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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 2558.PDF
The Bell AH-1W Super Cobra is equipped with Hellfire missiles in US Marine Corps service YF-22A and YF-23A respectively, for a fly-off to determine which aircraft will proceed to full-scale development. Each team is constructing two proto types, to be powered by either the Pratt & Whitney YF119 or the General Electric YF120 engine. It is intended that a fully integrated avionics suite will be tested before the airframes are ready for their first flights, in the second quarter of 1990. Key areas to be evaluated in the run-up to and during the fly-off will be low production costs (the current target flyaway price for production aircraft is $35m in FY1985 dollars), maintainability, reliability, and performance. ATF designs will be required to demonstrate a 50 per cent reduction in mainte nance and twice the sortie generation rate of the F-15 Eagle, while the engine will require to be three times more reliable and need 70 per cent less maintenance when compared with the F100 powerplants of the F-15 and F-16. These targets are specifically set to make the ATF affordable in the quantities required by keeping procurement and operating costs to realistic minimums. The winning design will proceed to a five-year full-scale development phase, aiming for a FSD aircraft first flight in 1993, service entry in 1995/ 96, and full operational deployment in 1996/97. Current planning envisages a production run of 750 aircraft for the USAF, while the Navy has been directed to study the ATF as a possible replacement for the F-14 Tomcat. More than 600 naval ATFs could be required for service from around the turn of the century. BEECHCRAFT King Air/Super King Air/Model 1900 Beechcraft has delivered six Model 1900s to the USAF, for use by the Air National Guard under the designation C-12J. Taiwan has also received a number of Model 1900s, while Egypt has six on order, including some for special missions. The USAF purchased 40 twin-turboprop Super King Air 200Cs as C-12Fs to meet part of its Oper ational Support Aircraft requirement following an initial period of lease. Other military versions of the King Air series include the C/UC/RC-12, RU-21, and T-44 for the US forces, together with maritime surveillance variants produced for export custom ers, for which search radar, low-light TV, FLIR, and acoustic processing equipment are optional. Many standard civilian King Airs are in military service. Customers: Model 90 Bolivia 1, Colombia 2, Ecuador 1, Japan 23, Malawi 1, Mexico 2, Peru 3, South Korea 1, Spain 10, Sudan 2, Thailand 2, USA 189, Venezuela 3; Model 100 Algeria 1, Argentina 1, Chile 1, Ecuador 1, Jamaica 1, Morocco 6, Spain 2, Uganda 2; Model 200 Algeria 8, Argentina 10, Bolivia 2, Cote d'lvoire 1, Ecuador 3, Greece 1, Guatemala 1, Guyana 1, Ireland 3, Israel 6, Mexico 1, Morocco 3, Peru 6, Saudi Arabia 1, Sri Lanka 1, Thailand 2, Uruguay 1, USA 312, Venezuela 7; Model 300 Lesotho 1; Model 1900 Egypt 6, Taiwan 12, USA 6. T-34C Beechcraft rolled-out the first of 19 addi tional follow-on T-34Cs for the US Navy on June 14, 1989. Delivery of the last aircraft in the batch is scheduled for 1990, and will take the US Navy's total procurement to 353 aircraft. The original batch of 334 were delivered between November 1977 and April 1984. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25-powered T-34C first flew on September 21, 1973, and has been built in three production versions: the T-34C with a flat-rated 400 s.h.p. engine; the T-34C-1 with a 550 s.h.p. turboprop, which can carry light armament for weapons training; and the Turbine Mentor 34C featuring the uprated powerplant of the T-34C-1 but without a weapons capability. Customers: T-34C USA 353; T-34C-1 Argentina 15, Ecuador 23, Gabon 4, Indonesia 25, Morocco 12, Peru 7, Uruguay 3; Model 34C Algeria 6, Taiwan 44. BELL HELICOPTER Model 205 The current production version is the UH-1H, the manufacture of which was suspended in December 1980, but later resumed to fulfil orders for 55 from Turkey. A second follow-on