AIRBUS A330-F

Dubai 09: Etihad’s Airbus A330-200F on track for August delivery
By Max Kingsley-Jones
Airbus is on track to deliver the first A330-200 Freighter to launch customer Etihad Crystal Cargo next summer following the first flight of the development aircraft earlier this month.
The A330-200F took to the air on 5 November. This aircraft (MSN 1004), which is Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered, will fly the 180h flight-test programme. The first aircraft for Etihad (MSN 1032), which is Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered, is in build and will be used for final checks ahead of delivery in August.

"The first aircraft will be used for two phases of test programme - for example performance calibration, handling and systems such as autopilot and smoke detection," says Airbus freighter marketing manager Jonathan Lesieur. "We'll use the first delivered aircraft for the third phase, as it will have a courier area, for specific tests such as noise, air conditioning in the courier area and the functioning of the CIDS [cabin communication system]."
Ahead of the -200F's first take-off, some ground and flight-testing was carried out using passenger A330s, says Lesieur. "We flew around 10 test flights with passenger aircraft to carry out initial tests on systems," he adds.
He says that these included measuring temperatures in the lower deck with the main deck at 5°C (41°F), as well as ground testing of the fuel system and validation of the fuel control computer. "We also tested the handling qualities when simulating the freighter's extended centre of gravity," says Lesieur.
The A330's centre of gravity is being extended by 3% over the passenger version to improve flexibility when loading freight pallets of varying weights throughout the main deck cargo bay.
Airbus test pilot Philippe Perrin, who commanded the first flight, says that the crew were keen to test the modified nose-gear arrangement during the maiden sortie. This incorporates a blister fairing to accommodate the lower leg attachment needed to ensure the aircraft sits level on the ground for loading.
"We wanted to check the operation of the new doors, which behaved very nicely," says Perrin, adding that there were no noise or buffet issues with the fairing.
The 64-69t payload freighter variant is due for simultaneous European Aviation Safety Agency and US Federal Aviation Administration certification in March.
Lesieur says the five-month interval to the first delivery is as a result of the slackening in demand for cargo aircraft combined with the high demand for passenger A330 versions.
"This meant that slots that would have been built as freighters will be delivered as passenger aircraft, but we decided to maintain the -200F's original industrial and certification schedule."
Once testing is complete MSN 1004 will be reworked for a customer and Lesieur says Airbus is in "advanced negotiations" to place the aircraft.
The A330-200F has come in around 500kg (1,100lb) lighter than expected, which Lesieur says can be used to increase the payload or "to translate into approximately 0.3-0.5% lower fuel burn".
Airbus, which holds orders and commitments for 69 aircraft from 10 customers, says that the new variant's original launch customer, India's Flyington Freighters, still holds 12 orders, but its deliveries have been "pushed back". The airframer forecasts demand for 1,600 in the A330-200F's mid-size freighter category over the next 20 years.

First Trent-powered A330 freighter starts flight tests
By David Kaminski-Morrow

Airbus has conducted the first flight of a Rolls-Royce-powered
A330-200 freighter, bringing a second airframe into the twin-jet's test
programme.
The aircraft, MSN1032, fitted with Trent 700 engines, carried out a three-hour maiden flight today.
Airbus has so far performed tests with a Pratt & Whitney
PW4000-powered example, which first flew on 5 November last year. The
jet has recently been undergoing autopilot and autoland tests, and has
been switched to cold- and hot-weather trials.
As well as being fitted with Trent engines the second aircraft is
the first to be equipped with the full 'courier' interior section which
provides seating for six passengers. The aircraft also has a galley and
crew rest zone.

Airbus

Development work on this example will include tests on furnishings
and systems for communication, power distribution, air conditioning,
smoke detection, plus oxygen, water and waste.
The airframer expects the A330-200F certification programme to include 200hr of flight tests.
Certification of the jet is "on track" for March, says Airbus, with
initial deliveries to Etihad Airways' cargo division in summer.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/01/20/337377/picture-first-trent-powered-a330-freighter-starts-flight-tests.html

PICTURES: A330 freighter undergoes cold-weather tests
By David Kaminski-Morrow

Airbus has undertaken cold-weather testing of its A330-200 freighter in northern Canada, and is being prepared for hot-weather trials in the Asia-Pacific region.

The first flight-test aircraft, MSN1004, was flown to Iqaluit on 23 January and subjected to temperatures down to minus 30°C.

Airbus says that the testing is not for certification but to verify system performance guarantees to customers, and check the response of modifications introduced during the freighter's development.

