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Aviation History
1976
1976 - 0077.PDF
FLIGHT International. I? January 1976 103 MR TR&«SPORT,. LIGHT COMMERCIAL & BUSINESS •H PT-lfBD ^ SD3-30 certification near The Short SD3-30 is in the final stages of certification and issue of the type certificate is expected at the end of the month. Virtually the only flight test outstanding is the completion of 50hr of typical route flying. The first production aircraft—the third to be built—is scheduled to leave this week for Scandinavia, where it will accumulate most of the necessary flight hours. Rapid progress by Heli Orient By the end of 1975 Heli Orient had sold its 350th aircraft, a remarkable record for a company which entered the general-aviation market place only five years ago. Sales during 1975 amounted to 142 aircraft and helicopters. The company is the principal Far East distributor for the Britten-Norman Islander and Trislander and is a full-line dealer for Cessna and Bell. Among the major sales in which Heli Orient played a significant role were the first order for 100 Islanders from the Philippines and an order for 12 Cessna 400-series machines for an Asian air force. Heli Orient has its main base at Seletar, one of the former Royal Air Force stations in Singapore. The facility covers more than 100,000 sq ft and employs 300 people. Founder and managing director Brian Woodford talks of general aviation as "the quiet revolution that is changing the face of Asia." Intensive programme for Hirundo Atlantic Aviation, US distributor for the Agusta A.109 Hirundo, lost no time in putting its first demonstration aircraft to work. During the six weeks following the National Business Aircraft Association convention the A.109 made 87 demonstration flights at 17 cities in 12 different states. The flying totalled 85hr, during which the aircraft regularly exceeded the maker's brochure figures. Sumburgh traffic growth The passengers-handled total at Sumburgh, the Shetland Isles centre for North Sea oil- exploration support, increased to 186,319 during 1975—a 17 per cent gain on 1974. Air-transport movements were up by 31 per cent from 16,966 to 22.224, of which 9,577 were helicopter movements. All the facilities involved in The Islander, top, was equipped by Geometries of California for geo physical survey flying in Brazil, where it is operated by Encal. Below, the second Casa 212 Aviocar for Pelita Air Service left Seville for Jakarta on December 23 JjjHfgf*.' rliiiif the Civil Aviation Authority's £6-75 million development programme are now in use (see Flight for August 14, 1975, page 214) and controller training for the ACR430 radar is nearly complete. As with other similar installations in the United Kingdom, the Doppler VOR has been affected by aircraft-equipment incompatibility problems. US commuter airports short of funds The draft Airport Development Aid Program bill, now under consideration by the US Senate Commerce Committee, does not accord air-carrier airport status to airfields used solely by com muter airlines. They thus have available to them develop ment funds of only $10 million—the allocation to general aviation under the bill—instead of $171-5 million. Senator Harrison Williams of New Jersey has asked for commuter airports to be reclassified, pointing out that such facilities are rapidly expanding and are of great importance to their communities. Reclassification would make the commuter fields eligible for the maximum grant. NBAA offers airport noise policy The US National Business Aircraft Association believes that full control over aircraft noise should remain with the Federal Aviation Administration. In its response to the FAA's proposed airport-noise policy, the NBAA adds that regulations which discriminate on the basis of type, class, weight, ownership or use of aircraft should be prohibited. The association notes that there exist operating procedures which enable business aircraft to meet appropriate noise standards and says that these procedures should be adopted in the place of new, oppressive regulations. Curfews and similar limita tions on 24hr operations should be outlawed, says the Association. • NBAA membership has passed the 1,000 mark; a 1975 year-end analysis of voting membership showed 395 busi ness subscriptions and 611 corporate. Agricultural-aircraft comfort Garrett AiResearch has introduced a new environmental control system for agri cultural aircraft. The unit has been developed along with the installation of the TPE331 turboprop in the Thrush Commander and is driven by bleed air. The environmental unit weighs 17-51b and absorbs 81b/min of bleed air. Fan JetStar for Hanover Lockheed plans to make the first overseas demonstrations of the re-engined JetStar during the Hanover Air Show (May 1-9). The definitive JetStar II is not scheduled for roll-out before June and the company is expected to sponsor the display of an AiResearch 731. This is the Swearingen-designed con version of a JetStar I, powered by Garrett TFE731 turbo- fans, which triggered the JetStar II programme and on which the performance estimates have been proved. Lock heed already has orders for the first production batch of 15 JetStar lis. The certification process will be accelerated by tests of the 731 and is planned to take only three months, allowing the first delivery to be made at the end of September.
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