Comtran Ltd. has its Stage 4-compliant SuperQ MD-80 on display here. It is partnered with Jet Technologies in the modification program, which permits all MD-80 series aircraft to meet Stage 4 noise requirements in the US and EASA Chapter 4 requirements with approximately a 2-dB margin, Director Dalton Kaye told ATWOnline. The package consists of a jet nozzle that is fully certified by FAA and a cone mixer that is in the STC process, while Pratt & Whitney has supplied an NTO letter for the program, he said. The hushkit does not require any changes to the aircraft flight manual, weight and balance, thrust reverser operation, crew training or maintenance.

Added benefits of the package include a 1%-1.5% improvement in SFC, said Kaye, along with a 10 deg. C reduction in EGT that will save $90-$95,000 per year in maintenance costs, according to an independent study commissioned by Comtran. Installation can be done in 4 hr. on wing. "Aircraft come in Stage 3 and fly out Stage 4," he said. Price of the kits is $895,000 per shipset. Comtran and Jet Technologies also are developing a blended winglet that was on the display aircraft. It will be available next year and offers a 4%-4.5% improvement in fuel burn.

Close to 1,200 MD-80 family aircraft were built before production ended in 1998. Of these, 1,121 still exist, according Airclaims' CASE database, which further shows that 971 are in service and 150 are stored. Kaye sees a market for the SuperQ program that encompasses virtually all these aircraft. "We're very excited about it. It adds a lot of value to the MD-80, and with that size fleet they are going to be in business for a long time to come."