Brèvesde l'industrie aérospatiale –
2août2021
ADS Group/Commercial aircraft orders and deliveries, first half of 2021(26 juillet) Aircraft orders and deliveries in the first half of 2021 showed a mixed picture. Total orders were placed for 764 aircraft, 292 of them in June.However, most of those placed in June were simply changes in aircraft type. 453 aircraft were delivered, down from more than 600 in2019. The order backlog increased modestly to 12,866 aircraft. Single-aisle aircraft accountedfor 88 per cent of orders as domestic travel continuesto drive the slow traffic recovery. Industrie Aérospatiale
Airbus (29 juillet) Airbus a enregistréun bénéfice net de 2,2 milliards d'euros au premier semestre à la faveur d'importantes livraisons d'avions comparées à l'an passé, ce qui conduit l'avionneur à revoir nettement à la hausse ses prévisions pour l'année.Airbus a livré 297 appareils entre janvier et juin (196 même période en 2020). Le chiffre d'affaires s'établità 24,6 milliards d'euros(+30%).Airbus prévoit de livrer 600 avions en 2021 ; le carnet de commandes au 30 juin est de6925 avions dont 5666 de la famille A320.
Safran (29 juillet)Le groupe Safran a enregistré un bénéfice net de 674 millions d'euros sur les six premiers mois de l'année. Son chiffre d'affaires s'est établi à 6,9 milliards d'euros, en baisse de 21,6% par rapport au premier semestre 2020. Safran considère que les cycles de vols du moteur LEAP équipant les Airbus A320neo et Boeing 737 MAX étaient revenus mi-juillet à leur niveau de 2019 alors qu'ils n'étaient qu'à 56% fin avril. De plus, l'utilisation des moteurs CFM56 progresse également mais reste en retrait de 35% parrapport à 2019. Au final, Safran table sur une « accélération significative de l'activité au second semestre ».
Safran Cabin (29 juillet) Safran Cabin reportsa significant increase in both sales and orders. This compares with a very depressed first half of 2021 in which revenues declined by almost 40%, to €646 million versus the same period in 2020, itself impacted by the pandemic and the Boeing 737 MAX grounding.
BoeingB737 MAX(28juillet)Boeing has delivered more than 130 MAXs since Decemberand airlines have returned more than 190 to service. Boeing is currently producing 737sat a rate of approximately 16 per month and expectsto increase this to 31 per month byearly 2022.
Boeing financials (28 juillet)Boeing announced a $567 million profit in the second quarter of 2021, its first quarterly profit since the second half of 2019. However, the commercial aircraft business lost $472 million, although an improvementon a loss of $2.8 billion a year earlier. This was on revenues of $6 billion, up from $1.6 billion in the same period of 2020. Boeing as a whole generated $17 billion in revenue during the second quarter, up 44% from $11.8 billion in the same period of 2020.
Airbus A350 freighter (28 juillet)The Airbus Board of Directors has approved the launch of an A350 freighter derivative. It will be a “light hybrid” of current models but based predominantly on the A350-1000. Its maximum payload will be more than 90 metric tons and service entry is planned for 2025. Airbus says that it is “getting “closer every day” to securing launch customers.
General Dynamics aerospace results (28 juillet)Revenues of General Dynamics' aerospace businesses in the first half of 2021 were 18% down from 2020, to $1.6 billion. However, the $195 million profit was 23% more than in 2020. Gulfstream delivered 21 aircraft including 18 large-cabin and three mid-cabin during the three months ended 30 June, down from 32 in 2020. However orders have been strong and Gulfstream expects to deliver 32 aircraft in the third quarter and 37 in the fourth.General Dynamics characterized the G700 certification program as “difficult”. “Much remains to be accomplished, particularly concerning thecertification of the Rolls-Royce (Pearl 700) engine”.
Britten-Norman (28 juillet)Britten-Norman has acquired a fleet of BN2T-4S Islander aircraft which hadpreviously served in the UK militaryunder the designation Defender 4000 (D4K).The aircraft, which are the higher capacity, longer endurance version of the turboprop Islander, will undergo major refurbishment and be returnedto the civil aircraft register for export sale.
