Airbus A400M

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Military's fleet of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] "Grizzly" development aircraft has flown through the 2,000 flight hour milestone, despite an issue which has affected the type's turboprop engines since shortly before the Paris air show.

The company said its current four flight-test aircraft had logged a combined 684 flights totalling just over 2,100h by 4 September. This means that roughly 180 flights and 500h have been added since mid-May, when one of aircraft MSN1's four [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (EPI) TP400-D6 engines automatically shut down while airborne.

"EPI is continuing to work on a solution to the issues encountered," said Airbus Military, without providing new information about the nature of the fault.

C'est la bonne solution : "Black-out" total, pour éviter les élucubrations et pontifications chez les ignares et agités, qui deviennent spontanément 'Experts autoproclamés' et donneurs de leçons ! Il y aura assez de cette faune-là pour la Coupe du Monde de Rugby (imminent)!

Airbus Military said flight-test activities being conducted from Toulouse, France, and Seville, Spain, are "progressing steadily", and involve sorties flown with crews from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Three of its aircraft are routinely available and are each flown up to twice per day, while a fourth is typically undergoing work to upgrade it to the latest equipment standard.

"Currently the focus is on the completion of the handling qualities, performance and systems certification tests," it said. The company hopes to secure civil type certification from EASA before the end of this year.

The programme's fifth and final development aircraft, MSN6, is expected to join the flight-test campaign in late 2011. Currently in assembly, the production-standard aircraft had been scheduled to make its flight debut during October. However, Airbus Military said it has recently decided to first use the asset in support of evacuation testing in advance of it securing certification and meeting initial operating clearance requirements.

"As a result, the first flight will take place slightly later than originally planned, but is still expected by the end of the year," it said. Separately, Europe's OCCAR defence procurement agency has identified a possible target date of 22 December for the milestone.

Airbus Military's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] has cleared two significant hurdles on the way to securing civil type certification before the end of this year.

Separate activities were conducted in mid-September to clear the European airlifter's high-energy rejected take-off test, and also on emergency evacuation procedures.

Performed on 17 September in Toulouse, France, using development aircraft MSN1, or "Grizzly 1", the braking system test involved accelerating the A400M to its V1 decision speed at its maximum take-off weight of 141,000kg (310,900lb), before aborting the take-off. The aircraft was taxied clear of the runway and stopped for 5min before firefighters were allowed to cool its brakes and wheels.

"As is typical in this test, three of the aircraft's tyres deflated," Airbus Military said in a 22 September statement. "There was no further damage and the test was highly successful."

Meanwhile, aircraft MSN6 was employed for emergency evacuation tests, undertaken over a series of days at the company's San Pablo final assembly site near Seville, Spain.

"All the tests required for certification were passed," Airbus Military said, citing activities as having encompassed the carriage of conventional troops and paratroopers, and in medical evacuation and mixed troop/cargo configurations.

The company has established a target of securing civil type certification for the A400M from the European Aviation Safety Agency before the end of 2011.

This is a key step towards it launching deliveries of the Europrop International TP400-D6-engined type in early 2013.

"These are vital tests to satisfy highly specific certification requirements," said Airbus head of flight operations Fernando Alonso. "We look forward to more strong progress in the next few weeks."

A400M passes key certification test
The Airbus Military A400M new generation airlifter has passed a series of key tests in the last week as the aircraft continues to progress towards civil and military type certification.

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On 17th September the aircraft (Grizzly 1) successfully performed the high-energy rejected take-off test which confirms the capability of the braking system to stop the aircraft safely following a rejected take-off at high speed and high weight. During the week the emergency evacuation tests were also carried out to demonstrate that the aircraft can be safely evacuated in a specified time when loaded with troops or other passengers in various configurations.

