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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 0024.PDF
Israel's Astra As it embarks on the certification phase of its flight-test programme, Charles Fleming and Peter Middieton assess the design and sales potential of Israel's second-generation business jet. Cutaway drawing by John Marsden. "W e are no longer the dark horse; we are recognised in the busi ness jet field, and the odds are at least even in the race". With these opti mistic words Israel Aircraft Industries enters the certification phase of the Astra's flight test programme. The target is for approval to FAR Part 25 (including amendment 54) in Sep tember this year, ready for first delivery to US distributors Atlantic Aviation during October. The market is hardly buoyant, however, and competition is tough. Astra's ability to prove its manu facturer's claim that it could fly non-stop right across the United States westbound has always been critical to its success. These claims were upheld last autumn, when the second Astra flew from New York to Los Angeles at no less than Mach 0 • 8 in temperatures well above ISA, carry ing full fuel reserves as well as the equiv alent weight of five passengers in test equipment. It was then exhibited at the NBAA show in Atlanta, before returning to Israel. On the way back, it also flew a particularly impressive sector—Gander to Paris non-stop—in record time. Having cleared this performance hurdle, Israel Aircraft Industries is confi dent that it has a product which lives up to the marketing philosophy around which it was conceived. This emphasises range, speed, comfort and price—in that order. The price of the first 20 Astras has been frozen at US$6 million, and Atlantic Aviation holds firm orders for ten aircraft with no options. Atlantic insists on buying both the Astra and its precursors, the Westwind I and II, in US dollars, having suffered (some years back) the paperwork associated with buying 125s in pounds sterling and selling them in US dollars amid varying exchange rates. In any case the Israeli economy—and the Astra in particular—is closely related to the US dollar, so all Astra costs and prices are quoted in dollars. Since the vast majority of the raw materials and equip ment needed to build an Astra originate in the United States (including its Garrett TFE 731-3B-100G turbofans), this is a reasonable stance to adopt. It brings its own problems in non-US markets, however, because while the dollar remains strong the Astra's export price is rendered less competitive. The Israeli annual inflation rate of 1,000 per cent is dismissed as almost irrel evant because it is dollars that count when building and selling business jets, not shekels. Distributors for the Astra already exist in Australia, and are likely to be sought in South America and Europe. The strength of British Aerospace and Dassault in Europe is well recognised, however, and IAI is understandably pinning its hopes on 22 the US market. There—despite home grown and European competition—IAF- distributor Atlantic Aviation claims the No. 2 slot in the medium-size, medium- price class of executive jets, with more than 250 turbofan Westwinds sold. The Israelis are fond of using phrases such as "Astra is the aircraft of the next decade" (a comment which could be open to misinterpretation, given the current state of the market), but they have genuine expectations of a positive, if slow, upturn in sales of new business jets in the United States within two years. From a technical standpoint they appear to have a highly competitive pack age with which to attack that market. Astra is firmly below the 125-800 (which is also a true non-stop, coast-to-coast aircraft) in terms of cabin volume and fuel burn, so it competes most directly with the Citation III and the Lear 55. Its major - innovation is the Israeli-developed super critical wing section, which delays the onset of drag rise at high subsonic Mach numbers, with consequent benefits to high-speed cruise performance. Perhaps of equal importance is the fact that passengers and crew no longer have > to climb down into the cabin, as they d^ on the Westwinds. The Astra stands hig™ and proud, rather like a miniature GIII. Its corporate "stance" is higher; the market is fickle in such matters, so its FLIGHT International, 5 January 1985
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