Mistubishi MRJ

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (P&W) will decide by year-end on a location for assembling the 17,000lb-thrust (76kN) PurePower PW1000G geared turbofan for the Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet.
The engine manufacturer is currently building an assembly facility for the 24,000lb-thrust PW15000G variant that will power the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] CSeries. The plant, which will sit adjacent to Bombardier's aircraft assembly site in Mirabel, Canada, will also be used for assembly of the Pratt & Whitney Canada [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] series for the business aviation market.

Speaking to ATI and Flightglobal, P&W vice-president next generation product family Bob Saia says the firm has not yet finalized a decision on a location for PW1000G assembly for the MRJ. "We certainly could assemble it in Mirabel. We could also pick another locale, depending on what makes sense. We'll make that decision somewhere towards the end of the year."
P&W, meanwhile, has made progress in constructing its Mirabel facility. "The structure is basically assembled. The building is up and roofed," says Saia, noting that the facility will house two engine test cells that will have the ability to test up to 30,000lb of thrust.

"We may actually even do some engine testing during the CSeries programme, just to use that test cell to really get [it] fully functional before production engines start to run," adds Saia.
When CSeries assembly begins, P&W will transport production engines to Bombardier's facilities, where it will install the nacelles and the engine build-up unit "and then it gets delivered to the aircraft for installation", says Saia.
Certification is expected in 2012, with the CSeries and MRJ due to enter service in late 2013 and early 2014, respectively.

ANA confirme ses MRJ et divulgue leur prix

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All Nippon Airways confirme son engagement pour le MRJ. La compagnie japonaise s’était engagée à acquérir quinze appareils régionaux de Mitsubishi Heavy Industries en mars 2008, devenant leur cliente de lancement. La nouveauté de cette annonce est qu’ANA en a divulgué le prix.

La valeur de la commande a été annoncée à 69,2 milliards de yen, soit 763 millions de dollars. Un MRJ90 aurait donc une valeur de près de 51 millions de dollars au catalogue de l'avionneur japonais.

La commande initiale s’accompagnait d’options sur dix appareils supplémentaires. ANA devrait recevoir les MRJ90 fermes de sa commande entre 2013 et 2017.

Le MRJ90 pourra transporter 92 passagers. Il sera équipé de réacteurs PW1000G PurePower de Pratt & Whitney.

Mitsubishi Aircraft next month will start building its first MRJ regional jet, but who will its customers be?
Mitsubishi Aircraft president Hideo Egawa says the company expects 40% of sales will come from North America, 30% from Europe, 20% from Asia Pacific and the remaining 10% from the rest of the world.
US regional airline group Trans State Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Aircraft last October for 50 MRJs with options for 50 more. But a firm contract has still yet to be signed.

Mitsubishi Aircraft executive vice-president Junichi Miyakawa said at the Regional Airline Association meeting in the USA in May that "we are discussing a few details of the contract", adding that he was "very confident about completion of a firm contract". But company executives decline to give a timeframe for when a firm order will be signed.

So far the only firm customer is All Nippon Airways, which in March 2008 ordered 15 MRJ90s with options for 10 more. The ANA order launched the MRJ programme and the sales contract was written in English, rather than Japanese, because it has been decades since a Japanese airline bought aircraft from a Japanese aircraft-maker.

Japan's last commercial aircraft was the NAMC YS-11, a 64-seat turboprop developed in the 1960s and still in operation. Flightglobal's MiliCAS database says the average age of Japan's YS-11 fleet is 40 years. The air force has 13 of the aircraft, the navy 10 and the coastguard three.
Mitsubishi Aircraft has a team of sales people in Tokyo dedicated to pitching the MRJ to the Japanese government. Industry sources say it is highly likely that the Japanese government will order MRJs as replacements for some of the YS-11s.

Industry sources also say the government has been examining whether to order MRJs as VIP aircraft for the prime minister and other senior government officials. A formal request for information has been issued, but the document was sent to a long list of aircraft makers, says one of the sources.