The high-energy rejected take-off test is one of the toughest in the programme and, because of the risk of damage to the aircraft, is among the last items performed before preparation of the aircraft flight manual. It was carried out on runway 14R at Toulouse Airport and required the aircraft, loaded to the maximum take-off weight, to make a simulated take-off run which was aborted at the V1 decision speed. V1 is the maximum speed at which the pilot has to decide whether to continue a take-off or abort it.

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As specified by the testing authorities the aircraft was then taxied clear of the runway and stopped for five minutes before firefighters were allowed to cool the brakes and wheels. As is typical in this test, three of the aircraft´s tyres deflated. There was no further damage and the test was highly successful.

The emergency evacuation tests were performed over several days at the A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville using the fifth development aircraft which is mostly complete and due to fly before the end of the year. All the tests required for certification were passed. They were performed with, respectively, paratroopers, conventional troops, in a medical evacuation configuration, and in a mixed configuration of troops and cargo.

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Airbus Head of Flight Operations Fernando Alonso said: “These are vital tests to satisfy highly specific certification requirements and it is very satisfying to see the aircraft performing so well against them. We look forward to more strong progress in the next few weeks as we work towards type certification.

A400M : le ministère de la Défense menace de ne pas payer Airbus

Le ton monte entre le ministère de la Défense et Airbus. Le délégué général pour l'armement, Laurent Collet-Billon, menace l'avionneur de ne pas payer les premiers exemplaires de l'A400M qui doivent être livrés à la France à partir de 2013. L'origine du différend ? Le futur contrat de maintenance de l'avion de transport militaire européen.


« Les discussions avec les industriels sont plus que difficiles. [...] Nous n'avons toujours pas de proposition satisfaisante de la part d'Airbus, notamment pour le moteur », a-t-il déclaré lors d'une audition tenue la semaine dernière devant la commission de la Défense de l'Assemblée nationale, et dont le compte rendu a été mis en ligne hier. Et sans contrat de soutien, pas de réception des appareils, qui ne seront donc pas payés, a-t-il ajouté sans sourciller.


Selon nos informations, l'offre d'Airbus dépasse de 20 % ce que la France et le Royaume-uni, qui veulent un contrat commun, sont prêts à payer. L'avionneur est réticent à prendre à sa charge la maintenance du moteur, construit par un consortium regroupant Snecma, Rolls-Royce, MTU et ITP. A sa décharge, il a dû attendre que les armées de l'air française et britannique clarifient leurs besoins. L'idée est d'établir un contrat de maintenance de deux ans, suivi par un contrat plus global et plus long une fois que l'A400M aura bien négocié sa courbe d'apprentissage.

Pendant ce temps, l'avion poursuit ses essais malgré quelques pépins de moteur, dont le détail a été effacé dans le compte rendu, mais qui ne remettent pas en cause le calendrier de livraison. « C'est le contrat de soutien qui est sur le chemin critique. Il doit être signé à la fin de l'année au plus tard si l'on veut disposer des stocks de pièces détachées suffisants début 2013 », explique-t-on de source proche.

Germany plans to slash the number of military aircraft it will buy from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the European aerospace company, as it shrinks its armed forces by a fifth as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

In a confidential document, seen by the Financial Times, the defence minister Thomas de Maiziere says he wants to cut Germany’s orders for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet, the A400M transporter, and the Tiger attack and NH-90 transport helicopters.

The move looks set to trigger tense negotiations with EADS and its partners such as Italian-British AgustaWestland and the UK’s [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which holds a 33 per cent stake in the Eurofighter.

..... to lead to tough discussions with a raft of mostly European governments, who helped develop the aircraft and secured so-called “work-share” for domestic industry in proportion to the size of their final order.

Without the willingness of industry and governments – including France, the UK, Italy and Spain – to amend contracts long signed and sealed, Germany would be on the hook for penalty payments running into billions of euros.

...... Berlin now wants to buy 140 instead of 177 Eurofighters, 40 instead of 53 A400Ms, 80 instead of 122 NH-90s, and only 40 Tigers, half the original order.
..............
EADS and the government declined to comment .........

