Julian Moxon/PARIS
Embraer has concluded agreements with risk sharing partners for the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 regional jets, in addition to those with General Electric and Honeywell that cover engines and avionics, respectively.
The company has also held an advisory board meeting with 20 airlines and risk sharing partners to establish six steering groups to refine the design of the 70- and 98/108-seat aircraft to prepare for design freeze next February. Certification of the smaller aircraft is due in late 2002 and of the larger in mid-2004. The prime risk sharing partners are:
• C&D - interior;
• Embraer/Kawasaki Heavy Industries/Sonaca/Akaer consortium - wing, control surfaces and pylon;
• Gamesa - rear fuselage and empennage;
• Hamilton Sundstrand - tailcone and auxiliary power unit;
• Latecoère - forward and aft fuselage sections;
• Liebherr - landing gear;
• Parker Hannifin - hydraulics, flight controls and fuel system.
It has also emerged that Parker Hannifin is leading Hamilton Standard and Sundstrand in development of a partial fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system for the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 "and any further derivatives", says a source at Hamilton Standard. The same team is also offering a full FBW system for the competing Fairchild 728JET/928JET, with a decision on the supplier due in October.
"Both manufacturers are interested in going this way because of the advantages it brings to a family of aircraft", says the source.
He adds that, while the "up-front costs are high, the further downstream you get, the easier it is to do derivatives".
Source: Flight International