These include checks on the main cargo door, following cold-soak of the twin-jet to minus 27°C inside the cabin, as well as the auxiliary power unit and electrical systems.








Airbus/Chris Windeyer


Technical personnel also tested the air conditioning system, notably its ability to restore the cabin to a specific temperature.

The main tests began at about 06:00 on 24 January with start-up through external electrical power and activation of the APU, says Airbus flight-test engineer Wolfgang Brueggemann.

Three hours of system checks followed before the aircraft was shut down again ahead of a second overnight cold-soak. Airbus then carried out a second series of test procedures, similar to those on the previous day, before the aircraft departed.

Brueggemann says the results of the tests were "very good" and that all the aircraft's systems behaved well.

Airbus is fitting the aircraft's interior with a partial cargo loading system and is preparing to fly the jet to Asia where it will undergo another set of tests in hot and humid conditions.

Airbus has secured European certification for its A330-200 freighter, with the twin-jet attaining a slightly higher payload capability than originally expected.

It has obtained European Aviation Safety Agency certification after putting the aircraft through a 200hr flight-test regime. The tests involved airframes equipped with both Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney engines.

Airbus says the aircraft has achieved a payload capability of 70t. The airframer has previously specified a 69t payload over 3,200nm (5,930km) or 64t over 4,000nm (7,400km).

It states that the higher payload follows "some design optimisation".

"With the freighter market already showing signs of recovery, rising by 20% so far this year, we now have a great new aircraft to offer customers," says Airbus' A330 chief engineer Christian Favre.

EASA has certified the aircraft by amending the type certificate for the passenger version of the A330-200. Airbus expects corresponding certification from the US FAA.

One example of how weight was saved was the switch from glassfibre to carbonfibre for the floor panel material. Overall, the A330-200F incorporates some 9t of advanced materials (carbonfibre, glassfibre and quartzfibre reinforced plastic), which are used in areas such as the flaps, the fin and tailplane, the belly faring, gear doors, radome and engine cowlings.

The success of the programme allowed Airbus to announce at the time of the first flight that the -200F's empty weight had turned out to be 1t less than originally forecast. This improvement went straight to the bottom line, boosting the maximum payload from the 69t originally forecast to 70t.

"We have already weighed one aircraft and we are well within this," says Favre. "Once we have weighed three we will be perfectly sure to confirm this to the customers and incorporate it in the offers."

The A330-200's centre tank is deactivated on the -200F to save the weight of the inerting system, reducing fuel capacity by 41,560 litres. However it is offered as an option.

"For the first time, with the A330-200F there is a competitor in the midsize payload category that has range equivalent to the larger long-haul freighters, but offering better unit costs," says Airbus's freighter marketing manager Jonathan Lesieur. He believes that the current environment of rising fuel cost and low yields will attract customers to the A330 from the fuel-thirsty DC-10 trijets.

Airbus believes that the increasing cost of fuel will help draw demand for its
A330-200
Freighter from operators of McDonnell
Douglas DC-10Fs, a target replacement market for the new cargo
widebody.
The airframer's freighter marketing manager Jonathan Lesieur concedes
that in a low fuel-cost environment the $190 million, 70t payload A330-200F
was a hard sell as a DC-10F replacement, but the picture is changing as
oil prices rise and cargo yields become more challenging.
"When fuel was at $1 a US gallon, it wasn't that easy for A330-200F's
lower operating costs to compensate its higher acquisition costs
compared with a DC-10F, which is approximately the same size in terms of
payload," he says.

H. Gousse/Airbus

However, Lesieur says as fuel prices rise with no clear idea where
they will end up, the A330's lower fuel burn and associated operating
cost savings over the three-crew, DC-10
trijet are making it a much more attractive proposition.
"When fuel was at $1 per US gallon [26¢/litre] it required an annual
utilisation of 4,000h for the A330-200F's higher capital costs to be
offset by its lower operating costs over a DC-10F," he says. "But now
when fuel is at around $2.50/$3 per US gallon, this utilisation is
halved to 2,000h."
Flightglobal's ACAS database lists around 90 DC-10Fs in service, with
eight operators. The largest of these is US express package carrier
FedEx Express with 66 aircraft, but Airbus is pitching the A330-200F
more at general cargo operators, says Lesieur. "A lot of these DC-10
operators easily do 2,000h a year," he adds.
The express package carriers, which generally have lower cargo
densities and a greater focus on volume rather than payload/range
capability, are a target of the proposed passenger-to-freighter
conversion of the larger A330-300.
"This could carry 26 containers on the maindeck," says Lesieur.http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/05/21/342112/a330-200fs-prospects-as-dc-10-replacement-boosted-as-fuel-prices-rise.html

NEW DELHI - A senior executive of Flyington Freighters, trying to establish itself as India's only long-haul cargo airline, said the delay in the U.S. Air Force aerial tanker contest is to blame in the late delivery of 12 A330-200 cargo aircraft his company ordered from Airbus.

