European Aviation is planning to begin flight-tests of a BAC One-Eleven 500 equipped with a proof-of-concept (PoC) Stage 3/Chapter 3 hushkit installed on one of its two Rolls-Royce Speys. It is targeting certification in late 1998 should it decide to go ahead with the programme.
The company, based at the UK's Bournemouth Hurn Airport, has an operational fleet of 15 One-Eleven 500s, which must be Stage 3 hushkitted or retired by 2002. The airline, which offers its fleet on wet- and dry-lease charters, must also comply with European Chapter 2 phase-out legislation, which will begin to affect its fleet size from 1998.
The hushkit is to be developed by Quiet Nacelle (QNC) of the USA, with funding provided by European Aviation. The airline expects to finalise an agreement within the next month or so, to enable the study to move forward to the 90-day PoC stage.
During this period, one of the airline's aircraft will be flown with a prototype kit installed on one of its two Spey Mk512s.
"At the end of the PoC stage, we will make the go/no-go decision to proceed further," says Joe Irwin, European's project engineer. "We anticipate a further 18 months before certification, which is provisionally targeted for the end of 1998." Irwin adds that UK flight-testing of production hardware should begin during the third quarter of 1998.
The kit design incorporates work already undertaken by QNC for the Gulfstream II/III's Spey Mk 511, and experience gained from its development of Stage 3 kits for the Boeing 707/C-135 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-8.
It will be similar in configuration to the One-Eleven's existing Stage 2 kit, but will feature a new mixer, with additional lobes. The mixer will be installed at the back of the engine, rather than at the end of the ejector, as on the existing kit.
"We are seeking to change the frequency by reducing the speed and temperature of the exhaust gas," explains Irwin.
"We are hoping for no more than 4-5% performance degradation compared to the Stage 2 aircraft," he adds.
European's One-Eleven fleet has a mix of avionics specifications, and the airline is considering its options for standardisation. While it is planned to standardise on the Rockwell-Collins "FD-108 specification", which requires a rewire of the Smiths Industries-equipped ex-British Airways aircraft, it is possible that the refit may be taken one step further.
"We are looking at the possibility of replacing the primary instruments with a 'glass cockpit'," explains European's commercial director, Terry Fox, "but obviously we will only make the investment if the Stage 3 hushkit is viable."
Source: Flight International
