Aircraft

DATE:14/07/08
SOURCE:Flight Daily News
FARNBOROUGH 2008: Dassaults technical triumph

Dassaults new St Cloud Technical Centre is a huge step forward for the French manufacturers customer service offering. Liz Moscrop reports.

A visit to the Dassault Falcon Technical Centre in St Cloud, Paris, is like stepping into a science fiction movie. The operational heart of the organism is a bank of huge LCD screens, pumping information to a group of watching experts. On display is real time global graphical and text data, such as where there are aircraft on the ground.
The system can also bring up a digital image of an actual aircraft, relaying exactly where there is a technical issue to the on-site experts. Customer service engineers (CSEs) are privy to instant information and able to solve, or start solving the problem immediately.


© Dassault


The centre came about as part of Dassaults drive to improve its customer service offering. The OEM has had a technical centre in place in Teterboro for the last 12 years, but the advanced St Cloud facility, along with a further resource in Boise, Idaho enables the company to offer true 24/7, 365-days-a-year support. On average, the Falcon technical help desk and spares account representatives receive 2,000 calls a month. To answer them, the manufacturer has hired 422 employees, 200 of whom are in St Cloud and 222 in Teterboro and Boise.

Teterboro is open 7am-4pm; Paris 7.30am-6pm; Boise 4pm-12am, all local time, so there is full round-the-clock coverage. European customers call Paris, and at the end of the day calls are automatically routed to the US and vice-versa. There are also duty customer service managers throughout the world, who speak the same language as their customers.

Jacques Chauvet, senior vice president, worldwide customer service, has implemented new training initiatives for front line customer contact and sees the St Cloud centre as a leap forward for the French manufacturer. He says: This enables us to provide rapid and personal support to all Falcon operators in the long term, as well as effecting a smooth entry into service for the 7X. By the end of 2008 Dassault aims to have St Cloud fully operational, staffed by ten customer service engineers, who are knowledgeable on all Falcon models. Chauvet adds: By putting more experts on the phones, we free up managers and field reps to assist operators. The OEM says its goal is for the technical centres to provide solutions and answers during the first call.


© Dassault


A team of 25 ATA specialists dedicated to different aspects of the aircraft are co-located alongside the engineers. These ATA specialists can provide in-depth troubleshooting support. They have individual areas of deep knowledge on specific systems, such as the landing gear.

The cabin is important to passengers, so there is an ATA specialist whose remit includes the coffee maker. Chauvet says: The idea is when there is an AOG situation to immediately provide a short term solution to return the aircraft into service as soon as possible.

The physical proximity of the ATA specialists to the CSEs at the centres, plus powerful information tools form a large part of Dassaults drive for efficiency. The CSEs have access to each individual aircrafts history during a call, so that critical information, such as the maintenance manual, wiring diagrams, and aircraft and engine logbooks are at their fingertips.

Dassault has 1,710 aircraft in service, flown by 1,015 Falcon operators in 62 countries. By 2012 the company anticipates that there will be 2,250 aircraft based in Europe alone, including the first examples of its groundbreaking 7X model, on show for the first time at Farnborough.

Today 30% of the airframers new customers have no prior knowledge of operating a business aircraft and consequently have no infrastructure in place. St Cloud provides much-needed support and service when they acquire their aircraft. Chauvet explains: In the past operators have had good knowledge and have owned aircraft before. Now 20-30% need support since they use aircraft like they use a car. An increasing number of aircraft are flying 600-700 hours per year, sometimes more than 1,000 hours per year.


© Dassault


Guillaume Landrivon is Dassaults director of customer relations and field service. He says: Fifty percent of the calls we receive are not highly technical and do not need experts. We make sure that information is readily available on our portal or in information we publish. Typical requests are for a copy of a service bulletin or the number for the Honeywell hotline. The remaining 50% are troubleshooting requests, for forms such as a non technical objection (NTO), necessary to ferry a stricken aircraft to a service centre for repair, for example after a bird strike.

