ames said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron in October revealed his country’s plan to acquire 20 new “Protector” UAVs beginning in 2017-2018 to replace the 11 Reapers GA-ASI has delivered to the UK. Though the Protector type was not immediately identified, Ames said it will be the “Certifiable Predator B” that

Last November, General Atomics announced U.S. Army tests conducted at South Korea’s Kunsan Air Base pairing a manned AH-64 attack helicopter with the company’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV.

26 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

GA-ASI is designing to NATO airworthiness standard. “That was wonderful news as well,” he said of Cameron’s announcement. “That gives [the UK] a type-certified aircraft, so it will be able to access national airspace.” The new variant will have a longer, 79-foot wingspan and more than 40 hours of endurance.

More International Sales

In December, France’s defense procurement agency placed an order for a third MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft through the foreign military sales process. The Block 5 variant has a standard 66-foot wingspan, with increased power-generation capability, an open-system architecture to accommodate “sovereign” payloads, and new landing gear to support an increased gross takeoff weight. Spain, GA-ASI’s fourth European customer after the UK, France and Italy, will acquire four Block 5 Reapers by 2020.

Italy won U.S. government approval last year to arm its unmanned fleet, which consists of six MQ-9 Reapers and nine MQ-1 Predators.

GA-ASI will begin delivering the unarmed Predator XP this year to its launch customer, the United Arab Emirates. Designed to provide “persistent” intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the enhanced export variant based on the Predator A is fitted with the General Atomics’ Lynx radar, high-definition electro-optical/infrared cameras and an automatic identification system for tracking ships. Interviewed during the Dubai Airshow in November, Frank Pace, president of the GA-ASI aircraft systems group, said the manufacturer was promoting the Predator XP to multiple countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

The manufacturer has not overlooked the Asia Pacific region. Last summer, it signed a teaming agreement with Cobham Aviation Services to support MQ-9s already being operated by the UK Royal Air Force “as well as future RPA opportunities in Australia.” Royal Australian Air Force pilots started training on the Reaper in the U.S. last February.

In November, GA-ASI announced that the U.S. Army had earlier conducted a first manned-unmanned teaming exercise at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, with the MQ-1C Gray Eagle and an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. o

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New civil and military models fill out Textron’s product line

by Ian Sheppard It was just after the 2014 Singapore Airshow that Textron completed its acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft, inheriting the King Air twin turboprop family, Beechcraft piston aircraft and Hawker business jets from its Wichita neighbor.

Almost two years on and the U.S. manufacturer is back with an enhanced product line-up, including the new Citation Latitude. The company’s Textron Aviation unit consists of Cessna and Beechcraft, while Bell Helicopter is a distinct division of the company, reporting directly to Textron Inc. The new Latitude has been a major focus for Textron Aviation international sales vice president Chris Bogaars and his team. Due to strong demand for the new model, Textron does not have an example to show here this week, but it recently conducted a demonstration tour in the Asia Pacific region and is due to be back later this year.

On display here in Singapore is a Citation CJ4, a King Air 350i featuring the new Fusion avionics suite, a Cessna Grand Caravan and the Cessna TTx fast single-engine piston aircraft. The Caravan belongs to Malaysian operator Prime Air. “With the enhancement and enlargement of our product range, we continue to have a good business outlook in the Asia Pacific. The addition of the Beechcraft line has helped, and the new Latitude jet,” Bogaars told AIN. He added that the company’s turboprops, Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft King Airs, have proved very popular in a variety of roles, especially when serving remote communities. “We’ve got Caravans operating throughout the Asia Pacific region and our China team sold 20 there last year [there is a Caravan assembly line in the country now]…and there are

BOEING SHANGHAI EXPANDS MAINTENANCE BUSINESS Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services recently signed a heavy maintenance agreement with Thomas Cook Airlines for supporting the UK carrier’s Boeing 767 fleet.

Two Thomas Cook 767s have already gone to Boeing Shanghai’s facilities at Pudong International Airport to undergo extensive C-checks and another aircraft is due to arrive in the next few weeks.

The maintenance provider is a joint venture between Boeing, the Shanghai Airport Authorities and China Eastern Airlines. Last year, Boeing Shanghai became the first Chinese company to be granted Part 21 design organization approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency. Its airline customers include operators from across Asia as well as countries such as Russia.

–S.C.

28 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Textron’s first production example of the new Scorpion light attack jet should be ready by mid-2016.

large fleets in Australia, Indonesia and even Malaysia and the Philippines,” he explained. “The King Airs in Australia are the primary means of medical evacuation and support. They have a number of applications and are able to get into short fields.”

In a bid to further boost its presence in Asia’s growing business aviation sector, Textron is investing in more support infrastructure. “We opened a service facility in Singapore two years ago, shared with Bell Helicopter, and have been developing our approvals with the various authorities around the region,” said Bogaars.

But, along with other general aviation manufacturers, Textron has had to accept that the development of the Asian market has not been straightforward of late. “The triggers we look for in the market haven’t all lined up yet; the strong U.S. dollar has meant that most Asian currencies have taken a pounding,” Bogaars explained. “The price of aircraft in Malaysia has gone up by 60 percent because of the ringgit rate to the dollar.” These factors have been especially discouraging for private

individuals looking to purchase aircraft.

In Australia the worldwide commodities pricing crisis has hit hard, but according to Bogaars, strong demand from the country’s agricultural sector has compensated for this factor. There is strong demand across the region for Australian milk, meat and other produce. “For us, selling two dozen aircraft a year is a ‘win’ in the region–we have a very good base to work from,” he concluded.

Defense Portfolio

On the military side of Textron’s business, the first production example of the new Scorpion light attack jet should be complete by the middle of 2016. Initial deliveries to customers are anticipated by the end of 2017.

Beechcraft business development vice president Daniel Grace told AIN that the company’s engineering team is working on a few design changes to allow the aircraft to carry more sensors in different configurations. It is also testing the weapons systems for the aircraft, which is intended as an affordable (priced in the low $20 millions and promising low operating costs) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance strike platform.

“In terms of mission capability, the Scorpion can be used in roles such as border or maritime security, and there is a big need for this in the Asia Pacific region,” said Grace. “It can provide direct video and surveillance datalinks in real time, while also carrying weaponry.”

Here at the Singapore show, Textron (Booth CD15) also is promoting its AT-6 light attack and reconnaissance aircraft, which is based on its popular T-6 singleturboprop trainer. More than 900 T-6s have been delivered and the aircraft has logged more than 2.6 million hours. New Zealand ordered 11 T-6s for its primary trainer requirement.

Lockheed Martin is Textron’s partner for the mission systems of the AT-6, which is intended for roles such as close air support. Weaponry includes 50-caliber machine guns and laser-guided rockets.

Last September, the AT-6C Wolverine version completed its first NATO exercise. Held in the Czech Republic, Ample Strike 15 was a multi-national exercise that integrated air and land forces and was primarily meant to train around 100 NATO joint terminal controllers. o

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ST Aero showcasing unmanned vehicles that fly, swim and roll, plus MRO abilities ST Aerospace (Stand G01) is here showcasing its remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) in a dedicated area; a cage, so as to protect visitors. Showgoers can watch two RPAS flying over a simulated disaster aftermath scene. The aircraft perform a situational assessment, collaboratively with an unmanned ground vehicle. The capability of the vehicles in this scenario is augmented by sister company ST Electronics’ Searchman survivor locator, a system that detects casualties by detecting the signals from their mobile devices. The demonstration was put together jointly with Nanyang Technology University.

ST Aerospace is also developing an unmanned hybrid vehicle–a UAV that can dive into the sea and swim, Patrick Choy, parent company ST Engineering’s executive v-p for international marketing, explained. Possible missions include underwater search-and-rescue and mine detection.

Swim capabilities have been demonstrated and clearance is expected shortly for the maiden flight.

In the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business, ST Aerospace claims to lead the pack thanks to the quality and efficiency of its work with airframes, engines, landing gear and components. “Our turnaround times are shorter than the industry average,” Choy said. Meanwhile a freighter conversion takes 100 days, instead of 120.

ST Aerospace’s MRO facilities are spread over three sites in Singapore–at Changi, Paya Lebar and Seletar airports.

In Earth observation, ST Electronics now provides imagery, having launched a satellite last December. TeLEOS-1, a 900-lb spacecraft, is orbiting 300 nm above Earth in a near-equatorial orbit. o

MARK WAGNER

by Thierry Dubois

ST Aerospace’s exhibit at Singapore Airshow 2016 includes an Unmanned Hybrid Vehicle (UHV), above, capable of air- and waterborne operation. Also featured is an enclosed area demonstrating its unmanned aerial and ground vehicles performing search and rescue missions.

UAV safety, opportunity on the agenda at SAALS

by Bill Carey Whether drones present a “bane” or an opportunity for aviation was the topic of a panel discussion at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit (SAALS) on Monday. What speakers agreed on was that drones are an unstoppable phenomenon that must be somehow managed.

“It’s better that we allow it to proliferate in a controlled environment,” said Jeffrey Lam, chief operating officer of ST Aerospace (Stand G01), which is displaying a number of drones, including an unmanned hybrid vehicle that flies above and “swims” below water, here at the Singapore Airshow. The

company is exploring various “safety protocols” for drones such as using parachutes and equipping them for collision avoidance, he said. “What is not clear to us is which one the regulators want,” Lam added.

Patrick Ky, European Aviation Safety Agency executive director, said European nations agreed at a conference held in Riga, Latvia, last March to adopt “at least a European-wide” approach to introducing drones into the airspace. “The choice we have made in Europe is to have a risk-based approach; depending on how you use the drone, you present a low, medium or high risk,” he explained.

The audience was evenly split 50:50 (in an electronic poll) over whether drones should be allowed to only fly in segregated airspace.

Asked if a third-party provider other than an established air navigation service provider (ANSP) should be allowed to manage lowaltitude airspace for drones, only 33 percent voted in favor.

Francis Schubert, deputy CEO of Swiss ANSP Skyguide

Tony Tyler, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, advocates a pragmatic, sensible approach to enforcing worldwide UAV rules and regulations.

30 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

WEARABLE FOUNTX SYSTEM ASSISTS MAINTENANCE TECHS Engine maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist TAE is here exhibiting Fountx, a wearable augmentedreality system that enables a remote expert to support a technician in realtime. The new system consists of an operator headset and a station from which the expert relays guidance Fountx is a wearable on how to complete spe- system using augmented reality that maintenance cific tasks. experts can use The headset includes to remotely guide a near-eye display, which technicians through does not undermine the delicate procedures. user’s spatial awareness, according to TAE (Stand F75). The Australian company says its Fountx software and cameras allow users to communicate clearly, including the use of “intuitive gesturing.”

Industrial research organization CSIRO was involved in Fountx’s design.

