CFM Technology

PALMDALE, Calif. – Dec. 11, 2014 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has completed – on budget and on schedule – the center fuselage for the first F-35 Lightning II aircraft to be ordered by Norway, a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant designated AM-1.

The company celebrated the production milestone with a brief ceremony Dec. 4 at its Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence, the site of its F-35 Integrated Assembly Line (IAL). Royal Norwegian Air Force Col. Odd-Steinar Haugen, the Norwegian national deputy in the F-35 joint program office, attended the ceremony on behalf of the Norwegian government.

“Today’s event marks another key delivery on the F-35 team’s promise to produce a fifth-generation, multirole fighter that can meet the common air combat requirements of the U.S. and its allies,” said Brian Chappel, vice president and F-35 program manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. “Using our Integrated Assembly Line, we’re continuing to reduce the time and cost required to produce an F-35 center fuselage. Our success is helping the industry team meet the operational need dates of our international partners.”

The center fuselage is the core structure around which every F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft is built. As a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, Northrop Grumman designed and produces the center fuselage for all three F-35 variants: CTOL, short takeoff vertical landing (STOVL) and the carrier variant (CV).

The AM-1 center fuselage is the first of 52 center fuselages that Northrop Grumman will produce for Norway. It is the 166^th center fuselage that the company has produced at its Palmdale site, and the 34^th such unit delivered to Lockheed Martin this year.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics will perform final assembly and checkout of the Norwegian F-35s in Fort Worth, Texas. The process includes mating the center fuselage to the forward fuselage/cockpit and wings produced by Lockheed Martin, and the aft fuselage and empennage produced by BAE Systems.

The IAL is a highly automated set of work cells developed to assemble – efficiently, affordably and with high precision – the center fuselage for all three variants of the F-35 joint strike fighter. It occupies more than 200,000 square feet of factory floor space and includes more than 700 tools required to operate 78 positions.

Northrop Grumman plays a key role in the development and production of the F-35 weapons system. In addition to producing the jet’s center fuselage, the company produces key F-35 radar, electro-optical, avionics and communications subsystems. It also develops mission systems and mission-planning software; develops and maintains pilot and maintainer training systems courseware; and manages the team’s use, support and maintenance of low-observable technologies.

The CFM LEAP family represents the engines of choice

   The CFM LEAP family represents the engines of choice for the next-generation single-aisle aircraft. The LEAP-1A is an option on the Airbus A320neo; the LEAP-1B is the exclusive powerplant for the Boeing 737 MAX; and the LEAP-1C is the sole Western powerplant for the COMAC C919. These engines had garnered more than 8,000 operates from more than 50 customers across the globe..
PROVEN

CFM and its parent companies have fielded more new engines, engine upgrades, new technologies, and have more field experience as measured in engine flight hours than anyone else. Performance and technology is better proven than promised.

BREAKTHROUGH

Performance advancements are driven by appropriate application of new technology throughout an engine. Success in development of new technology requires the combination of both consistent investment and opportunities for commercial application.

Two engine families have contributed significantly to the design of the LEAP engine, the CFM56 and the GE90/GEnx series of engines. The GE90/GEnx contributed the high-efficiency core architecture to minimize fuel consumption, while the CFM56 legacy drove reliability and maintenance cost design practices. At entry into service in 2017, it is estimated that the GE90/GEnx architecture will have generated 80 million flight hours of revenue service, while the CFM56 family will have over 700 million flight hours of experience. The LEAP engine family offers proven, material advantages over any other engine, with 550,000 hours of proven experience with 99.98% reliability, and 22,000 engines delivered on-time and on-spec.

The CFM LEAP pedigree ensures with confidence the ability to deliver a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency, as compared to the CFM56-7BE, while maintaining the same level of dispatch reliability and life-cycle maintenance costs as the CFM56-7BE. With its simple architecture and $2 billion annual investment in technology, the LEAP engine family offers the lowest cost and highest revenue-generating ability, saving an estimated nearly $3 million per plane.

This is CFM, proven performance, low execution risk, and the application of advanced technology both at entry into service and throughout an engine’s life cycle.

