Bell goes green
Bell Helicopter has announced plans to reduce its environmental footprint via its new Eco-Innovation initiative. The process takes account of the entire lifecycle of each of its products, starting with an assessment of the environmental impact of mining the raw materials used in manufacturing. This analysis continues right through to the end of each aircraft’s life.

The new Bell 429 twin is the first helicopter to come under the spotlight. The 429 already meets Stage 3 noise limits and delivers reduced fuel consumption, partly from increased use of composite materials to reduce weight. The company is displaying the light twin helicopter at the Paris Air Show. Certification is expected by the end of June.

Because of the current downturn Bell’s backlogs have been hard hit and the OEM has slashed its anticipated production forecasts to 170 from the 240 originally planned for 2009. However, like many of the airframers at the show, Bell’s military sales have seen a steady climb and its H-1 helicopters and V-22 tiltrotors are selling well. The company says it is still on course to produce the joint venture BA 609 tiltrotor with partner AgustaWestland, however the certification date has moved right to 2011.

Boeing calls to create industry efficiency standards regulator
Boeing is calling for the creation of a high level industry group – likely drawn from the International Civil Aviation Organization – to set common fuel efficiency standards for new platforms. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Bill Glover, managing director of Environmental Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said that the industry body would be the be the best regulator and creator of legislation, as it already has the framework in place to implement new rules. He said: “It is urgent we address these things. Setting a new efficiency standard for new airframe designs makes sense.”

Boeing and industry partners including Honeywell, GE Aviation, CFM International, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, plus several airlines have just released the results of a study analyzing greener fuels. These show that sustainable biofuels are a viable alternative to 100% petroleum-based fuel.

In the tests Bio-Derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK) fuels performed marginally better than petroleum-based Jet A on several commercial engine types using blends of half half Jet A/Jet A-1 fuel and sustainable biofuels. (See related coverage in the Paris news feed above)

Glover believes that some of these fuels will appear on the market within the next five years.

Air Austral selects Engine Alliance GP7200 to power A380
St Denis-based Air Austral announced today that it has chosen Engine Alliance’s GP7200 engines to power its two Airbus A380 aircraft. Additionally the airline has opted for an MRO service contract with EA for 10 years. The total value is worth $240 million.

“We have selected the Engine Alliance offer and the GP2700 engines because the EA proposal presents the assurances that suit our requirements for the success of our new economical concept,” said Air Austral’s president Gerard Etheve.

Earlier this year Air Austral said that it would operate its A380s as purely economy class aircraft serving the high-density route from La Reuniion to Paris. “Air Austral’s use of the A380 in high density configuration demonstrates the flexibility of the A380,” said EA president Jim Moravacek. “We are delighted that they’ve chosen our fuel efficient GP7200 engines to help them maximize the value of this remarkable aircraft.”

The GP2700 is a joint venture between Pratt and Whitney and General Electric drawing from the successful PW4000 and the GE90. Certified at 76,500 pounds of thrust the engine has capacity to produce more than 81,500 pounds of thrust – allowing for stretch versions of the A380, should that eventuality arise. The GP2700 entered service in 2008 with the first Emirates A380 and has yet to have an in flight shutdown. Its departure reliability is coming in at over 99/9% to date and it has demonstrated a one percent saving in fuel.

There can be no GP2700 family. EA is not allowed to develop derivatives of the engine without approval and is only permitted to supply the A380 under EU law.

Wizz, Aigle Add to Airbus Tally
Wizz Air, the largest Central and Eastern European low-cost airline, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to buy 50 more A320s. This will take their total orders up to 132 aircraft. All Wizz Air aircraft will be configured in a comfortable single-class layout, seating up to 180 passengers. No choice of engine has been made yet.

The new A320 order will allow Wizz Air to reinforce and expand its extensive network established at 11 operating bases, in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Czech Republic. It will also allow the airline to add new destinations to its 130 existing routes. This new large A320 order will enable Wizz Air to reinforce its strong position in the region. The rapidly expanding Central and Eastern Europe’s low-cost low fare airline already operates a young and eco-efficient Airbus fleet of 24 A320s.

New Financing Firms Offer Airlines Increased Liquidity
It is clear that one of the trends coming out of Paris is the creation of new financing organizations to address the tight credit market. The latest to announce is GreenStone Aviation, a commercial aircraft leasing company, which, it said was capitalized with over $100 million in equity, making for one of the largest independent start-ups in history to be focused exclusively on the sale/leaseback of newly-delivered commercial aircraft ordered by major airlines.

