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Airbus Reveals A320 NEO

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Airbus has offered a glimpse of its proposed A320 New Engine Option (NEO) - which appears to leave International Aero Engines out in the cold.

 

John Leahy, the EADS-owned airframer's chief salesman, unveiled an artist's impression of the re-engined narrowbody during a presentation at an EADS investor forum in Toulouse,

 

A slide exhibiting the aircraft outlines targeted efficiency gains over the current A320. The NEO would have a fuel burn around 15% lower than variants now in production. The bypass ratio would increase from five in the present generation of engines to between nine and 12. Fan diameter rises from around 1,600mm (64in) to 2,025mm (81in).

 

The logos of powerplant manufacturers CFM International and Pratt & Whitney are prominent on the slide. Noticeably absent is that of IAE, a consortium in which P&W is partnered with Rolls-Royce, Japanese Aero Engine and MTU Aero Engines.

 

Airbus predicts a 15% reduction in specific fuel consumption from the new engines, and says its new sharklet winglets will add 3.5% in fuel-burn savings on long sectors, as well as improving field performance and noise levels.

 

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/11/18/349865/airbus-reveals-a320-neo-plans.html

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By the time the A320 NEO and the B737 replacement arrives, AK's 9M-AFA should be well over 10 years old. So it is just in time for fleet replacement. No wonder Tony is impatient - AK might want to be the launch customer!

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Interesting to note that when winglets were first introduced, it was the long range heavies which sported them (744, MD11, 330/340) whilst they were judged to be of no appreciable advantage on the narrowbodies of the time (734, 320, MD80)

Nowadays, it's the other way round it seem :)

See those proud tips on the 738 and now this 320 NEO - compared to the wings of the 787, 380, 77W etc (yes, albeit their tips too are modified, with different names)

What gives ? :)

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Interesting to note that when winglets were first introduced, it was the long range heavies which sported them (744, MD11, 330/340) whilst they were judged to be of no appreciable advantage on the narrowbodies of the time (734, 320, MD80)

Nowadays, it's the other way round it seem :)

See those proud tips on the 738 and now this 320 NEO - compared to the wings of the 787, 380, 77W etc (yes, albeit their tips too are modified, with different names)

What gives ? :)

 

Ya, all the sudden different types of winglets were introduced into the market. :help:

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Interesting to note that when winglets were first introduced, it was the long range heavies which sported them (744, MD11, 330/340) whilst they were judged to be of no appreciable advantage on the narrowbodies of the time (734, 320, MD80)

Nowadays, it's the other way round it seem :)

See those proud tips on the 738 and now this 320 NEO - compared to the wings of the 787, 380, 77W etc (yes, albeit their tips too are modified, with different names)

What gives ? :)

 

That's progress for you. Today's design capabilities and the lessons learnt from years of experience meant that designers can actually design wings thoroughly to gain the benefits of winglets without adding winglets (and weight of course). The raked wingtips on the 787 & 77W is 1% more (5.5% over normal winglet-free wing) effective in reducing drag than winglets (3.5%-4.5%) according to a NASA study.

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Wait till spiroids make mainstream. :-)

 

API-Spiroid-2-OSH10.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1282966341974

 

Yup, that's the one!!!

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expect weirder ones to appear in due course, as more research/simulation is done. :D

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..... that designers can actually design wings thoroughly to gain the benefits of winglets without adding winglets (and weight of course). The raked wingtips on the 787 & 77W is 1% more (5.5% over normal winglet-free wing) effective in reducing drag than winglets (3.5%-4.5%) according to a NASA study.

Which in turn begs the question why the 738 and 320 NEO are not designed with raked wingtips but instead fitted with those ginormous winglets (which as you noted add weight and had been considered non advantageous in early days) :D

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Which in turn begs the question why the 738 and 320 NEO are not designed with raked wingtips but instead fitted with those ginormous winglets (which as you noted add weight and had been considered non advantageous in early days) :D

 

Well, probably it's because the A320 & 737 are old designs and adding raked wingtips would be cost prohibitive as they would probably need to redesign the wing. But that's my opinion.

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Lufthansa among possible A320neo customers: Leahy

 

Bombardier CSeries launch customer Lufthansa is among several airlines and lessors interested in ordering the newly-launched Airbus A320neo.

