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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 2408.PDF
]£AL>LJf]£Z Samsung makes offer for Fokker SAMSUNG OF South Korea has made an offer to receivers to purchase the bankrupt Dutch aero space manufacturer Fokker. Industry sources say that South Korean interest has firmed up in recent weeks, and a tentative offer has been made. Russian manufac turer Yakovlev is also continuing to discuss a possible acquisition. The Samsung move comes as time is running out for Fokker, with any final deal still facing sever al major hurdles. Samsung and Yakovlev have made it clear mat a buy-back of Fokker Aviation Services from saviour Stork is cen tral to any rescue package. Both bidders lack worldwide aftersales support structures and are keen to capitalise on Fokker's former maintenance and spares business, now called Fokker Aviation. The company maintains a support network covering some 225 international airlines since Dutch engineering company Stork acquired the business in the wake of the collapse of Fokker. While Samsung has proposed maintaining production of the Fokker 70 and 100 twinjets in The Netherlands in die interim, there is continuing Dutch concern that future work will be lost overseas. Samsung's long-term goal is to complete development of the Fokker 130 and build the new air craft in Soutfi Korea. The proposed deal has produced a division in South Korea's aero space industry, with Korean Air and Daewoo Heavy refusing to become involved and opposing the allocation of Government funding. The two concerns are leaning towards co-operating with Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) or Saab on a 70-seater development. AI(R) chief executive Patrick Gavin confirms that talks have been held with South Korean industry, but is adamant that final assembly will be in Toulouse. Saab has discussed several options with South Korea, ranging from 60 to 80 seats. The proposed new aircraft vary in configuration and include a four- and five-seat abreast cabin and turboprop and turbofan powerplants. • Lufthansa takes MD-lls GUY NORRIS/FARNBOROUGH MCDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) is in final negotia tions with USAir for a huge MD- 95 twinjet orders, thought to include more than 50 aircraft on firm order and 50 on option. News of the USAir talks comes hot on the heels of the sale of up to 11 MD- 12F freighters to Lufthansa Cargo, worth around $1 billion. If confirmed, theMD-95 order will be a major breakthrough for MDC, which is anxious to bolster credibility in die programme with a new order, following the problems experienced by launch customer Valujet. Senior company officials are thought to have returned to the USA on 3 September from the Farnborough air show in an attempt to close the deal. Negotiations with Virginia- based USAir have been going on for some time and apparently became protracted over the air line's insistence on order terms similar to those obtained by Valu jet. These were believed to include a unit price of around $18 million for 50 firm orders and 50 options. MDC has stuck to a higher price, saying that such a low price cannot be repeated, particularly given the possibility that it will have to hon our the Valujet MD-95 contract. USAir operates a fleet of 40 Fokker 100s, a type of a similar size to the MD-95. The aircraft would replace more than 60 MDC DC-9- 3 l/32s and augment the 64-strong fleet of Boeing 737-2 00s which the airline is having fitted with Nordam hushkits. The Lufthansa Cargo MD-1 IF order covers five firm orders worth $5 50 million and options for seven. The first five are scheduled for delivery from mid-June 1998, with all firm deliveries due by the end of the year. Optioned aircraft would be available from 2000 and contin ue through 2001. The MD-1 Is are MDC brings YC-15 out of the desert THE McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) YC-15 is being brought out of mothballs, after almost 15 years of desert storage, to act as an advanced-technology testbed for the US Air Force and MDC. Likely uses include advanced flight- and propulsion- control technology. The aircraft went into storage at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona, after the 1979 abandonment of the USAF's Advanced Medium Short Take-off and landing trans port (AMST) programme, which was aimed at a jet-powered successor to the Lockheed Martin C-130. Date is set for Eurocopter hearing THE LEGAL action being brought by Beverley Se curities (BSI) against Eurocopter alleging that it failed to pay com missions on defence equipment supplied to the apartheid regime in South Africa, is to have a public hearing on 12 September in Paris (Flight International, 1-6 May). BSI claims that Aerospatiale's helicopter division, now merged within Eurocopter, supplied 50 new AS.332S2 Super Pumas to Armscor. The helicopters, later renamed Oryx, were supplied in kit form via OGMA in Portugal to avoid the United Nations embar go. BSI says that it set up this chan nel but has not received any com mission. It is now claiming 10-15% of the estimated S3 billion contract. BSI also alleges that Armscor destroyed computer records relat ing to BSI's activities in South Africa in a "top-secret operation code-named Massada". BSI is backing up its claims with witness es, including former directors from Armscor and OGMA, as well as Gen Brochado Miranda, Por tugal's Air Force Chief of Staff at the time. . • New Zealand Navy chooses Lynx T800 THE ROYAL NEW Zealand Navy (RNZN) has complet ed its replacement naval helicopter evaluation and recommended selection of the LHTEC T800- powered Westland Super Lynx. Sources in Westland and Kaman confirm that the RNZN's evalua tion has favoured a Super Lynx. It is understood that the Navy's project office is now being wound down. Final selection remains subject to political approval, and this has been postponed until after New Zealand's general election on 12 October. Deferring an official decision is also intended to bring the RNZN's programme in line with Australia's selection of a new naval helicopter, which is now scheduled for mid-October. The RNZN requires up to six helicopters to replace its fleet of Westland Wasps. With the Wasps due to be phased out by mid-1997, and the first of New Zealand's new ANZAC frigates due to enter ser vice shortly, the Navy has asked to lease Royal Navy Lynx helicopters asastop-gapmeasure. Australia's project 1411/1427 calls for the purchase of 14 new shipboard helicopters, with an option for a further nine. The Royal Australian Navy's selection has been narrowed down to the Super Lynx and Kaman SH-2G Super SeaSprite. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 11 -17 September 1996
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