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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 0509.PDF
jm INTERNATIONAL Editorial Enquiries +44 (61) 652 3842 Editorial Fax . +44 (81) 652 3848 Display Advertising +44 (81) 652 3315 Display Advertising Fax +44 (81) 652 8981 Classified Advertising +44 (81) 652 6373 Classified Advertising Fax +44 (81) 642 4431 Telex 892884 REEDBP G Subscriptions +44 (81) 649 7271 Back issues (recent copies only) +44 (81) 652 3315 Picture Library +44 (81) 652 3427 Flight Directories +44 (707) 46952 USA Newstrade Sales Enquiries +1 (718) 392 7477 LONDON Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, UK Editor Allan Winn Editor's PA Jacqueline Worsley Deputy Editor Forbes Mutch News Editor Andrew Chuter Features Editor David Learmount Business Editor Kevin OToole Military Editor Mike Gaines Air Transport Editor Ian Goold +44 (81) 652 3882 +44 (81) 652 3882 +44 (81) 652 3852 +44 (81) 652 3843 +44 (81) 652 3845 +44 (81) 652 3835 +44 (81) 652 8809 +44 (81) 652 3834 Technology/Industry Editor Simon Elliott +44 (81) 652 3838 Databases Editor Tom Hamill Editorial Assistant Kate Sarstield Design Editor Mike Wells Layout Sub-editor Annabel Goddard Layout Sub-editor Jenny Long Technical Artist Tim Hall Technical Artist David Haichard Technical Artist John Marsden Spaceflight Correspondent Tim Furniss Photographer (Europe) Mark Wagner +44 (81) 652 3096 +44 (81) 652 3842 +44 (81) 652 3828 +44 (81) 652 3848 +44 (81) 652 3847 +44 (81) 652 8047 +44 (81) 652 8047 +44 (81) 652 8054 +44 (237) 451756 Fax +44 (237) 451600 +44 (272) 358200 Fax +44 (272) 358290 Display Advertisement Sales Sales Manager Clive Richardson +44 (81) 652 3315 Assistant Sales Manager Nick Wilcox +44 (81) 652 3892 Regional Manager Northern and Eastern Europe Mark Janaway+44 (81) 652 3317 Regional Manager UK and Scandinavia Janice Lowe , +44 (81) 652 3316 Advertisement production Howard Mason +44 (81) 652 3267 EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST European Editor (Brussels) Julian Moxon +32 (2) 657 9689 Fax +32 (2) 657 5260 Munich Correspondent Douglas Bar* +49 (89) 689 1041 Fax +49 (89) 689 1045 Paris Correspondent Gilbert Sedbon +33 (1) 4825 5261 Israel Correspondent Arie Egozi +972 (3) 967 1155 Sales Director (France) Pierre Mussard +33 (1) 40 Representative (Italy) Romano Ferrario +39 (2) 93 01 02 58084 302 AMERICAS American Editor Graham Warwick +1 (404) Fax +1 (404) Washington Correspondent Kieran Daly +1 (703) Fax +1 (703) USA West Coast Correspondent (Los Angeles) Guy Norn's +1 (714) Fax +1 (714) Photographer (USA) Craig Schmitman +1 (310) Fax +1 (310) President RBP (USA) Ray Barnes +1 (212) Traffic Manager JoAnn Lapp +1 (212) Fax +1 (212) Vice President US Sales John Tidy +1 (714) Fax +1 (714) Sales' Director (Mid West and Canada) Gene Glendinning +1 (708) Fax +1 (708) Sales Director (East Coast) Robert Hancock +1 (703) Fax +1 (703) Business Development Director Sheena Bobbins +1 (703) Fax +1 (703) 587 2927 594 1534 836 7443 252 8971 252 8972 452 4464 452 3515 687 6604 756 1057 756 2514 635 9920 635 0602 836 7444 836 7446 836 7444 836 7446 ASIA/PACIFIC Asian Editor (Singapore) John Bailey +65 226 3188 Fax +85 227 1769 Australian Correspondent Paul Phelan +61 (70) 532 791 Fax +61 (70) 532 791 Sales Director Mike Hancock (Singapore) +65 226 3188 Account Manager Fiona Bartholomeusz +65 226 3188 Fax +65 223 6960 Regional Representative (Japan) Shoichi Maruyama +81 (3) 3234 2161 Fax +81 (3) 3234 1143 Publisher Les Edwards +44 (81) 652 3436 For full advertisement information see page 60. