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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 2908.PDF
BOOMING BUSIN The US National Business Aircraft Association convention in Atlanta on October 3-5 could be a vintage show, with announcements of new models or further developments of current types. Alan Postlethwaite ponders the possibilities. Major product launches and further details of types recently announced are expected at the US National Business Aviation Association's (NBAA) convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 3-5. Expected to be announced among the crop of new products that act as a thermometer for the health of business aviation in the USA and worldwide are: • A stretched, re-engined version of the British Aerospace 125-800 business jet, the BAe 1000, with fuel-efficient high-bypass- ratio engines for extended range • A new turbine single from Pilatus, the PC-12, to take on the capacious Cessna Cara van I in the utility market • Details of the Dassault Falcon X twinjet launched at this year's Paris Air Show. SPECULATION More speculatively, firms may announce progress on a number of project studies known to be under way • Sukhoi and Gulfstream are working inde pendently on supersonic business jets, and have had talks on collaboration. If it went ahead, an East-West venture on this scale would be a technical and political coup; • Gulfstream may launch a near-sonic version of the GIV twinjet • Dassault may reveal plans for a family of aircraft to follow the Falcon X—a "family" has been mooted • Piper may launch a long-awaited deriva tive of the Malibu high-performance single- engined aircraft, perhaps a turbine version or a twin • TBM, the Socata-Mooney tie-up, may similarly announce a derivative of the new TBM. 700—perhaps a twin • Cessna may reveal plans for a Citation IV • Corporate versions of the recent crop of new regional airliners can be expected. Included are the Canadair Regional Jet, Embraer-FAMA CBA-123 twin-turboprop pusher, Embraer EMB-145 twinjet, Saab 2000, and British Aerospace Jetstream 41 • Customers may be announced for new business-aircraft turbofans, the Pratt & Whitney PW305 and the General Electric/Garrett CFE738, including possible retrofit programmes. TIGHT-LIPPED British Aerospace has so far remained tight- lipped about its successor to the BAel25-800, but has mooted the idea of a derivative of its highly successful business jet for several years. Although details have not been released, BAe has said that the new version will extend the current model's range signifi cantly, perhaps to 4,000 n.m., making it a match for the Falcon much larger 900 and Canadair Challenger aircraft. To obtain the high fuel efficiency needed to wring such range from a derivative aircraft, BAe is switching to the new PW305 turbofans, which have a bypass ratio of 4.5:1 and variable guide vanes in the high-pressure compressor. The engines, which are fitted with fans of 30-7in diameter, are expected to deliver some 5,2001b of thrust, a significant increase on the 4,3001b of the Garrett TFE731 units on the current 125-800. The 125-800 already has a long range, and any increase would distinguish it further from other medium jets, combining big-jet range with medium-jet economy. Yet to be revealed is the cabin size and accommodation that the new model will offer. Options likely to have been considered include various stretches, though any major fuselage change would entail wing and perhaps tail modifications. These would increase the cost of development and certifi cation, which BAe has said it wishes to obtain early in 1990. The launch will come at a time when jet deliveries by US firms are significantly down 50 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 23 September 1989
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