Airbus and European nuclear research organisation CERN will explore how superconductor technology can increase the efficiency of electrical systems on future aircraft. The partnership will build on a demonstrator project by the airframer’s UpNext innovation subsidiary examining the feasibility of superconductors for full- and hybrid-electric aircraft. The aim of that project, dubbed ASCEND – short for advanced superconducting and cryogenic experimental powertrain demonstrator – is to determine how cryogenic temperatures required for handling liquid hydrogen could support the deployment of superconductors. UpNext chief executive Sandra Bour-Schaeffer highlights during Airbus’s sustainability summit on 1 December that very low temperatures can improve the performance of electrical equipment. At -190°C, she says, superconductors lose all electrical resistance and become therefore able to carry higher loads. A cable with 4cm diameter could thus conduct power in the MW range, she adds. “This could be a breakthrough in our industry,” she notes, given the potential weight savings that superconductors could deliver versus conventional cabling. Manufacturing of the ASCEND demonstrator has begun, with a plan to start trials at Airbus’s "E-Aircraft System House" test facility in Munich in mid-2023. CERN will build a second demonstrator called SCALE – superconductor for aviation with low emissions – for tests at CERN's facility outside Geneva. The demonstrator will consist of a DC cable with two current leads and a cryostat using a helium-based cooling system. The effort will focus on potential superconductor application in power distribution systems. Airbus expects the first results from the joint project to emerge in late 2023 Bour-Schaeffer believes the technology can be matured in time for potential application in power distribution systems on Airbus’s planned zero-emission aircraft, which is scheduled to enter service around 2035. The airframer plans to decide on a launch for its development in 2027-28. Superconductor technology for use in electric motors will not become available in that timeframe, Bour Schaeffer says. “Partnering with a leading research institute such as CERN, which brought the world some of the most important findings in fundamental physics, will help push the boundaries of research in clean aerospace as we work to make sustainable aviation a reality,” she states. CERN director of finance and human resources Raphael Bello describes the demonstrator project as “only a first step in our journey” with Airbus.

Test flights of Boeing 777X aircraft will halt while GE Aerospace engineers inspect a technical issue with the GE9X turbofan engine powering the test aircraft. “We are closely coordinating with Boeing on our findings to support their return to flight testing,” GE says. GE says it will conduct engine tests at its facility in Peebles, Ohio, following a finding during a borescope inspection of GE9X engines from the test aircraft. An initial test indicated that the technical issue could be temperature related. The engine maker in early December aims to finish testing as part of its process to gain an extended twin-engine operations certificate for GE9X powerplants. Boeing aims to complete certification of 777X aircraft to begin deliveries by 2025. The airframer has not yet begun test flights of that aircraft with the US Federal Aviation Administration. Regarding certification goals for its 737 Max aircraft, Boeing advised: “We anticipate 737-7 certification will be completed in late 2022 or early 2023 and anticipate 737-10 certification will be completed by late 2023 or early 2024.”

China's Comac has been granted production licence for its C919 narrowbody from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), paving the way for mass production of the jet. The production certificate will allow Comac to produce the jets under an approved quality control system, and covers aspects such as raw materials control, supplier management, division and control of production links, quality control, aircraft factory testing and after-sales maintenance. This comes just two months after it received type certification from the CAAC on 29 September. Comac applied for the production licence in April 2019, and review of its application began in July 2019. Data indicates Comac has amassed orders for over 600 C919s from various Chinese airlines and lessors, and this includes the most recent order for 300 examples from seven Chinese lessors in early November. It also has options for 40 and letter of intent for more than 650. China Eastern Airlines will be the launch customer, and is scheduled to receive the first two examples on 15 December and 15 March 2023, respectively. Concurrently, the C919 programme has passed the T5 test and Comac was issued an aircraft evaluation report, the CAAC states. The first batch of 15 pilots, including Comac flight instructors, have obtained type rating for the C919. The T5 test is part of a series of tests to determine aircraft type rating and pilot training and qualifications required for new, derivative or modified aircraft. The aircraft evaluation report details aspects such as pilot qualification specifications, master minimum equipment list, planned maintenance requirements and full-aircraft emergency evacuation demonstration. The CAAC states that the T5 test of the C919 lasted nearly two months, and involved five aviation bureau representatives, including Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department, three China Eastern pilots and two Comac flight instructors.