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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 2749.PDF
FARNBOROUGH R EPORT Partners re-examine SSBJ need The^ Soviet Government co'uld use at least 20 Gulfstream/Sukhoi supersonic business jets (SSBJs), says Sukhoi deputy general designer — SST programme director Alexander Blinov. Although Soviet State airline Aeroflot has no need for a ten-to-20-seat aircraft, Blinov sees a market for an additional 40 Mach 2-plus SSBJs in the Soviet Union "in the new Soviet situation" that might have de veloped by the late 1990s when the aircraft becomes available. Current meetings between Gulfstream and Sukhoi are de fining the aircraft in preparation for further market research, ac cording to ' Gulfstream Aero space chairman and chief execu tive Allen Paulson. Earlier survey work has been dismissed by the partners as having "not been in-depth". Once a detailed specification has been established for the SSBJ, the partners will seek re fundable deposits from prospec tive customers. Paulson wants to see 100 orders booked before going ahead. Sukhoi is setting up a con cern, Aeroconversion, to assist with technology transfer from Anglo-Italian EH101 buoyant in the wake of frigate (rials EH101 completes first sea trial EH Industries has announced that EHlOl pre-production prototype PP2 has carried out ship-based handling and turbu lence trials with the Italian Navy's Maestrale-class frigate Grecale. PP2 spent three days off the Italian Navy base at Luni and was flown by Agusta and Westland chief test pilots, Raff Longobardi and Colin Hague. Although the 2,500t Grecale normally operates the Agusta- Bell AB.412, the larger EHlOl was able to fly 20kt (37km/h) approaches, hover in ship- induced turbulence and land successfully. Colin Hague says: "These tri als were very successful and proved that the EHlOl is straightforward to land on a frigate. "The increased manoeuvrabil ity and power margins of the aircraft enabled very favourable comparisons to be made with the Sea King." The Grecale trials followed blade- and tail-fold develop ment at Agusta's development centre at Cascina Costa. The Royal Navy's EHlOl Merlin prototype is scheduled to carry out its ship trials and deck interface development with the first Type 23 frigate, HMS Norfolk, next year. EHlOl's rotor span is less then that of the Sikorsky SH-3D or of the Westland Sea King and has been designed to stow in the shipboard hangars normally used by these types. D its military to civil programmes. Development cost of the air craft is estimated at $1,000 mil lion, with the SSBJ carrying a $50 million price tag. Paulson claims that Gulfstream has no problem rais ing funds, although develop ment costs are not fully defined. The Soviet Union can offer low costs for its part of the pro gramme, he says. Unveiling a scale mockup of the SSBJ, Paulson revealed a 35.88m-long aircraft with a 20m wing span and three engines. The SSBJ stands 8.71m high to the top of the fin. A 7.62m-long cabin could accommodate up to 19 passengers. The number of engines in the final design has still to be de cided. Configuration will be set "...as soon as Rolls-Royce can give us the thrust from two engines", otherwise three en gines will be required. Rolls- Royce technical director Phil Ruffles says that the engine will be based on the core and fuel- control unit of the Trent tur- bofan so R-R's initial investment will be in that hardware. He hopes to have an agreement with the Lyulka engine design bureau covering R-R involve ment in "three to four months". Lyulka general designer/ director Victor Chepkin says that the planned engine will have "the most modern technol ogy in the world, including single-crystal turbine blades" - the same as the AL-31 which powers the Sukhoi Su-27. Soviets want to do business at the speed of sound Sukhoi's Blinov says that pro duction could take place in existing Soviet factories: "The problem is not to choose the plant with [the capability] to produce the aircraft, but to be sure that the plant will be able to produce an aircraft that can be certificated in the USA". In the absence of a bilateral agreement between the two countries, certification of the airframe will be done through Gulfstream with Sukhoi as a subcontractor, while Rolls- Royce will be the authority for engine approval, says Paulson. Current schedule for the SSBJ assumes a first flight in late 1993 or 1994, with the proto type being powered by a mili tary engine. Certification would take three years "...if all goes fine", according to Paulson. • Litton and MEL team on EHlOl radar MEL has teamed with Litton Systems in offering the Super Searcher radar for Can ada's new shipborne aircraft (NSA) programme. The pulse-compression vari ant of Super Searcher had al ready been bid by MEL for the programme, which is based on the EHlOl helicopter, with Lit ton also having bid independ ently of MEL. Teaming with a Canadian- based company will considera bly strengthen MEL's bid for the project, according to Charles Britton, sales and marketing manager, avionics systems divi sion. If Super Searcher is cho sen, Litton would build the radars at it Halifax plant in Nova Scotia. Canada has a requirement for between 30 and 47 NSA EHlOls, with a decision on the choice of radar expected by the end of the year. A further 20 airframes may be ordered to meet its search-and- rescue needs. D FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 SEPTEMBER, 1990
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