GE Aviation (27 juillet)GE Aviation took orders for 555 commercial engines in the second quarter, up from 74 in the same period last year. This included 438 CFM International Leap-family engines, up from just 24 in the same period of 2020. The company delivered 383 new commercial aviation engines in the second quarter, including 211 Leaps versus 362 and 178 respectively in 2020. GE Aviation expects a year-on-year production rate increase in the third quarter, but has not disclosed expected future rates, saying it is “assessing rate readiness across [the] supply chain”.
Drones-Advanced
Air Mobility Samad Aerospace (27 juillet)Cranfield based Samad Aerospace has completed hover tests for its second prototype eVTOL eStarling aircraft. Designed for intercity transport, the eStarling aircraft will combine VTOL capability with the speed and range of a business jet. With a semi blended wing body (BWB) design and powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the eStarling will be the fastest (300 mph) hybrid electric eVTOLaircraft in the world with the longest range(800 miles).
Joby Aero(27juillet)The full-sized, electric-powered prototype of the eVTOL developed byJoby Aerohasflown 150 nm on a single charge. The missionwas flown near the Joby Electric Flight Base at Big Sur, CA.
Spatial
Inmarsat (29 juillet)Inmarsat has announced plans for “ORCHESTRA”, a communications network that will combine existing geosynchronous (GEO) satellites with low earth orbit satellites (LEO) and terrestrial 5G into an integrated, high-performance solution. The initialfive-yearinvestment isexpected to be in the order of $100m. Future plans include a LEO constellation of 150-175 satellites.
Composite launcher fuel tanks (28 juillet)Under ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Program,MT Aerospace has demonstrated a novel design of a small-scale tank made of a carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) that is both leak-proof with liquid hydrogenand compatible with liquid oxygen, without the use of a metal liner. A CFRP tank is much lighter than metal, requires fewer parts and is faster and cheaperto manufacture. Traditionally,storage of cryogenic propellants requires tanks with metallic liners to make them leak-proof, with or without a composite overwrap.
Canadarm3 program (27 juillet)The government of Canada has awarded MDA a $35.3 million contract covering the preliminary and detailed design of the robotic interfaces (Phases B and C), of the GERI (Gateway External Robotics Interfaces) project. MDA has completed Phase A, the system definition phase.
NASA(25juillet)La NASA vient d'attribuer à SpaceX un contrat de 178 millions de dollars pour une mission vers Europa, l'une des lunes de Jupiter, avec le lanceur Falcon Heavy. SpaceX profite notamment des retards et des dépassements de coûts du lanceur super-lourd de la NASA, le SLS, développé par Boeing, Lockheed Martin et Northrop Grumman. Le décollage est prévu en octobre 2024.
Ariane Group (23 juillet)L'agence spatiale européenne a choisi Ariane Group comme maître d'œuvre d'Astris, l'étage additionnel pour Ariane 6. Propulsé par le moteur ré-allumable Berta à ergols stockables de très haute performance, ce « kick stage » doit effectuer sa première mission en 2024. Astris sera développé en Allemagne pour un montant de 90 millions d'euros.
InnovationITPS (29 juillet)
The International Test Pilots School (ITPS) of London, ON is offering course materialsvia distance learning. Practical demonstrations are delivered using the cloud-based NeoVuplatform to provide 360 ̊ immersive videos of flight test technique demonstrations. Viewable with VR headsets or other displays, the videos feature demonstration sorties flown by ITPS instructors
.Universal Hydrogen (28 juillet)Universal Hydrogen has signed LOIs with Icelandair Group, Air Nostrum and Ravn Alaska to retrofit 15 ATR 72 and De Havilland Canada Dash 8 regional turboprops with hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion systems. The LOIs encompass replacement of the existing P&WC turboprops and fuel tanks with a pair of two-megawatt (MW) Magnix electric motors, and a fuel cell compatible with Universal Hydrogen's modular hydrogen fuel storage tanks.
United Engine Corporation (27 juillet)La Russie lance son programme de R&D sur l'hydrogène et c'est le motoriste United Engine Corporation qui a été désigné pour mener les travaux. « Nous envisageons deux technologies de base : la combustion directe de l'hydrogène en tant que carburant dans desturboréacteurs modifiés et la transformation électrochimique de ce même carburant en énergie électrique à l'aide de piles à combustible » a déclaré Youri Chmotine, PDG de United Engine Corporation.
