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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 1216.PDF
RAA CONVENTION The 1994 Regional Airline Association (RAA) annual convention is the largest in the Association's history and the first to he held outside Washington DC. The RAA meetings thronged with delegates from 295 mem ber companies, compared with 278 in 1993. Airline membership swelled to 70 with the inclusion of Capitol Air, Gulf stream International, Maholo Air and Skyway Airlines. Guy Norris reports from Reno, Nevada. RAA calls for one rule to cover all operators The US Regional Airline Association (RAA) is call ing on the Federal Aviation Administration to merge as one the operating rules covering regional and larger scheduled US airline operations. Regional carriers operate under the FAR Part 135 rule, while larger scheduled airlines operate under Part 121. "We'd like to see an examination of a single rule for all scheduled air carriers," says RAA president, Walt Coleman. The RAA believes that the move would cut bureaucracy and streamline operations. "It's primarily an opera tions, equipment and training issue," says Coleman, who adds that the main differences between Part 121 and 135 are minor in nature. Part 121 crews have more restricted flight-time limitations and each Part 121 flight is "despatched" formally. In addition, Part 121 flights receive constant en route com munications, "...which you don't get with 135", he says. Other differences lie mainly in detailed differences in crew- training practices. RAA chairman Jerry Atkin says that the association is behind "...the concept that there should be one rule, but we don't necessarily adopt 121 in its entirety". Atkin adds: "We support, in general, the notion that there should be a common level of safety." The RAA suggests that a unified rule would be Part 135, but updated with elements of Part 121, rather than the other way around. • GE offers Canadair CF34-3 derivative General Electric is to offer a new derivative of the CF34-3 turbofan for use on the Canadair Regional Jet, which is powered by the CF34-3A1. The engine will be a variant of the -3B being developed for the Canadair 604 business jet. Although the engine will have the same 40kN (8,7001b)- NEWS IN BRIEF FOKKER PROGRESS The first production Fokker 70 will have its Rolls-Royce Tay 670 turbofans mounted later this month. The air craft will be completed in August and should join the prototype Fokker 70 in the certification programme. thrust rating, the -3B1 will have automatic power reserve and normal take-off and hot-day ratings, as well as a 2-3% im provement in specific fuel con sumption and a rise in top-of- climb thrust of about 2%. The first variant of the CF34-3B family, which has a new first-stage compressor- rotor design and improvements to the low- and high-pressure turbine section, will be flight- tested in February 1995 on the first Canadair Challenger 604. The -3B and the -3B1 will be certificated in June 1995, with production engines available later that year. The CF34-3A1 has been in operation for more than 115,000h since entering service on the Regional Jet in November 1992. D The Jetstream 41: in Spain undergoing improvements Jetstream tests flapless take-off Testing of a zero-flap setting on Jetstream Aircraft's Jetstream 41 is in progress near Madrid, Spain, as the company strives to improve the aircraft's hot-and-high performance. The zero-flap setting is part of a package of upgrades which will be available for delivery from June. Jetstream hopes that it will put some life back into the sales of the 29-seater, which have been poor. The improvements are cen tred on the AlliedSignal Eng ines TPE331-14GR/HR turbo- shafts, which will be flat-rated at l,230kW (l,650shp), instead of l,120kW. The engines will also be modified to provide continuous power augmenta tion which provides +/-8.5% over maximum contin uous power, if required. The extra power allows Jetstream to offer increased design weights. Maximum take-off weight will rise by 450kg, to 10,900kg, while max imum landing weight will rise similarly by 450kg, to 10,580kg. Maximum zero-fuel weight will be increased by more than 300kg, to 9,720kg. The combined result will give a maximum payload of 3,300kg and an instrument- flight-rules range of 1,350km (730nm), with 29 passengers at 100kg, or two 550km sectors. Importantly, the upgrades give the J41 a typical hot-and- high improvement in load of around 635kg. The zero-flap setting will allow the J41's V2 (take-off safety speed) speeds to be better optimised for hot- and-high conditions. The extra engine power will improve the aircraft's weight/altitude/temperature limits by between 90kg and 160kg. The additional weight capability of the aircraft is being handled by modifications to the landing gear. These include a change to the main landing-gear flutter plate, a 0.3bar (51b/in2) in crease in main-gear tyre pres sure, a material change to the nose-undercarriage downlock and the introduction of 12-ply main tyres. The package augments early modifications, which have included the introduction of 15° flap (instead of 9°) for take off and landing (as well as 25°). This allows for reduced-power take-offs, which will increase engine life. • A series of improvements to the 19-seat Jetstream 31 and 32 is also under way, the major one being the extension of the structural life from 30,000 flights to 45,000 flights. • u FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 18-24 May, 1994
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