EASA certifies enhanced take-off performance package for A330neo
EASA has certified a new incremental package for the A330-900 (neo) which provides improved performance and versatility for operators, while delivering enhanced economics with extra revenue payload. This certification paves the way for first entry-into-service of the modification with Condor Flugdienst, the German leisure airline, on its A330neo fleet (one of its aircraft pictured above). Subsequently the package – known as ‘Step-4’ – will be available as a line fit option for new A330neo customer deliveries.
The package comprises three main features: (a) ‘Enhanced Take Off Configurations’ (ETOC) – which provides the pilot with additional flap positions; (b) faster landing gear retraction sequences with updated landing gear & doors actuators; and (c) ‘Automatic Landing Gear Door Opening’ (ALGDO) – which, if an engine failure is detected during the take-off run, automatically commands the landing gear doors to open one second after the aircraft becomes airborne.
These functions focus on enhancing the aircraft’s low-speed performance. This is achieved by further maximising lift and reducing drag during the take-off and initial climb segments.
Step-4 enables operators to benefit from a significant extra take-off-weight uplift capability – translating into up to six metric tonnes more revenue-generating payload and/or range-increasing fuel in some airports, and around 2.6 metric tonnes on average over the airports most flown by widebody aircraft. At other, even more runway-restricted airports, the net gain could be as much as seven tonnes – without increasing the engines’ thrust.
Airports where operators could expect such gains include: Madrid, Minneapolis, Reunion, Bogota, Gatwick and Mumbai. For Condor in particular, the following airports would also benefit: Las Vegas, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (in summer), Windhoek, Phuket and San José.
The certification journey
The design engineering side of the project consisted in modifying 10 critical aircraft systems (high lift system, landing gear & avionic computers & landing gear actuators). These redesign efforts also ensure long term operational sustainability and provide a good foundation for further product evolutions.
The process to certify these changes followed strict aviation regulatory standards to ensure the modification met all safety requirements. It required extensive validation through flight tests & simulator sessions:
~ Flight testing: a total of 175 flight test hours were conducted to evaluate the modifications. These tests assessed take-off accelerations, climb capabilities, flight control & handling qualities, system robustness;
~ Simulator sessions: Over 630 simulator sessions were performed to analyse pilot handling, system integration, and safety compliance. These simulations helped refine the modification before actual flight testing.
Operational maturity and ‘airline-like’ campaigns, together with Condor
On the operational side of things, and key to securing the entry-into-service with the first customer, Condor, was a two-part maturity campaign taking place at the development simulators in St. Martin: a ‘robustness’ campaign which was performed in October to test various potential failure cases, followed by an ‘airline-like’ campaign using the flight crew operating manual (FCOM) to build the test cases.
The maturity campaign culminated in the recent three-day visit, in February this year, of Condor's flight operations experts who tested it in the simulator, onsite at Airbus' facilities at St. Martin in Toulouse.
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Readers’ notes:
1. For a detailed description on how the ETOC and ALDGO functions work, please read our dedicated feature:
https://aircraft.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2024-02-airbus-to-introduce-a330neo-takeoff-performance-enhancements
2. As for all its aircraft products, Airbus continually updates and enhances the A330neo Family in all areas. For example, last year we unveiled evolutions for the A330neo’s cabin and passenger experience, in ‘Step-5’ which airlines and their passengers will soon benefit from. You can read about it here: