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Aviation History
1977
1977 - 0016.PDF
14 FLIGHT International, I January 1977 until DEFENCE Tornado: the impossible cancellation? UNILATERAL withdrawal from the Panavia Tornado multi-role combat aircraft project would cost Britain at least £1,500 million, according to Defence Minister Dr John Gilbert. The figure is based on a provisional estimate of the money already spent, and the further run-down and redundancy compensation payments which would arise from a British cancellation. Answering questions in the House of Commons on December 14 about potential Tornado cancellation costs, the minister said that the £1,500 million did not take account of the cost in terms of lost jobs and work opportunities, "let alone the nugatory expenditure in respect of support and running costs." But Dr Gilbert refused to be drawn on the question of Tornado research and development costs, falling back on the time-expired excuse of "security and commercial confiden tiality." It had never been the prac tice, said the minister, to give infor mation of the sort requested at a comparable stage in the development of any project. Maritime capability for E-3A BOEING has awarded Westinghouse Electric a $1-8 million contract to begin work on giving the E-3A Awacs a maritime surveillance capability. Westinghouse is performing a 90-day study leading to a technical and financial proposal. The move stems from a Nato requirement but has been agreed to in principle by the USAF. If the USAF proceeds with this development, flight tests will begin in early 1979. USAF production aircraft would be retro spectively fitted with the necessary software and hardware changes. • Contracts worth $8-4 million have been awarded by Boeing to Northrop for navigation and guidance equip ment for the second production batch of six E-3A aircraft. The company has already delivered three sets of equipment for the first batch and is due to produce three more. The latest contract also covers ground equipment and spares. YC-14 testing picks up pace LOW-SPEED testing of the Boeing YC-14 Advanced Medium Stol Trans port (AMST) contender has begun in earnest now that both prototypes are based with the joint test force team at Edwards AFB, Calif. The work is now leading up to true short take-offs and landings in and out of semi-pre pared airfields and with representa tive military payloads. This phase should begin in the next few weeks. High-speed flutter testing on the first aircraft was completed before the transfer to Edwards. Speeds up to 547 m.p.h. were recorded at altitudes up to 40,000ft. The biggest surprise in this series of trials was the fact that the leading-edge flaps were sucked out into the airstream while retracted at high speed. To solve the problem the flaps were removed and one edge strengthened. The cavity in which they lie was also vented in order to create a slight vacuum. The aircraft has since flown An Otomat anti-ship missile is fired from ARV Libertad, one of six 37m fast patrol boats designed and built for the Venezuelan Navy by Vosper Thornycroft. This photograph which is reproduced from a 16mm cine film) was taken during weapon trials carried out in the Mediterranean mm iW without problems to Mach 0-78 at 40,000ft. Preliminary trials with the Upper Surface Blowing (USB) system have also been conducted with the first air craft. The inboard flaps have been extended to their full 70° at an air speed of 80kt, and Boeing reports no buffet or any other surprises. Brief taxiing tests with the thrust- reversers have also been carried out using the second prototype. The air craft was taken up to take-off speed before being stopped with the reversers. Reversing trials have resulted in no re-ingestion problems. • Funding for the AMST programme next year is believed to have been restored, though at the very much reduced level of about $25 million (see Flight, December 11, page 1692). Shipboard Phantom radar WESTINGHOUSE Defence & Elec tronic Systems Centre has developed a lightweight, inexpensive shipboard tracking radar based on the company's APQ-120 equipment installed in the F-4E Phantom. The new unit, desig nated W-120, is claimed to provide better tracking performance than comparable naval radars costing twice as much. It is also smaller, weighs less than half as much and uses less electrical power. The W-120 is intended to provide small vessels of between 100 and 2,000 tons with a modern fire-control system. It can be used in conjunction with guns and can also provide target illumination for Sea Sparrow, Stan dard and Other surface-to-air missiles. The radar can acquire and track aircraft or missiles at well beyond horizon range, and an off-boresight tracking mode has been added to extend coverage to within 2° of the sea surface. A 32in antenna, to provide a high signal gain, is mounted on a gimbal and pedestal assembly which can rotate through 360° and elevate or depress from -30° to +90°. The antenna, which is stabilised in roll and pitch, can move from one designated tracking position to another in 2sec. The complete system, including antenna and radome, weighs 1,8001b. Westinghouse points out that countries already operating F-4Es could inte grate the W-120 into their existing APQ-120 logistic network. New combat simulator for USAF A NEW COMBAT simulation system is now operational at Nellis AFB, Nevada. It is based on a Cubic Cor poration design, earlier versions of which are already in service with the US Navy. Called Air Combat Manoeuv ring Instrumentation (ACMI), it is the first such system for the US Air Force and was installed under a $12 million contract from Naval Air Systems Command. Another system in the contract is in joint USAF/USN use. Up to eight dogfight students can be monitored by instructors on TV-
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