MPC 75

MPC 75 was an aircraft project of the company "MPC Aircraft GmbH" a subsidiary of "Deutsche Airbus". Work on the project was done mainly between 1988 and 1992 in Hamburg, Germany. Predevelopment work was finished, however the project never got the "go ahead" and never made it into full development.

History

MPC 75 development was started by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) in 1988 in Hamburg, Germany. The name "MPC" was formed from "MBB" and "Peoples Republic of China" because the project was a German - Chinese joint venture. China was represented by China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC). In the wake of restructuring German aerospace companies in 1989, MBB was taken over and the MPC 75 project came under "Deutsche Airbus GmbH". "Deutsche Airbus GmbH" was representing the independent German part of the Airbus consortium. For the development of MPC 75 restructuring did not make a difference since the same engineers continued the design work.[1]

On 07.01.1989 "MPC Aircraft Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung" (HRB41092) - abbreviated to "MPC Aircraft GmbH" - was founded with head office in Hamburg. Eventually it became a 100% subsidiary of "Deutsche Airbus GmbH". "MPC Aircraft GmbH" formally took over the MPC 75 project. On 13.12.1994 the company was renamed to "MPCA Multi Purpose Commuter Aircraft GmbH" reflecting the end of the German - Chinese cooperation. Abbreviated the company name remained "MPC Aircraft GmbH".[2]

The first design of the MPC 75 was a 75-seat (4 abreast) regional jet, with an open rotor propfan and a T-tail. In the later development, the design changed to an 89-seat (5 abreast) regional jet, with conventional turbofan engines and a conventional empennage (MPC 75-100). A stretched version with a capacity of 115 seats was also planned (MPC 75-200).[3]

The fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control technology accumulated in the project was later fed into a research aircraft called Advanced Technology Demonstrator ATD. The ATD was a revived VFW 614.[1]

Construction

The MPC 75 was designed with a high amount of composite materials to save structural weight. Flight control was based on fly-by-wire with sides-sticks and CRT displays. The jet had two high bypass ratio engines. The new technologies would have led to low operational costs per trip and seat compared to other aircraft at that time.[3]

References

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Literature

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