Airbus Military says it hopes to resume, in November, the remaining 140 hours of function and reliability flight-testing that is required before its A400M airlifter can be granted a full type certificate. The flights with MSN6, the first production-representative aircraft, were suspended in July because of the repeated detection of metallic chips in the oil system of one of the TP400 engines.
Europrop TP400
July 11, 2012 - 6:10pm
The problems with the A400M’s TP400-D6 turboprop engine that caused the airlifter to be scratched from this week’s Farnborough International flight demonstrations will slow civil certification and first delivery of the aircraft, but are not expected to delay its entry into service with the French air force next year. Production aircraft do not have the same issues.
July 9, 2012 - 7:10pm
Italian propulsion component company Avio has made the trip to Farnborough to showcase its role in some of the engine industry’s latest and most advanced offerings.
A GE partner, Avio holds a 12-percent share in the GEnx engine (an option for the Boeing 787) and carries responsibility for the accessory drive gearbox, stator parts of the low-pressure turbine and lubrication system.
July 9, 2012 - 2:45am
Europe’s A400M airlifter was named Atlas, after the Greek god who carried the world on his shoulders, last Friday in a rain-soaked ceremony at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), RAF Fairford. The aircraft, which is the first production representative aircraft (MSN6), repositioned from Fairford to the Farnborough static park yesterday.
July 8, 2012 - 8:20am
Italian propulsion component company Avio has made the trip to Farnborough to showcase its role in some of the engine industry’s latest and most advanced offerings.
A GE partner, Avio holds a 12-percent share in the GEnx engine (an option for the Boeing 787) and carries responsibility for the accessory drive gearbox, stator parts of the low-pressure turbine and lubrication system.
July 8, 2012 - 1:30am
This year should prove to be a momentous one for the Airbus Military A400M. On the last day of April, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) granted the multinational airlifter–also dubbed the Grizzly–its initial type certification shortly after the five-aircraft test fleet had notched up the type’s 1,000th flight.
April 20, 2012 - 2:25pm
The Airbus Military A400M is spreading its wings, as the once-troubled program makes progress toward first delivery early next year. The airlifter went to South America last month and Southeast Asia this week, for viewing by potential customers. The company said last November that it hopes to sell about 300 A400Ms over the next 20 years, and that the first production slots for new customers are available in 2016-17.
December 2, 2011 - 8:50am
Airbus Military has begun final assembly of the first production A400M, slated for the French Air Force. The company says that delivery of this aircraft (MSN7) is on schedule for the first quarter of 2013, thanks to good progress in the flight-test program.
October 28, 2011 - 10:40am
Although it gained EASA certification in May, the Europrop International (EPI) TP400-D6 engine that powers the Airbus Military A400M airlifter subsequently encounter
June 23, 2011 - 1:45am
The last-minute problem with the gearbox of the TP400D-6 turboprop engine, which led to the decision to cancel the spectacular Airbus A400M flying display at the Paris Air Show, has still not been resolved, Europrop International (EPI) said.
The malfunction occurred on Thursday last week on an A400M flight-test aircraft, though not the one that flew into Le Bourget to be on display.
