More than 100 years ago the first Internationale Luftschifffahrt Ausstellung - ILA (Int. Airship Exhibition) took place in Frankfurt / Main. The ILA in 2010 has nothing to do with airships anymore, nevertheless its history is related to this epoch-making event. The exhibits also might have changed (and definitely do), the basic concept still remains: to show the professional audience as well as the public the latest achievements in aviation technology and also offering the participating companies the opportunity to sell their products. The ILA is held bi-annually. Since 1994 it has been located on the Berlin-Schoenefeld Airport in the south of the German capital city of Berlin. The enormous economic revival of Germany as a location for the aviation industry after the reunification made the ILA into one of the leading and most important European Fairs. This is clearly visible by the ever-increasing amount of exhibitors (1,153 companies from 47 different countries, compared to 1,127 in 2008) as well as the total sum of all business transactions at the ILA (14 Billion Euro). With this the ILA advances towards the status of leading European exhibitions with France (Le Bourget) and the United Kingdom (Farnborough)

At every aviation fair the industry always displays their latest aircraft to the public. THE Highlight in Berlin in 2010 was for sure the prototype of the AIRBUS A400M. As there are only two aircraft of this type at the moment flying, both having logged a total of only 250 flying hours, it is quite unusual that they are already on display in this early stage of test flying. The reason for his definitely has a political background. The MilitAIRBUS, as it is playfully called, is far behinds its schedule. Enormous technical problems caused not only a dramatic increase in costs but also a delay of a minimum of 3 years until the first production aircraft will be handed over to the customer . Altogether some 180 orders have been placed for this large transport aircraft up until today (the German Luftwaffe has ordered 60 A400M, which shall replace their obsolete and for strategic use completely unsuitable C-160 TRANSALL). As the German Government has just announced a financial austerity package (which hits beside the underprivileged also the Armed Forces) it is quite unsure at present whether this order can be kept sustainable.

The maiden flight of the A400M took place on December the 11th of 2009 in the Spanish City of Seville and lasted approximately 4 hours. Beside Germany the other launch customers are Spain, France, UK, Belgium and Turkey. South Africa has already withdrawn their order and Malaya hasn’t even placed their expected order. The A400M´s performance is definitely outstanding – at least on paper. The max. payload is about 37t (for comparison: Boeing C-17 Globemaster III: 77 t;  Lockheed C-130J Hercules: 21,6 t). Fully loaded the A400M still has a range of 3,300 km, which is not that much compared to the heavies, like the Antonov An-124 or the Boeing C-17, but in contrast to the mentioned aircraft the A400M combines the strategic concept with the tactical component. This concept focuses more on the C-130 HERCULES than on the GLOBEMASTER III. The A400M is powered by four Europrop International (EPI) TP400-D6 Turboprops, which are built by a consortium consisting of the companies Rolls Royce, MTU, Snecma Moteurs as well as ITP. Each engine is rated at 11.000 SHP, which allows the huge cargo plane a top-speed of almost 750 km/h.

The whole project was (and maybe still is) on a knife’s edge for a very long time due to the mentioned problems above. Because of this it was very much essential for EADS to display the A400M at the ILA, just to show the public and even more the politicians that the European Future Transport Aircraft progresses and takes shape. While on display at Berlin the A400 M was banking up to 120°, and this with approximately 20 t of sensors and additional instruments on board. Unfortunately it was on display only until Wednesday (the second trade day) and had to go back to progress with it’s test program. Many visitors were not really amused by the fact that they didn’t see the A400M as this was always announced as the highlight of the ILA 2010. Very displeasing was the fact, that a well-known News-TV company broadcasted a so-called live-stream on Friday where the A400M was shown as well, even if that particular aircraft had already gone home! This (very unfair and misleading) kind of advertising should not be undertaken in the terms of the ILA’s organisation.

The part of the commercial aircraft was clearly dominated by the biggest airliner of all times, the magnificent Airbus A380-800. On the first two trade days (Tuesday & Wednesday) an A380 from EMIRATES took part in the static display, from Thursday on the prototype of the A380 was also seen in the flying display. EMIRATES placed a huge order for 32 A380 aircraft on the first day of the ILA, which increases the total of A380’s ordered by this airline to 90(!) aircraft (EMIRATES has ordered a first batch of 58 A380 whereas 10 of these have been already delivered thus far). This makes EMIRATES, with its head office in Dubai, the biggest customer of this huge airliner. The first of the 15 A380´s ordered for the German LUFTHANSA has been put into service. The first flight was leaving Frankfurt Int. towards Johannesburg. On board was the National Soccer Team, which flew to South Africa to win the World championship (if they lose they ought to fly back in a DC-3). Beside the huge order placed by EMIRATES some other contracts did almost disappear in the crowd. The German airline GERMANIA signed a memorandum of understanding for 5 Airbus A319’s, which also means a complete brand change for their fleet (GERMANIA owns a fleet of Boeing 737). FINNAIR placed an order for 5 Airbus A321.

