FUCHT International, 20 May 1971

722
KEY
1 Weather radar
2 Forward pressure bulkhead
3 Pitot tube (both sides)
4 Incidence vane (both sides)
5 Single-curvature windscreen
panels
6 Rearward-sliding
clear-view
panels

7 Two-crew flight deck (Air

Inter will have three crew)
8 Nose-wheel steering
Cabin-crew
foldaway seats
9
10 Forward galley
11 Forward toilet
12 Unpressurised nose-wheel bay
13 Air-conditioned avionics bay
14 Arinc-standard sealed avionics packages (Bendix flight
system)

PRODUCTION MERCURE
The second prototype Mercure and subsequent pre-production and
production aircraft (the latter depicted here) have slats which extend normal
to the leading edge, as opposed to the parallel-to-flight extension of those
on the prototype. The latter are aerodynamically more efficient, but
mechanically more complex. The undercarriage has also been re-designed
with a more positive down-lock system and new oleo. Noise research
continues, so the retractable Snecma " s p a d e " silencers shown in the
drawings by " F l i g h t " artist John Marsden may not be representative of the
final noise-suppression system
Integrally-machined window-surround panels are used. The circular-section cabin is fractionally wider
than that of the 707 at elbow height

FLIGHT International, 20 May 1971

IS
IS
17
18

19
20

Forward-retracting M e s s i e r
nose undercarriage
Forward freight hold capable
of taking five 727-type containers
Enclosed hand-baggage boxes
Six-abreast seating variable
between 134 at 34in pitch and
155 at 30in pitch. Air Inter will
probably use 146 seats at 32in
pitch
Continuous seat rails
Three, m a c h i n e d fuselage/
wing-spar pick-up frames

723
21 Over - wing, inward - opening
escape hatches (size and
number sufficient for 180
passengers
to
allow
for
possible stretching of the
airframe)
22 O v e r - w i n g , l o n g i t u d i n a l ,
machined floor-support beams
23 Air conditioning bay beneath
wing centre box
24 Undercarriage bay (unpressurlsed) with hydraulics bay at
rear
Glass-fibre insulated blankets
clipped between frames
Polarised windows

27 Rear insulated freight hold

34 Fully iettisonable cabin and
capable of taking four 727-type
service doors. A self-contained
containers
airstair will probably be fitted
28 Outward-opening freight door
at the left front door
Inward-opening
door
to
bag29
35 Two rear toilets
gage compartment
36 Rear pressure dome
30 Integrally machined and cold37 Machined fin/fuselage attachformed 16ft 6in window-surment ring frame (doubled in
round panels
upper segment)
31 Close-spaced, constant pitch
38 Cut-outfor horizontal stabilise
(16.7in) notched frames (failsafe structure)
70in x 34 in
Built-up floor grid
Cabin-crew foldaway seats
C"vT

Pivot frame
Isolated Garrett
auxiliary power unit
APU intake grille (right side
only)
APU exhaust
APU service door
Two/three-spar fin box structure

Integrally m a c h i n e d
stringer structure
Multiple fin-attachment points
Front fin-spar torque link
Two-spar horizontal stabiliser
and centre box
Integrally m a c h i n e d skin/
stringer structure
Detachable tips
Two plate-and-angle, built-up
wing spars
Integrally machined ribs
Integrally machined upper and
lower skin panels, each in four
main spanwise sections to
preserve fail-safe philosophy
Multiple - bolt, wing / fuselage
attachmant
Detail of above
L e a d l n g - e d ge slats* with
chemically etched skins
Hot-air anti-icing air ducts
and telescopic link
Detachable tip
F o r w a r d - c r a n k e d , inwardretracting Messier main undercarriage (stowage provision
made for longer legs of
proposed stretched aircraft)
Air conditioning
A l Air-conditioning ram-air intakes (both sides) to cabin
via heat exchanger turbocompressor and mixer box
Hot air bled from engine 8th
and 13th stage (h-p) compressor which is cooled then
fed down leading-edge pipes
to heat exchangers turbocompressor and mixer box
Main ducts from mixer
key continued overleaf

724

FLIGHT International, 20 May 1971

K e y continued from previous page

A4
A5
A6
A7
A8

Flexible riser pipes t o central

overhead d i s t r i b u t i o n d u c t
Bifurcated j o i n t
Floor-level outlet grille
C a b i n pressure regulation
valves ( o v e r b o a r d d u m p )
Riser pipes t o
individual
p a s s e n g e r fresh-air o u t l e t s

Controls
CI
Control columns with pitchtrim switches
C2
Central c o n s o l e w i t h roll and
yaw t r i m w h e e l s
C3
Rudder
pedals
with toe
brakes
C4
Cables to servo c o n t r o l s
C5
Horizontal - s t a b i l i s e r t r i m
m o t o r and screw jack
C6
Duplex (hydraulic and electrohydraulic) linkage servo
C7
P u s h - p u l l links
C8
D o u b l e - b o d y hydraulic servo
unit
C9
Bellcranks
(independent
upper
and
lower
rudder
controls)
CIO P u s h - p u l l rods
C11 I n d e p e n d e n t upper and lower
rudders
C12 T w i n - b o d y hydraulic rudder
servo
C13 A i l e r o n cables t o servo
C14 T w i n - b o d y hydraulic aileron
servo
C15 Hydraulic s p o i l e r a c t u a t o r s
C16 T i t a n i u m f l a p - g u i d e rails
C17 Flap-drive hydraulic
screw
jacks

