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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1644.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT tie appearance of the Boeing 111 with Airbus ivals gives the show resonance vill be at Paris — the Boeing models have not eft the drawing-board, and Airbus prefers to tvait until it has an A319 to show. The technical ind pricing questions surrounding those air craft are incendiary, however, and are bound to generate debate. The third player in both the 300-seat and imall narrowbody classes is McDonnell Douglas (MDC), which is exhibiting but, as for many years now, without a civil aircraft. The flat market makes rational analysis of the MD-11 and MD-90's recent sales records flawed at best, but MDC's failure so far to secure key MD-95 arders in Europe is less ignorable. Once again, MDC's first show-challenge will be to regain the initiative amid continuing industry doubts aver its future in the civil market. Ever since the now-distant early days of glas- lost, Russia has provided a substantial airliner display. Ilyushin yet again will be flying the ?&W PW2000-powered I1-96M which has, lowever, still done no significant hard business. Its struggle has been understandable enough in me disastrous market of the past four years, but ts Western investors — primarily P&W and Rockwell Collins — could be excused some mpatience. Tupolev's Bravia joint venture widi R-R and Flemings, which has yet to sell an air craft, is not this time bringing its RB.211-535- lowered Tu-204. Two examples of the basic Iupolev aircraft will be present, however — a Iu-204C freighter and the shrunk Tu-204-300, aoth in the static park, alongside an example of Iupolev's ageing Tu-154 design. Yakovlev will have a Yak-42-100 in the static park, but the more ambitious derivatives of its long-standing tri-jet line still have a doubtful future. Despite their high-profile airshow-presence, the market-record of the newer CIS-originated aircraft has so far been dismal. In the possible absence of any new sales, both die Western and Eastern proponents of such machines face a challenging Paris in explaining their case. The seemingly endless line-up of proposed future models from the design bureaux now provokes only a deepening scepticism among outside observers. Even some of the more promising real-life projects will not be present. Antonov, of Ukraine, reeling from financial troubles, and die loss of the An-77 prototype, has no aircraft; Beriev is not returning; nor is die II-114 turbo prop commuter, which seemed to have reason able commercial prospects, coming. There is, however, die possibility of more positive news from CFMI and Ilyushin on the planned re- engineing of the 11-86. COMMUTER AIRCRAFT In 1993, die Paris show was awash in com muter-aircraft manufacturers, or would-be manufacturers. In retrospect, that event may have crystallised the absurdity of the over capacity which was evolving. The line-up and orientation of companies and aircraft in that class will be different this time. Hand-in-hand with diat change comes a similar realignment of potential engine suppliers. This will be the first show since the Aerospatiale/Alenia consortium ATR and British Aerospace's Avro and Jetstream divisions announced the planned formation of a joint venture company. Initially, the grouping will be primarily a marketing organisation, but its true significance is die integration of die companies' product lines. The parties are still going through die required regulatory hoops, and so will exhibit separately again at Paris: many implications are already clear, however. The new line-up is reflected in die aircraft on show, and in die evolution of the future prod ucts. Jetstream will bring just a Jetstream 41 which will stay in die static park, but in die colours of SA Airlink of South Africa, repre senting one of the manufacturer's major coups in 1994. The Advanced Turboprop-derived Jetstream 61 which it has been exhibiting else where was the first victim of the merger plan and will not be on display. The Jetstream 51 and 71 projects first proposed at the last Paris show have also largely faded in favour of ATR's planned offering in that class. That aircraft is die ATR 82 — now certain to be turboprop- powered, and sitting neady above the Jetstream and ATR 42 and 72 families. At this show, ATR will have a hefty presence with a Bangkok Air ATR 72 and an Air Dolomiti ATR 42-500 in the static park, plus the prototypes of the 42-500 and 72-210 in the air. Responsibility for die jet element of the new organisation rests, for now at least, firmly with Avro. Together with Jetstream and die sister military business, it will form part of BAe's tradi- FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 June 1995 61
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