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Aviation History
1975
1975 - 2118.PDF
FLIGHT International, 9 October 1975 A paddle-bladed propeller is used to absorb the power of the Wright Cyclone newly installed in the Emair MA-/B agricultural aircraft (see news story) AIR TRANSPORT., LIGHT COMMERCIAL & BUSINESS 521 Shetlands lose regular service Scheduled services within the Shetland Islands have been withdrawn by Loganair, largely because of the reluctance of the Shetland Islands Council to agree to an annual subsidy of £40,000. The service has been at a disadvantage since Tingwall airfield, serving the largest town in the islands (Lerwick), was closed earlier this year. Loganair has operated in compe tition with inter-island ferry boats but in at least two cases strips have been served for which no alternative service is regularly available. Loganair is to retain one aircraft in the area for emergency use. There are reports that the Shetland Islands Council is discussing a replacement service with a Scottish-based air-taxi operator. More power for Emair A new version of the Emair agri cultural biplane, the MA-IB, is undergoing flight develop ment at the manufacturer's Harlingen, Texas, plant. The 600 h.p. R1340 engine of current production aircraft has been replaced by a 1,200 h.p. Wright R1820; this will be de-rated for certification at 900 h.p. The company says that it does not intend to increase the gross weight of the aircraft but the extra power will allow bigger payloads to be carried under FAR Part 8 regulations. Deliveries are planned to begin early in 1976 and existing aircraft can be converted. J Learjet field-performance gain The Learjet 25B and 25C have been cleared for improved field-length performances after a series of flight and engineering tests recently per formed in New Mexico. The US Federal Aviation Administration had imposed some penalties on operations from airfields higher than 3,000ft above sea level because tests were not completed during initial certification in 1970. For an airfield at 5,000ft and 80°F, the Learjet now requires a balanced field length of 6,300ft, a nine per cent improvement. The improvement becomes more marked at higher levels and reaches 17 per cent for airfields at 7,000ft. LongRanger certified The Bell 206L LongRanger was certificated by the FAA on September 22 and deliveries will start this month. The LongRanger is 25in longer than the JetRanger and has seven seats in place of the smaller model's five. It is powered by an Allison 250-C20B turbine of 420 h.p. and features the Bell Noda-Matic transmission suspension system. Howard/Raisbeck Learjet flying The advanced-technology Howard/Raisbeck conversion of a Learjet 25 has completed certification flight tests at Seattle. Data reduction is in progress and a supplemental type certificate is expected to be issued this month. Aerofoil changes use supercritical- wing technology; vortex generators have been removed and wing strakes added to give a reduction of more than ten per cent in cruising fuel consumption. At maximum landing weight the approach speed is reduced by 17kt compared with the standard aircraft and alterations to flap settings have brought about a reduction in V» speed of 22kt at maximum take-off weight. The price of conver sion kits has been set at $52,500 and installation will be carried out by Dee Howard at San Antonio, Texas. Helicopter convention The annual convention of the Helicopter Association of America will be held at Tucson, Arizona, on January 25-28, 1976. Full details can be obtained from the HAA, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 610, Washington DC-20005, USA. The ninth production Corvette, above, is the first to be fully certificated in the United States, where it acts as a demonstrator for the Aero spatiale Aircraft Corp. Right, the Merlin IV, serial No 8, is owned by Texfi of Greensboro, North Carolina. It achieves 600hr per year of mainly single-crew operation *J^*EmJ/f±
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