TAE business development manager Greg Twiner told AIN that Fountx allows companies to undertake repair and maintenance work without the trouble and expense of having to fly a specialist to the site where the work needs doing.

The remote specialist can access information and resources that would not generally be available at a remote repair site, and the system is also a useful tool for training groups of maintenance staff. The expert station can run as a standalone system or be connected to an existing network.

TAE specializes in engine maintenance, repair and overhaul. Outside the Australian domestic market, its client base includes the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Thai Navy. It has been selected to support the F135 engines for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters operating in the Asia Pacific region.

– T.D.

and legal counsel for Canso (the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization) said he was not opposed to the concept, which has been advanced by companies including Google X and Amazon that aspire to deliver packages by drone. “I don’t see any objection that third parties could enter and manage that airspace.

It’s doable,” he said, adding that drones could drive innovation in air traffic management.

Edward Bolton, assistant administrator for NextGen with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, said he doesn’t see a future in which the FAA “would not be responsible for the airspace from the ground to the heavens.” However, Bolton said the industry should not get “hung up” on which entity provides a low-altitude airspace service, as that entity in effect would be an ANSP. The topic of drones was raised

earlier during the opening keynote addresses at the SAALS conference, with speakers calling for measured regulation of the phenomenon.

“The proliferation of unmanned aircraft has introduced yet another layer of complexity in airspace management,” said Singapore’s minister for transport, Khaw Boon Wan. “We need to find the right balance in how we regulate them, in order not to stymie [the potential economic benefit].”

“They are here to stay,” assured Tony Tyler, CEO of Iata (the International Air Transport Association). “But we cannot allow them to be a hindrance or safety threat to commercial aviation. We need a sensible approach to regulation and a pragmatic method of enforcement for those who disregard rules and regulations and put others in danger.

The issue is real,” he added. o

Italian jet trainer finds new cost-saving roles

by Chris Pocock Alenia Aermacchi (Finmeccanica, Stand G55) is promoting two new roles for the M346–companion training, and dissimilar air combat training (DACT). “Our existing customers told us it would make an excellent aggressor,” company test pilot Giacomo Ianelli told The International Fighter Conference in London last November.

Singapore was the first export customer for the Italian jet, and operates 12 of them for advanced pilot training at Cazaux airbase in France. Israel, Poland and the UAE have since joined Italy and Singapore as customers.

Ianelli claimed that the M346’s performance is second only to afterburner-equipped aircraft.

“We’ve just cleared 30-degrees AoA [angle-of-attack] carefree handling, and look at our turn rates!” he exclaimed. (See box, right) Various g-force and AoA combinations are selectable in the flight control system of the M346, to help replicate the behavior of enemy aircraft, he noted.

With external tanks, the M346 has a maximum range of 1,470 nautical miles and, since it is equipped with an inflight

refueling probe, the endurance can easily be ex t e n d e d to more than four hours, Ianelli said. “Therefore when acting as Red Air, we can stay airborne for two exercise waves,” he added. The test pilot presented diagrams showing that while the M346 could complete typical training-aggressor mission profiles, including two 10-minute combat maneuvering sessions, afterburning aircraft such as the F-5E fighter or the rival T-50 trainer would run out of fuel after only one such session.

The M346 has an embedded tactical training system (ETTS) that emulates radar, targeting pods, weapons and electronic warfare (EW) systems, and the Multifunction Information Distribution Systems (MIDS).

It can also carry “real” external stores such as dispensers for BDU-33 and Mk106 practice bombs; a 12.7mm gun pod; captive IRIS-T or AIM-9L air-air missiles; and an active EW pod.

The ETTS supports both standalone and distributed, e.g.

The Italian air force is now regularly using the M346 as a companion and aggressor training aircraft for its Eurofighter pilots.

M346 PERFORMANCE max level speed: limit speed: stall speed: rate of climb: service ceiling: max sustained load factor (sea level): max sustained load factor (15,000 ft): max sustained turn rate (15,000 ft): instantaneous turn rate (sea level):

networked, operations. In standalone mode, data for preplanned airborne scenarios can be prepared before flight in a mission support station and uploaded to the M346 via a data-transfer module. Alternatively, the jet’s datalink allows real-time communication with a real-time monitoring station (RTMS) on the ground, where an instructor can computer-generate forces.

The M346 ground-based full mission simulator can also be datalinked, of course. By such means, “We have already achieved LiveVirtual Constructive (LVC)

Newly restructured Finmeccanica says it’s leaner and more focused

by Charles Alcock The Singapore Airshow 2016 marks the first major public appearance for Italy’s Finmeccanica group (Chalet G55) since overhauling its corporate structure. As of January 1, the company is reorganized into four sectors: helicopters; aeronautics; electronics, defense and security systems; and space.

Beneath these sectors there are now the following seven divisions, which will handle business

delivery with full responsibility for managing their own operations and finances: helicopters; aircraft; aerostructures; airborne and space systems; land and naval defense electronics; defense systems; and security and information systems.

In September 2015 the ownership structures of subsidiary companies Alenia Aermacchi, AgustaWestland and Selex were adjusted to take account of the new sectors and divisions.

With zero emissions and almost no noise, the all-electric Project Zero ducted- and tiltingrotor helicopter is Finmeccanica’s main focus at its Singapore Airshow 2016 exhibit.

The restructuring follows the state-backed group’s divesture of non-core businesses in the areas of ground transportation and logistics. “The new organizational set up is not aimed at changing the business itself but changing the way it operates internally, making it more coherent, and efficient,” Giovanni Soccodato, executive vice president for strategy, markets and business development, told AIN. “It also makes it more possible for us to work across divisions,” he added.

Apart from more focus on core activities, the most immediate benefit should be cost savings and greater efficiencies, resulting, in part, from the fact that the business divisions will have streamlined management structures with more common functions and the scrapping of separate boards of directors.

590 KTAS 572 KEAS/1.2 M 95 KCAS 22,000 ft/min 45,000 ft 8g 5.2g 13 deg/sec 28 deg/sec

training,” claimed Ianelli.

The test pilot also listed some other M346 features and benefits. There is a helmet-mounted display with video recording for debriefing; the simulator has dynamic ‘g’-seat and -suit; and all the internal and external lighting is night-vision compatible.

A “low-observability kit” has been developed and tested that reduces the M346 baseline radar cross-section from 20 to 1 square meters. A large, single-screen cockpit layout has been designed, but full development awaits a launch customer. The jet could easily be

adapted for light attack missions.

The Italian air force is now using the M346 as a “Red Air” trainer on a monthly basis, following a successful trial at the Eurofighter operational conversion unit, at Grosseto airbase, last May. “The M346 allows combat-ready pilots to maintain airmanship and mission management skills, thanks to its excellent performance and onboard simulation,” said Ianelli, adding that, since flying-hour costs of an M346 are one-tenth those of a Eurofighter, substantial savings are possible. o

As part of the streamlining process, Finmeccanica is combining the international operations of its various divisions, both to save costs and to boost the global reach of its businesses.

The Rome-based group has office in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. In Malaysia, it has a joint venture working on air traffic management systems.

In essence, Finmeccanica is moving to the sort of corporate structure already adopted by other major aerospace groups. “We will be one big industrial partner, which is in line with the trend for big, large players,” said Soccodato.

“Customers will deal with a single organization with common rules and procedures, and a more coherent and integrated offering.”

Still to be fully resolved is the future of established brands. Soccodato indicated that AgustaWestland’s helicopters may not be the only products permitted to keep trading on their history and reputation. There are currently around 350 of the company’s rotorcraft in the Asia Pacific region, with parapublic

requirements boosting demand.

Here in Singapore, which he described as “one of our most demanding and advanced technology customers,” Finmeccanica has opted to showcase its Project Zero all-electric helicopter.

“This is a visionary project, the first fully-electric rotorcraft, and this will be the first time it has been seen outside Europe,” said Soccodato. “It uniquely combines the all-electric approach, an advanced tiltrotor concept and remotely controlled capability.

It is the first aircraft of its type to demonstrate individual blade control, plus it has zero emissions and almost zero noise.”

The ambitious research and development program involves multiple Finmeccanica businesses and collaborative efforts with partners across Europe, North America and Asia. “In ten years, the energy density of rechargeable batteries will improve by one order of magnitude [and] then we will see large, fully-electric powered aircraft taking off and landing vertically.

We want to be ready,” concluded Soccodato. o

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 31

EMBRAER

Indonesia’s air force has ordered 16 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light-attack turboprops.

Asia Pacific embraces A-29’s combat role

by Bill Carey The A-29 Super Tucano on display at the Singapore Airshow is more than a sporty turboprop with a fancy paint scheme–the type has accumulated 33,000 combat hours, manufacturer Embraer is quick to note. That ongoing legacy should

help make the case for countries in the Asia Pacific region that have a requirement for a light attack or counterinsurgency asset, the Brazilian company believes.

“For any air force that is facing threats right now in terms of

terrorist attacks–for counterinsurgency types of applications–the Super Tucano is really the best machine,” said José Luis Molina, Embraer Defense and Security senior commercial v-p. “It has been used successfully by the Colombian air force and we have other countries in Africa that are using the aircraft right now to face real threats they have.”

Embraer (Chalet CD31, OD-03) has supplied more than 200 Super Tucanos to a dozen air forces on three continents. Last

month, the first four of 20 A-29s the Afghan air force will deploy against Taliban insurgents arrived in Kabul. Embraer and partner Sierra Nevada Corporation are supplying Super Tucanos to Afghanistan under the U.S. Light Air Support program.

Since late 2012, Embraer has supplied 12 Super Tucanos to the Indonesian air force; it is expected to deliver four more airplanes to complete the order by the end of February. Fitted with two wing-mounted .50

caliber machine guns and five hard points capable of carrying 1,500 kg (3,306 pounds) of rockets, bombs or missiles, the A-29 holds appeal for other militaries in the region, said Molina, who hinted at other sales campaigns now underway.

The Super Tucano on display made its debut at the Dubai Airshow in November. Most recently, the airplane stopped for light maintenance at the OGMA facility in Alverca, Portugal, following demonstrations Embraer conducted for military services in northern Africa. The demonstrator was enroute to Singapore earlier this month.

Embraer will also promote its portfolio of special-mission aircraft at Singapore, including conversions of the Legacy 650 and Lineage 1000 business jets for VIP transport, and interior swap-outs that convert a business jet into a medevac platform. It has also developed the EMB-145 regional airliner as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform for India, Mexico, Greece and Brazil in partnership with other companies.

“We have been able to adapt these different platforms to address the needs of our customers in the defense and security areas,” said Molina. “We continue to explore this segment of the market because we have a very reliable and diversified portfolio in terms of civil aircraft that can be easily converted to address these types of needs.” o

Embraer’s KC-390 steps up flight testing

by Charles Alcock The first prototype of Embraer’s new KC-390 tanker/ airlifter has logged more than 100 hours since it resumed its flight-test program on October 26, 2015. A second prototype is due to join the campaign in the first half of this year.

