Wednesday 27 July 2016

Textron Aviation debuts Cessna Denali single engine turboprop






Mockup of clean-sheet design single engine turboprop at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
July 27, 2016

Oshkosh, Wisconsin – Just one year after announcing it would bring a clean-sheet design single engine turboprop (SETP) to market, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has unveiled the Cessna Denali. A mockup of the aircraft’s cabin sits alongside a mockup of GE Aviation’s all new advanced turboprop engine at Textron Aviation’s chalet this week during the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh.
 
“The Denali is already garnering interest and commitments,” said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Textron Aviation.
 
The program is targeted to achieve first flight in 2018 and letters of intent are being accepted.
 
The clean-sheet Cessna Denali is being designed to outperform its competition in capability, pilot interface, and ownership costs. Engineered to achieve cruise speeds of 285kts and full fuel payload of 1,100 lb, the Denali will have a range of 1,600nm at high-speed cruise with one pilot and four passengers and will be able to fly from Los Angeles to Chicago, New York to Miami, or London to Moscow.
 
The Denali will be powered by GE’s new advanced turboprop engine. The FADEC-equipped, 1,240 shaft horse power (shp)-rated turboprop engine will ease pilot workload with its single-lever power and propeller control. The airplane will be equipped with McCauley’s new 105" diameter composite, 5-blade, constant speed propeller, which is full feathering with reversible pitch and ice protection. The engine is designed to provide an initial 4,000 hour time between overhaul.
 
The Denali will feature the Garmin G3000 intuitive touchscreen avionics suite and will include high-resolution multifunction displays and split-screen capability. The G3000 flight deck will include weather radar, advanced Terrain Awareness Warning Systems (TAWS), and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) capabilities, which will make it compliant with a significant aspect of future Next Generation air traffic control requirements.
 
The aircraft will feature a 53" wide by 59" high aft cargo door. The Denali’s cabin will feature a standard seating configuration of six individual reclining seats and will offer a nine-place high density seating option. The aircraft will boast a digital pressurization system maintaining a 6,130ft cabin altitude at a service ceiling of 31,000ft and the Denali will offer customers an optional externally serviceable belted lavatory with pocket door enclosure that is located in the back of the cabin. Other features are large cabin windows, interior LED lighting, a forward refreshment cabinet, and an in-flight accessible baggage compartment.
 
Denali customers will have access to Textron Aviation’s global service network that includes 21 company-owned service centers located around the world. In addition to its company-owned footprint, Textron Aviation’s turbine customers have access to a global network of nearly 200 authorized service facilities. Textron Aviation also offers a mobile support program featuring more than 60 mobile service units, three dedicated support aircraft, and on-site service technicians and support.  
 
Source:Textron Aviation Inc. 

GE LAUNCHES NEW ENGINE TO POWER TEXTRON’S NEW SINGLE-ENGINE TURBOPROP

GE Aviation today unveiled its all-new turboprop engine, which has been selected by Textron Aviation to power its single engine turboprop (SETP). Textron Aviation and GE made the announcement aircraft-engine pairing today at the National Business Aviation Association’s annual tradeshow.

The 1,300 shaft horse power (SHP)-rated turboprop engine is the first entry in GE’s new family of turboprop engines aimed at Business and General Aviation aircraft in the 850-1,600 SHP range. According to GE, the engine features a 16:1 overall pressure ratio (OPR), enabling the engine to achieve up to 20% lower fuel burn and 10% higher cruise power compared to competitor offerings in the same size class with 4000-6000 hour time between overhauls (30% longer than current engines) and class-leading performance retention.

