Andrew Doyle/OBERPFAFFENHOFEN
Fairchild Aerospace has almost completed flight-testing its 328JET30-seater and expects to receive certification from the European Joint Aviation Authorities and the US Federal Aviation Administration by 1 July. First deliveries to US carrier Skyways will take place that month.
Meanwhile, the US company claims to have received its first firm order for the stretched 428JET derivative from an unnamed 328JETcustomer. It plans to deliver the first 44-seat aircraft in early 2003.
Fairchild's head of flight test, Alfons Trzeciok, says the only 328JET certification flying left is a further 80h of function and reliability testing (demonstration flights that emulate airline operations), which will be carried out in Europe between 22 May and 2 June.
The 328JET, a turbofan-powered version of the 328 turboprop, made its first flight in January last year. Certification had originally been planned for March this year. Problems with the Dunlop-supplied braking system and Messier-Dowty shock absorbers - which had to be redesigned to cope with the loss of propeller braking effects on the new aircraft - caused the configuration freeze to be delayed to the end of 1998.
"We were very late with the configuration freeze - around half a year later than planned," says Trzeciok. "There are no thrust reversers and the brakes had to be designed with regard to this."
According to Trzeciok, the aircraft has met its design goals of a Mach 0.66 cruising speed (400kt/740km/h true air speed) at 21,000ft (6,400m), compared with M0.59 for the turboprop version. Maximum cruising altitude for the 328JET is 31,000ft, but this can be raised to 35,000ft with changes to the cabin pressurisation system.
Fairchild vice-president flight operations and chief test pilot Meinhardt Feuersenger says "hot and high" tests, clearing the 328JET for operations at airfields with up to a 12,000ft elevation, are planned between June and August this year. The work is designed primarily to open a wider marketplace for the aircraft in South America.
The company also hopes to have the 328JET cleared for operations into London City airport. "There are different ideas as to how we can make a steep approach work," says Feuersenger. One option, he says, is to use the aircraft's roll spoilers - deactivated on the 328JET - as speedbrakes for the 5.5í approach.
Meanwhile, Fairchild chief operating officer John Wolf says the delayed 428JET programme is going ahead. "We have a firm commitment for it," he says.
Source: Flight International
