Guy Norris/SEATTLE
BOEING AND UNITED Airlines hope to receive US Federal Aviation Administration approval for 180min extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) for the 777 by 30 May - just a week before revenue services begin.
The European Joint Aviation Authorities' (JAA) timetable is unclear. British Airways no longer intends to use the 777 on ETOPS routes initially, and the JAA's ETOPS committee is not due to meet again until October anyway.
The JAA has previously said that it would not award more than 120min clearance at entry-into-service, and would require 50,000 engine-hours of acceptable in-service operation before giving the General Electric-powered version 180min clearance.
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group president Ron Woodard says: "We believe we've done everything we need to for full 180 minutes ETOPS: now it's up to them."
Woodard was speaking at the delivery ceremony marking the hand-over of the first 777 to United. Both FAA and JAA officials are assessing the last few days worth of "hot-and-high" performance data gathered from the completion of Boeing's 1,000-cycle ETOPS initiative, which included United's 90-cycle simulated airline operation.
The ETOPS testing evaluated performance at both 342kN (77,000lb), and 374kN take-off thrust settings. It also included in-flight engine shut downs and a 3h flight on one engine. United's 90-cycle element of the 1,000 cycle test ended on 3 May.
"We've virtually flown the wings off it on the 1,000-cycle early ETOPS tests," says United 777 programme manager, Gordon McKinzie. United is "deciding right now" how many heavier, long-range, "B"-market 777s will be included in the latter part of its firm-order total of 34. "We know that at least the first 16 will be 'A's, and the earliest 'B' could be the 17th aircraft, which would be in January, 1997." A decision is expected by mid-June.
United, like Cathay Pacific, is also talking to Boeing about raising the maximum gross take-off weight (MTOW) of the "A"-market aircraft, from 243,000kg, "by around 4,500kg", says McKinzie.
The MTOW for United's "B" market 777s is set at 267,860kg, "...but we could push it a bit higher, maybe between 277,000kg and 286,000kg", he adds.
Source: Flight International