“Our single engine turboprop will combine the best of both clean-sheet aircraft and new engine designs. Selecting GE as our engine partner reflects the best fit for the mission of the aircraft and our commitment to reliably deliver best-in-class performance capabilities to our customers,” said Christi Tannahill, senior vice president, Turboprops and Interior Design at Textron Aviation. “By leveraging the newest technologies, we expect our SETP to outperform the competition in critical areas ranging from cabin size and acquisition cost to performance capability and fuel savings.”
Textron Aviation’s GE-powered SETP is expected to have a range of more than 1,500 nautical miles and speeds higher than 280 knots. Key features of GE’s new turboprop engine include:
  • Ruggedized, modular architecture based on the T700/CT7 turboshaft for better performance at lower operating costs.
  • All-titanium, 3D aero compressor design for light-weight and efficient power generation.
  • Cooled turbine blades enabling higher thrust and fuel efficiency… leveraging the T700/CT7’s 100 million flight hours and more than 5 million flight hours in hot/harsh environments.
  • Additive manufactured structural components for reduced weight, improved performance and durability.
  • Integrated electronic propulsion control for optimized single-lever engine and propeller control.
GE expects to conduct the detailed design review (DDR) for the new turboprop in 2017 followed by the first full engine test in 2018.
“For the past five years, GE conducted design studies and actively researched the turboprop market to identify and integrate the best of our next-gen commercial and military technologies at the lowest cost and risk to our business aviation customers,” said Brad Mottier, Vice President and General Manager of GE Aviation’s Business & General Aviation and Integrated Systems division. “We’re honored to be selected by Textron Aviation for its newest turboprop program and look forward to growing aircraft applications in the coming years with our new turboprop engine.”
Development, testing and production of new turboprop engine will occur at GE Aviation’s new turboprop Center of Excellence in Europe, announced this past September. The new facility will represent an investment exceeding $400 million and ultimately support 500 – 1,000 new jobs.

Source @kingairnation.com Posted by KingAirNation  —  Monday, November 16, 2015


Garmin’s G3000™ Integrated Flightdeck Brings Touchscreen and Widescreens to the Cockpit


Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the global leader in satellite navigation, announced today the Garmin G3000, the first touchscreen-controlled integrated flightdeck for light turbine aircraft.  The G3000 is designed specifically for Part 23 turbine aircraft, and was announced at the National Business Aviation Association Convention.

“In 2003, we transformed the general aviation cockpit with the G1000, and now we’re taking the next leap forward with the G3000,” said Gary Kelley, Garmin’s vice president of marketing. “The G3000 is a testament to the culture of innovation that is fundamental to Garmin, and it promises to be one of the most intuitive and powerful flightdeck systems ever designed for Part 23 turbine aircraft.”
The G3000 seamlessly integrates numerous Garmin-designed system components into an easy-to-use flightdeck:

Intuitive, icon-driven interface
The G3000 incorporates the all new GTC 570 vehicle management system, a 5.7-inch diagonal touchscreen controller that uses a desktop-like menu interface with intuitive icons.  The console-mounted GTC 570 allows for full control for radio management, audio management, flight management, weather systems management, synoptics, and other vehicle systems.  

The simplistic user interface leverages the experience Garmin has gained by designing and delivering millions of automotive consumer products, and it eliminates buttons, switches, and extraneous knobs. The touchscreen also enhances ease of use through common sense functions like “back” and “home” that let pilots quickly retrace their steps or return to the home screen. The GTC 570 vehicle management system also uses patent pending, infrared touchscreen technology, audio and visual feedback, and animation to help pilots know exactly how the system is responding to their input.  

“We’ve gone to great lengths to make the G3000 simple to operate,” said Kelley. “For example, with the GTC 570, pilots touch the information they want to change rather than using a cursor. This intuitive approach makes it easy to enter the information right the first time, and helps decrease pilot workload.”

The GTC 570 also incorporates three conventional knobs at the bottom of the display: a volume control knob, dedicated map joystick and dual concentric knob for data entry. Pilots may choose to use the knobs instead of the touchscreen to enter information and the knobs’ functions are always labeled on the display.

Extra-wide, split-screen displays
The primary flight displays (PFD) and multi-function display (MFD) are 14.1-inch diagonal WXGA high resolution wide aspect ratio displays. The large landscape oriented displays make it possible to have an enhanced view of Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT™) that displays three dimensional terrain, obstacles, pathways, and traffic.  Situational awareness is enhanced further with a large inset map, and an extended horizon line.

The G3000’s large MFD also has split-screen capability so that two separate vertical pages may be viewed side-by-side. Pilots may simultaneously view maps, charts, TAWS, flight planning, weather or video input pages. In addition, aircraft synoptics can be graphically depicted on the MFD to help simplify monitoring and speed troubleshooting.