The UK started [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]three years ago, clinching a deal in spring 2009 which allowed it to sell on part of its Typhoon contingent to Saudi Arabia.

A similar plan is being considered for the aircraft Germany has contracted to buy but now considers surplus, although finding buyers is far from certain, according to industry experts.

India is considering the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. However, it is interested in jets with air-to-ground attack capabilities and not the early air-to-air Eurofighters Germany is expected to want to ditch.

Bras de fer entre la France et Airbus quant à la maintenance du futur avion de transport.

Le malaise est perceptible chez Airbus. Si le constructeur européen mène d'une main de maître les essais en vol de l'A400M, la situation est par contre plus tendue en ce qui concerne les négociations relatives à sa maintenance dans l'armée de l'Air.

Laurent Collet-Billon, le délégué général pour l'armement (DGA) s'est exprimé sur le sujet le 5 octobre dernier devant une commission de l'Assemblée Nationale. Soulignant le travail "remarquable" de l'équipe des essais en vol de Toulouse, il a néanmoins jugé "plus que difficile" les discussions avec les industriels sur la question du soutien de l'A400M, estimant qu'il n'avait pour le moment reçu aucune proposition satisfaisante de la part d'Airbus, notamment pour l'entretien des moteurs. "J'ai fait savoir aux industriels que, sans contrat de soutien, je ne prendrai pas en compte les appareils et je ne les paierai pas", a-t-il également déclaré.

Selon nos informations, Airbus, la DGA et l'Occar s'orienterait actuellement vers l'enchaînement de deux contrats de maintenance distincts, reflétant le décalage existant entre l'entrée en service de l'A400M dans l'armée de l'Air (2013) et dans la Royal Air Force (courant 2014). Le premier contrat, de courte durée (18-24 mois), couvrirait essentiellement les avions français mais établirait également les bases d'un contrat commun entre la France et la Grande Bretagne. Le second, de plus longue durée, couvrirait le soutien en service des deux flottes.

Concernant l'offre à proprement parler d'Airbus, difficile d'en savoir plus. Interrogé, le constructeur ne fait pour le moment faire aucun commentaire, précisant seulement que ces négociations sont toujours longues et difficiles.

Mais visiblement cette offre serait pour le moment incomplète et trop chère pour la DGA. Laurent Collet-Billon a d'ailleurs précisé lors de son audition, que l'usage, pour un nouveau matériel était que le fabricant en assure l'entretien jusqu'à ce qu'il soit mature. Et ce n'est qu'à ce moment que la DGA envisagerait de faire intervenir des réparateurs étatiques.

ENGINEERING firm GKN has won a Pounds 6 million contract for a project linked with the A400M military transporter plane.
GKN employs around 4,000 staff in Filton and works closely with Airbus - the manufacturer of the A400M.
The firm has won the Pounds 6 million contract from Cobham Mission Equipment to design, develop and manufacture a lightweight air to air refuelling pylon for the A400M military plane.

First deliveries of development units for testing are planned for next February with production deliveries due to start in early 2013 and continuing through to 2020.
The GKN Aerospace pylon will be manufactured using a combination of composite and metal components.

Jeff Armitage, vice president at GKN Aerospace, said: "This contract represents the successful develop-ment of our existing wing structures and fuel delivery systems businesses. "It takes us into an important new customer relationship with Cobham - and into a market where our expertise in complex composite, metallic and hybrid wing structures can bring real operational advantage."

GKN Aerospace has already designed, and now supplies, the A400M wing spar - the world's first all-composite wing spar for a large aircraft. The wings for the plane - which is the replacement for the aging Hercules - are built in Bristol by Airbus. The massive wing spar has been manufactured using a number of state-of-the-art processes including advanced Automated Tape Laying (ATL) techniques.

The aircraft's engine inlet and wing trailing edge detail are also supplied by GKN.

GKN is a global engineering business serving the auto, aerospace and land systems sectors.

