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Aviation History
1985
1985 - 0550.PDF
DEFENCE in ground operations. A&AEE's evaluation of the PC-9 was generally favour able. Four essential changes were called for; a hand pump is needed for hydraulic system bleeding, the nosewheel steer ing is to be deleted as it was found to be "not necessary", gaps in the cockpit floors need to be covered to avoid possible foreign object damage, and the positioning of the cockpit hand-held fire extinguishers was criticised. "Desirable" changes include a reduction in the rudder-trim authority. A&AEE's PC-9 evaluation found that the aircraft's spin characteristics were good, and the ability to recover hands off, if needed, is praised as an excellent safety feature. Aero batics sequences from a 15,000ft base height were no problem, and at 5,000ft it was found necessary to reduce power to prevent a gain in speed and height when flying the same sequence. Overall aerobatic performance of the PC-9 is described as— "excellent". On practice forced landings the PC-9 is described as having similar characteristics to the BAe Hawk, particularly on the final approach. The A&AEE concludes that PC-9 handling is good, partic ularly in aerobatics, stalling, and spinning. In the circuit and on landing, the aircraft is described as excellent for instruction, and the PC-9 is formally assessed as "very suitable for the Royal Air Force basic training role." F'.na'f offers Best and final offers (BAFLs) for the four trainer contenders (AAC/Wesiland A.20 Wamira II, BAe/Pilatus PC-9, Hunting Firecracker, and Shorts Tucano) were delivered on January 31. The original BAFL day was January 24, but Shorts requested a week's deferment. The trainer selection is expected to be made at the Equipment Purchasing Com mittee's March 7 meeting— the BAFLs are commercially viable until March 31. But Whitehall says that the deci sion will not be made public until "mid-spring". Flight sources tip "mid-spring" to be due just before Parliament's Easter recess, so that the Government can avoid some of the flak from the losing companies. Airship in chase for naval work LONDON The US Navy last week issued a request for proposals for its battle surveillance airship system CBS AS), and the UK company, Airship Industries, teamed with US partners Westinghouse, is confident of providing the solution. Proposals will be processed by the middle of the year and could lead to six-month funded feasibility studies for up to three consortia. AFs main competitor will be Good year, teamed with an as yet unspecified partner. Other teams are not apparent yet. AI will offer its Skyship 5000. This is a concept airship of about 70,000m'1 with an overall length of between 120-140m depending on the exact length/diameter ratio, which has not yet been settled. The 5000 will house a West inghouse phased-array radar antenna with a range of 200 n.m. for a primary function of air and surface surveillance. Both anti-submarine warfare and command, commu nication, and control (C'!) will be important, secondary roles. The 5000 will he armed with guns, air-to-air missiles, and ASW weapons as required. As yet, the 5000 is only a design. Despite AI's more stable financial position, following the entrance of the Bond Corporation with an 81 • 5 per cent holding in the company, AI cannot afford to develop the 5000 alone. The project depends on .jemg Government funded. Further AI expansion hangs in the balance over development of the new airship. AI is trying to convince the Royal Navy that the 5000 will meet the UK's Offshore Patrol Vessel requirement (OPV 3). AI is teamed with Ferranti for OPV 3 and claims that an airship, rather than a surface vessel, solution to the require ment will be "significantly cheaper". The unit cost of a Skyship 5000 will be about £25 million, while a conventional surface patrol vessel will cost £35 million, says Nick Greenwood, AI's UK sales manager. Operating cost for a 14-day mission by an airship will be £10,560 as opposed to £67,771 with a patrol boat. Cost per mile surveyed, says Green wood, will work out at £0-87 for an airship at 2,000ft and £8-10 for a surface vessel. The RN requires a replace ment for its Island- and Castle-class patrol vessels. So far the requirement has not been formally identified in a Naval Staff Target, although shipbuilders were approached last July for consultative submissions to aid definition of the NST. The RN plans OPV3 to advance in two stages. First, part-funded development contracts for up to three consortia will be let. Phase 2 will be full contract award. Among AI's chief com petitors will be the Hall- Russell shipyard of Aberdeen, makers of the Island- and Castle-class patrol vessel. Teamed with British Aero space Dynamics, Plessey, and CAP Scientific, Hall-Russell is proposing a longer, more powerful, version of the Castle-class ships. The 5000 will be equipped with two turboprop vectorable propulsors for vertical take off and landing and yielding a maximum speed of about 90kt. Two cruise engines, lightweight turbocharged diesels, will also be fitted for long-endurance missions at speeds between 20-45kt. Ferranti will be responsible for weapon systems and radar. Ferranti's Seaspray radar, currently used on the West- land navai. Lynx, will be a radar option. The 5000 will have a maximum lifting capacity, including crew, fuel, and equipment, of 73,500kg. AI dismisses criticism that the ship would be vulnerable, claiming that a bullet would merely pass straight through the envelope and the craft could sustain considerable damage before coming to grief. With a helium pressure of less than 0-1 p.s.i., leakage rate would not be a problem. AI says that an airship will be affected by wind in a simi lar way to a surface vessel, but will have the advantage of not being affected by the sea. The company says that it can continue to build non- rigid ships up to about 100,000n/ but, as it cannot foresee the need to build larger than that, does not anticipate developing rigid ships, which would be more expensive and vulnerable. If the RN goes ahead with OPV 3 and the US Navy follows up its current interest in BSAS, development of the two versions of the 5000 could be simultaneous. Whether the UK MoD will be willing to fund development of an airborne patrol vessel and whether the US Navy will be persuaded to buy a British- built system is unclear. AI says its partnership with Westinghouse on the BSAS programme will be significant help in breaking into the US military market,. Roger Munk, AI's technical director and chief designer, says that it is only a matter of convincing the RN that an uncon ventional answer to the OPV 3 requirement is the right one, to swing the RN in favour of Skyship 5000. He is less opti mistic that the UK MoD will be prepared to fund devel opment of the system. AI plans to develop a civil variant of the 5000, capable of carrying 230-250 passengers. Civil development will be an offshoot of military work. B-l pilot's widow sues LOS ANGELES ~ The widow and children of Rockwell B-l A test pilot Tommie Douglas Benefield have filed a wrongful death suit against manufacturers of 3-1 components. Benefield died on August 29, 1984, when the B-lA crashed in the Mojave desert, California, during flight-tests. Benefield and two crew- members ejected in the B-lA escape capsule. The capsule came down heavily, killing him and injuring the other two. The suit, filed on February 5, claims that the components were negligently, wantonly, and recklessly designed and tested and lists Ordnance Engineering Associates and 20 other unnamed individuals as defendants. Rockwell B-lBs are to be equipped with ejection seats rather than the older B-lA's capsule. FLIGHT International, 23 February 19S5'
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