Hamilton Sundstrand has announced that it as well as other suppliers and partners for Embraer's new ERJ-170/-190 aircraft have completed the joint definition phase (JDP) and moved into detailed system design. During the eight-month JDP, technical specialists from the 10 risk-sharing partners worked together with Embraer engineers and technicians in San Jose dos Campos, Brazil, to finalize aircraft definition and its configuration.
Hamilton Sundstrand is responsible for designing, certifying, and supplying the entire aircraft tail section and auxiliary power unit (APU) compartment aft of the rear fuselage. According to the company, the APU/tailcone system is the key element of what it says is the most comprehensive air management system ever awarded by Embraer to a single supplier. Functions integrated within the air management system include air conditioning, engine bleed air and leak detection, cabin pressure control, anti-ice and ice protection, high- and low-pressure ducting, and emergency crew backup oxygen system.
The company is also responsible for the complete design, manufacture, and aircraft system level certification of the electric system. This system is based on an innovative design that uses distributed power management technologies proven by the company to eliminate a significant amount of aircraft wiring. Through aircraft systems integration, line-replaceable units have been eliminated by providing subsystem utility management and data-acquisition capabilities within the distributed power management equipment.
Other integrated systems being supplied by Hamilton Sundstrand for the new aircraft include the ram air turbine and the flap and slat actuation systems. The company says it remains on schedule for hardware deliveries in the second quarter of 2001. First flight of the ERJ-170 is set for the fourth quarter of 2001, with initial deliveries scheduled to begin in late 2002.
Frank Bokulich
Interesting? Circle 48
Not interesting? Circle 49
Aerospace Engineering September 2000
