Day 2 – Tuesday 3rd September

The prestige, sheer size and variety that is Farnborough Air Display attracts a large number of VIP’s, and today was no exception. Amongst others, the Duke of Kent toured the show during the day, stopping to talk with many manufacturers on their stands in the main halls. One very special guest was Jim Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13, who was signing copies of his book on the Allied Signal stand in Hall 3, in front of a full size replica of the Apollo Command Module. It was a real pleasure for the Delta team to meet and talk to this extraordinary pilot, who was quickly surrounded by a large crowd, which developed into a long queue that lasted most of the morning once some order had established itself. Jim remained unfazed by all the attention, greeting and wisecracking with everybody who stopped by.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Farnborough site, the exhibition area is spilt up into four main halls, each about the size of two football pitches, and each filled with trade stands from the aerospace manufacturers of the world. Everything to do with aircraft and spacecraft can be found somewhere in the halls, and an amazing spectacle they make. Next to these are four rows of chalets where corporations can entertain their guests, stretching across the hillside for an uninterrupted view of the show. Below these are the press centre and the exhibition parks, open air areas where some of the larger items are displayed, and finally, in front of the crowd display line is the static park, usually a feast of rare and exotic types.

Lining up for close inspection by the crowd at this year’s Farnborough are a wide selection of civil and military aircraft, including the Boeing 777, C-17, Rafale, Gripen, Hawk, Su-37 and -30, MiG-AT and -29, Ka-50, CSC Leopard, J-STARS, A319, Boeing 707-321B, Mi-8ATMS, EC-130E, F-5, -15E, -16C and -18D, to name just a few of the 85 types on view. The flying display aircraft are normally parked on the far side of the airfield, mostly out of sight of the crowd. On trade days there are 25 new aircraft performing individual displays; on the public days, these are complemented by the addition of a large number of air show favourites, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, vintage aircraft of all kinds, and of course, the traditional closers of the Farnborough show, the Red Arrows.

American airliner manufacturer Boeing are having a particularly good Farnborough. They have announced orders for 68 new aircraft worth $6.3 billion from a number of airlines,including British Airways and ILFC. They also revealed details of a new version of the 757, the 757-300, which will carry 20% more passengers and 40% more cargo. The first customer will be the German airline Condor. Also revealed are further details of three enormous stretched versions of the 747, currently referred to as the 747-500X, -600X and -700X. The 500X is intended to carry 460 passengers and is fitted with a high technology wing and more fuel efficient engines. The -600X, using the same new wing and engines, can carry 550 passengers, but the -700X is a real monster. Its wider body combined with the -600X’s wing and engines will carry up to 650 passengers. All versions are capable of carrying at least and extra 10 tonnes of cargo over the existing 747 models. These projections are Boeing’s reply to the A3XX programme proposed by Airbus Industrie.

The A3XX is an entirely new design intended to carry between 555 and 800 passengers on its two full length decks. The 747-700X will only be developed if the A3XX programme goes ahead. Airbus are also having a good Farnborough; just prior to the display they announced that United Airlines had ordered 24 of their latest model, the A319. This is a shortened version of the A320, powered by two IAE V2500 engines. This brings the Airbus total order book up to 2,100 aircraft purchased by over 130 customers, of which about 1,400 are in service today, and the rest are being delivered at a rate of about 185 a year. Aside from their interest in airliners, Airbus are also proposing a new military tanker and transport aircraft based on the A300.

Ukrainian transport aircraft manufacturer Antonov is seeking European partners to develop the An-70 four-engined turboprop transport as a contender for the NATO Future Large Aircraft requirement. An-70 test flying is about to resume after a disastrous accident destroyed the first prototype last year. The Russian and Ukrainian Governments have ordered around 400 An-70s, but if the type were adopted as the FLA, sales of 1,000+ units would reduce the airframe price by about $10 million.

Staying with Russian design bureaux for the moment, we would like to recommend that any one with an interest in aircraft design or model making visit the Sukhoi, Mil, Molniya and Kamov stands in Hall 3, as there displayed are some magnificent examples of the model maker’s art, featuring much more detail than is usual on manufacturers’ display models. Of particular interest is the model of the proposed Su-54, a two thirds size Su-30, powered by a single engine. This is intended as an advanced trainer, but would obviously make a fine light-weight fighter or fighter-bomber. Very interesting!