R16 Aviation International News • www.ainonline.com September 17-19, 2003 September 17-19, 2003 Aviation International News • www.ainonline.com R17 commonality with the other CFM56-5s cargo variants. The first extended-fuselage An-148 assembly line, AVIC I used in the rest of the A320 family. An-74TK-300, now under assembly at the Kharkov has so far com- ARJ21 KhGAAP factory in Kharkov, will enter pleted the wing box and ANTONOV duty as a freighter for a Ukrainian cargo outer panels for the first An-74TK-300–After completing a 219- hauler. Antonov still has not decided prototype. Ulan-Ude con- mission flight-test program essentially on whether it will offer a stretched version of tinues work on the second schedule, Antonov and the Kharkov State the airplane in passenger configuration. assembly line, while the Aviation Production Company (KhGAPP) The An-74TK-300 uses 14,300-pound- Antonov plant in Kiev won AP-25 certification for the An-74TK- thrust ZMKB Progress D36-4A turbofans, nears completion of the modified to fit into the program’s third fuselage, Antonov under-wing nacelles, whose intended for structural test- An-74TK-300 additional noise-reduction ing. It plans to roll out the panels render the airplane first example this Decem- ICAO Stage 4 compliant. ber and fly it in March. Under the current Show, represents China’s most comprehen- Unlike the D36s found on schedule, the next two prototypes will fol- sive effort to build an international supplier earlier An-74s, the -4A low at four-month intervals. base for an indigenous aircraft. uses thrust reversers. The The partners view the An-148 as a natural Expected to cost some $900 million to As the air transport industry slowly recovers from a encouraging, the deal called for deliveries of new designs TK-300 also features new successor to the less capable and efficient develop, the airplane’s ultimate existence, sagging global economy and persistent geopolitical un- from both manufacturers–Embraer for the 70-seat 170 avionics, such as a Ukrain- An-74TK-300, which, although a new offer- as always, hinges on the Chinese govern- rest, regional airlines have recast themselves as agents and Bombardier for a 75-seat version of the CRJ900 ian-made SM3301 dual ing, carries many of the less modern features ment’s resolve in supporting the project. for change in a business often criticized for its inflexibility known as the CRJ705. But after the pilots of US Airways GPS receiver, a 150-para- of earlier An-74 variants. In fact, Antonov’s But after failing to launch efforts to develop and lack of fiscal discipline. But despite their robust invoked their scope clause to challenge the existence of meter BUR-92 flight-data MOU with Aeroflot for 30 TK-300s calls new regional jets with Airbus and Daimler traffic gains, regional airlines can hardly boast of windfall the 25 CRJ705s at the wholly owned regional unit, the 300 last October. First flown in April 2001, recorder, an Orlan VHF radio with 8.33- for an eventual replacement with An-148s. Benz, the Chinese have convinced a num- Breakthrough profits, as the rise of low-fare carriers and a newfound airline opted instead to assign an equal number of 70- the An-74TK-300 disposes of the An-74 kHz channel spacing, an Arlekin long-range Deputy chief designer Victor Kazurov ber of Western suppliers of the seriousness emphasis on cost control by mainline partners continue seat CRJ700s to independent affiliate Mesa Air Group. family’s most distinguishing design fea- HF radio and a G-002M FMS. said the bureau launched the program after of this attempt, lending perhaps more cred- to suppress yields. Consequently, from the end of 2000 The move again left Bombardier without a new customer ture–namely, engine pylons mounted on top studies revealed that neither a turbofan ver- ibility to the project than first expected. through early this year regional aircraft order books for the CRJ900 ever since Mesa, coincidentally, placed of the wings. For the new model, engineers An-148–The first Antonov airplane ex- sion of the An-140 turboprop nor the An- Intended to withstand the hot-and-high orders showed little more than cancellations and delivery the program’s first airline order in March 2001 for its opted instead for a more traditional under- pected to make use of computer-aided de- 74TK-300 could compete internationally conditions common in western China, the deferrals as customers struggled to negotiate reasonable America West Express network. wing engine design, resulting in less drag, sign and manufacturing technology, the with new concepts such as the Sukhoi-led ARJ21 would feature rear-mounted GE financing terms. Just weeks after US Airways placed its orders on May higher lift-to-weight ratio, reduced fuel An-148 began taking shape last October, RRJ. Although many airlines asked for a CF34-10A turbofans, five-abreast seating, Meanwhile, new