THE AIRBUS A330neo is to undergo a series of performance enhancements that will increase its take-off weight by around 2.6 tonnes. The improvements will be achieved through changes to flap settings and by faster and earlier retraction of the undercarriage and landing gear doors.
Engineers on the A330neo programme have developed an upgrade which will offer four extra programmable flap positions and requiring no physical changes to the aircraft. The aircraft’s avionics will automatically move the slats and flaps on the wing to the desired intermediate position for take-off, and no changes to the actual flap lever itself are required, although some computer hardware modifications may be necessary.
At the most severely runwayrestricted airports, the net takeoff weight gain could be as much as four tonnes without increasing the engine’s thrust.