QUICK FACTS

• Proven, high-efficiency core architecture
• Up to 15% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to today's best CFM56 engines
• Same high level of dispatch reliability and low life-cycle maintenance costs as today's best CFM56 engines
• 700,000 hours of proven experience

U.S. Remains Committed To Open Skies Despite Calls To Limit Access

WASHINGTON—The U.S. government is not wavering from its open skies policy and will negotiate open skies deals with any friendly country that is interested, despite calls for the government to roll back liberalization in order to protect the U.S. airline industry, a senior State Dept. official said.

The U.S. government has no plans to change its policy, Thomas Engle, deputy assistant secretary of State for transportation affairs, said at the Airports Council International-North America international aviation issues seminar. Since the first open skies treaty was struck with the Netherlands in 1992, the U.S. has signed open skies agreements with 114 countries, including the EU. 

This has resulted in explosive growth of travel and tourism, up 68% since the first deal and responsible now for 2.8% of U.S. gross domestic product. In 1995, 19 million U.S. citizens traveled abroad, versus 29 million last year. “None of this would have happened without open skies,” Engle said. “It remains U.S. policy to pursue open skies.”

Organized labor and several legacy carriers on both sides of the Atlantic are pushing for the U.S. and the EU to limit some liberalizations offered by open skies, and rather opt for what the European Cockpit Association (ECA) and other groups call “Fair Skies.” This would allow governments to limit some traffic rights to carriers thought to benefit from unfair state subsidies, a proposal aimed squarely at the three big Persian Gulf carriers: Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

The rise of these Middle Eastern airlines is among the “unintended consequences” of liberalization, the ECA said, a position echoed by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and several European and U.S. carriers. The Gulf carriers enjoy state subsidies, including having airport infrastructure built for them, that create “insurmountable competition” for U.S. carriers, Russell Bailey, ALPA senior attorney, said. 

Moreover, Gulf carriers—among others—benefit from lower-than-market financing for aircraft, both from Airbus and Boeing, thanks to export-credit agency financing from the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. and European agencies, labor and legacy airlines say. In fact, U.S. carriers have had to scale back some routes—including to India—due to this and other competitive advantages, Bailey said.

The cargo industry has been among the main beneficiaries of open skies, Cargo Airlines Association CEO Stephen Alterman added. “We absolutely need open skies,” he said. “We don’t want protectionism and we don’t want to pull back from open skies agreements.” Alterman warned that rolling back open skies would bring the cargo airline industry to its knees and harm U.S. trade and competitiveness.

Allowing governments to “unilaterally” limit traffic rights based on perceived unfair competition is an “absolutely horrible, dangerous and ridiculous idea,” said John Byerly, a former State Dept. official during whose tenure dozens of open skies agreements—including with the EU—were negotiated. Introducing “fair skies” provisions would undermine open skies and could allow other countries to retaliate by also limiting traffic rights. This would undo the last two decades’ gains, Byerly said.

Moreover, open skies deals are a necessary counterbalance to prevailing trends in the airline industry. With the consolidation of the U.S. industry into three major carriers—and the global industry into three major alliances—open skies deals allow for new entrants to challenge legacy carriers for market share. Consolidation has been good for the industry, Byerly said, but, “what is worrisome is when these carriers try to lobby governments to roll back access.”

Woman gives birth aboard airliner

LOS ANGELES — A Southwest Airlines flight landed in Los Angeles with one more passenger than when it took off.

A passenger gave birth shortly after Flight 623 took off from San Francisco on Tuesday and the Phoenix-bound jet diverted to Los Angeles International Airport.

The woman was assisted by the flight crew and a doctor and nurse who were aboard, airline spokeswoman Emily Samuels said. She said hopefully the airline has a new customer for life.

Paramedics boarded the aircraft and the mother and newborn, whose names have not been released, were taken to a hospital in good condition, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said.

The aircraft was taken out of service for cleaning and the other passengers went on to Phoenix aboard another plane, arriving more than two hours behind schedule.

Passenger Julie Dafoe said she and Kurt Reed were sitting next to the woman.

"One of the nurses that helped she said she was like walking around pacing in the airport so they were thinking she was having contractions," Dafoe told Phoenix TV station KTVK.

"All of a sudden I heard a baby cry like a gurgling sound, like a baby that had too much milk or whatever and I'm like 'There's no babies on this flight,'" Reed said.

Passengers said they had heard the call for a doctor, but nothing about what the medical emergency was.