The Brazilian manufacturer (Chalet CD31) says it is on course to complete certification in the second half of 2017, with first deliveries to the country’s air force due in 2018–two years later than first planned. This follows an interruption in flighttesting caused by pressures on government budgets in the wake of Brazil’s economic slowdown.

“We are happy with the aircraft and we have had good

availability for testing, sometimes doing two flights per day,” Embraer KC-390 program vice president Paulo Gastão Silva told AIN. “The aircraft have been behaving very well and we have been able to cover the full flight envelope. We have been to the limits of speed, Mach number and altitude, testing all slat, flap and gear positions. We have also done an inflight shutdown, resting a restart of the engine and APU. We have confirmed all our forecasts for flying qualities and performance.”

The Brazilian air force plans to acquire 28 KC-390s, a requirement that remains unchanged, Silva said. He declined to comment on the manufacturer’s

Embraer says its sole KC-390 airborne tanker/cargo prototype will be joined by a second airframe in 2016 as flight testing continues.

“ongoing campaigns” to interest other countries, but said declarations of intent by five identified program partners–Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic and Portugal–remain intact for 32 additional aircraft. Embraer

32 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

also recently entered a contest to bid the aircraft in response to a newly-declared requirement from Canada.

According to Silva, there are good prospects for the KC-390 in the Asia Pacific market. “It is

multimission by design and so it is suited to many roles, including transport, refueling, tanker,” he explained. “It can carry all sorts of loads, including vehicles and helicopters, and it is very competitive in terms of life cycle costs.” o

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Some investigators contend that calculations related to MH370’s final resting place that are accepted by the ATSB, may not be correct.

by Chris Pocock It is now nearly two years since Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared somewhere over the Indian Ocean. Apart from the trailing-edge flaperon that washed up on Reunion Island and was discovered last July, there has been no trace of the Boeing 777 or its 239 passengers and crew. It remains among the world’s most enigmatic aviation mysteries.

A search of the southern Indian Ocean, led by the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB), continues in an area defined by a complicated set of calculations derived from five “handshakes” and five other communications events between the aircraft, the Inmarsat 3F1 satellite and a ground station in Perth, Western Australia. Two key parameters associated with the signals from MH370 over a seven-hour, 40-minute period were used in the analysis: Burst Timing Offset (BTO) and Burst Frequency Offset (BFO).

Distinguished Contributors

Inmarsat led the effort, assisted by other members of a Flight Path Reconstruction Group (FPRG), including Australian defense scientists, British air accident investigators, U.S. NTSB officials, Boeing, Honeywell, Thales UK and two specialist groundstation contractors, SED and Square Peg Communications.

Four Inmarsat employees described the work in detail for the journal of the Royal Institute of Navigation in

October 2014, including the reasons for revising the search area after a few months.

A 15-strong “Independent Group” of current and retired aerospace and communication industry professionals has voluntarily investigated the disappearance and corresponded with the relatives. The group’s spokesman is a former Thales flight simulation engineer, Don Johnson. He told AIN that “the challenge of finding MH370 is immense. The revised search area is equivalent to the land area of Switzerland and Austria with some similar mountainous [underwater] terrain.”

The Independent Group has questioned some of the FPRG’s assumptions. It has published its findings on the website www. duncansteel.com. In a recent post, they write that the longer the aircraft remains undiscovered, the more likely the possibility of a fundamental conceptual error. For instance, the BTO and BFO data might fit alternative calculations of the MH370 fuel burn, a much earlier descent, and a more northerly end point. The conclusion by the FPRG that one engine flamed out, followed within minutes by the other, is important to the search area calculation. It has been tested in the Boeing engineering simulator, based on historic data from MH370’s engines.

Others have disagreed more fundamentally with the search strategy. Aron Gingis, an Australian environmentalist

specializing in cloud microphysics, told the ATSB that it should be possible to analyze archived satellite imagery for cloud changes generated by MH370’s vapor trails. He told AIN that “Inmarsat’s modeling and calculations have been largely approximate and possibly wrong.” The ATSB declined his assistance. A Ukrainian scientist claimed that acoustic and seismic data could be brought to bear. Australian scientists disagreed.

At the end of last November, five scientists from the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) published the draft results of their revisiting of all the available data, and their new modeling. As a result, the ATSB again slightly revised its calculation of the likely seabed location of MH370. The DST Group examined ocean drift data and said that discovery of the flaperon on Reunion was not inconsistent with the designated search area.

ATSB

MH370 hunt continues; teams spar over theories

The latest analysis by a group of Australian defense scientists has produced this map of the probable location of MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

34 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

The Independent Group commented that the Bayesian approach used by the DSTG team has a pronounced bias favoring straight flight paths, and higher speeds. They also noted that assumptions about the 777’s autopilot roll mode affect the potential end point of the flight.

Three specialist vessels have now searched more than 80,000 sq km of the seabed. Two of them use deep-tow sonar, while a third deploys an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that surveys the most difficult terrain–of which there is plenty.

The project director for Fugro, the maritime survey specialists contracted for the search, has described volcanic cones, fracture zones running for 100 km, and 70-degree cliff faces. If the aircraft broke into small pieces upon impact with the water, above such a zone, could sonar ever find it?

The governments of Australia, Malaysia and China have committed to searching a further 40,000 sq km, which should take until the middle of this year. That will be the end of the search, “unless credible new information leads to a specific location of the aircraft,” they say.

Various theories on the cause of the disappearance continue to circulate. Last month, an Australian media article revived the pilot hijack theory.

It repeated a report that the flaperon broke off the aircraft in an extended position, and suggested that MH370 made a controlled ditching. The ATSB stated last month that no conclusions had yet been reached on the flaperon.

Further, it noted that “for search purposes, the relevant facts and analysis most closely match a scenario in which there was no pilot intervening in the latter stages of the flight.”

Earlier in the flight is another matter. There are no convincing explanations as to why the aircraft should have made three big turns–the initial 180-degree reversal over the South China Sea, another one to the northwest over Penang towards the Andaman Sea, and a final one to the south near the northern tip of Sumatra. These turns are assumed from the primary radar traces that were analyzed post-flight, after Malaysian air defense and ATC controllers failed to identify and track the errant airliner in real time. Those turns don’t make any sense in an emergency situation, and neither does continued navigation without communication from the flight deck. o

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French aerospace sees promise in wider Asia Pacific market

by Caroline Bruneau France is this year’s guest of honor (“Feature Country”) here at the 2016 Singapore airshow. It’s a great opportunity for the French aerospace industry to present its achievements to visitors from around the Asia Pacific region and address the biggest growth market for civil aviation, and an important one for defense.

About 50 French companies will display at the France pavilion during the airshow, including many small suppliers, and in particular, defense Tier 1 suppliers. French industry is led by Gifas, a trade association of 353 French companies in total.

Marwan Lahoud, the current Gifas president, who is also chief strategy and marketing officer for Airbus Group, explained how Gifas planned to help French suppliers enter the Asia Pacific market. “[This market] represents one quarter of the civil Marwan Lahoud, market, and the weight Gifas president of this market is colossal,” Lahoud said during a meeting with the press at the beginning of January.

In order to help develop connections in the region, the smaller French companies are being introduced directly by the big ones, to help them into the market.

This is a group effort, backed up with some help from the French government through its embassy here.

In September, Gifas chose Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur as the hub for a South East Asia French Aerospace Network (SEAFAN), which will, in particular, help smaller companies benefit from the growth in air transport (5.8 percent in 2014). Kuala Lumpur was chosen for its geographical position but also because it will allow the French defense industry to reinforce its strong links with Malaysia’s armed forces. Malaysia represents France’s fourth largest defense market, based on published figures for the past 10 years.

The challenge is crucial for the French suppliers that are currently going through some turbulence, brought on by the ramp-up of Airbus 350 production and the industrialization of the new CFM Leap. (CFM is a joint-venture between GE of the U.S. and France’s Safran).

The French aerospace industry derives 82 percent of its revenues through exports, but only 25 percent of all the suppliers are exporting directly, explained Bertrand Lucereau, president of the Aero PME (small company grouping) of Gifas. He is hoping that SEAFAN activities out of Kuala Lumpur, along with the existing network of French companies in southeast Asia, should help the smaller companies reach a target of 50 percent exporting by 2018. Lucereau also said that he expects a new wave of consolidation among the

small French suppliers would start this year (2016).

Singapore itself has been an outstation for the French industry for many years. More than 180 people are working in the city for the big three: Airbus Group, Safran and Thales. Meanwhile more and more small companies and suppliers are sending workers to the city-state, spurred by the strong representation of Airbus in the fleet of Singapore Airlines (60 percent of its fleet is European-built). Expanding presence in MRO will also be a major focus for French concerns in coming years.

But ambitions for the French aerospace industry don’t stop in the Lion city-state. Huge contracts have demonstrated that the entire region has need of a strong industry. The regional aircraft manufacturer ATR, whose market here is booming, has installed a pilot training center in Bangkok and the turboprop manufacturer opened a commercial office in Tokyo in 2015, along with an MRO center in Singapore.

For a company such as ATR, co-owned

by Airbus and Italy’s Finmeccanica, Asia has become its biggest market. The manufacturer signed its first ever contract with ANA of Japan during the Paris Air Show.

There are currently more ATR aircraft in the Asia Pacific region than in Europe, consisting of about 350 aircraft operated by 60 airlines.

Last September, France’s aerospace trade group Gifas chose Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city, as the center of its South East Asia French Aerospace Network, established to assist small companies.

The last frontier for success is China, a complex market for Western companies. The growing aviation market in the region is whetting industrial appetites, though China has been a difficult market to break into. Still, Airbus has sold many aircraft there over the years. Since the first letter of intent in 2005, Airbus has expanded its footprint in China, with the Tianjin assembly line for A320 family aircraft opening in 2008.

In July 2015, an agreement to extend the Tianjin facility was signed, and a new interiors assembly line for A330s will be installed. All aircraft are destined for the Chinese market. Thanks to this investment, and the technology transfer since the beginning of the collaboration, Airbus has now achieved a 49 percent market share in China, up from 27 percent on 2005.

The latest success is the installation of an assembly line for Airbus Helicopters in Shandong, south of Beijing. The letter of intent was signed in October 2015.

Representing an investment of approximately €1 billion, the plant will assemble H135 helicopters and provide maintenance for the Chinese fleet. The easing of helicopter regulations since 2013 has convinced the industry that China is the next

big market, with demand estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 rotorcraft over the next 10 years.

Once there is a significant fleet in place and a strong demand, pilots and maintenance technicians will need to be trained.

The French national school for civil aviation, ENAC (École Nationale de l’Aviation Civile, based in Toulouse) already has 10 years of experience teaching Chinese students to become pilots and engineers, in collaboration with Tsinghua University.

More than 1,000 students have already graduated from the school.

