No 5406 flight_10092013

10-16 SEPTEMBER 2013
FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL
CABIN FIRES
IS THE INDUSTRY
IN DENIAL ABOUT
ONBOARD RISK?
FEATURE P32
ALMOST THERE
CSeries nears high-speed
taxi trials as long-delayed
first flight for Canadian
airliner edges closer 9
FAST DEVELOPER
Russian Helicopters
moving quickly to have
racy RACHEL prototype
in the air by 2018 20
ENVIRONMENT
THE WORLD
VERSUS ETSHow will aviation pay carbon debt now?
ﬂightglobal.com
£3.30

10-16 September 2013 | Flight International | 3flightglobal.com
FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL
JAXA,Beechcraft
Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group buys Beechcraft’s
largest European MRO business P21 First flight of Japan’s
Epsilon launch vehicle cancelled P23
FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL
FLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLIGHTINIII TERNATIONAL
CABIN FIRES
IS THE INDUSTRY
IN DENIAL ABOUT
ONBOARD RISK?
FEATURE P32
ALMOST THERE
CSeries nears high-speed
taxi trials as long-delayed
first flight for Canadian
airliner edges closer 9
FAST DEVELOPER
Russian Helicopters
moving quickly to have
racy RACHEL prototype
in the air by 2018 20
ENVIRONMENT
THE WORLD
VERSUS ETSHow will aviation pay carbon debt now?
£3.30
18 Israeli air force pushes for 12-aircraft
KC-135R deal
BUSINESS AVIATION
20 Russian Helicopters speeds progress of
next generation.
Modified Twin Otter helps G-Sky grow
21 Ambitious Marshall snaps up Beechcraft
MRO centre.
Rostec reveals 19-seater price tag
GENERAL AVIATION
22 Atlant Arctic airship bouyed by answer
to weighty issue.
Ansat clinches civil certification.
Kit-built Zodiac CH 640 set for Russian role
SPACEFLIGHT
23 Bad timing delays Epsilon first flight.
Zenit makes safe return
BUSINESS
24 Boeing faces export storm
REGULARS
7 Comment
36 Straight & Level
37 Letters
40 Classified
43 Jobs
47 Working Week
NEWS
THIS WEEK
8 Early Hawk T2 use aids RAF students
9 FAA finalising ‘critical’ 787 review.
Delta weighs in with A330 deal
10 Human factors loom in crash report
11 Dirty fuel blamed for Cathay A330’s
engine emergency
AIR TRANSPORT
12 Crew failed to adapt to poor visibility.
Kazakhstan safety drive targets EU
blacklisting
13 Court raises questions over Austrian’s
Tyrolean transfer.
IAE faces court challenge from Kingfisher
owner
14 Virgin Australia eyes new widebodies.
Comac matures fledgling C919 iron
bird test rig
15 MRJ delay pinned on FAA paperwork.
Ecojet project on approach to production
phase
DEFENCE
16 UK reveals AEW programme costs.
F-35 engine production agreement a ‘fair
deal’
17 Auditor slams Indian AW101 contract.
Embraer delivers AMX upgrade
COVER STORY
26 Clearing the air How best to tackle
airline industry emissions
FEATURES
28 ENVIRONMENT Electric avenues
Airlines are weighing up high-tech taxi
systems as they look to reduce fuel use
and cut turnaround times
30 Alternative medicine Carriers are
looking to substitute sources of energy
32 SAFETY Fire alarmed Onboard blazes
are still a considerable risk, despite a
recent fall in the number of fatalities
VOLUME 184 NUMBER 5406
PIC OF THE WEEK
YOUR PHOTOGRAPH HERE
AirSpace regular sunshine band posted this
up-close-and-personal shot of Royal Air
Force Shorts Tucano (ZF239) running in to
display through brilliant sunshine at RAF
Scampton in Lincolnshire. Open a gallery in
flightglobal.com’s AirSpace community for a
chance to feature here.
sunshinebandgalleryonflightglobal.com/AirSpace
flightglobal.com/imageoftheday
AirTeamImages
COVER IMAGE
AirTeamImages supplied
this skyward view of an
Airbus A340, showing just
why aviation is struggling
to reconcile demand for air
travel with calls for a
workable, global emissions
control regime P26
NEXT WEEK HELI-TECH PREVIEW
On the eve of the annual rotorcraft
industry exhibition in its new venue at
London’s ExCel,we look at helicopter
safety,performance and prospects
AgustaWestland
Download the Military Simulator
Census online now.
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Simply not
good enough
Some areas
of concern
42
%
29
%
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Excellent given
challenging environment
29
%
HIGH FLIERS
The top five stories for the week just gone:
1 Airbus steadily clocks up A350 flight hours
2 Bombardier CSeries approved for first flight
3 Delta orders 40 A330s and A321s
4 BA to operate 787 to Austin
5 Israel seeks R-model KC-135s from USA
Last week, we asked: Safety record of North Sea helicopters:
You said:
Total votes: 678
This week, we ask: How will you mark the 10th anniversary of
the demise of Concorde? Mourning Confident about the
return of supersonic transport Times move on
With allies and foes feeling the Syrian heat in the eastern
Mediterranean, Israel and the USA should perhaps have let
the Russians know they were planning to air-launch a couple
of targets designed to
simulate the trajectory of a
Scud ballistic missile. As
The DEW Line found,
Russia’s defence ministry
was spooked to detect
unidentified “ballistic
objects” that were, actually, Sparrow-series targets
released from an Israeli air force Boeing F-15 (pictured).
And, Hyperbola finds the Syria crisis, which is unravelling
UK-US relations with Russia, is raising questions about
whether Moscow would disrupt plans for manned launches
to the Space Station in the event of an attack on
Damascus. After the fatal Super Puma crash off the UK,
David Learmount looked at offshore helicopter safety
and asks, why does Norway get it right?
Defence editor Craig Hoyle got
some hands-on practice using a
flight training device for the UK’s
new Hawk T2 trainer during a
visit to the Royal Air Force’s
base at Valley,Anglesey. The UK
is looking to ramp up its use of
the 28-strong T2 fleet,and cites
strong international interest in
the capability (P8).
IN THIS ISSUE
Companies listed
AeroVironment.............................................25
AgustaWestland...........7, 8, 10, 17, 20, 22, 23
Air Astana....................................................12
Airbus....................8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 28, 35, 37
Air France ..............................................28, 29
Air New Zealand.............................................8
All Nippon Airways ...........................25, 33, 35
ANA Holdings...............................................25
Antonov.......................................................23
Asiana...................................................32, 34
Austrian Airlines...........................................13
Austro Engines.............................................25
Aviat............................................................30
Aviation Alliance ..........................................20
BAE Systems .................................................8
Beechcraft...................................................21
Boeing.........7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24, 29
Bell Boeing..................................................18
Bombardier .......................................9, 15, 37
Cathay Pacific..............................................11
Cessna ........................................................23
CHC Scotia..................................................10
Comac.........................................................14
ConnectJets.................................................23
Diamond Aircraft....................................23, 25
EasyJet ..................................................28, 37
Elta Systems................................................16
Emirates......................................................24
Ethiopian Airlines...................................32, 33
Embraer.......................................................17
Eurocopter.......................................10, 20, 22
Eva Air .........................................................12
G-Sky Aviation .............................................20
Gulfstream.............................................20, 25
Hawaiian Airlines .........................................24
Honeywell Aerospace.......................25, 28, 29
Ikhana Aircraft Services................................20
Ilyushin Finance...........................................15
International Aero Engines ...........................13
Israel Aerospace Industries ..........................28
Jet Aviation ..................................................20
JetBlue Airways ............................................12
Kamov.........................................................20
Kingfisher Airlines ........................................13
KLM.............................................................29
LiveTV..........................................................12
Lockheed Martin..............................16, 18, 31
Lufthansa ..............................................13, 29
Marshall Aerospace .....................................23
Meggitt........................................................25
Mitsubishi Aircraft........................................15
Northrop Grumman......................................16
Pratt & Whitney............. 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 30
Qantas...................................................14, 25
Rafael............................................................8
Red Wings ...................................................15
Rolls-Royce............................8, 11, 14, 25, 47
RosAeroSystems..........................................22
Rosaviaconsortium ......................................15
Rostec.........................................................23
Russian Helicopters.........................20, 22, 23
Safran .............................................25, 28, 29
Sikorsky.................................................10, 20
Spirit Aerosystems .......................................24
Swissair.................................7, 32, 33, 34, 35
Transaero Airlines.........................................47
TUI...............................................................28
Turbomeca...................................................25
Turkish Aerospace Industries........................18
United Airlines .............................................12
UPS...................................................7, 32, 34
UTAir............................................................22
VIM-Avia......................................................15
Virgin Australia.............................................14
WheelTug...............................................28, 29
4 | Flight International | 10-16 September 2013
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now ready to secure sea and shore around the globe.

COMMENT
See Defence P17
Official discomfort
The worrying thing about India’s AgustaWestland
AW101 scandal is how unsurprising it is. Big de-
fence purchases anywhere are rarely smooth, but in
India they seem to be particularly accident-prone.
At its heart are allegations – denied, of course – that
AgustaWestland bosses bribed Indian air force leaders
to modify the requirements for the purchase of 12 VVIP
helicopters. Early this year investigations in Italy
prompted a further probe in India. Two AgustaWest-
land executives are now standing trial over the matter.
But the steady drip-drip of bad news continues. This
week India’s government auditor issued a damning re-
port on the acquisition process.
But this fiasco – unlike other defence procurement
travesties in India – will directly affect New Delhi’s
senior leadership.
Having received just three AW101s, India has sus-
pended the deal, and could well cancel it altogether.
The grounding of the new fleet will oblige worthies in-
cluding the president and prime minister to resume the
use of ageing Mil Mi-8s.
At stake in the AW101 crisis are not key issues like
operational readiness and deterrence, but the comfort
of senior government leaders. Perhaps riding in obso-
lescent, deafeningly loud helicopters will provide the
spur they need to bring greater transparency and ac-
countability to India’s defence acquisition process.
RexFeatures
Operations and safety editor
David Learmount writes on
aviation safety matters on his
eponymous blog
flightglobal.com/learmount
See Feature P32
Just in case
Fire risk on modern airliners is worse than it has been since aircraft were made of wood,
but because there has not been a recent passenger aircraft loss, complacency has set in
The smoking gun
There has always been a chance of fire on commer-
cial transport aircraft, but the risk profile in today’s
fleet is definitely changing, and probably increasing –
yet nothing is being done to tackle this.
The reasons behind the change are many. Leading the
list is the proliferation of lithium-chemistry batteries – a
definable fire risk – in the personal electronic equip-
ment of both passengers and crew. Their highly flam-
mable nature has been blamed for the loss of at least one
freighter aircraft, a UPS Boeing 747, which carried the
lithium-ion cells among its cargo. And larger versions of
those same lithium batteries have recently been de-
ployed by aircraft manufacturers to power standby on-
board equipment. In the case of the Boeing 787 they
provide the ultimate back-up electrical supply.
The very latest airliners are also “more-electric” –
electricity replaces hydraulic, pneumatic or mechani-
cal power – resulting in an increase in the amount of
electrical cabling. The proliferation of in-flight enter-
tainment systems adds both batteries and yet more
cabling. And the rapidly increasing use of composite
materials for aircraft primary structures is changing the
risk profile because composites have a different reac-
tion to heat.
In the last three years, two freighters have been lost
to onboard fires, but because they were not passenger
flights public concern has remained dormant. The last
catastrophic blaze that brought down a passenger air-
Estimates put the number of
onboard smoke events today
at one in every 15,000 flights
craft was Swissair 111 in 1998. That is a long time ago,
and it involved a Boeing MD-11, but nothing funda-
mental in terms of aircraft and cabin systems design
has been changed as a result. Meanwhile estimates put
the number of onboard smoke events today at one in
every 15,000 flights. And cliché as it may be, where
there is smoke, there is fire, be it real or potential.
One of the most remarkable facts about aircraft de-
sign for safety is that the only fire detection equipment
on board commercial transport aircraft are in the en-
gines, the freight bay and the lavatories. There are no
detection systems in cockpits or cabins, so a fire that
starts behind the panels because of an electrical short-
circuit – like Swissair 111 – has a chance to take hold
before its presence is noticed. And when smoke or
fumes have betrayed its existence, there is no way of
locating the heat source or directing extinguishant at it.
This is simply unacceptable.
The Royal Aeronautical Society is leading a study
into these risks. Action must follow it.

