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A400M tests face new engine snags INTRODUCTION: TP400-D6 powerplant suffers two failures - one during water ingestion trials and the other involving a 'gearbox problem'(Flight International Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Airbus Military's A400M transport is facing further challenges to its flight-test campaign, after two fresh engine-related issues encountered during ground trials. Airbus executive vice-president programmes Tom Williams says there have been "a couple of failures" of the Europrop International TP400-D6 engine during recent ground tests, involving engine No 5 during water ingestion trials and engine No 6, which suffered a "gearbox problem". EPI confirms that it has recently encountered such issues, but says initial indications suggest that the water-ingestion issue was potentially due to a "process anomaly". The other engine was involved in long-endurance gearbox testing and is currently in the process of being stripped, it says, while adding that the TP400 design is now close to having completed 1,800h of test activities. Speaking on the sidelines of the delivery ceremony for Emirates' first Airbus A380 in Hamburg, Germany last week, Williams said that achieving the A400M's first-flight target of the end of October will be "tight" and depends on the results of the strip-down and inspection of the two ground-test engines and development of the aircraft's full-authority digital engine control software. "This is not available until the end of October - we've got an interim release and a lot will depend on how good that is," Williams says. The next critical stage in the path to first flight of the A400M is the launch of TP400 flight trials on board a Marshall Aerospace-owned Lockheed Martin C-130 testbed. A target to achieve this milestone by 31 July has now passed, and the heavily modified aircraft - which has still only conducted four ground runs to date - needs to accumulate some 50 flight hours ahead of the A400M's debut. "The first 12h of this must be flown in dry conditions," notes Williams. A400M partner nations have already been informed of a six-month delay to deliveries of the transport, with launch user France currently expected to receive the first example in mid-2010. In addition, lead stakeholder EADS last year issued a warning of a risk of a further six-month slip to this schedule. Williams says that every week that the first flight slips beyond October will mean another week's delay to the delivery, as there is not sufficient slack in the flight-test programme to make that time up. Additional reporting by Craig Hoyle in London Copyright ? 2008 Reed Business Information - UK. All Rights Reserved. |