regional aircraft designs conceived 13, another of Embraer’s new products–the 98-seat Em- burn but diminished field performance. when the Ukrainian design bureau began 100-seater, he said, Antonov chose an 80- a standard range of 1,200 nm, a cruise during the 1990s market stood ready to vie for airline braer 190–drew the Brazilian manufacturer’s first sale in Designers of the original An-74s chose building the type’s first fuselage. Less than seat design to avoid direct competition with speed of Mach 0.8, Western avionics and a breathe life acceptance. Unfortunately for those who staked their the burgeoning low-fare market. The order for 100 air- to place the engines on top of the wings to six months later the company removed the the Tupolev Tu-334, now undergoing certi- super-critical wing designed by Ukraine’s futures on costly new aircraft programs, the timing planes from New York-based JetBlue carried special signifi- meet military requirements for STOL per- completed section from its assembly jig in fication trials. However, a recent decision to Antonov. Rated to produce 18,500 pounds couldn’t have been worse, as apprehension in both the cance not only because it validated Embraer’s long-held formance and isolation from FOD. The time to proceed with scheduled production switch to more powerful but heavier en- of thrust, the GE engine won a propulsion consumer and financial markets spelled the demise of belief that its new line of jets would appeal to low-fare car- configuration harnesses the Coanda effect of the first airframe and first flight by the gines might prompt Antonov to reconsider. competition that included the Rolls-Royce into sagging such programs as the BAE Systems RJX and the bank- riers, but because it proved a so-called regional jet manu- for better lift and protects the engines from end of this year. The first prototype, to The company originally planned to use Deutschland BR710, the Pratt & Whitney ruptcy of Germany’s Fairchild Dornier. facturer could effectively compete with Airbus and Boeing. ingesting debris during takeoff and land- feature a completely new high-wing con- ZMKB Progress D36-5 engines for the An- PW800 and Snecma’s proposed SM146. ing. Potential airline customers have ex- figuration and ZMKB Progress D436-148 148, but the engine company’s desire to Although the -10 represents a consider- While defunct startup ventures such as Earl Robinson’s Of course, major airlines have long played an active pressed a clear preference for less fuel turbofans from Motor Sich, could gain CIS expand its customer base for its new D436- able capability increase over other CF34 Alliance Aircraft never really stood a chance in this bar- if not dominant role in negotiating RJ acquisitions for burn and higher cruise 148s led to a decision to switch. The models, it incorporates many parts scaled ren lending environment, even the best established com- their regional partners, so the likes of Embraer and market speed, however, leading to Antonov FADEC-equipped D436-148 benefits from from the CFM56-7 and CF34-8 and the panies enacted capacity reductions and employee layoffs. Bombardier selling jets directly to US Airways, for exam- the development of the An-148 new technologies developed for the D436T same basic design philosophy of the CF34- Although much of Bombardier’s predicament arose from ple, came as no surprise. But the extent to which their An-74TK-300. used on the Tupolev Tu-334 and Beriev Be- 3 series and -8 series engines, making it a a slump in the business aircraft market, for the first time products eventually fly in mainline networks remains a The new model boasts 200. The bureau claims the design’s next- relatively low-risk choice, according to GE. in recent memory a prolonged lull in demand for regional matter for speculation. Differing opinions about the an increase in top cruise generation noise-absorbing panels, chevron A partial mockup of the ARJ21 appeared airliners forced the Canadian aerospace giant–as well as direction of the airline industry have led to varied speed from 378 to 405 nozzle and enlarged “screening effect” air at June’s Paris Air Show, where Chinese its chief rival, Brazil’s Embraer–to slash production rates. approaches to new products, ranging from completely knots and a 20-percent intake will allow it to meet Stage 4 stan- officials announced that Hamilton Sund- by Gregory Polek This year, however, a breakthrough came when US Air- new, “clean sheet” designs to less costly derivatives. drop in fuel burn, to be- dards by a “comfortable margin.” strand won a competition to supply the air- ways placed landmark orders for 170 regional jets, split The following report encapsulates those, as well as the tween 2,685 and 3,085 An-148 designers opted for a glass cock- plane’s electrical power system and to act as equally between Embraer and Bombardier.