THIS WEEK
flightglobal.com8 | Flight International | 10-16 September 2013
For a round-up of our latest online news,
feature and multimedia content visit
flightglobal.com/wotw
Early use of the Royal Air
Force’sBAESystemsHawkT2
advanced jet trainer has dramati-
cally boosted the quality of in-
struction being provided to UK
students, programme officials say.
A first course of four ab initio
pilots completed their training on
the T2 with 4 Sqn at RAF Valley
in June 2013, before progressing
to its 29 Sqn operational conver-
sion unit (OCU) for the Eurofight-
er Typhoon at Coningsby in
Lincolnshire.
“I think we’ve doubled the
standard of the students,” says
Alasdair Shinner, station manager
at the Anglesey base for Lockheed
Martin/Babcock joint venture As-
cent, the Ministry of Defence’s
training system partner for the
Military Flying Training System
(MFTS) programme. The T2 has
the potential to deliver a “multi-
role, combat-ready pilot” to the
OCU, he adds, whereas the RAF’s
analogue cockpit Hawk T1s were
not preparing students for the
aircraft they would later fly.
Several additional courses are
now under way, with these in-
cluding RAF and Royal Navy stu-
dents and 11 more UK qualified
flying instructors (QFI). With only
50% of system capacity being
used on a 28-aircraft fleet, poten-
tial options to increase the vol-
ume of training delivered include
TRAINING CRAIG HOYLE LONDON
Early Hawk T2 use
aids RAF students
Programme officials highlight quality of instruction provided
to trainees, better preparing them to fly more advanced jets
CraigHoyle/Flightglobal
The BAE Systems type is operated by the service’s 4 Sqn
HIGHER-THRUST TRENT RUNS ON FIRST 787-9
PROPULSION Initial test runs have been conducted on the Rolls-
Royce Trent 1000 engines powering Boeing’s first 787-9. The maid-
en flight of the stretched twinjet is on track for “late summer”,says
the airframer. Trent 1000 programme director John Griffiths adds
that Rolls-Royce is “delighted at the successful first run” of the en-
gines. Its Package C version of the powerplant,developed for the
787-9,provides 74,000lb (329kN) of thrust. Air New Zealand is the
launch customer,with 10 of the type due for delivery from 2014.
CHINESE A330 AMONG AUGUST AIRBUS ORDERS
AIRFRAMES China Eastern Airlines was behind the only long-haul
order for Airbus during a quiet August,but the deal for the single
A330 marks the first firm Chinese order recorded by the airframer
this year. Long-haul orders from China,particularly for the A330,had
been held up by a dispute over the European emissions trading sys-
tem. However,the airframer’s latest backlog data,covering the first
eight months of 2013,includes a single China Eastern A330-200
order on 5 August. Airbus added nine other aircraft – all A320-family
jets – to its backlog during the month,bringing its gross total to 942
and taking its net figure just above 900. Airbus delivered 394 aircraft
over the first eight months,including 11 A380s and 70 A330s.
AGUSTAWESTLAND SEALS CHINESE SALES PACT
ROTORCRAFT AgustaWestland has signed a distribution agreement
with Sino-US Intercontinental Helicopter Investment,with the pact
also including a contract for 20 aircraft. Finmeccanica says the sale
values €170 million ($223 million),and covers AW119Ke,AW139,
AW169,AW189 and GrandNew aircraft,for roles including VIP trans-
port. AgustaWestland says the agreement makes it “well-positioned”
to grow further from the previous sale of 40 helicopters in China.
ISRAELI TARGET LAUNCH SPARKS BALLISTIC ALERT
INCIDENT Russia’s defence ministry was put on heightened alert on
3 September,after early warning radars detected two unidentified
“ballistic objects” over the Mediterranean sea. The scare was later
confirmed as having been prompted by the launch of two Rafael
Sparrow-series target missiles from an Israeli air force Boeing F-15.
The activity was performed as a joint Israeli/US test in support of the
development of Israel’s Arrow 3 ballistic missile interceptor.
DENMARK ORDERS MX-15 SENSOR FOR AW101
EQUIPMENT Denmark has ordered a minimum of eight L-3 Wescam
MX-15 electro-optical/infrared sensors for its AgustaWestland
AW101 tactical transport helicopters. The equipment will be fitted by
the nation’s Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation by
2014. The Royal Danish Air Force operates 14 AW101s,with part of
the fleet tasked with providing search and rescue services.
FRANCE STEPS IN WITH ARIANE 5 UPGRADE BUDGET
SPACEFLIGHT With a €25 million ($33 million) allocation,the
French government has agreed to meet the lion’s share of the ap-
proximately €35 million cost of upgrading the European Space
Agency’s Ariane 5 rocket to accommodate a new generation of larger-
volume telecommunications satellites. The programme,to fly from
2015,will add 2m (6ft) to the available height inside the launcher’s
payload fairing,without altering its profile. The added volume is likely
to be demanded by satellite customers opting for all- or more-electric
designs,which eliminate propellant tanks but add solar panel area.
BRIEFING
preparing additional RAF QFIs,
increasing the number of instruc-
tors sourced from other air forces
or approving Ascent-employed
instructors to command some
flights, officials say.
“Spare capacity is something
that is being looked at, but there
is no simple answer,” says Grp
Capt Simon Blake, from the
RAF’s 22 Group training organi-
sation. “Lots of other air forces are
coming here and seeing that we
are filling the [training capability]
gap,” he notes.
Meanwhile, activities involv-
ing the RAF’s Hawk T1-equipped
208 Sqn have been extended at
Valley, with the service currently
providing Phase IV lead-in fighter
training for Royal Saudi Air Force
pilots. Riyadh will take delivery
of its first of 22 T2-equivalent
Hawks from BAE in 2015.
The remainder of the MFTS
programme’s fixed-wing equip-
ment package should be deter-
mined by 2015, with one type to
deliver elementary training and a
turboprop-powered basic trainer
offering “jet-like performance” to
replace the RAF’s current Shorts
Tucano T1s. Operations should
commence from around 2018,
says Ascent’s Simon Falla.
Follow the latest global defence
aviation news and views at
flightglobal.com/dewline

THIS WEEK
Human factors
loom in Super
Puma crash report
THISWEEK P10
SAFETY STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC
FAA finalises 787 electrical review
Safety regulator has completed detailed technical work for investigation into Dreamliner’s problematic power systems
The US Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration confirms the
agency is close to finalising a
comprehensive safety review of
the Boeing 787’s problematic
electrical system.
The agency has completed the
detailed technical work for what
the FAA now calls the “critical
systems review” of the 787. “At
this time the report is being final-
ised,” the agency says.
As the US National Transpor-
tation Safety Board (NTSB) con-
tinues its search for the root
cause of the overheating lithium
ion batteries, the public release
of the report by the FAA on the
overall electrical system could
provide new context about the
incidents that caused the 787 to
be grounded for four months
earlier this year.
However, is still unclear if the
FAA will call for any design
changes or operational restric-
tions on the 787 as a result of the
report’s findings.
“Boeing continues to work co-
operatively with the FAA as the
report on the 787 critical systems
review is finalised,” the airframer
says. “Until the report has been
published, it would be inappro-
priate for us to comment further.”
The report was commissioned
by then-Secretary of Transporta-
tion Ray LaHood on 11 January,
coming in between the two bat-
tery incidents that prompted the
FAA to order the 787 grounded
for four months.
While the lithium-ion battery
became the focus of safety probes
by the FAA and NTSB, the review
initiated by LaHood was designed
to consider safety concerns affect-
ing the 787’s entire electrical ar-
chitecture.
The 787 had experienced sev-
eral electrical problems before the
two battery malfunctions in Janu-
ary. In December, Qatar Airways
and United Airlines grounded
certain 787s due to a faulty batch
of circuit boards.
One United 787 made a pre-
cautionary landing in Houston on
4 December after one of the air-
craft’s six electrical generators
failed due to the circuit board
problem.
The 787 is the first and still the
only commercial airliner that
uses electrical power to pressu-
rise the passenger cabin rather
than a pneumatic system driven
by bleed-air from the engine’s
compressor stages.
Follow a timeline detailing the
787’s troubled operations:
flightglobal.com/787woes
Bombardier is readying its
CSeries twinjet for its maiden
sortie, with the final pre-flight
tests beginning at the airframer’s
Mirabel facility.
Airport watchers spotted on 1
September the initial flight-test
vehicle, FTV-1, performing what
appeared to be high-speed taxi
trials, although Bombardier later
played these down, describing
them as “high-speed low-speed
tests”.
Bombardier says these were
slightly below its 70kt (130km/h)
threshold for high-speed tests.
Quicker taxi runs and rejected
take-off trials – some of the last
ground tests required before flight
– were due to be performed in the
following days, but were
scrubbed due to weather con-
cerns, Bombardier says.
Landing gear and other further
testing has yet to take place, the
airframer says.
The flightcrew reports that
FTV-1 is “handling beautifully”
in testing, it adds. The crew in-
cludes chief pilot Chuck Ellis,
first officer Andy Litavniks and
flight test engineer Andreas
Hartono.
Bombardier received a flight
test permit for the CSeries from
regulator Transport Canada on 30
August. The permit allows Bom-
bardier to conduct the high-speed
trials as well as first flight once all
ground testing is complete.
DEVELOPMENT EDWARD RUSSELL WASHINGTON DC
CSeries speeds towards
maiden-sortie milestone
ORDER EDWARD RUSSELL WASHINGTON DC
Delta weighs in with A330 deal
Airbus has secured a launch
customer for the higher gross
weight variant of its A330, after
US carrier Delta Air Lines or-
dered 10 of the enhanced type.
The first A330s will be deliv-
ered to the Atlanta-based carrier
in the second quarter of 2015, and
will be powered by General Elec-
tric CF6-80E1 engines.
Announced in November
2012, the 242t A330 benefits from
500nm (925km) of additional
range, taking it to 6,100nm, and
5t of extra payload, compared
with the current 235t A330, ac-
cording to Airbus. Delta plans to
use the aircraft on both trans-At-
lantic and trans-Pacific routes.
Delta additionally ordered 30
sharklet-equipped A321 narrow-
bodies, with deliveries from the
first quarter of 2016. The aircraft
are to be powered by CFM Inter-
national CFM56 engines.
The carrier puts the total value
of the deal at about $5.6 billion at
list prices.
“This Airbus agreement is
another opportunistic fleet trans-
action for Delta in which we ac-
quire economically efficient,
proven-technology aircraft,” says
Richard Anderson, chief execu-
tive of Delta.
Many of Delta’s new A321s will
come from Airbus’s new final as-
sembly line in Mobile, Alabama,
says the airframer, which will de-
liver its first aircraft in 2016.
Airbus
The carrier will take the higher gross weight variant of the twinjet
PatrickCardinal
Taxi trials are under way at Bombardier’s Mirabel facility

