Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Bjorn’s Corner: Flight control, Part 2
By Bjorn Fehrm
18 March 2016, ©. Leeham Co: Last week we covered the early days of flight control when the pilot controlled the aircraft’s movable surfaces (called movables; e.g. stabilator, rudder, ailerons, spoilers…) without the involvement of computers.
We will now continue with more advanced control systems, all based on the electrical signalling of the intentions of the pilot to the movables. As the modern Fly-By-Wire (FBW) control systems modify the aircraft’s basic flying behaviour, we need to start with understanding what that behaviour is. Then we can understand how different FBW systems go about modifying these characteristics.
One could think that an aircraft is made to fly nice and stable, should the pilot take a few seconds and admire the view. Nothing could be further from reality. All normally stable aircraft which do not employ flight computers or autopilots to enhance the normal stability would go into a rather nasty dive after a while.
Why this is so and what is done to help the pilot in modern FBW systems is the subject of today’s and next week’s Corner.
Pontifications: Advancing EIS for 777X
Special Edition of Pontifications
Advancing EIS of the 777X
By Scott Hamilton
I’m somewhat bemused by all the fuss over the prospect of Boeing advancing the delivery of the 777X from early 2020 to late 2019. This has been the plan for more than a year. That’s what my sources have been telling me all this time.
It’s been the desire longer that that.
Nordic Aviation Capital completes second major acquistion
March 15, 2016: Nordic Aviation Capital yesterday announced it acquired regional aircraft lessor Jetscape Aviation Group. This is the second major acquisition since 
December. Then, NAC agreed to acquire 25 ATR turboprop aircraft from Air Lease Corp., which decided to focus entirely on jets, most of which are mainline aircraft. All but a handful of the ATRs were already leased, with the remaining still in production.
Nordic had nearly 250 aircraft from the ATR and Bombardier Dash and Q families, plus a small number of Bombardier CRJs, Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. The Jetscape acquisition brings Embraer EJets to the Nordic portfolio.
“The deal will see Nordic Aviation Capital expand into the regional jet arena, bringing 28 owned Embraer E-Jets, commitments for 11 E-Jets and a further 18 of the type under management into its sizeable regional aircraft portfolio,” the company said in a press release.
Pontifications: Airbus’ new edginess
By Scott Hamilton
March 14, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Airbus is presenting a new edginess in the long-running war of words with Boeing, adopting a tactic Boeing has used for years to make its case.
The European manufacturer has never been shy about getting in its digs at Boeing, but generally Boeing’s messaging—years in the making and steadfastly adhered to—has had more sticking power than Airbus’.
IRKUT MC-21 analysis, Part 4. Performance with PD-14
By Bjorn Fehrm
Subscription required.
Introduction
March. 14, 2016, ©. Leeham Co: In three articles we have been looking at the new Russian single aisle aircraft, Irkut MC-21, from United Aircraft and the new Russian engine that is being developed for the aircraft, the PD-14.
The PD-14, which is offered as an alternative to the base engine for the aircraft, the Pratt & Whtiney PW1400G, was analysed in our Part 3 article. We now mount the engine on the MC-21 and explore the difference in performance compared to the base engine.
Summary:
- The PD-14, which is a new engine designed by the Aviadvigatel company, is a clear step forward for the Russian turbofan industry.
- In our analysis in Part 3, we could see that it has a classical direct drive construction with a good level of technology in several parts.
- Weight and installation dimension are similar to the competition but efficiency is a bit behind.
- We now explore the performance of the MC-21 with the Russian engine.
Bjorn’s Corner: Flight control
By Bjorn Fehrm
11 March 2016, ©. Leeham Co: We covered a bit on flight testing some Corners ago and the fact that test pilots like to fly in direct Fly-By-Wire mode for initial evaluation of the aircraft. There’s a lot to say about how an aircraft is controlled. I have experienced the significant shift from mechanical flight controls to Fly-By-Wire (FBW).
For the pilot, things haven’t changed that much for normal flying with the introduction of FBW, but for the aircraft manufacturer it’s a dramatic change. It changes the way how one works to get an aircraft to fly nicely within its whole speed and altitude register (called the aircrafts flight envelope).
We will cover the reasons for the changeover to FBW for commercial aircraft and what this enables in a couple of Corners. We will start with how the classical mechanical flight control gradually got itself into more and more complication and how this was solved with FBW.
In a subsequent Corner, we will look at how FBW enable us to fly the aircraft differently. We can with the help of FBW implement more sophisticated flight control laws, aimed at helping the pilot to a safer flight.
MOMentum appears to be slowing for new Boeing airplane
Subscription required
Introduction
Model design and paint by Camil Valiquette. Photo via Google.
March 10, 2016, © Leeham Co.: MOMentum for the Middle of the Market aircraft seems to be slowing from last year, as potential buyers and Boeing struggle to define an aircraft that would be affordable to build, affordable to buy and fulfill different mission requirements for capacity or range.
Meantime, Airbus is content to watch Boeing’s predicament, secure in what it believes is the winning strategy.
Summary
- Attendees at the ISTAT conference last week had no consensus about what the airplane should be, when or even if Boeing should launch the airplane.
- Some customers want range, others want capacity.
- “757 replacement?” Not really.
Boeing says Airbus widebody strategy “is a mess,” A330neo “dead on arrival”
A330-800neo. Airbus rendering.
March 9, 2016, © Leeham Co.: The war of words between Airbus and Boeing at the ISTAT conference Feb. 29-March 1 wasn’t confined to which company sold more single-aisle airplanes. Widebody aircraft were involved, too.
A Boeing official on the sidelines of the conference called the Airbus A330neo “dead on arrival.” He says that by the time the 330neo enters service, there will be 1,000 787s and A350s in service and delivery slots will be closer in than they are today.
The airplane is nothing more than a resurrection of the original A350 concept that failed in the marketplace, this official said.
Rather than ask Airbus for what would be a predictable response, LNC asked lessor CIT Aerospace for its assessment. To be sure, CIT is not without vested interest: it was a launch customer for the A330neo and it’s a large customer for the A330ceo. Still, it provides a third-party assessment.
PW’s Geared Turbo Fan was catalyst for MRJ90 order
March 8, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbo Fan technology was what prompted a used airplane lessor to place its first new airplane order,
Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbo Fan was the key reason lessor Aerolease decided to order the MRJ90. Photo via Google images.
selecting the Mitsubishi MRJ90 in the process.
Jep Thornton is a partner with the small lessor Aerolease, a 20-year old company that has up to now concentrated on acquiring McDonnell Douglas DC-8s, Airbus A300s and Boeing 757s for conversion to cargo aircraft. Aerolease has about 40 aircraft under management and ownership.
Thornton and Mitsubishi announced at the Singapore Air Show last month a Letter of Intent to order for 10 MRJ90s and options for 10 more. Deliveries begin in three years.
Pontifications: There are numbers, and there are numbers
By Scott Hamilton
March 7, 2016, © Leeham Co.: The public relations battle between Airbus and Boeing was on full display at the annual conference last week of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) in Phoenix (AZ).
As usual, the respective officials of the two companies used numbers to make the case that their airplanes sold more than the other guy.