FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1975
1975 - 2185.PDF
FLIGHT International, 16 October 1975 551 The British Airports Authority operates a Rockwell Shrike Commander 500S fitted with a nose camera for the inspection of airfield lighting. An article on this new method of checking airport visual aids begins on page 580 EEC gives airliner costs The newly published action pro gramme for European aerospace (see page 553) examines a range of airliner developments and includes some new cost and . timescale estimates. In the small airliner class the EEC, having consulted Aecma, the Euro pean aerospace industry association, postulates a 100-seat F. 28 development powered by Spey 72s and a VFW 614 with uprated M45Hs. Launch costs (in 1974 dollars throughout) would be $93-2 million for the F.28 airframe, $70-2 million for the Spey 72 and $11-7 million for the VFW 614 air frame. R&D and airframe tooling for Spey- powered first developments of the BAC One-Eleven and Trident, the One-Eleven 700 and Trident 3C, would respectively cost $95 million and $130 million. In the 110/180-seat class, R&D and tooling costs, with tooling accounting in each case for 45 to 50 per cent of the total, would be $235 million for the 144-seat One-Eleven 800, $228 to $273 million for the 147-seat, 2,800km- range Mercure 200 (which could be reduced by $64 million by using the existing airframe of the Mercure 02 prototype), $260 million for the 142- seat, 2,100km-range Trident airframe and $270 million for the European half-share of the CFM56 engine. The cost of JT10D development was not revealed by the manufacturers. In the large-capacity class, the Air bus A300B10 with a shortened 214- seat Cabin and 5,300km range would cost $97-6 million to launch. The fitting of RB.211-524 engines would cost a further $31-2 million for new nacelles and minor system changes. In the long-haul field, the EEC accepts the manufacturers' forecast of 40 to 50 Concorde sales by 1990 and indicates an estimated cost of $114-5 million (1974) for the noise reductions and range improvements offered by the B version. EEC also postulates the develop ment and tooling costs of the A300B11, with the 214-seat -B10 fuselage and four ten-tonne engines, at $833 million. Assuming a produc tion rate of two per month for the. first five years and three per month for the next five years, the total sales figure would be $4,675 million for 275 aircraft. The Community believes that Europe should achieve total long-haul sales amounting to $6,070 million and representing 12 per cent of the West's long-haul market between 1975 and 1990. An alternative and less attractive long-haul solution would be the development of a new narrow-bodied 190/225-seater with a range of 10,000/ 12,000km. Such a type might become the basis of a new family of airliners and could be launched for $1,041 million. French push at South African show Of the two hangars occupied by exhibitors at Air Africa International, the South African aviation exhibition held at Lanseria from September 30 to October 5, one was entirely taken up by 16 exhibitors from the French aerospace industry. Sales of up to 40 Aerospatiale Rallye and Avions Robin models are expected to result directly from the show, total sales during which have been estimated at £2-8 million. Altogether 117 exhibitors from eight countries took part in the show, during which three days were reserved for trade visitors and three days were open to the public. Bob Hoover, Tom Poborezny and Maurice Serre were among the individual aero- batic specialists who performed during the flying* display, which also featured the South African Air Force "Silver Falcons"—a team of four Impalas. Participants from the United Kingdom included Hawker Siddeley's demonstration HS.125-600 and a Britten-Norman Islander. The military version of the Australian Govern ment Aircraft Factories Nomad—the Mission Master—took part in the show during its prolonged post-Paris demonstration tour. Four business jets were displayed—the'Falcon 10, Learjet 24D and Citation as well as the HS.125 —but it was the Scorpion TOO mini- helicopter which attracted attention, to the tune of 28 orders in three days. Mercury spillage at Gatwick A sharp-eyed Gatwick airport worker last week spotted traces of mercury on the ground beneath a recently arrived British Caledonian, BAC One-Eleven. The metal had leaked from a cargo package contain ing electrical equipment and the air craft was cleared for a corrosion check. Although it was later found that the consignment had contained only 3 c.c. of mercury, the spillage of corrosive fluids in air-transport aircraft nevertheless continues to SENSOR Pratt & Whitney is confident that the JT9D's blade-failure epidemic, which has been causing some 747 operators great inconvenience in the last few months, has been diagnosed and cured. A major prob lem has been blade anti-corrosion coating, removal of which before recoating has eroded blade- material strength. There is little chance of an agreed British Airways/BCAL "route- swap," though professional relations are good between the negotiating teams. Differences are deep and will have to be resolved by the Trade Secretary, Mr Shore. An exchange of BA's South American routes for BCAL's African routes to achieve continental "spheres of influence" is now improbable, as is the operation of Concorde on London-Rio. French initiatives to collaborate with the USA are coming from both Government and industry. Pressure is strongest from Snecma, which needs an application for its CFM56. As in Britain in the sixties, engine policy is beginning to lead airframe policy, with an application needed also for the military M53. The French and British ministers responsible for civil aerospace, M Cavaille and Lord Beswick, both feel that they have made the running in Anglo-French co-opera tion initiatives. Viewed from Brussels, Britain is unable to take any decisions because of nationalisa tion distractions while France is trying to frighten Europe with threats of co-operation with the USA. The Aerospatiale AS.200 designation covers a range of projects including the AS.200-20 with two engines, -30 with three and -40 with four. Current favourites are the AS.200- 23M or AS.200-24M (M for CFM56). Aerospatiale sees two military transports as possible programmes to reload its design offices. One is the four-engined Airbus for use as a long-range military transport between France and its overseas areas of influence. The other is a twin-jet tactical transport to re place the Noratlas and Transall, though both these are currently due to remain in service well into the 1980s. The "anglicised" HSD Sparrow with the Marconi homing head appears to one US fighter manufacturer to be the world's best medium-range air-to-air missile, and the Matra Magic the best short-range dog- fighting weapon. Damage to the British Airways Trident involved in an aborted take off at Bilbao last month is less severe than was at first feared. The operational implications of the accident—caused by an apparent loss of acceleration on a wet run way—are being closely investigated by Spanish and British authorities.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
