Wiki // Fortitude Prospect / Alteran Aerospace 3-11

As early as 1997, AAe noted there was a clear gap in the market for regional-jets; short-haul aircraft to carry smaller number of passengers on busier or shorter routes. AAe appointed Barry Scott later that year to evaluate the creation of a New Commercial Aircraft Program. AAe launched a feasibility study for a five-seat abreast aircraft at Ludlum Airshow in July 2002 to replace aging short-range aircraft with 20% lower operating costs, and 15% lower than aircraft produced at the time. The aircraft should carry 110 to 130 passengers over 3,200 nautical miles.

AAe's Board of Directors authorized marketing the aircraft on 15 March 2003, seeking firm commitments from potential customers, suppliers and government partners prior to program launch, including investing from the governments of Alteran Republics and Ainslie. The 3-11 was planned to have 3-by-2 standard seating and 4-abreast business class, 7 ft (2.1 m) stand-up headroom, fly-by-wire and side stick controls. Over 20 percent of the aircraft weight would be in composite materials for the centre and rear fuselages, tail cone, appendage and wings. First flight was planned for 2008 and entry into service later that year.

In May 1999, the 3-11 development was evaluated at US$2.1 billion, shared with suppliers and partner governments for one-third each. The Government of Alteran Republics would invest US$562.5 million and the Government of Ainslie US$140 million, repayable on a royalty basis per aircraft. The Alteran/Ainslie Government contribution is part of an investment partnership for the location of the development of the wings, engine nacelles and composite empennage structures at AAe facilities across Altera and some third-party development in Ainslie.

Design

The 3-11's cross section was designed to give enhanced seating comfort for passengers, with features like broader seats and armrests for the middle passenger and larger windows at every seat to give every passenger the physical and psychological advantages of ample natural light.

The Alteran Aerospace / Fortitude Prospect 3-11 aircraft contains a high proportion of composite materials and features larger windows. The 3-11 cabin features large, rotating overhead storage bins, allowing each passenger to stow a sizeable carry-on bag overhead. AAe claims that compared to the cabins of current in-service narrowbody aircraft, the 3-11 provides airlines with the highest overhead bin volume per passenger and a wider aisle that allows for faster boarding and disembarkation of passengers. Additionally, the aircraft contains 70% advanced materials comprising 46% composite materials and 24% aluminium-lithium. AAe claims an overall 15% lower seat-mile cost, 20% lower fuel burn and a CO2 emissions advantage, a 25% reduction in maintenance costs and four-fold reduction in the noise footprint compared to existing production aircraft.

Although designed primarily for the 4-11, the 3-11 incorporated other advanced features such as the Forward-Facing Crew Cockpit, which enabled a two-pilot flight crew to fly the aircraft alone without the need for a flight engineer, the functions of which were automated; this two-man cockpit concept was a world-first for a wide-body aircraft. Glass cockpit flight instrumentation, which used LCD monitors to display flight, navigation, and warning information, along with fully digital dual autopilots and digital flight control computers for controlling the spoilers, flaps, and leading-edge slats, were also adopted upon later-built models. Additional composites were also made use of, such as a carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), as well as their presence in an increasing proportion of the aircraft's components, including the spoilers, rudder, air brakes, and landing gear doors. Another feature of later aircraft was the addition of wing-tip fences, which generated greater aerodynamic performance.

Variants

3-11 100

The 3-11 100 is the model of aircraft that was developed, tested and built in the early 2000s. Since then, the aircraft has received a few minor updates internally. With a maximum capacity of 130 seats and a length of just over 35 metres, the 3-11 100 is the smallest of the variants, but remains one of the more popular aircraft in small-to-medium sized airline companies, retaining a 20% reduction in running costs than similar aircraft of its type.

3-11 Wedgetail

Near identical to the 100 variant, fitted with a 'tophat' non-rotary active electronically scanned array radar antenna, capable of tracking targets up to 850 km.

3-11 MPA

The 3-11 MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) is a modified variant of the original 3-11 100 commercial aircraft. In addition to its lost running costs, the MPA conversion features an array of equipment suited for its role, ranging from radar and sonar suites, to torpedo and sensor launchers. First delivered to the Alteran Air Force in 2017, it has since seen rapid adoption across allied states.

Specifications

Operators

• Alteran Overseas Airways Corporation - Alteran Republics (Passenger)

• Confederate Airways - Alteran Republics (Passenger)

• dragonFly - Alteran Republics (Passenger)

• ZIP! - Alteran Republics (Passenger)
  

Liveries

Alteran Republics's 3-11 100 of dragonFly	Norstham's 3-11 100 of SAAFAS
Athara magarat's 3-11 100 of Magarati Airlines
Unpainted 3-11 100 / MPA	Unpainted 3-11 Wedgetail

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