Every Monday there is an internal meeting to put each customer inside the company. This comprises several departments including: production, design, and purchasing. The review assesses customer mood. Each customer is banded green, amber or red. An amber or a red code warrants immediate attention and there is one person dedicated as front person to ensure the problem is solved. There is a further review meeting every Friday afternoon between the US and Europe.

Dassault is also finalising a system whereby a dedicated laptop comes with each new aircraft delivered. This enables the customer to download information directly from its EASy cockpit to the technical centre, and for a videoconference to take place, sharing information with engineers in St Cloud and Dassaults various facilities. The laptop beams information directly to the factory in Bordeaux. The aircraft technician has access to the blueprint of the aircraft in the CATIA model, and the downloaded aircraft data tells him what he needs to do to make a repair. He can control the aircraft through the centralised maintenance computer.

Dassault is making huge strides to match the pulse of its customers. In response to client requests by the end of 2007 the OEM had invested $522 million in its parts inventory. It now boasts a parts availability of 97.3% measured by its ability to deliver at the time the customer asked for it. The objective is 98%. When fully staffed by the end of this year, the St Cloud and Boise centres will provide a 250% increase in manpower dedicated to technical support from the 2006 level. Chauvet says: In the past our staff were mainly engineering people, who were technically rather than customer oriented. Now customer service is seen as a vital part of our offering.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/07/14/225308/farnborough-2008-dassaults-technical-triumph.html


Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html

THREADED TOGETHER

Although a one-off, aircraft AA-1 has validated what the JSF team calls the "digital thread" - the electronic design database that runs from engineering through to manufacturing, and beyond. Constantly updated, this database of Catia three-dimensional solid models defining the F-35 stitches together the partners and suppliers around the world.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207386/jsf-special-threaded-together.html

But STILL managed to screw their design; first on the weight target then on aerodynamics...

Even before the PDR, it became obvious the initial weight estimate for the F-35 was around 35% over target, compared with typical estimates of 20-25% over for previous programmes.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2003/11/25/174243/weighty-matters.html#FIPageTop

Similarly, the design team has spent a long time looking at high angle-of-attack (alpha) flow characteristics to see if the F-35 might be susceptible to the vertical tail buffet issues encountered by the F/A-18 and F/A-22. "It's a good thing we did that," says Burbage, adding that the windtunnel tests show the F-35 chine does indeed generate a strong vortex at high alpha, and that flight tests would have revealed a distinct tail buffet. Structural reinforcement is being designed into the aircraft's F-35 vertical fins as a result of the tests says Burbage. He adds: "We are bound to have enough of our own problems without repeating those of others."
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2003/11/25/174243/weighty-matters.html#FIPageTop


http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207387/jsf-special-the-mating-game.html
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207385/jsf-special-option-9-turns-replan-to-advantage.html
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207393/jsf-special-future-fighter.html

"Even before the PDR, it became obvious the initial weight estimate for the F-35 was around 35% over target, compared with typical estimates of 20-25% over for previous programmes".
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207392/jsf-special-moving-on-up.html


It still takes proficiency to take Catia into a simulation of components that move against each other, says Linhart. But the effort paid off. The only problem when we swung the gear on AA-1 was an actuator that needed an eighth of an inch more stroke. It had not been simulated.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/06/27/207392/jsf-special-moving-on-up.html


DATE: 25/11/03
SOURCE:Flight InternationalWeighty matters

Guy Norris / Los Angeles
Cramming everything into the F-35 and keeping the aircraft in trim has been a major problem for the programme

Although externally almost identical to the proof-of-concept X-35 that earned Lockheed Martin victory in the JSF fly-off in 2001, the first production representative F-35 is virtually a new aircraft beneath the skin.

