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BOEING 737 MAX
•
EMBRAER E2
•
COMAC C919
Ai
rb
us
SYRIA
French &
Russian Ops
JANUARY 2016
Vol.90 No.1
£4.70
For the best in modern military and commercial aviation
INTERNATIONAL
Still Jamming the
Beeps & Squeaks
Prowler
Tiltrotor Ops with the Corps
MV-22B Osprey
Sea Harriers
At Flight Deck School
Boeing 757
On Ice
UH-1 Hueys
Over Tokyo
www.airinternational.com
INTERNATIONAL
Fi
nn
ai
r’s
A3
50
La
te
st
1346/15
EW•
NEW
•
NE
2016
Produced by Key Publishing with
exclusive access to the Royal Air
Force, and featuring articles written
with and by RAF personnel,
The
O cial RAF Annual Review 2016
is
a 132-page special magazine that
provides behind the scenes insight
into the aircraft, equipment and
people of one of the world’s premier
air forces.
Featuring
Typhoon Capability
Operating its Tranche 2 Typhoon jets from
RAF Lossiemouth, 1 (Fighter) Squadron
has been at the forefront of introducing
the aircraft’s swing-role capability to the
frontline, as O cer Commanding 1(F) Sqn,
Wing Commander Mike ‘Sooty’ Sutton
reveals in an exclusive interview
Tribute to ‘The Few’
Marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle
of Britain, the BBMF has enjoyed a very busy
year. Former OC, Sqn Ldr Clive Rowley looks
back over 12 months during which the
Lancaster recovered from an in ight re, the
Flight took on a new commander and the
ghters reigned supreme
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Review
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Top Stories
04
Boeing has rolled out the rst 737
MAX as it prepares for ight testing.
A320neo
certi ed, Virgin Galactic
to use
747
to launch satellites, and more.
AIR International reports on the
French and Russian air campaigns
over Syria.
The Argentine Air Force Mirage eet
has reached the end of its service career.
A new generation
of the J-15, China’s rst
naval ghter,
is in development.
SPIRIT OF RENTON
Subsc
ribe &
when y
Save
ou take
or dir
out a
NEWS COLUMNS
20
FRANCE: OPERATIONAL FIRSTS, SPARE PARTS AND
NAPOLEON’S SPHINX Jan Kraak reports on foreign
operations, helicopter spares, exercises and more.
ect deb
2-year
to
AIR I
it subscriptio
n
nternat
ional.
See pa
ges
3
for deta8 and 39
ils.
06
LEADING STORIES
08
SYRIA
22
US: TIGER TAILS, DRAGON SLAYERS & T-BIRDS Rick Burgess
rounds up the latest news from the US Navy.
28
ASIA-PACIFIC: SNOW, SAND & WI-FI Nigel Pittaway describes
milestones for the Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III fleet.
18
MIRAGE SALUTE
26
30
CHINA’S FLANKER EVOLVES
Recent developments in Chinese
variants of the Su-30
Flanker.
The rst landing by a commercial
Boeing 757 in Antarctica.
THE FLYING SHARK
34
ON THE ICE
FRONT COVER: An EA-6B Prowler of Marine Tactical
Electronic Warfare Squadron 3 (VMAQ-3) ‘Moon Dogs’,
currently deployed in Japan.
Matthew Clements
BOTTOM LEFT INSET:
Ian Harding
MIDDLE INSET:
Tim Hewette/ALE
RIGHT INSET:
Matthew Clements
18
Features
40
MOON DOGS OVER JAPAN
46
NORDIC A350
Matthew Clements reports from
MCAS Iwakuni on the deployment of
EA-6B Prowler-equipped VMAQ-3 ‘Moon
Dogs’ to the base.
60
ALL CHANGE
Nigel Pittaway presents an
overview of the re-equipment of Australia’s
Fleet Air Arm.
82
ON THE DECK
88
92
Charles Cunliffe ew aboard the
A350 XWB with Finnair, the type’s rst
European carrier.
SCHOOL
64
STRATOFORTRESS
Ian Harding nds out how the
Royal Naval School of Flight Deck
Operations is preparing the way for UK
carrier operations to be restored.
Scott Dworkin visited Barksdale AFB to
discover recent changes made to B-52H
Stratofortress crew training.
COMAC has big ambitions for
the recently rolled-out C919 airliner, as
Andreas Rupprecht explains.