Japan's prime minister normally uses a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], but MRJs would be useful for state visits to China, South Korea and Taiwan. The government could also be influential helping Mitsubishi Aircraft to sell MRJs to Japan Airlines, which went into bankruptcy protection in January and is increasingly reliant on government-backing to secure its future.
Some industry sources say Japan's government could pressure JAL into ordering MRJs. The Japanese flag carrier has stated publicly that it wants to right-size its fleet by operating smaller aircraft on domestic routes and some international routes, in an effort to achieve higher passenger loads.
"You can see that they are down-sizing to smaller aircraft so they could come out and say they are replacing [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 737s on some routes with MRJ90s," says an industry source, familiar with Mitsubishi Aircraft.
Mitsubishi Aircraft, meanwhile, appears to be focusing its sales efforts on the 90-seat MRJ90, rather than the 78-seat MRJ70, and is also talking about developing a 100-seat MRJ.

JAL could use MRJs to open new routes to north-east China and Taiwan. China over the next 20 years is projected to become the world's second largest market for commercial aircraft, but Mitsubishi Aircraft is unlikely to sell any aircraft there because of Japan's strained relations with China and would face stiff competition from China's own regional jet, the ARJ21.

But Taiwan is a strong sales prospect. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] president Jeng Kung-yeun says the aircraft maker has approached the airline about ordering MRJs. "We are thinking about some suitable aircraft but we are still in the study and evaluation stage," he says.
EVA is studying replacements for Boeing MD-90s that its smaller sister carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] operates domestically and on thin routes to secondary cities in Asia. Flightglobal's ACAS database says Uni Air has eight MD-90s, all built in 1996-98. Mitsubishi Aircraft has also approached EVA Air's sister company, maintenance, repair and overhaul firm Evergreen Aviation Technologies (EGAT).
Officials at the MRO company say they are in exploratory discussions about supporting the MRJ regional jet in Asia.
Taiwan is also a strong sales prospect because Evergreen Group - the parent of EVA Air and EGAT - has strong business ties with Mitsubishi.

Evergreen is one of the world's largest shipping companies and for decades it has been buying container vessels from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Taiwan has also won manufacturing work on the MRJ programme, with state-owned aircraft-maker AIDC designing and making slats, flaps, belly fairings, rudders and horizontal stabiliser rotating blades for the regional jet.

Mitsubishi Aircraft has also visited Papua New Guinea's national carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which plans to start phasing out its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 100s in 2015. But executives at the airline believe the MRJ to be more suited to Western markets, rather than developing countries. Papua New Guinea's airports often have short runways and are in mountainous areas.
Sources at Fokker say Mitsubishi Aircraft has targeted all of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]/100 operators in Asia as well as those in Europe and North America.

Another industry source says Mitsubishi Aircraft has been in discussions with Romania's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], although that airline decided late last year to add more Fokker 70s rather than acquire MRJs.

That leaves ANA as the only firm customer for the MRJ and that has been the case for more than two years. Who will join the Japanese carrier?

• Quelle serait la part de l'amélioration promise, par UTC / PW, des performances de son moteur dit "GTF", .....
  
• due, apparemment, .... ou en réalité (du moins, ... c'est bien ce qui est allégué), à l'infraction du brevet RR ?
  

Xil a écrit: Je me téléphone en conférence personnelle pour analyse, parceque c'est intéressant, ça tient très bien la route.

Je suppose que pas mal de collègues ont lu et apprécié.

Et ceci correspond parfaitement à ce que dit, d'une autre façon, l'ingénieur conseil : airframe d'une main, moteurs de l'autre.

Il parait même que chez Bombardier " ça discute, dispute..."

Xil a écrit:P&W Et chez Mistubishi ? Il est question des 100 sièges...mais pas plus.

• compte tenu des craintes de "shortfall" / 'déficit' en matière de "fuel-burn efficiency" du moteur P&W, surtout pendant quelques années après l'EIS, .......même si la puissance- / poussée-moteur semble acquise (s'agirait-il d'un problème de difficulté d'intégration ; moteur large pour la carlingue "trop belle et fine", avec turbulences, plutôt que d'une question de vibrations, dans le milieu "aile, fuselage, pylône et moteur" ?), ...
  
