Aircraft News - North America

AirGuide Business, July 21, 2008

7/21/2008

US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure introduced a bill this week that it said "addresses issues raised by FAA whistleblowers and others" at an April hearing, including that the agency. The bill, which the committee claimed "will help restore confidence in the FAA's safety regime," would create an independent Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office within the agency. It also directs FAA to cease referring to airlines as "customers" in official statements and policy, mandates a two-year "cooling-off" period for inspectors or supervisors before they can act on behalf of a certificate holder they oversaw during their FAA service, requires principal maintenance inspectors to rotate between airline oversight offices every five years and requires monthly reviews of the Air Transportation Oversight System database. 7/18/2008

US FAA will provide up to $5 million to test in-cockpit displays that increase runway safety. Funding will cover technology that includes either an aural runway alerting system or an electronic flight bag. The agency said the number of "serious" runway incursions declined more than 55% from FY01 through FY07. 7/15/2008

Boeing

Boeing 777-200LR Freighter's first delivery is set for the fourth quarter. The company selected the -200LR because of its range and the fuel efficiency of the GE90s. The 777 Freighter will be able to match the 747-8[sup.1]s range, so operators can choose between them, depending on payloads. The larger 747-8F carries a third more payload. Among the new freighter[sup.1]s features is a side cargo door slightly larger than a 747[sup.1]s, making it easier to angle in large payloads. It was initially sought by carriers wanting to load spare Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines for the 787. 7/15/2008

Boeing

Boeing 787 Dreamliner's brake control system software is the latest problem holding back the new plane's first test flight, the troubled program's chief said. The first of the 787s, originally meant to fly last summer, has been held back by three major production delays due to parts shortages and incomplete work from suppliers arriving at its assembly plant near Seattle. The jet is still on track for a first flight in the fourth quarter -- in line with the last schedule announced in April -- but the newest "air bubble" in the timetable is in the brake systems, Pat Shanahan, general manager of the 787 program, said at a briefing at Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday. 7/15/2008

Boeing

Boeing announced it is on track to meet revised delivery targets for its delayed 787 Dreamliner jet, but said it still has work to do and time is getting tighter. The U.S. aircraft manufacturer reiterated that the flagship aircraft is on track to make its first flight in the fourth quarter of this year. The group said it is also on schedule to make the first delivery of the jet to Japan's All Nippon Airways in the third quarter of next year. Boeing had been due to deliver the jet in May this year, but had to postpone it due to production problems. The company has orders for 896 of the airliners from 58 customers to date. Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager of the 787 programme, said the company is making 'steady progress', from meeting recent production line targets, such as testing the aircraft's electronic systems, to having hit almost 100 percent of its systems computer hardware and software targets. 7/15/2008

Boeing

Boeing said it realized considerable reductions in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions with its Tailored Arrivals ATM concept, which is based on continuous descent approaches. It said TA approaches can reduce 777 fuel consumption by 34% (1,303 lb.) per approach and by 39% (2,292 lb.) for 747s, according to findings from flights evaluated at San Francisco from Dec. 4, 2007, to March 23, 2008. During the trial, United Airlines, Air New Zealand and Japan Airlines completed 57 flights into SFO using TA approaches, which allow aircraft to use air-to-ground data link technology to descend with minimal direct ATC intervention. Partial use of TA on 119 additional flights yielded fuel savings of 379 lb. per flight for 777s and 1,100 lb. for 747s. The project employed technologies supplied by US FAA and NASA and is part of an international program to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. TA will be implemented at Miami International later this year through a joint FAA-European Commission initiative to accelerate transatlantic ATM improvements aimed at reducing emissions and noise. 7/15/2008

Boeing

Boeing[sup.1]s debut of the 777 Freighter experienced a setback yesterday when a telemetry failure prevented [sup.3]high-risk[sup.2] test maneuvers during the jet[sup.1]s first flight. Capt. Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann and Co-Pilot Van Chaney ended the flight about an hour earlier than planned because a telemetry dropout prevented the test flight center in Seattle from monitoring higher-risk maneuvers, such as flutter and structural tests. The dropout was not a safety issue, but it did require Darcy-Hennemann and Chaney to land at Paine Field at the 777 factory in Everett, where they took off, rather than at Boeing Field in Seattle, headquarters for all Boeing flight testing. VP Dennis O[sup.1]Donoghue, head of flight operations and tests, said it will be a day or two before the airplane will arrive in Seattle. It is not expected to delay the test program, which anticipates 260 flights through November. [sup.3]It[sup.1]s more of an inconvenience,[sup.2] he said. The pilots were able to complete so-called low-risk tests to verify the aircraft[sup.1]s basic performance. Reported by AWST. 7/15/2008