THIS WEEK
For a round-up of our latest online news,
feature and multimedia content visit
flightglobal.com/wotw
helicopter was “on the published
horizontal and vertical profile of
the approach to runway 09, with
airspeed decreasing steadily”.
However, a mile later it had de-
scended some 240ft (73m) below
the vertical approach profile, and
its rate of descent had hit 500ft/
min, with an airspeed of 68kt
(126km/h). The statement adds:
“The airspeed continued to re-
duce to below 30kt, and as it did
so the helicopter pitched increas-
ingly nose-up.
“The rate of descent remained
constant for a period before in-
creasing rapidly.
“Shortly thereafter the helicop-
ter, which was intact, struck the
sea in a near level pitch attitude
with a slight right bank. Both
engines were delivering power
until impact.”
Suspicions that the crash was
not due to an issue with the air-
frame or engines began to surface
shortly after the Aberdeen-based
Helicopter Safety Steering Group
lifted its voluntary flight ban cov-
ering all Super Puma variants on
29 August.
A statement was released the
following day by the UK Civil
Aviation Authority which backed
the HSSG’s position, stressing
that it did not believe “the acci-
dent was caused by an airworthi-
ness or technical problem, and
consider that the decision by the
operators to resume Super Puma
flights is appropriate”.
“We would not allow a return
to service unless we were satisfied
that it was safe to do so. We will
reviewthepositionifanynewevi-
dence comes to light,” it said.
miles, but was descending faster
than appropriate at a time when
the crew would still not have
been able to see the runway
through the thin mist present.
When air traffic control at
Sumburgh provided the CHC
crew with radar vectors to join
the localiser/DME approach to
09, visibility was 1.5nm (2.8km),
and the wind was 17kt from the
southeast. On such an approach
lateral guidance is provided, but
the crew must set and monitor
their own vertical profile by plot-
ting DME distance from the run-
way against the height they
should be passing at that point.
The statement says that at three
miles from the threshold the
Aterse statement by the UK Air
Accidents Investigation
Branch has provided basic facts
downloaded from the cockpit
voice and flight data recorder of
the CHC Scotia AS332L2 Super
Puma helicopter (G-WSNB) in-
volved in a fatal crash on ap-
proach to Sumburgh, in the
Shetland Isles, on 23 August.
Crucially, no technical failure
has been detected, the statement
says, noting that both engines
continued to deliver power until
the helicopter impacted the sea.
Four passengers were killed
during the accident.
It adds: “To date, no evidence
of a causal technical failure has
been identified; however, de-
tailed examination of the [com-
bined cockpit voice and flight
data recorder] and the helicopter
wreckage is continuing.”
During the localiser/DME non-
precision approach to Sum-
burgh’s runway 09, the aircraft
was on the correct vertical de-
scent profile at three nautical
INCIDENT DAVID LEARMOUNT LONDON
Human factors loom in crash report
Air Accidents Investigation Branch suggests technical issues with helicopter were not to blame for Super Puma accident
STUDY DOMINIC PERRY LONDON
Passenger capacity could be cut by wide-ranging review
North Sea operators could face fun-
damental changes – including
red;ucing the number of passengers
carried in each aircraft – depending
on the outcome of a root-and-branch
review of offshore helicopter trans-
portation safety.
Launched in the wake of the 23
August fatal accident of a CHC
Scotia-operated Eurocopter
AS332L2,the study has been com-
missioned by pan-industry body the
Helicopter Safety Steering Group.
Although it is still framing the
terms of reference for the inquiry
and considering who should chair it,
the HSSG promises that it will act on
any recommendations produced.
“Ignoring them is not an accept-
able outcome for any of us,that’s
just not how we do things around
here,” says Les Linklater,team lead
at Step Change in Safety,the organi-
sation behind the HSSG. “If there
are things we can do to make heli-
copter operations safer then we
have to do them.”
Linklater says the report,which
will take around six months to com-
plete,will have to look beyond any
issues around airworthiness and
also examine other areas of con-
cern,such as the relative safety
records of the UK and Norway,plus
the internal configuration of all the
offshore transportation helicopters.
Both the EC225 and the rival
Sikorsky S-92 can accommodate 19
passengers,but concerns have
been raised – notably via social me-
dia – that the cabin of the
Eurocopter type is too cramped to
comfortably seat that many people.
“The sense from [passengers] is
that they feel there are too many
people in the back. But it’s some-
thing that we are not going to con-
sider via Facebook,but through
interviews,” says Linklater.
Eurocopter says it will participate in
the study as part of its efforts to
mend relations with the offshore
workforce. Dominique Maudet,ex-
ecutive vice-president global busi-
ness and services at Eurocopter,
says: “You can’t avoid the emotion,
but at some point you have to look
at the facts and figures.
“We will look at whatever modifi-
cations we can make in the short
and medium term to better address
passenger comfort,especially com-
pared with other aircraft.”
HSSG includes representatives
from offshore workforce trade un-
ions,as well as the three Aberdeen
operators. However,Linklater hopes
to broaden this to include regular
participation from the three main
helicopter manufacturers:
AgustaWestland,Eurocopter and
Sikorsky.
PA
Four passengers were killed in the 23 August incident
“To date, no evidence
of a causal technical
failure has been
identified”
AAIB STATEMENT
David Learmount offers his
views on aviation safety:
flightglobal.com/learmount

flightglobal.com
THIS WEEK
Fuel contamination has been
confirmed as the cause of a
double engine malfunction on a
Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300
on approach to Hong Kong Inter-
national airport, which led to a
high-speed emergency landing of
the twinjet.
In a final report into the 13
April 2010 incident, Hong Kong’s
Civil Aviation Department (CAD)
says that 24.4t of contaminated
fuel was uplifted into the A330 at
Surabaya’s Juanda International
airport in Indonesia. This caused
stiction in the fuel metering units
of both engines, leading to the
total seizure of the components
and the loss of thrust controls
during approach.
Contaminants entered the fuel
system via a hydrant refuelling
circuit serving 10 stands at Sura-
baya. This had undergone exten-
sion work as part of an apron ex-
pansion project at the airport.
However, CAD found that salt
water had apparently entered the
system during the construction
works. The recommissioning
process of the reworked hydrant
wasalsonotproperlycoordinated,
which led to the premature
resumption of refuelling opera-
tions, says CAD – leading to
contamination of the fuel with su-
per-absorbent polymer material.
It was this substance that
caused the malfunction of the
fuel metering units.
The report notes that airport
personnel uploading the fuel
failed to react to abnormal vibra-
tions of the equipment, caused by
the reaction between the polymer
material and salt water to form a
gel-like substance. Operatives
failed to stop the procedure and
investigate the cause of the vibra-
tion, it says.
The affected aircraft (B-HLL)
was operating flight CX780 when
both its Rolls-Royce Trent 700 en-
gines malfunctioned. The crew
had to issued a Mayday call and
eventually landed at a high
ground speed of 231kt (427km/h),
causing the lower cowling of one
engine to contact the runway and
overheated brakes that left five
tyres deflated. Passengers evacu-
ated using escape slides.
PT Pertamina, which carried
out the refuelling at Surabaya, has
since changed its procedures and
equipment to prevent a repeat of
the incident.
SAFETY MAVIS TOH SINGAPORE
Dirty fuel blamed
for Cathay A330’s
engineemergency
Investigators pin twinjet’s double powerplant malfunction on
contaminated Jet-A1 uplifted at Indonesia’s Juanda airport
Keep up to date with the latest
global airline news online at
flightglobal.com/airlines
flyphanUKgalleryonflightglobal.com/AirSpace
The Cathay widebody landed with a ground speed of 231kt