• 
  
• une manière de récupérer les ratios 'promis' en "seat-mile costs", serait d'augmenter le nombre des sièges ;
  
• 
  
• et le nombre de 100 ne serait pas gênant pour "l'ami Boeing" ! [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]
  

Xil a écrit:Jouer avec les feeders et les majors en même temps est un sacré pari !

Mitsubishi targets MRJ production to start this month

Production of parts for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) could start this month, as Mitsubishi Aircraft enters the production drawing phase for the new jet.
The design review for the aircraft was completed last week, says a Mitsubishi spokesman.
"We are proceeding with the production drawing phase, which will include more detailed designing of the parts. The first production could start this month," he adds.
Development of the MRJ is on track, says Mitsubishi. The 90-seater aircraft's first flight is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012, with first delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways in the first quarter of 2014.
ANA has placed a firm order for 15 aircraft with 10 options. Besides the Japanese airline, American regional carrier Trans State Holdings has signed a letter of intent for 50 firm orders and 50 options.

Production of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) has started today, with the first metal cut for the aircraft's horizontal stabiliser by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

The manufacturing work kicked off at a ceremony at MHI's Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works, where aluminium material was cut for the horizontal stabiliser's frame component, says Mitsubishi Aircraft (MJET).

"Following MHI's lead, project partners will now launch manufacturing of the various components they are responsible for, based on the production drawings," it adds.

"The start of the MRJ's production indicates that development of the aircraft's production drawings is progressing after detailed design review this summer."

MJET completed the design review of the MRJ earlier this month. The 90-seater aircraft's first flight is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012, with first delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) in the first quarter of 2014.

MHI is manufacturing the MRJ's major components, including the fuselage, wing, empennage and core system. It is also responsible for the final assembly and equipment installation of the aircraft.

"Going forward, MHI and MJET continue to devote their utmost efforts to make the MRJ project a success, aiming to play a significant role in the ongoing development of the global aviation industry," says MJET.

ANA has placed a firm order for 15 aircraft with 10 options.

Besides the Japanese airline, American regional carrier Trans State Holdings has signed a letter of intent for 50 firm orders and 50 options.

ATN : What is the competitive advantage of the new aircraft ?

MRJ : We can demonstrate three main features of the aircraft. First of all we are proud of fuel consumption. MRJ will have more than 20% better performance than the other aircrafts from the same class because we adopted state-of-the-art design as well as the new Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine.

Therefore the aircraft will significantly cut fuel consumption, noise & emissions what will limit environmental impact.

As I have mentioned before, a big advantage for airlines is the fuel efficiency of the airplane.
Daily cost of operations will be about 40% less with our airplane than the airlines have to pay now.

That makes a big difference.
The MRJ will feature a human centered flight deck, very pleasant cockpit with big display, it is the same one that 787 has.

Cross section will be high enough to stand where slim seat will give more space and better comfort for passengers.

Summarizing, the airplane biggest advantages are low operating cost, comfortable cabin and environmental performance.

ATN : How better is the ‘slim seat’ solution you designed ?

MRJ : Advantage of the slim seats is bigger distance between the front seat and the knee of a passenger.

According to our calculation we can gain 2 inches of additional space per seat than other aircrafts from the same class.

ATN : You have mentioned lower operating costs. Will you use composite materials ?

MRJ : The weight of MRJ will be minimized by using carbon fibre-composite material technology in of MRJ.

ATN : Will all the materials come from Mitsubishi or other subcontractors ?

MRJ : Some parts will be developed and manufactured by our partners but majority will be produced by Mitsubishi.
The company will be assessing all subcontractors.

ATN : How many orders do you expect and how many of them do you need to breakeven ?

MRJ : I do not have any specific number, or requirements.

Currently we have two orders, 25 aircrafts for All Nippon Airways from Japan and 100 aircrafts for Trans States Holdings from America.

We have just started intensive sale activities therefore we expect further orders in the close future. Breakeven is a very sensitive question, I cannot tell the number but usually it takes a long time for any aircraft manufacturer.

