Airlines

Lufthansa’s Airbus A350 becomes a climate research aircraft

The Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 “Erfurt” (registration D-AIXJ) is now being transformed into a flying research laboratory as part of a worldwide unique cooperation between the Lufthansa Group and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

An important project milestone could now be reached. For the first time, experts from the Lufthansa Group have attached the measuring probe system developed especially for the project to the lower fuselage of the A350 and successfully tested it in flight.

In the airspace over southern Germany, Lufthansa pilots finished a flight programme planned with the certification authorities. The measuring system now being tested on the airplane is the most intricate of its kind and includes sensors for high-frequency and precise measurements of temperature and pressure in addition to the air inlet function. In order to provide the European research infrastructure IAGOS-CARIBIC with full climate data, the Airbus will start collecting it during routine passenger flights in 2024.

Next year, this high-tech laboratory will take off for the first time and collect climate data on selected flights in Lufthansa’s worldwide scheduled operations. The laboratory continuously records more than 100 different trace gases, aerosol, and cloud parameters from the ground to the tropopause region at an altitude of nine to thirteen kilometers.

In addition to the Lufthansa Group and KIT, six other companies (Lufthansa Technik, Airbus, Safran, enviscope, Dynatec, and ACC COLUMBIA Jet Service) are involved in the IAGOS-CARIBIC project. IAGOS stands for “In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System” and CARIBIC for “Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container”.

Airlines

S7 Group Begins Fan Blade Production for Western Engine Models

The privately-owned Russian aerospace giant S7 Group has reportedly commenced production of blades for Western-built aero engines at its subsidiary, the Berdsk Electromechanical Plant (BEMZ), located in Novosibirsk.

This development, reported by the Russian aviation publication ATO.ru, marks a significant step for the company amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.BEMZ has started manufacturing composite fan blades compatible with jet turbine engines, including the CFM International CFM56, which powers popular aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family.

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The technology for restoring blades of gas turbine engines used in Airbus and Boeing aircraft was previously developed by the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and is now being implemented in the production of new aircraft parts at BEMZ.

Currently, BEMZ focuses on producing parts essential for maintaining the airworthiness of civil aircraft. Over the past year and a half, the plant has manufactured approximately 3,500 structural elements and components for replacement on foreign aircraft, which are utilized by airlines such as S7 Airlines, Pobeda, Aurora, and Aeroflot.

The facility is undergoing expansion, with two stages of an investment program totaling 2 billion roubles already completed. These developments are likely geared toward producing blades for the CFM56 engines, which equip more than half of S7’s operational fleet, including 28 Airbus A320-family aircraft and 19 Boeing 737-800s.

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Vasily Yurchenko, CEO of Berdsk Electromechanical Plant, emphasized the shift in focus towards maintaining the airworthiness of the Western-made fleet. The plant has delivered thousands of components to S7 and other Russian carriers since 2022. Notably, according to Russia’s Air Operators Association, 89% of the country’s passengers in 2023 traveled aboard foreign-made aircraft.

Future plans include serious investments to transform the plant into a modern, high-tech aircraft manufacturing facility. In addition to engine blades, BEMZ is also known for producing various spare parts for aircraft, reinforcing its role in the Russian aviation industry as it adapts to new manufacturing needs.