The Hyderabad-based airline is threatening to sue Airbus for the delay, which has caused financial hardships, the executive said. The A330-200 deliveries were expected to begin in July 2008, but now, he said, Flyington fears the slippage will spill over into 2011.

"I believe Airbus intended to deliver the 12 A330-200 aircraft to Flyington only if successful in winning the U.S. Air Force contract and able to build these aircraft in Mobile, Ala.," where Airbus has pledged to build the U.S. aircraft if it wins that deal, he said. "My impression is that Airbus has only limited capacity in Toulouse and may be unable to build our 12 A330-200 aircraft [there]."
In France, however, an Airbus spokesman said, "We jointly agreed to postpone deliveries of aircraft. We are in ongoing dialogue with the customer."
There is clearly disagreement over the reasons for the delay in deliveries.
Flyington's planned commercial operations from India to destinations throughout Europe, West Asia and Africa now face uncertainty because of the delayed deliveries, the executive said.
An industry source said an agreement was reached to postpone deliveries of the A330 cargo aircraft after Flyington Freighters failed to launch operations with used aircraft as planned, which made it difficult for the company to make the pre-delivery payments for the Airbus aircraft. Such deposit payments are normally paid before production begins.
Airbus delivered Aug. 9 the first new-build A330 freighter aircraft to Etihad, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, the Airbus spokesman said. Airbus expects to deliver four to five A330 freighters this year. The company estimates the total market for new-build mid-sized freighter aircraft at 340 units over the next 20 years, and a total 1,600 mid-sized cargo aircraft including conversions.
Airbus has sold 64 A330 freighters to 10 airlines worldwide. The aircraft company currently produces 8.5 aircraft a month on its final assembly line for the A330, in passenger and freighter versions, and the A340 airliner.
Airbus is examining the possibility of raising production of the A330. "There is upside potential, but no decision has been taken," the Airbus spokesman said. In September 2008, before the financial crisis broke out, Airbus had plans to build 10 A330 aircraft a month.
EADS North America is pitching the KC-30 converted tanker/freighter, a version of the A330-200 passenger aircraft, in the U.S. Air Force contest. Rival Boeing is offering the KC-767 Advanced Tanker, a modified version of its 767-200 long-range freighter.
Airbus, the Flyington executive said, wanted orders for the A330-200 to prove its viability to the U.S. Air Force.
"In hindsight, Airbus' aggressive pursuit of Flyington appears to have been driven by Airbus' strong interest in securing an A330-200 launch customer to unlock European Union launch air support and demonstrate to the U.S. Air Force that Airbus had a viable commercial variant for its proposed tanker," he said.
Flyington Freighters initially entered discussions with Boeing for the purchase of freighter aircraft, but it later switched to Airbus and in March 2007 ordered six A330-200s, which were scheduled for delivery beginning in July 2008.
"We held preliminary talks with Boeing, but opted for an Airbus fleet of freighters because the A330-200F offers low operating costs and significant operational benefits," the Flyington executive said. "The aircraft gives Flyington Freighters a solid springboard for success in the rapidly expanding Indian freighter market."

As with many things, there is much more to this story than meets the eye. During the Farnborough Air Show, we learned quite a bit about the back story of this. There is an underlying dispute between Airbus and Flyington, with Airbus threatening to cancel the Flyington order and keeping the progress payments made to date. Flyington threatened to sue, tying the issue to the tanker.
There is much more intrigue involved in the tanker tie-in alleged by Flyington, but what we learned about this was from another reporter (not Defense News) and we have to honor his efforts on this story, so we can’t go into it.
The Flyington order has been deferred to about 2014, another A330F customer tells us, who was offered the Flyington positions. This deferral was at Flyington’s request.
Six months ago, at the depth of the world cargo recession, we were told Flyington wanted to either sell its positions or cancel them. We emailed Flyington at the time but got no response.
The airline is a start-up and as we have seen, the airlines in India are under financial stress at the moment