The announcement comes after Civil Aviation Finance Holding Co. (CIAF Holding), an Egyptian corporation, and US lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG) announced the formation of a joint venture aircraft leasing company to serve Egypt, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Related Story  That was the second new facility announced by ACG. The Newport Beach, CA-company announced Friday it plans to use a new financing structure in conjunction with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) for aircraft financing. ACG said the new structure taps capital markets that have been largely closed to commercial aviation since the credit market crisis began last September. Related Story

GreenStone Aviation is backed by leading private equity investors and led by John S. Slattery, the former head of RBS Aviation Capital’s business in the Americas. As an operating lessor, GreenStone will further provide its airline customers expertise in asset management for a portion of their fleets.

“Airlines are having a tough time sourcing finance and we are delighted to be able to help fill the funding gap,” said Slattery. “As a brand new lessor, we are not distracted with re-financings, remarketing or placing our own aircraft orders. We are coming to the market with one product – sale and leasebacks – with no other strings attached. At a time when airlines need cash, sale and leasebacks are an essential way of financing many aircraft deliveries.”

GreenStone will focus on the newest and most popular, reliable and fuel efficient single-aisle aircraft but will also consider the latest widebody aircraft including Boeing’s 787 and Airbus’s A350 programs. “GreenStone’s exclusive emphasis on the lowest carbon-emitting aircraft types, on lease to a globally diversified base of top-tier airlines, is a cornerstone to its operating philosophy,” it said.

The company’s management team has strong links with airlines and major manufacturers like Airbus, Boeing, GE, Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney. It indicated that a number of private equity and other strategic entities are considering investing in GreenStone and it is set to have $500 million in equity by the end of 2010.

The company will trade as GreenStone Aviation Ltd. in Ireland and GreenStone Aviation Corp. in the U.S. and expects to open offices in Beijing, Singapore and Dubai as its business grows through 2010.

PurePower Updated
Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1000G is living up to its expectations, according to Pratt, which briefed reporters at Paris. The engine, formerly known as the Geared Turbo Fan, offered up more than 2,000 data points from more than 400 hours of testing, meeting all program objectives including performance, efficiency, acoustics and overall operational characteristics.

"The PW1000G demonstrator successfully completed a comprehensive four-phase test program, validating laboratory results obtained in 2007 and 2008," said Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family, Pratt & Whitney. "We ran a very challenging test program subjecting this engine demonstrator to the same tests required for airplane flight certification. This unprecedented demonstration program provides critical engine data prior to the PW1000G engine entering detailed design later this year."

Airbus and Pratt & Whitney engineers have jointly and independently reviewed the A340 flight test results and confirmed that the geared turbofan engine architecture will deliver a double-digit reduction in fuel burn when the initial PW1000G engine models enter service in 2013.

Testing for the first and second phases included 250 hours of ground testing for component performance and acoustics conducted at Pratt's advanced test facility in West Palm Beach. Phase three was a 12-flight, 56-hour test program on Pratt’s Boeing 747 flying testbed to measure in-flight performance, overall engine operation, in-flight starting and engine operability.

The final stated included testing on an Airbus-owned A340 flight test airplane in early September 2008. Airbus test engineers conducted a 27-flight, 100-hour test program, measuring performance, acoustics and operation under high-stress maneuvers. The Airbus demonstration program included approximately 60 high-angle airplane maneuvers with up to 2.1Gs of force.

The joint engineering assessment also confirmed the high efficiency and operational reliability of Pratt's innovative fan drive gear system, said the company, adding testing confirmed the gear system's efficiency with lower than predicted heat rejection into the engine oil system. The demonstrator engine also confirmed the robust design of the gear, which showed little to no wear after the aggressive test program.

"After disassembling the gear system following the entire test program, all hardware was shown to be in excellent condition with little to no wear," Saia said.

In addition to fuel efficiency, performance and operability, the PurePower PW1000G engine demonstration program confirmed a 50 percent reduction in engine noise compared to today's quietest engines, he reported. Both external noise and that perceived in the cabin were significantly lower, confirming Pratt & Whitney's target of 20 dB below today's Stage 4 standard.

Airbus also studied the installation aspects of the PW1000G engine and concluded that a geared turbofan engine can be developed and integrated with the airplane similar to a conventional turbofan engine. "The fan drive gear system was invisible to the airplane, with overall operation of the geared turbofan engine the same as today's conventional engines, only with lower fuel consumption and drastically lower noise," Saia said.

The PW1000G engine is in the final stages of initial design and will begin detailed design later this year. Engine certification is scheduled in late 2011 to support entry into services on the Bombardier CSeries and Mitsubishi Regional Jet in 2013.