Everyone seems to agree on the likely rate for development of commercial aviation in the region, mainly driven by the annual 14 percent growth of traffic in China. By itself, China is expected to acquire about 1,500 aircraft in the next decade. But the current economic situation in China has cast shadows on the bright prospects. Lahoud said, “There has been no impact so far from the first market crisis,” but that the industry remains “very careful.” Though the financial and market crises have not affected the backlog and deliveries so far, the importance of China on prospects for the region could constitute a high level of risk for the industry. o

BUDGET CONSTRAINTS DROVE HELICOPTER CHOICES IN MALAYSIA These photos show two helicopters that might not be serving in the Malaysian armed forces–if the country’s defense budget had been larger. On the left is a smartly painted Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri (Malaysian for “parrot”) that the Malaysian Army took over from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) last year. It is one of 44 that the RMAF received nearly 50 years ago. They were partially replaced in 2012-13 when the RMAF acquired 12 new EC725 Caracals from Eurocopter. But 28 of the long-serving Nuris are being retained–16 by the RMAF and 12 that are being transferred to the Army. With an average 14,000 flying hours logged, Malaysian defense officials say this fleet can fly on for at least another 15 years. Their avionics

are being upgraded by AIROD, the leading Malaysian MRO. On the right is an unusual adaptation of the Eurocopter AS555 Fennec that has been flying with Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) since 2004. It is equipped with a Telephonics 1500 maritime surveillance radar, a FLIR, and a door-mounted machine gun (Telephonics is here at Stand Q87). A naval officer told AIN that six were acquired when it became clear that the RMN could afford only six of the more capable AgustaWestland Super Lynx Mk300 naval helicopters. That machine has more powerful radar and weapons. But the officer said the Fennecs have served well, with an AIS datalink and a radar that can track-while-scan 22 targets.

–C.P.

For almost half a century, Sikorsky’s S-61A-4 has served Malaysia well.

36 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Malaysia’s navy flies an unusually equipped version of the AS555.

Mitsubishi says RJ delay based on static test results

by Ian Goold Mitsubishi Aircraft (MITAC) has modified the first Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) 90 since its initial three flights last November and was due to have re-flown the machine ahead of this week’s airshow. It’s Japan’s first domestically developed passenger airliner since the NAMC YS-11 regional turboprop more than 50 years ago. Taxying tests with the updated aircraft scheduled for “early February” were planned to follow functional tests performed during January.

Meanwhile, the MRJ90’s entry into service has been postponed for a further year to the second quarter of 2018–the program’s fourth delay–even as launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) has conducted its first acceptance inspection of the initial delivery aircraft.

MITAC (Stand U01) flew the first flight-test aircraft (FTA1) three times in November before withdrawing the machine from operation to incorporate planned structural and systems changes. The manufacturer has confirmed the design’s “basic characteristics and functionality.” Analysis of the flights,

including operation of landing gear and flaps (but not reverse thrust), verified performance “according to specifications” and complemented feedback from ground and taxi tests.

In late January, Mitsubishi revealed details of planned airframe strengthening modifications after having analyzed static test results last year that indicated a weakness in the airframe and wing attachment. “Some components that join the wing and the fuselage, as well as those of the fuselage frame, would have insufficient strength [during ultimate load tests],” according to the manufacturer.

As a result, additional “plates” have been introduced to reinforce original parts. Mitsubishi had deemed that modification unnecessary ahead of first flight, for which the Japanese Civil Aviation Board issued a special permit in October. “But we decided to implement the upgrades during this round of feedback upgrades,” said MITAC. Type certification requires the airframe to withstand a load 50 percent greater than the limit load (the highest expected to

Mitsubishi Aircraft hoped to have re-flown the first modified MRJ (foreground) before Singapore Airshow 2016 opened. The second MRJ (center) also has been modified, while the third machine (background) has been undergoing functional tests.

be experienced in operation).

Other changes comprise software upgrades to avionics, and engine- and flight-control systems, with the modifications also being applied to the second MRJ (FTA-2).

Functional testing of third aircraft (FTA-3) began in January, as MITAC installed final systems parts and cabin interiors on FTA-4 and FTA-5, which were in final assembly. All four remaining flight-test MRJ90s are slated to fly during 2016, as trials continue on two further airframes constructed for static- and fatigue-strength tests. Mitsubishi has completed assembling major structures for the latter test specimen, which by late January was standing on its own landing gear and measuring instruments were being installed.

This fourth MRJ delay, which follows discussions with U.S. partner Aerospace Testing Engineering & Certification (AeroTEC), will permit much more time for testing, both on the ground and in the air. AeroTEC’s Moses Lake Test Center at Grant County International Airport (Washington state) is the site for American flight tests and support, including data analysis and report writing.

MITAC officials acknowledge the value of a more-pragmatic approach, even though further delay has almost certainly further eroded the project’s waning credibility. For example, Kishi has described plans to deliver the first MRJ before July 2017 as having been “naïve and based on incomplete knowledge.”

MHI executive vice president (and since April 2015 MITAC president) Hiromichi Morimoto said when the latest delay was revealed at the end of last year: “We’re still feeling our way along, and often lack the ability to take decisive action. We have frequently not been able to make quick decisions when the time has come to do so.”

Kishi has also admitted that further work is required on the aircraft and in reaching agreement with suppliers. He says that MRJ’s landing gear and wheels need to be “redesigned for better safety,” while he is also talking with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney about a revised schedule for supplying the aircraft’s PW1200G-JM geared-turbofans. o

DAVID McINTOSH

LOCKHEED MARTIN CONFIDENT OF MORE F-16V UPGRADE SALES

FIVE NEW ATR-600 TURBOPROPS FOR SINGAPORE LESSOR AVATION Opening day of Singapore Airshow 2016 saw one of the world’s best-known regional turboprop manufacturers and Singapore-based aircraft leasing company Avation announce an agreement for five new ATR 72-600s, a deal potentially worth $130 million. Patrick de Castelbajac, CEO of ATR (left) and Avation’s executive chairman Jeff Chatfield inked the deal, both on paper and an ATR-72 scale model. “ATRs are superb assets for lessors,” said Chatfield. “They offer great returns and also allow portfolio diversification.” ATR’s de Castelbajac added, “Our success among leasing firms from all over the world underlines our product’s ability to consolidate and expand regional connectivity in very different operational environments.”

Having secured three customers, Lockheed Martin (LM) is discussing the F-16V with five more countries, and sees potential for up to 1,000 such upgrades to the evergreen Fighting Falcon. In a briefing here at the show yesterday, the company’s F-16 business development manager Randy Howard declined to identify Taiwan, Korea and Singapore as the three committed countries.

Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) is the centerpiece of the upgrade, which also includes a new mission computer with 10 times the memory and twice the power of its predecessor, a high-speed 1Gb databus, and a 6- by 8-inch center pedestal display.

The test flight program for the upgrade is due to end early next year after some 80 sorties. Taiwan is the lead customer, with some 150 aircraft to convert. AIN understands that LM has agreed to a plan for Taiwan’s AIDC to do the upgrade work on all except the first two aircraft at its Taichung facility.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Singapore’s ST Aerospace will expect similar arrangements. Korea originally chose a rival F-16 upgrade by BAE Systems, but the deal fell apart, and LM is now the sole provider, Howard confirmed.

Howard said that the new mission computer is an integral part of the upgrade package, which poses an interesting issue for Singapore.

In order to satisfy its desire for maximum operational independence, the island state’s air force was allowed to substitute an Elbit Systems computer for the American unit on its 60-strong F-16C/D fleet.

Meanwhile, after 40 years of production, new F-16s continue to roll from the Fort Worth line at the rate of one per month. The current backlog is about 20 of the 36 F-16C/D Block 52s, ordered by Iraq. It is likely to increase by eight, following last week’s notification to the U.S. Congress of a potential $699 million sale of more Block 52s to Pakistan. —C.P.

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 37

NEWS CLIPS z Farsound Sees Supply Chain Opportunities

z Bolloré Logistics Offers Supply Chain Answers Supply chain management company Bolloré Logistics (Stand CS38) is here at the Singapore Airshow, and has specialists from France, Spain, India, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as the U.S. and U.K. who can address questions and provide support for developing supply chains. The company will also be represented at the French Pavilion.

The company provides services that include quality control, assembly and packaging. Bolloré also employs over 1,200 workers who are trained in techniques such as operational structures to ensure the management of sensitive flows.

“Our teams are, once again, looking forward to participating in this worldwide aerospace event,” commented Christian Deverine, regional aerospace manager at Bolloré Logistics Asia Pacific.

z GKN To Supply Shafts for China’s CJ1000 Engine GKN (Stand F87) will provide China’s Avic Commercial Aircraft Engine (ACAE) with low-pressure turbine shafts for the in-development CJ1000 turbofan. The engine, designed to power Chinese commercial aircraft, will use GKN’s components for tests. Under the contract, the shafts will be delivered within 12 months. They will be manufactured at GKN’s Norway factory.

“We look forward to expanding our working relationship with the ACAE team on this program in the coming years,” Neil McManus, GKN’s senior v-p for Asia, said.

z Piper Promotes New M Series Piston Singles Piper Aircraft (Stand T75) is here promoting its line of single- and twin-engine aircraft for private pilots and flying schools. Piper’s most recent products are the M series of upgraded piston and turboprop singles (formerly the PA-46 series), which were introduced last April.

The M series starts at $1.1 million and ranges upward to a little less than $3 million for a fully loaded top-of-the-line model. Capping the M series, the Piper M600 turboprop is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A turboprop flat-rated to 600 shp. The pressurized single can carry up to six people at a maximum cruise speed of 260 knots; max range is 1,300 nm with 45 minutes’ reserve.

Israel Arospace Industries’ Heron UAVs racked up more than 70,000 combat flight hours in Afghanistan alone.

IAI continues to grow its unmanned markets

by David Donald Israel Aerospace Industries (Chalet CD03) has been a pioneer of unmanned vehicles for four decades, and its expertise in the sector continues to grow.

Although best-known for its large UAVs, such as the Heron that recently logged its 70,000th combat flying hour over Afghanistan (serving with Australia, Canada, France and Germany), IAI has also designed a range of smaller unmanned vehicles and associated technologies.

A new development is the signing of a memorandum of agreement with Korean composite manufacturer Hankuk Carbon, under which the companies will create a joint venture to manufacture and market vertical take-off UAVs. Forecasts suggest that demand for VTUAVs for shipborne use will grow considerably over the next few years, and the new joint venture will focus initially on

developing a vehicle of between 440 and 660 pounds weight that meets the needs of the Republic of Korea Navy.

Sea-launched Panther?

Another project for the JV will be to add shipborne takeoff and landing capability to IAI’s FE-Panther UAV, which was first unveiled in October last year. The FE-Panther is a front-engined version of the hybrid fixed-wing/tilt-rotor design, powered by lithium polymer electric motors for the tilting rotors and a combustion engine driving a nose-mounted propeller for cruising flight.

