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Aviation History
1991
1991 - 2147.PDF
MR TRANSPORT Libya pursues aircraft repairs BY ALAN GEORGE Libya is continuing efforts to make its fleet of five Lock heed L-100 Hercules freighters airworthy, despite US trade sanctions against Tripoli which forbid the supply of aviation equipment and spare parts. The Libyans are also moving to over haul their Boeing CH-47 Chi nook helicopters. One Hercules operated by Lib yan Arab Airlines is being over hauled at Ghat, in south-west Libya, while work is under way on an aircraft operated by the military at Sebha. According to internal sources, a key figure in the overhaul contract is Harry Foerster, a Luxembourg-based German businessman. He has recruited two teams of European freelance engineers. The aircraft at Ghat requires extensive work, and the inten tion is to fly it to Europe once it has been made airworthy. There are no plans for the Her cules at Sebha to be brought out of the country. Foerster is also understood to have been appointed to overhaul six Libyan Chinook helicopters. Work on the first two will be undertaken at Sebha by another team of freelance engineers. Last year, Foerster was at the centre of a deal under which an L-100 (registration 5A-DJQ) was brought to Belgium for overhaul by Flanders Aircraft Mainte nance and Engineering. The firm is headed by a US citizen, Duane Egli, who was arrested this year in Miami and charged with al leged violation of US sanctions against Libya. It is understood that when the Ostend Hercules returned to Libya in January 1991 it carried equipment for the refurbishment of the other Hercules. • Libyan L-100 left Belgium with refurbishment equipment Saab 2000 performance enhanced Predicted performance of the Saab 2000 has improved, fol lowing completion of all but the last elements of low-speed windtunnel testing. Saab 2000 programme direc tor Johan Oster says the latest aerodynamic figures from the windtunnel tests, added to flight-tested performance ex pected of the Allison GMA 2100 turboprop, have pushed antici pated cruise speeds to 365kt (676km/h) and the single-engine ceiling to 21,700ft (6,600m). Field performance has also improved, and standard day take-off distance is now ex pected to be down by several metres, to 1,360m (4,460ft), while landing distance is set at 1,250m. Time to 20,000ft, at lOmin, is almost half that of current turboprops, claims Saab. The first CASA-built wing set was due to arrive al Saab on 16 August. First engine shipset de liveries will be made by Allison in early September. Initial deliv eries will be made directly to Linkoping, but later engines will be shipped via Westland in the Isle of Wight, UK, where the engine will be Saab 2000 performance improved in latest windtunnel tests fitted into its nacelle. Rig testing of the engine, with the Dowty six-swept bladed pro peller, has started and certifica tion of the combination is expected in the third quarter of 1992. Oster says that Saab is consid ering a Dowty-developed active noise control system, which it is "...investigating very deeply", for installation in the cabin. "We're going to make tests and possibly offer it to customers," he adds. The system monitors the propel ler rpm, which is the main noise source, and generates.an equiva lent anti-noise signal which is fed to the cabin-seat area by loudspeakers. Saab also hopes thaCfine tun ing of elastomeric dampers mounted on several fuse-lage frames will keep average internal cabin- noise levels dowjr' to around 76 dB(A). The dampers reduce the dynamic response (and hence noise) of the fuselage structure as it is hit by pressure waves from the propellor. • MARKETPLACE Dubai-based Emirates has or dered a further Airbus A300- 600R, bringing to 700 the number of A300/A310 aircraft contracted by the European consortium. The aircraft is scheduled for delivery in Au gust 1993 and will be pow ered by General Electric CF6- 80C2 engines. Air India has confirmed its requirement for four Boeing 747-400s with spares, valued at S667 mil lion. Boeing has let options on additional -400s to Air India. Domestic carrier Indian Airlines has invited tenders for its four Boeing 737-200s. Alaska Airlines has ordered two Boeing 737-400s to join a leased fleet of 20 which it will begin to receive in early 1992. All will be powered by CFM56-3C engines. National Jet Systems has received a BAe 146-200QC ordered from the manufacturer. The aircraft will be used for charter opera tions and replace a Series 100 aircraft. New airline for Maldives The Government of the Maldives Republic plans a regional international airline, and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kuala Lumpur consultant Trilog to raise finance, secure aircraft, and put infrastructure in place for a start-up by December. Initially, two BAe 146 aircraft will fly from the capital, Male, to Colombo, Madras and Trivandrum in Southern India. Trilog says the Maldives al ready has bilateral agreements in place with India and Sri Lanka, and the start-up would be "straightforward". Air Maldi ves, the Government-owned do mestic carrier, operates two Dornier Do.228s. The consultancy is negotiat ing with Ansett Worldwide Avi ation Services (AWAS) and British Aerospace, and expects to establish the services initially with two used BAe 146s to prove the routes. AWAS con firms the negotiations, and says that used BAe 146s would be available from the Ansett Group's fleet. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 21 /August, 1991 9
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