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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 1220.PDF
COMMUTER AIRCRAFT DIRECTORY reached, and Canadair is expected to decide whether to proceed with a full launch of the project by the end of this year. Meanwhile, Shorts has announced its plan to launch a totally new aircraft for this market, the twin-jet FJX (Fan Jet Experimental). The company foresees a market for around 1,000 40-seat to 60-seat aircraft in this category over the 15-year period 1994-2008, and would hope to take a sizeable share of this with the FJX. A decision on whether to proceed with devel opment is planned within the next 12 months. This will certainly be an inter esting sector of the market to watch, but it remains to be seen if the jet can make a successful entry into this arena, which has been dominated so far by turboprops. This year's directory contains some 40 entries, and for ease of study these can be broken down into groups based on their seating capacity. At the top end of the market, containing aircraft with more than 50 seats, things seem to have picked up after a somewhat slow start. Orders from both Avline and Wings West have provided a significant boost to the ATP, while both the ATR72 and the Dash 8 Series 300 seem to be progressing to schedule, the former being scheduled to fly later this year. Little has been heard of the Soviet ATP look-alike, the 11-114. Moving down in capacity to the 40- to 50-seaters, this area seems to be domi nated by the ATR42, although sales of the Fokker 50 are picking up. Series prod uction of the CN-235 is under way, although deliveries to date have largely been made to military customers. Two newcomers to this category, both being scheduled to fly this year, are the unpressurised Bromon Br-2000 and the 40-seat Czech L-610. The 30-seater range includes both the Shorts 330 and 360, although sales of the former are now rather scarce. Shorts has increased the saleability of the 360 by the introduction of the more powerful -300 model last year. Also in this category are the Brasilia, Dash 8, and Saab 340, all three types currently selling well, with a "hot and high" variant of the latter now being available. Moving down to the mid- 20-seat range, the only aircraft of this size is the Spanish Aviocar. Sales of this type have now levelled off, although the aircraft remains popular with both civil and military users. Future competition could materialise in the form of the Do328, assuming the project gets the go-ahead. The 16- to 20-seat bracket is probably the most active sector of the market. Beech enhanced prospects for its 1900 commuter by the introduction of the "wet wing" as a standard feature last year, while BAe is now offering a more powerful version of the Jetstream, designated Super 31, the first deliveries of which will be made early next year. Embraer's popular Bandeirante will soon start to give way to its successor, the CBA-123, with first deliveries of the new design being made around 1991. At the same time, Fairchild will be introducing the new Metro V. Returning to the present, the Do228 is now taking over the mantle of the Twin Otter, the latter finally coming out of production this year. A new entry to this bracket is the 19-seat Skytrader Commuterliner. In the final category, for aircraft containing 15 or fewer seats, much remains the same, with the addition of the Beech 1300, a Super King Air B200 deriv ative aimed specifically at the regional operator with long, thin routes. The Islander remains available in both piston and turbine models, and total deliveries of this aircraft approach the 1,100 mark. Cessna continues to offer both Caravan I and II in commuter configurations, although sales to date have largely been to the small parcels/utility market, and it remains to be seen if either type makes any impact in the commuter sector. At the top of this category, neither the Do228-100 series nor the Beech C99 Airliner are in production, although Beech has stated that it may reintroduce the C99 if demand is strong. The following directory entries are listed in alphabetical order of manu facturer, and include all aircraft intended for commuter/regional operation, either in production or under development. The subsequent tables cover all of the preceding types, either in, or approaching production status. The Aerospatiale I Aeritalia ATR42 has sold steadly in Europe and the USA Aerospatiale/Aeritalia (France/Italy) ATR42 Now well established in the commuter market, this aircraft evolved from the amalgamation in 1980-81 of two projects; the Aeritalia AIT-230 and the Aerospatiale AS- 35. A joint-venture company named Avions de Transport Regional was set up in Toulouse in early 1982, and agreement was reached to split work on the new project 50/50 as far as possible. The ATR42 first flew in August 1984, received certification in both France and Italy in September 1985, and entered service in Decem ber of that year with Air Littoral. The fuselage, fin, tailplane, and undercarriage fairings are produced in Italy, while the wing is made in France. Final assembly and flight-testing is carried out at Aerospatiale's Toulouse facility. Current production is centred on the ATR42-300, this model offering improved payload/range performance and increased maximum take-off weight in comparison to earlier variants. Design of the ATR42 is comparatively conventional, with a high wing, high tailplane, and fuselage-mounted main landing gear. Use is made of composite materi als, and the flightdeck has electronic displays. With effect from the end of this year, all stan dard ATR42s will offer 48 seats rather than the current 46. Apart from the passenger versions of the ATR42, Aerospatiale/Aeritalia have developed a commercial freighter—the ATR42-F—with redesigned interior, strength ened cargo floor, and port-side cargo door which can be opened in flight. For the military market, the companies are proposing the SAR-42 for maritime surveillance/SAR missions, and the ATM (Avion de Transport Militaire) -42 freighter with large forward cargo door. As of January 1, Avions de Transport Regional had announced orders for 125 ATR42s from 31 customers, with options held on a further 70 aircraft, and on February 3 an order for 12 aircraft, plus options on six more, were signed with Canadian Partner of Toronto. Some 73 ATR42s had been delivered at this date. The production rate is likely to be increased this year to meet demand. ATR72 Launched in 1985, the ATR72 is a stretched version of the ATR42, offering seat ing for 66 to 70 passengers. The ATR72 will have additional fuselage sections added fore and aft of the wing, extended wing outer sections, and redesigned engine nacelles. Power is to be provided by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW-124 turboprops driving four- bladed Hamilton Standard propellers. The ATR72 is to have cockpit commonality and common type ratings with the ATR42. The first flight of the ATR72 is scheduled for later this year, with certification following in May 1989. As of January 1, Aerospatiale/ Aeritalia were claiming total orders for 17 ATR72s, with a further 34 aircraft on option. Finnair, which converted part of its ATR42 order to the -72, is the launch customer. Antonov (USSR) An-26B The An-26, a development of the earlier An-24RT, remains in production in the USSR, having first flown in the late 1960s. The original production version, fitted with a conveyor flush-mounted in the cabin floor, has been superseded by the An-26B variant, with roll-gangs to facilitate freight movement. The aircraft is of similar size to the F.27/BAe 748, and has a rear-loading "beaver tail", as well as an auxiliary turbojet mounted in the starboard nacelle to improve performance. Specialised variants of the basic design include the An-30 survey version with a glazed nose, and the 38 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 7 May 1988
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