"From a geometry perspective it is the same," says F-35 programme general manager Tom Burbage, "but the demonstrator did not have weapons bays, mission systems or an integrated vehicle system. It was to show we could develop a family of aircraft for all three services."
I:\Personal\New\F-35\Weighty matters -25-11-2003-Flight International.htm


Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html

Boeing is responsible for courseware development. "The courseware is intensive and elaborate, bringing the equipment into a structured environment," says Valdez. "The academics are heavily infiltrated with aircraft systems, and all graphics use the Catia design data." Rehosting and reuse of aircraft software is more extensive than in previous training systems, says Howard Hines, L-3 F/A-22 programme director. The FMT and WTT share the same basic software load, but the full-mission trainer has a higher-fidelity cockpit and 360° visual display.
Defence
SubscribeYou are in: Home Defence News Article
DATE:21/10/03
SOURCE:Flight International
Pilots begin F/A-22 Raptor training at Tyndall AFB
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2003/10/21/172770/pilots-begin-fa-22-raptor-training-at-tyndall-afb.html

Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html

Picking the right tools

In what could be a significant long term company-wide move, Boeing has selected Dassault/IBM's CATIA system as its primary computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
DATE:15/09/99
SOURCE:Flight International
Lean stories
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1999/09/15/56165/lean-stories.html

Boeing stresses that CATIA and its associated Enovia product data management software have been chosen to suit the best interests of the JSF programme, but adds that "the decision is in line with where most of the company is going". Boeing JSF structures and systems chief engineer Jim O'Neill says the move was influenced by the Phantom Works-led Boeing Break-through Common Processes Programme. This is developing processes which will be applicable to all parts of the company in areas of airframe structural design, wiring, product data management, part fabrication and assembly costing. "We do believe that common processes will bring big benefits," he adds.

CATIA was selected principally over the Unigraphics-based CAD/CAM system employed by the former McDonnell Douglas (MDC) sites on many advanced programmes, including its original JSF work. This is still in use throughout many of the "heritage" MDC sites. Boeing says the new decision does not mean that Unigraphics will be dropped from general use in the near future. Stressing its importance to the JSF in particular, O'Neill says the use of CATIA/Enovia represents a "single source of product data where all the information resides in one source. It is a perfect fit with our lean supportability plans for the JSF. This is therefore a completely holistic decision and not sub-optimised simply for the design phase."

The system allows design, analysis, manufacturing and maintenance engineers to work within a digital mock-up environment. "They [CATIA and Enovia] ensure a standard approach to specifications, engineering rules, operational parameters and simulation results - all of which support JSF development," Boeing says. The company will use the latest version of CATIA, V5, to design the EMD version of the aircraft. It hopes to achieve a 30-35% reduction in cycle time as a result. As part of the selection process, it used version 4.2 of the same software to update the design from the X-32 (Model 373) concept demonstrator to the latest EMD configuration (Model 374), achieving a 20% flow time improvement when benchmarked against older CATIA versions.

CATIA was first used by Boeing for the 777 programme and has since been increasingly employed. It is also expected that CATIA will be used for forthcoming military programmes, including the 737 Wedgetail and F/A-18E/F production design work, as well as for the JSF.
DATE:15/09/99
SOURCE:Flight International
Lean stories
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1999/09/15/56165/lean-stories.html

Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html

Flight Home
SubscribeYou are in: Home News Article
DATE:11/02/98
SOURCE:Flight International
EAI is selected to provide Joint Strike Fighter virtual prototype
Lockheed Martin has chosen visualisation software from Engineering Automation (EAI) for use in the virtual product-development environment being created for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and other advanced projects. EAI's VisProducts software will allow designers at different sites to work collaboratively on digital models.

EAI's VisFly software will be used to conduct collaborative design reviews over Lockheed Martin networks. Visualisation of virtual products and processes will enable design and manufacturing errors to be detected before assembly begins, the company says. EAI's VisMockUp and VP/Sequence software will be used to confirm part fits and to view part arrangement and assembly order in tooling.

