728JET fuselage assembly begins
Flug Revue
Fairchild Dornier has begun assembly of the first three 728JET fuselages here at the company’s primary production facility. The assembly work at the company factory joins production work being done by Fairchild Dornier partners in Europe and the U.S. The first wing is being assembled by EADS-CASA in Spain and the forward fuselage by SARCA in Belgium, while the first tail cone completed by MAN Technologie in Munich has been sent to Honeywell in the U.S. for compatibility testing with the RE 220 auxiliary power unit. The 728JET is the first in a family of new airliners for the under-l 10 seat market. It is scheduled to make its first flight early next year and enter service in mid-2003.
Ariane 5 launches two satellites
On March 8, Arianespace successfully launched two commercial satellites: Eurobird for the European Eutelsat telecommunications organization, and BSAT-2a for the Japanese Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation in a turnkey contract with Orbital Sciences Corporation of the U.S. Serving two loyal customers Eutelsat and B-SAT This latest successful flight confirms the technical and operational maturity of Europe’s Ariane
5, which is now widely recognized as the reference heavy-lift launch vehicle in the global space industry. The mission’s Eurobird payload was the 14th satellite launched for Eutelsat by Ariane. Arianespace has two more Eutelsat satellites on its orderbook. BSAT-2a was the third satellite to be orbited by Arianespace for the Japanese Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation, following BSAT-la on Flight 95 and BSAT-lb on Flight 108. It also is the 15th Japanese satellite launched by Ariane. Out of 24 commercial satellite launch contracts open for competitive bid in Japan, Arianespace has won 18. A second satellite, BSAT-2b, is scheduled for launch mid-2001.Arianespace’s next launch, Flight 141, is planned for early June. An Ariane 4 vehicle (Ariane 44L version) will orbit the Intelsat 901 communications satellite for the Intelsat international telecommunications organization. Before the end of the year 3 more Ariane 4s and 4 Ariane 5s are slated for launch. Following the Flight 140 success, Arianespace’s backlog now stands at 36 satellites to be launched, plus 9 ATV missions for the International Space Station.
Despite uncertainty in military procurement circles, thc worlds aviation Turboshaft manufacturers are slated to build nearly $10 billion worth of engines through 2010, with four companies controlling about three quarters of the market. In its annual review of the Market for Aviation Turboshaft engines, Forecast International/DMS projects that 21 manufacturing firms or consortia will produce some 20,540 aviation Turboshaft engines worth $9.87 billion between 2001 and 2010. Four engine manufacturers will control roughly three quarters of the Turboshaft engine market in the coming decade: Pratt & Whitney, Snecma (via Turbomeca), General Electric, and Rolls Royce. The four aerospace giants already fight for the lion’s share of all aircraft turbine markets, plus or minus another smaller player or two at most. Thanks to small initial sale profit margins and a competitive aftermarket that is very expensive to participate in, companies are spinning off smaller turbine businesses
-- and the major turbine engine makers are grabbing them.Sir C K Chow, Chief Executive of GKN plc, commenting on the results said: "GKN continued to make progress in 2000. Sales were up by 10% and earnings per share before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items were up by 4% to 54.5p. The Board has recommended an increase in the full year dividend of 10% to 19.8p per share. "GKN Westland Helicopters performed well and the Agusta/Westland Joint Venture was completed in February 2001. Profit from GKN Aerospace Services was lower than last year though the business is being both restructured and refocused following the acquisition of Boeing’s fabrication facility in St. Louis. The Joint Venture of GKN Westland Helicopters and Agusta of Italy was completed in February this year. It is the second largest Helicopter Company in the world, starting with a strong order book of US$8 billion. GKN Westland Helicopters had a successful year in 2000 with sales slightly exceeding Pound 1 billion and profits up by 10.3% on 1999. During the year 47 new helicopters and kits were delivered, including 9 Apaches to the British Army, 6 EHlOls to the Royal Air Force and 5 EHlOls to the Royal Navy. A total of 10 new and 3 upgraded Lynx aircraft were delivered to a number of customers.
At its meeting on March 2, 2001, chaired by Charles Edelstenne, the Board of Directors of Dassault Aviation reviewed the company’s financial statements for 2000. Consolidated orders booked totaled 4.13 billion euros, an increase of2l percent over 1999. This