AIR TRANSPORT
Check out our collection of online dynamic
aircraft profiles for the latest news,images
and information on civil and military
programmes at flightglobal.com/profiles
Investigators have determined
that the crew of an Eva Air
Airbus A330-300 (B-16331) failed
to adapt to changing weather and
visibility, during an incident
where the aircraft veered off the
runway after landing at Taipei’s
Songshan airport last year.
The incident took place on 13
September, and involved flight
BR189, from Tokyo’s Haneda air-
port. Taiwan’s Aviation Safety
Council (ASC) says that during
the flight the crew received infor-
mation that visibility at Songshan
airport was 5,000m (16,400ft)
with haze, and that at 5nm (9km)
from the runway threshold, visi-
bility was 7,000m, with wet run-
way conditions and heavy rain.
Interviews with the crew re-
vealed that while they could see
the runway at 3-4nm from the
threshold during their approach,
they could not see the end of the
runway clearly.
About 9s before landing the
aircraft started to drift to the right
of the runway centreline. Upon
landing, the aircraft’s right main
wheels veered off the tarmac,
only regaining the runway ap-
proximately 305m (1,000ft) later.
Although the aircraft was not
damaged in the incident, two
runway edge lights were rendered
inoperative.
“The aircraft touched down at
the right side of the runway cen-
treline. After landing, the aircraft
veered off the runway [as] the
flightcrew did not adequately
control the aircraft direction,”
says the ASC.
Although the crew had ade-
quate situational awareness and
had acknowledged the rainy con-
ditions, they failed to make “ap-
propriate judgement and action
according to the weather change
and abrupt visibility variation at
landing phase”, it says. The pilot
monitoring the decent also did
not perform standard call-outs
when the speed range met the
criteria for doing so.
Eva also lacked any standard
call-out procedures in its manu-
als to deal with a runway excur-
sion post-touchdown. The ASC
has since recommended that Eva
reinforce its flightcrew’s manoeu-
vring and handling training in
instances where visual references
are insufficient.
INVESTIGATION MAVIS TOH SINGAPORE
Crew failed to adapt to poor visibility
Changing conditions on approach to Taipei airport led to A330’s right main wheels leaving the runway following landing
JetBlue Airways’s subsidiary
LiveTV has received supple-
mental type certification from the
US Federal Aviation Administra-
tion for its Ka-band in-flight inter-
net on Airbus A320s, paving the
way for the airline to offer broad-
band on revenue flights.
Testing of the satellite-based
wi-fi system has been completed
on an A320, and trials are also
underwayonaBoeing737-900ER
operated by United Airlines, says
LiveTV.
“This is game-changing tech-
nology,” says JetBlue chief
commercial officer Robin Hayes.
“We expect to have a number of
JetBlue aircraft installed with
wi-fi by the end of this year, and
will aggressively roll it out across
our Airbus fleet over the next 18
months, followed by our Embraer
fleet.”
Hayes claims JetBlue’s wi-fi,
dubbed “Fly-Fi” by the airline,
will be “the fastest in-flight wi-fi
in the industry”.
JetBlue has previously indicat-
ed it plans to operate three A320s
with the system for 90 days for
longer-term testing. Next year the
airline intends to install the sys-
tem on further A320s, before fit-
ting it on its fleet of E-190s.
JetBlue has 129 Airbus narrow-
bodies and 59 E-190s in its fleet,
according to Flightglobal’s As-
cend Online Fleets database.
LiveTv says it is also seeking
Ka-band certification from EASA
on Aer Lingus A320s.
REGULATIONS DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
Kazakhstan safety drive
targets EU blacklisting
IFE JON HEMMERDINGER WASHINGTON DC
FAA green lights JetBlue ‘Fly-Fi’
Kazakhstan’s government has
introduced dozens of amend-
ed regulations aimed at improv-
ing the central Asian state’s air
safety oversight.
Transport minister Askar
Zhumagaliyev discussed progress
in the area with ICAO’s European
regional director Luis Fonseca de
Almeida, during a meeting in
early September.
Kazakhstan has brought in 80
amendments to civil aviation
regulations, the transport minis-
try says, of which 70 relate to
safety, in an effort to harmonise
with international standards. On
3 September a new aviation
security training centre opened in
Almaty, which the ministry says
will complement other centres in
Moscow and Kiev.
Kazakhstan remains subject to
a blacklisting by the European
Commission, which the govern-
ment is keen to have lifted. Safety
revision efforts have included
recertification of the country’s
operators.
Air Astana is exempt from the
blanket European ban. The Com-
mission, in its most recent
blacklist revision, confirmed that
ramp checks had revealed “no
specific concern” with the carri-
er’s operations.
AirTeamImages
The Eva Air pilots were censured for failing to adequately control the aircraft’s direction
Keep up with safety issues in
aviation online by logging on to
flightglobal.com/safety

AIR TRANSPORT
VirginAustraliaeyes
newwidebodies
AIRTRANSPORT P14
The parent company of defunct
Indian carrier Kingfisher Air-
lines has filed a $234 million law-
suit against International Aero
Engines (IAE) over its V2500-A5
powerplants.
The suit was filed by United
BreweriesinBengaluru,andalleg-
es that the engines “were inher-
ently defective, both in design and
manufacture”. The suit was re-
vealed in the carrier’s annual re-
portforthefinancialyearended31
March. The suit seeks damages of
$210 million in addition to Rs1.6
billion($24million).
An airline spokesman contact-
ed about the suit declined to pro-
vide further details. Kingfisher
has been grounded since Septem-
ber 2012, and in its annual report
states it has defaulted on “pay-
ments to several creditors”.
It attributed its problems to a
“difficult operating environment
as well as the engine problems”.
Kingfisher was formerly a
major operator of Airbus A320-
family aircraft powered by IAE
V2500 engines.
In August 2010 the carrier had
problems with the V2500 that
caused it to ground nine A320s.
The carrier said it had experi-
enced “technical issues” with
stages three to eight of the 10-stage
high-pressure compressor in the
engine,amongotherproblems.
Subsequently, on 19 August
2010, IAE said it would replace
parts on some of its V2500 en-
gines on in-operation aircraft after
discovering problems with the
engine’s high-pressure compres-
sor drum in 2009.
No-one from IAE was available
to comment.
AVienna court has called into
question the legality of a
move last year by Austrian Air-
lines to transfer flights to regional
subsidiary Tyrolean Airways as
part of its restructuring plans, de-
spite ruling it strictly complies
with the country’s labour laws.
The Lufthansa-owned carrier
moved all flight operations to Ty-
rolean in July 2012 to cut staff
costs for pilots and cabin crew
after failing to negotiate a new
deal with unions. While employ-
ee salary levels were not reduced,
the move was aimed at slowing
the rate of pay increases.
In the ruling, the Vienna La-
bour and Social Affairs Court
says that an “ostensible viola-
tion” of law has not taken place,
but it has called into question the
transfer of operations within a
corporate group.
“We acknowledge the first in-
stance judgment,” says Austrian
Airlines chief executive Jaan Al-
brecht. “It is surprising for us that
[the judge] casts doubt upon the
common practice of transferring
operations as part of group re-
structuring programmes.
“We will pursue every legal av-
enue at our disposal in the ap-
peals process in order to legally
safeguard our restructuring path.
In the meantime, we hope that
the talks initiated with the works
council on the collective wage
agreement will result in a viable
solution independent of the deci-
sion handed down by the court,”
he adds.
The labour court ruling deals
with the specific legal repercus-
sions on the transfer of flight op-
erations to Tyrolean from an em-
ployment law basis.
The Lufthansa Group carrier is looking to trim staff costs
Boeing764galleryonflightglobal.com/AirSpaceAirTeamImages
The carrier said it had
‘technical issues’
with stages three to
eight of the 10-stage
compressor
SAS Group has sold seven
Bombardier Q400 turboprops
to Norwegian operation Widerøe,
following its divestment of a ma-
jority shareholding in the airline.
It says the loans on these air-
craft have also been transferred to
the carrier.
Three Q400s were also sold to
Widerøe and then sold on to a
leasing company.
Investors led by the Torghatten
firm are taking an 80% share in
Widerøe and SAS will hand over
full ownership of the airline in
2016. SAS Group says it will re-
Q400 deal cements Widerøe sell-off
DIVESTMENT DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
EMPLOYMENT GRAHAM DUNN LONDON
Court raises questions over
Austrian’s Tyrolean transfer
Chief executive vows to appeal ruling as carrier seeks to safeguard restructuring plans
POWERPLANTS
GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE
IAE faces court
challenge from
Kingfisherowner
For more business stories, see
the September edition of sister
publication airlinebusiness.com
However, it will have no bear-
ing on a separate judicial probe
into the move being undertaken
by Austria’s supreme court to
clarify the effects on former Aus-
trian Airlines flight personnel
caused by the termination of their
collective wage agreement.
In June that court sought a clar-
ification from the European Court
of Justice on several legal issues
about the operational transfer.
ceive Swedish krona (SKr)2 bil-
lion ($300 million) through the
sale of the initial Widerøe share-
holding and the aircraft, from
which the group’s liquidity will
benefit by SKr1 billion.
SAS Group has sold the turboprops to its former regional carrier

AIR TRANSPORT
Check out our collection of online dynamic
aircraft profiles for the latest news,images
and information on civil and military
programmes at flightglobal.com/profiles
Virgin Australia is evaluating
new long-haul twinjets from
both the big airframers as
potential replacements for its
Airbus A330-300s and Boeing
777-300ERs.
Chief executive John Borghetti
says the airline is in the process
of running the rule over both
widebody types, and that it
“could be making a decision in
the next six to 12 months”.
He notes, however, that as the
carrier’s widebody fleet is rela-
tively young, there is no great ur-
gency to place an order.
“We want to make a consid-
ered decision – the right decision
for our route network,” says
Borghetti, adding that “they are
both good aircraft”.
Flightglobal’s Ascend Online
Fleets database shows that Vir-
gin’s six A330s have an average
age of five years, while the five
777s are slightly younger, at an
average of four years. The A330s
are all leased, while the airline
owns four of the five 777s.
Comac has started installing
components on its C919 iron
bird ground-test rig, and is aiming
to have the aircraft’s landing gear
fitted by late September.
The Chinese airframer says as-
sembly of the test rig is a key task
for the firm.
In the first half of the year,
several components necessary for
iron bird tests were delivered, the
manufacturer adds.
Suppliers have also started
tooling design and manufacturing
of parts, it says, without provid-
ing further details. So far, over
200 tubes for the iron bird have
been made.
Last month, Eaton and Shang-
hai Aircraft Manufacturing’s joint
venture delivered the first batch
of conveyance tubes to Comac,
becoming the first supplier to de-
liver parts for the C919.
First flight for the new narrow-
body is now set for end-2015 – a
delay from the original 2014
schedule.
To date, Comac has received
380 commitments for its C919,
mostly from Chinese airlines and
leasing companies.
Comac matures fledgling C919 iron bird test rig
TRIALS MAVIS TOH SINGAPORE
STRATEGY ELLIS TAYLOR SINGAPORE
Virgin Australia eyes new widebodies
Carrier evaluates rival long-haul twinjets as it looks for potential replacements for its Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 fleets
PROGRAMME DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
Brégier heaps praise on ‘maturity’ of A350 prototype
Airbus has completed over 150h of
flight testing with its A350 prototype,
having resumed the campaign in
August following a short break.
The first test aircraft,MSN1,re-
emerged in mid-August after under-
going modifications to its flight-test
installation in July. These included
the fitting of a device beneath the aft
fuselage which appears to be linked
to high-attitude take-off testing,al-
though Airbus says these minimum-
unstick tests have not yet been
conducted and are not scheduled
for the “immediate future”.
Airbus chief executive Fabrice
Brégier has completed his first flight
Virgin uses its A330s on do-
mestic services, primarily on
transcontinental flights, while
the 777s are operated on long-
haul route to Los Angeles and
Abu Dhabi.
Rival carrier Qantas is yet to
decide on when it may firm up
options for the 50 787-9s that
are available for delivery from
2016 onwards. The airline has
previously said it intends to use
the 787s to expand its network
in Asia, subject to its interna-
tional business becoming profit-
able in 2015.
Last year, Virgin ordered 23
Boeing 737 Max 8s and deferred
delivery of some of its existing
737-800 orders. The first Max air-
craft are due to arrive in 2019.
AirTeamImagesAirbus
The Airbus CEO aboard the jet
The airline’s five 777s have
an average age of four years
Get the latest news on the de-
velopment of the Airbus A350:
flightglobal.com/A350
on board the aircraft,joining a rou-
tine 3h sortie over southwest
France.
“I was particularly impressed by
the maturity of the aircraft at such
an early stage in its life,” he says.
“The new cockpit layout with the
large screens and head-up display
are amazing and I am confident that
pilots are going to love being behind
the controls of this machine.”
Airbus is nearly three months into
A350 flight testing,following the
type’s maiden flight on 14 June.

