Australia Becomes First Customer For Airbus A330-200 Mrtt
DECEMBER_ 20,_ 2004
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) today signed a contract with EADS’ Military Transport Aircraft Division for five Airbus A330-200 multi-role tanker transports (MRTTs), becoming the first customer for the aircraft.
Qantas has also been chosen by the ADF to provide logistic support for the aircraft, including training and heavy maintenance, over 20 years. Qantas Airways is already a major Airbus A330 operator.
Each Airbus A330 MRTT will be able to deliver 65 tonnes of fuel in its air-to-air refuelling role, at a distance of 1,000 miles from base, following up to two hours on station. Fuel can be offloaded either through wing-mounted pods and hose-and-drogues, or via an advanced refuelling boom extending from the lower fuselage.
All of the fuel, including that consumed by the A330 MRTT itself, is carried entirely within existing tanks in the wing and tail. This leaves the whole cabin free for some 272 seats in the A330 MRTT’s troop-transport role, and its entire cargo hold free to carry military equipment on pallets or in containers.
Deliveries of the aircraft, which are based on the popular Airbus A330-200 airliner, are due to begin in 2008. Conversion of the first Airbus A330-200 airliner into an MRTT will be carried out by EADS, with Qantas converting the remaining four in Australia - with the involvement of other industrial partners that include Australian Aerospace, ADI and GKN.
Each of the A330 MRTTs will be powered by General Electric CF6-80E1 engines.
The A330-200 is the second MRTT aircraft based on an Airbus airliner – A310 MRTTs are already being produced for the Canadian and German air forces.
Airbus’ A330/A340 family are the most popular airliners in the 250-375 seat class, having won more than 850 orders from over 60 customers. They are in widespread service throughout the world, as well as with several airlines in the Pacific.
There is talk (!?) that if the RAF also go for the A330-200 part of the funding would be made up by offloading "spare" capacity to the civil market. Yeah right!
What could be so different between a civil and a military aircraft that is for all intents and purposes a commercial aircraft with a few mods on it?
An EFIS wide-body ticket helps a bit these days. l say good luck to the ones who get to fly it as the global job prospects at the end of their military career will be broad indeed, and l suspect most operators would care less what the type of rego was on the A330 they were operating previously.
I beg to differ, its like saying if your endorsed on a A90 you can fly a B1900 or B350, they are both based on the same basic airframe.
To give you a closer example, for the B747, the civil certified minimum crew is two, for the military varients such as the VC-25A or the E-4 they have a crew of 26 or 114 respectively.
Whilst they may look the same as a A330 from a distance, I think you will find it is significantly different to civil models like the 737-700 (civil) and the 737-7ES (RAAF Wedgetail military AEW&C platform).
I would see changes to electrical and fuel systems to look closer like a A340 schematics, internal wing changes, additional plumbing, and aerodynamic and structural mods for booms, number of crew etc.
Mil aircraft tend to have different maintenance and operational limitations than civil varients.
Love to get a photo of the Wedgetail being refuelled by the MRTT.
What about the A340, A330 and A340-600. Its a common type rating!
Different engines, (numbers and type), different fuel systems, massively different performance and weights (215tonnes through to 368tonnes), different hydraulics, wheels, fire protection, oxygen systems, flight controls.....not to mention the length of the 346?
....in fact they are totally different aircraft!
You'd be very surprised what "endorsements" you can get on your licence when you leave. Quite a few in fact. A P3 gets you an Electra rating, and sometimes a CV580 too! A Herc is a Herc (whether is RAAF or SAFAIR), the RNZAF in their 757s get a 757/767 rating etc.
At absolute worst the type endorsement from 330MRTT to civil 330 (and 340, 346) would be a 1-2day CCQ.
(At least the MRTT pilots will be up to speed with inserting random holds in the MCDU.)
What about the A340, A330 and A340-600. Its a common type rating!
The 330 & 340 are not common type ratings, they do not share the same type certificate data sheets.
You can CCQ between the 330/340 easily, 343/342 to 345/346 does require differances courses and simulator work.
There is no advantage for Airbus to certify the MRTT as a varient to the civil 330, it would require a certification program that would be available to all A330 operators as a STC, something which is expensive, and impossible to justify as a equivalent safety finding.
Airbus does have mods which allow for a conversion of say A340-311 into A340-312 by application of Airbus Service Bulletin covering modification, to develop such a bulliten for the MRTT would be very very expensive, give everyone access to the aircraft capabilities.
State aircraft, which by definition MIL aircraft are do not need to have a certificate of airworthiness as defined by ICAO, the pilots of state aircraft are not required to have a licence or a type rating/endorsement.
To be able to CCQ in Airbus terms means you have a civil Airbus type rating (i.e. also have a civil licence), have had approved training/revalidation within the previous two years on the type you are CCQing from.
Anyone can do a lateral revision to build a hold on a MCDU, its not hard. However no one would expect a civil 330 pilot to be able to fly a MRTT in a MIL role, and no-one would expect a 330 pilot to fly a MRTT in a MIL role.
I also suspect the MRTT would be more akin to the 330 freighter than the 330 pax aircraft.
With regard to the RNZAF 757 example you gave, these aircraft were civil certified aircraft before. I would expect the RAAF 707 pilots to be able to obtain civil 707 ratings as these aircraft were previously civil aircraft.
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