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Aviation History
1976
1976 - 0055.PDF
Sife-. «« , V. tattMKK^, In service T HE FIRST production VFW 614, designated G4, made its maiden flight on April 28, 1975. By November the customer, Cimber Air of Denmark, had taken, delivery and introduced the aircraft to a scheduled-service environment. But full use by Cimber will only begin next month when the airline receives its second 614. G4 completed several demonstration tours in Cimber colours during 1975. In September the outstanding rough- field performance of the type, already tested in Libya earlier in the year, was demonstrated in Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Operating from sand and gravel strips at the maxi mum take-off and landing weights of 44,0001b (19,950Kg) in temperatures up to 46°C, the aircraft gave a most con vincing performance and needed no unscheduled main tenance. September 18 was a particularly impressive day during the tour of Saudi Arabia; a ten-hour, seven-airfield route-proving programme demonstrated the 614's versatility and included landings at five airfields never before visited by a jet aircraft. Algeria's Hassi M'Rel oasis has a runway of sand, clay and stones—some up to four inches in diameter—and no airframe damage occurred when G4 visited the strip; VFW-Fokker claims that the threat of ingestion debris by the above-therwing engines was small. Just one month later G4 was in a totally different en vironment, operating from Meigs Field, a 5,000ft strip in the residential heart of Chicago. Under stringent noise and anti-pollution regulations, jets have been precluded from operating at Meigs Field, but last October's demonstra tion could herald a change. Some 70 flights in as many hours were logged on the North American tour, which took in Montreal and Ottawa as well as Chicago, Memphis, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC and Boston. Operating successfully from a number of small airfields, G4 became the first jet ever to land at four of these airfields. With 350hr and 507 flights to its credit, amber's first TECHNICAL DATA Dimensions Wing span Wing area Overall length Fuselage diameter Cabin length Max height Max width Weights and loading Operating weight empty Payload (40 passengers) (max permissible) Max take-off weight Max zero fuel weight Max fuel capacity Max landing weight Performance 70ft 6in 688 sq ft 67ft 6in 9ft 5in 36ft 9in 6ft Sin 8ft 9in 26,850lb 8,0001b 9,7501b 44,0001b 36,6001b 11,2501b 44,0001b 21 -50m 64-00m2 20 -60m 2 -87m 11-21m 1-am 2-66m 12,180kg 3,630kg 4,420kg 19,950kg 16,600kg 5,100kg 19,950kg Cruise; 25,000ft/42,000lb 380kt TAS 702km/hr Max cruise altitude 25,000ft Rateof climb, SL,atMTOW 3,100ft/mir FAA take-off field length Take-off to 35ft (10m) Landing field length Landing from 50ft (15m) Range;40 passengers and reserves 4,350ft 3,480ft 3,400ft 2,040 ft 645 n.m. 7,600m i 945m/min 1,325m 1,060m 1,035m 620m 1,200km
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