AIR TRANSPORT
UK revealsAEW
programme costs
DEFENCE P16
The Mitsubishi Regional Jet is
taking longer than anticipated
to develop because of the chal-
lenges it has encountered in
adopting the US Federal Aviation
Administration’s new certifica-
tion and approval process.
Yugo Fukuhara, Mitsubishi
Aircraft head of sales, says the
new regional type is the first air-
craft to fully apply the FAA’s or-
ganisational delegation authorisa-
tion (ODA) system, which came
into effect in 2009. Although the
new system had been partly used
before, this was in relation to
Boeing’s 787, where the airframer
delegated some responsibilities
for performing tests to demon-
strate that the Dreamliner’s lithi-
um-ion batteries complied with
airworthiness requirements.
Mitsubishi says under ODA it
has been granted the authority to
design, test and analyse proce-
dures and trial results to prove
airworthiness requirements. This
means that it has had to invest
significant time and resources to
develop the required processes, it
says. “With this new system, all
design and manufacturing
internal processes must be docu-
mented in advance and approved
by the authorities. We need to
build new processes to validate
compliance not only for our-
selves, but also for all our compo-
nent partners,” says Fukuhara.
“Our partners are aware of this
new system, but we have to inte-
grate their old system into our
new processes,” he adds. “Of
course, this new ODA system
came in 2009, we knew this
system conceptually, but it has
taken a longer time than expected
[to implement].”
The nature of the system
means that every component on
the regional jet was affected by
the process. With a clear process
in place, however, maintaining
the MRJ’s revised first flight
schedule should be “very
straightforward”, says Fukuhara.
His comments come a week
after the Japanese airframer an-
nounced a third delay to its pro-
gramme schedule, pushing first
flight of the MRJ90 from end-2013
to the second quarter of 2015,
with deliveries to follow in the
first half of 2017. “We hope this
should be the last delay we
announce,” says Fukuhara.
Mitsubishi is now assembling
its first flight- and ground-test air-
craft. The first Pratt & Whitney
PW1200G engines for the jet
should be delivered to Mitsubishi
in the spring of 2014.
MitsubishiAircraft
First flight is now expected in the second quarter of 2015
State-run Russian transport
leasing company GTLK is to
co-operate with lessor Ilyushin
Finance on the supply of Tupolev
Tu-204SM aircraft.
GTLK has signed a memoran-
dum with the lessor confirming
its interest in participating in
leasing projects to carriers Red
Wings and VIM-Avia.
The two sides reached the
agreement during August’s
MAKS air show in Moscow.
Red Wings has agreed to take
10 Tu-204SMs from Ilyushin Fi-
nance, as well as 10 Irkut MC-21s
and 10 Bombardier Q400s.
VIM-Avia is also taking a batch
of Bombardier CSeries twinjets
from the lessor, which has 32 on
order.
TWINJET MAVIS TOH SINGAPORE
MRJ delay pinned on FAA paperwork
Efforts by Mitsubishi to adopt administration’s new certification and approval regulations have delayed new jet, it says
AGREEMENT
Lessors sign up
for joint Tupolev
Tu-204 supply
Russia’s Rosaviaconsortium,
which is developing a triple-
aisle medium-haul aircraft desig-
nated the Frigate Ecojet, is edging
towards the production phase of
the programme.
Based on the aircraft’s dimen-
sions and technical characteris-
tics, ThyssenKrupp System Engi-
neering has developed a
masterplan for the Ecojet’s final
assembly. During a joint presen-
tation at August’s MAKS air
show, the partners released de-
tails of a new facility designed to
accommodate a 245m (800ft)-
long, 75m-wide assembly line.
Andreas Bekker, project man-
ager at ThyssenKrupp, says the
whole assembly process will be
completed at four workstations,
connected to logistics and inven-
tory areas. “It would begin with
the joining of parts of the [ellipti-
cal] fuselage,” says Bekker. “After
the wings, empennage and un-
dercarriage have been assembled,
engine mounting and interior
outfitting would follow. System
inspections and testing will be
done at the final station.”
“Flow line production should
allow us to raise annual output
from 16 to 45 aircraft within five
years,” says Ecojet programme
director Alexander Klimov.
Rosaviaconsortium has complet-
ed windtunnel trials of the Ecojet
mock-up at the TsAGI Central
Aerohydrodynamic Institute, and
plans to release working design
drawings by August 2014.
“With the masterplan in place,
our task now is to select a site for
the assembly line,” says Klimov.
“To this end, we’ll issue requests
for proposals to prospective bid-
ders in Russia and abroad.”
DEVELOPMENT TOM ZAITSEV MOSCOW
Ecojet project on approach to production phase
A mock-up of the aircraft has completed windtunnel testing
Rosaviaconsortium
Missed MAKS? Read all the
analysis from the show floor:
flightglobal.com/MAKS

DEFENCE
For free access to Flightglobal’s Defence
e-newsletter visit flightglobal.com/
defencenewsletter
Pratt & Whitney and the US
Department of Defense have
reached an agreement in princi-
ple for the production of a sixth
lot of 38 F135 engines for the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter.
“This agreement represents a
fair deal for [the] government and
Pratt & Whitney,” says Lt Gen
Chris Bogdan, F-35 programme
executive officer. “Driving down
cost is critical to the success of
this programme, and we are
working together to lower costs
for the propulsion system.”
“Cost details will be released
when the LRIP [low-rate initial
production] 6 contract is final-
ised,” the F-35 Joint Program
Office (JPO) says.
Unit prices for the convention-
al version of the F135 are expect-
ed to drop by 2.5% compared
with the previous production lot,
the JPO says, but the price for six
short take-off and vertical landing
F135 engines to be contained
within the deal should fall by
roughly 9.6%.
Deliveries will begin in the
fourth quarter of this year.
Further details of the UK Royal
Navy’s Crowsnest next-gener-
ation airborne early warning pro-
gramme have been disclosed by
the nation’s Ministry of Defence,
with the effort expected to have a
maximum cost of around £500
million ($782 million).
To provide replacements for
the Fleet Air Arm’s current West-
land Sea King 7 airborne surveil-
lance and control system helicop-
ters, Crowsnest recently entered a
second assessment phase. This is
concerned with candidate radars
and mission systems which could
be installed aboard eight upgrad-
ed AgustaWestland AW101 Mer-
lin HM2 rotorcraft for the navy
from later this decade.
Merlin HM2 programme prime
contractor Lockheed Martin is of-
fering its Vigilance mission suite,
combined with a Northrop Grum-
man radar for Crowsnest, while
Thales is promoting an update of
its Cerberus system and Search-
water 2000 sensor already used
with the Sea King 7. Elta Systems
and Selex ES are also offering ra-
dars for the requirement, accord-
ing to evidence given to the UK
Public Accounts Committee by
MoD officials earlier this year.
In a report about the UK’s
future carrier strike capability
published on 3 September, the
committee voiced concern that
the Crowsnest system is not
scheduled to achieve full capabil-
ity until 2022 – two years after the
expected initial use of the RN’s
first Queen Elizabeth-class air-
craft carrier with deployed Lock-
heed F-35B combat aircraft.
Service trials with the selected
system would commence in
2020, the MoD says, with initial
operational capability to be de-
clared late the same year. “By the
time we get to 2020 we will own
four Crowsnest helicopters, of
which two would be available to
deploy in extremis,” deputy chief
of defence staff (military capabil-
ity) Air Marshal Stephen Hillier
told the committee.
Prior to achieving a full carrier
strike capability, the UK “would
be working alongside allies and
would be able to share capabili-
ties”, he notes.
The MoD expects to launch a
third assessment phase activity
next year, and to make a main
gate investment decision for the
Crowsnest system in 2017; one
year after its last Sea Kings have
been retired. The programme is
expected to have a total cost rang-
ing between £230 million and
around £500 million, it says.
The US Air Force and Boeing
completed a critical design re-
view (CDR) process for the KC-46
tanker on 21 August, more than
one month ahead of a contractual
milestone previously set for 24
September.
“I’m pleased to report that the
design of the KC-46A tanker has
been locked down,” says Maj Gen
John Thompson, the USAF’s pro-
gramme executive officer for
tankers.
Boeing and the USAF had been
working on component and sub-
system design reviews for 10
months to complete the process,
the service says. “Closure of CDR
formally establishes the KC-46
design and now allows the pro-
gramme to progress into its man-
ufacturing and development test
phases,” it adds. Manufacture of
the first tanker is already under
way, with Boeing having begun
wing assembly work on 26 June.
Flight testing of the basic Boeing
767-2C airframe, which will later
be reconfigured into the KC-46, is
scheduled to begin in mid-2014.
The first fully-equipped KC-46
tanker is projected to fly in early
2015, according to the air force.
Boeing is contracted to build
four test aircraft and deliver 18
combat-ready tankers by August
2017, as part of a process to re-
place a portion of the USAF’s
aged Boeing KC-135 fleet. If the
service exercises all of its options,
it will receive a total of 179 of the
aircraft by 2028.
CONTEST CRAIG HOYLE LONDON
UK reveals AEW
programme costs
Next-generation Crowsnest system to be readied for initial
use in 2020, as MoD sets potential value at £500 million
DEVELOPMENT DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC
KC-46 CDR accomplished early
The first fully-equipped aircraft is projected to fly in early 2015
POWERPLANTS
F-35 engine production
agreement a ‘fair deal’
Boeing
CrownCopyright
Operations with the aged Sea King 7 will end by March 2016