ATN : Which markets are you targeting in ?

MRJ : Roughly speaking we estimate that 40% of our market will be in the United States and 30% accounts for European market.

The remaining 30% will be Asian and others.

ATN : You already have orders for MRJ 90 and just options for MRJ 70. Does it mean that the first airplane to produce will be MRJ 90 ?

MRJ : Yes, the first will be MRJ 90 and then maybe a year later we will test the MRJ 70.

ATN : Do you plan to produce bigger aircraft than MRJ 90 ?

MRJ : Yes, that will be MRJ 100. We think about it because European JARs require that there must be one cabin crew member for every 50 passenger seats installed on the same deck of the airplane.

Therefore I would like to develop also an aircraft with 100 seats.

Japanese start-up carrier Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA) has purchased its second Embraer 175 aircraft, taking its all Embraer fleet to five.

The Shizuoka-based carrier's order also includes an option for another E175, says Embraer.
"We are honoured that FDA has reaffirmed its confidence in the E-Jets family and ordered another Embraer 175," says Paulo César de Souza e Silva, Embraer executive VP, airline market.
"The re-order is a sign that our E-Jets have been instrumental in the birth and growth of a new airline, and provided it with an optimal tool to develop new routes, while providing their customers with a reliable and comfortable airplane."
FDA's new aircraft will be configured in a single class with 84 seats, says Embraer.
Including the new jet, FDA will operate five Embraer aircraft: Three E170s and two E175s.
The airline, which started flights in 2009, has also inked a ten-year contract with Embraer to manage and facilitate all spare parts for its E-Jets

Pratt Completes First GTF Engine For MRJ

Pratt & Whitney is preparing to deliver the first PW1217G geared turbofan for testing at its West Palm Beach, Fla., site following the completion of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) unit at its Middletown Engine Center in Connecticut.
A second production standard PW1217G core, without the low-pressure system, is also being readied to begin stress tests at Pratt & Whitney Canada's Longeuil site in Montreal. The PW1200G engine test program will include eight test engines over the next 24 months.
Pratt & Whitney completed initial ground testing of its first PW1000G series engine, the PW1524G for Bombardier's CSeries airliner, in February following nearly 200 hours of testing. Engine core testing, meanwhile, concluded last year with more than 260 accumulated test hours. In addition to the core testing, Pratt & Whitney has performed module-level testing for the GTF program, including fan drive gear system testing with simulations of more than 60,000 takeoffs and landings, and extensive testing on the low- and high-pressure compressor. Pratt says to date the tests have met or exceeded "efficiency and operability goals."
A total of 16 test engines will be involved in the first two certification programs, which will conclude with entry into service on the CSeries in 2013 and on the MRJ in 2014.

Comat a écrit:L'airframe MRJ modifié semble bon.
L'airframe CS Bombarider semble bon.

La perception ici est que P&W n'arrive pas à répondre aux questions relatives aux life cycle costs du GTF; où refuse, ce qui revient au même.

Comat a écrit:Premier scenario : les simulationdu PurePower actuel ne donnent pas les résultats escomptés

Comat a écrit:Deuxième : P&W ne sait pas encore quelle version du PurePower sera " définitive ", en fonction de l'issue du litige RR / UTC

Comat a écrit:Mais : quel est le business case du Cserie ! ??? :o

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. Executive VP Junichi Miyakawa conceded last week that a number of airlines are more interested in the 100-seat MRJ100X, which has not yet been launched, than the 70-seat MRJ70 and 90-seat MRJ90 models the manufacturer is currently developing and producing.

"Many [potential] European customers like the MRJ100X and would like just to have the 100X airplane," he told reporters at the Regional Airline Assn. Annual Convention in Nashville. "But right now we are concentrating on development of the 90 and the 70." The MRJ90 is slated to be the first model to enter service with ANA in 2013; first flight of the 90 is planned for next year.