"The captain announced congratulations for the arrival of this new baby boy," another passenger Aarti Shahani told KTVK. "So we all started applauding, but it was confusing because we thought someone was going to die not be born."

China will need over 5,300 new passenger aircraft and freighters from 2014 to 2033

Airbus forecasts that China will need over 5,300 new passenger aircraft and freighters from 2014 to 2033, with a total market value of $820 billion. It represents 17 percent of the world total demand for over 31,000 new aircraft in the next 20 years.

According to Airbus’ 2014-2033 Global Market Forecast, new deliveries of passenger and freight aircraft for China will be 5,363 over the next 20 years, including 3,567 single aisle aircraft, 1,477 twin-aisles and 319 very large aircraft. 

China will become the leading country for passenger air traffic, for both domestic and international markets as the passenger traffic in China will grow well above the world average.

Domestic air traffic in China will become the world’s number one within 10 years. China will overtake the United States of America in 2023, in terms of the number of passengers and in 2027, in terms of RPK (Revenue Passenger Kilometer). In the next 20 years, the forecast average annual growth rate for the domestic Chinese market is 7.1 per cent but will grow even faster over the next 10 years at 8.3 percent on average per year. By 2033, the domestic Chinese market will remain the largest flow, representing 11.9 percent of world traffic in terms of RPK.

During the period between 2013 and 2023, the average annual growth rate for international traffic from/to mainland China will be 8.1 percent. Four out of the 20 largest flows (RPK) will be from/to PRC. The average annual growth rate for markets between emerging Asian countries and PRC is 7.5 percent, for routes between PRC and the USA is 6.6 percent, while the routes between Western Europe and PRC is 5.6 percent.

“Domestic passenger traffic in Mainland China has more than quadrupled over the last 10 years, and it will become the world’s number one aviation market within the next 10 years,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers. “Airbus’ share of the in-service fleet of aircraft over 100 seats on the Chinese mainland has reached 50 percent in 2013. In the next 20 years, the greatest demand for passenger aircraft will come from China.” he added.

Drivers of China’s dynamic air transport growth include the country’s long-term economic development. The average annual economic growth in China is forecast at 7.4 per cent between 2013 and 2023. China will become the world’s biggest economy in 2023, with its GDP accounting for 19 per cent of the world’s total.

The urbanization of China is one of the major driving forces for the country’s economic growth. The urban population in China’s mainland was 711 million in 2013, representing 54 percent of the total population. The urban population will grow to 1.014 million in 2033, representing 71 percent of the population.

Average wages in China have increased five-fold in the past decade and they will continue to rise in the years ahead and fuel higher levels of disposable income and private consumption, which is expected to account for 41 percent of Chinese GDP in 2023.

“Airbus has the most complete product line from 100 to over 500 seats and we will contribute to the long-term sustainable development of China’s air transportation by providing Chinese airlines with the right aircraft at the right moment and the strongest support” Leahy said.

EASA Certifies Piaggio Avanti EVO

   EASA has certified the Piaggio Aerospace Avanti EVO after an extensive development and test program carried out under the supervision of the Italian National Civil Aviation Agency , ENAC, on behalf of EASA. US certification from the FAA is expected within the next few weeks as well as the Indian Certification as the first two Avanti EVO aircraft will be delivered to Indian customers.

“The EASA certification for our Avanti EVO marks a red letter day and demonstrates Piaggio Aerospace commitment to business aviation," said Carlo Logli, Chief Executive Officer of Piaggio Aerospace. "The Avanti, which already is an icon for safe, efficiency, and comfortable travel has evolved with improved performance, comfort, reduced emissions and has extended its range. The Avanti EVO is an intelligent solution for business travelers, blending the very best of Italian style and the most advanced aerodynamic concepts giving operators and passengers more efficiency than ever before."

The EVO has a number of significant modifications, approved by EASA , that are intended to improve the Avanti design to boost efficiency, reduce operating costs, provide greater levels of comfort for passengers, and finally be more environmentally friendly.

