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Aviation History
1976
1976 - 0356.PDF
516 WORLD NEWS on the project and representatives of the US company have been in Paris for a month. M Latreille, Dassault's commercial aircraft director, spent last week in Los Angeles completing the technical specification in prepara tion for the political decisions. The new Mercure, stretched by up to 6m, 19ft 8in, and accommodating 172 passengers, would compete with the Boeing 727-200 and have 15 per cent lower costs per passenger-km. Aerospatiale would take a large share in manufacture, and orders for 250 (described as "easily obtainable") would be needed to justify a launch. Fiat, Sabca, Casa and HSA would also take part. There is likely to be a single final assembly line. Dassault- Breguet would not comment on speculation that the powerplant might be the CFM56. Aerospatiale meanwhile tells Flight that it is holding monthly talks with Boeing and with all seven European civil-aircraft manufacturers. The Aerospatiale AS.200 is "still very much in existence, like Trident and BAC One-Eleven developments." MRCA costs "An estimate prepared in May 1975 of the United Kingdom share of [MBCA] common development costs, at September 1974 prices, was 34 per cent greater than the corresponding figure" given to the 1973-74 British Expenditure Committee, and 39 per cent of this rise represented a real in crease due mainly to programme changes. These figures appear in the 1975-76 Expenditure Committee report (see also Defence this week). The overall increase in estimated costs (which have still to be published) is offset slightly by a reduction in the estimate for development of non- common British equipment. It also reflects a decision to extend the development costing period by 21 months. The Ministry of Defence says that this does not represent pro gramme slippage, since the extension covers items normally dealt with in the UK as part of post-design services. "The extent of real cost escalation," says the committee, "may not yet be disastrous, but the magnitude of the project is such that a relatively small percentage increase in cost can repre sent a very substantial figure in cash terms." Ten per cent of the £1 million rise in production unit cost between December 1973 and September 1974 is attributed by MoD to programme changes. This includes the effect of the defence review decision to reduce the planned rate of MBCA deliveries to the BAF by up to one-third. Dates for delivery and for service- introduction clearance, the committee says, "receded significantly by August 1975" compared with December 1973 forecasts. There will be a further sub stantial interval before the first MRCA squadron becomes operational, accord ing to the committee, and this also will be later than previously indicated by MoD. Mr William Rodgers, Minister of State for Defence, told the com mittee however that "the MRCA would meet our requirements broadly at the time expected." Although the estimated develop ment cost of the UK-only Air-Defence Variant was reduced by 18 per cent during December 1973-September 1974, partly due to an economy measure, unit production cost went up by nearly 46 per cent. Of this, about a quarter was a real-terms increase, a substantially greater figure than the corresponding one for the common version, according to the committee, and one which "considerably out weighed the real reduction in the estimated development cost." The committee believes that the overall performance of the ADV will be inferior to that of the F-14 or F-15. "The specification of the ADV has already been downgraded and, if the project proceeds, further economies may prove necessary to keep the costs . . . within acceptable bounds." The right answer for the UK, says the report, may lie in a combination of high-capability fighters and lower- cost intercepters. EEC backs MRCA/Dassault line-up The European Commission has called for a military aircralt pro gramme based on the MRCA as Europe's interdiction and air-defence aircraft and "a single-engined fighter combat aircraft based on the Dassault tradition." This was said last week by EEC aerospace policy director Christopher Layton at a Royal Aeronautical Society symposium in London (see page 519). "Every day that passes," he continued, "brings home the need for a systematic European position in bar gaining with the United States for quid pro quos and industrial compen sation when we make major pur chases like the Awacs project or in deed the F-16." F-18 HUD open to foreign bids McDonnell Douglas has added the head-up display (HUD) to the list of F-18 avionic equipment for which bids from Canadian and British companies are being sought (see Flight last week, page 462). It had previously been thought that the prime contractor's electronics subsidiary had already been selected to supply the HUD. The Anglo-US Memorandum of Under standing signed last autumn forms the basis for agreement of offsets, and the military balance of trade is in the United States' favour following Britain's selection of the McDonnell Douglas Harpoon anti-ship missile. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has supplied the Pentagon with a list of equipment, including the F-18 HUD, which could be included in an offset fUGHT International, 6 March 1976 agreement. The display was on the original list—which is being supple mented daily—but it is not regarded by the MoD's Defence Sales depart ment as being necessarily the most important item. Projects such as AV-8B and Awacs, as well as Army and Navy programmes, are also in cluded. Both Smiths Industries-and Marconi- Elliott Avionic Systems can now apply to McDonnell Douglas for the neces sary bidding documents. Benelux airline? The complete integration of KLM, Sabena and Luxair into a consortium similar to SAS, or even into a totally new company, is suggested in a report published last week by business con sultants McKinsey & Company. The report, which studies possible forms of co-operation, was commissioned last summer by the governments and, airlines of the three countries. McKinsey predicts that the three airlines' financial results will improve over the next five years even if they continue to operate independently, but that only KLM will show a profit. The combined result is likely to be a loss of 8 million guilders in 1980, com pared with a loss of 186 million guilders in 1974 (current exchange rate is 5-4 guilders/£). Co-operation on a limited basis, which the report considers theoretic ally possible but difficult to put into practice, might improve results by 31 million guilders to 69 million. Com plete integration could produce an improvement of 183 million guilders by 1980, and "only this alternative would meet the economic objectives of the governments and the airlines." The report is now to be considered by the governments and airlines. KLM president Mr Orlandini promises that "KLM will adopt an objective and sober approach to the discussion. . . and exclude emotional or traditional factors." He predicts, however, that "the governments and managements of Luxair, Sabena and KLM will still need considerable time ... to arrive at justified decisions." Public-transport accidents A Lineas Aereas de Nicaragua Curtiss CW-20, AN-AOC, was damaged on landing at Managua on February 25 when the starboard undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft was badly damaged but there were no passenger injuries. • Food poisoning in flight is suspected as the cause of five deaths during the past week. The three Germans and two Finns who died were passengers on Spantax charter flights to and from Las Palmas on February 19. Another 70 Finns and 30 Germans are reported to be in hospital. The deaths are being investigated by an official of the World Health Organisation, having been attributed by Spanish authorities to mayonnaise prepared in Las Palmas.
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