"We are seriously considering the 100X and talking to several different [potential] customers about it," Miyakawa said. "Adding one more type is a very big decision, so we have to go through procedures including getting approval from our board. I cannot say definitely at this moment [when the MRJ100X program will launch], but I'm going to do my best to make it happen because we need it."

He noted that commonality between the MRJ70 and 90 "is more than 95%," and while the "MRJ100X will have some beef up … we'll keep the commonality at over 90%."

Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney last week started ground testing at its West Palm Beach facility for the first PW1217G geared turbofan engine that will power the MRJ. The engine is the first of an eight-engine validation and certification program, Pratt stated. "Testing of this first PW1217G engine is expected to last through mid-year," the company said. "In addition to this engine, a PW1217G test core will soon begin stress testing in the Pratt & Whitney West Palm Beach facility to further the design validation of high rotor components. Three additional PW1217G engines are in various stages of build and will begin testing shortly." Pratt is aiming to achieve PW1217G certification and aircraft first flight in 2012.

Leasing firm ANI signs MOU for five Mitsubishi MRJs

Hong Kong-based leasing company ANI Group Holdings has inked a memorandum of understanding to buy five Mitsubishi MRJ regional jets.
ANI is a unit of Aero Nusantara Indonesia, an Indonesian maintenance, repair and overhaul firm that also leases aircraft to five carriers in the country.
The leasing company has not said whether it is taking the MRJ70 or MRJ90 variant. However, it said that it could order an additional 20 MRJs when Mitsubishi expands to cover the 100-seat class. The MRJ100 is still being studied and Mitsubishi has not made a decision on whether it would go ahead with the variant.
"We are very proud to be the first client for the MRJ in Asia outside of Japan. Indonesia is a rapidly developing market. Since this country is formed by more than 17,000 islands, has a population of more than 240 million people, and has a rapidly growing economy, airplane travel from city to city will undoubtedly increase as time goes on. Regional jets will therefore be essential for Indonesia," said ANI.
"We are expecting that the MRJ would form a family of competitive aircraft and we are considering an additional order of 20 when MRJ family is expanded to cover the 100-seat class. We are looking forward to receiving the MRJ and beginning operations in Indonesia."
Mitsubishi said that the deal with ANI will help it to market the MRJ in Asia.
"We have been strengthening our sales activities in the fast-growing Asian market. We are very excited to have ANI Group Holdings as our customer. We hope our next-generation MRJ regional jet will contribute to the business at ANI Group Holdings. This new order has encouraged us to boost our sales activities not only in Asia but in other world markets as well," said Mitsubishi Aircraft president Hideo Egawa.
Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), which helped launch the MRJ programme, has a firm order for 15 aircraft and 10 options. Trans States Holdings in the USA has a firm order for 50 MRJs and 50 options.
The MRJ is scheduled to make its first flight in the second quarter of 2012, with first delivery to ANA scheduled for the first quarter of 2014.

MRJ On Track For First Flight In 2012

Mitsubishi Aircraft’s regional jet is on schedule for first flight next year.

The aircraft maker’s VP of sales and marketing Hitoshi Iwasa says the manufacture of sub-assemblies started in April and that final assembly of the first MRJ will commence “probably at the end of this year or beginning of next year.”

This will give Mitsubishi Aircraft sufficient time for first roll-out and first flight in 2012 as planned, notes Iwasa, adding that the manufacturer is confident it can have first flight soon after the roll-out ceremony.

Mitsubishi Aircraft’s first MRJ is the 90-seat MRJ90, although the airframer is also offering a 70-80-seat MRJ70 and is considering a 100-seat variant. All Nippon Airways is the launch customer for the MRJ90 with a firm order for 15 and U.S. operator Trans States Holdings has placed a firm order for 50 MRJs (Aviation Daily, Feb. 3).

Indonesian aircraft leasing firm Aero Nusantara Indonesia has also announced its intention to buy five MRJ90s, and Vietnam Airlines is contemplating an MRJ order.

According to a Vietnam Airlines spokesman, the airline may purchase small jet aircraft and is considering Bombardier’s CSeries and the MRJ. Industry executives say Mitsubishi Aircraft has a strong chance in Vietnam because Japan is a major donor to the country.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which has a factory outside Hanoi that makes parts for Boeing 737s, could also incentivize a purchase, add the executives.

