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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 1651.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION Bede BD-10 release aimed for August BY GUY NORMS IN MOJAVE The first kit versions of Bede Jet's two-seat, single-turbo jet BD-10 will be available in August, according to its de signer, Jim Bede. Demonstrating the high- performance aircraft at Mojave, Bede plans to re-engine BD-10 California, on 23 June, Bede also revealed that the BD-10 will "eventually" be offered with the Williams Rolls-Royce FJ44 turbofan in place of the more powerful, but older- generation, General Electric CJ610/J85 turbojet. Bede says that the use of the FJ44 is some time off as "...it involves whole new [exhaust] duct work". Widespread availability of the GE engine has been one of the driving factors behind its use in the BD-10, which has such a high thrust-to-weight ratio that it is expected to achieve comfortably its pro jected maximum design speed of Mach 1.4. Flight-tests conducted in the recently completed first phase itial Learjet 45 batch sells out Learjet has sold the first 18 months' production of its new Learjet 45 business jet. The Bombardier subsidiary plans to deliver eight of the $5.9 million Learjet 45s in 1996 and 28 in 1997. The Wichita-based company is also stepping up production of its 30- and 60-series busi ness jets by 43% in 1993, from 28 produced in 1992 to 40, of NEWS IN BRIEF GOURMET A.109Cs Spain's Ministry of Agricul ture, Fisheries and Food has ordered the second of a planned five Agusta A.109C helicopters for surveillance and inspection missions. The first entered service in Octo ber 1992 and the second will be delivered later this year. NOTAR LICENCE McDonnell Douglas Heli copter has licensed Italy's Agusta to build the MD520N tail-rotorless (NOTAR) heli copter in Italy (Flight Interna tional, 16-22 June). The first for the Italian market will roll off Agusta's assembly line in mid-1994. which 18 will be new mid sized Learjet 60s. "We project a steady increase in output of 10% a year through 1996, when the Learjet 45 comes on line, and another significant expansion of output thereafter," says Learjet presi dent Brian Barents. The com pany will add up to 300 people to its 3,500-strong workforce this year. Construction of the first prototype Learjet 45 will begin in August. Bombardier sister companies de Havilland and Shorts are to deliver the first wing and fuselage, respectively, to Wichita in July 1994. The first flight is scheduled for March 1995 and certification for July 1996. Learjet has completed more than 890h of low-speed and high-speed windtunnel testing and has supplied de Havilland and Shorts with loft contours and aerodynamic data, enabling its risk-sharing partners to begin detailed design of the wing, fuselage and empennage. • Learjet has delivered a Lear jet 35A equipped for air- ambulance, VIP-transport and target-towing duties, to Taipei- based Golden Eagle Aviation. The aircraft is Taiwan's first corporate jet. D have explored the slower end of the envelope. "We've shown an 85kt [160km/h] landing speed and taken it up to 260kt IAS [indicated air speed], which is equal to about 350kt at 18,000ft [5,500m]," says Bede. "We're basically satisfied with the results and handling characteristics. We feel it is a good aircraft right now, but we also feel we could make it even better." The second flight-test phase is due to begin at the end of September, when the BD-10 will be pressurised for high- altitude tests involving high speed runs and spins. Production of six more BD-lOs, to bring the total fleet to ten, is now beginning at Bede's factory in St Louis, Mis souri. Sales of around 25 have been secured and Bede believes that production of kits could eventually reach 50 a year. The kit sells for $221,000, excluding the engine, which can be obtained for around $100,000. The total estimated cost is between $500,000 and $600,000, depending on avion ics choice and the amount of assistance needed for assembly. Missouri-based Fox 10 has been appointed as official subcontractor for the kit. D Cirrus to build ST-50 in Israel Cirrus Design has confirmed that the ST-50 will be built in Israel, after it was reported erroneously that the single- turboprop business aircraft would be built at its Duluth, Minnesota, plant (Flight Inter national, 26 May-1 June, P21). Cirrus has sold the certifica tion and production rights to the design to Israviation of Kiryat Shmona, Israel and, under its agreement, will com plete a proof-of-concept proto type in Duluth. Israviation, meanwhile, will build two ST-40s, turboprop- powered versions of the Cirrus' VK-30 all-composite, pusher- propeller kitplane, to prove its capability to produce the larger, pressurised ST-50. The Israeli company will then pro duce two ST-50 certification and production prototypes by the end of 1994. Series produc tion is planned for 1996. Luxembourg-based Euravia- tion, Israviation's parent, is of fering a time-sharing plan, basing at least three ST-50s in every large European city. A similar plan is in the offing for the USA. Cirrus will provide engineering and marketing support for the ST-50 in North and South America. • RUTAN DRIVES LONG-EZ DOWN TEST ROAD The Rutan Aircraft Factory has conducted a series of unusual tests to investigate the behaviour of the Long-EZ design at extreme angles of attack. This follows an accident, in which a pilot was injured, when the aircraft became locked in a deep stall. Rutan mounted a homebuilt Long-EZ on a three-axis instrumented support on the front of a truck and drove it along the runway at Mojave, California, gathering data. Long-EZs are limited by design to a 16" maximum angle of attack. The tests showed that it can recover from a deep stall when flown within the allowable centre of gravity — the suspected, vortex-induced, extreme lift at high angles of attack failed to materialise. 18 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 30 June - 6 July, 1993
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