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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 3675.PDF
iMUxmnr INTERNATIONAL Week ending 24/31 December 19 Number 4145, Volume 134 ISSN 00153710 iSfe REED teS BUSINESS '•^ PUBLISHING IN THIS ISSUE Crossair order launches stretched Saab 2 Crashes mar Armenian airlift effort 3 Rockwell in Tornado bid for Wild Weasel 4 Pentagon approves C-17s 5 SAS takes stake in UK airlines 6 Germans seek alternative Lraaca mission avionics 7 Differences persist over Arrow Air crash causes 8 Commuters down on safety, FAA finds 9 Second X-29 prepared for high-alpha testing 10 Rafale radar opened to partners 11 Martin Marietta pushes commercial Flir 12 Sea Harrier testbed takes to the air 13 Spacewalk hitch unexplained 14 Letters 15 Uncle Roger's Christmas Quiz 19 Discover your TAP rating with Roger Bacon's aero nautical brain-teaser. Water jet 23 Canadair's CI.-215 waterbomber is getting turboprop power and multirole capability. Ian Goold reports from Montreal. Midway between the majors 28 Midway Airlines' success hinges largely upon its use of Chicago Midway Airport as a hub, as David Learmount discovered. Card trick 32 Albert Ross recalls an unusual seasonal greeting. Flight Index, July-December 1988 34 NEXT WEEK MBB's BO.108 technology demonstra tor first flew in October. The latest technology for the smaller helicopter will be examined by Chris Drewer. Front cover: The pilot of this Norwegian F-I6 is busy doing Uncle Roger's Christmas Quiz. To determine your TAP rating turn to pages 19-22. OUR VIEW_ And the winner is Once again, or so it seems, the year has ended with tragedy, and with aviation playing its part in the relief of human suffering. The Armenian earthquake relief effort may prove to be the largest peacetime air operation since the Berlin airlift. Air crashes, caused by confusion and the emergency conditions, did not deter the airlift. As the International Red Cross said, "Nothing is normal after an earthquake, and you don't stop the relief. Nevertheless, Western crews involved in the relief operation have been critical of the Soviets' organisation. Hopefully, when the airlift is over, the Soviets will share with the rest of the world the lessons learned in handling such a massive air operation. On a less serious note, as 1988 closes it is worth reviewing what has proved an event ful year in aerospace. It is time, with tongue firmly in cheek, to acknowledge the industry's better endeavours. The year's "Most dramatic debut" award must go to Northrop's B-2 stealth bomber. Even as its sinister shape emerged from the hangar shadows, telephoto lenses zoomed in and intimate details of the USA's most secret bomber were beamed around the world. Top marks go to the magazine which hired an aircraft, flew over the roll-out, and, to the annoyance of the US Air Force, produced the most dramatic and revealing pictures of this startling design. The "Performer of the year" award has to go to Britain's industry for securing the £10 billion-plus Saudi Arabian arms deal, followed by deals with Jordan and Malaysia, and for buying up US and foreign companies like there is no tomorrow. There is a tomorrow, and it looks bright for Britain's aerospace industry. The "Most promising newcomer" of 1988 has to be the Boeing 757. It is not exactly a newcomer, perhaps, but after years of slow but steady sales the 757 has caught on in a big way. On its way to selling more than 620 airliners worth a staggering $29 billion, Boeing sold almost 160 757s in 1988, taking total orders close to 400 and perhaps setting the aircraft on its way to rival the 727 and 737 (for which orders now stand at almost 2,260). 1988's "Most successful survivor" must be the McDonnell Douglas/British Aerospace AV-8B Harrier II. Zero-funded year after year, this mean Marine machine finally won the relative security of multiyear funding. For the next three years at least the Marine Corps can concentrate its formidable lobbying power on another V/Stol aircraft, the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor. The "Best-fought contest" of the year had to be that to power the US Army's LHX light scout/attack helicopter. The T800 turbo- shaft is perhaps the finest example yet of US competitive development. Both T800s were fine engines, but Allison and Garrett consis tently beat their rivals to the major mile stones, and eventually won with the most maintainable engine yet designed. The "Best airshow of the year"—an acco lade much fought for but seldom won—must^ go to the Australian Bicentennial bunfight, for putting the sheer enjoyment of aviation ahead of the dreary business of aerospace, and because, unlike other airshows, it only happens once every 200 years. This year's "Most popular country" has to be Belgium. Teams from Dassault, Euro- fighter, and General Dynamics flew in to tempt the Belgians with their respective fighters. They stayed in hotels just vacated by teams from Aerospatiale and MBB, leaving after Agusta won Belgium's long-running Aeromobility helicopter contest. The "Don't hold your breath" award for 1988 goes to Eurofighter and Eurojet, for waiting patiently for contracts to develop the European Fighter Aircraft and its engine, and for keeping work going to the extent that the first development EFA engine ran within weeks of the contract being signed. The 1989 award could yet go to the teams competing to supply the EFA radar. 1988's "Better late than never" award goes to Sweden's JAS39 Gripen fighter, which had to wait 18 months while engineers worked round the clock to test the fly-by-wire software and prove to the customer that the unstable aircraft would fly safely. This year's "Why didn't we think of this before" award goes to Piper, for realising that general aviation wants, not hi-tech plastic sculptures, but good old-fashioned aeroplanes at old-fashioned prices. Piper's relaunched range of metal-vintage light aeroplanes is selling as though the GA Recession does not exist. The "You ain't seen nothing yet" award must go to the Soviet Union. First for the tail-sliding Farnborough Fulcrum, then for the'..space shuttle Buran, and finally for Antpnov's "Dream", the world's heaviest aircraft. Soviet President Gorbachev's under taking to remove 800 combat aircraft from eastern Europe, although overshadowed by the Armenian tragedy, ended an eventful year in aviation. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 24/31 December 1988 1
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