FE-Panther has a radius of around 80 miles (130km) carrying a 13-pound (6-kg) payload.

Here in Singapore IAI (at Stand N41) is also showcasing its new MOIC (mission operational and intelligence center) for UAV operations. This

modular system provides the integrated management and control of UAV fleets with various platforms and payloads, allocating different assets according to operational requirements. The MOIC also sorts and streamlines the data flow from the UAV assets.

Drawing on both its radar expertise and knowledge of the UAV sector, IAI has recently developed a counter-drone capability. Known as Drone Guard, the system was created to protect critical national infrastructure, events and public figures from the threat presented by small drones, which could even be weaponized. Developed by IAI subsidiary Elta, Drone Guard employs an ELM-2026 3D radar in one of three range capabilities (10, 15 or 20 km). The radar is specially adapted with dronetracking algorithms, and can be integrated with electro-optical sensors for visual target identification. Adaptive jamming systems can disrupt the drone’s control systems, forcing it to either return immediately to its “home”, or to shut down and crash-land. o

Hawker Pacific is booming in Asia Hawker Pacific (Chalet CD13) is exhibiting at Singapore on the back of a very successful year in the Asian aerospace sector. The company provides a wide range of aviation sales, charters, aircraft and engine maintenance, special mission modifications and many other product support services to both civil and military customers.

Hawker Pacific’s FBO network extends from four locations in Australia to Malaysia, Singapore and China. While the Australian facilities have recorded a 10 percent rise in traffic over the past year, that in Singapore has recorded 12 percent, and the FBO in Shanghai has increased its traffic by 18 percent. Launched in 2012, the company’s maintenance facility at Seletar Aerospace Park has also performed excellently, and is expected to show a year-on-year revenue increase of more than 30 percent over the last 12 months.

As well as its MRO activities,

38 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

MARK WAGNER

UK supply chain specialist Farsound Aviation (Stand N74) aims to further raise its profile in the Asia Pacific market. Farsound believes it can parlay its knowledge of the local marketplace and supply chain to generate significant new business. Managing director Dave Skinner sees the MRO industry in Asias growing faster than in Europe, prompting him to focus much of his attention on places such as Singapore and China, where it plans to open a new office soon.

“We’re really just following the big MRO operators,” said Skinner. “Where they put their facilities is where we channel our focus.”

Singapore’s reputation for reliability and dependability has attracted several OEMs to establish MRO facilities on the island. Pratt & Whitney, for example, operates several engine overhaul as well as component repair facilities. Farsound also cites Singapore’s English-speaking population, good logistics infrastructure, business friendly environment and excellent legal system as magnets for commerce.

“Because the local MRO industry has developed to such an extent, most of the work can be conducted here, eliminating the need to send so many components and parts overseas,” added Skinner. “Singapore is also moving up the value chain by taking on more manufacturing work.”

Now concentrating largely on the civil engine aftermarket, Farsound next hopes to expand into bigger defense markets and the petrochemical industry.

Hawker Pacific is the authorized sales agent for Beechcraft in Australasia and certain ASEAN nations, including Malaysia and Singapore. The company’s top-of-the-line King Air 350i now comes with Pro Line Fusion touchscreen avionics as standard equipment.

Hawker Pacific is an authorized sales agent for several manufacturers, including Beechcraft and Cessna, both now under Textron Aviation’s umbrella. Being exhibited here are a King Air 350i and King Air C90GTx from Beechcraft, plus the TTx light aircraft, Grand Caravan EX utility transport and Citation CJ4 business jet from Cessna.

Another element of Hawker Pacific’s portfolio is government

business, in which it provides a range of integrated maintenance and engineering services. The company is an integral part of the team that delivers performancebased support to Singapore’s PC-21 trainer fleet, a task that it will also perform for Australia when the first PC-21s are taken on charge by the RAAF. Hawker Pacific is exhibiting as part of the Team Defence Australia exhibit (Booth F75).

– D.D.

Business aviation uptick buoying Hawker Pacific

by Peter Shaw-Smith Business aviation support company Hawker Pacific is enjoying significant growth in the Asia Pacific, as the region’s broadly strong economy continues to grow at a faster pace than other areas of the world. Asian Sky Group’s annual fleet report will not be out until March, but for 2014, it identified 15 percent growth in the regional business jet fleet, to 744 aircraft, with Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia enjoying higher than average rates of growth.

“Broadly speaking, the business aviation fleet in Southeast Asia has grown steadily over the past five-to-eight years, and we are positive about the present state of the industry,” said Sydney-based senior marketing manager, Blake Irwin. “This is a very specific market and, coupled with the growth of the fleet, Hawker Pacific is well positioned to provide ongoing support for existing operators and new owners.”

Hawker Pacific (Stand F75, Chalet CD13) provides the aviation community in Asia Pacific with maintenance, modifications and upgrades, and other support services for a wide range of aircraft.

Its Singapore facility maintains approvals from 18 national aviation authorities, and also accreditations as an avionics installer, an engine line-servicing center and a wheels and battery

inspection/repair center.

“Our facility also offers aircraft sales, management, spares distribution, a dedicated paint shop, VIP customer lounges and aircraft handling services,” said Irwin.

“In Singapore, the company is authorized to work on 77 models of aircraft. These include Dassault Falcon, Embraer Executive Jets, Beechcraft, Hawker, Cessna, Bell and Daher aircraft.

Bombardier and Gulfstream products within the Asia Pacific region are also supported by their respective service centers.”

Three Decades of Service

Hawker Pacific has operated in the Southeast Asia region for more than 30 years and invested heavily in service centers, tooling and training to OEM approved standards as well as FBO facilities and the development of an aircraft management business that addresses the day-to-day concerns of owners in managing their aircraft. This includes everything from regulatory and insurance support to hiring pilots and managing maintenance.

“The industry in the Southeast Asia region is still relatively young. With so many new owners entering the market, demand for infrastructure, skilled professionals and experienced organizations continues to grow,” Irwin said.

Thales Avant IFE suite destined for SIA A350s

by Thierry Dubois Thales has won an order from Singapore Airlines to equip its Airbus A350 XWBs with the electronics company’s Avant in-flight entertainment and Ka-band connectivity system.

Thales executives believe their significant presence in Singapore helped in the decision, including its “innovation hub.”

Delivery of the cabin equipment, marketed under the InFlyt brand, is scheduled for 2018.

Avant is based on the Android operating system, and Thales believes this very open and flexible platform was key in winning the contract from competitor

Panasonic. Thales will assist Singapore Airlines in “constantly introducing the newest apps.”

Passengers will have access to seamless personal-device integration, USB charging and NFC payment technology. Businessclass and economy passengers will enjoy full-HD displays of 17 and 12 inches, respectively. Weight and volume of the hardware have been cut by a claimed 20 percent, compared to the previous generation.

Avant is already in service on the A350 with other airlines.

Thales (Stand F23) maintains an “innovation hub” in Singapore–its first one in the

Hawker Pacific’s hangar at its Seletar Airport base is well stocked, as business aviation continues to grow in the region.

“The development of appropriate infrastructure that meets the specific needs of business aircraft operators has begun, but it will still take time to be at the same level as more mature markets. While there are many challenges faced by a developing industry, progress to address the issues has been significant.”

Some owners are choosing to keep their aircraft longer than the traditional five-year period in the current economic cycle, and to invest in interior, exterior and avionics retrofit options to preserve the integrity of the aircraft and enhance overall usability and value.

With retrofits, repainting and interior recompletion work, Hawker Pacific assists aircraft owners and operators who have plans to sell their aircraft, which increases the sales value. “The effect of austerity measures is also observable in [the level of] aircraft ownership,” said Irwin. “As owners refrain from buying factory-new aircraft,

they consider pre-owned aircraft and then opt for retrofits and upgrades.”

In December, Hawker Pacific announced that it had signed a major contract with Pilatus Aircraft for the MRO support of 49 Australian Defence Force (ADF) PC-21 trainers under Project Air 5428. “This contract signing is a significant component of the ‘Team 21’ delivery of the new ADF Pilot Training System partnership between Lockheed Martin, Pilatus and Hawker Pacific,” the company said.

Hawker Pacific officials at its Singapore base at Seletar Airport said the company now has eight aircraft under management in the Asia Pacific region and expects to add three or four this year. Aircraft on the company’s Australian AOC are on Part 135 charter, while there are a number of private owners running their aircraft on a Part 91

basis out of Singapore.

The company said business aviation is still regarded as a “luxury” in the region, rather than a business tool. With the exception of places like Indonesia, where increasing business use is seen in the private jet fleet around its different islands, most see general aviation as off-limits.

“The market has not matured yet, so private jets aren’t seen as business tools. It’s still more of a luxury product. Asia is lagging behind in terms of the maturity of the business aviation market.

It’s not reached the level we have seen in the U.S. and Europe yet.

It’s going to take a while for people to understand that they can use it as a business tool,” said Irwin.

Little is seen of the traditional BBJs and ACJs that make up the market elsewhere.

“Gulfstream [represents] about 50 percent of the market, including China, while obviously you have Bombardier and Dassault lagging behind,” he concluded. o

Eastern Hemisphere. Opened in 2014, it uses “design thinking” methods, country director Jean-Noël Stock explained.

Everything starts with helping the customer express its need– “it is real maieutics,” Stock said.

A brainstorming phase is aimed at having as many ideas as possible emerging. The most promising ones are selected.

Then, rapid prototyping–an essential step, Stock emphasized– brings the solution to fruition. It uses a 3D printer or toy building bricks. “It is ‘quick and dirty’ but demonstrates whether the product is usable,” Stock went on. This takes place in a colored room where writing on the walls is allowed and encouraged.

A second, “more serious” room, in Stock’s words, makes it possible to “play” scenarios. After listening to user feedback, engineers enter a more conventional

phase of design and development.

The hub is open to all Thales teams in Singapore, and experts from other sites may be invited.

The innovation hub was inaugurated on October 14, 2014. Precisely one year later, Singapore Airlines was telling Thales its IFE product was selected. “We have shown them we could have a very close relationship, and the product can evolve according to their requirements,” Stock said. Another factor may have been the fact that Thales has IFE repair facilities at Singapore’s Changi airport.