Mitsubishi Aircraft is also hoping the MRJ will replace some of the Japanese military’s ageing NAMC YS-11 turboprops.

MRJ Hits Trouble, Schedule Under Review

Mitsubishi Aircraft is set to announce a delay to the MRJ schedule amid undisclosed development difficulties.

Manufacturing of parts for the first prototype will begin this month or next month, says Hitoshi Iwasa, VP sales and marketing. On the current schedule, set in 2009, that prototype is supposed to fly in the second quarter of this year — which is clearly not possible for an aircraft whose parts have not entered production.

First delivery is due in the first quarter of 2014. Iwasa declines to say how long the possible delay could be. A decision will be made within a few months.

The company is doing all it can to recover its schedule, mobilizing its own resources, those of partners and suppliers, and also bringing in expertise from outside of the program. Mitsubishi Aircraft is not blaming a supplier or partner for the problem, and goes as far as saying that none has let it down.

“In some areas our development is going very smoothly and in other areas we are having difficulties. Some schedule impact will occur,” says Iwasa.

Mitsubishi Aircraft has encountered problems in development of the flight control system, says one industry executive not involved in the program. Since many parts from all across the airframe are about to go into production, it is evident that the developers’ problem is not in the structure. They did have a problem three years ago in integrating a composite wing with an aluminum body, but they solved that by making the wing aluminum—and announcing a three-month delay in delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways. When the program schedule was drawn up, managers included contingency planning for unexpected delays, but not enough slack in the schedule.

The manufacturer says it is closely watching Embraer’s prospective update of the E-Jet, although it notes that a re-engined aircraft is not normally as efficient as one that was designed from the beginning for its current propulsion system.

The Embraer program could result in the two aircraft being more differentiated than they are now, because the Brazilian company is looking at adding a larger version to the family while perhaps not modernizing the smallest.

The largest E-Jet is already larger, and has more thrust than, the largest MRJ, the MRJ90. Although Mitsubishi Aircraft is looking at 100-seater, with extra frames for two more rows of four-abreast seating, that version would still not be as big as the E195, let alone Embraer’s contemplated further stretch. If Embraer does not modernize the E170, then the 78-seat MRJ70 will face less competition in that quiet part of the market.

On the other hand, a delay to the MRJ program will shorten the period in which Embraer had to compete with only its unmodernized aircraft.

If the contemplated MRJ100 goes ahead, it will have the same thrust rating as the MRJ90. The MRJ70 also uses the same engine, the Pratt & Whitney PW1217G, but with a lower thrust rating.

All Nippon has ordered 15 MRJs and Trans States Holdings of the U.S. has ordered 50. ANI Group Holdings, a Hong Kong subsidiary of lessor Aero Nusantara Indonesia, has signed a memorandum of understanding covering an intended order for five.

Mitsubishi Aircraft expects flight testing of the PW1217G to begin in the northern spring.

The company forecasts demand for 5,600 aircraft of 70 to 100 seats over the coming 20 years. Embraer expects airlines to buy 6,795 aircraft of 61 to 120 seats.

MRJ maiden flight pushed back over 12 months to late 2013

The first flight of the Mitsubishi Aircraft MRJ regional jet will be delayed over one year to October-December 2013, from the previously scheduled second quarter of 2012.

The first delivery of the MRJ will also be delayed over one year, falling back to the summer of 2015, from the originally planned first quarter of 2014, says Mitsubishi Aircraft in a brief statement.

The airframer says it needs to "confirm respective fabrication processes" and "provide sufficient time for technical studies."

When asked for more details, a company spokeswoman says the company needs more time to review the industrial processes involved in producing the aircraft. In addition, these processes need to the approval of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau.

The company adds that development of the MRJ's power plant is "progressing smoothly," with the Pratt & Whitney PW1217G geared turbofan due for its first flight "from the end of [April]."