50
TAIPAN MATURES
52
As Nigel Pittaway reports, progress
has been made with the Australian MRH90.
AIR International’s Mark Ayton
reports from MCAS Miramar, home of the
US Marine Corps’ West Coast MV-22B
Osprey force.
72
CHINA’S DREAM
76
FAR EAST HUEY
Santiago Rivas spoke to the
President and CEO of Embraer
Commercial Aviation, Paulo César Silva,
about the new E-Jets E2 family.
EFFICIENCY
TAKES SHAPE
COMBAT ASSAULT
The iconic Huey is still serving the
US Air Force in Asia, as Matthew
Clements discovers.
From re ghting to search and rescue, the
Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Air
Unit in California has a variety of roles, as
Scott Dworkin nds out.
ONE UNIT,
ONE TEAM,
SHARED MISSION
Santiago Rivas
Editor
Mark Ayton
airint@keypublishing.com
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Dave Robinson
Production Manager
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Commercial Director
Ann Saundry
Deputy Editor
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airnews@keypublishing.com
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Adrian Cox
Executive Chairman
Richard Cox
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3
NEWS REPORT
Spirit of
R
Advanced Technology
Winglets will save 1.8%
more fuel than current-
generation winglets.
All images Boeing
Boeing has presented the first 737 MAX as it prepares for flight testing. Mark Broadbent reports
n December 8,
Boeing rolled out
the initial 737 MAX
8 at Renton in
Washington during
a ceremony for
employees and
suppliers. This
aircraft, N8701Q,
(c/n 42554) Spirit of
Renton, is scheduled to y early in 2016.
Assembly was completed on time. The
aircraft was taken into the paint hangar on
November 30, which Boeing said was the
exact date it determined when the MAX
development schedule was de ned by the
company after the aircraft’s launch in 2011.
In the paint shop, Spirit of Renton received
a special teal version of the Boeing livery that
incorporates along the fuselage the logos of
some of the 60 airlines that have signed up
to become MAX customers.
arrived at Renton on August 21 after being
transported by rail from subcontractor Spirit
AeroSystems’ factory in Wichita, Kansas.
AIR International asked Boeing about
the assembly process from then on. A
spokesperson replied: “The rst three
ow days are systems installation, where
the fuselage is stuffed with systems and
insulation blankets. Next the fuselage is
moved over to the nal assembly line where
the wings are attached to the body and
landing gear is attached; in the next position
the tail is joined and the ight systems are
connected. Then the interiors are installed
and nally the engines are hung in the last
position.”
Final assembly takes place on a new
production line built for the MAX (the Renton
factory has two existing production lines for
737NGs). The spokesperson explained: “This
allows us to maintain our focus on producing
42 737NGs a month [the current output
level] without pressuring the MAX build. As
the team continues to learn the MAX build
processes, we will be able to mature them on
the dedicated MAX line before integrating the
MAX build on the other lines.
“Additionally, the MAX was designed to
maintain maximum compatibility with the
NG build. Where possible, new MAX designs
were pulled forward into the NG, enabling
[not only] an improved NG product but also
factory-wide expertise in building those
changed elements [of the aircraft].”
O
Build Process
Production work started in spring 2015.
Boeing began assembling the wing in May,
with machine operators loading wing skin
panels, spars and stringers into a new
panel assembly line that uses automation
to drill holes and install fasteners in the
upper and lower wing panels. Mechanics
also loaded the initial parts of the rst spars
into automated spar assembly machines.
Meanwhile, the completed fuselage
4
AI.01.16
Please send all news correspondence to...airnews@keypublishing.com
Renton
New Technologies
Evident from the rst photos of Spirit of
Renton is the extended nose landing gear
on the MAX, which has been extended by
8in (200mm). Raising the aircraft creates
more ground clearance beneath the
wings for the aircraft’s CFM International
LEAP-1B engines, which have a 69.4-inch
(1,760mm) fan diameter compared to the
61 inches (1,550mm) on the CFM56-7Bs of
the 737NG.
Another notable visual difference is the
all-new Advanced Technology (AT) Winglets.
These and the engines play key roles in the
MAX’s design and its promises of reduced
fuel burn and carbon emissions and greater
ef ciencies for operators. In its in-house
magazine AERO, Boeing says the LEAP-
1Bs will provide an 11% reduction in fuel
use compared to the CFM56-7Bs. The AT
Winglets will save 1.8% more fuel than
the winglets on 737NGs, according to the
company.
