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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 2591.PDF
®EM*r 1SRAL AVIATION Daewoo's Mi-17 plans hit by row PAUL LEWIS/SEOUL DAEWOO HEAVY In dustries' proposals to jointly develop and produce the upgrad ed MK-30 variant of the Russian Mi-17 helicopter have been delayed by a legal row between the Mil design bureau and the manufacturer, Kazan Helicopter Production. A preliminary agreement signed in 1993 by Daewoo and Kazan called for the prototype MK-30 to have its maiden flight in November 1994 and for deliv eries of Korean-assembled heli copters to start in mid-1995. The first helicopter is not now expected to be flown before the middle of 1995. According to Daewoo, a final agreement has not been signed and negotiations with Kazan are being hampered by a rift with Mil over proprietary rights to the Mi- 17's design documentation. "Mil holds the design rights to the helicopter, not Kazan, and they want a share in the Korean programme," says a Russian aero space source. He adds: "It will not be possible to produce the MK- 30 withoutMil." The programme has also been pushed back by the South Korean defence ministry's reluctance to approve the use of the helicopter in Korea because of the large number of similar Mi-8/17s in service with the North Korean military. To distinguish the MK-30 vari ant from the Mi-8/17, Daewoo and Kazan plan to fit the heli copter with a larger nose. Other modifications include an upgrad ed Western avionics suite, which has yet to be selected, and a more modern, 28-seat, cabin interior. An executive-configured cabin is also planned, which will seat nine to 11 passengers. • s a i a a Learjet 45 fuselage heads west THE FIRST COMPLETE fuselage for the new eight-seat Learjet 45 business aircraft has been delivered by Bombardier subsidiary Short Brothers of Belfast to Learjet's factory in Wichita, Kansas. Shorts is responsible for manufacture of the fuselage and empennage, while Ontario, Canada-based Bombardier subsidiary de Havilland is manufacturing the wing. Learjet is undertaking final assembly and flight testing, which is due to start in April 1995. Production in all centres has made extensive use of computer-aided design and manufacture, which, according to Learjet president Brian Barents, has "...raised the quality of components and structures". He says: "The rejection rate is very low, the fit is superb and assembly is going more rapidly and more smoothly than we have ever encountered on a pre-production aircraft." The Learjet 45, designed to supersede the Learjet 30 series, is scheduled for certification in October 1996. The company claims over 30 firm orders so far. NTSB criticises FAA guidance to clubs T HE BLAME FOR POOR US flying-club safety standards can be laid pardy at the Federal Aviation Administration's door, says die US National Trans portation Safety Board (NTSB). The FAA published an Advisory Circular (AC) in 1969, entitled Forming and Operating a Flying Club, but the NTSB says that this is out of print and out of stock. The only useful existing guide, says the NTSB, is the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's publication, Organising and Operating a Flying Club. Noting that 60 of the 2,080 general-aviation accidents in 1992 involved club aeroplanes, the Board says that most of the events showed inadequate pilot knowl edge of the machines.. The NTSB recommends that the FAA update its AC and re-pub lish it, backing the re-issue with publicity among clubs and pilots. • FAA lengthens medical terms for some pilots THE US FEDERAL Av iation Administration plans to extend the validity period of third-class-airman medical cer tificates for many general-avia tion pilots. It also promises to revise med ical standards and certification procedures to reflect improve ments in the understanding of medical phenomena. The pro posed changes would affect requirements on vision, hearing, mental, neurological and cardio vascular standards. Under the plan, the third-class medical-certificate duration will be extended from two to three years for everyone under 40 years of age. Pilots between the ages of 40 and 69 will be approved for only two years, as they are at present. Those aged 70 and over will now be required to undergo a yearly check-up, which is double the current schedule. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) lobbied for 36-month medical certificates. It applauds the rule change, but dis agrees with the agency's decision to discriminate against older pilots, suggesting that no such rise is necessary. "There is no evi dence to support decreasing the existing two-year examination interval for any pilot age group, including those over 70 years of age," says AOPA. The group says that proposals by physicians to increase the com plexity and cost of required med ical exams should be rejected and, instead, the tests should be simpli fied and made cheaper. • Zimex to start work at Zurich SWITZERLAND'S ZIMEX Aviation Group plans to begin construction of its long-planned 8,000m2 business-aviation centre at Zurich Kloten Airport early in 1995, after "intensive negotia tions" with Swiss authorities. The centre is scheduled to be opera tional early in 1996. It still awaits federal- and local- government guarantees on the business-aviation flight capacity at Zurich Kloten, but plans to press on with privately funded construc tion of the centre. Access roads, a taxiway and an apron will be con structed jointly with REGA, the Swiss air-rescue service. The centre will provide ground-handling services, includ ing customs clearance, and Zimex's Zurich maintenance com pany, Limess Aviation, will be relocated to the new building and renamed Zimex Aviation. • 24 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 26 October - 1 November 1994
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