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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0546.PDF
WORLD NEWS Ariane launch delayed PARIS Arianespace has delayed the next Ariane launch, V17, "by a few days" from March 12 to allow for additional tests on the servomotor of the first- stage engines. V17 will be the first launch from the ELA 2 pad at Kourou. The setback follows Ariane- space's announcement of its 1985 financial results—a healthy FFr170 million (£17 million) pre-tax profit on a turnover of FFr1,400 million (£140 million). Revenue is expected to double in 1986. The company is to raise launch fees to compensate for a drop in the dollar exchange rate. Arianespace president Frederic d'Allest did not mention a figure, but the price is expected to increase by 25 to 30 per cent to about $50-$60 million (£34-£40 million) per launch, shared between two communications satellites. During 1985 Arianespace booked 11 new launch con tracts, initiated a programme to raise its capital from FFr120 million to FFr270 million by 1989, and estab lished the S3R self-insurance subsidiary company with a capital of FFr28 million. The S3R insurance premium will be about 11 per cent, compared with 30 per cent on the international market. 1986 saw the resumption of operations with the launch of Ariane V16 and the successful orbiting of the French Spot and Swedish Viking space craft, following an extended hiatus resulting from the Ariane V15 failure in September 1985. Arianespace plans to launch eight Arianes in 1986 and a similar number in 1987 and 1988. The first launch of the more powerful Ariane IV is sched uled for later this year. Over the next ten years 60 Ariane IVs will be manufactured, d'Allest revealed. The company's orderbook stands at FFr8,900 million for 29 satellite launches over the next three years. D'Allest esti mates a market potential for 100 to 120 launches to 1990 and is confident that Ariane will secure half the total, for an average of ten launches annually. Arianespace is meanwhile considering going public by offering 10 per cent of its capital on the Paris stock exchange. The company is presently owned by European banks and aerospace compa nies, 60 per cent French and 20 per cent German. South Africa reveals attack helicopter JOHANNESBURG The Atlas Aircraft Division of South Africa's Armscor corporation has unveiled a light attack helicopter called the Alpha XH-1, based on the Aerospatiale Alouette III. The Alpha was first shown publicly on March 9 at Johannesburg. It has a roun ded, deeper front fuselage with two cockpits in tandem. The pilot is in the rear and the weapon system operator in the front. The tricycle gear is replaced by a non-retractable tailwheel configuration giving ground clearance for a belly turret mounting a GAI MG.151 20mm cannon. The gun can sweep an arc 120° each side of the centreline, and elevation limits are +107-60°. It has a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, and 1,000 rounds are carried. Aiming is by helmet-mounted sight, presumably evolved from the fighter version devel oped for use with the Kukri air-to-air missile in off- boresight engagements. To enhance directional stability a fin has been added to the tail boom, and the distinctive Alouette tailplane endplates are increased in size. Alpha's empty weight is 1,400kg, and the maximum take-off weight is 2,200kg. Chief of the South African Air Force Gen Dennis Earp says: "The Alpha is entirely locally designed to SAAF specifications, using what South African industry can provide". The Alpha was first flown in secret on February 3, 1985, after a SAAF contract was awarded to Atlas in March 1981, and has already completed initial flight- testing. Further testing will evaluate other weapons in the anti-tank role. The prototype, which the SAAF describes as a tech nology demonstrator, has a large nose radome, but this is believed to contain only flight trials telemetry at present. "We will be testing a wide range of airframe/engine/ systems in the future, and .technology derived from this programme will be tested on other helicopters in the SAAF inventory," says Gen Earp. Tugendhat to be CAA chief LONDON Christopher Tugendhat, a former vice-president of the European Commission, is to become the new chairman of the UK Civil Aviation Authority on June 1. He succeeds Sir John Dent, 62, who has been CAA chairman since June 1982. Tugendhat, 49, will have a five-year term in the chair and will join the CAA board immediately as a part-time member. As vice-president of the European Commission from 1981 to 1985, Tugendhat was responsible for the European Economic Community budget, financial institutions, taxation, and financial control. He was previously a Conservative Member of Parliament and a journalist on the Financial Times. Tugendhat, appointed by Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley, is likely to maintain UK pressure to liberalise air services agreements within Europe. In the face of resistance from some coun tries, notably France and Italy, the European Commis sion has repeatedly called for a less regulated aviation regime. A test case currently before the European Court alleges that fare and capacity regulation is in breach of the Treaty of Rome. "Under my chairmanship the CAA will pursue a multi- airline policy and seek to enhance the ability of British airlines to compete with foreign competitors," says Tugendhat. The Atlas Alpha XH-1 will probably be armed with missiles and rockets on stub wings. Note the extremely long tailwheel strut and the belly-mounted 20mm cannon FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 15 March 1986
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