Thales has another opportunity to grow in Asia thanks to the recommendation by the civil aviation authority of China (CAAC) to install head-up displays (HUDs) in commercial aircraft cockpits. With one quarter of their fleets equipped with HUDs in 2015, Chinese airlines

are expected to bring that number to 50 percent in 2020 and 100 percent in 2025. The recommendation includes dual HUDs, as both pilots thus have the same information, though compliance is not mandatory. Adding HUD technology should help deal with frequent poor visibility at a number of airports in China. The CAAC is subsidizing domestic airlines to purchase HUDs. Thales is the only HUD supplier on Airbus aircraft and expects a surge in demand for equipping new aircraft and retrofitting others in China. India is predicted to follow suit. Airlines from other parts of the world (especially in the Middle East, according to Daniel Malka, Thales’ general manager for avionics services) are anticipating a requirement for HUDs to fly into China and are therefore ordering the hardware. o

Management Growing

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 39

Viking promotes its new Twin Otter 400S seaplane British Columbia, Canadabased Viking Air (Chalet CD11) is expanding its line of the popular Series 400 Twin Otter with a dedicated seaplane version, which the company says is the first ever to be offered in the 15- to 19-passenger category. Named the 400S, the seaplane derivative is offered (for now) with non-amphibious “straight” floats only. It will carry a list price less than $6 million, with first deliveries set for the first quarter of 2017.

A Viking Twin Otter (on wheels) is here at the Singapore Airshow static display, and the company is hoping for more orders from Asian customers. Malaysia Airlines subsidiary MASwings, for example, is operating Twin Otters, as well as Indonesia’s Airfast. The twin turboprop has long been offered in numerous versions for conventional commercial passenger

service as well as mountain flying (including with skis), cargo, parachuting, special mission operations and on Wipline aluminum amphibious floats.

The 400S seaplane version will feature new-generation composite straight floats (manufacturer still to be determined); the Honeywell “SuperLite” integrated digital avionics suite adapted for VFR (visual flight rules) operations; a standard 17-passenger seating configuration; and Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 engines incorporating platinum-coated CT propeller blades.

Available upgrades include IFR (instrument flight rules) avionics; 19-passenger configuration; and a 15-seat/cargo combi configuration. Amphibious versions of the composite floats are planned for the future. Viking said that the 400S is adapted for

JSF is coming! After the disappointment of two years ago when the F-35 had to cancel, the stealthy fighter is on course to appear at this year’s Farnborough air show.

MARK WAGNER

by Jennifer Meszaro & Thierry Dubois

If this new-manufacture twin turboprop looks familiar, it should. Viking Air’s Series 400 Twin Otter is a modernized version of de Havilland Canada’s venerable DHC-6 model, right down to the PT6 engines. The example being exhibited is on wheels, but the company is announcing at Singapore Airshow 2016 a version on straight (no wheels) composite floats, with an amphibious version to follow.

quick turn-around cycles and can achieve a break-even load factor of around eight passengers under typical operating conditions.

Viking is introducing corrosion-resistant packages on the 400S for the airframe, powerplant and fuel system, along with additional draining, sealing and

prevalent use of corrosion-resistant material throughout the aircraft. These extra measures are taken to allow the Viking 400S to operate in extreme marine environments while reducing maintenance costs and downtime.

Viking obtained the de Havilland Canada Twin Otter

Farnborough gears up for F-35

by David Donald Held biennially, the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is one of the major dates in the aerospace calendar, bringing together exhibitors, potential customers and visitors from around the world. The organizers of this year’s event, to be held between July 11 and 17, are reporting that there is still a small amount of space remaining, but that inquiries are coming in daily, and it is going fast.

FIA16’s organizers have focused on growing international participation yet further, and more than 20 countries will have national pavilions. New participants include Austria and Brazil and, signifying a major increase in presence, China will have a national pavilion for the first time, in addition to the regular Avic and Comac exhibits. International delegations in both civil and defense fields have also increased.

Sectors in which the show is expanding include space, additive manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). The show is being made more accessible for small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) through a number of initiatives, such as a first-time exhibitors package. The show’s successful Meet the Buyer sessions are being expanded from two to three days.

For many visitors the expected highlight of the Farnborough show will be the much-anticipated UK appearance of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is scheduled to make a

40 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

transatlantic trip to participate at FIA16 and the Royal International Air Tattoo.

The JSF was due to appear at Farnborough in 2014, but the trip was cancelled following a fleet grounding.

Details of the F-35’s participation have yet to be decided, but the aircraft’s appearance is of great significance to many UK companies that are involved in the aircraft’s supply chain. FIA has seen something of an ‘F-35 factor’ as companies associated with the aircraft have expanded their space or joined up for the first time.

New Drone Zone

FIA16 also coincides with the 100th birthday of Boeing, which is bringing its “Above and Beyond” traveling exhibition of aerospace innovation to Farnborough. New for the show’s public weekend is a Drone Zone dedicated to the use of small air vehicles by private consumers, including a regulation area to explain the laws surrounding their use. The Farnborough Live area will enhance the interactive nature of the show for the public.

Already Farnborough International Ltd is looking forward to FIA’s 2018 edition, which will introduce some major changes. The temporary Hall 1/1A accommodation is being replaced by a permanent exhibition hall. This will remain open to the public during the weekend, housing the Space and Innovation Zones, among other attractions. o

type certificate and restarted production in 2010. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 engines, the $7 million standard aircraft can seat up to 19 passengers and features Honeywell Primus Apex avionics. Viking also supports the De Havilland legacy fleet. o

SATELLITE MOVE EXTENDS AIRBUS SKYNET COVERAGE Following the successful repositioning of its Skynet 5A satellite from a 6 degrees East to 95 degrees West location last September, Airbus Defence & Space is offering resilient military satellite communications services in the Asia Pacific region.

From its new position, Skynet 5A provides global X-band and UHF coverage from 178 degrees West to 163 degrees East, a region that includes the Indian Ocean.

Airbus has signed an agreement with CopaSAT to become a channel partner of Skynet, offering services to U.S. military customers. CopaSAT, in conjunction with Tampa Microwave, conducted end-to-end tests to prove the performance of the system with the satellite in its new position.

Skynet is an eight-satellite constellation, plus ground stations, providing the UK Ministry of Defence with hardened communications capability. As part of the contract with the UK, Airbus is able to allow NATO governments and the other “five-eyes” nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States) to use the system to augment their –D.D. existing services.

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A H O T E L B Y TA G

With its vision set on growth in the Asia Pacific maintenance arena, Lufthansa Technik recently expanded two of its facilities in the region. In the Philippines, LHT added more hangar space, as well as a versatile docking system capable of accommodating current and future aircraft types such as the Boeing 777-9 and the Airbus A350.

Lufthansa Technik eyes an expanded MRO role

by Chris Kjelgaard Lufthansa Technik is creat- regard Cathay Pacific Airways ing an Airbus A350 XWB spares as a key potential partner in pool in Hong Kong as the ini- winning the work.

Hong Kong-based tial step in an effort Cathay Pacific has to become a leading 22 A350-900s and 26 provider for mainteA350-1000s on order nance, repair and overand is due to receive haul (MRO) of the new its first A350-900 this Airbus widebody in the month. Lufthansa itAsia Pacific region. self will receive in NoHamburg-based Luftvember the first of 25 hansa Technik (LHT, A350-900s it ordered Stand K65) has also completed various Asia Gerald Steinhoff, LHT and a dedicated LHT “entry-into-­s ervice” Pacific construction and senior v-p corporate MRO service-expansion sales for Asia Pacific team is now preparing for Lufthansa’s A350efforts aimed at securing new business from the intro- 900 phase-in.

However, LHT began offerduction of new aircraft types– including the A350 XWB and ing A350 XWB MRO services in Boeing 777X–ordered in large numbers by the region’s airlines.

Addressing LHT’s decision to create an A350 XWB spares pool in Asia, Gerald Steinhoff, the company’s senior v-p corporate sales Asia Pacific, said, “The most important need for our customers is parts availability and reliability. It is more important where our A350 material will be placed and how fast it can be delivered to the airlines…than having [MRO] capabilities in the area.

Therefore we have decided–as a first step–to open up a pool location in Hong Kong.”

Other developments such as an A350 XWB MRO partnership could follow. “There is a certain interest [among] potential partners in the area, who are interested to cooperate with LHT in building up capabilities in a joint approach,” said Steinhoff.

Although LHT is focusing on the Asia Pacific region for A350 XWB MRO business development, because “the majority of A350 operators are based in the Asia Pacific region,” the company’s decision to locate an A350 XWB spares pool at Hong Kong suggests LHT could

January 2015 by providing turnaround checks for Qatar Airways’ A350-900s at Frankfurt, with the support of that carrier.

LHT subsequently extended its A350-900 line-maintenance support for Qatar Airways to Munich and is now able to handle AOG situations “in exceptional cases.” Steinhoff said LHT also has gained “significant ex­ perience on component repair, logistics, engineering and pool management” through supporting the A350-900s operated by Finnair, LHT’s first major customer for A350 XWB MRO. Now, LHT’s “line maintenance personnel in Bangkok are ready for A350 line maintenance

42 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

services,” said Steinhoff. However, he added, LHT contributed “significantly” to the development and design of the A350 XWB, its engineers participating in A350 XWB focus groups conducted by Airbus and supporting the manufacturer ­ “with respect to maintainability and maturation.”

“LHT’s [MRO] portfolio for this aircraft type already comprises an extensive package of ready maintenance and repair services,” said Steinhoff. These include “fleet management, line maintenance, engineering services including troubleshooting and software management, component MRO and pool services, on-wing support on composite structures and engines and overhaul and maintenance on auxiliary power units.” LHT also partners on A350 XWB MRO with Honeywell, which supplies more systems for the type than any other OEM. Meanwhile, LHT has prepared for a large Asia Pacific requirement for A350 XWB and At its Shenzhen, China location, LHT doubled the size of the facility, and has added capabilities in airframe and engine service. Training and logistics also got a boost in activity with the recent addition of two new buildings.

Boeing 777X MRO by expanding two of its four existing facilities in the region. These are Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) and Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen (LTS).

LTP’s recently completed hangar expansion “includes a new Boeing 777 bay and heavy-maintenance capability,” said Steinhoff. “The 777 bay is equipped with a versatile docking system that can accommodate current and future aircraft types such as the 777-9 and A350. This puts LTP on track to meet the growing demand for base maintenance of new aircraft types.” “[At LTS] we also expanded our service portfolio in Asia,” said Steinhoff. “We will have significantly more capabilities for components, including airframe-related components as well as engine services, training and logistics. We doubled the size of our facility and celebrated the opening of two new buildings recently.”

Other Asia Pacific business developments may soon happen for LHT, whose Asian facilities also include Lufthansa Technik Service India and Malaysia-based Airfoil Services. “There are other possible partners and opportunities outside China and the Philippines that could be interesting for us, which offer further possibilities,” said Steinhoff. “Talks are ongoing.”

Because of fast-growing emerging markets such as China, India and Indonesia, LHT reckons the Asia Pacific MRO market will grow at an average annual rate of 7 percent over the next 10 years, outstripping the 4 percent annual growth in the world MRO market that it forecasts for the decade.

