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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 2273.PDF
NBAA PREVIEW Gulfstream will become a two-product company when the GIV-SP (above) is joined by the GV business-aircraft industry and stimulating demand by tempting reluctant customers with better products has become a way of life for manufacturers mired in recession. A launch means a new application for engine, avionics and systems suppliers. The Astra 4, if it is launched, will mean new engine business for either the Allied- Signal Propulsion Engines/General Elec tric partnership, CFE, or for Pratt & Whitney Canada. Cessna and Learjet are both seeing the benefits of stimulating demand by intro ducing new products. Cessna began ship ping Citationjets in March and plans to deliver 47 of the $2.6 million business jets in 1993, adding to continuing production of the light Citation II and V and mid-size Citation VI and VII. Learjet began shipping Learjet 60s in January and plans to deliver 18 of the $9.1 million mid-size business jets in 1993, in addition to 22 30-series aircraft — a 43% increase in production. Both companies are hoping for a further boost in 1996, when the Citation X (NBAA launch 1990) and Learjet 45 (NBAA launch 1992) come on line. Gulfstream is on track to become a two-product company for the first time in its history when the GV enters production alongside the current GIV-SP in 1996. The company anticipates a major boost for its revenues when production moves ahead from 25 GIVs in 1993 to 15 GIVs and 30 GVs in 1996. Canadair is also anticipating a doubling of production rates when the Global Express enters production alongside the improved Challenger 604 in 1997. Das sault is hoping for a similar boost in fortunes when its Falcon 900B is joined by the new Falcon 2000. Raytheon's plans, following its $372 million acquisition of British Aerospace's Corporate Jets subsidiary, will be an issue of intense interest at the 1993 NBAA convention. The company had made no secret of its desire to "...acquire or de velop" a mid-sized business jet, but most had assumed that the BAe 125-800 and 1000 would become Beech products, in the same way that the Mitsubishi Dia mond II became the Beechjet. Instead, Raytheon has established a separate company, the plans for which are far from clear. BAe had sought a buyer for Corporate Jets, in part because it could not finance the development of the next logical step in its 125 line. It may be more clear following the Atlanta convention whether Raytheon Corporate Jets yet has plans for an aircraft beyond, the newly re-named Hawker 800 and Hawker 1000. IMPROVEMENTS Beech, meanwhile, has systematically im proved its line of twin-turboprop business aircraft from the entry-level King Air C90B to the upmarket Starship 2000A. Initial refinements to the former Diamond II resulted in the Beechjet 400A and there remains a strong possibility that Beech could announce substantial improvements to its light business jet. The recession has made it difficult for new entrants to pursue plans for innova tive business aircraft. The all-composite Avtek 400A, tandem-wing OMAC Laser 300 and small-jet Swearingen SJ-30 are 'among promising projects which have yet to make it into production. Avtek says that it now has the funding in place to certificate and produce the 400A, while OMAC and Swearingen continue their search for backers. The recession, and recent certification changes pioneered by Canada, have made single-turboprop business aircraft more attractive, although sales have yet to realise most manufacturers' hopes. The utilitarian Cessna Caravan I and elegant Socata TBM.700 will be joined this year by the multi-purpose Pilatus PC-12 and the less-conformist Advanced Aerodynam ics & Structures (AASI) Jetcruzer. AASI hopes to unveil a proof-of-concept small business jet at the NBAA show. The Stratocruzer is based on the canard con figuration of the pusher-propeller Jet cruzer and is powered by two Williams Rolls-Royce FJ44 small turbofans. If the company succeeds, it will have probably the only previously unseen aircraft on show at the NBAA exhibition. The convention is also a showcase for the association itself and, at the 1993 show, the NBAA and the US General Aviation Manufacturers Association will be unveiling a major advocacy campaign to promote the use of business aircraft. The "No Plane, No Gain" campaign will challenge the view that, in the frugal 1990s, owning an aircraft is not "correct". The campaign will be aimed at share holders and analysts and will attempt to convey the financial benefits of operating a business aircraft through the use of surveys and examples. The associations will strive to dispel the public image of the business aircraft as a toy and portray it in its "real" role as a tool. To underline the campaign's importance, "No Plane, No Gain" will also be the theme of the 46th annual NBAA convention in Atlanta, tl Cessna's Citation X prototype will be rolled out on the eve of the show 36 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 15 - 21 September, 1993
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