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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 1473.PDF
DEFENCE Spares shortage grounds RAAF F-18s CANBERRA The serviceability of the Royal Australian Air Force's first batch of McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornets is giving concern to the Service's senior officers. Up to 25 per cent of the 26 F-18s so far received have been grounded at RAAF Williamtown because of malfunctions, and cannibalised to provide spare parts. Unexpected failures in the F-18's avionics and inertial navigation systems have required complete units to be exchanged. However, according to the former Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshall John Newham, recent defence budget cuts have reduced the quantity of spares purchased for the F-18s as they entered service. Although the RAAF has ordered 75 Hornets in a programme valued at A$4 • 25 billion, the Service has yet to receive all the testing and maintenance equipment necessary to service the aircraft properly. It has been thought that the sophisticated design of the A$35 million F-18s would improve reliability and permit almost 100 per cent avail ability for the air-defence force. While the chief of technial services, Air Vice Marshal Sutherland, has admitted that there has been unexpectedly poor reliability in some F-18 parts, he stressed that the problem lay with training RAAF person nel to maintain the Hornets. He expected the rate of malfunctions to decline as the RAAF's expertise improved, so that only an average of three to four per cent of F-18s would be unserviceable at any time when the full force was operational. Meanwhile, the Australian Defence Department will be looking for buyers interested in the RAAF's 60-odd remain ing Dassault-Breguet Mirage III fighters. The Mirages, which were replaced by the F-18s are expected to fetch A$l-2 million each. • -:•• ••9i" Royal Australian Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornets face a spares shortage Argentina tries to get embargoed A-4s BUENOS AIRES Efforts are being made to solve the problem of the 12 cocooned McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawks sold by Israel to Argentina. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) was ready to deliver the aircraft in 1985, but, acting on a British offi cial request, the United States vetoed the sale. Attempts to change the US veto on the sale failed, and now there seems to be a renewed effort to find a partial solution to the prob lem. Argentina has paid almost US$100 million for the A-4s, and the current effort is aimed at finding a way to repay the money either directly or on some barter basis. According to the Ameri cans, the British Government received the first information on the deal between Israel and Argentina in February 1985. The British Foreign Office then asked the State Depart ment to intervene to prevent the sale. Since 1985 the A-4s have been stored in special rubber wraps on the tarmac outside IAI's main factory at Ben Gurion International Airport. Apparently, negotiations between Israel and Argentina over the A-4s started before the Falklands War. The Fuerza Aerea Argentina had planned to buy 24 of the upgraded A-4s. Lavi makes 3hr flight TEL AVIV ~ The second prototype Israel Industries Lavi was airborne for 3hr on its 24th flight on August 4, refuelling four times from an Israeli Air Force KC- 130 Hercules.- During the flight IAI chief test pilot Menahem Shmul conducted flutter tests at various speeds and altitudes, including Mach 1-45 at 40,000ft and 540kt at 10,000ft. He also extended the g limit to 7-5. Shmul tells Flight that all four refuellihgs were conducted easily, despite the fact that the KC-130 is slower and has less stable drogues than the A-4 Skyhawk previously used to refuel the Lavi, which was fitted .with a centreline drop tank for the first time. Meanwhile the first proto type is grounded, after 53 flights, until next March, for the fitting of a production- standard wing, which has larger elevons. Egypt selects GEfor F-16 power CAIRO The Egyptian Air Force has chosen General Electric's F110-GE-100 engine to power the 40 General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcons currently on order. The deci sion was taken after a detailed comparison between the GE F110 and the Pratt & Whit ney F100-PW-220, and repre sents the fifth consecutive victory for GE in overseas competition with P & W. The order is worth some $140 million to General Electric. It appears that the addi tional 4,1501b of thrust which the F110 can deliver is giving it the edge in the export markets. In the past, the Egyptian Air Force ordered Pratt & Whitney engines for its F-16A/Bs. The GE F110 engine was originally chosen by the US Air Force for its F-16C/Ds in October 1986 (GE and P & W compete annually). It has also been bought by the US Navy for its F-16Ns, as well as for new Grumman F-14 Tomcats, and for retrofitting into the F-14A Plus. In addition to Egypt, international custom ers for the F110 have included the air forces of Turkey, Greece, Israel, and Bahrain. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 15 August 1987 11
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