 

Speaking to ATI today, Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy said there were "no orders in hand right now" for the A320neo, but talks are taking place with Lufthansa, AirAsia, Qatar Airways, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), GECAS and IndiGo, all of whom are "very interested".

 

Leahy says Airbus does not need a launch customer because the A320neo is "not a typical" launch programme.

 

"It's not important how many we sell as Neo, it's how many A320s we sell," he notes, adding that whether customers order existing A320-family aircraft or the Neo version is "immaterial".

 

Airbus does not expect customers with existing orders for A320-family aircraft to switch to the A320neo.

 

"Virtually nothing in our backlog will convert to the Neo," says Leahy, but he expects "a large portion" of new A320 orders for deliveries in 2016 and 2017 to be for the Neo.

 

Lufthansa was not immediately able to comment.

 

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/12/01/350378/lufthansa-among-possible-a320neo-customers-leahy.html

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Airbus to restrict conversion options to A320neo

 

Airbus is intending to restrict the freedom of customers to convert from the baseline A320 to the A320neo.

 

The airframer says that conversion rights are "not foreseen" in contracts for the aircraft. "There is no possibility of conversion," Airbus says.

 

The airframer says that there is no firm deadline for ending A320 production despite gathering momentum for the A320neo. It stresses that the market will decide when to phase out the legacy A320.

 

"As long as there is demand we will continue to build it," says Airbus, pointing to agreements with IndiGo and Virgin America as a clear indication that "there is a need for both models".

 

"We see a number of airlines who might prefer the current version for many years to come - for example, for fleet homogeneity," it adds. "We'll offer both the current A320 - with today's wing and today's engines - and in parallel offer the new A320neo family."

 

Customers have placed orders and commitments for the A320neo totalling 302 aircraft.

 

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/03/14/354217/airbus-to-restrict-conversion-options-to-a320neo.html

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Airbus stands firm over A320neo conversion block

 

Airbus is standing firm on its plans to prevent any conversion between the baseline A320 and the new A320neo.

 

This is despite expectations from AirAsia that it will be able to switch part of its backlog to the re-engined twinjet.

 

Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy, speaking in Toulouse today, said that allowing conversion "creates too much confusion".

 

He says the airframer "needs to know" how many aircraft of each type it will be dealing with as it makes the production transition.

 

A customer with a conversion capability is "really taking two slots", Leahy says: "And we're not going to do that."

 

Airbus executive vice-president for programmes Tom Williams adds that the airframer "doesn't want to cannibalise the backlog".

 

Having secured around 300 commitments to the A320neo family, Airbus is expecting this figure to increase to 500 by around June.

 

Source

 

A320neo entry advances to 2015 with PW as lead engine

 

Airbus is bringing forward the entry-into-service date for its A320neo to October 2015, and designated Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G turbofan as the lead development engine.

 

The decision advances the arrival of the A320neo by around six months, the airframer having previously identified the second quarter of 2016 as the date of introduction.

 

Airbus is also swapping the schedule for the other re-engined variants. The A319neo will become the second variant produced, six months later, rather than the A321neo.

 

Speaking in Toulouse today, Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy said: "We've managed that due to demand and our capability to do so."

 

Airbus has not, however, identified a launch operator.

 

Leahy says he expects the total sales of the A320neo to exceed 500 aircraft by the Paris air show in June, having logged commitments for more than 300.

 

He expects to disclose another Latin American customer for the type - Brazil's TAM having already been identified - within the next couple of weeks, and adds that there are also new customers lined up in Asia and Europe.

 

Airbus' decision to nominate the PW1100G as lead engine will allow industrial development of the re-engined A320 variant to "begin in earnest", says the airframer.

 

Advancement of the schedule means Airbus will develop the A319neo - probably a PW1100G-powered aircraft - six months later and the A321neo six months after that.

 

Leahy expects the CFM International to emerge with its Leap-X engine up to nine months behind the lead powerplant schedule, although "no longer than a year".

 

Indian carrier IndiGo, lessor International Lease Finance and Lufthansa have all opted for the PW1100G for their A320neos.

 

Airbus is to use eight prototype airframes for the overall development programme, in order to account for all permutations of aircraft and engine variants, as well as both flight management system options.

 

Source

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Airbus is standing firm on its plans to prevent any conversion between the baseline A320 and the new A320neo.

 

This is despite expectations from AirAsia that it will be able to switch part of its backlog to the re-engined twinjet.

