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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 0748.PDF
AiR TRANSPORT NEWS IN BRIEF • SUPERSONIC JAPANESE Japan's National Aerospace Laboratory plans to fly a remotely piloted supersonic- transport test model by 2002. It will fly at a speed of Mach 2 and be used to test fluid dynamics, structural charac teristics and systems integra tion. The scaled 8-8.5m-long vehicle would be powered by one, or two, 4.45kN (1,0001b)- thrust class engines. Can didate powerplants include the Teledyne YP69-T-406, the Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries F3-30 and the General Electric 85-21. • ATLAS HEAVYWEIGHTS Boeing's Wichita division is to convert six ex-Thai Airways International 747-200s to freighters for Atlas Air, taking to 13 the number of conver sions performed by the divi sion for the US cargo carrier. Redelivery will be completed in September 1997. Wilcox fights back after WAAS criticism WILCOX ELECTRIC "...re mains confident of its ability to deliver a Wide Area Aug mentation System [WAAS] that meets all of the US Federal Aviation Administration's require ments", says the US-based Thom- son-CSF subsidiary In its first public statement since the FAA sent Wilcox a letter threat ening cancellation of the troubled air-navigation system, the firm says that it "...expects to fully answer all of the FAA's questions" by the 2 April deadline (Flight International, 27 March-2 April). Wilcox faces losing its $475 mil lion WAAS contract because of "serious performance deficiencies". Among other things, the company failed to meet the 4 December, 1995, WAAS system-design review. Shortcomings noted by the FAA are in the areas of programme man agement, cost/schedule reporting, invoice management, subcontract ing, systems engineering and hard ware/software development. • Continental Express order heralds ATR US fightback CONTINENTAL EXPRESS has ordered eight Aero International (Regional) ATR 42- 500s and taken options on a further 12 aircraft, at an estimated cost of $260 million. The order follows a barren spell for ATR in its most lucrative mar ket since the highly publicised crash of an American Eagle ATR 72-200 in October 1994. The US carrier is believed to be continuing negotiations with air frame manufacturers on a possible order for a large number of turbo- props in the 30- to 33-seat class. It already has 13 19-seat Beech 1900Ds on order. ATR deliveries will begin in May. The sale represents the first order for the -500 in the USA. The growth-model ATR 42 includes increased speed, greater passenger comfort and improved economics. It is powered by twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PW27E turbo- props driving six-bladed Hamilton Standard 568F propellers. Continental Express will base the aircraft at its Houston, Texas, hub. The subsidiary of Continental Airlines has operated ATR 42s since 1988. The commuter carrier operates 38 ATR 42s, three ATR 72s, 32 Embraer EMB-120s and eight Beech 1900s. • A single ATR 42-300 has been contracted by Hondurean carrier Islena Airlines, bringing the total orderbook for the ATR family to 493 (316 ATR 42s and 177 ATR 72s), of which 456 have been deliv ered. Firm sales for the ATR 42 -500 stand at 3 3 aircraft. • Gemini leases converted DC-lOs T WO OF SIX ex-Lufthansa McDonnell Douglas DC-10- 30s acquired by Gemini Air Cargo from Potomac Financial Group have been converted to freighters by Aeronavali of Italy and leased to Swissair and British Airways. The newly established US cargo carrier, based in Reston, Virginia, says that it will place a third DC- 10-3 OF into service this month. The Swissair aircraft is used on weekly freight services between Basle and Chicago and Adanta, and BA is flying the DC-10-30F from London Gatwick to Sao Paulo, returning via Bogota and Miami. The DC-10-30F is the latest in a series of freighters — with a total capacity of that of 13 Boeing 747s — leased in by BA to meet the growth in cargo traffic. • m §k 'I'll • ftgg^..r- ••-••- -"• -^^Bf~* Pan Am flies again PAN AM AIR BRIDGE, PART of the recently resurrected Pan American Airways, began operating a fleet of five Frakes G-73T Turbo Mallards between south Florida and the Bahamas on 1 March. The airline has taken over the operations of Chalk's International, which started flying in 1919 and claims to be the world's oldest airline. The new Pan American Airways, mean while, plans to operate between major US cities with a fleet of Airbus A300s from mid-1996. Philippines sets June date for Clark re-opening THE PHILIPPINES PLANS to re-open the former US Air Force Clark xAB to 24h commer cial traffic in June, following com pletion of restoration work and the installation of new approach aids. Clark is being upgraded for Category I operations, with the installation of a new instrument- landing system (ILS) and replace ment centreline lights for one of its two 3,200m (10,500ft)-long runways. The USAF abandoned the 4,400Ha (10,900 acre) air base in 1991, after it was devastated by the volcanic eruption of nearby Mount Pinatubo. The Clark De velopment Corporation has since taken over and is trying to mirror the success of the former Subic Bay naval base by attracting for eign investors. A master plan is being drawn up, to develop Clark into Manila's second international airport by 2002. Work will include the addi tion of a third 4,000m runway for independent simultaneous opera tions, a 600Ha aviation industrial park and a high-speed rail link with Manila, 80km (50 miles) to the south. • 12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3 - 9 April 1996
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