As with the G1000®, the G3000 has full reversionary capabilities, including in-flight dynamic restarts, so that all flight critical data can be transferred seamlessly to a single display for added safety during flight.

The G3000 also includes a fully capable three-axis, fully digital, dual channel, fail passive auto flight system. The autopilot includes features you would expect in this class of aircraft such as coupled wide area augmentation system (WAAS) approaches, vertical navigation, and flight level change (FLC).

Added perspective
On the G3000’s widescreens, Garmin’s SVT presents near life-like 3D depictions of terrain, obstacles, traffic and the runway environment so that the image on the display replicates what pilots would see outside the cockpit on a clear day. SVT works seamlessly to alert pilots of potential ground hazards by displaying terrain and obstacles which pose a threat to the aircraft with appropriate TAWS alert coloring, as well as voice alerts. SVT also includes pathways (or Highway-In-The-Sky) that are depicted as 3D “flying rectangles” and help pilots stay on course when flying en route legs, VNAV legs, GPS/WAAS vertical approach procedures, ILS approach procedures, and arrival and departure procedures.

The G3000 avionics suite also integrates synoptics (graphical systems displays), Garmin’s SafeTaxi®, FliteCharts® and ChartView (optional), which simplify operation, enhance situational awareness, and increase safety during flight and when taxiing.  Garmin SafeTaxi includes over 950 U.S. airports and helps pilots navigate unfamiliar airports while taxiing by identifying runways, taxiways, runway incursion hotspots, and hangars, as well as the aircraft’s exact location on the field. FliteCharts is an electronic version of the AeroNav Charts (formerly known as the NACO U.S. Terminal Procedures Publication) and lets pilots quickly find and view all Departure Procedures (DP), Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs), approach charts, and airport diagrams on the MFD.  Garmin ChartView is an electronic version of Jeppesen’s extensive library of charts and airport diagrams displayed directly on the G3000’s MFD.

Garmin expects to receive G3000 Technical Standard Orders (TSO) certification in the second half of 2011.

Source @garmin.blogs.com 19 OCTOBER 2009


Malaysia Airlines orders Boeing 737 MAX jets in $5.5 billion deal


Wed Jul 27, 2016 6:53am BST

National carrier Malaysia Airlines said on Wednesday it had ordered 50 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX jets, with firm orders on 25 and rights to purchase 25 more.
At list prices, the total order of long-range narrow body aircraft was worth $5.5 billion, the airline said in a statement. Deliveries will begin in 2019.
The new planes will cut operating costs, Chief Executive Peter Bellew said.
(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-airline-orders-idUKKCN1070H0


Malaysia Airlines orders up to 50 737 Max jets


27 JULY, 2016  BY: ELLIS TAYLOR  PERTH
Malaysia Airlines has placed a firm order for 25 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, and taken options on a further 25.
The deal is valued at $5.5 billion at list prices, with deliveries set to commence in 2019. The carrier will take a mix of 737 Max 9s and 8s, but did not provide a breakdown on how many of each variant.
They CFM International Leap-1B-powered aircraft are expected to gradually replace its fleet of 56 737-800s.
“This deal is a game-changer for Malaysia Airlines with much lower costs and greater efficiency which we will pass on to our loyal customers with lower fares,” says chief executive Peter Bellew.
Malaysia Airlines has signalled that it intends to fit the aircraft with slimline seats and wi-fi connectivity.
Bellew adds that the the embattled carrier has turned a corner and is now on a growth path across southeast Asia.
“This new aircraft order will set the stage for our continued recovery and success into the next decade,” he says.