Oh my, are we going to witness another tantrum session from them ? :D

The AK group is a rather big customer for Airbus and with that comes some leveraging power, no ?

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Big leverage was there BEFORE AK made the order for the first A320. Now, leverage has turned into dependency and Airbus is well aware of this.

 

There's no way AK is gonna start shifting to Boeings (even if they threaten to) bar any HUGE discounts offered by boeing for the upcoming 737 replacement. Only way to do this is a massive fleet change from A320-A330-A340-A350 to 737-787-(797?). Too much work and cost repercussions for an LCC methinks.

 

I'd say Airbus have the upper hand here.

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US Airways wants A321neo to have Europe and Hawaii range

 

US Airways has informed Airbus it needs the re-engined A321neo to have a similar mission to Boeing 757s that fly longer-haul sectors.

 

The carrier is a significant customer for Airbus, operating 232 aircraft built by the European airframer, including 93 A319s, 72 A320s and 51 A321s.

 

Carrier chief executive Derek Kerr says that an A321neo capable of 757 long-haul missions is "of huge interest to us", adding: "We've told [Airbus] that."

 

US Airways needs an aircraft smaller than the 767 to operate transatlantic flights to Europe and missions to Hawaii profitably, says Kerr.

 

Airbus has revised its development schedule, putting the A319neo - the re-engined version of its second most popular airframe - ahead of the A321neo, although the overall schedule advancement means the A321neo's entry date will effectively remain the same.

 

US Airways is taking delivery of 12 A320-family aircraft this year, followed by the same number in 2012. Sixteen A320 deliveries are set for 2013 followed by 18 in 2014. The carrier has some options in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and will likely look at the A320neo at that point in time, says Kerr.

 

Kerr says US Airways is always looking for 757s, but "there's not a lot out there" as FedEx has "gobbled them up" for its freighter operations.

 

Source

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PARIS, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Wednesday announced that it has raised the price of its new aircraft A320neo family by 6.1 percent, as well as the average list prices of other aircrafts by 3.9 percent, effective Jan 1.

 

"Our new pricing reflects the strong demand for our modern, eco-efficient aircraft families," according to China's Xinhua news agency citing John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer for Customers.

 

"With competition amongst carriers heating up, any tool that helps cut their costs will pay handsome dividends," he added.

 

"The A320neo offers a 15 percent fuel cost savings, making it the blue chip single aisle aircraft investment by anyone's standards."

 

Airbus won a record of 1,419 net orders for the whole year of 2011 stemmed mainly from an influx of orders for the eco-efficient A320neo which won 1,226 firm sales confirming its title as the fastest selling airliner ever.

 

According to Leahy, Airbus has a backlog of 4,437 aircraft as of Dec 31, 2011. In terms of global revenue, Airbus has a 54 percent net market share of US$140.5 billion, compared to Boeing at US$117.9 billion (46 percent).

 

Airbus is the leading European aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive family of airliners on the market.

 

Airbus PR:

http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/new-airbus-aircraft-list-prices-for-2012/

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First metal-cut takes place in Toulouse on engine pylon

 

8 July 2012

 

The first 'cutting of metal' for the Airbus A320neo has taken place in Toulouse. Marking the start of manufacturing of the airliner, machining began of the first engine pylon component at the “Saint-Eloi” Airbus dedicated pylon and nacelle factory in Toulouse.

 

Pylons are structures which hold the engine to the wing. The new pylon for the A320neo retains high commonality with the existing A320’s pylon design, while also incorporating more titanium as well as some advanced architectures developed for the A380 pylon. In addition, the new component also features an advanced ‘aft-pylon-fairing’ concept specifically tailored for the more fuel efficient NEO engines.

 

Tom Williams, Executive Vice President of Programmes at Airbus said: “This first metal cut of the engine pylon component for the A320neo heralds the completion of the design phase and start of production for the world’s fastest selling airliner. We are excited to be already starting manufacture of the world most eco-efficient single-aisle airliner today.”

 

The Airbus Saint-Eloi site is specialised in the design, manufacturing, assembly, equipping and testing of engine pylons and design and manufacturing of titanium nacelle parts for all the aircraft in the Airbus family. Featuring the latest efficient ‘moving-line’ lean-production concept, the facility is also the leading European centre for hard metals machining and transformation, including titanium.

