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Aviation History
1982
1982 - 1981.PDF
Pentagon policy on FX, Car- lucci says "there are several friends and allies that are now, or soon will be, engaged in the process of modernising their respec tive tactical aircraft forces. Only a few can afford first- line fighters and because of fiscal and other restraints it is important that the United States has alternatives to front-line aircraft available for export. The alternative is the FX either as a stand alone capability or as an ele ment of lo-hi mix. It is clearly in the US national security interests to have our friends and allies equipped with the systems that will still be militarily capable in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. For this reason we must selectively but actively encourage the foreign pro curement of the FX not leav ing this marketing effort just to the manufacturers." Sport aviation flourishes at EAA convention OSHKOSH Despite the recession and some unsporting weather the Experimental Aircraft Asso ciation annual convention exceeded all previous records and re-affirmed itself as the world's biggest aviation event, reports Cliff Barnett. Registrations of members' aircraft approached 2,000 by the end of the week-long event, with an especially big increase in ultralights (micro- lights), and some 10,000 air craft are estimated to have been parked on the airfield. Ultralight registrations of some 300 reflected the big in crease in this new field of sport aviation, and the FAA has disclosed some of its long-awaited legislation. Pilot licences will not be required for single-seaters with less than 2541b empty weight, if they carry 5 US gal maxi mum fuel, and have a top speed of 55kt in level flight. The ultralight area at Osh- kosh featured a commercial exhibition by nearly 40 manu facturers and new features included aerobatics, crop spraying, and amphibian types. This surge of ultra light interest is paralleled This month's mating of the firs! Saab-constructed fuselage and the first Fairchild-buill wing produces the prototype Saab-Fair child SF.340. The turboprop commuter will be rolled out from Saab's Linkoping factory on October 21 by more than 100 entries for the aircraft recreation vehicle design competition, due for judging in 1983. In a personal presentation by FAA administrator Lynn Helms, the EAA was awarded a supplementary type certifi cate to operate Cessna 150s on standard unleaded motor fuel. This follows an EAA test programme involving more than 700 hours flight time. Burt Rutan's designs were inevitably a big feature at Oshkosh. The Grizzly Stol aircraft towed his new Soli taire which, although entered for the Soaring Society of America homebuilt sail planes contest and capable of self-launching, looks like being a very promising sail plane in its own right. The LongEz Canard flew to Osh kosh nonstop from Hawaii— 4,000 miles at about S^gal per hour. The Rutan Voyager round- the-world design with a non stop range of 30,000 miles should fly next spring. He has a Canard design for a com muter airliner presently un dergoing windtunnel testing by Nasa. Nasa's several general-aviation research pro jects were featured at Osh kosh, including the AD1 slewed wing design in which Rutan was involved. Other new aircraft or developments at Oshkosh included the Smith turboprop pressurised single, a new two-seater Pitts, the first homebuilt Falco, and the first American- built CriCri. This is the world's smallest twin- engined aircraft designed several years ago in France and now being successfully marketed from Canada by Zenair. Europe studies cruise missiles BRUSSELS Nato's European members are conducting a feasibility study on their own cruise missile programme. Euro pean forces would use the weapons, with conventional warheads, to engage second- and third-echelon Warsaw Pact forces. Both the Conference of National Armament Direc tors, which comprises all Nato members but France, and the Independent Euro pean Programme Group, of which France is a member but the United States and Canada are not, ordered technical and military studies. The USA has offered licence production of cruise missiles to both France and Britain, but this is now mainly aimed at Germany. France prefers an indepen dent European programme regardless of the cost. Wheatcroft to leave BA LONDON The shake-up of British Air ways' Board of directors con tinues with the departure of Stephen Wheatcroft, eco nomic planning director. Wheatcroft, aged 60, is to retire at the end of the year to resume his aviation con sultancy work. In the mean time he will give up his ex ecutive responsibilities but WORLD NEWS will remain available for con sultation by BA's chairman, Sir John King. Wheatcroft's announce ment comes just one week after Gerry Draper, manag ing director of BA's Inter continental Services Division, announced he was to leave the airline. Wheatcroft has served on the BA Board since 1972. Learjet suspends 20/30 production WICHITA Gates Learjet has suspended production of its Learjet 20 and 30' aircraft indefinitely. Some 300 employees have been laid off at Wichita (Kansas). The Srs 50 will continue in production at the current four a month, rather than going up to the seven/month rate planned earlier. The last 250 of 1,500 lay offs scheduled for 1982 at the Tucson (Arizona) plant have already taken place. A total of 1,950 workers are now furloughed from Gates Learjet, which says that additional layoffs could take the figure to 2,500 by the year's end. Next week We reveal the benefits to be gained in military air craft performance by the use of conformal weapons carriage. Cliff Barnett reports from the US Experimental Air craft Association's 30th Annual Convention at Oshkosh, Wisconsin—the world's biggest aviation event. Mg. .*d£ft]£k«... '" «»%»P, FLIGHT International, 14 August 1982 343
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