It has operations in more than 30 countries, around 40,000 employees in subsidiaries and various joint ventures.

Mais, aujourd'hui, il y a moins d'impact que dans le passé !

(c) 2011 Evening Post (Bristol UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Airbus Military begins final assembly of first A400M

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Following the launch of A400M series production last February, Airbus Military (Madrid, Spain) reported on Nov. 23 that it has begun final assembly of the first A400M that will be delivered to a customer — the French Air Force.

The fuselage for the aircraft, known as MSN7, arrived at the final assembly line in Seville (Spain) on board an Airbus Beluga. The wings and nose arrived some days earlier and the integration of the central box and outer wings has already begun. The horizontal tailplane (HTP) is expected next week and the vertical tailplane (VTP) in two weeks time.

France will receive its first A400M military airlifter around the turn of the year 2012-2013. Eight serial A400M aircraft are already at different stages of production.

The A400M is a composites-intensive, all-new military airlifter, designed to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities.

Le cinquième A400M a effectué son premier vol ce matin. Parti de Séville, il a volé 2 heures et 10 minutes, avant de se poser à son point de départ.

Grizzly 5 est le dernier appareil de la flotte de test à prendre son envol.

Les essais en vol seront surtout consacrés à des tests d’interférence électromagnétiques, à la mise au point du transport cargo, à des démonstrations opérationnelles et aux tests dans des conditions de froid extrême.

Au total, les A400M ont volé plus de 2 500 heures, sur les 3 700 prévues avant les premières livraisons.

Airbus Military has cleared a key hurdle to pursuing further business with South Africa by refunding pre-delivery payments on an order of eight A400Ms cancelled two years ago.

The undisclosed refund to Armscor, the official weapons trader for South Africa's military, allows Airbus Military to offer the A400M or other transports to its former customer.

Reacting to cost overruns and schedule delays, South Africa cancelled the order in November 2009 after joining the programme as a full industrial partner four years earlier. At the time, South Africa intended to claim a R2.9 billion ($379 million) refund, but negotiations dragged on for two years.

Meanwhile, other competitors emerged to fill South Africa's requirement for a new tactical airlifter. Lockheed Martin has said South Africa is a prime candidate to buy the C-130XJ, a lower-cost variant of the tactical airlifter.

However, South Africa still has close links with the A400M programme. Denel Aerostructures and Aerosud are still members of the A400M supply chain, producing aircraft top shells, wing-fuselage fairings, wingtips, insulations and galleys, Airbus said. Cobham South Africa also builds the A400M satellite communications antenna in Cape Town, Airbus added.

Airbus Military is struggling to complete the A400M's flight-test schedule. Type certification has been delayed by up to three months to the second quarter of next year because of engine problems****** and performance shortfalls.*** ***
The first A400M is scheduled to be delivered in March 2013 to France, according to contract requirements. The first French aircraft, MSN7, is in final assembly, said EADS.

Airbus Military has planned to increase production to up to 2.5 aircraft per month in 2015. Eight countries have signed orders for a total of 174 A400Ms.

SEVRIEN a écrit:Une affaire qui ne sent pas bon !

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Lien :
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SAfrican defence logistics firm loses contract for Airbus components
BBC Monitoring Africa, 2010-05-05

Text of report by influential, privately-owned South African daily Business Day website on 5 May
Airbus Military has cancelled one of Denel Saab Aerostructure's contracts for parts for the new A400M military transport plane, and placed two others on review.
This was done only months after Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu cancelled an order for eight of the aircraft.
The loss of the contract is a major blow to Denel Saab Aerostructure's attempts to return to profitability after years of losses.
The cancellation comes despite assurances from Airbus, when SA cancelled its aircraft order, that work being done by local companies would not be affected.
However, Airbus is coming under intense pressure from European partners for work to be moved to the aerospace industry there.
The A400M is running several years behind schedule, and costs have surged.
This has required the partner countries - Germany, France, Malaysia, Turkey, the UK, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg - to pump more funds into the programme. The governments are in turn leaning on Airbus to provide more work for their aerospace industries.

