What is the most important flight operations and performancerelated information about A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets?

Reference ATA ACType Status Audience ExpiryDate EngOps-15400 00 A320 Ready for publication Airbus 20/12/2012

Applicable To
This WISE article is applicable to Operators of A320 aircraft that will have the Sharklet device. This article provides initial information about the performance and flight operations data of A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets.

General Overview
This WISE article provides information about changes to aircraft performance and flight operations data as a result of the use of the Sharklet device instead of the wingtip fence. The article provides a list of significant changes:

Per flight phase for the performance section Per technical subject for the flight operations data section.

What effects does the installation of Sharklets have on the performance of A320 aircraft?
Airbus would like to provide Operators with the following information about the changes to the performance of A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets: 1. 2. Decreased fuel consumption compared to A320 aircraft equipped with wingtips. Sharklets will result in close to 4 percent fuel savings on longer sectors. This reduction results in a higher payload and/or a longer range Improved performance on climb gradients and the takeoff flight path that result in an increase in the takeoff weight when obstacles or second segments limit the Maximum TakeOff Weight (MTOW). The MTOW increase results in an increase of payload, or range, or in takeoff thrust reduction. For Turn Procedures, the flight path climb gradient will be different for A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets than for A320 aircraft equipped with wingtips. Sharklets aircraft have higher climb gradient loss during turn than aircraft equipped with wingtips. For example, with a 15 bank angle and KVs of 1.13, the loss of gradient may be equal to 1.05 % for A320 equipped with Sharklets (compared to 0.65 % for A320 aircraft equipped with wingtips). Improved en-route, approach and landing climbs. Depending on the route and airport limitations, these enhanced climbs may result in better operations For landing distances: Airbus does not expect changes for manual landings, or manual landings with autobrakes. The effect of Sharklets on automatic landing distances is under investigation by Airbus Flight tests demonstrated the following increases in Minimum Control Speed on ground (VMCG) for A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets:

3. 4. 5.

+1.6 kt for aircraft equipped with CFM engines +1 kt for aircraft equipped with IAE engines. The VMCG increase may affect the takeoff performance on narrow runways or affect takeoffs with limited VMC (e.g. on contaminated runways).

6.

Airbus will design a new Flight Augmentation Computer (FAC) Standard in order to recover the level of performance of A320 aircraft equipped with wingtips Takeoffs with high thrust reduction are limited for the following cases:

7.

Derated Takeoff 40 % (DTO40) will not be available for Sharklets aircraft The Extended Flex takeoff will not be available for A320-214, A320-232, and A320-233 aircraft equipped with Sharklets. Airbus will try to find a solution in order to recover the same dispatch conditions as for A320 aircraft equipped with wingtips. For A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets and takeoff computations, Airbus added the following new runway contaminants: Dry snow 2/5 " (10 mm) Dry snow 5 " + 1/8 " (130 mm) Wet snow 1/5 " (5 mm) Wet snow 3/5 " (15 mm) Wet snow 6/5 " (30 mm). EU-OPS 1.480 (a) 2 defines that a runway is contaminated when more than 25 % of the surface area is covered with surface water more than 3 mm (0,125 in) deep, or by slush, or loose snow, equivalent to more than 3 mm (0,125 in) of water. Airbus used the above definition to define a performance model for contaminated runways. Airbus used this model to publish equivalences between water and contaminants in the FCOM. The equivalences are based on the relative density of the contaminants to the density of water. In the FCOM the threshold depth for each contaminant depends on the density of the contaminant relative to the density of water. Therefore, indirectly, this requirement defines the threshold depth. However, with the publication of Amendment 2 of CS.25.1591, the EASA: Updated the AMC Defined a specific performance model for loose snow Defined a new set of thresholds. For the above reasons, the aircraft databases of A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets contain dry snow and wet snow runway states. In addition, Airbus may add the new models for dry and wet snow for other aircraft types. This new model will apply to the computation tools and the FCOM, and will use the above contaminant types instead of slush.

What effect does the installation of Sharklets have on the flight operations data of A320 aircraft?
Airbus would like to provide Operators with the following information about the changes to the flight operations data of A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets: 1. Airbus updated the dimensions of A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets to indicate the installation of the Sharklet device

2. 3.

Airbus also updated the ground maneuver capability. The minimum turning radius for A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets is 22.9 m (75 ft) instead of 22 m (72 ft 2 in) for A320 aircraft equipped with Wingtip Fences Airbus defined a new limitation for fuel asymmetry at takeoff for A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets. In accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) about cockpit preparation, the flight crews check the fuel imbalance during each

flight preparation. The fuel imbalance limitation at takeoff is as follows: INNER TANKS (Fuel Quantity balanced in the OUTER TANKS Tank Fuel Quantity (Heavier tank) Full 3 000 kg (6 613 lb) 1 450 kg (3 196 lb) Maximum permitted imbalance 500 kg (1 102 lb) 1 050 kg (2 314 lb) 1 450 kg (3 196 lb)

4.

Use linear interpolation between the fuel values provided in the table above. OUTER TANKS (Fuel quantity balanced in the INNER TANKS: Maximum permitted imbalance: 370 kg (815 lb). For CAT 2 or CAT 3 Automatic Approaches and Landings, Airbus does not expect any changes to the limitations. Only the limitation on the Automatic Rollout changes. For A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets, the maximum crosswind is limited to 15 kt for Automatic Rollout. The following limitations for Automatic Rollout with one engine inoperative or one thrust reverser inoperative that are currently valid for A318, A319 and A321 aircraft will now apply to A320 aircraft with Sharklets. Therefore, the flight crew uses the remaining thrust reverser, provided that: The crosswind does not exceed 15 kt. Sharklet aircraft are equipped with Flight Warning Computer (FWC) H2F7 (MOD 153741/MP P13023). When the yaw damper is lost, the Flight Control law is enhanced for A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets. FWC H2F7 adds this modification for A320 aircraft with Sharklets, and the Flight Control law remains in alternate law when the landing gear is down and the yaw damper is lost Airbus updated the dispatch condition of Configuration Deviation List (CDL) item: 23-01 Static Discharger. The dispatch with static discharger is permitted, provided that:Only one static discharger may be missing per Sharklet if the hole is covered with high speed tape (Quotation from CDL item: 23-01 Static Discharger) No new MMEL items will be added for A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets, and only some MMEL items will be updated. For A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets, both spoilers 4 and 5 extend in the case of gusts, in order to reduce the load on the wing. In the case of a failure of spoilers 4 or 5, the MTOW will be limited to 76 400 kg (168 430 lbs) and the following MMEL items will be updated: MMEL Reference 27-64-01 27-64-03 27-64-05 27-94-01 27-94-02 MMEL Items Spoiler 5 Spoiler 2 or 4 Spoilers 3 and 4 SEC 1 SEC 2

Only IDLE reverse thrust is used

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Each Sharklet is equipped with Navigation & Strobe LED lights. These LED lights are equipped with Near End of Life (NEOL) technology. With NEOL technology, Operators can monitor the degradation of the LEDs. A small blue light below the Strobe & navigation lights flashes when the replacement of the LED is required by maintenance personnel. The Load Alleviation Function (LAF) enables load reduction on the wing structure, and is installed on all A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklets. The function performs the upward deflection of:

The two ailerons only, or The two ailerons associated with Spoilers 4 and 5.

References
For more information on this subject, please contact your Flight Operations Support Director (FOSD) and/or the following contacts:

Aircraft Performance: fltops.perfo@airbus.com Flight Operations Manuals: fltops.wbstd@airbus.com.