Tuesday 26 July 2016

Boeing 777-10X

Image @airwaysmag.com

Boeing confirms technical feasibility of '777-10'


Boeing has confirmed that a stretch of the 777-9 is technically possible if customers express interest.
"We have the ability to do it," Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Ray Conner told reporters today. "If somebody wanted more capacity, that's a pretty straightforward deal for us to do."
Boeing is developing the 777-8 with about 350 seats and the 777-9 with more than 400 seats. A further stretch of the 777X family would give Boeing a twinjet with range and capacity closer to the four-engined Airbus A380.
But Boeing's ultimate decision will be based on customer interest, Conner says.
"This could be an extension of the family depending on what the customers really want. It would be more about what the customers are really looking for," he says.
If pursued, a so-called 777-10 would become the sixth passenger-carrying airliner planned to be in the market after 2020 with more than 350 seats in standard configuration, joining the 777-9, 777-8, 747-8 Intercontinental and Airbus A350-1000 and A380.
Airbus executives have expressed concerns about launching an "A350-2000" with capacity for 400 seats, saying the market segment could become over-saturated, with new variants simply cannibalising orders that would have been placed for existing types.
But Boeing does not appear to have lost enthusiasm for the potential of the largest segment of the market to absorb more products.
When asked about the risk of the 777-9 cannibalising orders for the 777-8, Boeing's chief salesman John Wojick expressed only confidence.
"I don't see us cannibalising ourselves," he says. "We've outsold them four-to-one since the launch of the A350-1000 [in 2007] and it continues to dominate the marketplace."
Flight Global posted 10 JULY, 2016  BY: STEPHEN TRIMBLE  LONDON
Boeing 777-9X vs A-380-800
The main holdup for Boeing is whether Airbus decides to launch a stretched variant of its Airbus A350-1000, which competes head to head with the existing Boeing 777-8X at about 350 seats. Unfortunately for the A350-1000, while it offers superior operating economics (CASM) to the 777-8X, the latter has managed to find a niche as the longest ranged airplane in the world and spiritual successor to the Boeing 777-200LR.
More damagingly, the 777-9X has better CASM than the Airbus A350-1000, and as those aircraft often compete head to head, the A350-1000 leaves Airbus hamstrung at the high end of the wide body market. In fact the 777X (with 306 orders) has about 63% market share against the A350-1000, which is higher than the current market share for the A320neo versus that 737 MAX. Adding in the very large aircraft (VLA) of the Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8, and the current generation Boeing 777-300ER pushes the actually pushes the advantage for Boeing since the launch of the A350-1000 in 2007 up to about 70% market share, almost dominant in the large wide body space.
Our analysis indicates that the Airbus A350-2000 (which has at various times also been known as the A350-1100), would reverse this advantage back to the Airbus court, drawing ahead on CASM as the A350 is the more efficient pure technical platform (the 777-9X draws its CASM advantage from added seating capacity). This would not be a massive CASM advantage but it would be tangible (1-2%) and it would position the Airbus product to win at least 50% share of large wide body orders moving forward.

Stretched 777-10X would be CASM king within 80m box

The problem for Airbus is that much as we outlined with a theoretical Boeing 737 MAX 10X as a response to the A321neo’s dominance, Boeing can counter with a simple and inexpensive stretch. Our analysis indicates that Boeing could complete a 777-10X for as little as $800 million to $1.2 billion. With 40 additional seats, the 777-10X would recapture the CASM crown in the head to head large A350 versus 777X contest, and retain Boeing’s lead.
And not only would the 777-10X retain an advantage over the A350-2000 in terms of CASM, it would also beat the Airbus A380. Our analysis indicates that the 777-9X already holds a slight edge in terms of CASM over the A380 in real world airline configurations when fuel prices are high, though the A380 retains its edge when fuel prices are lower (as they are presently).
The 777-10X would hold the edge over the A380 at all fuel prices. And unlike Airbus, who would perhaps proceed cautiously in launching an “A350-3000” similarly sized to the 777-10X for fear of cannibalizing A380 sales (a hypothetical “A350-3000” would also require a strengthened wing and thus be more expensive to develop than the 777-10X), Boeing only has to worry about affecting sales of the 747-8, which if it sells at all will only do so in its freighter variant moving forward.
Best of all, the 777-10X will manage all of this while remaining shorter than or equal to 80 meters in length, which would comfortably allow four additional rows of economy with 32 inches of seat pitch. 80 meters is an important figure because it is the length that large wide body gates, taxiways, and other airport infrastructure are currently designed for (an artifact of the Boeing 747’s popularity). With the same wing as the 777-9X, the 777-10X would still fit into the same 80 meter by 80 meter box at most airport gates, avoiding the need for costly airfield improvements (which has been a drag on A380 sales to some extent).
Excerpt from Airways article posted VINAY BHASKARAJULY 10, 2016
Image @staticseekingalpha.a.ssl.fastly.net


