Next-Gen Narrowbodies Will Require Technology Leap

The next-generation narrowbody airliners to replace the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 will require technological innovation beyond even today’s most advanced commercial aircraft, the Boeing 787, according to GE Aviation Systems Division President John Ferrie. Ferrie, formerly a director of Smiths Group plc, briefed reporters during the Paris Air Show on initiatives of the new division, formed by GE’s acquisition of Smiths Aerospace in May. Ferrie said he put off retirement to lead the $1.8 billion Systems business, which employs 9,500 people. The former Smiths Aerospace provides the Common Core System (CCS), high-lift actuation system and landing gear system for the 787 Dreamliner, slated to make its first flight this fall. The CCS is an open-architecture, central computing function that replaces multiple computers and more than 100 line replaceable units. But even such an advanced system will have to be improved if systems designers hope to achieve the benchmark 15-percent improvement sought for the A320 and B737, Ferrie said. “The current generation of airplane, like the [Airbus] 350XWB, is probably going to be, more or less, more of what we’ve seen on the A380 and 787. The real challenge is going to come with the next narrowbody replacements,” Ferrie said. “…We’re going to see, I think, some really new architectures for this airplane that are a long way beyond what we’ve experienced even on something like the 787, which is probably still the most advanced architecture that’s out there in commercial transport.”