DEFENCE
Israeli air force
pushes 12-aircraft
KC-135R deal
DEFENCE P18
Embraer has delivered the first
modernised A-1M AMX
subsonic strike aircraft to the
Brazilian air force at its Gavião
Peixoto site.
“The A-1 fighter jets are funda-
mental elements for the defence
of Brazil, including its territorial
coastal waters,” says Gen Juniti
Saito, the service’s commander.
“We have been very successful in
using this aircraft on such highly
complex operations as the Cruzex
and Red Flag exercises. Its
modernisation presents a big gain
in capability.”
The A-1M programme pro-
vides for the upgrade of 43 AMX
jets, which were originally devel-
oped under a joint venture with
Italy’s then-Aermacchi. So far, 16
of Brazil’s aircraft have been in-
ducted into Embraer’s facilities
for refurbishment.
The modernisation package
adds new weapons, radar and
navigation equipment, plus elec-
tronic countermeasures.
Embraer is also performing
structural refurbishments that
will extend the type’s service life
until 2025.
Brazil’s current operational
AMX inventory also comprises
46 A-1/1A single-seat strike air-
craft and 10 B-model trainers,
says Flightglobal’s MiliCAS
database.
India’s comptroller and auditor
general (CAG) has slammed the
acquisition of 12 AgustaWestland
AW101 VVIP transport helicop-
ters for the Indian air force in its
probe into the deal.
According to the report, “the
entire process of acquisition of
VVIP helicopters right from fram-
ing of [the] services qualitative
requirements to the conclusion of
contract deviated from laid down
procedures.” This, it adds, “poses
serious questions on accountabil-
ity and lack of transparency in the
finalisation of the contract, which
need to be addressed.”
India’s Central Bureau of Inves-
tigation has already registered a
case against 13 people and six
firms with regard to the AW101
contract, which has been put on
hold. New Delhi has already paid
about 30% of the €560 million
($737 million) total, and received
three aircraft.
AgustaWestland refutes the
auditor’s allegations, saying that
changed air force requirements,
including stipulating a cabin
height of 5.9ft (1.8m), was met by
other helicopters and did not lead
to the “ejection of any competing
aircraft”. This counters the
report’s claim that the decision to
raise the height from an original
4.8ft led to a single vendor
situation, and “resulted in an
operational disadvantage” for the
air force.
The CAG also highlighted a
reduction in the VVIP aircraft’s
required service ceiling, which
dropped to 14,800ft from the
19,700ft cited in an earlier request
for proposals. AgustaWestland
says it sent letters to the Indian air
force in 2005 stating that the
AW101 could be modified to op-
erate at the higher altitude.
Alleged violations with respect
to offset obligations are also men-
tioned in the report.
India has ordered eight
AW101s in a VVIP configuration,
and four for use as tactical trans-
ports. Its air force is already
believed to be having trouble in
keeping its received three
examples – delivered between
November 2012 and February
2013 – airworthy.
The ongoing controversy
means that the air force will have
to continue flying its eight ageing
VVIP-roled Mil Mi-8s, which
were acquired from 1988. The
CAG report also questions the
size of the AW101 order, noting
that the current inventory saw a
utilisation rate of approximately
29% between 1999 and 2010.
Uncertainty over the contract
has led to AgustaWestland slow-
ing down work on the order at its
Yeovil production site in Somer-
set, the UK. Three more Indian
aircraft are ready for delivery,
with the remainder in an ad-
vanced state of completion.
The company remains hopeful
that the transports will eventually
be handed over, but exhibited one
of the completed examples at the
MAKS air show in Russia in late
August, repainted in a new
corporate livery.
AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland took a repainted transport to the MAKS show
To learn more about our
rotorcraft data service go to
flightglobal.com/ascend
INVESTIGATION
Auditor slams Indian AW101 contract
Report into halted VVIP helicopter programme questions transparency and accountability of European type’s selection
CEREMONY
C-17 inducted by Hindan ‘Skylords’
The Indian air force’s newly-raised 81 Sqn ‘Skylords’ unit has for-
mally inducted the Boeing C-17 strategic transport into use, follow-
ing a ceremony at Hindan air base.
Three of New Delhi’s currently-contracted 10 C-17s were received
between June and August 2013, with the air force to field two more
before the end of this year, and the remaining five to be delivered
during 2014.
Boeing
ENHANCEMENTS DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC
Embraer delivers AMX upgrade

DEFENCE
For free access to Flightglobal’s Defence
e-newsletter visit flightglobal.com/
defencenewsletter
Boeing and the US Marine
Corps are testing a prototype
roll-on/roll-off aerial refuelling
system for the Bell Boeing MV-22
Osprey tiltrotor, a senior service
official says.
The system, which consists of
a high-speed aerial refuelling
drogue and hose and reel mecha-
nism, is being tested on an aircraft
from the Marines’ VMX-22 opera-
tional test and evaluation unit,
says the squadron’s commander,
Col Michael Orr. Boeing is paying
for the demonstration, he notes.
While flight-testing will in-
volve the installation of a non-
functional aerodynamic demon-
strator for the refuelling system,
Orr says he does not expect the
process to encounter any issues,
as it concerns the use of “off the
shelf” equipment.
Orr says the USMC is very in-
terested in the MV-22 air-to-air
refuelling system for use in sup-
port of its short take-off and ver-
tical landing Lockheed Martin
F-35Bs. However, because test
examples of the new type are
scarce, the service is using a
Boeing F/A-18 as a substitute for
the current trials.
Earlier in the year, the USMC’s
deputy commandant for aviation
Lt Gen Robert Schmidle laid out
a number of operating concepts
for the F-35B, including one
where a full squadron of 16 of the
new combat aircraft could be de-
ployed onboard an amphibious
assault ship, along with six
MV-22s carrying roll-on/roll-off
aerial refuelling kits.
The Israeli air force will only
evaluate a US offer to supply
it with surplus Boeing KC-135
tankers if the aircraft are R-model
examples, service sources say.
Washington has so far only pro-
posed the sale of three KC-135Es,
worth around $200 million. These
would be transferred under its ex-
cess defence articles programme,
through which it can equip its al-
lies with secondhand hardware
for free, or at a greatly reduced
price. Israel’s air force is looking
for a new tanker capability, and
surplus KC-135s were several
months ago included in a US offer
of equipment, which also includ-
ed an export sale of the Bell Boe-
ing V-22 tiltrotor.
According to Israeli sources, an
agreement from Washington to
supply ex-US Air Force CFM
International CFM56-powered
R-model aircraft could see the
nation receive 12 examples,
which would be transferred after
undergoing depot maintenance
in the USA. The air force intends
to use two of the aircraft for VIP
transport duties.
The Israeli government has for
some years evaluated options for
acquiringan“AirForceOne”-type
Turkish Aerospace Industries
performed a 33min maiden
sortie with its single-engined
Hurkus turboprop trainer from
Ankara Akinci air base on 29 Au-
gust, the company says.
EQUIPMENT ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV
Israeli air force pushes for
12-aircraft KC-135R deal
Service to evaluate surplus tanker proposal if Washington offers CFM56-powered variant
TAI
The single-engined type was flown from Ankara Akinci air base
Israeliairforce
DEVELOPMENT TOLGA OZBEK ISTANBUL
Hurkus turboprop trainer makes debut flight
Israel currently
operates an aged
fleet of 10 707s
capability to fly officials including
the nation’s prime minister on
overseas visits, but an earlier pro-
gramme was shelved on cost
grounds following the release of a
requestforinformation.Noofficial
response has been given to the sta-
tus of the negotiations between Is-
rael and the USA.
Flightglobal’s Ascend Online
Fleets database records the Israeli
air force as having a current active
fleet of 10 Pratt & Whitney
JT3D-engined Boeing 707s, built
between 1960 and 1979.
Thistotalincludessevenboom-
equipped tankers, two transports
and one airborne early warning
example equipped with Israel
Aerospace Industries’ Phalcon
surveillance radar, it says.
ASSESSMENT
DAVE MAJUMDAR WASHINGTON DC
Boeing bankrolls
Osprey in-flight
refuelling kit test
The MV-22 will trial tanker role
Keep up to date with all the
defence news from Israel at
flightglobal.com/arielview
USNavy
Aircraft TC-VCH was flown
with its landing gear extended
and flaps set in a landing position
for the duration of the debut.
Take-off speed of the Pratt &
Whitney Canada PT6-powered
type was 100kt (185km/h), slight-
ly higher than initially envisaged,
and the Hurkus was flown to an
altitude of 9,500ft (2,900m).
A maximum speed of 140kt
was achieved, due to the configu-
ration flown, says test pilot Murat
Ozpala. “We did not exceed
150kt, because the flaps were in
the landing position.” he adds.
The programme was launched
in 2007, and the lead aircraft was
rolled out in June 2012. TAI ex-
pects to receive certification for
the aircraft by the end of 2014,
and to produce three variants.

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BUSINESS AVIATION
Keep up to date with all the latest
business and general aviation news at
flightglobal.com/bizav
FANSTREAM FINANCING
US engineering company
Aviation Alliance has secured
funding to develop and market
its Gulfstream III conversion
and modernisation programme
– FanStream. According to the
Paso Robles,California-based
company,the modified
Gulfstream III “will be a like-new,
[US FAA noise level] Stage
3-compliant aircraft with a range
approaching or exceeding
5,000nm [9,260km]”. The
FanStream will feature new en-
gines and a glass flightdeck,as
well as a new interior,electrical
system updates and new paint.
Aviation Alliance plans to dis-
close the FanStream’s availabil-
ity,performance and pricing
before the end of the year.
TEGEL BOOST
Jet Aviation has extended its
facilities at Tegel International
airport in Berlin to satisfy cus-
tomer demand for full ground-
handling services, it says. The
fixed-base operation now in-
cludes a customer lounge and
crew briefing offices. “Tegel
International is proving to be a
very attractive destination for
business, charter, VIP and
[head of] state flights,” says
Jet Aviation.
TOCUMEN FBO
Aviation services provider ASIG
Panamá has broken ground
on a new Signature Flight
Support-branded fixed-base
operation and private jet termi-
nal at Tocumen International
airport, which serves the
Panamanian capital.
MRO EXPANSION
Dallas Aeronautical Services
(DAS) Brazil is building a new
maintenance, repair and
overhaul base in aerospace
centre São José dos Campos.
The 70,000ft2
(6,500m2
) facil-
ity, which will specialise in the
production, repair and over-
haul of composites, structures
and assemblies for business
aircraft, is scheduled to open
next year.
IN BRIEF
Russian Helicopters plans to
perform the maiden flight of
its new developmental high-
speed rotorcraft towards the end
of the decade as it eyes the fledg-
ling market for advanced vertical-
lift aircraft.
Development of the airframer’s
Russian Advanced Commercial
Helicopter – or RACHEL – was
first revealed at Farnborough air
show in 2012. The company is
now targeting first flight in 2018,
says chief executive Dmitry
Petrov. A flying testbed is being
built around a Mil Mi-35 to vali-
date systems that Petrov believes
will translate into a 10t-class ma-
chine capable of carrying 21-24
people at a cruise speed of 195-
205kt (360-380km/h). Compara-
tively, AgustaWestland’s 30-pas-
senger AW101 boasts a cruise
speed of 150kt.
Critically, says, Petrov, the air-
craft must go into large-volume
serial production, rather than
exist as an expensive niche prod-
uct. In addition to the basic
passenger transport model with
convertible cabin suitable for off-
shore operations, Russian Heli-
copters envisions special variants
for search and rescue, patrol and
medevac missions.
At this point the company is
giving away no clues as to the
configuration of RACHEL, al-
though its Mil and Kamov design
bureaux in 2011 both fielded con-
cepts for a high-speed helicopter.
In addition, when it outlined the
RACHEL programme in 2012
Russian Helicopters said it had
decided to follow a “twin track”
development approach.
Kamov’s Ka-92 concept echoes
Sikorsky’s X2, with coaxial main
rotors and a single rear-mounted
pusher prop. Mil’s Mi-X1 takes a
different tack, with a single main
rotor and pusher prop with
steering vane.
The latter design offers an in-
teresting blend of the X2 or Ka-92
with Eurocopter’s X3 hybrid con-
cept, which features a single main
rotor and twin pusher props
mounted laterally on short wings
that provide some lift in forward
flight. The speed parameters
Petrov outlined at an August
briefing at his Moscow offices fall
well below the speeds in excess
of 240kt achieved by the Euro-
copter and Sikorsky demonstra-
tion programmes.
But Petrov believes that while
technologies such as those being
evaluated at Eurocopter or Sikor-
sky “will eventually be used”, he
does not see any market break-
through for at least five to seven
years, during which time conven-
tional rotorcraft will dominate.
RACHEL is being designed to
replace the long-standing Mi-8/17
family, and sit alongside the
heavier Mi-38.
Meanwhile, a flying testbed
has been evaluating the upgraded
avionics, rotors and engines that
will go into serial production
with the Mi-171A2.
According to Petrov, this air-
craft will “bridge the gap” to
RACHEL, and should have a
mark∑et up to 2025. Talks are on-
going with prospective launch
customers, he adds.
DEVELOPMENT DAN THISDELL MOSCOW
Russian Helicopters speeds
progress of next generation
Prototype of faster rotorcraft, dubbed RACHEL, set for maiden flight by end of the decade
Modified Twin Otter helps G-Sky grow
TURBOPROPS KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
US engineering company Ikha-
na Aircraft Services has de-
livered a modified de Havilland
Canada DHC-6-200HG Twin Otter
to Canadian charter start-up
G-Sky Aviation.
Themodification,originallyde-
veloped by Ikhana predecessor
RW Martin, boosts the gross
weight of the Pratt & Whitney
Canada PT6A-27-powered aircraft
by 410kg to 5,680kg (12,500lb).
Bill Houghton, general manag-
er of operations for Fort McMur-
ray, Alberta-based G-Sky, says:
“This is the first Twin Otter to be
put into service by G-Sky, and we
are planning to use it as the
cornerstone of our operation.”
Ikhana
Ikhana’s changes have upped the turboprop’s gross weight

