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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 0001.PDF
EDITORIAL INTERNATIONAL Week ending 1 January, 1983 Number 3843, Volume 123 ISSN 0015-3710 IN THIS ISSUE IN THIS ISSUE World News Air Transport Defence General Aviation Spaceflight Propulsion 10 Industry 11 FALCON 50 FLIGHT-TEST 12 I Piston twins and Dassault's biggest business jet is assessed by Harry Hopkins. AMERICAN AG AVIATION MEETS 20 an Goold reports from the US National Agri cultural Aviation Association annual convention in Las Vegas. FRANCE'S SMALL-ENGINES GIANT 24 Julian Moxon reports on Turbomeca's continued expansion. THE REMANUFACTURERS 29 The growing business of renovating jet trans port aircraft is examined by J. M. Ramsden. THE CRYSTAL BALL 34 Flight's editorial staff looks at aerospace pros- pects for 1983. Published in association with Aeroplane Monthly and Airports Inter national by IPC Transport Press Ltd, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, iutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, England 'World's first and only complete aeronautical weekly 3 Copyright IPC Business Press 1983 J ad 1909 •id-class postage paid at New York, NY, and additional entries, iditor David Mason Associate Editor Peter Middleton Assistant Editor Tom Hamill Air Transport Editor David Learmount Air Transport editorial Alison Chambers, Chris Kjelgaard BSc Defence Editor Graham Warwick BSc Defence editorial Mike Gaines, Richard Whitaker, BSc Technical Editor David Velupiliai BSc Technical editorial Julian Moxon BSe General Aviation Editor Cliff Barnett General Aviation editorial Ian Goold, Ian Parker BSc Production Editor Philip Jarrett Sub-editor Graham Cowell Art Editor Colin Paine Layout Rita Molineux Photography Stephen Piercey Technical Artists Frank Munger, John Marsden Publishing Director John Crookshank Editor-in-Chief J M Ramsden Advertisement Manager Trevor Barratt Assistant Advertisement Manager Colin Kiikelly Advertisement Sales Executive Sarah Beck Advertisement Production Howard Mason Advertisement Sales—France Pierre Mussard, 18,20 Place de la Made leine, Paris 75008, France. Telephone Paris 2655014 Advertisement Sales—Italy Romano Ferrario, Etas Kompass SpA, Via Vtantegna 6, 20154 Milano, Italy. Telephone: (2) 347051. Telex: 37342 Kompass Advertisement Sales—USA (East Coast Dean Kelly, Classified Adver tisement Sales—USA Joe Connors, IPC Business Press, 205 East 42nd Street, New York, Ny 10017 Telephone: (212) 867 2080. Telex: 238327 (Xdvertisement Sales —USA (West Coast) John Tidy, IPC Business 'ress, 2656 Vista del Oro, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Telephone: (714) 760 9438. Telex: 238327 Subscriptions Manager A Walden Telephone England (0444) 459188 (UK and overseas subscription rates and agents can be found in this issue) Telephone 01 -6613315 (Display Advertisement Sales) 01-661 3809 (Classified Advertisement Sales) 01-661 3267 (Advertisement Production 01-661 3321 (Editorial) "elegram/Telex 892084 BISPRS G acsimile (Group lll/ll on request. Telephone 01-661 3321 ED Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations ront cover: Dassault's Falcon 50 forms the abject of a flight-test report by Harry Hopkins in .his issue, beginning on page 12. ^.IGHT International, 1 January 1983 singles Two years ago people were saying that the piston-engined business aircraft was finished. The price of avgas had gone through the roof, and in some countries it was unobtainable, the arguments ran. But that was before arguably the worst recession for general aviation sales since the Second World War, with companies having to think very carefully before spending nearly a million dollars on even the smallest light turboprop twin. Piper has launched two new piston twins for its 1983 range. While both aircraft are devel opments of long-established types, it is too easy and misleading to dismiss them as "new aircraft made out of old", or as inventive ways to sell surplus airframe stocks. This is by no means the first time, of course, that Piper has made a new type from an amalgam of existing parts. The Seneca I was really little more than a twin-engined Cherokee Six, but was later developed into the world's top-selling light twin. It still holds up well against all of its competitors. The new Mojave and Aerostar 700P, both pressurised, cruise at figures not far short of the lighter turboprops and, in the case of the 700P, beat some of them. Prices have yet to be announced, but they are unlikely to exceed 60 per cent of the initial cost of the smaller turboprop twins. Hourly fuel consumption is less, and in the USA, at least, avgas does not exceed the price of avtur per gallon by the very high differ ential of around 30 per cent to be found in the UK and other parts of Europe. The costs of any aircraft now have to be scrutinised more carefully than ever before, and many general aviation tasks, particularly in the lower-level, short-sector league can still be performed effectively by today's piston types. Britain's Civil Aviation Author ity has recently cleared both a modern light twin and a helicopter to operate on mogas, and while it is still almost alone among world authorities in doing so, others are likely to follow suit. Already several flying schools are operating with mogas, and civil flying training in both singles and twins is likely to use piston engines for the foreseeable future. Increasing use of mogas could give the smaller piston engines a renewed lease of life in those areas of the world where avgas supplies are a problem. At a costly time when some attention is being re-focused on the piston twin, it is ironic that the biggest turboprop innovations in general aviation are for single- engined aircraft. The pressurised Beech Lightning, Smith Prop-Jet and Riley P210 Conversion are now flying, and there will soon be three four- to six-seat turboprop singles on the market. Cessna's recently-flown Caravan is aimed at the utility, rather than business, market. Piper's Malibu and Mooney M30, also both pressurised, are piston-engined at present, but look well-suited to later turboprop developments. Exactly how the market will develop for these aircraft will depend on more than economic factors over the next few years. Cessna's well-established Centurion has shown that the pressurised single can be a viable above-the - weather transport when fitted with twin-style avionics. Yet the uneasiness about flying over-water, over-mountains behind one engine will long be the major deterrent to the big, high-flying single, and will limit its uses in many areas. In the UK, for instance, no single-engined public transport flying is allowed over water or at night. When, hopefully, general aviation starts to climb out of its winter doldrums, it will be interesting to see how the market responds to new (and plenty of secondhand) piston twins, and to sophisticated, expensive turboprop singles. There could be plenty of life in the piston engine yet.
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