Overall, Boeing says the MAX will use
14% less fuel per seat than the 737NG (and
20% less fuel per seat than the rst 737NGs
produced in the late 1990s) and burn 8%
less fuel per seat than the Airbus A320neo,
the MAX’s main competitor. Boeing says
that compared to a eet of 100 of today’s
most fuel-ef cient aircraft, the MAX will emit
350,000 fewer tonnes of CO
2
and save more
than 250 million pounds (113 million kg) of
fuel per year.
come as standard.
Boeing is keen to maximise commonality
with the 737NG and says this will reduce the
MAX’s maintenance costs by 6% compared
to the 2012 Maintenance Planning Document
for the 737NG. It is targeting the 737NG’s
99.7% dispatch reliability rate for the MAX
and says the MAX’s operating costs will be
8% lower per seat than the A320neo.
NEWS REPORT
Above:
Spirit of Renton’s colour scheme has the liveries of many of the 60 customers that have
ordered the MAX.
Main image:
The first 737 MAX 8, Spirit of Renton, following roll-out.
Bottom:
The CFM LEAP-1B engines provide an 11% reduction in fuel use compared to the
CFM56-7Bs, Boeing says.
Orders
The MAX was announced in August 2011
after Boeing chose to re-engine the 737
rather than develop a clean-sheet New
Small Airplane (NSA), another option it had
studied. The launch came eight months after
Airbus announced the A320neo re-engine in
December 2010.
The MAX family comprises the principal
three variants, the 737 MAX 7, MAX 8 and
MAX 9, along with the MAX 200 (a higher-
density version of the MAX 8 with 200 seats)
and Boeing Business Jet versions of the
MAX 8 and MAX 9.
At the time of the roll-out, the MAX had
secured more than 2,900 orders. It therefore
lags behind its European rival: Airbus now has
4,300 commitments for A320neo. However,
the neo had an eight-month head start on the
market and nearly 3,000 commitments cannot
really be described as slow-selling.
The bigger picture is that the MAX and
the neo are both popular: airlines want new
technologies packaged within a proven
product and the established support and
supply chains that come with them. This is
the de ning trend of new commercial aircraft
developments this decade, one re ected by
the decisions in other market segments to
regenerate the 777, A330 and E-Jets.
Design Differences
There are other less obvious, but signi cant
design differences. There is a redesigned
auxiliary power unit inlet, an extended tail
cone and a thicker tail cross-section above
the elevator. In AERO, Boeing explains
these changes will eliminate the vortex
generators on the tail and reduce drag by
1%.
The MAX has a y-by-wire, rather than
hydraulic, spoiler system. Echoing its
787 stablemate, the aircraft features an
electronic bleed air system. An enhanced
onboard network system comprising a
network le server and an enhanced digital
ight data acquisition unit will, Boeing
says, “provide a new set of capabilities
[for operators], including advanced data
collection, onboard repository of loadable
aircraft software parts, and real-time data
processing.” The onboard network will
also provide connectivity for airlines to
communicate securely with ground-based
systems during ight.
The ight deck differs by having enlarged
multifunction displays and built-in test
equipment to assist with maintenance. In
the cabin, the Boeing Sky Interior, with its
sculpted sidewalls and larger windows and
overhead stowage bins than the 737NG, will
Renton Field for engine and taxi tests before
conducting its rst ight.
The second and third 737 MAX 8 ight test
aircraft are in nal assembly, with the fourth
(and nal) example in subassembly. Flight and
certi cation testing will proceed through 2016
and into 2017. Boeing’s target is to deliver the
rst customer aircraft to long-standing 737
operator Southwest Airlines in the third quarter
of 2017.
Asked by AIR International about the
biggest challenges for the MAX programme,
the Boeing spokesperson replied: “The
team has continued to maintain a focus on
producibility and the reliability of the aircraft.
The 737 MAX is entering a fast-paced
production system, so the 737 MAX needed to
seamlessly t into the 737 production system.
The team has had an incredible focus on
systems maturity in the design and build of the
aircraft and will continue that throughout
ight test.”
Next Steps
After the roll-out, Spirit of Renton returned
to the factory for pre- ight preparation.
The aircraft will be moved to the adjacent
Please send all news correspondence to...airnews@keypublishing.com
AI.01.16
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