BUSINESS AVIATION
Ansat clinches civil
certification
GENERALAVIATIONP22
LIGHT LAUNCH
Russian Helicopters and
AgustaWestland have formally
kicked off their joint bid to pro-
duce an all-new 2.5t-class sin-
gle-engined rotorcraft,with the
signing of a heads of agree-
ment at the MAKS air show in
Moscow last month. Details of
design and project manage-
ment for the 50:50 project,
along with a market assess-
ment,will be revealed by year-
end. According to Russian
Helicopters chief executive
Dmitry Petrov,European
certification is targeted for
the final quarter of 2016.
PIAGGIO CONNECTS
Piaggio has appointed UK
business aircraft sales,charter
and management company
ConnectJets as its dealership
for the Avanti II twin-engined
turboprop in the UK,Ireland,
the Channel Islands and the
Isle of Man.
COMLUX MOVE
Business aviation services
group Comlux completed the
relocation of its main holding
company from Switzerland
to Malta on 5 September.
The majority of the group’s
18-strong business jet fleet is
registered in Malta,although
two aircraft will remain on the
Kazakhstan register and three
on the Aruban.
FLIGHTSAFETY EXPANDS
FlightSafety International has
announced a “significant” ex-
pansion of the training the com-
pany offers for Cessna Citation
business jets and Caravan tur-
boprop singles at its learning
centres in Orlando,Florida,San
Antonio,Texas and Wichita,
Kansas. Training on the full
Citation Excel/XLS series will
now be offered in Orlando,
which houses a new level-D
XLS+ simulator. A CJ2+ simula-
tor will be added to the San
Antonio facility,while a Caravan
simulator equipped with a
Garmin G600 cockpit has been
delivered to Wichita.
IN BRIEF
Russian industrial conglomer-
ate Rostec has revealed the
pricing for two new commuter
and utility aircraft it has agreed to
develop with Austrian manufac-
turer Diamond Aircraft.
At June’s Paris air show the
companies signed a memoran-
dum of understanding to develop
a majority-composite 19-seater.
Rostec has now priced the air-
craft – targeted as a replacement
for Russia’s fleet of Antonov
An-2s and Let L-410s – at Rb120
million ($3.62 million).
The conglomerate has also re-
vealed that plans with Diamond
include developing a second air-
craft type in the family – a nine-
seater with a list price of around
$2.41 million.
Scale models of both aircraft
were displayed for the first time
at the MAKS air show outside
Moscow, late last month. The dis-
play depicted plans to begin the
collaboration with Diamond
building the entire first 19-seater
in Austria. That will be followed
by shifting the manufacture of
some components to Ekaterin-
burg-based Ural Works of Civil
Aviation, as a prelude to migrat-
ing full assembly of the aircraft
and diesel turboprop engines to
Russia, Rostec says.
Both companies intend to com-
plete airworthiness certification
of the 19-seater in 2016.
Marshall Aerospace and De-
fence Group (Marshall
ADG) has acquired Beechcraft’s
largest European maintenance,
repair and overhaul business as it
sets its sights on strengthening its
portfolio of business aviation
companies.
The acquisition of Hawker
Beechcraft Services Chester,
based at Broughton in the UK,
takes the proportion of Marshall
ADG’s annual turnover from its
commercial business, Marshall
Aviation Services, from 15 to
25%. However, the Cambridge-
based company, which specialis-
es in military aircraft modifica-
tions, is seeking to increase this to
around 40%.
“Marshall’s defence business
will account for the bulk of its
turnover, but we are keen to grow
the business aviation offering and
will look at opportunities – par-
ticularly in the Middle East – in
charter, management and MRO,”
says Steve Jones, managing direc-
tor of Marshall Aviation Services.
Marshall’s business and com-
mercial aviation’s offering in-
cludes Cambridge airport and the
Cessna Citation authorised serv-
ice centre based there, as well as a
line maintenance base at London
Luton airport and business air-
craft charter and management
company Flairjet. “These units
[have] a combined annual turno-
ver of £20 million [$31.2 million],
while the Broughton facility turns
over £30 million,” says Jones.
“The Broughton acquisition
gives us critical mass by allowing
us to capture a much bigger slice
of the market,” he adds. “We are
already a Citation [500-series] au-
thorised service centre but we
have been looking to extend our
maintenance offering.”
The 50-year-old Broughton fa-
cility will be rebranded Marshall
Aviation Services and will widen
its scope beyond Beechcraft,
Jones says. “We can offer a
breadth of services, including air-
craft completions – something we
have been unable to do until
now,” he adds. “The skilled
workforce can now be unleashed
to work on other models. The de-
mand is there.”
Marshall has also been ap-
pointed as Beechcraft’s distribu-
tor for the UK, Ireland and
Scandinavia.
Rostec reveals 19-seater price tag
DEVELOPMENT STEPHEN TRIMBLE MOSCOW
ACQUISITION KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
Ambitious Marshall snaps
up Beechcraft MRO centre
Aerospace group strengthens business portfolio with Broughton, UK services unit buy
The firm can now sell and
support the ubiqitous King
Air family

GENERAL AVIATION
Explore 100 years of aviation history as it
appeared in the original pages of Flight:
flightglobal.com/archive
ALMATY ORDER
Russian Helicopters has sold a
Mil Mi-8AMT helicopter to
Almaty Rescue Service. The
medium twin-engined aircraft
will be used for search and res-
cue and medevac missions
when it enters service with the
Kazakhastan-based operator
next year.
MAINTENANCE TIE-UP
Russian operator UTAir and
Anglo-Italian airframer
AgustaWestland have signed an
agreement to establish a
maintenance and support unit
for AW139 helicopters in
Russia. UTAir is the first
commercial operator of the
medium twin-engined type in
the region with over ten
AW139s operating from bases
in Moscow,Saint Petersburg,
Sochi and Siberia.
TURKISH EMS
Turkey’s THK Gökçen Aviation
has taken delivery of the first
five of a 17-strong Eurocopter
EC135 order. The light twin-
engined aircraft will provide
emergency medical services.
The remaining EC135s will be
delivered early next year.
Eurocopter says more than
1,100 EC135s have been deliv-
ered worldwide to date,of
which,more than 500 are con-
figured for medevac missions.
FLYING CLUB BOOST
The US Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association’s (AOPA)
campaign to grow the number
of flying clubs in the US to
reverse the declining pilot
population,has reached a new
milestone with over 400 clubs
added to the network since the
initiative began less than a year
ago. “Flying clubs are an under-
recognised part of aviation that
deserve [our] support and
encouragement,” says the
association. Meanwhile,the
International Council of AOPAs
(IAOPA) has approved Jordan
as its 72nd affiliate,making it
the seventh IAOPA Middle
Eastern affiliate.
IN BRIEF
VMD Aviagroup is to start
production of the four-seat
Canadian-designed Zenair Zodi-
ac CH 640 light aircraft at its Perm
facility from this month, the Rus-
sian company’s head Vladimir
Bolshakov says.
“The first of our planes, I hope,
will be a four-seater,” he says. “It
is a development of the Canadian
Zodiac 640. Our company will
make up to 20 aircraft a year. The
plane will, for now, use the Cana-
dian name, Zodiac 640.”
Bolshakov quotes a price of
Rb 4 million ($120,000) for the
aircraft, which will be powered
by a modified car engine. VMD
Aviagroup sees hobby flyers as
the main potential customer, as
well as Russian government
agencies.
The single-engined Zodiac CH
640 is produced by Zenair as a
kit-build design. The $29,000
four-seater features a tricycle un-
dercarriage and gull-wing doors
and is built from aluminium.
ARussian company is seeking
to develop and fly a hybrid
airship within about four years to
carry passengers and cargo, espe-
cially in remote Arctic regions.
RosAeroSystems, which dis-
played a model of the Atlant air-
ship at the MAKS air show, is
seeking to overcome the ground
handling and buoyancy issues
that have limited the application
of commercial airships.
Like the US military-funded
Aeroscraft, the Atlant is designed
to rapidly reduce buoyancy by
pressurising the lifting gas, says
Michael Talesnikov, vice-presi-
dent at the company. Conven-
tional airships must take on bal-
last while unloading cargo, or risk
floating away as buoyancy rises.
But the source of the ballast – ei-
ther tonnes of water or dirt – re-
quires heavy infrastructure at the
airship’s landing zone.
RosAeroSystems instead pres-
surises the air to control the vehi-
cle’s buoyancy, Talesnikov says.
RosAeroSystems, founded by a
former associate of Aeroscraft
chief executive Igor Pasternak,
has already built ground test rigs
of the air pressurisation system
and the Atlant’s thrust-vectoring
systems. But company officials
are aware they are attempting to
introduce a new kind of aviation
vehicle that is not quite an air-
ship, helicopter or fixed-wing
transport, but combines elements
of all three.
“It’s quite challenging,” Tales-
nikov says. “We are realistic peo-
ple. We understand we will face
some difficulties.”
In a country where 70% of the
land mass lacks access by ground-
based transportation systems, Ro-
sAeroSystems is targeting compa-
nies that need access to Russia’s
remote Arctic regions.
DIRIGIBLES STEPHEN TRIMBLE MOSCOW
Atlant Arctic airship bouyed
by answer to weighty issue
RosAeroSystems sets four-year goal to develop hybrid to fly in Russia’s remote regions
Russian Helicopters has finally
achieved civil certification of
the Kazan Ansat light twin, albeit
with hydromechanical controls
rather than the fly-by-wire system
initially proposed.
Kazan started work on the cur-
rent iteration of the Ansat in 2011
after encountering difficulty in
the certification process for the
fly-by-wire controls. The first pro-
totypes of the helicopter appeared
in the late 1990s.
To speed up the civil approval
process, it dropped the more
advancedtechnologyinfavourofa
traditionalcontrolsystem.Russia’s
a military will eventually take de-
livery of the fly-by-wire-equipped
Ansat-U trainer for its flight-train-
ing schools. Additional examples
willbehandedovertotheRussian
airforceinNovember.
The civil Ansat is powered by
a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada
PW207K turboshafts and boasts a
maximum take-off weight of
3,600kg (7,930lb).
Separately, Russian Helicop-
ters has received approval for the
VIP transport variant of its Mil
Mi-171 medium twin.
Use of hydromechanical controls helped to speed up the process
APPROVAL DOMINIC PERRY LONDON
Ansatclinchescivilcertification
PRODUCTION
HOWARD GETHIN MOSCOW
Kit-built Zodiac
CH 640 set for
Russian role
RussianHelicopters