 

The A320neo ‘new engine option’ for the A320 Family will enter into service from late 2015. It incorporates latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together with the new engines will deliver up to 15 percent in fuel savings. With more than 1,400 firm orders since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has proven to be the fastest selling commercial aircraft programme ever.

 

Airbus is the world’s leading commercial aircraft manufacturer producing the most modern and efficient airliners in every category, from the single-aisle A320 Family up to the world’s largest airliner, the A380. Airbus has design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain as well as subsidiaries in the US, China, Japan and in the Middle East. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS company.

 

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The first 'cutting of metal' for the Airbus A320neo has taken place in Toulouse. Marking the start of manufacturing of the airliner, machining began of the first engine pylon component at the “Saint-Eloi” Airbus dedicated pylon and nacelle factory in Toulouse.

 

Source: Airbus

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Choosing the right engine may never have been more important - or harder - than with the Airbus A320neo family. Unlike previous engine competitions, the choice between the CFM InternationalLeap-1A and the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G is no longer a soft bet on a secondary supplier to an already chosen airframe.



The A320neo is almost identical to the previous version of the aircraft except for the choice of engine to power it. The paths taken by both engine makers to achieve the 15% rise in fuel efficiency Airbus is seeking for the A320neo, means airlines are not simply acquiring an engine but tacitly taking sides in an ongoing, furious debate about the future of gas turbine engine technology.



Gone are the comparatively subtle technical schisms which defined the differences between the International Aero Engines V2500 and the CFM International CFM56. In its place is a stark architectural, even philosophical, dispute with a reliance on new and exotic materials by the Leap-1A on one side and the introduction of a reduction gear inside the PW1100G on the other.



GEARED TURBOFAN ARCHITECTURE



Experience offers only partial assistance to airlines as they make their decisions. P&W has recently received Transport Canada certification for a smaller variant of the PW1100G which powers theBombardier CSeries. However, the geared turbofan architecture has never been introduced into service, forcing airlines to rely on test results for key assumptions, including lifecycle maintenance cost.



Similarly, CFM joint-venture partner General Electric has managed the thermal cycle of the Leap-1A on the larger GE90 and GEnx turbofans, but is using new materials, such as ceramix matrix composites, for the first time.



Before airlines have any say, airframers cast the first vote, and they seem to be split. While Boeingrejected a competitive engine option for the 737 Max, Airbus was pleased to continue giving airlines a choice by selecting both available engines to certificate on the A320neo family.



New entrants Comac and Irkut were also split over the decision, selecting the Leap-1C and PW1400G respectively. Meanwhile, P&W's PurePower engine family has dominated the market for a new generation of large regional jets and small narrowbodies, including the CSeries, Embraer's second-generation E-Jet and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet.



Airlines differ in their engine choices as much as the airframers. In two years, Airbus has signed 54 contracts for 1,864 A320neo-family aircraft. Each deal is another opportunity for a referendum on the different engine options. So far, the orders almost evenly split between the Leap-1A (35%), the PW1100G (31%) or a selection yet to be made (33%). The CFM option enjoys a clear lead on the smaller of the two variants, including by far the most popular version with the A320neo. P&W is the strong favourite so far on the A321neo, but the number of undecided customers remains strong enough on the A320neo and A321neo to easily tip the lead towards either side.



Gas turbine engines will differ according to the manufacturer but essentially all work the same way: a gas turbine uses air to generate thrust to propel the aircraft and power to drive the engine. The air flow is ingested by the inlet fan, squeezed by the compressor section, ignited by the combustor and, finally, diffused through the turbine, which harnesses the energy of the heated gases to drive the inlet fan and compressor sections.



For three decades, airlines buying the A320 family had a choice between the CFM56 and the V2500, with significant differences between them. CFM freely acknowledges the CFM56 is usually the most expensive to buy when all other terms are equal, but that is only one factor in an airline's engine decision.



A key difference between the CFM56 and V2500 is housed in the high-pressure section of the turbine, which spins the high-pressure compressor. It is perhaps the most challenging area of any engine, as it must survive the hottest temperatures just aft of the combustor and still perform the hard work of driving the compressor.



On the V2500, IAE decided to use two rings of small airfoils called turbine stages, allowing each stage to bear only a portion of the overall load. By contrast, the CFM56 uses only one stage in the high-pressure turbine, resulting in a slight advantage for the CFM56 on lifecycle maintenance cost. One less high-pressure turbine stage means one less trip to the maintenance depot every few years.