In case of military hardware big deals were not expected. The display of the German Luftwaffe included the mandatory evacuation exercise. Due to lack of space in the exhibition area in Berlin all aircraft had to take off and land from Laage AB. Even the Eurofighter EF-2000 display was flown from Laage. In return the static display of the Bundeswehr (Federal Army) was more than comprehensive which was very much appreciated by the visitors. One novelty, the display of the Airbus A310 MRTT was, at least for our taste, a bit underrepresented. For the first time in the history the German Luftwaffe has it’s own aerial tanker available. The Luftwaffe has ordered four A310 MRTT which gives their aircraft not only an almost unlimited range but also an independence. Originally the A310 MRTT were former LUFTHANSA aircraft, which were converted and upgraded by the Lufthansa Technik AG (Lufthansa’s maintenance facility). The Canadian Armed Forces have also ordered two A 310 MRTT, which are used under the designation CC-150T POLARIS.

The amount of warbirds and oldtimers was always a big issue at former ILA’s. As the ILA celebrates its 100th anniversary there should be no difference in this case either. Unfortunately the ILA 2010 didn’t really achieve their goal. Of course the Messerschmitt foundation were present with their Me 109G as well as the Me 262 replica. But their flying display was, sorry to say, just boring (once due to the fact that they have to fly their valuable aircraft very carefully but on the other hand because of the stringent safety rules in Germany. Every year they increase the minimum flight level for displays as well as the distance to the public. But the worst aspect (in Berlin) was the fact, that they let all warbirds start their take off routine from the centre of the whole runway, which means, that the aircraft were airborne when they were far out of sight of the public. Dear organisers, dear Messerschmitt foundation: you really should save the fuel for such a display. It is wonderful to hear the sound of a 12 cylinder Daimler Benz DB 605, but it is absolutely depressing, if you have to search for that great aircraft with a magnifier when it flies its display. The same could be said for a marvellous restored Hawker SEA FURY or the Lockheed P-38 LIGHTNING from the Flying Bulls, just to mention a few. Only the big birds, like the Douglas DC-6 or the North American B-25J MITCHELL (both owned by the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull ) could be seen and/or photographed more or less satisfactorily. I know, at this moment all the notorious objection raisers and safety fanatics will raise their voices (and their index fingers). But I just wanna give cause for concern that it seems to be no safety problem, when a transport aircraft is doing loops and barrel rolls in front of the crowd (the Italian Alenia C-27J SPARTAN) or when a huge passenger aircraft turns in a low-level flight straight above the active terminal of an airport. To prevent accidents is one of the most serious commandments on an airshow – no question. But it is a waste of time and money if the flying display of an aircraft is closer to the moon than to the earth.

At every ILA another country acts as a partner nation. In 2008 it had been India and in 2006 it was Russia. The partner for 2010 was Switzerland. This small Alpine nation has possessed a potent, independent aviation industry for a long time. Beside famous names like PILATUS, there has appeared a new top dog in the form of the company RUAG, which was founded in 1999 and belongs to the Swiss Government. RUAG has close links to the EADS group. A far-reaching contract was signed at the ILA which includes a close cooperation in case of Defence industry sector and the Defence Technology. Thus EADS has a now a strong partner in their effort to sell the Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon to the Swiss Air Force. RUAG also showed a novelty in Berlin, even if this wasn’t really recognised by many visitors, as this aircraft, the Dornier Do-228 is well known since many years. The Swiss company relaunched this 19 seat passenger aircraft and retrofitted it with a brand as the Swiss F/A-18C HORNET solo display from Fliegerstaffel 11

Verdict: The ILA is 100 years old! Almost 300 aircraft were celebrating this jubilee duly. Although the weather was fine only on the trade days and the quality of the flying program was not as good as in previous years, the ILA 2010 was THE major event in Germany – in case of aviation indeed. The next show is already on schedule: 12th – 17th June 2012 the next ILA takes place (again) on the (hopefully finished new aerodrome BBI (Berlin-Brandenburg-International). Everybody hopes that when the new airport is finished also the huge delays in the flying program, caused by take offs and landings of regular passenger jets are history, actually this is what the organiser claims. The confirmation for the ILA 2012 also means the long discussion of the location of future ILA’s is history – at least  for once. Let us look forward for the next 100 years!

Robert Kysela