Hamilton Sundstrand, a leading systems supplier for the Airbus A380, continues on schedule in its development of a wide range of essential systems for the new 'super jumbo'. The value of its numerous A380 contracts, when combined with aftermarket and spare parts, is projected to exceed $2 billion over the programme life.
Many of the systems the company and its subsidiaries are supplying revel in 'largest ever' labels.
Hamilton Sundstrand is producing the largest Air Generation System (AGS) ever built for a commercial aircraft. This equipment - which provides aircraft cooling, heating and temperature control - will set new standards in reliability, packaging density and cooling capacity.
The design phase of AGS is nearing completion and hardware manufacturing has begun, says David Hess, president, Aerospace Power Systems.
The heart of the system - the Air Cycle Machine (ACM) - was put on test in late April. HS-Nauka, a Moscow-based joint venture of the company, has brazed the first heat exchanger cores for the system. Additional component testing is under way and Hess says he expects the full system will be on test during August.
"As a company, we had many significant wins on this historic aircraft," Hess says, "but we are especially proud of capturing the AGS contract, since it marked the first time Airbus selected us to supply an aircraft environmental control system on any of their aircraft. Other parts of our company, however, are long-time suppliers to Airbus."
Turbine
One such supplier, from among Hamilton Sundstrand's worldwide family of businesses, is German subsidiary Nord-Micro in Frankfurt, which is developing three key A380 systems: the cabin pressure control system (CPCS); the ventilation control system (VCS); and the avionics ventilation system (AVS).
The company's Rockford, Illinois-based Emergency Power business has nearly completed the design of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) for the new aircraft, which will provide 70 kVA of power to the super-jumbo in the event of a total power failure.
The A380 RAT will be nearly 60% larger than any that exists today, with a turbine that exceeds 1.5m (5ft) in diameter. Qualification testing will begin in the first quarter of 2004.
Ratier-Figeac, the company's French subsidiary and another long-time Airbus supplier, is responsible for several A380 systems, including the trimmable horizontal stabiliser actuator (THSA). The THSA will be installed on the aircraft tail cone and command the position of the tail plane through the flight control computer. At 2.9m in length, it will be the largest THSA ever built and its control will be entirely fly-by-wire. The first units will be delivered to Airbus in October.
Ratier-Figeac is also producing the throttle control assembly, side stick transducer and damper unit and flap lever mechanics, all of which will be installed on the flight deck.
Hamilton Sundstrand was selected to supply the complete engine control suite for the aircraft's Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. In addition, it is supplying the engine fuel pump and gearbox for the Engine Alliance's GP7200 engine that is also specified to power the airliner.
The PW980A Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) being jointly developed by Hamilton Sundstrand and sister UTC-division, Pratt & Whitney Canada, is the most powerful ever for a commercial aircraft.
Source: Flight Daily News
