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Aviation History
1980
1980 - 1714.PDF
102 FLIGHT International, 12 July 1980 craft would be modified slightly to meet approach-speed requirements and to allow carrier undercarriages to be fitted. British Aerospace and DassaUlt-Breguet/Dornier argue that the cost of modification will be more than offset by the savings in develop ment cost over a completely new air craft. The companies interested in VTX-TS — General Dynamics, Grumman / Beech, Lockheed / Dassault - Breguet / Dornier, McDonnell Douglas/British Aerospace, Northrop, Rockwell and Vought—will team with companies experienced in training system de velopment, including cockpit pro cedures trainers, full-motion simula tors and computer-derived training programmes. General Dynamics has already an nounced it will team with American Airlines, which will produce a 42- week undergraduate training course, and Control Data which will supply an audio-visual training system which will reduce the number of instructors required. Trade-off studies of alternative air craft designs should be completed by March next year, allowing the Navy to pare the competitors down to three for detailed proposals lasting about a year. Full-scale development awards would follow, leading to selection of a single contractor for a two-year flight-test programme which could start early in 1986. Production de liveries could begin by late 1988. The VTX-TS programme could cost up to $2,000 million in 1978 prices and an aircraft unit price of $2-4 million in 1980 dollars has been men tioned. In addition to fuel-efficient engines, the VTX-TS designs feature advanced cockpits closely matched to aircraft such as the F-18 Hornet. US manufacturers will be looking at the export opportunities for the new trainers, but in the past the US Air Force and Navy requirements have resulted in rather specialised aircraft with limited export potential. The Cessna trainer sold mostly in its A-37 counter-insurgency version while the T-2 equips only the Greek and Venezuelan Air Forces. The US trainer market is one the Europeans have eyed for some time, but they may be left to fight over the rest of the world. • The US Air Force has stated its perference for two engines and side-by-side seating to manufacturers bidding for the Next Generation Trainer contract. Some of the new designs considered are shown here, e Rockwell's Nova NT-I is powered by two podded Williams Research WR-44 turbofans of l,0O0lb thrust. f Vought has teamed with VFW to offer a unique derivative of the RFB Fantrainer powered by two Allison 2S0-C30 turbines driving a ducted fan. g Fairchild is working on a trainer configuration based on its A-10. Also under consideration are wing-root and underwing engine installations. h General Dynamics is proposing a T-tail design but engine type has still to be selected. Like all NGT designs it is in the 5,0001b weight-class
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