Saturday 23 July 2016

Test flight 1st Airbus A350 Thai Airways HS-THB


Thai Airways International Airbus A350-941 cn 044 F-WZGQ // HS-THB @Clément Alloing

WATCH TEST FLIGHT https://www.facebook.com/love.loveairplanes/videos/678326605648551/

Thai Airways A350 set for third-quarter delivery

Thai Airways is scheduled to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 in the third quarter of this year, with the aircraft having completed cabin furnishing and engine installation. The aircraft will now begin ground and flight tests, ahead of a planned launch on the carrier’s Bangkok-Melbourne route.
Thai’s A350 will offer a two-class layout, with 32 Royal Silk Class (business class) seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, and 289 economy seats configured 3-3-3.
The fully flat business class seat will offer 21 inches of width, while the economy seat will be 18 inches wide, with a 32-inch pitch.
Business Traveller recently reviewed the Thai Airways’ fully flat business class seat on the carrier’s A380 route between Hong Kong and Bangkok.
Posted Tuesday, July 5, 2016 by Tom Otley @businesstraveller.com


Thai Airways International Airbus A350-941 cn 044 F-WZGQ // HS-THB @Clément Alloing

Thai to fly double-daily Airbus A350s to Melbourne

Thai Airways plans to upgrade both of its daily Melbourne-Bangkok flights to the airline’s sleek new Airbus A350 by September.
And business travellers will be in for a treat with the quiet and comfortable new jets including not only Thai’s latest business class seats but also a ‘dine on demand’ meal service and free inflight Internet.
Thai Airways president Charamporn Jotikasthira told Australian Business Traveller that he aims for both the TG465/466 and TG461/462 flights to move to an Airbus A350 on the same day.
However, delivery of the airline’s first A350 is likely to be pushed back by one month.
“We expect to get it in July but we got a note from Airbus saying it is probably August, because they have problem with a seat manufacturer” Mr Charamporn said. “It’s not our seat manufacturer but as a result the pipeline moved, everyone’s order moved.”
Speaking to Australian Business Traveller at a meeting of Star Alliance airline CEOs in Zurich, Charamporn indicated the delay would mean that after one month of regional A350 flights from Bangkok, the simultaneous twin A350 launch on the Melbourne-Bangkok route would likely take place in September.
Thai’s Airbus A350s will sport 32 of the airline’s latest Royal Silk business class seats.
This is a lie-flat design with direct aisle access for each passenger, with the cabin dressed in ‘Thai Contemporary’ style.
Thai will also roll out its improved business class service which has already debuted on European routes, with ‘dine on demand’ meals and free inflight Internet for business class passengers.
“We believe our business class can be one of the best business class in the world, but in the past we did not package its accordingly” Charamporn noted of the program’s individual elements.

Better connections at Bangkok

Another part of the platform: arrival gates at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport would now be as close as possible to immigration. “Before the gates (seemed) a little more random but we have managed to work with airport authorities so now it has to be right near immigration.”
Thai has also adjusted its schedules to provide better connectivity at its Bangkok hub for onward flights to Europe.
A dozen “minor adjustments of timing between five minutes and 35 minutes” has opened up an additional 28 new connections.
More significantly, Thai has changed the departure of its Sydney-Bangkok flight from an evening to an afternoon timeslot.
“This hooks into the midnight hub at Bangkok, and of course we have 11 direct destinations in Europe which is a sizeable network which we can now feed” explains Bryan Banston, Thai Airways’ Vice President of Global Sales.
“So in addition to focussing on the core market, which is Thailand and the region, we can also really compete in the European market."
“We’re very keen in the Australian market to really leverage our network as best we can, and we have to have a look at Sydney and how we can grow that to double daily at some point,” Banston added.
David Flynn travelled to Zurich as a guest of Star Alliance

Posted PUBLISHED 6 JUN, 2016 By David Flynn Filed under: Melbourne, Airbus A350, Thai Airways @ausbt.com.au