Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) now expects the maiden flight of its delayed C-X military transport aircraft not to take place until later this year, as it steps up efforts on promoting a commercial high-speed freighter variant capable of carrying oversized cargo.
Meanwhile, KHI’s four-engined P-X maritime patrol aircraft prototype has been passed to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces for further testing. The P-X programme is reported to be “almost on schedule”. Both types are due into service in 2011.
Both were rolled out in June 2007 but while the Boeing 737-sized P-X made its first flight in September, the C-X’s initial sortie was initially delayed until December 2007 following the discovery of structural problems in the lower fuselage. Flight International has previously reported that the problem centred around defective rivets supplied by a US manufacturer that required repairs to affected sections.
Now the C-X’s first flight is not scheduled until “after this summer”, according to KHI at Farnborough yesterday.
The company is looking closely at developing a civil C-X. It sought market opinion from US cargo airlines last year and yesterday reported interest in the type from severalcompanies, although 2015 is the earliest a civil variant could enter service.
The baseline C-X, powered by two CF6-80C2s, would have a maximum take-off weight of 141 tonnes with a payload of 37.6 tonnes, a cruising speed of Mach 0.8 and a take-off field length of 2,300 metres. It would have a cargo compartment of 16m x 4m x 4m, with a ramp length of 5.5m.
Source: Flight International