Lockheed Martin says that the software will help reveal design defects before retooling is necessary. Interactive viewing and spatial analysis of aircraft components will help to locate and resolve design and manufacturing faults "at the earliest opportunity", says Woody Sconyers, director of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' virtual product-development initiative. VisProducts will "integrate seamlessly" with CATIA, the company's core computer-aided design system.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1998/02/11/32668/eai-is-selected-to-provide-joint-strike-fighter-virtual.html

Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html

Lockheed Martin Chooses IBM and Dassault Systemes for Alliance in Design Technology Based on CATIA*
Bethesda, Md., February 25th, 1997 -- Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics Sector has formed a long-term alliance with IBM of the United States and Dassault Systemes of France. The companies will work with Lockheed Martin to create next-generation, computer-based aircraft development tools and processes.

"As we look toward the future, we want to work with the best high technology companies around the world in meaningful long-term alliances that transcend specific programs, and this alliance with IBM and Dassault Systemes is a strong example of that commitment," said James A. "Micky" Blackwell, president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics Sector.

IBM and Dassault Systemes will support the Aeronautics Sector's Modeling and Simulation initiative by providing key capabilities for an integrated virtual development environment. The development environment systems will feature Dassault Systemes' CATIA computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing software, with the goal of providing advanced information tools to design, support and manufacturing engineers. These capabilities will include virtual reality systems, expert systems and three-dimensional simulation of new products and processes.

The virtual development environment will allow designers and engineers to simulate every aspect of airplane design, support and manufacture before parts, tools and processes are actually created. It will facilitate design improvements early in the development cycle, significantly reducing cycle times and costs while achieving unmatched levels of quality.

The virtual development environment will also provide real-time links among the different locations in Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics Sector, including Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems in Fort Worth, Texas; Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems in Marietta, Ga.; Lockheed Martin Aerostructures in Baltimore, Md.; and the Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif.

Last November, the U.S. government awarded Lockheed Martin one of two 51-month contracts for Concept Demonstration of the Joint Strike Fighter. The program could lead to production of approximately 3,000 aircraft for three U.S. military services and Britain's Royal Navy over a period of several decades, with a large potential for additional international aircraft sales.

As the lead company in Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter development program, Tactical Aircraft Systems is coordinating the Modeling and Simulation initiative for the Aeronautics Sector. JSF development will be one of the first applications for this enhanced capability.

"The Modeling and Simulation initiative is one of the ways the Aeronautics Sector is making a leap-ahead in product development, with our primary focus centering on affordability and reduction of technical risks," said Don Westerheide, director of Technology Integration at the Sector's headquarters in Bethesda, Md.

"We have set challenging targets for cost improvement and are committed to virtual product development as a key tool to help us achieve our goals. The Aeronautics Sector is making a significant investment in this technology, to ensure that we will be recognized as the leader in aircraft development technology by the year 2000," Westerheide said.

Dassault Systemes' CATIA was selected as the core tool for the computer-aided design system after a year-long evaluation process.

"This success is a clear recognition of CATIA's unique process-centric approach that addresses the challenges of virtual product development with a broad application portfolio," said Bernard Charles, president of Dassault Systemes. "We are proud that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Sector has placed its confidence in our company. Together we shall be reinforcing our strong working relationship to allow them to establish a world-class infrastructure to develop aircraft across multiple locations, from concepts to products in operation."

Steve Ward, IBM's client executive for Lockheed Martin, said the alliance is an example of how IBM works with its customers to meet their business objectives. "In a real sense, Lockheed Martin's goals are our goals. IBM will work with the Aeronautics Sector to achieve the business improvements they are looking for while maintaining the standard they've set for world-class aircraft product quality," Ward said.

Lockheed Martin is a diversified global enterprise engaged in the research, design, development and integration of advanced technology products and services. Aeronautics is one of six core business sectors in the Corporation.

*CATIA/CADAM Solutions Version 4 provides unique Solutions for integrated product and process development and teamwork optimization. It includes an evolutionary architecture that enables customer growth and leading-edge applications for task optimization. CATIA and CADAM are developed by Dassault Systemes and marketed and supported worldwide by IBM. These solutions are leaders in the CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM marketplace, with more than 9,000 customers.



