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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 0140.PDF
Ll£rJ£IiA L A yJA/J UN Burkhart Grob sacks half of its workforce ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI/MUNICH GERMAN COMPOSITE-air-craft manufacturer Burkhart Grob has sacked half of its employ ees because of continuing delays in the release of Government funding for the Strato 2C high-altitude re search programme. The whole project now faces cancellation. Grob has made 131 of its staff redundant, shattering earlier opti mism that the funding would be cleared by education and research minister Jiirgen Riittgers in time to avoid job losses. Grob had delayed implementing the redundancies last November, and has since spent millions of Deutchsmarks keeping unem ployed staff on the payroll. The research ministry remains tight-lipped on the issue, saying that it has submitted a report on the programme to the parliamen tary budget committee, and is now awaiting a response. According to Grob, the report proposes that the decision on con tinuing the programme should be the responsibility of the commit tee, adding that, in either case, Grob should repay the DM72 mil lion ($50 million) of Government funds it has received to date. The company has accused Riittgers of "head-in-the-sand pol itics" in an apparent attempt to shed responsibility for the final funding decision. The company says that the budget committee is only a legislative body, and cannot make such an executive decision. Grob needs an extra DM46.74 million to complete die second phase of development. The fund ing would allow die company to proceed with conversion of the current proof-of-concept (POC) aircraft to mission standards, weight optimisation and certifica tion to US FAR Part 2 3. The money was held back after the POC aircraft failed to reach the 66,000ft (20,000m) altitude hoped for by the German Aerospace Research Establishment, which is to be the aircraft operator, but did establish an altitude record for pis ton aircraft of some 60,000ft, exceeding the performance mini ma set by the budget committee as a condition for further funding. Grob had expected die funds to be paid once a new contract was negotiated, reducing the altitude requirement for the mission air craft from die anticipated 79,000ft to 75,400ft because the aircraft is heavier than expected. • Kenya buys VIP Fokker FOKKER HAS DELIVERED a corporate version of the Fokker 70 regional jet to the Kenyan Government for VIP transportation. The aircraft, modified with the addition of extra fuels tanks to extend its range to 6,300km (3,400nm) is the third Executive Jet 70 delivered by the Dutch manufactur er. The Dutch Government is scheduled to take delivery of a similar aircraft later this year. IPTN restarts NBell output INDUSTRIPESAWAT Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) has restarted licence production of the NBell 412 helicopter, after resolving pro cedural discrepancies highlighted by a recent regulatory audit. Work on die 412 production line resumed in December 1995 after "a refinement of procedures" by Bell and IPTN at the Indon esian company's Bandung plant, according to die Indonesian Directorate General of Air Communications Flight Inter national, 6-12 December). The matter was resolved fol lowing a meeting in Texas between both manufacturers, die DGAC and the US Federal Avia tion Administration. A joint FAA and DGAC aircraft certification-system-evaluation pro gramme audit in August 1995 found incomplete data and incor rect use of manuals to inspect, pro cess and manufacture 412 parts. Production was temporarily halted and NBell 412 helicopters in Indo nesian civil use were then inspected for safety. Subsequent corrective measures have included improving proce dures to communicate and ex change information between IPTN and Bell, reviewing and updating data and training personnel. The joint audit is intended to lead eventually to the extension of FAA 412 helicopter production certification to Bandung. The programme is part of wider effort to establish a bilateral air- wordiiness treaty between Indo nesia and the USA. • AASI denies Taiwan pull-out ADVANCED Aerodynamics & Structures (AASI) has denied local reports that the Taiwanese Government has abandoned plans to fund a venture to produce the US company's Jetcruzer single- turboprop business aircraft in Taiwan Flight International, 6-12 December, 1995). Reports suggest that the plans have been dropped after the Government failed to attract local investors. Long Beach, Cali fornia-based AASI acknowledges that a major investor in the US company, die chairman of Taiwa nese car manufacturer Yue Tyan Machinery, has withdrawn from die Taiwan venture, but maintains that the plans remain in place. AASI senior vice-president Gene Comfort says that company chief-executive Dr Carl Chen is scheduled to visit Taiwan in mid- January to "wrap up" the agree ment with Taiwan's economics ministry. Plans call for the ministry to provide $20 million in loans to help fund production of the push er-propeller Jetcruzer in Taiwan, beginning in 1998. • Malibu heads Piper's 1996 plans NEW PIPER MRCRAFT plans to build 186 aircraft in 1996, compared with 177 in 1995 and 134 in 1994. The modest in crease planned disguises a dramatic rise in production of the Malibu Mirage six-seat, high-perfor mance, piston single, to 56 aircraft from 40 in 1995. Piper cites increased demand for the $755,000 Malibu, particularly internationally, and says that it has commitments already from distrib utors for all the aircraft planned for production in 1996. The pressurised Malibu is Piper's most expensive aircraft, and higher production is projected to boost die company's 1996 revenues to $84 million, from $70 million in 1995. Six models account for die re mainder of die production planned for 1996: the Warrior III, Archer III, Arrow and Saratoga IIHP pis ton singles, and the Seminole and Seneca IV piston twins. After the Malibu, the six-seat Saratoga will be Piper's most numerous product in 1996, with 42 aircraft planned. Piper's fixed-gear Archer and Warrior will account for 36 and 20 aircraft, respectively. Q 16 FLIGHT.INTERNATIONAL 17 - 23 January 1996
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