New orders and commitments underscore the market demand for Airbus’ eco-efficient A320neo

The new engine option for Airbus’ best-selling A320 Family of jetliners continues to build momentum, having already received more than 330 firm orders and commitments as the company gears up for an October 2015 entry-into-service.

The new engine option for Airbus’ best-selling A320 Family of jetliners continues to build momentum, having already received more than 330 firm orders and commitments as the company gears up for an October 2015 entry-into-service.

The ­­­­­­­­­­­exceptional commercial activity for Airbus’ highly-efficient A320neo (new engine option) is led by the 100-aircraft order from international leasing company ILFC – which was announced earlier this week, finalising a memorandum of understanding inked in March.

Joining ILFC in signing agreements since the option’s announcement in December 2010 are IndiGo, Virgin America and Brazil’s TAM – each of which will benefit from the A320neo’s more efficient engines and large "Sharklet" wing tip devices for fuel savings of up to 15 per cent, along with additional range of up to 500 nautical miles/900 km. or 2 tonnes of extra payload.

The A320neo marks a new step in Airbus’ continuous evolution of the A320 Family, which demonstrates its maturity and reliability in operational service worldwide. As this new engine option offers maximum benefit with minimal changes from baseline A320 Family aircraft, the A320neo will be built using Airbus’ existing industrial system – with airframes for both versions manufactured in parallel for high production flexibility.

In addition to the integration of Sharklets and two new engine choices – CFM International’s LEAP-X and the PW1100G by Pratt & Whitney – modifications for the A320neo configuration include certain structural changes to specific airframe areas, along with a new engine pylon.

Earlier this year, customers selected the PW1100G as lead development engine, allowing the A320neo’s industrial development phase to begin in earnest. Originally scheduled for a service entry in 2016, this date was moved up earlier this month due to high market demand.

Airbus now is targeting the fall of 2014 for a maiden flight of its A320neo, with certification to follow about one year later. Current planning calls for an eight-aircraft flight test programme, which will accumulate a combined total of approximately 2,600 flight hours. 

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Boeing Supports Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Final Flight

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., April 28, 2011 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] engineers and technicians are supporting Space Shuttle Endeavour's final mission by helping to prepare the orbiter for its April 29 launch and leading the processing of the payload. Mission STS-134 will carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02) and a large external platform called the Express Logistics Carrier 3 (ELC-3) to the International Space Station.

"The AMS is a hosted payload for which we provide the facility, infrastructure, ground support and procedures, and orchestrate all the testing for the ISS and the interface with the space shuttle," said Bob Hart, Boeing STS-134 Payload Flow manager. "Boeing also helped ensure that the AMS and ELC could be installed on the station’s truss structure."

Boeing is responsible for the coordination, planning, buildup, testing and checkout of the hardware installed on the ELC-3. ELC-3 arrived at Kennedy Space Center in December 2009 as a bare carrier. Boeing integrated spare parts onto the carrier from several companies and NASA centers.

Another Boeing contribution to this mission is the 0.5-inch protrusion installed on a special test tile under Endeavour's left wing. This protrusion, designed by Boeing engineers, will trip a boundary layer that flows around the orbiter as it re-enters the atmosphere in the Mach 19-20 range. The tile protrusion causes turbulent airflow that will be measured by several sensors on and downstream of the protrusion. During this fifth and final tile test, Boeing and NASA engineers will gather data that will help design better heat shields for future spacecraft.

The STS-134 crew will transfer Endeavour’s 50-foot boom, used for inspecting the orbiter’s heat shield, to the ISS for indefinite storage on Boeing-provided hardware located on the Starboard 1 truss segment. The boom can be used with the station’s robotic arm to extend its reach to the solar arrays or other areas where repairs may be required.

Endeavour rolled out of Boeing's Palmdale, Calif., plant on April 25, 1991, and has flown 25 missions, traveled 108 million miles and spent 295 days in space. It was the fifth space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger, which was lost in 1986. Endeavour was largely constructed from structural spare parts and was built in considerably less time than previous orbiters.

Endeavour flew the first assembly mission to the ISS, STS-88 in 1998. STS-134 marks the final ISS assembly mission.

Boeing is a major subcontractor to United Space Alliance (USA), NASA's prime contractor for space shuttle operations. Under this contract, Boeing provides NASA and USA with sustaining engineering, engineering support to operations -- including launch -- and overall shuttle systems and payload integration services. Boeing is the designer and manufacturer of the space shuttle orbiters.

Boeing is NASA's prime contractor for the ISS. In addition to designing and building the major U.S. elements, Boeing also is responsible for ensuring the successful integration of new hardware and software -- including components from international partners -- as well as for providing sustaining engineering work.

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