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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 3935.PDF
BUSINESS Snecma sales tip civil/military scales French aero-engine manufac turer Snecma, whose output in 1989 was 75% military and 25% civil, tipped the scales in 1989 to 25% military and 75% civil, says the company's new chairman and ^:hief executive officer Louis Gallois. Known for its military engines powering the Mirage fighter family, Snecma's civil business has been boosted through its partnership with US manufac turer General Electric. More than 3,000 GE/Snecma CFM56 turbofans are in service and 3,000 more will be delivered over the next three years, says Gallois. Production rate will be boosted to 100 a month by 1992, he says, with engines available producing between 8,200kg and 15,400kg thrust. Snecma recently acquired a 51% stake in Belgium's FN Moteurs, worth $45 million, where the present military: civil balance is now 70:30. This is likely to change to 50:50 under Snecma's influence. The French company also holds 11% of Nor way's Norskijetmotor, a stake it could increase to 22%. According to Gallois, Snecma is discussing wider co-operation on future military, hypersonic and space transporter engines with Rolls-Royce, MTU and other West European aero engine manufacturers. • Honeywell joins Racal on satcoms Ratal satcom is available on Gulfstream's GIV Avionics companies Racal of xVthe UK and Honeywell of the USA have announced a joint venture to develop, build and market airborne satellite com- Domier brothers in separate bids for Seastar amphibian firm operating while the receiver sought a purchaser. Lucas says none of the 180 workers were laid off and only one of them resigned. He says customer con fidence has not been hit and no option has been cancelled. The firm has spent DM10.5 million of West German Govern ment funds and new owners would have to pay this back after the 105th aircraft sale, Lucas says. He is optimistic that the remainder of the DM37 million Government funding promised would be paid if new backers come on board. Payments cannot be carried over into next year so a memorandum of understand ing (MoU) of a purchase must be signed this year if the flow of funds is to continue. If bidders sign an MoU this month the Seastar purchase could be completed in January, says Lucas. Claudius Dornier Seastar, founded in 1984, fell into insol vency when the Dornier brothers failed to agree on terms of accep tance of a funding offer from'the Bavarian state government. Of ficials believe there is a market for 250 Seastars over 10 years. The aircraft price is currently DM5.6 million. • Two Dornier brothers have joined rival bids to buy Clau dius Dornier Seastar, the amphibious aircraft maker which became insolvent last month. Talks between the bidders and receiver Hans Hanel are up against the clock, however, and $15 million (DM26.5 million) of promised government funding will be lost if a preliminary deal is not struck by the year-end. Conrado Dornier and the Dresdner Bank have made a pur chase offer in competition with brother Claudio Dornier, who has bid with an unnamed West German aerospace firm and en trepreneur Albert Blum, who re cently bought into Wolfgang Hoffmann's H.40 light aircraft programme. No offer has been made, how ever, by Daimler-Benz, the acquisitive giant whose portfolio includes Dornier and MBB and which owned 20% of Claudius Dornier Seastar, according to the troubled firm's managing direc tor Hannes Lucas. The othertwo Dornier brothers who, like Conrado and Claudio, each owned 20% of Claudius Dornier Seastar, have likewise not bid, says Lucas. When the firm ran into trouble in November it was just months from winning certification in the USA and West Germany for the 12-passenger Seastar amphibian. Some 38 were on option and were scheduled to be delivered from late 1990. Conrado Dornier then injected DM4.9 million and Claudio Dor nier DM2.5 million to keep the Dornier fights Dornier in bid for Seastar munications (satcom) systems. Under the 50:50 deal, Racal Avionics will be responsible for detail design, while Honeywell's Commercial Flight Systems Group will have primary responsibility for marketing and product support. The two companies will share develop ment and manufacture of the satcom equiment. The partners estimate the satcom market to be worth some $1.4 billion. With the new tie-up, there are just two major players in the market, Honeywell/Racal, and Rockwell-Collins. Racal is already producing a single-channel satellite tele phone system called Satfone, and claims to have sold some 18 examples so far. It has ten orders and options on Gulfstream GIV business jet installations alone, and the system is now offered as a production option on that air craft. Racal is also involved in Skyphone trials with British Air ways, on that carrier's Boeing 747 transatlantic services. The agreement between Honeywell and Racal covers sys tems far more advanced than these existing ones. Leo Gallagher, marketing director of Racal Avionics, says: "We've teamed with Honeywell for the next generation, which will be in production in 1992." The next generation of satcom equipment will be multi-chan nel, allowing a variety of services such as telephone, fax, radio and even television transmissions to and from aircraft. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 December 1989-2January 1990 15
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