CFM initially attempted to apply the single-stage architecture on the Leap engine family, but ultimately decided to switch to a two-stage high-pressure turbine. A likely consequence is an erosion in maintenance cost advantage, at least relative to the single-stage CFM56 versus the two-stage V2500. However, CFM believes it can offset the higher cost of maintaining two sets of turbine stages by using materials that have to be replaced less frequently.



EVOLVING MATERIALS



Materials are another matter of dispute and have been evolving as temperatures inside the gas turbine core have grown hotter. By the late 1960s, exhaust gases had grown hot enough to melt metal in the turbine stages. Engine manufacturers responded by hollowing the turbine stages and extracting cooler air from upstream of the combustor to keep the blades just cool enough to prevent melting. But CFM co-owner GE wants to eventually eliminate the cooling flow, thus preserving energy. The answer is switching to new materials that can survive hotter temperatures and, ideally, are lighter.



Since the mid-1980s, the aviation industry has been working to introduce ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). It has taken three decades to invent ways to affordably mass produce CMCs and overcome challenges such as thermal shock, in which the material shatters after exposure to extreme fluctuations in air temperature, such as an in-flight engine shutdown. However, CFM believes CMCs have finally reached the point where they can be reliably and affordably used in a non-moving component of the high-pressure turbine - the shroud which covers the blades in the first stage of the high-pressure turbine.



The Leap also features a compressor section more advanced than in any previous GE aircraft engine. The GEnx for the Boeing 787 and 747-8 introduced a combined blade and disc - or blisk - in the first of the 10-stage high-pressure compressor. CFM also uses blisks, but expands its use to the first five stages of the 10-stage compressor. The blisks, the new materials and the two-stage high-pressure turbine allow CFM to vastly improve the thermal efficiency of the Leap, yielding a double-digit improvement in fuel efficiency with a conventional architecture for a narrowbody aircraft engine.



If the Leap architecture is intended to optimise the thermal efficiency of the engine, P&W's PW1100G is mostly aimed at improving propulsive efficiency. There are generally two airflows in a turbofan engine - one that travels through the core of the engine and one which bypasses the core. The former is used mainly to drive the engine, although a small amount generates thrust. The latter, or bypass airflow, generates the majority of thrust.



A simple way to make the engine more efficient in generating thrust is to increase the amount of airflow that bypasses the engine core, or the bypass ratio. The only way to increase the bypass flow is to enlarge the diameter of the inlet fan, which is connected by a shaft to its power sources in the low-pressure turbine. In a conventional engine architecture such as the Leap, the low-pressure turbine and inlet fan rotate at the same speed. As the inlet fan diameter widens, the tips of the blades spin faster than the speed of sound, reducing efficiency and causing noise and vibration problems.



Instead, P&W introduces a reduction gear on the shaft that decouples the rotation speed of the high-pressure turbine and the inlet fan, allowing the latter to spin at one-third the speed of the former. As a result, the PW1100G has a bypass ratio of 12:1, twice the 6:1 ratio of the V2500. The reduction gear also reduces the load on the low-pressure turbine. The job of spinning the inlet fan and booster stages on the CFM Leap requires seven stages in the low-pressure turbine. The PW1100G inlet fan is 10cm (4in) wider than the Leap-1A, but uses only three stages in the low-pressure turbine.



http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/in-focus-how-to-power-a320neo-is-tough-choice-for-airlines-383733/

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800x600_1383842579_A320neo_programme_sta

First A320neo engine pylon assembled in Toulouse

Other NEO subassemblies taking shape soon across Airbus sites

8 NOVEMBER 2013

Airbus has achieved assembly of the engine pylon for the first A320neo to fly. The pylon (depicted below), which has just been completed at the dedicated pylon facility in St Eloi in Toulouse, is the first major airframe component assembly to take place for the NEO programme.

In parallel with this pylon construction, other major NEO components and subassemblies will shortly be taking shape in factories across various countries. For example, in Hamburg the centre wing-box will soon arrive from Nantes to be integrated in the fuselage, and also the rear fuselage will begin assembly there. In St. Nazaire, the forward fuselage will start assembly in January 2014.

Overall progress on the first A320neo is well on track for aircraft final assembly to start in spring 2014, followed by the aircraft making its first flight next autumn.

Source: Airbus

 

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