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Aviation History
1972
1972 - 0010.PDF
«^- FLIGHT International, 6 January 1972 GROWING AGAIN IMPROVED traffic growth—but less-than-adequate profita bility—is forecast for 1972 by the director-general of the International Air Transport Association, Knut H. Hammarskjbld, in a New Year statement. Mr Hammarskjold said that lata members' passenger traffic was expected to increase by at least 7 per cent to a total of 270 million passengers and 236,000 million passenger-miles, and that freight traffic would increase by 10 per cent. Traffic growth in 1971, he said, was depressed by a poor economic climate in the main traffic-generating countries. TRISTAR'S INITIAL TICKET... A PROVISIONAL airworthiness certificate was granted to the Lockheed TriStar by the US Federal. Aviation Adminis tration on December 27, two months ahead of schedule. This certificate permits delivery of aircraft for non-revenue purposes including route-proving and demonstration flights. Full certification for the type is expected on April 15. Initial deliveries of the TriStar to Eastern Airlines and TWA for crew training are expected in March. During 1972 Lockheed expects to deliver 22 TriStars. ...AND ITS ENGINE IS READY IF ALL continues to go well, the RB.211-22 should be qualified for its certification in the near future. The flight development situation, according to the latest information available as this issue went to press, was that there had been no new mechanical failures; a small performance loss in the high-pressure compressor had been made good during type testing of the latest production- standard engines, and the 150hr flight-test-approval pro gramme had gone successfully. A compressor-blade crack was found to be due to an easily corrected manufacturing fault rather than to an aerodynamic deficiency. Turbine temperatures are within the guarantees, running in standard conditions at 1530K for take-off and 1480K for cruise. The engines have been successfully flown in freezing fog fortuitously encountered in the Lockheed TriStar flight trials. Deliveries are a few weeks behind schedule but are not affecting TriStar customer commitments. The usual difficulty at this stage of modifi cations being outpaced by production is having to be tackled. One problem which caused Lockheed anxiety was uncon nected with the engine. Specific fuel consumption was found to be ten per cent above guarantees. The National Gas Turbine Establishment in England carried out a "crash" investigation, as a result of which Lockheed and Rolls-Royce corrected errors in the fuel-measuring equip ment. Officials in the British Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive, who are responsible for the RB.211 programme, are well aware that the real testing time will come when the TriStar is in service, but according to one source close to the project "there are no red lights." The engine is felt to be a marked advance over its competitors both in quietness and fuel consumption; at two per cent over the line,, this is within the guarantees. It is now believed that there is much more thrust stretch in the RB.211-22 engine than was originally thought. There are hopes of more than 45,0001b take-off static thrust using the new cast instead of forged turbine blades. Other airframe applications are being studied, including a VC10 development with two RB.211s. There are also said to be some attractive marine applications, and Hawker Siddeley is examining the possibility of RB.211- powered version of the A-300B for BEA and other markets. Politically the RB.211 is thought by the British Government to put Rolls-Royce in a strong position in the forthcoming negotiations to establish closer ties with the European aero-engine industry. PSA TO DROP TRISTAR? CANCELLATION by Pacific Southwest Airlines of its order for two TriStars (with options on a further three) last week is an aftermath of the Rolls-Royce/Lockheed financial crisis. Following the refinancing of Lockheed under Government guarantee the company began re negotiation of the contracts with all its TriStar customers, and was able to complete the arrangements with all except PSA. The airline confirmed that this failure was attribu table to differences over a Lockheed request for revision of the airframe and engine price and specifications. PSA has said that it intends to re-evaluate its choice of the TriStar. The airline has of course been the target of sales activity by McDonnell Douglas, which can now offer earlier delivery than it could have done when the PSA trijet order was first being negotiated. (The two PSA TriStars are for delivery in 1973.) The possibility exists therefore that PSA will change sides, although the airline has indicated that timing is not such a critical factor. Subsequent reported statements from the airline indicate that it may simply be driving a hard bargain over the renegotiation of the contract, and that talks with Lockheed are to continue. The PSA president, J. Floyd Andrews, was reported as saying that the hitch was precipitated by an earlier agreement with Lockheed to complete matters by the end of last year. PSA has more over deposited money with Lockheed, although with a moratorium on progress payments during the Lockheed crisis the amount may be relatively small. 001 VISIT DELAYED THE visit of Concorde 001 to Britain, planned for Decem ber 29, was cancelled because of an engine fault which was described as minor. The visit to Fairford was expected to take place this week. Its purpose is to carry out calibration tests to ensure comparability of British and French test instrumentation. F.28 HALF-CENTURY THE sale of three F.28 Fellowships to Garuda and one to Aviaction-Kassel, announced just before Christmas, brings total orders for the type to 50. Of these 35 have been delivered. For Garuda it is a repeat order, the airline already having six. Aviaction-Kassel Flugtouristik, a West German operator based in Kassel, will take delivery of its aircraft, a Mk 1000, in March; it will be operated under a technical pooling agreement by the Hamburg-based Aviaction Hanseatische Luftreederei, which has three F.28s. Identity of an existing Fellowship customer was also revealed by Fokker-VFW as being the Indonesian operator Pelita/Pertamina. The single aircraft which it ordered has already been delivered. M45H FINANCE PROGRESS AGREEMENT in principle on the financing arrangements for the Rolls-Royce/Snecma'M45H, the powerplant for the VFW 614, has been reached between the British and West German Governments, it was announced recently. The
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