C'est clair, ...mais ...

"Airbus is under pressure from the other A400M programme partner countries to redistribute the industrial work packages that SA contracted for," Airbus Military spokesman Linden Birns said yesterday.
"SA's commitment to acquire A400Ms was tied to its earlier decision to join the A400M programme as a full industrial partner in 2005," said Birns.

Oui, ......! Mais ....

Although Airbus had withdrawn a smaller contract, "other more strategically important and valuable packages" with Denel Saab Aerostructures had been protected "for the time being".
"We hope that the government will soon identify SA's future airlift requirements, and engage with industry on the process for acquiring whatever equipment it specifies and selects to meet it," Birns said.
Denel Saab Aerostructures is one of three Denel companies in Denel's stable that weigh heavily on the financial performance of the group.

Oui.

The unit notched up a R452m loss in the 12 months to March last year. It has invested millions in building prototype parts and ramping up for production of the A400M, and it is not clear whether Denel Saab Aerostructures will be able to recoup any of these investments.

Ceci n'est pas beau ! Car DSA avait fait des travaux onéreux et essentiels pour le bon déroulement du projet A400M, en rattrappant les effets des 'nécessaires' (?) modifications demandées par le Client, qui, ensuite, traînait la savate pour payer !

Denel Saab Aerostructures CEO Ismail Dockrat admitted yesterday that the cancellation was a huge blow to the group. "We still have running contracts with Saab and AgustaWestland. However, this was an important contract in our order book, and will have a major impact on our financial recovery.

Qui a dit "win-win" / 'gagnant -gagnant' ?

"We are speaking to Airbus to ascertain why they have cancelled the contract despite assurance last year that they would not. We are seeking to have the cancellations reversed," said Dockrat.

Quand on donne sa parole, on la garde ! Cela sent bien trop la politique !

Denel Saab Aerostructures has already revised its restructuring strategy to deal with the loss of the Airbus contracts, and is due to submit it to the board in the next week. "We are also working with various government stakeholders in drawing up a long-term plan for the aerospace industry in SA which will inform the way forward for Denel Saab Aerostructures," said Dockrat.

Ils sont réactifs, chez DSA ! !

Private aerospace group Aerosud may also lose some of its contracts to design and manufacture components for the A400M, but MD Paul Potgieter is less concerned than his rival.
"We have a long relationship with Airbus over many years, and have several contracts for other Airbus products, including the A320 and A350 commercial aircraft. We are in the process of finalising several new contracts," said Potgieter.
"We understand the pressure Airbus Military are under from their European partners. If the contract is cancelled, it will not be a unilateral decision by Airbus but rather by mutual agreement," he said.

Cela sent bien trop la politique !

The first Airbus Military A400M for the French Air Force is taking shape in Seville (Spain), where its final assembly line (FAL) is located.


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The final assembly process for this aircraft, known as MSN7, started last November. The nose and fuselage are already integrated and the aircraft was recently moved, on its landing gear, to the workstation in which the structural assembly is carried out. Integration works for the wing started last week and both the horizontal and the vertical tailplanes, which have already been mated, have just been moved to the final assembly station, known as Station 40, with the rest of the aircraft. The A400M will then be powered up for the first time before the aircraft is moved to the Ground System Tests area.

Airbus Military A400M performs high-altitude tests at La Paz, Bolivia

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The Airbus Military A400M new generation airlifter recently visited La Paz, Bolivia as part of a series of high-altitude performance tests. Grizzly 2 completed a number of flights from the airport at La Paz which is more than 13,000ft above mean sea level. Operations from high-altitude airports like La Paz are challenging because of the low air density. The tests took place shortly after the aircraft visited the FIDAE airshow in Chile, and Lima, Peru during its first deployment to Latin America. Airbus Head of Flight and Integration Tests, Fernando Alonso said: “High altitude testing is a critical part of the overall flight-test programme which will ensure that we deliver on our performance guarantees to customers. I am pleased to say that the early results from these trials have been very positive.”