LHT sees engine and component MRO as the “strongest drivers of growth” in the Asia Pacific MRO market–areas which are already LHT’s “strongest products, measured on volume,” according to Steinhoff. The company already handles component MRO for more than 300 aircraft in the region and operates spares pools in Hong Kong and Singapore for several aircraft types. Steinhoff said LHT’s overall business is growing especially quickly in Southeast Asia, though “geographically, we have ­ customers in every [Asia Pacific] country.” o

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Critics blast Indonesia on ageing aircraft ban

by Chris Kjelgaard young Boeing 737-900ERs and has hundreds of new 737s and Airbus A320s on order.

Indonesia’s new aging-aircraft rule also bans any Indonesian carrier from operating any commercial aircraft aged 30 years or more. The rule was promulgated without publicity, until AIN obtained a copy of the official wording in Indonesian along with an English translation.

Three Years to Comply

Carriers operating aircraft aged 30 or older at the rule’s promulgation date have 36 months to stop flying them. If a carrier doesn’t do so within that time, the Indonesian government will de-register the aircraft concerned and potentially remove the airline’s Air Operator’s Certificate.

Two of Indonesia’s three fatal accidents in 2015 involved aircraft older than 30: the Aviastar Mandiri Twin Otter and a 54-year-old Lockheed C-130B operated by the Indonesian Air Force, which crashed shortly after taking off from MedanSoewondo Air Force Base on June 30, killing all 122 aboard the aircraft and 17 on the ground.

Indonesia’s third fatal accident in 2015 also involved an aging aircraft. On August 16, a 27-year-old ATR 42-300 operated by Trigana Air Service crashed on Tanggo Mountain while approaching Oksibil Airport in Papua Province, killing all 54 onboard.

However, Indonesia’s two most recent commercial-aircraft

Cardigair, a cargo operator whose fleet consists of a 30-year-old Boeing 737-300F and two 737-300Fs aged 29, is the airline most affected by Indonesia’s new aging-aircraft rule.

Aircraft Model

Number in Indonesia

Average Age

Beech 1900

6

17.1

British Aerospace ATP

2

24.0

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter

20

31.6

de Havilland Canada DHC-7

2

31.0

Dornier Do 228

1

28.0

Fokker F27

6

38.7

Fokker F50

13

22.6

Grand Total

50

27.7

incidents have involved newer jets. On December 21, a nineyear-old Embraer 195 operated

by KalStar Aviation overran the runway at Kupang El-Tari Airport while landing during a storm. Although none of the 125 people onboard was injured seriously, the aircraft was substantially damaged.

On November 6, a two-yearold 737-900ER operated by Lion Air subsidiary Batik Air ran off the side of the wet runway upon landing at YogyakartaAdisutjipto Airport. The aircraft’s nose gear collapsed, but all 177 people onboard survived.

Additionally, on December 28, 2014, Indonesia’s worst accident in nearly 18 years involved an aircraft which was just six years, three months old, when an Indonesia AirAsia A320 crashed into the Java Sea after the pilots lost control at FL320 and stalled the aircraft. The accident killed all 162 people onboard.

Seymour conceded that by only allowing commercial

aircraft aged 10 years or less (or less for freighters) to be imported, Indonesia has made it more likely all airliners it registers in the future will have modern navigation equipment and situation-awareness aids, such as EGPWS. However, Seymour argued that even if an aircraft is fitted with the latest navigation equipment, pilots still need to be trained to use it properly and to make sensible decisions when operating in bad weather. Many Indonesian operators’ safety records indicate they don’t train pilots well.

Seymour said another “probably” relevant issue is that there are 27 aircraft with 19 seats operating in Indonesia, according to IBA Group’s JetData database. Aircraft with 19 seats or fewer aren’t required to have cockpit voice recorders and 21-channel flight data recorders, he said, making it harder for Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee to determine the

ZETTA BOOSTS SINGAPORE CHARTER FLEET OF GLOBAL BIZJETS Charter group Zetta Jet is to boost its Singaporebased fleet with the addition of up to five more Bombardier Global 6000 business jets. In December, the U.S.-based company signed an agreement covering a firm order for one Global 6000 and options for four more of the ultra-long-range jets. The deal with Bombardier (Stand CD61) is worth up to $318 million and the additional jets will join Zetta’s existing Singapore fleet of five Globals.

Zetta Jet, which started operations in August 2015, is an FAA Part 135 charter operator with a scheduling and operations center in Los Angeles, in addition to a network of sales and support offices in New York, London, Harbin, China, and Singapore. Notably, the Part 135 operator has been authorized by the FAA to conduct Polar flights, which, for instance, can shave off 1.5 hours on a flight between Los Angeles and Moscow.

Geoffery Cassidy, Zetta Jet’s managing director, said

44 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Bombardier Aerospace

A new Indonesian Ministry of Transportation (MOT) rule banning the import of any commercial passenger aircraft older than 10 years, and freighters aged greater than 15 years, is merely a cosmetic exercise which will have little impact on Indonesia’s poor aviation safety record, according to a senior aviation technical executive. He also said, a ban (which is part of the new rule) on any aircraft more than 30 years old looks likely to cause serious financial headaches for GA and some private charter and airline operation.

Ignasius Jonan, Indonesia’s Minister of Transportation, signed the new rule into law on October 16, two weeks after a 34-year-old de Havilland Canada Twin Otter 300 operated by Aviastar Mandiri crashed into Mount Latimojong during a scheduled passenger flight from Masamba to Makassar on the island of Sulawesi, killing all 10 people onboard.

However according to Phil Seymour, CEO of UK-based aviation technical services and data company IBA Group, the rule’s enactment was unlikely to improve Indonesia’s poor commercial-aviation safety record.

“Age restrictions are a fudge, because it’s easy for authorities to impose restrictions,” said Seymour. “I get very concerned with what these restrictions are trying to do. If they’re meant to improve the safety record, it becomes almost irrelevant. [The Indonesian authorities] have much bigger problems they must face up to.”

These include the nation’s inadequate aviation-safety oversight, a high rate of commercialaviation accidents and incidents, and low pilot-training and pilot decision-making standards, according to Seymour.

The FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment program currently rates Indonesia as a Category 2 nation. This means Indonesia’s aviation-safety oversight (handled by the MOT) does not comply with ICAO safety standards. The rating disallows Indonesian carriers from launching any new services to the U.S. Additionally, the European Union has banned almost all Indonesian carriers from its airspace because of their poor safety records. This includes Lion Air, which operates a large fleet of

Zetta Jet’s new Bombardier Global 6000 will be based at the company’s Asian hub in Singapore and join its existing fleet of four Globals.

the Global 6000 was chosen for its comfort and transcontinental range. “With our flagship Global, along with our commitment to world-class service, the Zetta

causes of accidents involving such aircraft.

According to JetData, Indonesia’s new rule immediately affects three commercial jets on the nation’s registry. All are 30-plus and all are 737-300s.

Another nine 737-300s, two 737-400s and five ATR 42s are 27 or older and will soon have to be deregistered.

Trigana Air Service has eight of the 19 Indonesian-registered large commercial aircraft aged 27 or older. However, the carrier most affected by the rule is Cardigair, a freight operator whose fleet consists of three 737300Fs. One is over 30 years old and the other two are 29, according to JetData.

Old Airframe; New Avionics

Ironically, Cardigair appears to have spent heavily to give its aging 737-300Fs modern avionics.

According to its website, Cardigair installed satLINK (an Iridium satellite-based voice and data communications system), TCAS, EGPWS, digital flight data recorders and windshear detection systems in all three aircraft.

According to JetData, 24 other commercial aircraft operating in Indonesia are also immediately affected, because they are 30 or older. They include 18 Twin Otters, two DHC Dash 7s and six Fokker F.27s.

Twin Otter lessor CAAMS Leasing managed to get two aging Twin Otter 300s on to the Indonesian registry for lease to Dimonim Air just before the new rule was promulgated, but its attempt to register a third (MSN 524) came too late.

However, Captain Everette Mash, CAAMS Leasing’s CEO, subsequently purchased a 2012built Viking Air Twin Otter as a replacement to lease to Dimonim Air. It is due for delivery this month (February), and late last year Mash said he hoped to display it at the Singapore Airshow prior to delivery.

Four other Viking Air Twin Otter 400s are already in service in Indonesia, according to JetData. Mash told AIN he sees a need for 10 more within 18 months, and he planned to try to meet that need. o

DAVID McINTOSH

uContinued from page 1

GULFSTREAM ENJOYING SUSTAINED SALES IN ASIA PACIFIC

Saab’s GlobalEye is a ‘go’ uContinued from page 1

an endurance of more than 11 hours in full surveillance fit.

The platform offers high-altitude operation, comfort for the crew, and a fast escape speed should it need to quickly exit its operational area. A thoroughly modern flight deck features advanced piloting aids such as synthetic- and enhanced-vision systems, and a head-up display.

Erieye Fusion

At the heart of the GlobalEye system is the new Erieye ER radar. This has drawn on GaN technology used in Saab’s latest Giraffe radars to create a sensor with a 70 percent range increase over the previous Erieye generation to more than 300 nautical miles. This has been made possible by GaN transmit/ receive modules that, for the same power input as the current Erieye, produce a radar signal output of more than double.

As well as the overall range improvement, this power increase allows the S-band radar

venture with China’s Hainan Group. It has serviced 470 aircraft since operations began in November 2012.

Meanwhile sister company Jet Aviation has customer support facilities in Hong Kong and Singapore. A new spare parts warehouse is to open this year in Australia, thus reinforcing those located in the three aforementioned cities. A G450/G550 level-D flight simulator can be found in Hong Kong, under a joint effort with FlightSafety International.

Competitors Dassault and Bombardier over the last few months announced delays in large-cabin business jet programs, and Gulfstream has seen a positive impact on its sales at a global level. Some customers came to the Savannah, Georgia-based airframer after canceling orders for a Falcon 5X or Global 7000/8000, according to Neal.

The newest additions to Gulfstream’s large-cabin product range are the $46.5 million G500 and the $56.5 million G600. Three prototypes of the former are flying. The first example of the latter is at the final assembly stage. – T.D.

to spot targets with much smaller radar cross-sections. Saab describes it has “reclaiming the detection distance against lowobservable targets.” Furthermore, the adaptive radar can generate a very high refresh rate against targets of interest.

Erieye ER has long-range capabilities against land and sea targets, which are augmented by a belly-mounted maritime surveillance radar that also has overland GMTI (ground-moving target indicator) and SAR (synthetic aperture radar) capabilities. The Selex ES Seaspray 7500E AESA radar has been selected for GlobalEye. Additional sensors include a FLIR Systems Star Safire 380HD electro-optic turret and antennas for ESM (electronic support measures).

