Textron Aviation showcased Cessna's new Citation Latitude and Longitude business jets.
Airbus A350-1000, F-WLXV (c/n 065), was one of the few airliners on display at the show.
Embraer's E190-E2 demonstrator now wears a striking, Tiger-themed 'Profit Hunter' livery.The US aerospace giant also disclosed
more details about its planned New Mid-
market Airplane (NMA). Speaking at
the show, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
(BCA) VP Marketing Randy Tinseth said
an early launch decision for the project
is unlikely, but noted that work on a busi-
ness case for the aircraft is ongoing.
He added the firm is now in discussion
“with all three engine manufacturers” –
GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-
Royce – to establish capabilities, with an
expected entry into service of 2024-25.
Airbus and ST Aerospace’s joint venture
Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) announced
a launch contract for its A321 passen-
ger-to-freighter (P2F) programme.
Luxemburg-based Vallair Solutions will
acquire ten examples (with purchase
options on a further ten), the first of
which – ex Onur Air A321-231 TC-OBJ
(c/n 835) – will begin its conversion later
this year. Delivery is expected by the
end of 2019.
Among the more interesting
developments was confirmation from
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft of a new 75-seat
variant of its Superjet 100. Details
surrounding the ‘shrink’ derivative were
scant, but the Russian firm did note
that the regional jet’s existing PowerJet
SaM146 engine, which delivers 18,000lbof thrust, would most likely be too big,
and alternative powerplants – including
Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared tur-
bofan series – were under consideration.
Cranfield-based Samad Aerospace
unveiled plans for a new vertical take-off
and landing business aircraft. The three-
engine, hybrid-electric, ten-seat Starling
Jet was showcased at the event in model
form but CEO Seyed Mohseni is
confident the company can fly a full-
scale technical demonstrator by March
2019 and have the type certified by 2024.
This is, however, dependant on raising
around $56m to fund further research
and development, and another $70m to
complete the project.Airshow 2020
Unusually, while organiser Experia Events
reported a 10% rise in trade visitors at
this year’s show, it has not (at the time
of writing) disclosed the total number of
guests, or a final deal count, and nor did
it host the usual closing press confer-
ence. It did, however, place emphasis on
bringing together “key industry players
and emerging start-ups” and noted 70%
of exhibitors have committed to return
in two years’ time. The next Singapore
Airshow will be held at Changi Exhibition
Centre from February 11 to 16.commercial airliners, but rather for gen-
eral aviation types. US firm Piper Aircraft
received a commitment for 152 air-
frames – the largest single trainer order
in the company’s history – from Fanmei
Aviation Technologies. The Chinese
company, a subsidiary of Sichuan Fanmei
Education Group, will use the 100 Archer
TXs, 50 Seminoles, one Seneca and one
M350 (deliveries of which were due to
start in March) to support its new domes-
tic pilot development programme.
Services and Updates
What Singapore lacked in aircraft orders,
it made up for in service deals. This
included almost $1bn of sales by Boeing
for a variety of ancillary offerings, such
as components, cabin modifications,
digital aviation training and support.
Among them were landing gear
exchanges for All Nippon Airways 787s
and Malaysia Airlines 737NGs, and
electronic logbooks for Singapore
Airlines’ 777 and Dreamliner fleet.
Elsewhere, Swiss International Air Lines
confirmed it has selected Pratt & Whitney
to power its incoming A320neo Family
aircraft. The first of 15 examples are due
for delivery next year.
The airshow also presented an
opportunity for manufacturers to provide
updates on their respective programmes.
Embraer confirmed testing of its new
E-Jet E2 series is now completed with
certification due imminently. Buoyed
by better-than-expected performance
results, the Brazilian firm said it remains
on course to deliver the first example to
launch customer Widerøe in April.
Meanwhile, Boeing revealed it has firmed
up the configuration for the 737 MAX
10, paving the way for the programme’s
detailed design phase. The jet, launched
at last year’s Paris Air Show, will incorpo-
rate a 66in (168cm) fuselage stretch over
the MAX 9 and will be the largest mem-
ber of the company’s single-aisle familyAn overview of the static park at the Singapore Airshow. Several commercial aircraft
manufacturers were conspicuous in their absence, including Boeing. ALL PHOTOS KE Y-CR AIG WESThttp://www.airlinerworld.com 17News Review • A s i a / P a c i fi c