Boeing faces
export storm
BUSINESS P24
SPACEFLIGHT
LAUNCHERS ZACH ROSENBERG WASHINGTON DC
Bad timing delays Epsilon first flight
Japanese space programme suffers setback after computer glitch postpones maiden launch of new medium rocket
Russia’s troubled Zenit launch
vehicle made a successful re-
turn to flight on 31 August, fol-
lowing a January incident that
destroyed both the rocket and its
satellite payload.
The latest launch, from
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kaza-
khstan, placed into orbit an Israeli
civilian communications satellite
called Amos 4. Land Launch, the
sister company of Sea Launch,
which undertakes operations
from the Kazakhstan site, says the
operation proceeded normally.
At least five additional Zenit
launches are scheduled, both on
land and at sea. The 31 August
mission was the 81st launch
using the Zenit vehicle. Of those
81 attempts, 12 have failed at
various stages in the flight. De-
spite the incidents, the Soviet-era
design is generally considered a
reliable rocket, mostly used to
launch civilian communications
satellites.
Zenit’s most recent ill-fated
mission took place in January.
The launch from a converted oil
platform in the Pacific Ocean,
under the Sea Launch operation,
went awry when a hydraulic
pump failed to fully pressurize
the RD-171 first-stage engine gim-
bal actuators. As a consequence
the rocket could not control its
flight path and fell into the ocean.
The problem was traced to manu-
facturing errors.
Zenit makes safe return
RELIABILITY
Japan saw a last-minute launch
abort on 27 August as first
flight of its Epsilon launch vehi-
cle was cancelled only seconds
before ignition of the first stage
solid-fuel rocket due to an atti-
tude abnormality alert.
The alert has been traced to a
.07s timing mismatch between
the rocket’s internal computer
and the ground controller’s com-
puter. The disparity between tim-
ing signals led the ground com-
puter to automatically abort the
launch sequence, according to
Japanese space agency JAXA.
A second attempt is expected
later in September, although the
date is yet to be announced.
Epsilon is a three-stage, solid-
fuel rocket, making the short no-
tice of the launch abort particu-
larly compelling: once solid fuel
is ignited it cannot be shut off,
unlike liquid-fuelled engines.
Epsilon is meant to replace the
now-defunct M-V, using updated
technology from the significantly
larger H-II-series rockets. The re-
vised September launch plans to
orbit SPRINT-A, an ultraviolet-
range telescope for observing
planets within the solar system.
One additional launch of Epsilon
is planned in 2014 with Asnaro 2,
a civilian X-band radar satellite.
Japan has long had an intense
interest in space, one that is ex-
panding because of politico-eco-
nomic tensions in the region. The
nation uses its own launch vehi-
cles, often carrying highly ad-
vanced satellites for military or
research purposes.
As rival China expands its al-
ready large space programme and
neighbouring North Korea and
South Korea gain experience with
space launches, Japan has come
under increasing pressure to
maintain its advanced missions.
Meanwhile, India’s fledgling
space programme received a
knock on 18 August when the re-
turn-to-flight launch of its Geosta-
tionary Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
was scrubbed due to a leak in the
second stage’s fuel system.
This was the second launch
attempt for the updated GSLV II,
having endured a failure in 2010.
GSLV, which has undergone
launch attempts six times, is itself
an enlarged version of the
less-powerful Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle.
The leak seems to have origi-
nated from the system that sup-
plies unsymmetrical dimethylhy-
drazine fuel to the second stage’s
single Vikas engine, discovered
as the tanks were being pressu-
rised only two hours before
scheduled launch.
The Vikas engine has been re-
moved and shipped to a facility
for detailed inspection, says the
Indian Space Research Organisa-
tion. A standby Vikas engine will
be integrated in the meantime,
although another launch is likely
to wait for the findings of the
inspection on the previous en-
gine. A new flight date has not
been announced.
The flight was meant to launch
GSAT 14, a satellite built to test
and operate indigenously built
Ku- and C-band communications
antennas. India’s space pro-
gramme has been expanding as
the nation grows wealthier and
its military becomes more power-
ful. At least four GSLV II launches
are scheduled before 2017.
TsENKI
The Russian rocket has undergone 81 launches
JAXA
Updated technology is derived from the larger H-II launcher
Keep up with advances in
spaceflight on our blog:
flightglobal.com/hyperbola

BUSINESS
Good week
Bad week
Aircraft finance is among the sectors covered
by our premium news and data service
Flightglobal Pro: flightglobal.com/pro
Good week
Bad week
SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS
The troubled aerostruc-
tures maker announced
an unspecified number
of job cuts in Wichita to
start next month, on top
of the 360 detailed in
July. Voluntary departure
of management and sal-
aried employees could
be followed by forced
lay-offs. Spirit posted a
$239 million operating
loss for its second quar-
ter and announced in
August that it would di-
vest two manufacturing
sites responsible for po-
tentially more than $1
billion in forward losses.
STEVE UDVAR-HAZY The
operating lease pioneer,
who built ILFC into one of
world’s biggest aircraft
lessors before retiring to
start again from scratch
in 2010 as Air Lease
Corporation, was cel-
ebrating a BBB- invest-
ment grade rating from
Standard and Poor’s. The
rating is the lowest of the
investment grade tier,
but is comparable to
those held by rivals in-
cluding AerCap and ILFC.
Said Hazy: “This rating is
a further testament to
ALC’s rapid rise as an
industry leader.”
POLITICS EDWARD RUSSELL WASHINGTON DC
Boeing faces export storm
US lawmakers are no longer rubber-stamping government lending for overseas sales
As justifications go, the follow-
ing seems a compelling one.
“The Export-Import Bank of the
United States enables US compa-
nies to turn export opportunities
into real sales that help to main-
tain and create US jobs and con-
tribute to a stronger national
economy.” So says the Ex-Im,
which in its 78-year history has
made direct loans and loan guar-
antees to support, typically at be-
low-market interest rates, more
than $550 billion of US exports.
Jobs and a strong America;
what is there not to like?
As it happens, quite a few law-
makers in Washington DC want
the bank abolished. The biennial
reauthorisation of its charter is
due in a year, and the process –
historically painless until a con-
tentious 2012 vote – looks set to
be another political storm.
The curtain-opener was a heat-
ed US Senate debate in July over
the reconfirmation of bank chair-
man Fred Hochberg. Unsurpris-
ingly, Maria Cantwell of Wash-
ington state – home of the USA’s
biggest exporter, Boeing, and re-
cipient of $443 billion in Ex-Im
authorisations between 2007 and
2013 – is pro-bank: “Ninety-five
percent of the world’s consumers
live outside our borders. Are we
going to make sure US products
get into the hands of the growing
middle class around the globe?”
On the nay side is Michael Lee
ofUtah,wherebusinessessawjust
ahundrethoftheEx-Imlargesseof
their Washington counterparts.
Lee, who sponsored unsuccessful
abolition legislation in 2012 but
has re-introduced the Export-Im-
port Bank Termination Act, says:
“The Export-Import Bank is an ex-
ample of everything that is wrong
with Washington today.
“It is big government serving
the interests of big corporations at
the expense of individuals, fami-
lies, and small businesses.”
Some rather big businesses
agree at least partly with Lee.
Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Air-
lines and industry groups Air-
Thank you, America
Boeing
SpiritAerosystems
lines for America (A4A) and the
Air Line Pilots Association, have
filed lawsuits objecting to loan
guarantees for widebody aircraft
that help foreign rivals compete
with US long-haul carriers.
Among the recipients of Ex-Im
support for Boeing aircraft pur-
chases are Gulf powerhouses
Emirates and Etihad Airways.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE...
“It’s really investment grade com-
panies that are owned by the gov-
ernment where the president of
the country, the chairman of the
board and the president of the air-
line are one in the same,” said
Delta chief executive Richard An-
derson. “It seems unreasonable to
me that my government has got to
finance my competitors.”
Boeing naturally disagrees.
“We struggle to fully understand
the real reasons why they are so
passionate in this conversation,”
says Kostya Zolotusky of Boeing
Capital. He adds that support for
“better credit airlines” – under-
stood to be ones like Emirates –
usually kicks in only after they
have maxed out other sources of
liquidity and need financial sup-
port in order to maintain their
aircraft delivery schedule.
That rationale probably cuts no
ice with Delta et al; US-based air-
lines cannot, by any twists of
overseas money handling, qualify
for Ex-Im support.
It may also matter little that ex-
port credit financing has got more
expensive under the terms of the
multinational Aircraft Sector
Understanding of 2011, which
were designed to push some bet-
ter credit airlines to the commer-
cial funds market. John Morabito,
senior vice-president of transpor-
tation at financier CIT, says export
credit is still a competitive alter-
native to commercial financing,
though it is “more favourable to
lower-tier borrowers”.
Boeing expects export credit
will account for only 23% of the
$104 billion needed to finance its
deliveries this year, down from
30% in 2012. Ultimately, howev-
er, the political debate over Ex-Im
should probably be viewed
through the Boeing prism. Ex-Im
provided $11.5 billion in support
for aircraft and avionics during
fiscal 2012, roughly a third of its
entire programme. Boeing was
the single largest beneficiary.
Senator Lee and the airline in-
dustry can lean on job figures to
support their anti-bank stance.
Total US aerospace industry em-
ployment in 2011 was less than
625,000 jobs according to the AIA
trade group. Airlines in the US,
meanwhile, directly employed
661,000 people in 2010 says Ox-
ford Economics.
Meanwhile, Boeing’s Zolo-
tusky says the uncertainty over
Ex-Im’s future makes its custom-
ers nervous. As a result, Boeing
Capital has increased the number
of backstop financing commit-
ments it provides for orders.

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