Among those modifications are:

• A Low Noise power plant where the PT6-66B turbines are fitted with patented exhaust stacks and Hartzell low rpm counter-rotating 5-blades scimitar propellers to reduce community noise at takeoff (minus 3dB(A)- 50%) and fly over (minus 5 dB(A) - 68% ) making the Avanti EVO a better neighbor;
• An innovative combination of Main Wing winglets coupled with new Front Wing wingtips to improve the already sophisticated Avanti aerodynamics and strengthen cruise and climb performance: max cruise range is further extended to 1770 nm (+3%) and climbing to FL 350 is faster by 10%
• The more efficient wing combination increase the service ceiling to FL410, equal to the certified ceiling, which further improves the EVO margin over the competition as the faster and higher flying turboprop on the market. This design improves low speed performance, reducing landing distance by 5% (3300 ft) and take off distance by 2% ( 3190 ft)
• A new higher comfort standard for passenger and crew with a whisper-like internal noise with further reduction of 1 dB(A) (i.e. -20%) thanks to the low noise power plant, a digitally controlled two zone environmental control system for maximum comfort and passenger control and all-new Italian style seating experience with VIP seats developed by design specialists Iacobucci HF and finished with top class leather by luxury outfitters Poltrona Frau.

The Avanti EVO design will shortly include anti-skid braking, new low-maintenance landing gear, new digital steering, to both improve performance, reliability and cut maintenance requirements.

Indian aviation

The Indian government has acknowledged problems in the aviation sector this week by stating: “Kingfisher is crashing and right now SpiceJet seems to be giving us harder times as far as airlines are concerned. We have somehow restricted the growth of airlines in the country. We have developed regulations that do not allow Indians to perform. We have to work ahead in this direction,” Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju said as Air India was “selling off” land to Navratna company NBCC in what was actually a non-binding/non-exclusive  MOU. It is hoped the MOU will lead to the identifying and sale of land in Chennai and Vasant Kunj in Delhi that Air India owns.

SpiceJet is being helped greatly by lower fuel costs but after delaying the salaries of its employees by a few days, the airline now has India’s airport authority putting the airline on cash-and-carry mode at airports with the carrier required to pay upfront for the use of facilities from today. This is a big blow to the business but a move that should protect leased assets from the claws of the AAI as happened with Kingfisher aircraft should the worst happen to SpiceJet. Even so the move by the AAI will be seen as a serious blow to the fortunes of SpiceJet as it no doubt means that the AAI credit lines already run-up by SpiceJet have got out of hand. We must now look to see if services will be affected by this move. If they are then cashflow problems are indeed coming to a head at SpiceJet, but of course on the flip-side if services are unaffected then the airline is surviving on forward bookings that are providing immediate cashflow to allow aircraft to fly as Jet Airways managed when it was put on cash-and-carry by the AAI some time ago.

As lessors take back their assets from SpiceJet as they go in for maintenance, the airline is contracting rapidly. In November 2014 cancellations have gone from 40 a day to some 68 per day today, which one hopes might actually improve the airline’s ability to turn a profit.

But consider this: as Indian taxes on fuel reduce and fuel prices before tax tumble one wonders if SpiceJet is not a very good investment option for anyone aiming to gain a serious foothold in the Indian market?

2014 saw the launch of AirCosta and AirAsia India and 2015 will see Air Pegasus, Air One, Vistara, Flyeasy, Premier Airways in the Indian domestic market and one wonders if the passengers will come out to fill these aircraft at a profit to their operators. But as these airline launch, the Indian government is looking to offload Air India – Its panel for getting this off the ground is close to completion with Deepak Parekh, chairman of India’s oldest mortgage lender; E. Sreedharan, former chairman of Delhi Metro Rail Corp.; M. Damodaran, former head of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Naresh Chandra and former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Y.V. Reddy all named on the committee that needs to formulate a report on what the government should do with the airline by March 2015.

As this panel gets going Air India is considering leasing at least 14 A320neo aircraft. The aircraft leasing committee of Air India is evaluating options and will RFP shortly, Air India hopes to lease the A320neo aircraft with the earliest possible delivery schedule with a delivery schedule from 2015-2018.

But as fuel prices dip, Air India might wish to consider A320ceo aircraft…..Indeed as oil prices fall, Singapore Airlines is starting to look like it will post a serious hedging loss as it is hedged at an average of $116 a barrel of jet fuel for 65.3% of requirement in the six months to March 2015, when spot market rates are about $85. Will they move to unwind their contracts?