GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Smiths Aerospace has teamed with Shaw Aero Devices to offer fuel tank inerting systems for airlines. Naples, Florida-based Shaw, working with Air Liquide and Parker Aerospace, built the prototype centre wing-tank inerting system now being flight tested by the US Federal Aviation Administration on a Boeing 747SP.
Inerting is a possible option for aircraft manufacturers seeking to comply with the FAA's SFAR 88 special regulation requiring that fuel-tank designs preclude the existence or development of an ignition source.
Boeing has selected an onboard inert-gas generating system developed by Honeywell and Parker. The manufacturer has flight tested a prototype in a 747-400 and is proceeding with plans to certificate the system in the 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 (Flight International, 5-11 August).
If the FAA decides to mandate fuel tank inerting, Smiths would help develop and certificate the Shaw system and market it alongside its transient suppression unit, which is designed to preclude electrical arcing in fuel-quality indication systems.
The FAA says it will not decide whether to require tank inerting until its has reviewed data from Airbus, Boeing and its own tests.
Source: Flight International
