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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 0345.PDF
GENERAL A VIA TION Seastar proposes move to Canada OBERPFAFFENHOFEN Claudius Dornier Seastar is negotiating with the Cana dian Government to shift production of the Seastar amphibian to Vancouver, in a bid to hedge against the fore cast continued weakening of the US Dollar. Talks planned to resume this week are given urgency by commitments to customers on delivery dates, and by the continuing Dollar slide, which has increased the aircraft's price 30 per cent since the beginning of last year. Camillo Dornier, a co- owner of the private West German company, rules out licence production in Canada, and says that the creation of 350 jobs would make the proposal attractive to the Canadian Government. Only key staff from the 110-strong West German workforce would relocate, he says. Another advantage to the manufacturer would be the acquisition of a home market. West Germany is unlikely to need the new aircraft, but North American customers may buy 60 of the 250 Seastars which are expected to be sold over the next ten years. A Vancouver base would also be more con venient for marketing to Pacific Rim customers. Claudius Dornier Seastar holds 23 options and 13 letters of intent on the 14-seat composite aircraft. Proposed operations in the USA include a commuter operation with five aircraft. Certification in West Germany is expected later this year. Dornier insists that pro duction can go ahead in West Germany if the Canadian talks break down, but is clearly worried that demand for the amphibian will be eroded by further price rises. It needs to sell 100 aircraft to break even. A maritime patrol version which is now being marketed could give -Seastar access to potentially lucrative para military sales. It would be equipped with the MEL Super Searcher radar mounted in an extended nose. The manu facturer is undecided whether to offer a two-crew or three- crew layout. The copilot would have a radar display in the two-crew version. A patrol Seastar would be fitted with underwing hardpoints. A decision on relocation is expected within weeks. Mean while, flight tests of the proto type continue, and a second aircraft is being assembled for a first flight in the second quarter of- this year. The second aircraft will have a fully-fitted interior, unlike the Seastar now flying, which carries telemetry equipment. Other amphibians being independently marketed include the Canadair CL- 215T, a turbine version of the well established aircraft often used for waterbombing, and the small Lake Renegade, which is to be offered with a more powerful engine follow ing US certification in about two months' time. Socata revises US marketing GRAND PRAIRIE ~ Aerospatiale light-aircraft subsidiary Socata has set up a US arm to market its TB series as a means of reducing distributors' investment. The French company has estab lished Aerospatiale General Aviation (AGA) to import and reassemble Tobago, Trinidad, and Trinidad TC aircraft, reports Ian Goold from Texas. Socata has sold 101 TB- series aircraft over the three years to December 31 last, and expects to require at least ten distributors under the new arrangements. An agreement with Aerospatiale Helicopter Corporation (AHC) will per mit the two companies' repre sentatives to promote each other's products. North American sales manager Christopher Duplay was in California this week to brief AHC salesmen at the Helicop ter Association International Convention on the fixed-wing TB range, following talks with The proposed maritime patrol version of the Claudius Dornier Seastar would carry the MEL Super Searcher radar Orange County-based Million Air about West Coast distri bution. AGA has bought back for resale several aircraft from one representative which had been responsible for 13 western states. (Another distributor, based in Denver, Colorado, looked after sales in the central USA from North Dakota to Texas and to Florida. Smaller sales areas had been allocated to two distributors in the north east.) The manufacturer says that the 20 aircraft each held by its two largest distributors required too much risk: "We terminated the contracts". Under the new arrangements, AGA rents space from the helicopter company, which assembles the aircraft under subcontract. AGA will sup port distributors' promotion costs dollar-for-dollar. Agree ments have been struck with Availl for 48hr spares support and Aircraft Technical Publi cations for service documents. Now distributors will hold two current-model demon strators each, and AGA expects to maintain an inven tory of about 25 aircraft in Texas. Commercial tilt-rotor funds sought FORT WORTH ~ Bell is seeking investors in the Bell/Boeing tilt-rotor project, to speed up development of commercial derivatives. Dis cussions are at an early stage, but a number of organisations are interested, claims Gainor Lindsey, Bell's senior vice- president of commercial sales. Lindsey says that airport authorities can make a net saving by investing in the project, named the V-22 Osprey and under develop ment for the US military, because of the savings in airport construction costs. The tilt-rotor can take off and land vertically like a helicop ter, though it is forecast by Bell to rival fixed-wing aircraft in operation. The advantage of compact airports is greatest where land prices are high, notably in Japan, says Lindsey, who adds that a commercial tilt- rotor could be available in the mid-1990s. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 13 February 1988
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