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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 2191.PDF
WORLD NEWS A320 decision set for 1984 LONDON The UK will make its decision on launch aid for the A320 project early next year. Speaking in Parliament on December 2, Minister of State for Industry Norman Lamont said that the British Aero space industry could and should have a much larger share in avionics and systems for the A320. BAe's proposed 26 per cent share in the 150-seater is somewhat larger than the 16-18 per cent it presently has on the A300 and A310 types, but a larger British share of the subcon tract work "will be a relevant consideration for us in decid ing what our participation should be", Lamont stated. Lamont felt it important that Boeing does not have a monopoly. Continental application fails WASHINGTON D.C. A proposal by Continental Air Lines to cut in half the compensation it must pay to ticketed passengers who are denied boarding has been turned down by the US Civil Aeronautics Board. In its petition to the CAB, Continental said that ever since it had resumed flight operations after seeking protection under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Laws, it has been having problems with overbooking and with finding other carri ers to honour its tickets. The Continental proposal aroused considerable opposi tion from other airlines, who protested that the special exemption sought by Contin ental would give it an impor tant competitive advantage. The CAB in its order of denial said that "we are not persuaded by Continental's arguments in support of an exemption. FLIGHT International, 10 December 1983 "While the carrier is experi encing an increase in no- shows, it is apparently well aware of the current per centage of passengers who fail to cancel reservations and it should be taking reservations based on those figures. "Further, the problems Continental is having in getting other airlines to honour its tickets should be resolved separately—this should not be used as an excuse to lessen consumer rights." 9 Continental's application to fly between Tokyo and Guam will be discussed by United States and Japanese aviation officials in Hawaii next week. The talks follow Continental Air Lines' plea to the US Government a few months ago to take immediate retaliatory action against Japan because of the Tokyo Government's reluctance to approve a Continental Tokyo—Guam service. In Hawaii it is expected that the Japanese will approve the Guam route, provided that the USA allows Japan Air Lines to pick up and discharge passengers at Anchorage on flights to US and European destinations. New 757 engine certificated DERBY ~ Rolls-Royce's advanced engine for the Boeing 757, the RB.211-535E4, was certifi cated on November 30, a month ahead of schedule and 13 months earlier than originally planned. Certification was trouble- free, although the -535E4 is significantly changed from the -535C now powering Boeing 757s. Wide chord, snubberless fan blades are introduced, along with a common exhaust nozzle combining fan and core airflows, and three dimen sional "end bend" compressor blades. Rated at 40,1001b thrust, the -535E4 competes head-on with Pratt & Whitney's new PW2037 to power the Boeing 757. The 37,0001b PW2037 is due to be certificated at the end of December. McDonnell Douglas cuts back LONG BEACH ~ The Douglas Aircraft Company division of McDon nell Douglas is laying off about 1,000 workers at Long Beach because of its decision to stop work on the MD-90 and MD-100 airliner pro grammes. Some 14,900 people are currently employed at the Long Beach plant. According to the company, a management reorganisation is also being carried out in the division to make it more competitive in the 150- passenger airliner market. By 150-passenger the company means the MD-80, not the MD-3300 or any other new project. MDC says it is confident that the MD-80 can remain competitive with the A320 or any Boeing 150-seat offering in the conceivable future, because the MD-80 can be re- engined with the proposed IAE V.2500. Shuttle stays up longer PARIS The first Spacelab mission is to last ten days, a day longer than planned, subject to satis factory weather forecasts for the Edwards AFB landing site. This means that the mission will now end with a landing at 1601 GMT (0801 local time) on December 8. Ample reserves of consum ables, particularly the liquid oxygen and hydrogen which feed Columbia's fuel cells, allowed Nasa and ESA to extend the mission. Columbia's six-man crew will use the extra day to acquire data in the new field of solar seismology, to process extra materials-science sam ples, to study the "glow" visible on the Orbiter's exter nal surfaces, and for further investigation of man's vestibular apparatus. The vestibular work is aimed at understanding man's adapta tion to weightlessness, and is known to be related to the fluid in our inner ears, which FLIGHT wrm/mATtOHAL NEXT WEEK All the best points of the BO105 are incorporated in MBB-Kawasaki's larger BK117 twin-engined mul- tirole helicopter. Johnny Johnson assesses its handling qualities. In his airliner census, Michael Stroud provides a tally of the various types equipping world airlines. gives us our sense of balance on Earth. Spacelab 1 lifted off on November 28, and everything went well until it was time to open the hatch on the tunnel leading to Spacelab's habi table module. The hatch was stuck shut at first, and it took the combined efforts of several astronauts to free it. Two minor experiment malfunctions occurred several days into the mission, one affecting a furnace used to melt metal alloy samples, and the other shutting down ESA's metric camera. The crew have apparently managed to repair the furnace, but the metric camera remains inoperative. Owen Garriott, one of the mission specialists aboard Columbia, has been using a small radio to contact "hams" around the world—when his schedule permits. loll
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