C18 Flap t o r q u e t u b e s
C19 Fully retracted and l a n d i n g p o s i t i o n flap details
C20 Leading-edge slat hydraulic
actuator
with
protective
shroud
Fuel s y s t e m
F1 T w o i n t e r - c o n n e c t e d integral
main f u e l tanks
F2 V e n t tanks
F3 O v e r - w i n g , gravity
fuelling
p o i n t s (one per w i n g )
F4 Pressure refuel/defuel panel
( r i g h t side l e a d i n g - e d g e only
o u t b o a r d of pylon)
F5 Main engine-feed pipe
F6 C r o s s - f e e d pipe
F7 V e n t pipe
F8 B o o s t p u m p s o u t s i d e main
w i n g box
Powerplant
PI
Pratt & W i t n e y JT8D-15 of
15,500lb (69kN) t h r u s t (JT8D-11
fitted t o f i r s t prototype)
P2 A n t i - v i b r a t i o n m o u n t i n g
P3 Split, hinged c o w l d o o r s ( u p w a r d o p e n i n g for eye-level
maintenance)
P4
Snecma/Dassault-developed
t h r u s t reverser and silencer
system
P5 Cascades revealed by aftsliding cowl
P 6 Blocker d o o r s
P7 Plug nozzle h o u s i n g noisesuppression " s p a d e s "

this year, as it is here that the second prototype will be

assembled ready for a first flight in January 1972. Twin
production lines, capable of producing five Mercures a
month, could be laid down, but initial rates will obviously
be much lower.
Production aircraft wings should begin to flow from the
Martignas factory, due for completion near Bordeaux in
July, while a start on the Poitiers plant, which will build
rear fuselages, was made in March this year. Dassault has
also decided to enlarge its Argonnex factory, near Annecy,
which makes the servo controls for all the company's
aircraft.
Fiat is responsible for 10 per cent of the Mercure
programme. On the prototype it builds the T4 and T5
fuselage sections at Turin plus the tail unit, while for the
production aircraft it builds only the last fuselage section
and the empennage. Casa, which bears 8 per cent of the
total costs, builds fuselage sections at Seville, while Sabca
(6 per cent) concentrates its Mercure manufacturing
efforts in its Haren-Brussels plant.
While production capacity is being expanded, the one
major Mercure research programmethat on noise
continues. As previously mentioned, the Mercure should
be exempt from the FAA Part 36 noise requirements but,
anticipating an uphill fight to get a foreign aircraft into
the American market, especially if it were noisy and also
much smaller than the quiet airbuses, Dassault embarked
upon studies into noise as early as 1967. There is a possibility that a noise-attenuation retrofit programme might be
required by the FAA at some time. This would hang like

Distance (statute miles)

500

D A S S A U L T MERCURE. . .
operation, will be in the region of $6 million (2-5 million).
One of the pre-production Mercures, which is already
under construction and due to fly in October 1972, will
be used in the flight test programme together with the two
prototypes.
Production components will begin to be built next year
at scattered locations over Europe, because Mercure is
a collaborative programme with Fiat, Sabca of Belgium,
Casa of Spain and the Swiss National Aircraft Factory at
Emmen as risk-sharing partners. The French share of
developments costs is 70 per cent, of which the Government
is loaning 80 per cent, so Dassault has only about 10
million or so tied up in pure development, but as to find
the money to finance production. The company is privately
owned, and there are apparently no worries on that score.
With heavy production commitments on the Mirage 3,
F.l, and the Falcon 20, and with the Falcon 10 on the way,
there will be no room left in the existing plants to accomodate the Mercure. So Dassault has demonstrated its faith
in the type by building or enlarging five factories. The
first stone was laid for the first Mercure plant, at Seclin,
near Lille, last November, and construction work began
in January this year. This factory will be equipped with
digitally-monitored machines, and large-scale primary parts
will be built there.
Production at Seclin will be managed by Societe Generate
de Mecanique Aeronautique, a subsidiary of the Dassault
group. By October this year, over 86,000 sq ft, 8,000m2 will
be ready for operation, and by the end of January 1972,
the entire plant will be completed (representing an initial
area of 215,300 sq ft, 20,000m-). Final assembly of the
production aircraft, and flight testing will be done at
Istres, near Marseilles, although the Ol prototype was
assembled at Bordeaux Merignac. The land set aside for
the Istres plant represents an area of nearly 3-8 million
sq ft, 350,000m2 and of this the buildings will occupy
approximately 270,000 sq ft, 25,000m2.
This new plant will be partially complete at the end of

1,000

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1,500

(km)
Above, Dassault
claims a direct seat-mile
cost reduction
of up to 12
per cent for the Mercure
when compared
with
current
in-service
types on a stage of about 600 miles, 1,000km. Below, the
estimated
payload range with full ATA 67 reserves
Distance (statutemiles)
500