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Aviation History
1976
1976 - 0003.PDF
PLIGHT International, wfe 3 January 1976 3 Four prototypes have now made their first flights inside 19 weeks and increasing emphasis is being placed on exercising the nav-attack system. The spadework already put in by the two avionics carry-trials Buccaneers is proving very useful. The next prototype to fly will be 07 in Germany, probably in early March, and this will be followed in April/ May by Britain's 08 and, later in the summer, by Italy's 09. RB.211-524 certificated Rolls-Royce's 50,0001b-thrust RB.211- 524 has received its British certificate of airworthiness and the first produc tion engine has been completed and sent for bench-testing. Observing that the -524 is the most powerful aero engine ever developed in Europe, the manufacturer says that production engines will be delivered to Lockheed and Boeing during 1976—for Saudia's long-range TriStars and British Air ways' Boeing 747-236Bs respectively. Development was completed "com fortably within the budget agreed 2*2 years ago." Rolls-Royce points out that the -524 is also suitable for a new version of the Douglas DC-10-30 and for the Airbus A300B10. The RB.211 is the largest export earner in British aviation history and most of the £350 million earned so far on the 520 engines delivered comes from exports. Further development to a thrust of 53,0001b is planned, but operators of the initial -524s are offered an engine dimensionally the same as the present -22 and benefiting extensively from its service experience. The -524 has also been certificated eighteen months before planned entry into service. Tu-144 freight role confirmed Current Tupolev Tu-144 services within the Soviet Union are freight- only and domestic passenger flights will not begin until the second half of this year, it was confirmed in Moscow late last month. Soviet deputy civil aviation minister Nikolai P. Bykov said that there were still "some un resolved questions" surrounding super sonic commercial operations, and the freight operations seem to be serving the same purpose as last summer's Concorde endurance trials. There is still no indication that the date for Tu-144 introduction on inter national services is fixed. The 1,900 n.m. Moscow—Alma Ata route is the only firm application mentioned so far, and doubts persist among Western observers that the Soviet SST has true intercontinental range at super sonic speed. This is likely to be the big stumbling Mock in the way of a pooled Europe-Tokyo supersonic service. Canada buys Canadair General Dynamics subsidiary Canadair is to be bought by the Canadian Government for $38 million and will, in addition to de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, come under temporary national ownership. The Government intends to resell the com panies to a private owner in due course. Canadair stands to gain $280 million worth of work on the Lockheed P-3s purchased by Canada, and de Havilland has just been authorised to proceed with manufacture of the Dash-7. Possible private owners for the new industry include Spar Aero space, McDonnell Douglas (as part of an F-15 sale) and Grumman as part of an F-14 sale. The F-15 deal would be based on the Douglas Aircraft of Canada subsidiary, which has so far been left untouched by the Govern ment. UK exports match inflation Aerospace exports from Britain in 1975 are likely to exceed the 1974 figure by an amount roughly equal to the 25 per cent inflation in domestic prices. A record October total of £77-75 million took the cumulative total for 1975 to £22 million beyond last year's level. The October figure was nearly £6 million up on the previous all-time record, set in May last year, and £13-5 million up on October 1974. Engines and engine parts still play the major export role and October saw the export of 98 new powerplants, 142 "other than new" and parts together worth nearly £40 million. New aircraft were worth £11 million and parts £23 million. Not surprisingly, the best customer for aircraft and parts was France, by virtue of co operative programmes, and the best customer for engines, mainly RB.211S, was the USA. Pan Am flies domestic traffic Pan American set several prece dents just before Christmas when it was authorised by the Civil Aero nautics Board to fly passengers on US internal sectors, albeit for six days only. Clearance was given for a total of 600 passengers per day on the in ternal sectors of two Pan Am inter national routes—New York-San Fran cisco and New York-Seattle. Both United Airlines and National, which normally serve these routes, were on strike. By carrying its first domestic passengers in 40 years Pan Am be came the first airline authorised to replace a service interrupted by an industrial dispute. United's ground engineers went back to work on December 22 after several days of intensive negotiations when it became clear that the airline did not intend to meet their demands. UAL had announced in daily news papers that it meant to resist the strike in order to protect passengers from fare increases and to maintain economical services. National has meanwhile won a court action forcing its cabin-staff union to hold a new members' ballot on the contract pre viously refused by the union. SENSOR Civil servants close to the British aircraft industry say that the pro posed powers of British Aerospace to acquire other companies are actually weaker than those enjoyed by private companies, which can take over other companies without having to show public need. The MRCA Memorandum of Under standing on production is due to be signed by June 30, 1976, at the latest. While the Trident has a six-abreast fuselage advantage over the One- Eleven as a "twin 10-tonner," the Trident sweepback may be a luxury for the field and fuel performance desired. With advanced subsonic aerofoil technology it is now pos sible to argue that, especially for short to medium ranges, straight wings are more efficient than swept, and that the main reason for the latter would be aesthetic. The TJSAF Awacs "core" aircraft is still being studied by the Nato office, with Saclant emphasising the need for good surface pictures of ships. The MRCA development programme continues without any "nasties in the woodshed," general perform ance and handling being on target. The programme is still limited by RB.199 thrust, but there are no more engine problems than with previous new engines at a similar stage. There is no question, as had been rumoured early last year, of core redesign. Senior Royal Air Force officers wel come the trend in Turbo-Union to wards German top management of the RB.199 programme, giving the programme a technical as well as political solidarity offsetting the strong American bias which still exists in Bonn military and political circles. British defence cuts are not ex pected to have much, if any, impact on the Panavia MRCA programme. The contractors are due to submit their proposals, together with a check-list of Namma's required "confidence points," in February. The MRCA ADV (Air Defence Variant) is essentially a British re quirement, emphasising the unique Royal Air Force responsibility for air superiority over enormous sea areas, compared with the more compact land areas for which the continental Nato air forces—includ ing the RAF—are responsible. The extent and cost of the British air- defence commitment is not gener ally appreciated by Nato ministers. Iran is considering an unofficial offer of ten Boeing E-3A Awacs, at a unit price of $178 million. This could jeopardise Grumman hopes of a substantial E-2C Hawkey e order, at a unit price of $26 million.
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