IBM: Clifton Scott
(914) 642-5463

Lockheed Martin: Joe Stout
(817) 763-4086
(817) 980-4986
e-mail: joe.w.stout@lmco.com
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/1997/LockheedMartinChoosesIBMDassaultSys.html


Design environment

Burbage's counterpart at the US Air Force's F-22 programme office, Brig Gen Michael Mushala, highlights the role which computing power has played in the design of the F-22. "The most sophisticated design environment available is used throughout the programme," resulting in significant savings, he says. Using the CATIA design system and COMOK modelling tool across the F-22 team, including subcontractors, has ensured that parts produced at different sites "-fit exactly together", he says.
Flight Home
SubscribeYou are in: Home News Article
DATE:09/04/97
SOURCE:Flight International
Engineering dominance
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1997/04/09/579/engineering-dominance.html



DEMONSTRATING THAT he F-22 is at least twice as effective in combat as the F-15, as required by contract, will require a combination of wargaming, simulation and flight testing.


Instrumentation has been designed into the aircraft using the CATIA and COMOK tools. Installation on the first aircraft has gone "amazingly smoothly", Peiper says. Instrumentation was checked out as the aircraft was been assembled, with both Boeing and Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems delivering their sections with instrumentation already installed and tested. During assembly, telemetry from the integrated data-acquisition package in the main weapons-bay has been sent to the Marietta test centre to exercise the system before flight.
DATE:09/04/97
SOURCE:Flight International
Testing for combat
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1997/04/09/584/testing-for-combat.html



A finishes-application mock-up, built by ATI, has been used to check out the robot. This is a full-scale model of the F-22, accurate to within 6mm, with an aluminium frame and glassfibre-reinforced plastic skins over foam core machined to shape using the CATIA design system.

The typical spray-gun stand-off distance is 250mm, reducing to 150mm for fine details. Camouflage is applied using a "gun-break" technique, to avoid masking, Plumley says. F-22 coatings are designed using CATIA, and the three-dimensional "skin" data is used to program the robot to apply material at deposition rates and to thicknesses developed in advance. "There is little or no on-line programming," says Plumley. Rather than paint over one colour with another to achieve the camouflage effect, "holes" are left in the base coat which are filled in with a darker colour. This makes savings in and time and money, as well as weight, he says.
Flight Home
DATE:09/04/97
SOURCE:Flight International
Painting by numbers
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1997/04/09/583/painting-by-numbers.html

Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html

British Aerospace Defence Military Aircraft division has placed an $18 million order for IBM's ProductManager product data management system, for use with CATIA computer-aided-design software. The ProductManager's initial application will be for the Eurofighter EF2000 programme, followed by the Nimrod 2000 project.
Flight Home
DATE:20/11/96
SOURCE:Flight International
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1996/11/20/11022/bae-chooses-ibm.html

Boviously having CATIA is NOT enough.

As Dassault-Aviation said, one needs old fashioned skills such as aerodynamics, engineering and flight mechanics on top of CG/CAD.

L-M F-35 team doesn't have much of them nor did BAe Nimrod team or V-22 team:


The extent to which the V-22 programme, and the aircraft, changed with the transition from FSD to EMD cannot be understated. The new development programme is modelled closely on that of the Boeing 777, with integrated product teams and electronic product definition. The FSD aircraft was not designed on computer and the EMD "productionisation" process has included converting the entire design from paper drawings to the CATIA computer-aided design system.
DATE:06/12/95
SOURCE:Flight International
Osprey tilts the balance
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1995/12/06/20707/osprey-tilts-the-balance.html


More CATIAS for BAe
British Aerospace Military Aircraft division has placed a £13 million ($19.5 million) order with IBM for around 500 CATIA computer-aided-design workstations, to add to the 200 it already uses.
Flight Home
DATE:01/05/96
SOURCE:Flight International
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/1996/05/01/18405/more-catias-for-bae.html



Thunder Supports Rafale
http://rafale.freeforums.org
http://rafale.freeforums.org/rafale-vs-f-16-aerodynamics-compared-t69.html