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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 3120.PDF
NBAA SHOW REPORT Pilatus heads west for sales SWISS MANUFACTURER Pilatus Aircraft has established a permanent base at Jeffco Airport in Broomfield, Colorado, for the US sales and support of its PC-12 single turboprop. In addition to marketing and maintenance work, the company plans to begin interior-completion work at Jeffco in January 1997, and avionics fitments later in the year. A decision on whether to introduce final-assembly work will be taken at the end of the year. Pilatus claims to have total sales of 62 PC-12s worldwide, with over 40 to cus tomers in North America. One of the prime US customers is Alpha Flying of Norwood, Mas sachusetts, which introduced a timeshare scheme for PC-12 own ers at the beginning of 1996, under the name "PlaneSense". The com pany operates two aircraft on a quarter-share basis, and has op tions on three more aircraft. Although Pilatus does not pro vide direct sponsorship of Plane- Sense, Alpha president George Antoniadis says that the two com panies enjoy a "strategic-alliance" arrangement, which allows for "certain concessions" in the area of support and maintenance • Charter airline Kelner Airways of Goose Bay, Canada has ordered three PC-12s, and will become the first North American operator to use the aircraft under new com mercial single-engine instrument- flight-rules regulations. • 25 Learjet 45s are are destined to join BusinessJetSolutionsfleet Global Express and Learjet 45 to join Business JetSolutions WITH A CUSTOMER base for the 18-month-old Bombardier/AMR COMBS shared-ownership joint venture "fast approaching 100 customers", two Bombardier Global Express long-range business jets and 25 Learjet 45 will be added to the Flexjet fractional-ownership fleet. The initial Global Express, on static display at the business-avia tion trade show, will become one of the two long-range business air craft to be added to the Business JetSolutions fleet in late 1999. The Learjet 45 will be added to the Flexjet programme beginning inMarch 1999. The transaction in cludes options for an additional 2 5 . A "bridge" programme has been created where those purchasing shares in a Learjet 31A or Learjet 60 can upgrade to the latest-model Learjet corporate aircraft in flight test. Learjet 45 certification is expected in the first half of 1997. First flown in October 1995, six Learjet 45s are active in flight-test ing, which is half completed. The aircraft have accumulated nearly 700h on 347 flights. Excluding the 25 Learjet 45s going to Flexjet, Learjet 45 production is sold out until 1999, says the aircraft maker. BusinessJetSolutions has 21 air craft (eight Learjet 31 As, eight 60s and five Canadair Challengers) available for fractional ownership. As well as the two Global Expresses and 25 Learjet 45 s, it will add at least 12 Learjet 31As, ten Learjet 60s and six Challenger 604s. • Swearingen SJ30-2 prototype has its first flight SWEARINGEN Air- prototype SJ30-2 has S INO craft's been flown for the first time. President Jack Braly says that the aircraft is on course for US certifi cation by the last quarter of 1998. Customer deliveries will follow immediately and European certifi cation is expected by mid-1999. The four-passenger light busi ness jet was flown from company headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, to Victoria, Texas, on 8 November. Total flight time was lh 31min. The prototype, which has now entered its formal flight-test pro gramme, is powered by the 8.5kN (l,9001b)-thrust Williams-Rolls FJ44-1A engine, but Sino Swear ingen plan to install 10.2kN-thrust FJ44-2As when the new engine becomes available. Two more air- craft(SN002 and SN 00 3) will join the test programme in 1997. Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 has taken to the air for the first time The SJ30-2 is a revised version of the Swearingen SJ30, and is being developed at a cost of $150 million as part of a joint venture with Sino Aerospace of Taiwan. According to vice-president, operations, Ron Neal, the original SJ30 has been stretched by 130mm, using two fuselage plugs, allowing increased fuel capacity giving the aircraft a range in excess of 4,600km (2,500nm) with one pilot and three passengers. The wing span has been increased from 11m to 15 m, and the wing dihedral changed from -0.7°to +2.3°. • 12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 November - 3 December 1996
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