contract for 15 will keep the line open until December 1990. The US Army intends to maintain a reduced fleet of more than 1,070 UH-lHs into the next century. Versions of the Model 205 are, or have been, built under licence in Italy (by Agusta as the AB.205), Japan (Fuji), Taiwan (AIDC), Turkey, and West Germany (Dornier). Customers (including secondhand): Argentina 37, Australia 48, Bahrain 1, Bolivia 12, Brazil 64, Burma 18, Canada 10, Chile 18, Colombia 18, Dominican Republic 10, Dubai 6, Ecuador 5, El Salvador 54, Ethiopia 6, Greece 46 (+66 AB.205), Guatemala 9, Honduras 14, Indonesia 16, Iran 90 (AB.205), Israel 34 (+26 AB.205), Italy 116 (AB.205), Japan 114 (Fuji), Jugoslavia 6 (AB.205), Mexico 7, Morocco 48 (AB.205), New Zealand 15, Oman 10 (+23 AB.205), Pakistan 6 (+10 AB.205), Panama 9, Peru 19, Philippines 83, Saudi Arabia 24 (AB.205), Singapore 20 (+6 AB.205), South Korea 53, Spain 75 (+14 AB.205), Taiwan 118 (AIDC), Tanzania 4 (AB.205), Thailand 57+, Tunisia 6 (+18 AB.205), Turkey 111 (+154 AB.205), Uganda 6 (AB.205), Uruguay 6, USA 7,000+, Venezuela 18, West Germany 341 (Domier), Zambia 13 (AB.205), Zimbabwe 11. Model 206/406 The US Army Helicopter Improvement Programme (AHIP) involves the remanufacture of up to 477 OH-58A Kiowa scouts to OH-58D standard, incorporating 650 h.p. Alli son 250-C30R engines, an advanced composite four-blade main rotor, uprated transmission and tail rotor, a mast-mounted sight and target designa tor, Stinger AAMs, CRT cockpit displays, plus improved navigation and communications equip ment. 122 had been delivered by the end of 1988, and conversions are being completed at a rate of three a month. Operationally, three OH-58Ds will lead five AH-64 Apaches, locating and designating targets for their Hellfire missiles. In a further devel opment, the Armed OH-58D, Hellfire missiles and gun and rocket pods have been successfully used in conjunction with the mast-mounted sight. 16 OH-58Ds have been completed for the US Army in this configuration. Bell has proposed the Model 406CS (Combat Scout) for export customers. Based on the AHIP concept, the 406CS features simplified systems, a quick-change weapons system allowing carriage of TOW and Stinger missiles, 2-75in rockets and various-calibre gun pods, and retains the uprated engine/transmission of the OH-58D. Saudi Arabia has ordered 15 Combat Scouts for delivery from 1990. These will be fitted with roof-mounted Saab- Emerson HELITOW sighting systems instead of the OH-58D's mast-mounted sight. These advanced helicopters are derived from Bell's successful five-seat Model 206 JetRanger series, known as the OH-58 Kiowa in US. Army service. The prototype Model 206 flew in Decem ber 1962, and large numbers have been delivered to many military operators, including the US Navy as the TH-57 SeaRanger. Agusta builds the JetRanger under licence in Italy, and Australia's Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation assembled 56 OH-58s for the Australian Army and Navy. A seven-seat development, the Model 206L LongRanger, is also in military use. Bell has trans feree! all JetRanger and LongRanger production to its Canadian subsidiary in Quebec, but the AHIP conversion programme will remain in the USA. Customers (including secondhand): 206A/B Abu Dhabi 1, Australia 56, Austria 12+13' (AB.206), Brazil 41, Brunei 4, Canada 88, Chile 7, Colombia 10, Dubai 3+3 (AB.206), Ecuador 5, Greece 17 (AB.206), Guatemala 2, Guyana 2, Indonesia 3, Iran 160+ (AB.206), Israel 48, Italy 186 (AB.206), Jamaica 4, Libya 7 (AB.206), Mexico 10, Morocco 24 (AB.206), Oman 2+4 (AB.206), Pakistan 11, Peru 20, Saudi Arabia 29 (AB.206), Sharjah 3 (AB.206), South Korea 2, Spain 12+5 (AB.206), Sri Lanka 9, Sweden 32 (AB.206), Tanzania 4 (AB.206), Thailand 19, Turkey 43 (AB.206), Uganda 4+2 (AB.206), USA 2,380 (incl. 477 to OH-58D), Venezuela 17; 206L Bangladesh 2, Dubai 1, Guatemala 5, Israel 4, Mexico 2, Oman 1, Tanzania 2, Venezuela 2; 406 Saudi Arabia 15, OH-58D USA 477 (conversions). 64 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 19 August 1989
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