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation COMMENT THE ROAD FROM RUIN T he voice of a Russian official appealing for urgent assistance to replace the former Soviet Union's crumbling air traffic control system is a chilling indicator of conditions inside the new Common wealth of Independent States (CIS). News of the taped radio message, recorded by a Tokyo- bound Boeing 747 passing over Siberia, came during a week packed with indicators of the devastating effect the dissolution of the Soviet system has had on avia tion both inside and out side the CIS. In Poland, the aircraft industry has been plunged into despair by the cancellation of CIS contracts accounting for 85% of its business. PZL has been forced to stop helicopter production and development. Work on parts for Ilyushin air liners and spares for Pol ish-built aircraft in the CIS has been halted be cause of non-payment. The Polish Govern ment is being urged to buy new PZL trainers and helicopters to fill the gap left by the loss of CIS orders, but money is tight and, inevitably, western in dustry is being looked on as a potential saviour lnitially, the Commonwealth is concentrating on selling products in markets where it has an edge, such as amphibious aircraft." Subcontract work that is tied to Poland's, grow ing purchases of western aircraft is PZL's only hope of near-term relief while, in the longer term, barter arrangements might resurrect some CIS business. To Czechoslovakia's industry, the end of the Soviet Union meant the loss of its principal customer for the L-39 jet trainer and L-610 regional airliner. After Czechoslovakia's Aero demanded hard currency for further L-39s and spares, Yakovlev was awarded a contract to study a CIS-built replacement trainer. The re quirement Aero's L-610 would have fulfilled is now coveted by the CIS design bureaux seeking to convert from military to civil production. In Germany, there are fears that cutbacks and confusion in the CIS space programme could jeopardise joint projects with the former East German industry. A German cosmonaut is due to fly to CIS space station Mir on 17 March, on the first manned spaceflight since the birth of the Commonwealth, but there are signs of discontent among workers at the Moscow mis sion control and Baikonur launch site. Germany is also finding it increasingly diffi cult to deal with the CIS when it comes to maintaining and improving its inherited fleet of former East German air force Soviet-built air craft. Instead of dealing with a central Soviet supply agency, Germany has had to negotiate numerous small sub contracts with individual CIS companies — a logistics headache. The situation inside the CIS can only be guessed at but there is no shortage of indicators to the aircraft industry's dire straits. A new bid by industry and the military to persuade CIS leaders to continue funding for improvements to existing combat aircraft and de velopment of new mis siles may have failed. On the civil side, pro grammes under way when the Soviet Union dissolved appear to have made no progress. This has serious impli cations for the CIS' air craft industry, which, its leaders believe, has a key role to play in any eco nomic recovery. The aircraft industry accounts for a third of CIS exports of manufactured goods and, its leaders consider, it is the Common wealth's most important industry both for ex ports and for linking the independent, but increasingly disparate, states of the former Soviet Union. That importance will only be realised if the •CIS finds the means to continue key program mes, including plans to fit western engines and avionics to new airliners. Initially, the industry is concentrating on selling already-developed products in markets where it has an edge — amphibious aircraft and helicopters. This can only be an interim step as to succeed on the;-scale required will require new designs, sooner rather than later. There are precious few signs that the CIS can pull out of its tailspin before irreparable damage has been done to its aviation industry. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 4 - 10 March, 1992
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