More complex electronic intelligence and communications intelligence systems can be accommodated as optional equipment, integrated for joint mission planning and analysis. GlobalEye is equipped with a comprehensive communications suite, with Link 11/16/22 and other datalinks, satcom and voice comms. Identification capability covers cooperative

Jep Thornton, Aerolease Aviation partner.

will center on expanding the MRJ’s operating base beyond the few, large U.S. and Japanese airline customers that Mitsubishi has signed. See the article on page 37 for more details. o

P&W’S ‘EXCELLENT’ SINGAPORE TEAM Pratt & Whitney’s Eagle Services Asia (ESA) operation in Singapore is to serve as a center of excellence for overhauling The Engine Alliance’s GP7200 engine. The facility will support Airbus A380 operators with the first shop visits scheduled for performance restoration of the turbofans’ lowpressure combustors (LPC).

As a center of excellence, ESA will disassemble, assemble and balance the five-stage LPCs, as well as the fan hub, drum, blades and stator assembly.

–C.A.

DAVID McINTOSH

Business jet manufacturer Gulfstream (Stand T74) is enjoying sustained sales in the Asia Pacific, company executives said at the Singapore Airshow yesterday. The region was the U.S. company’s strongest international market last year, although North America remains its mainstay (at 56 percent of 2015 orders), said Scott Neal, senior v-p for worldwide sales and marketing.

The in-service Gulfstream fleet in the Asia Pacific region has more than doubled over the past five years, although the growth was below average last year. Singapore has “nearly 25” of the 60-or-so Gulfstream aircraft based in Southeast Asia.

The favorable trend in the Asia Pacific should not change, Roger Sperry, regional senior v-p for international sales, predicted. “No country stood out in 2015, and we continue to sell in almost every country,” he added. Asked about the influence of the slower economy in China, Gulfstream’s executives said they remain optimistic for the long term.

Gulfstream owns a service center in Beijing, as a joint

and strong financial background of the Mitsubishi group are great value to us,” noted Thornton.

Thornton said he and Mitsubishi Aircraft vice president of sales and marketing Yugo Fukuhara arrived at the agreement on all major points on late Friday night. Competing aircraft under consideration included the Bombardier C Series, he added. “We took a hard look at the C Series in 2008,” he said. “But we pulled back when we thought it would take some time to [for the technology] to develop. We thought the timing was good now to commit to the MRJ.” Prospective airline operators could come from Africa, noted Thornton, although

he also noted “a lot of activity going on in Europe and all over the world.”

A relatively small company established in 1986, Aerolease will not pursue what Thornton described as large, high-profile deals.

Rather, Aerolease’s contribution to the program

MARK WAGNER

Aerolease’s MRJ boost

Saab’s GlobalEye multi-sensor platform is shown on a Bombardier Global 6000 scale model displayed at the company’s booth.

systems such as IFF and ADS-B for aerial targets and AIS for ships, as well as non-cooperative capabilities such as ESM and inverse SAR radar.

GlobalEye has a new mission system that fuses data from the aircraft’s sensors and presents it in various formats on 30-inch high-definition screens, with picture-in-picture capability and a range of map presentations. A typical system would have five operator consoles arranged along the port side of the cabin, each of which is able to undertake any of the surveillance tasks. Further consoles

could be added, if required. A forward crew rest area with six seats is provided.

In operation, the GlobalEye would typically orbit at high altitude conducting wide-area surveillance of air, sea and land, with the ability to descend to low level if required to conduct detailed multi-intelligence surveillance in the case of overland or maritime scenarios. The flexibility of the system allows the aircraft to undertake several different tasks within one mission, including simultaneous operations, and to seamlessly switch between them.

The UAE signed for its two aircraft (and an upgrade for its current Saab 340 platforms with Erieye ER) last November 8, and the first Global 6000 airframe is due to arrive soon at Saab’s plant for outfitting with mission systems, many of which have been partly integrated into the overall system. The delivery cycle is around three years. Saab is offering the GlobalEye in differing configurations, such as an AEW-dedicated version to which the maritime radar and EO sensors, and/or the dedicated signals intelligence system, could subsequently be added if desired. o

www.ainonline.com • February 17, 2016 • Singapore Airshow News 45

Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions has collaborated with Ultra Electronics Flightline Systems to develop a new lightweight unit for helicopters that performs two crucial functions. Known as Fortress HUMS, the unit combines a crash-recording function (CVR/FDR for cockpit voice and flight data) with a health and usage monitoring system (HUMS).

The companies claim affordability and light weight among its features. In a typical installation Fortress HUMS weighs just 13 lb (6 kg) compared to the 70 lb (32 kg) of currently available alternatives. The single-box solution is designed for easy installation, with a single cable connecting up to 60 sensors in series. It can also record video data.

z Singapore Airlines Receives Support Package Singapore Airlines (SIA) recently signed a flight hour services–tailored support package (FHS-TSP) pact with Airbus (Stand J23, Chalet CD19). This 10-year contract requires that Airbus will provide the airline with maintenance, engineering and supply chain management while partnering together with its affiliated MRO, SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC).

The FHS-TSP agreement provides technical management services as well as component support with line and base maintenance. The contract also guarantees aircraft availability and on-time performance, which covers technical, logistics and maintenance.

Another important detail about this agreement is that it supersedes the existing FHS-Components support agreement that was signed in July 2007 for SIA’s A380s. Currently, the airline’s A330s are also covered by the same FHS-TSP agreement with Airbus, meaning that these Airbus FHS contracts cover more than 245 aircraft including the A320, A330, A380 and A350.

Airbus offers various service packages for its customers.

These include upgrades, training, e-solutions, engineering and maintenance, flight operations air traffic management, and material management services.

z CAE Inks Training Deal with Lion Air CAE (Stand T87) has signed a training equipment contract, including the sale of five full-flight simulators, to Indonesia’s Lion Air, the Canadian company announced yesterday here at Changi Exhibition Centre.

The contract calls for three Boeing 737 Max sims, one A320neo machine and one ATR 72-600 FFS (full-flight simulator). The deal also includes the provision of CAE’s ATPL training program for the airline’s three flight schools.

Delivery of the equipment is to start in February of next year to the airline’s training centers in Jakarta, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

A CAE customer since 2007, Lion Air now has 17 CAE-built simulators in training operations or on order. Lion Air Group, which along with Lion Air includes Indonesia’s Batik Air and Wings Air, Malaysia’s Malindo Air and Thai Lion Air, operates a fleet of 282 aircraft including Boeing 737-800s and 737-900ERs, Boeing 747-400s, Airbus A320s and A330s and ATR 72-500s and -600s.

FIRST A321NEO GROUNDED FOLLOWING TAIL STRIKE Airbus has grounded the first A321neo flight test article due to a February 12 tail strike incident at France’s Perpignan Airport, company CEO Fabrice Bregier reported during the Singapore press conference yesterday.

Airbus managed to ferry the aircraft back to Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, but it will require significant repair and will remain grounded for “a few weeks.” Bregier added that the incident will not affect certification or delivery schedules.

“These things happen,” said Bregier. “This is why we flight test the aircraft, because we go well beyond certified limits.”

Equipped with CFM International Leap-1A engines, the first Airbus A321neo completed its maiden flight on February 8 from Hamburg, Germany.

– G.P.

Airbus rejects projections of gloom for Asia Pacific airline economics

by Gregory Polek Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier yesterday dismissed talk of an impending air transport slump in the Asia Pacific market, insisting instead that conditions have never appeared healthier. Speaking at the company’s opening press conference yesterday alongside Airbus COO for customers John Leahy, Bregier said he saw little justification for the dour projections.

“I think it is clear that there are tensions around the world, and so people try to project a future impact on air traffic,” said Bregier.

“As a matter of fact, we don’t see it. Our competitors don’t see it.

Our customers don’t see it. They have never been so healthy. This is the reality, and they are planning for more efficient aircraft for deliveries that go well beyond 2020.”

Leahy added that unless an economic slump rivaling 20082009 surfaces, no one should expect anything other than continued buoyancy in the region.

“The key is that we’re tracking the world economy very well,” he said. “So if you do want to predict that next year the world will go into a major recession like 2008, 2009, I can assure you air traffic will go down, and then people will call up and say, ‘I want to defer orders.’ But if that

MARK WAGNER

z Curtiss-Wright, Ultra Release Fortress HUMS

MARK WAGNER

NEWS CLIPS

Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier says his company’s customers are healthy.

Airbus COO for customers John Leahy sees little risk of economic slump.

doesn’t happen...then things are perfectly fine during that period.”

Leahy insisted that even when Airbus increases narrowbody production to 60 airplanes a month in mid-2019, it still won’t fully satisfy the demand the company sees today. “My fear is not being able to build the aircraft we sold,” he quipped. Leahy also insisted he has experienced “nothing outside the normal course of business” in terms of delivery postponements. “No, we’re not getting calls from people like 2008 saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m in trouble, I can’t make payments, I need to move an airplane’...absolutely not,” said Leahy.

Addressing the widebody market, Leahy confirmed that Airbus

(Stand J23, Chalet CD19) has started studying a 40-seat stretch of the A350-1000, but that what he characterized as weak sales figures for Boeing’s 777X over the past two years confirms no immediate need for such a move.

In single-aisles, Airbus plans to deliver the second A320neo to India’s Indigo “in the coming weeks,” said Bregier.

Overall in the Asia Pacific region, Airbus last year won net orders for 421 aircraft from 17 airlines/lessors, representing 39 percent of the company’s net intake in 2015. Meanwhile, it delivered 232 new aircraft to 40 operators across the region last year, directly or through leasing companies, for 44 percent of its total output of 635. o

Diamond reveals two-seater Dart military and civil training platform

by Thierry Dubois Diamond Aircraft (Stand E67) is promoting the Dart, an in-development turboprop single targeted at pilot training and reconnaissance missions, here in Singapore. The Austria-based airframer has “a few potential customers in the region,” CEO Christian Dries told AIN. The first flight is planned for April or May. Prospects are mostly military air forces.

However, given the possibility to market the Dart to airlines for upset-recovery training, Diamond will seek EASA certification. This is one reason why pneumatic Zvezda ejection seats will be an option, since they do not use an explosive device.

Dries claims the aircraft’s up-front price will be “far below $3 million” and operating costs “below $500 per hour.”

The Dart’s airframe is made of carbon fiber, which is good for stealth, Dries said. Endurance is expected to be eight hours. For the reconnaissance role, an underbelly camera pod can be extended and retracted in flight.

A Progress/Motor Sich turboprop will deliver 465 shp at takeoff. This should translate into a 250 knot fast-cruise speed; the aircraft will also be capable of

46 Singapore Airshow News • February 17, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Diamond Aircraft announced it’s developing a carbon-fiber twoseat turboprop for the military and upset-recovery markets.

approaching 400 kt in a dive. The Western Ukrainebased manufacturer will also provide a more powerful engine in the mid-term. Diamond is already flying the 465-shp variant of the turboprop on its DA-50, a civil seven-seater that has been in flight tests since January 2015.

The first version of the Dart will be certified for +6g/-4g maneuvers. Initially, the sidestick (or optional center stick) will connect to conventional flight controls but Diamond plans to design a flyby-wire system eventually.

The company already has received a firm order for the Dart, Dries said. o

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