Europrop International is working to halve the time needed to assemble and test the TP400-D6, having delivered the first production-standard example of the A400M transport's turboprop engine to Airbus Military.

At an event marking the programme milestone at MTU Aero Engines' Munich facility, EPI president Simon Henley said the engine consortium was "well on track" to bring the assembly and test programme down to 30 days, from 60 days.

The production engine will power the first A400M entering service early next year with launch customer the French air force. All four of this aircraft's engines are to be delivered by 7 May.

In total, 12 engines for French A400Ms will be delivered in 2012, plus two spares. Production will ramp up to 50 engines next year, with maximum annual capacity of 120 to be reached in 2015.

Airbus Military-led negotiations on in-service support of French A400Ms are under way with the nation's air force. The engine maker has proposed that the service perform repairs down to module level, with more detailed repairs going back to the consortium, which comprises ITP, MTU, Rolls-Royce and Snecma.

To maximise efficiency, a single production line is operated for the TP400-D6, at Munich. The engines undergo pass-off testing at another MTU facility, at Ludwigsfelde, near Berlin. Series production follows delivery of 28 flight-test engines. Earlier this month, engine flight-test hours surpassed 10,000. Engine running hours exceed 20,000.

The TP400-D6 gained civil certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency last May. In January, EPI delivered the engine reports required for aircraft certification to Airbus Military. Work continues on a "qualification piece" for military certification of the engine.

The final release of the engine software, incorporating maintenance capabilities, is due later this year. Further hot-weather testing is also scheduled for later in 2012.

Europrop International a célébré hier à Munich, chez MTU Aero Engines, la livraison du premier exemplaire de série du TP400, le moteur de l’A400M. Ce moteur est le 29e TP400 livré à Airbus Military, si l’on compte les moteurs des 5 prototypes, ainsi que les rechanges.

Il doit équiper le sixième exemplaire d’A400M baptisé "MSN 7", qui est également le premier exemplaire de série dont la livraison à l’armée de l’Air est prévue pour fin 2012. Il est prévu que les trois autres TP400 de "MSN7" soient livrés d’ici le 15 mai prochain.

L’assemblage final des TP400 est assuré par MTU Aero Engines dans son usine de Munich, où sont également assemblés les EJ200 destinés aux Eurofighter de la Luftwaffe. MTU espère livrer entre 40 et 50 TP400 à Airbus Military l'an prochain, puis une centaine d'ici 2014.

La semaine dernière, le moteur a été testé en conditions de décollage à haute altitude lorsque l’A400M "Grizzly 4" (quatrième prototype) a réalisé des essais depuis l’aéroport bolivien de La Paz situé à 3.640 m. EPI et Airbus Military ont ainsi pu vérifier le fonctionnement d’un réglage spécifique du Fadec (boîtier de régulation) permettant au moteur de bénéficier d’un petit surcroît de puissance à 11.065 chevaux.

En conditions normales (niveau de la mer, température de 18°C, pression atmosphérique normale), le TP400 fournit une puissance maximale de 10.690 ch.

The cause of a vibration issue affecting one of development aircraft MSN6's four Europrop International TP400-D6 turboprops has been traced to an engine balancing issue,
and the "Grizzly" will begin accumulating the 300 flight hours required from around late May.

Meanwhile, work continues to try to identify the cause of a propeller gear box failure which left MSN4 stranded in Oman late last month.

Gautier confirms that the issue was not a repeat of two previous failures to the TP400 which caused major programme disruption during 2011, and that the company and EPI can resolve it with affecting the delivery schedule for MSN7.

Sevrien a écrit: Sans avoir des informations plus amples, & plus claires, ... ma réaction spontanée est qu'il s'agirait de l'équilibrage du moteur concérné lui-même.