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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 0009.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Financial snags cloud FAA long-range radar The US Federal Aviation Ad ministration is negotiating with Westinghouse over the fi nancial terms of the contract to produce the ARSR-4 long-range radar, a major element of the USA's massive National Airspace System (NAS) upgrade plan. The $384 million programme has suffered lengthy implemen tation slippages and now faces severe contractual problems be cause Westinghouse harbours doubts about its profitabilty. It is the second significant part of the NAS improvement scheme to have difficulties with a contractor in recent weeks. The FAA is already consider ing a plan submitted by IBM to address serious software issues with the Initial Sector Suite Sys tem (Flight International, 9-15 December, 1992). ARSR-4 is a solid-state, 400km (220nm)-range radar, de signed to provide en-route sur veillance as part of the NAS and, secondarily, to be added to the military surveillance of US coastal areas. The Department of Defense is funding the pro gramme jointly. Westinghouse beat three com petitors to the contract in 1988, but in 1992 it experienced a nine-month slippage of first-site implementation, partly because the site would not be ready, and partly because of a dispute with a subcontractor over the supply of power transistors. The FAA and Westinghouse now hope for implementation in October 1993. The new difficulties arise be cause Westinghouse, hit hard by the defence downturn, has had to devote additional resources to tackling software tasks on the ARSR-4, which has driven up costs and eaten into profits. The deficit on the fixed-price contract reportedly exceeds $15 million and is worsening. FAA officials say, however, that Wideroe stays loyal to de Havilland Norwegian regional airline Wideroe's Flyveselskap has confirmed its order for up to 15 de Havilland Dash 8 turboprops to replace its DHC- 6 Twin Otters. Saab Aircraft and Beech have also landed regional-airliner orders. The purchase continues a long tradition of Wideroe loy alty to de Havilland, although Dornier had been hopeful of an order for its 328 commuter (Flight International, 28 Octo- ber-3 November, 1992). Six Dash 8-100s will be delivered by the end of January 1994, with two more being added the following year, and the remaining seven (for which Wideroe has retained a cancel lation option) in 1996. Total contract value could amount to $160 million. The aircraft will be powered by uprated Pratt & Whitney Canada PW121 engines pro ducing l,600kW (2,150shp). They will also be equipped with vibration absorbers devel oped by de Havilland. In a spate of orders for regional turboprops as 1992 ended, Mesa Airlines ordered 30 Beech 1900D 19-seaters. The contract, worth $90 mil lion, comes on top of a previ ous order for 58 1900Ds. Saab Aircraft has secured an order for 20 Saab 340Bs from American Eagle, the American Airlines subsidiary. The con tract brings to 90 the 340s on order with the US carrier, with a further 50 on option. To date, 67 have been deliv ered. American says that 14 aircraft from the new order will be delivered in 1993, with the rest due by March 1994. Saab cannot confirm that a new Jordanian operator is the unidentified customer for a single 340B. • Westinghouse doubts o\er the ARSR-4 have forced it to the negotiating table Westinghouse owes the Govern ment money on the deal. Some believe that the com pany is implying that it is pre pared to withdraw from the contract rather than to continue under the present terms. FAA programme manager Richard Lay says that the com pany is contracted to deliver the system according to a specified timetable. He adds robustly: "It is not our responsibility to bail out ailing companies." Westinghouse declines to comment on whether it has threatened to pull out, but says: "We would reiterate that the programme is only one month off its current schedule. We will deliver the first item during the first quarter of 1993. We have heavily emphasised reliability and life-cycle costs and we have identified $100 million in life- cycle cost savings." • OPERATING LESSORS OF REGIONAL AIRCRAFT deHAVILLAND DASH8 Series 102,103 and 300A by Sale or Operating Lease Contact John A. Timmins AVLINE Leasing Corporation 1900 Main Street, Suite 210 Sarasota, FL 34236 Tel.: (813) 366-9171; Fax: (813) 955-1889 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 6 - 12 January, 1993
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