At the Singapore Airshow in February Mitsubishi told Flightglobal that the MRJ's first flight was likely to be delayed, acknowledging "challenges" with the programme. The spokeswoman adds that the delays have been discussed with the aircraft's three customers, but she declined to discuss their comments.

Only three customers have announced plans to buy the MRJ. The last order for the type came nearly a year ago, in June 2011, when Hong Kong-based leasing firm ANI Group Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding to buy five MRJs. ANI is a unit of Aero Nusantara Indonesia, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm that also leases aircraft to five Indonesian carriers.

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) has a firm order for 15 aircraft and 10 options, and US firm Trans States Holdings has a firm order for 50 and an option for 50 more.

Jeannot a écrit:Soucis et retards pour le MRJ

MRJ Hits Trouble, Schedule Under Review

Mitsubishi Aircraft is set to announce a delay to the MRJ schedule amid undisclosed development difficulties.
..... Mitsubishi Aircraft is not blaming a supplier or partner for the problem, and goes as far as saying that none has let it down.

“In some areas our development is going very smoothly and in other areas we are having difficulties. Some schedule impact will occur,” says Iwasa.

Mitsubishi Aircraft has encountered problems in development of the flight control system, says one industry executive not involved in the program. Since many parts from all across the airframe are about to go into production, it is evident that the developers’ problem is not in the structure.

They did have a problem three years ago in integrating a composite wing with an aluminum body, but they solved that by making the wing aluminum—and announcing a three-month delay in delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways. When the program schedule was drawn up, managers included contingency planning for unexpected delays, but not enough slack in the schedule.

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Jeannot a écrit:Le premier vol du MRJ retardé d'un an à fin 2013

MRJ maiden flight pushed back over 12 months to late 2013

The first flight of the Mitsubishi Aircraft MRJ regional jet will be delayed over one year to October-December 2013, from the previously scheduled second quarter of 2012.

The first delivery of the MRJ will also be delayed over one year, falling back to the summer of 2015, from the originally planned first quarter of 2014, says Mitsubishi Aircraft in a brief statement.

The airframer says it needs to "confirm respective fabrication processes" and "provide sufficient time for technical studies."

When asked for more details, a company spokeswoman says the company needs more time to review the industrial processes involved in producing the aircraft. In addition, these processes need to the approval of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau.

The company adds that development of the MRJ's power plant is "progressing smoothly," with the Pratt & Whitney PW1217G geared turbofan due for its first flight "from the end of (April)."

At the Singapore Airshow in February Mitsubishi told Flightglobal that the MRJ's first flight was likely to be delayed, acknowledging "challenges" with the programme. The spokeswoman adds that the delays have been discussed with the aircraft's three customers, but she declined to discuss their comments.

Only three customers have announced plans to buy the MRJ. The last order for the type came nearly a year ago, in June 2011, when Hong Kong-based leasing firm ANI Group Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding to buy five MRJs. ANI is a unit of Aero Nusantara Indonesia, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm that also leases aircraft to five Indonesian carriers.

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) has a firm order for 15 aircraft and 10 options, and US firm Trans States Holdings has a firm order for 50 and an option for 50 more.

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We had an opportunity to have a sidebar with Yugo Fukuhara, Director, Marketing at Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (MAC) at Pratt & Whitney’s Media Day. In explaining the fabrication delay, Mr Fukuhara explained that there are no serious problems.

The main issue is getting the paperwork to catchup with the fabrication reality. He explained that the workforce had been become creative in building parts. They have discovered ways to fabricate faster and this differs from the paperwork describing how each part is made. To date 25% of the MRJ’s parts had been fabricated. The problem is that this has put the paperwork behind. In order to ensure certification goes through as planned, the paperwork has to match the actual fabrication.

MAC is now redoing all the paperwork to ensure it reflects the fabrication process on the factory floor. All the parts made will be redone to match the revised paperwork. The “delay” will enables the two processes to once again be in sync.

MAC is confident that although first flight will move out 18 months, production will be accelerated in an attempt to catchup with the original schedule. Mr Fukuhara would not provide a timetable for this catchup.