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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 0488.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION FALCON 2000 FLIGHT-TESTS BEGIN AT ISTRES Dassault Aviation's Falcon 2000 corporate jet is now undergoing an 800 flight-hour test programme at the Istres test centre in southern France, after a 75min maiden flight on 4 March o\er the Bordeaux-Merignac region. European Joint Aviation Authorities and US Federal A\iation Administration certification is scheduled for December 1994 and first deliveries early in 1995. The twehe-passenger jet will he demonstrated at the Paris air show in June. AlliedSignal offers Citation upgrade AlliedSignal Aerospace is of fering to upgrade Cessna Citation 500 business jets with electronic flight instruments and a digital autopilot. Certification flights are scheduled to begin this month at AlliedSignal General Avia tion Avionics' Olathe, Kansas, test centre. Customer installa tions are to begin in the third quarter of 1993. The $125,000 upgrade will replace the analogue autopilot and the pilot's-side mechanical flight-instruments with a digi tal automatic flight-control sys tem, as well as a Bendix/King EFS-50 electronic flight-instru ment system. The two-tube display system comprises 125mm electronic attitude-director and horizon tal-situation indicator units. AlliedSignal says that the conversion will be applicable to all Citation 500s built, includ ing those modified by Sierra Industries to improved-per formance Eagle and LongWing configurations, which account for 20% of the fleet. The basic 500 will be the first to be certificated, followed by the modified aircraft. During the avionics upgrade, the aircraft will be modified to allow single-pilot instrument- flight-rules operation. This is usually the responsi bility of the manufacturer, Al liedSignal says, but Sierra Industries has certificated a single-pilot modification to the Cessna 500. The US avionics manufac turer is planning to adopt the same approach. • Sales of Bendix/King TCAS II traffic-alert and collision- avoidance systems to corporate customers have passed the 300 mark, for an 80% market share, says AlliedSignal General Avia tion Avionics. AlliedSignal Air Transport Avionics says it is already the leader in TCAS II sales to airlines, having sold some 3,000 systems and claiming to hold 60% of the world market. • Beech consolidates its FBO functions BY GRAHAM WARWICK IN ATLANTA Beech Aircraft has consoli dated its 19 company- owned US fixed-base operators (FBOs) into a single entity, United Beechcraft, in a move to provide improved, uniform, na tionwide customer service. United Beechcraft is the sec ond-largest FBO network after Signature Flight Support, formed in 1992 by the merger of Page Avjet and Butler Avia tion, with 40 sites. The new company replaces Beech Holdings, which com prised five separate regional divisions with names such as Hangar One and Hedrick Beechcraft. Where as these divisions reported to Beech's marketing department, United Beechcraft is a separate profit centre which reports directly to Beech's president, says Keith Nadolski, president of the con solidated company. The consolidation, which began 18 months ago, has al lowed United Beechcraft to launch its first nationwide fuel- discount programme. The first phase of the programme pro vides per-fueling volume dis counts, but the second stage will offer annual volume dis counts to customers using UK CAA proposes business AOC The UK Civil Aviation Au thority is proposing a new licence for operators of some business aircraft in order to comply with European regula tions designed to catch illegal public-transport charters. Previously, some business- aircraft users have been exempt from holding an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), as their flights did not constitute for mal public-transport opera tions, even though companies charged internal departments or sister businesses for use of the aircraft. Such "cross-charging" falls foul of sections of European Community transport legisla tion, as does the use of aircraft for valuable consideration, re muneration or hire by opera tors or individuals chartering illegally. The operators will re quire a national AOC under the new EC law. The CAA is proposing an "AOC Corporate" to replace the previous exemption. The new licence is seen as a stopgap until Joint Aviation Authorities requirements are introduced, perhaps in 1995. • more than one United Beech craft location. By the third quarter of 1993, all locations will have computer access to details of all custom ers' aircraft and accounts, across the FBO network. United Beechcraft is consoli dating its 17 regional spares locations into one national parts warehouse in Indianapo lis. The company plans to offer a 365-day-a-year, 24h-a-day re placement-parts service and to upgrade services at its FBOs. "We are in this for the long term," says Nadolski. United Beechcraft has also re-organised its charter operations. • NEWS IN BRIEF GULFSTREAM V The design of the Gulfstream V long-range corporate-jet has been frozen. The initial $29.5 million price for the 11,600km (6,300nm) range aircraft will be held for 1993, having been fixed for the first 24 aircraft. Some 22 aircraft are covered by "deposits, let ters of intent, or contracts", with firm contracts for at least ten. Gulfstream aims to fly the GV in 1995 and to deliver before the end of 1996 "nine or ten" aircraft for comple tion. Following sales of 12 GIVs in the last three months of 1992, orders this year are "on schedule". Gulfstream plans to build 27 aircraft this year, compared with the 30 it built in 1992. VOLPAR APPROVAL California-based Volpar Air craft says that a $7 million cash infusion has been ap proved by the US bankruptcy court, allowing work to re sume on re-engineing the Dassault Falcon 20 business jet with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305 turbofans (Flight International, 24 Feb ruary - 2 March, P19). FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 17 - 23 March, 1993 21
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